***Chocolate Chip Pancakes***

I got the biggest (and heaviest) package in the mail yesterday from my wonderful Uncle Bruce and Aunt Ingrid!!! It was GREAT! thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!

There was one teeny tiny problem. The syrup didn't really make it. Well, I guess the syrup made it... just not in the container. :) I think the post office along the way had to put the box in a giant plastic bag and then they taped it all up. It was sort of a huge sticky, soggy cube. :) The box smelt really sweet and when I read the packing slip on the outside and it said "pancake mix" and "syrup" I knew what had happened! At first I decided to deal when the girls got home (I thought they would think it was funny) but then I got scared that the mix would be ruined so I frantically pulled out scissors and knives and started haphazardly cutting through all the tape and plastic bags and cardboard to save the mix!!!! It was like emergency surgery!! It was taped up very well and sticky scissors become difficult to use after a while... Don't worry - the mix was okay... Phew. ...and so were the eight bags of yummy chocolate chips!!! YAY YAY YAY!!!

It was funny to see the huge syrup container "safely" packed in several taped ziplock bags and with it's taped down top... and the GIANT Crack going down the back. It was completely empty! :) HAHA I was really impressed how well it soaked into EVERYTHNG! Nothing was ruined though - we just rinsed it ALL off and threw the box out the door and kept the empty container as a souvenir. It made me smile though... It still makes me smile to look at the empty container... We are going to celebrate grandma's arrival on Saturday morning with chocolate chip pancakes.

Last Saturday we used up the rest of our mix so it was perfect timing!! Thank you so much Bruce and Ingrid!!! Don't ever pay that much to ship something again! (but thank you :) ) It made me happy... and the syrup made me laugh... So it was all good!

Chompy

Andrea has learned to "grab and slober" :)

She likes to chomp on things now but she sometimes gets quite upset if she can't get it into her mouth. Her favorite thing to suck on is her sleeves. She's always a slober-puddle when she wears this outfit. :)

Michaela's Cake

UNCLE MIKEY - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (my youngest younger brother)

Speaking of birthdays....
Here's the highly anticipated birthday cake pictures from Michaela's party...
Nana helped.
It's a Harry Potter thing... of course.

Level 28

Hey Kev, (my little brother - older of two)

My highest freerice.com level is 28. I think dad got 30.

...and I knew this one because here an apotek is the pharmacy! How cool am I?

apothecary = pharmacist

Turkey and Underwear

Turkey has been purchased!

My turkey buying excursion took place at 6:00pm with four children in the rainy darkness of the night and Scotty was diaper-less.

I've decided that maneuvering four kids through a grocery store is difficult. I usually only take Scott and Andrea which has it's own special challenges. Andrea and her carseat go into the cart which takes up the entire thing. Scotty wants to be included so he sits in the seat of the cart; the cart is full before we even start buying groceries. AND I've yet to run across a cart here that pushes straight, so we roll through the isles sideways; my little flock of people.

This turkey trip we found ourselves in the frozen "bird" isle debating which frozen mass looked the most like a turkey. In case you've never done this every frozen bird looks the same. (and I've seen a lot of frozen birds - HAHA couldn't help it Joanie!!) Anyways, we lucked out and found one that actually SAID turkey on it. I think our turkey is German though, it said "mit giblets". Doesn't mit mean med?, which means con, which means with. LOOK I can say WITH in four languages!!!

So we have a turkey and all I know is it isn't going to fit in a easy, effort-free rotisserie like all my others have. This may actually take some skill. Good thing Grandma will be here! Grandma, if you need any special turkey cooking accessories better bring them along!

...OH YAH - I also bought some big boy underwear here... I think. Buying underwear for Scotty was more difficult than buying the frozen bird. It probably took me 20 minutes. All I could find were boxer type things but they were more fitted and elasticy, like stretchy bike pants. ?? I was so confused! I'm not sure if they were underwear because they all had matching tank tops like maybe they were pyjamas...? I did find some "underwear shaped" ones but they were pink. So Scotty only got one new pair of, I think, underwear.

They are organic and soft for his bum. He has standards. :) ...and his last "fun" underwear's were "funky", his new fun word... Actually I think they were too small so he's been just wearing pants, nothing else underneath. It's funny he won't wear pants with pockets because all his jeans and cargos (with pockets) are not soft like his sweats and track pants (no pockets) so he's learned to ask for pants without pockets. I think it's smart to make the observation! I hope his organic underwear will allow him to wear his pocket pants.

He's been good at putting his pee-pees in the potty, even to the store and his gym class. Poo-poo's are another story... one I don't feel is appropriate to get into. :) I just hope school and potty combined together go well.

Italy Pictures

I was reminded I didn't put Italy pictures up, so here they are.

There are even some pictures with all six of us in it!

...and if I didn't have to upload them five at a time I would have put more. :) I've taken a MILLION pictures over the past year. Well not really, I just counted (not by hand) I've only taken 3000. That's not too bad. ...Actually I guess I took more; I've saved 3000. :)

Grandma - hurry!!!

Hi Grandma!

I'm so excited you are coming to visit us!!! YAY! I can't wait! (and I'm not just excited to get a new delivery of peanut butter)

My Grandma is coming to visit in less than two weeks. She'll be here for Thanksgiving so my job tomorrow will be to find and purchase a turkey. Now it will seem like Thanksgiving. Grandma saves the holiday!

I need her here now though because I'm sick (related to breastfeeding again so not contagious) and Paul's gone for the week. The girls did manage to heat up some of the vegetable soup I made last week so they could eat dinner. I got a little carried away cutting up veggies and accidentally made like 20 pounds of vegetable soup! I took some yummy American medicine so I'm feeling better for the moment...

Welcome back Ingrid! I can't wait to see a few of your elephant pictures and ALL of your leopard pictures from South Africa. When you go back I want to come too!