We have been using our phone to use the internet but for some reason it has been so unpredictable as far as price (once it cost more than a dollar just to open up the juno page...my phone ran out of units before I could see if I had any mail or not) lately. It was awful when we had people here who wanted to check their mail...I would have a $10 card put into my phone and they would use it to check mail once, call to check their flights and then the next day when wanting to check their mail the phone would run out of time already! So, yesterday Joel hooked up the old system that we used for getting onto the internet. It is a prepaid card and we can use it for a month now without worrying. We might only get it during the evening hours during the week (we'll see how it works) since it was cheaper; at least yesterday and today (the weekend) it has been on all the time. We have found that hooking it up to the new laptop has increased the speed so much; we thought the connection was slow (ok, the connection IS slow...but not as slow as we thought) but it is just our computer that was slow. So, things are better than they were! All that to say, did you notice that this is my 2nd blog today! Since I am connected all the time easily and the pages load faster, it is a lot easier to post than it has been!
Ok, what I wanted to say was, just a minute ago I noticed Joshua and Jonathan playing with their favorite toy (the collection of pop bottle tops that the kids have been keeping since we lived in Brazil). They have them all spread out in the school room (which is now a packing room since we are moving to Zambia in about 3 weeks) making armies or something. Anyways, I noticed Joshua's dirty feet. I am also doing laundry today and I happened to just notice all of Joshua's socks that he leaves laying around...the socks that he wore to church were laying in the hall right outside the schoolroom.
Isn't it funny how life moves on, people grow up and change and we sometimes don't even notice it? Well, I wanted to acknowledge that Joshua is growing up. It wasn't that long ago that Joshua didn't like people seeing his little feet. This started long ago...I don't know why; in Brazil he would want to wear socks with his sandles. He would take his socks off right at the swimming pool in Michigan and put them on the second he got out of the pool. We had to force him to sleep without his socks, telling him that his feet really need to air out at night. His feet always looked like feet that had been in water too long. But always pretty clean. :-)
Well, one of the things that we didn't pack much of when we came here was socks for the boys. I know that I bought socks for them before we came; but somehow I put them in our storage stuff instead of our packing stuff. So, Joshua and Jonathan had about 2 pair of socks between them. That didn't matter to Jonathan because he hates socks and only wears them during soccer class on Tuesdays. I had to buy each of the boys a pair of socks for soccer to keep up for just that day to make sure they had clean socks for that day since they had so few socks. This was hard on Joshua because, as I said, he loves wearing his socks. There were many days that this was a big struggle and at times I remember wondering if he would ever just get over this strange dislike of people seeing his feet. (I mean, he would walk from his shower to his bedroom to get his clothes in front of us without any shyness, as long as he had his socks on!)
Well, somewhere in the past six months that has ended for him. I didn't even realize it. He still wears his tennis shoes when we go out (vs. Jon who wears his sandles or slip on shoes) and wears socks with them. But as soon as he gets home he tears off those shoes and socks (and leaves them in the hallway in front of the schoolroom) and goes barefoot. He plays outside all the time with no shoes...in fact, I think he only puts his shoes on when we are actually leaving home for church or soccer or something. And now he has dirty little feet, just like a normal seven year old boy. :-) That makes me so happy!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
A scary movie
I have never enjoyed scary movies. In fact, in Brazil when Joel and I would go to see a movie with friends I would get laughed at quite a bit for keeping my eyes covered most of the time. While this helps with all but the music (which is almost worse that what is on the screen) it does have a downside. The problem came when, in the back of my mind, I remembered watching a movie that seemed really funny with maybe a few tense parts. But such a funny movie couldn't be that scary...hmmm...why didn't I remember more about this movie? Anyways, I started to think it was a good movie for the older kids to watch with me. I decided to watch it again last night while Joel was out walking before I would show it to the kids. Well, it was really scary! Very scary and I could barely enjoy the funny parts! I finally just started fast forwarding through the scary parts (can't do that when Joel is watching a movie with me) with the intention of stopping and watching the funny parts and then seeing what happened by the end of the movie. Well, the next thing I knew the whole movie was done and I hadn't stopped fast forwarding at all! I hadn't enjoyed very many funny parts but I now was quite scared and Joel was out walking! And, worse of all, I had to go outside to feed Jasper and the movie had quite a few strange scary dog scenes.
