Emergency Headband

Abby has this very strange attachment to headbands. I always knew this but it really became apparent in Utah when other people started commenting on it. That is when I realized that her headband obsession is pretty funny.

For example, while in Utah, Abby had her hair done in the morning by Bethy in two french braids. It was very cute and she loved it. Later that day, we got home and she was in a very bad mood. She would not talk to anyone or tell them what was wrong. She just cry or whine. Upon seeing her, I immediately knew I needed to take out her braids and give her a headband and she was then very happy and content. Beth and others in the family were amazed by this. Abby has been like this for a year or two now and I almost don't think about it.

Another time, we were at the mall and Abby was grumpy and not behaving. She starting throwing a fit while I was trying to buy some shoes. I immediately took her hair out of the two elastics it was in and gave her the "emergency headband" I had put in the bag for her. She then was very nice and happy and behaved well for the rest of the shopping trip. Charles' cousin Cindy was amazed.

In fact, a year or so ago Abby would wake up in the morning and the absolute first thing she would want would be her headband. She would come into our room and wake us up crying for her headband. I got so tired of being woke up that way and being forced to get up and go in her room for her headband that I started putting an "emergency headband" on my nightstand so I could simply hand it to her without getting out of bed. After that she started to insist on sleeping with them on her head every night, which seems quite uncomfortable to me. We only recently started making her take them off when she goes to bed.

It is also the first thing she has to put on when she gets home from school.

What a funny girl!

Hospital Holiday and First Snow Fall

This week I have been in hospital (that is how the English say it, they never put "the" in front of the word "hospital." I still haven't quite figured out why). I went in on Tuesday afternoon and came home Wednesday night. They did a biopsy and took some samples of the tissues in my back to figure out why I have been having pain. Anyway, it was strange to be in hospital when I was not having a baby and was not really sick. It was a nice relaxing getaway though. I was excited to get a lot of reading done and that I did. I read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini, the author of the "KiteRunner." It was quite a depressing read, which probably wasn't the best choice for me while I was all alone for two days. It seemed to make being in hospital more depressing than it should have been. By day two, I was desperate to leave. I could have stayed a second night but I started feeling suffocated in that room. Don't get me wrong, it is a great book. I think that Hosseini is an excellent writer. It is just that the realities of the tragic lives of the Afghanis is hard to take. Anyway, it was nice to come home and feel missed and loved. Apparently Abby spent two hours crying for me on Tuesday night. Even though I feel sorry for Charles who had to deal with it, it felt good to be missed. Charles did very well juggling working from home and looking after the girls. I think he was ready to go back to work though.


Here are some pictures of the girls this past Sunday when we got our first and hopefully last snowfall for the year. It only lasted until mid-afternoon or so and then it was all melted. The girls had lots of fun playing in it. I am now satisfied that we got our snow for the year and do not need any more. I did not miss the snow at all.


They are very proud of their gloves. Abby especially was excited to wear Daddy's gloves since we couldn't find hers.



braving the snow with strollers in tow



snow on the blossoms

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The Friday before felt like sixty degrees and we ate in the conservatory...

We're Back...

Chicago

On our way to Utah, we stopped in Chicago and stayed with our good friends, the Mladineos. Here is a picture of Samantha with Elijah Mladineo ready to go out in the FREEZING cold! We only ventured out one time in the three days we were there because it was sooo cold. We also saw my brother, David. Abby and Sammy loved their Uncle David (for some reason, I do not have pictures of him with the girls).

Utah

Auntie Pat and the girls

Grandpa Stuart helps Sammy figure out her shoe

Grandpa Stuart and the girls

Grandpa Farnsworth (or "Tappa" as Abby and Sammy call him) with Sammy

Sammy and Abby absolutely loved all their uncles.

Auntie Cindy and the girls

Haircuts

Sammy got her first haircut on March 19th, 2008 from Scott

Sammy was so good. She did whatever Scott told her. The book helped too...

Pretty!

Abby got her haircut as well.

Here is Bethy and the pretty girls that night at the wedding dinner

Bethy's Wedding

Abby and I went to a salon the morning of the wedding and got "up-do's" done. It was a lot of fun to get really dressed up and go all out for the wedding. Abby was so excited to get her hair done and felt like a little princess. I called around to salons the morning of the wedding and was very lucky to find one that would take both of us immediately and make sure we were finished in time to make it to the wedding.

Here's her Marilyn Monroe pose as the vent was blowing up her dress

Abby and Sammy with the vent blowing up their dresses waiting for Bethy to make her appearance.

Abby was so excited to hold Beth's dress. She was fascinated by Beth and her beautiful dress. She wanted to hold it for her all night long at the reception as well. She just stood up by Beth and stared at her the whole time. Beth was a real LIVE princess. Since we have been home, Abby loves to play that Abby, Sammy or I are getting married but we must wear a pretty dress in order to make it legitimate.

