Customs in Italy

I'm talking about the actual Customs in the airport, but they told us a lot about Italian cultural customs as well! So, as we go through passport control, which in other countries is a very strict formal process, in Italy, the guy comes out of the booth with his arms wide open to greet Ginny (our 5 yr old). I swear I thought he was going to hug and kiss her! I had heard Italians love kids, but I didnt expect to see evidence of this first thing at the airport!

Then, as we go through customs: again in other countries, it's usually pretty formal with the "declare" and "nothing to declare" lines with detailed forms, random inspections, etc. In Italy, all the customs guys were hanging out drinking coffee, chatting, and laughing. Literally there were no forms at all, no inspections, nothing! Totally laid back. Totally Italian? I don't know yet, it's only been one day...

26 Days and Counting

26 days until our sabbatical stay in Italy!!!!!
26 days until all the gelato you can eat.
26 days until Michelangelo.
26 days until the Colloseum.
26 days until pizza on every corner.
26 days until we all miss DH/daddy terribly.
26 days until we all become Skype experts.

Pharaoh Jellyfilleddoughnut

So Chardy was telling me a story she and her friends came up with about Pharoahs in ancient Egypt and their doughnut minions... My favorite line:
"it's day Five. The doughnuts are getting stale and the coffee is running low." There was also something about a chainsaw, but I'm not really sure how that fit into the whole mix!

What Kind of a Mother am I??

So, Ginny asked me to help her eat her Pixie stix from Halloween. As I'm doing so, I wondered aloud, "What kind of mother am I pouring sugar into my daughter's mouth?" Ginny quickly replied matter-of-factly, "A good one!"

I guess it's pretty simple from the perspective of a 4-yr old.

Belay Monkeys

Alli and I belayed Ginny and Aaron for 3 hours at the Portland Rock Gym. They were so awesome -- must be all that practice they get in the apple tree!

What do a vampire, TARDIS, and magical fairy princess kitty have in common?

HALLOWEEN, of course!

High Praise

My daughter just told me I am "as awesome as all the cookies in the world combined." Now that is high praise coming from a 4 yr. old!