Sigh. While I know that I won't let the kids see this movie I can't always decide on a movie based on how scary it is to me. I wouldn't even consider letting the kids see the Lord of the Rings movies because I watched a few moments once in Brazil and it scared me a lot! There were big bird things flying around and people running away and screaming...that was enough for me! However, once Joel decided that the kids would enjoy the movies and they watched them I found out that they didn't find them scary at all! It probably helped that they had read the books already. Once we got to Malawi they wanted (forced) me to watch the movies with them and I found that I really did enjoy them! (It helps to have a sympathetic child whispering what is going to happen before it does even though that annoys Kaleb to no end.)
Well, now that it is morning and the sun is shining through the windows it seems quite silly that I was scared last night!
Sigh. While I know that I won't let the kids see this movie I can't always decide on a movie based on how scary it is to me. I wouldn't even consider letting the kids see the Lord of the Rings movies because I watched a few moments once in Brazil and it scared me a lot! There were big bird things flying around and people running away and screaming...that was enough for me! However, once Joel decided that the kids would enjoy the movies and they watched them I found out that they didn't find them scary at all! It probably helped that they had read the books already. Once we got to Malawi they wanted (forced) me to watch the movies with them and I found that I really did enjoy them! (It helps to have a sympathetic child whispering what is going to happen before it does even though that annoys Kaleb to no end.)
Well, now that it is morning and the sun is shining through the windows it seems quite silly that I was scared last night!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
school
We are nearing the end of our 4th week of school. It has been a different year for me as I am not combining children together but teaching 4 grades. I remember what a big deal it was for me when I started teaching 2 grades...it just seemed like I couldn't get everything done in a day. Now I am wondering...What was I thinking then? Our last years I have combined kids because we were either packing up from life in Brazil, traveling around the US visiting churches or getting settled in Malawi. Then I realized that this method wasn't doing anybody any good so I had to make a new plan and, like I mentioned, we are in week 4 of that new plan.
Kaleb is in 9th grade and he actually does a lot of his work alone. Because of my own bad planning he is doing two science classes this year, Biology and Physical Science and I read that with him each day. He is studying The History of God's Kindgom and he does his history and Bible reading by himself and then on Friday has a big discussion day with Joel about it. They both love it and Joel has been very impressed with the books that were included in this Sonlight Core.
Andrew and Alissa are in 7th grade and are studying World History. We are actually (because I can't do anything the easy way this year) trying to get two years done in one year (World History I and World History II) so we have a lot of reading; but so far we are really loving it. They are doing General Science which will lead them into doing Physical Science next year so they won't have to do two in one year like Kaleb is doing.
Anna is in 5th grade and is studying American History. She is really surprising me as I see that she is a lot like her older sister (who is so self motivated and gets the job done!) when it comes to schoolwork. Anna likes to have a list at the beginning of the day and not only will she get her own work done, she will help me with Jonathan and Joshua's memory verse and Bible reading if I am running behind!
Joshua and Jonathan are in 2nd grade this year and they are studying World History. Again we are really enjoying the books and it is fun to see how their books bring up subjects that we cover more fully in Andrew and Alissa's year. They are using math-u-see for math and I really enjoy it; it is new for us. They are both coming along so well in reading.
We try to start our day by 7:15 when we all meet together and say our verses. The younger 5 children are learning a chapter each that they will be ready to tell us by week 6 of school and Kaleb is learning lots of individual verses that go along with his Bible lessons. Then we sing a song that will wake us up if everybody isn't wide awake and then I meet with the kids individually to tell them what to do that morning. When everybody is busy with math or workbooks or writing I start with Jonathan and Joshua in math, handwritting and reading. It seems to be a good method so far even though so often by the end of the day I feel like I should have fit more in!
