A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
Happy Birthday To You!! Or lack thereof... We had all sorts of plans for the day, but they sort of revolved around good weather and clear roads. It poured all day Monday, all night Monday night, all day yesterday, all night last night...talk about some SERIOUS flooding!!!! And well, I'll get to the weather in a minute... We didn't get the clear roads, so we stayed home all day. Peter didn't seem to mind too much, though. We made a YUMMY coconut cake with cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberries! (yes, I ate it--I made it with coconut flour and maple syrup and instead of wheat and sugar, and it was FABULOUS!!!!! Have I ever mentioned I have celiacs?) Our lunch consisted of fresh bread, salami, cheese and vegetarian cherry jello (Devin said it tasted just like asparagus), steak and onions and cabbage (that part was for me...)! Peter requested pasta for dinner (surprise, surprise) so we had pasta, hamburger, sliced cheese and chocolate milk. He's a minimalist. :) Heavy, Heavy Hang Over Your Poor Head! His favorite gift of the birthday? A box of 5 matchbox cars from grandma!!! They were a HUGE hit and the boys spent the next few HOURS driving them around the living room! :) It even trumped the remote controlled Lightning McQueen car that Claire and I found at a local toy shop (so not really McQueen--a knock-off--but still, it LOOKS like him....but I suppose it's not surprising since I totally forgot to get batteries, so it really wasn't overly useful since it wouldn't 'go')! He was so excited to be the star for the day! He watched 'The League of Incredible Vegetables' (Veggie Tales), played legos and cars with Andrew and Josh, played outside in the 'snow', took a really long bubble bath, ate LOTS of food, watched 'Despicable Me' on the big screen, and generally had an all-around great day. Hopefully it won't be snowing on Saturday so we can go to a fun place to play with a few of his little buddies and celebrate his birthday with some friends. Nasty Slushy Mess! Oh, did I mention that it was snowing? Yes. ALL DAY!!! It's super slushy nasty stuff, and we have this seriously heavy icy accumulation on our back 'yard' (about 2-3 inches!) that the kids have been playing in all day. Sadly, we don't have the equipment to really enjoy it anymore--so the kids didn't last long enough for me to find the camera. Claire built a snowman and the boys had a snowball fight and they all came back inside sopping wet, freezing cold, and happy as clams. Whatever. The weirdest part about it, apart from the fact that it's snowing, is that there's been thunder and lightning all day, too!! What? I HAVE heard lightning once during a snow (it was in Finland, and it surprised me then, too), but it went on ALL day! As a matter of fact, it's still going on! I was reading to the kids (tangent alert: we're reading the Trumpet of the Swan--how come I've never read this book before?? It's so cute!!!) and had lightning flash through the window with a very close clap of thunder a couple of times--I even had to stop reading because it was too loud and the kids couldn't hear me! So weird... I wonder why it does that? I need to find out. No. Wait. I should get the KIDS to find out!! :D Devin went to work this morning, and by noon the embassy was closed and he 'had' to come home. The kids were ecstatic and said it was because of Peter's birthday! So, we were blessed to have Devin with us today. It's always nice to have some surprise time with him. :) I think it's funny that they close things all down when there are a few snow flurries, but I can understand it. It rarely snows here. People drive crazy even in the RAIN here--they just don't know how to do it! There is no drainage, so there are floods everywhere. Add to that some ice, and it's seriously dangerous--plus this place is one steep hill after another. I don't think are ANY flat roads at all. Claire and I went to the store this morning at about 8:30 because I was out of eggs and olive oil and thought it would be fun to get a few little treats for the birthday. On our way out, a big truck rushed past us and hit his brakes as he got to the intersection...but he didn't stop!! SKID!! That's when I knew we weren't going to go out today. And that was before the majority of the snow fell. And they don't have plows here. It's sort of like Rexburg... :D So take some crazy drivers who only know how to go really fast and then slam on their brakes, add some steep hills, then add an inch or two of slushy snow, and you have the makings of some problems. I feel so lame staying home when I know I can drive in this, but I don't trust other people, so I will follow the suggestions of others around the area and just hibernate a little. It's supposed to continue tomorrow, but then we have a few weeks of sunshine heading our way again. That will be nice!
3 Comments
mom
1/10/2013 01:29:01 am
Favorite gift?! Woohoo!!! But Dad is the one who picked it out, still it's nice to know he liked it. It looks like Peter had a fantastic day! Happy Birthday, Peter! We love you!!!!
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mom
1/20/2013 03:20:27 am
I want the recipe for the coconut cake. I tried making it one time, and it was a fiberous mess!
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Who Am I?
As a Stay At Home Mom of 4 wonderful children, I have the amazing opportunity not only to home school them, but to do so in many different places! I am married to the most amazingly wonderful (and handsome) man in the whole world! Together, we seek out, every day, that Joy in the Journey that makes life exciting! Archives
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Emily's books
by Dan Brown
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I loved this book. I'm a sucker for fairy tales/fantasy. This was so well written! I can't wait to read all the rest of her books!
by Shannon Hale
I'm reading this one again. I liked it the first time I read it. I'm still liking it for the second time around. I like all of Shannon Hales' books.
**Still lots of fun the second time around! I do like this book for a comfortable...
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