Peter

Poor little Peter (two and a half years old) was sick all day yesterday. He woke up with a fever and was smiling and playing normally at first, but got more lethargic and cranky as the day wore on. When we gave him some Tylenol at bedtime, he cried and cried something to the effect of, "Peter no like it!"

He seems fine today, probably a 24-hour thing as Tim predicted, but it's still hard when your little ones are sick. I thank God that we live in Estonia and don't have to worry about malaria and things like that! But it's still a little bit worse when you're in a "foreign country" (is this still a "foreign" country after 2 years of living here?!).

Evelyn

"The Prom"

When I was growing up, "the prom" did not mean a big fancy dance at the end of the school year ("junior prom" or "senior prom"). It meant this:
Eastern Promenade

My mother grew up only a couple of blocks from the Prom (on Vesper St.) and my family home (on Sheridan St.) was on Munjoy Hill, the same neighborhood as the Prom.

I love being in Estonia, I really do. But lately it has occurred to me that one of the biggest punishments of prison is being separated from your family and friends and the places you love. We do have our freedom (!) and there are people and places we love here in Estonia as well. But as our homeland furlough approaches (8 months away), I do hear the siren call of "home" getting louder and stronger.

Evelyn

Here are some pictures from our time in Helsinki while we waited for Chris to come from America. We visited the aquarium, and they also had an area with fake jungle animals. Here are Elizabeth, Evelyn and Peter with a monkey on a giant banana! 

Peter and Elizabeth with an elephant. 

Peter bravely lets a tiger lick his hand ...

... but if you get too close to a tiger you may regret it! 

Peter with some of the many fish. 

One of the things Elizabeth enjoyed about the aquarium was a quiz you completed as you looked at the different exhibits. To find if you had the right answer you had to scratch off a circle for that question number. She got all but one right! The questions were in Finnish, Swedish and English. 

Finally, the moment we anticipated for so long (days and days!): Chris arrives at the airport. 

Mama welcomes her long-lost son home. 

Elizabeth gives Chris a welcome home hug. 

Holiday Grand Plan begins on Sunday!

http://holidaygrandplan.com/

It's a Grand Plan for Christmas organizing: an 18-week plan to clean and organize the entire home for the holiday season. Welcome to the Holiday Grand Plan!
Written by Katie Leckey with contributions from the Prodigy Homelife Get O group in 1992-1993, the Holiday Grand Plan is the Web's oldest online Christmas holiday planner. By breaking down all the tasks needed to clean and organize the house and prepare for the holidays, you'll reach the season calm and centered and ready to celebrate.
Holiday Grand Plan 2006 begins on Sunday, August 27, and continues throughout the holiday season. Based on Katie's companion Spring Cleaning Grand Plan, the Holiday Grand Plan combines holiday prep, home organizing and cleaning components.
Browse the plan calendar to learn more about the Plan. Check out the forms page for free printable calendars, holiday planner forms and checklists.
Want to find other HGP-ers? Subscribe to the Yahoo! Holiday Grand Plan mailing list. Together, we'll get organized for the best, most stress-free holiday season ever!

Peter invents a word

In LLL we talk about toddlers using a code word sometimes. I was so relieved that in the middle of Holiness Meeting yesterday, Peter yelled out "I want naim!" and not "I want b**bies!" :-)

I was wondering if "naim" means anything in Estonian, and the closest I can see is that "naine" means "woman" -- not a bad connection.

Evelyn

our address

Captains Clark
Jüri Vilmsi 20-2
Tallinn 10126
ESTONIA

fun with rhymes

Jasha
Masha
Sasha
Yasha
Latasha
Natasha
Tasha

my dream life!

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/mainelife/stories/060730islandhoppin.shtml

When I was in 6th grade, I had a friend named Sylvia Bernard who lived next door to Emerson School. We studied for the spelling bee together, played Mastermind together, and just had a wonderful time! In the summer, I spent a week with her and her family at their cabin on Cliff Island! I believe that her brother, Bernard, lives there now.

They say that Maine is "the way life should be" and I would add that Cliff Island is the way Maine should be! It is probably my second favorite place in Portland, after Munjoy Hill. If I had my druthers (my mother's phrase!), I would live in one of those two places.

Evelyn