A postcard from Puppy Four

I emailed the kennel in Cairo to find out how Puppy Four is doing. They sent me a postcard! It features a beach scene with an inset of Puppy Four, seemingly about to snooze on a grassy lawn.

At first, though, I thought they sent me the wrong photo. “That’s not Puppy Four!” I insisted to myself. And then I realized he’s become Gigantor Puppy since I last saw him a few weeks ago.

The boys loved the postcard. Here’s the photo part, just for you:

Watery adventures

We are still here in the mountains, having a great time. I am not keeping with with anything online. We still don’t have an internet connection at our house. Right now I’m sitting outside the (closed) public library, using their wireless internet. Again.

Mr. Four is back at the house, and he’s probably tapping his foot waiting for me to get back since he’s stuck at the house without the car.

My mom was here last week, and we had a great time exploring some rivers and creeks. She left yesterday morning, and some of Mr. Four’s family arrived last night. Mr. Four’s brother is also an outdoorsy guy, so he brought a couple of canoes.

Mr. Four and I took the boys on their first (very mild) whitewater adventure last week: a canoe trip down a beautiful Class I-II river. They loved it until it rained. Then Bug freaked because he thought it would thunder and he’s scared of thunder. Giggle was fine until the rain turned chilly. We took off the river a little early, though Mr. Four and I were pretty much in hysterics at the absurdity of it all. “It’s not funny!” Giggle kept insisting.

We had even more fun yesterday when we went tubing on a creek in a national park near our house. Giggle had his own tube, tethered to Mr. Four’s, and Bug sat on my lap in our own big tube. I used my whitewater skills, honed from years of Class III, to get us unstuck from various rocks. The boys loved it. Bug narrated the whole trip–”Here come the waves!”–and Giggle proclaimed at the end of each run, “That was awesome!”

Mr. Four and I both agreed. It was about as much fun as I’ve ever had.

I have some work stuff to do over the next week, to get ready for some conference presentations, but I know Mr. Four, his family, and the boys will have a great time checking out more of the local waterways.

On another note: the boys just got their Christmas and birthday money from their grandfather, and we are thinking about buying them each a Leapster, especially for the flight home. Any suggestions, recommendations, etc. are welcome. Thanks!

Still here

We are in the mountains, without internet access except at the local public library. So while I have oodles to share about our exciting summer adventures, I do not have the appropriate technology to share them.

Soon, I hope!

In the mountains

And in the middle of the woods. It’s super relaxing. We got in last night, and Mr. Four and the boys already went for a long woodsy walk. We’ve checked out a lot of bugs. We’ve chalked the driveway and painted there as well (Bug has been asking to paint for a week). And we’ve had a regular visitor: our neighbors’ dog, who still misses the dogs we had when we lived here years ago.

I also went for a long walk up a big hill this morning, much to my heart’s content (it needs the exercise) and my legs’ horror (they apparently think they do not).

We don’t have internet access at our house, so I’m at the local public library, on their free wireless. Hurray for public libraries! But what I don’t have right now is much time, as Mr. Four is waiting outside. He was going to bring the boys to the playground in town, but they feel asleep in the car. So this is just a quick entry to say we’re here and all is well.

Tomorrow we’ll celebrate the 4th of July and I think this weekend we’ll go to a festival at the grounds of a nearby Native American tribe. Fun fun. Happy 4th!

Back in the USA

Phew. What a week it’s been. I am not going to write any more about the flights over as they are best left repressed deep within my brain.

Mr. Four arrived late last Friday night. Between our arrival and his, the boys and I did a lot. It was pretty crazy. We went shopping (Old Navy, Target, and Kohl’s, along with a dollar store and a funky local toy store), swam at the lake, swam at the pool, played baseball in the yard, hung out with my dad, celebrated my birthday, went to a great science museum, bought toys, attempted to eat out in restaurants, went to a movie, stocked up on College Town paraphenalia, chased fireflies, played with friends, visited with other friends, and ate pretzels and ice cream (though not at the same time).

Since Mr. Four’s arrival, we’ve done more of the same, but with a break here and there for me.

A couple of friends here have asked us how it feels to be back. The answer is that it feels totally normal to be back. Totally normal to be able to call my mom and dad and sister without advance planning or a check of the clock. Totally normal to walk on nice wide sidewalks. Totally normal to be able to buy soy products at the grocery store. Totally normal to have play dates with our old neighbors. Et cetera.

