BACK ONLINE

After a very prolonged absence...I am back online again. Between having the internet shut off at our old house (in order to move), Christmas vacation in the States, and getting the internet hooked up at the new house - well, that about accounts for my total lapse in communications. Sorry.

We had a wonderful Christmas at home this year. It was a short visit for Mike who had to be back at work the first week of January. I chose to stay longer and take the kids back by myself which turned out to be a worthwhile gamble. We put our house back (yet again) on the market and are praying it sells quickly. We had it professionally staged in the hopes that it will only help a quick sale. We have now owned this house for nearly 3 years and lived a total of 9 months in it! File that under hindsight is 20/20.

December was a busy month with many Christmas parties here, Sophia turning 6, moving to a new house, and packing to head home. Sophia had a small birthday party at our house with her bestest girlfriends (and 1 boy). She got her first Webkinz and loads of make-up. This make-up is all stuffed into a pink purse that she has and Anna's greatest goal in life is to get her little hands on this above mentioned purse and slather on 14 pounds of lip gloss. Those of you with a keen eye will notice in all the above pictures of Anna, she has a very shiny (and chapped) mouth. There is not a number high enough to count the fights that have broken out between Sophia and Anna over this treasured make-up filled purse. I had never heard of a Webkinz before. It is basically a stuffed animal that comes with a "tag" that you enter on a website. This entered information brings the animal to life (on the web) and you have to feed it, earn money to buy things for it, etc. I am absolutely addicted to the games you play to earn the money on the website. I have spent many a hours (usually between 2am and 5am.....jet lag still!!) logged into Sophia's account playing games to earn her some money points. Pathetic has reached new heights!














Another milestone Sophia reached in December was doing a ballet PERFORMANCE at the Ambassador's Christmas party. For those of you who know Sophia, you know that she does NOT perform. Period. Apparently I also promised her that if she could do the ballet show without freaking out then she could get her ears pierced when we went home for X-mas. Parents; be careful what you promise - but it was nice to know that she was actually listening to me (sometimes I wonder). The ballet show went off without a hitch and she now has 2 bedazzled ears.





















Lest this month's blog be entirely dedicated to Sophia....in Anna news, she successfully UNpotty trained herself during her Christmas Vacation! Call in the shrinks 'cuz I can't figure this one out. She was there, we were finished. The only thing I can think of that could have possibly set her back is taking her to the bathroom on the airplane. It scared her and she refused to use it. I knew it scared her but didn't realize it scarred her!

I have saved up some stories due to my extremely prolonged blogging hiatus. Those of you reading who don't know my father could safely skip the next paragraph. For those who do....all I can say is that it must be in the genes. While sitting in O'Hare Airport (for 3 hours) waiting for our flight to Frankfurt, I spotted 2 obviously military guys standing around the desk where you get boarding passes. These guys were accompanied by 2 beautiful German Shephards that were working police dogs (the dogs even had their own police badges hanging from their collars). I had been chatting with a fellow that was sitting near us (another military guy) previous to this sighting and we both commented that we have never seen loose dogs in the airport - and we both wondered how those dogs were going to get on the plane (kennels or not). Of course I've seen loose dogs in places while they were working, but these dogs were just traveling to Frankfurt....like the rest of us. I then spent the next 45 minutes explaining the the kids that, "no, we cannot go pet the dogs", and "yes, that does look like Inga" (minus 8 years and 20 pounds - sorry mom). So we board the airplane and low and behold, we had the best darn seats on the plane. 1st row in economy plus!! We had, no joke, like 3 feet of leg room....so much room that I felt a bit guilty as I got the stare down from all the folks on the way to their seats in the rear. Just as I'm settling the kids into their seats, wouldn't you know it, in walks the 2 dogs and their trainers. I was standing already so watched as they took their row (like 8 behind me) and tried to settle the dogs down on the floor under/in between the seats. So Bill Bell mode takes over and I flag down a stewardess and say that I'd be more than happy to swap seats with these guys so the DOGS have somewhere comfortable to sleep during the flight. Of course, I am immediately taken up on my offer and we headed towards the rear. The soldiers were very grateful, but we still didn't get to pet the dogs. One additional thought; why are we bringing German Shephards TO Germany????

Finally, coming back to Moldova I realized again how accustomed I have become to living here. My first few days here I was really taken aback at how rude people are here. I remembered that I observed it when I first got here, but after a while I guess I got used to it. Perhaps rude is not the best wording...but it is not far off the mark. Once you meet a Moldovan, they are incredibly friendly, but try passing people on the street or head to the grocery store....different story. If you stand in line at a grocery store and leave more that 3 inches of space between yourself and the person in front of you, I GUARANTEE someone will cut in front of you in line. No joke. You have to be touching the person in front of you in order for your place in line to count here. If you pass someone in the street, in the park, at a store do not expect any eye contact - it is their mission to pretend you do not exist. Do not attempt to offer any greeting to aforementioned people you may encounter - they will still not acknowledge your presence, but may move out of your way. Oh, except for 1 exception, grocery stores here do not let you leave the building with your grocery cart. Imagine next time you are getting your groceries having to: #1 pay in cash, #2 lug all those bags in 1 trip out to the car.

It's midnight now so I'd better sign off for now. Hope you all have a great week.

It is a rainy, muddy, mucky mess here in moldova!

~L