Well, speaking of school, it is 7:05 and I have to make sure Kaleb and Andrew are awake and ready to go!
Kaleb is in 9th grade and he actually does a lot of his work alone. Because of my own bad planning he is doing two science classes this year, Biology and Physical Science and I read that with him each day. He is studying The History of God's Kindgom and he does his history and Bible reading by himself and then on Friday has a big discussion day with Joel about it. They both love it and Joel has been very impressed with the books that were included in this Sonlight Core.
Andrew and Alissa are in 7th grade and are studying World History. We are actually (because I can't do anything the easy way this year) trying to get two years done in one year (World History I and World History II) so we have a lot of reading; but so far we are really loving it. They are doing General Science which will lead them into doing Physical Science next year so they won't have to do two in one year like Kaleb is doing.
Anna is in 5th grade and is studying American History. She is really surprising me as I see that she is a lot like her older sister (who is so self motivated and gets the job done!) when it comes to schoolwork. Anna likes to have a list at the beginning of the day and not only will she get her own work done, she will help me with Jonathan and Joshua's memory verse and Bible reading if I am running behind!
Joshua and Jonathan are in 2nd grade this year and they are studying World History. Again we are really enjoying the books and it is fun to see how their books bring up subjects that we cover more fully in Andrew and Alissa's year. They are using math-u-see for math and I really enjoy it; it is new for us. They are both coming along so well in reading.
We try to start our day by 7:15 when we all meet together and say our verses. The younger 5 children are learning a chapter each that they will be ready to tell us by week 6 of school and Kaleb is learning lots of individual verses that go along with his Bible lessons. Then we sing a song that will wake us up if everybody isn't wide awake and then I meet with the kids individually to tell them what to do that morning. When everybody is busy with math or workbooks or writing I start with Jonathan and Joshua in math, handwritting and reading. It seems to be a good method so far even though so often by the end of the day I feel like I should have fit more in!
Well, speaking of school, it is 7:05 and I have to make sure Kaleb and Andrew are awake and ready to go!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Hubert
We have been busy at school for the past 2 ½ weeks. I am teaching 4 grades this year so our days are very full, trying to fit everything in. We wake up early and sometimes school lasts until time to get supper ready. It is a lot of work but so rewarding and fun!
Well, Tuesdays are my busy day. The big kids all get their schoolwork given to them in the morning and Joshua and Jonathan have most of the day off. I leave for bible study around 9:30 and don’t get home until almost noon. Then our afternoons are spent at soccer class. Yesterday when I got home at lunchtime I found the whole house in an uproar! Ernest (our gardener) had found a wounded baby bird and kindly (argh) gave it to the children to care for. By the time I got home the kids had a nest all made up for the bird in an old plastic ice cream container and were giving it mushed up fruit and water out of a little eye dropper that they found in one of our science experiment kits.
Now, we do have some experience with injured baby birds. Unfortunately, we have never had one that has actually lasted the first night. I didn’t have very high hopes for “Hubert”. Hubert, by the way, is the name Andrew had picked out for Jamie to name Michael but she told him that she would feel awful taking away his favorite name, so she let him keep it for his own future children. (Wasn’t that nice of her?) So, now we have an injured baby bird with a special name. The kids were starting to feel invested in this bird. He was scared of them at first but by the time I got home from bible study he would sit on their hands and eat fruit off their fingers.
There was much discussion about how to keep Hubert warm last night. The ideas that the children came up with might have burned down the entire house, so we decided to just risk having him in his box in the girls’ closet with the door closed. I guess that the night was filled with children getting up and checking Hubert to make sure he was ok. Anna and Alissa were awake by 5:00am with him, feeding him and giving him water.