Of course what’s not normal is trying to cram a month’s worth of activities into a week’s time. Right now we’re in College Town, a charming area with lots of old friends and kid-friendly activities. In a few days, we head to the mountains, to a small cabin Mr. Four built there years ago. We have a lot of friends up there, including friends with kids, but we’ll be much more isolated. Mr. Four is envisioning canoeing on the lake with the boys. I hope we find enough to do. Giggle and Bug are both pretty interested in bugs these days, so maybe we can go bug hunting. Other ideas are also welcome!

What’s been most striking about our trip home is how much my kids had become city kids. Especially for the first few days, things that seemed utterly ordinary to me were quite remarkable to them. When we pulled into the driveway of the house where we’re staying, Giggle said the front yard, with a few trees, was like a forest. Every patch of trees became worthy of comment.

The next night they ran inside, terrified, screaming at me about some strange flashing lights which turned out to be fireflies (they got over this fear quickly).

They’ve loved seeing mailboxes and checking ours multiple times a day. Fire hydrants also earn a call out.

It’s been a bit rainy here, and Bug is particularly stressed by thunder. This was true last year when we lived in the US, but the absence of thunder from our lives has only increased his fear. I’ve never seen him so terrified. Any plane in the sky has him asking if it’s thunder. Suggestions for dealing with this particular fear are also welcome.

We’ll be mostly unplugged, I think, in the mountains. We have a TV there (our cabin is set up to be a vacation rental when we’re not in it), but no internet access except the public library. I’m looking forward to some long bike rides, now possible as Mr. Four was able to dig my road bike out of storage this morning, and lots of reading. Another big treat for me has been buying the Sunday New York Times, even though it took me all of last week to read it, and I still haven’t cracked this week’s.

I’ll post again before we head to the mountains. What are your questions about our time back in the States?

More mundane details of my boring life

I’m almost packed. Most of the boys’ clothes are packed, and most of my clothes are packed. We’ll add in a few things from tomorrow’s wash. We’re bringing way too many shoes, as per usual. But packing is easy when you’re overpacking!

I packed both car seats for the boys. I realized that otherwise we’d end up paying at least $150 to rent seats when we have two perfectly good ones we can bring over for free.

Last summer I ordered car seat bags from One Step Ahead, to protect the seats and make them easier to carry. The seats made the trip last summer, but barely. One of the canvas bags has large tears in the front panel. I’ll duct tape it up for our trip back home, but here’s your caveat emptor: don’t buy car seat bags from One Step Ahead, which should definitely be able to last at least one international trip. I wish I could find consumer’s revenge more satisfying… but really I’d rather have functioning bags.

The boys, especially Giggle, are bouncing off the walls. “Two days, Mommy? Two days to America?”

On top of all this is our confusing move to a new flat. The boys are trying to figure out how we’re going to America, and moving to a new house which they’ve visited twice, and coming back to Egypt, and spending time with grandparents. Bug keeps asking who is coming to the new house. “Is Puppy Four coming? Is my nanny coming?” It’s a lot of change in just a few months. But all good, I think.

They both had their last day of preschool today. Giggle told me today he’s proud of himself for finishing up preschool and being ready for kindergarten, also known as “the big school.” I’m proud of him too.

So we’ll be hanging out with friends in just a few days from now. Mr. Four still has another week in Egypt, including my birthday, which is a bummer. However, my dad is coming to town to spend a couple of days with the boys and me, which will be great fun, and the first time he and Giggle have met. I explained to the boys the other day that we get our ice cream-loving legacy from this man. They were duly impressed.

I’ve also been overwhelmed by my very generous friends and family, who are offering up all sorts of inconvenient scenarios to help us out and make sure they see us.

And, wow, blogging is sure a great way to procrastinate.

No more JFK anxiety

My very smart mother informed me that the boys and I will be arriving into and departing from the very same terminal at JFK. How on earth did she discover this? She looked at my itinerary. Go figure.

Last night I gathered up most of the clothes for the boys for this summer. I know we’ll be buying things there, and I didn’t want to overpack, but I also don’t want to be stuck doing laundry every few days either. I’ve also heard from a few friends and colleagues that it’s easy to spend way too much money in a few short weeks on home leave. Expats often go on summer spending sprees, so expat kids get the sense that the US is all about shopping. While this is true for many Americans, I don’t want my boys to think this. Giggle already loves shopping too much. And me too.

Giggle kid is growing so fast though — last summer he was a perfect 4T, swimming in 5T. Now his 5T pants are almost too short, and I’m thinking I need to buy ahead in size 6 and (gulp) size 7 to get him through the next year. Bug is growing out of some of his 3T things, but at least he has some hand-me-downs from Giggle (which he likes, because he’s seen his brother wearing this stuff, which apparently makes it cooler).