Here is Beth and Mark. What a cute couple! We are so happy for them.

Bethy with all her nieces

Easter

Abby helped Grandma (Nama) get all the eggs ready for the Easter egg hunt

Counting all the eggs Sammy found with Bethy

Basket-heads

Nama and all her grand-babies

Homeward Bound

It has been TWO YEARS since we have been home. That's a long time! We really look forward to seeing our family. This will be Sammy's first trip to the motherland even though she has already been to eight other countries in her short life time besides England. She will also be meeting many of our family members for the FIRST time. Crazy! We will be gone for a month so I thought I would download and post some random pictures that have been on my camera....

I think what I am most excited about when we go home is (the same thing I am always excited about when we go to Utah) to get my hair cut. In London, there have been times when I have paid as much as $260 to get my hair cut and colored. Therefore, I figure that when I go to Utah, I can go to THE most expensive salon and still pay WAY less than that. So that is what I do. I must say, I am somewhat of a haircut-aholic (is that a word?). I love getting my haircut and I especially like going to a nice salon where they give those great head-massages after washing your hair. I guess haircuts for me is my indulgence. It is ME time and I feel so pampered. I love it! So here's to top of the line haircuts for cheap in Utah!!!! Yippppeee!

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Sammy always plays this game in the bath tub or after where she puts her hair in her face and asks "where's Sammy?" Kind of funny....

Playing "airplane" on the couch with the "airplane pillows." I guess you could say they are practicing for the real thing.

Abby and Sammy's new found entertainment - making a bed and sleeping in the hall closet.

No Time for Blogging, Must Read...

So, I have not really been interested in blogging lately because I am into this incredibly good book. If you are at all interested in Egyptian culture, and in particular the role of women within Egyptian society then this is the book for you. Otherwise, I would not recommend it, its 600 pages long. It is called "Virgins of Paradise" by Barbara Wood. It has taken me a few months to really get into it, but now that I am I can't put it down. It follows this Egyptian family through several decades and explores the different eras through the changes in society effecting women (the so-called lesser sex). Its great because it is also an excellent reminder of historical events in Egypt from the time of King Farouk and the British in 1945 to the 1980s and Mubarak. The family that is the focus of the book all struggle against the various times, the old ways, a newer thinking and what they intrinsically know is morally correct. It's fascinating!

Half-Term
Otherwise, we have just been going about life as normal here. Abby has been on what is called "half-term," where the entire country (it seems) is out of school at the same time. Therefore, you can basically go nowhere because you will deal with massive crowds and chaos. Even traveling during these periods when school is out is significantly more expensive. I think it is absurd that they do it this way but what can I do about it. So we have spent the whole week having friends over at our house or planning outings to safe or less crowded places like the park. We have had some good weather even. Tomorrow we are going to the little circus that they have set up in the parking lot of our mall just for this very occasion. Hopefully, it is not a let-down.

Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day was uneventful really. Some friends and I got together and brought valentine treats to people who don't have a significant other or who may be lonely. That was nice of us. I got a nice bouquet of flowers but neither of us wanted to go out and fight the Valentine crowds.

Other News
Abby and Sammy haven't watched tv for probably about two months now. I had nothing to do with this. They would just rather play than watch any of the shows that they used to. My house is always much messier but I try never to complain because I would rather have them play with each other.

We are looking forward to our holiday home to Utah for the month of March. I can't believe we leave in two weeks from today! We haven't been home in two years.

Below are a few pictures from the past week or two. There are more pictures of Abby because I have more videos of Sammy right now. I will try and download a good video in the next few days.

Abby's pretend bath tub

Abby and Sammy playing dress-up and dancing. They are obsessed with the song "Let's Dance" from the 1960s. They both try to do the "twist" and the "potato."

Abby's blanket dresses have become quite popular. I have made them for both her and Sammy. They love them.

Sammy

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Does Hot Sauce Really Work??

Last night Abby was saying an inappropriate word over and over, so I put hot sauce (really just BBQ sauce) on her tongue. Now, before you start thinking - hmmmm, potty-mouth Farnsworth - I must say, the word wasn't that bad but bad enough that I felt something must be done. I did not have any Tabasco sauce so I opted for BBQ sauce which seemed to do the trick just as well without being so harsh. She is only three after all. She did stop saying the word and was devastated that I actually did what I have been warning her I would do for days. She cried for about five minutes and then all was forgotten after I held her and loved her for a few minutes. However, I just wonder if I should save the whole "sauce-on-the-tongue solution" until she says some really hard-core four letter words or should I use them on the not-so-bad words? Or should I even use this method at all? Maybe soap is better. I am just not sure and would love to hear others' experiences. Let me know if you have an opinion. I would be very interested.