Ice Cream!!!

After a very frustrating morning at the U.S. consulate here in Lagos ( just getting passport pages added to our passports.....it took three and a half hours!!!) I decided to take the kids to KFC before going home. Since it took so long for the passport pages, they missed their playgroup. On top of that, you cannot bring any food or drink into the consulate so they were starving and thirsty. It was really nice to see them smile and have an ice cream cone for 100 naira after they had lunch...it almost made things feel "normal" again.:)

Conflict of Interest?

I pass by this school everyday and always wonder to myself...is a law school in Nigeria a conflict of interest? You can make that decision for yourself.:)

Popcorn

Every Friday and Saturday night at our house is popcorn night for our family. To say Jeremy and Elizabeth LOVE it is an understatement.....they absolutely inhale popcorn. But, last night, Jeremy gave me his take on popcorn:

Jeremy: "Mommy, do you know that you only eat the corn...not the pop."
Me: "Really, what is the pop?"
Jeremy:" You know what the pop is, Mommy."
Me: "No, I really don't."
Jeremy: " You know the pop is the balls at the bottom of the bowl."
Me: laughed:)

So, there you have it...you don't have to call them kernels anymore...you can call them balls.:)

Lagniappe

Elizabeth : While she was in the car, she said " the kadas go berry pass" Translation: "The okadas go very fast." I don't know if she will ever really understand it when someone calls an okada a motorcycle.:)

Jeremy: "Mommy, I eat all my fruits and vegetables." I said " Fruits and vegetables make you healthy." He said, "I like carrots." I said, "That's good because carrots are really good for your eyes." He said very matter of factly, "Yeah, I know. I can see all the way to Houston."

Our First Baby

This last week has been pretty quiet around here. There are still many families who are traveling and are returning next week before school starts. The kids and I are getting a little stir crazy, but enjoying some quiet rest time before school and schedules get crazy.:) I was just thinking today about wishing I was back in the U.S. so I could hop in the car and take the kids to a different park each day when I looked over at Bernice. She was lying on the carpet sleeping. As soon as I got up her tail started wagging a little bit. She has been here since last year and never left the compound, and she has never complained about it.:) She was our first baby, and she is going to be 11 in October. She has been a wonderful part of our family, and I have to say the quietest baby we have ever had. Although she is moving alot slower these days, she is always there for us when we get home with her tail wagging. I know she is a dog, but she can teach me alot about where my home is. For her, it doesn't matter where she is, she is home when we are all together. The first few weeks I get back from the U.S. I am usually in a funk, but I have to think that home is where my family is and right now it is here in Lagos.:)

Of Course

So, I was riding in the car today with Fatai looking at all the interesting things Lagos has to offer as I drive by when I noticed a small bug crawling across the windshield. Of course I grabbed a piece of toilet paper from the roll on the gear shift (Fatai's toilet paper) and squished the bug. Doesn't everyone have a roll of toilet paper sitting on the gear shift in the car just in case you need it? I guess I should be happy Fatai uses it.:)

34

34 was the number yesterday. If you add the numbers together, you get the number 7. If you double it, you get 68. For me, it meant how old I became yesterday. I am 34 years old...wow...to say that is really weird to me. I can't believe that this year would be my 17th year high school reunion. It would be my 12th college reunion!! Who is that 34 year old?? It can't be me...no way! But, it is true, I am 34, and before I freak out about it too much more...I am going to focus on the positive aspects of this number. I think back ten years ago when I was 24....still teaching and not knowing if I would ever have children. I had just moved to New Orleans and thought I had moved to another country! I was so green then. Alot has happened in the last ten years...Guy and I moved to Houston and then to Lagos. We have two beautiful children and a great family. I have met so many new friends on my path of the last 10 years as well as staying touch with my old ones and seeing how our lives change together along the path of life.:) Now that I think about it, 34 isn't too bad...I am wiser and have learned so much. Now, I hope I can think this way when I turn 44! Ha ha:)

My birthday was great! Jeremy and Guy cooked breakfast for me and the kids gave me flowers. Guy gave me a blackberry so I can keep in touch with everyone so much better through e-mail at my fingertips.:) The day ended with a steak dinner on the grill and a birthday cake.:) ( and the gift of three poopy panties from Elizabeth..a gift only a two year old can give). 34 isn't too bad.:)