Benni who?

My favorite car in our neighborhood: The Chana ... Benni.

Ewww

Normally, I'm not one to bemoan living in an apartment. But today I spent 20 uncomfortable minutes crouched over the tub, scraping dog poop out of the ridges of Dietrich's extremely nonslip fall boots with a toothpick. And then I bleached the life out of the bathtub. Oh my, what I would have given for a backyard and a hose during that very disgusting 40 minutes of my day.

My hands

If you were to look at my hands right now (or at any time during a Kyiv fall/winter), you might think I played a starring role in "Fight Club." The combination of Kyiv water plus cold weather leads to hands so dry that my knuckles crack open and bleed when I bend my fingers. It's uncomfortable. And gross. Lotion helps -- for a minute or two. At night, I sleep with my hands coated in petroleum jelly and encased with gloves. That keeps the open-wound count down around five.

The other day, Dietrich wanted to cuddle at naptime, but my ever-expanding belly felt extra awkward when I tried to get all smooshed up next to him. So, I suggested we hold hands. He grabbed my hand, exclaimed, "It's crunchy!" -- and refused to touch me again.

Sigh. I guess I'll go put some lotion on.

Thankful

Due May 25, 2010.

Whew, glad THAT secret's out!

Quarantined

We’re in Week 3 of Swine Flu quarantine here. All schools and universities are closed, and public gatherings of more than 30 are supposedly banned.

Since Dietrich’s not in school and Eric wasn’t scheduled to teach during the cancelled seminary session, we Oldenburgs haven’t been much affected. In fact, Dietrich likes the quarantine — it means his nanya’s charming 7-year-old daughter comes with her mama to play with him.

The seminary remains open to faculty and staff, so we still can work. However, the construction workers have used this opportunity to shut off the electricity all day today, so I’m working (secretly) from home. (Don’t tell Dietrich; I’m hiding out in our bedroom.)

Since I’m at home, I have access to the tangle of cords needed for various tasks, such as downloading pictures. Here, then, is what we did during quarantine (and a few days before).


Trying to stay warm in front of our “fireplace” before the government turned the heat on. We’re comfy cozy now.



Off to watch the Angels play the Yankees at a friend’s house. The friend’s connection speed far surpasses ours. We can only listen to the games. That was fine, until they moved Rex Hudler to the radio.


When Dietrich got invited to the local Christian school’s Harvest Festival at the last minute, we threw together the world’s quickest costume. He loved it. Wish I could have spiked his hair, but it was cold and he wore a beanie.


Perfect chilly morning breakfast: Oatmeal with bananas and maple syrup, black tea with sugar and milk.


Where’s Waldo?



Bye, Daddy! Have fun in Belarus!



Dietrich built this track. We had no idea he could do that! The thought actually crossed our minds that perhaps someone snuck in and helped him. Somehow that was less freaky than the thought of him suddenly acquiring track-building abilities.


Oksana and Zhenya had us over for their birthdays, and she made this charming cake. As the cake was being cut, I made the mistake of saying, “Oh, poor turtle.” Now Dietrich asks me every day what was wrong with the turtle at Oksana’s party.

Perhaps we ought to focus on pronunciation

Songs play a crucial role in Dietrich's bedtime routine, and recently he's started asking Eric to sing in Russian. (Linguistic progress! Hooray!) Tonight, he kept requesting the song with "the shoes, the shoes!" We were stumped for a moment, for we know no hymns about shoes. We finally figured it out: He wanted the song about Иисус (ee-soos) -- also known as Jesus!

Scavenged

How could I not put these sticks on display, when they were gathered so carefully by such a sweet little collector?