Geography madness

Today we spent the evening embarrassing ourselves by taking geography tests online. Anne Marie has a theory that those who live in states that are not self-sufficient tend to know a little more about the geography around them, i.e. anyone who does not live in California or Texas.

We also went to St. Andrews in Canada to pick up Mandy's boyfriend, Tim, and to visit a yarn store that was conveniently closed. Ben and Jaime left this morning, leaving Inga devastated because they took Moira and Evie with them (selfish pigs).


It's also Brad's birthday, and we celebrated with chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate icing, and pizza. My kids were in heaven. Brad is now officially as old as I am, which is quite young, actually. His birthday presents involved an HDTV and a night out on the town in L.A.

We have done very little outside the house this vacation, which is either a good sign (we enjoy each other's company) or a bad sign (we all have amoebic dysentary and cannot move). Since we have all been eating a lot (as can be proven by the grocery bill or Dad's gripe level) I think we can safely say we have simply been having a restful break. Saturday we will be going back to Connecticut and visiting with some friends before heading back home--and then we will have a lot of work to do to get our dossier ready for Russia in time for our travels. Good thing we've had some time to breathe first!

Everyday Life

This is a mundane post. It is submitted under pressure from my siblings, who are demanding entertaining reading on sibling posts during the holidays. So I shall deliver, with an update on everything I can think of:

We went to Connecticut for Christmas. It was fun.

We went to Maine for after-Christmas funnery. It was fun.

We are still looking into purchasing an incredibly un-glamorous large vehicle for carting around our children. This is not fun. However, Sam's suggestion for a Dodge Sprinter was very helpful and looked like we might actually get out of the non-cool mode...except that I felt like a FedEx delivery boy whilst driving it. Overwhelmingly. So I think that is out.

We will be going to Russia (hopefully) in late January, like January 20. Maybe. We will then get to meet our (hopefully) soon-to-be son.

Grandmom is doing well.

My hair is growing. Most likely at the same rate it always has.

Well, that's about it. Oh, oh--and my children are currently taking a nap.

Making Jennifer

I have had to do some deep thinking about where I personally fit in to myself recently. I had a definite view of who I wanted to be when I graduated from college and married Dan. By the time we had a child, my identity wasn't flexible any more. When it was just Inga, I could pretend that I was the same continuous person I had always been since early gradeschool (I don't remember much before that). But now that there are four little bodies that are fairly dependent upon me for their daily needs and emotional well-being I cannot pull away from the fact that my life took a definitive direction when we started having kids. And, although it is not a road less traveled, it is a direction that defines itself by the exclusion of access to a lot of other paths. At least if you move by traditional means. So I am faced with the realization that my kids have changed me, and are defining who I am becoming, even if I feel like I remain my own person. I am still a writer, a musician, an adventurer, a sister, a daughter, a wife, a friend...and interwoven into all those things is a mother who is figuring out how to continue in these things and include her children in them as well. On top of that I am learning all about prosthetics and the development of the brain and speech and vision and the impact of early childhood malnutrition on the rest of your life. I am meeting all kinds of people I never would have had the grit to meet on my own because my oldest daughter can't stand next to a stranger in line and not strike up a conversation. And I find other adults willing to get to know me because one of my children has a similar condition to their child/grandchild/niece. My original definition for who I am (writer, musician, etc.) takes me in an established and known direction. My children take me in directions I never dreamed of going, and I am grateful for the adventure.

OK

After all of my protestations against Yuppie high-speed internet habits, I decided to change my mind. I made some telemarketer's day when she called and asked if I would sign on with Comcast's special deal for internet, and the next thing I know somebody is drilling a hole in the side of my house and my computer can do miraculous 21st-century-type things online. Which means that instead of taking two hours to order 4 presents online, it will probably now take 10 minutes. Wondrous! I immediately thought of my family and their constant pressure on me to reveal myself in front of everyone known and unknown, and this is where I changed my mind about having a blog. If it means staying connected, I will put the time (and embarrassment) in.

It will take me awhile to get used to this, bear with me--I'm going to keep it short for now.