Clothes are going from Giggle to Bug so quickly that I’m the only one in the house who seems to know who fits into what. To his credit, Mr. Four did convince the boys that growing is fun, and so they are much better about letting go emotionally of favorite clothes that no longer fit. Bug likes to talk about how we’ll give their old clothes to other kids who need them (usually the neighborhood bowab’s kids or to our nanny for a refugee friend with a small boy).

The fact that we’re about to box up everything and move makes it easier to purge. For me too. I’ve passed to the housekeeper and her roommate some clothes of mine that just don’t (ahem) fit like they used to.

Today I’m also packing up my office at work, as it’ll be in a different place when I get back in August. So I best get to that.

Packing

I started packing tonight. Hurray!

Of course, I’ve so far packed only for the boys, which is much easier because, well, it’s not for me. Still, I consider this major progress.

Room with a view? Deluxe a/c?

Puppy Four has a vacation coming up. Or at least that’s what the boys think. Poor guy is going to a kennel for about a month while we’re out of town. Isn’t that terrible? But with the move happening while we’re away, I just don’t know what else to do. He’s staying at the nicer kennel in the area, and he does get at least three or four walks a day, so I hope it won’t be too awful for him. Actually, with three walks a day, he should be fine… right?

But, I have a choice to make. Should Puppy Four stay in the indoor air conditioned kennel? Or in an outdoor kennel “with an outside run overlooking the garden”? The outdoor kennel sounds hot to me, but it’s also 10LE (about $1.75) more a day, so I guess it’s nicer. So, readers, where would you rather stay?

Speaking of Puppy Four… he and the boys have been playing together a lot lately. It’s really funny to watch. The boys will try to get the pup to chase them, and then they dash to the couch and jump up as if they’re escaping some vicious beast. And then the puppy runs into the kitchen to see if any food has been added to his dish in the last minute or so. Then he comes out, and the boys will try to get him to chase them, and so on.

Bug is sometimes a bit intimidated by it all, because he initiates rough play and then can’t quite handle it.

But Giggle really loves the game. He told me tonight that the puppy is really funny. And they both love to feed him. Sometimes they dump about four cups of dog food and a pint of milk into his bowl.

The puppy’s favorite chew toy continues to be my arm. He loves to gnaw on me. And pull on my clothes. So he’s fitting right in.

What to pack, what to pack

My cousin K is here visiting. It’s fun to be around someone with so much enthusiasm. We saw the Pyramids from a distance yesterday, and she was thrilled, and it was a reminder to cynical ole me that, yes, things are pretty nifty here in Egypt.

K is visiting the Pyramids and the Citadel today, which will make for a long, hot day, but a great adventure. She’s with a guide, which makes me feel a lot better about her being out and about in Cairo. Yes, she’s my cousin and she’s an adult, but she’s in college, and I feel some responsibility to make sure she’s okay.

The boys love having K here. Giggle in particular adores visitors (and their digital cameras), and he’s always excited to meet family (he’s actually only met two members of his new extended family, my mom and now our cousin K). Plus K is great with kids. She brought the boys Thomas sticker/coloring books, which proves she is a genius since she found a perfect gift that would also fit into her tiny backpack. I am also amazed at how little she’s packed for her month-long overseas adventure (we’re only part of it).

Speaking of packing light… the boys and I leave for the States in nine days (Giggle asks me every day, “Are we leaving tomorrow, Mommy? In two days, Mommy?” That boy is ready to go!). I’d like to pack as little as possible in part because we’re going to have a lot of stuff to bring back as I’ll attempt to anticipate everything we might want from the US in the next year. This is mostly clothes for my rapidly growing children. Actually, shoes take up the most room. And some clothes for me too.

So, I’m going to try to pack light. We’ll also have access to a washing machine most of the summer, which makes packing light even easier.

But how light is light? How many t-shirts and shorts should I bring for the boys? Actually, it’s shorts for Bug and pants for Giggle as Giggle really doesn’t like shorts for reasons he can’t quite explain and we haven’t figured out. I suspect it might be because no one really wore shorts in Ethiopia. Also, he loves jeans. And sweat pants. During the summer.

It’s harder to pack for myself because, well, it’s myself. And I have to pack for that conference in Seattle in August (though I’m feeling much better about it all now).

Still, I am determined to get the three of us into two or three checked bags, so that we’ll have at least three empty bags to fill with stuff this summer (with an allowance of two bags each for international flights).

Of course all of this means I have to actually start putting clothes into luggage soon. And, I also have to start putting everything else into boxes for the big move! Wish us luck.