Well, for the past two days school has been a little bit halfhearted on the side of the kids. They are so busy feeding Hubert, taking him for walks near the other birds (so he can hear them chirping) and letting him walk around in the sun. It was funny to see him when they took him over to one certain part of the yard near a tree. He would start to chirp like crazy and we would hear chirping just like his; almost like he was talking to another bird! This afternoon the kids put him down by that tree and left him alone. They started noticing that bigger birds would fly over to him and feed him! They realized that there were two birds who would do this. They would fly over to Jasper’s food bowl, get some bits of food or water, and then fly back over and feed Hubert! We (ok, I’ll admit that by this time I was as invested as the kids!) all stood at the window watching for about 30 minutes. Then Hubert’s mom started leading him to the gate and before we knew it she had led him right under our gate and out into the road! We couldn’t control the dogs in the street so Kaleb ran and rescued Hubert and placed him closer to Jasper’s food area. After about 10 minutes or so his mom and dad found him again and led him over to a bush next to our yard wall. He hopped over there and has been there ever since. We aren’t exactly sure what to do now. I think their nest is outside our gate, but he can’t fly. We were torn whether we should bring Hubert inside for the night to keep him safe from Jasper (who keeps his distance when we are around but we aren’t sure what he will do tonight) or if we should just leave him with his folks. I think we will end up leaving him with his parents to take care of him. As attached as we are to Hubert, it seems like his best chances of having a life as a wild bird is to be with other birds and not getting used to having people care for him.
I have to say, I am very happy that we saw that his mom found him and fed him so we could hand his care back to her. The children were talking about building him a cage and keeping him as a pet forever!
Well, Tuesdays are my busy day. The big kids all get their schoolwork given to them in the morning and Joshua and Jonathan have most of the day off. I leave for bible study around 9:30 and don’t get home until almost noon. Then our afternoons are spent at soccer class. Yesterday when I got home at lunchtime I found the whole house in an uproar! Ernest (our gardener) had found a wounded baby bird and kindly (argh) gave it to the children to care for. By the time I got home the kids had a nest all made up for the bird in an old plastic ice cream container and were giving it mushed up fruit and water out of a little eye dropper that they found in one of our science experiment kits.
Now, we do have some experience with injured baby birds. Unfortunately, we have never had one that has actually lasted the first night. I didn’t have very high hopes for “Hubert”. Hubert, by the way, is the name Andrew had picked out for Jamie to name Michael but she told him that she would feel awful taking away his favorite name, so she let him keep it for his own future children. (Wasn’t that nice of her?) So, now we have an injured baby bird with a special name. The kids were starting to feel invested in this bird. He was scared of them at first but by the time I got home from bible study he would sit on their hands and eat fruit off their fingers.
There was much discussion about how to keep Hubert warm last night. The ideas that the children came up with might have burned down the entire house, so we decided to just risk having him in his box in the girls’ closet with the door closed. I guess that the night was filled with children getting up and checking Hubert to make sure he was ok. Anna and Alissa were awake by 5:00am with him, feeding him and giving him water.
Well, for the past two days school has been a little bit halfhearted on the side of the kids. They are so busy feeding Hubert, taking him for walks near the other birds (so he can hear them chirping) and letting him walk around in the sun. It was funny to see him when they took him over to one certain part of the yard near a tree. He would start to chirp like crazy and we would hear chirping just like his; almost like he was talking to another bird! This afternoon the kids put him down by that tree and left him alone. They started noticing that bigger birds would fly over to him and feed him! They realized that there were two birds who would do this. They would fly over to Jasper’s food bowl, get some bits of food or water, and then fly back over and feed Hubert! We (ok, I’ll admit that by this time I was as invested as the kids!) all stood at the window watching for about 30 minutes. Then Hubert’s mom started leading him to the gate and before we knew it she had led him right under our gate and out into the road! We couldn’t control the dogs in the street so Kaleb ran and rescued Hubert and placed him closer to Jasper’s food area. After about 10 minutes or so his mom and dad found him again and led him over to a bush next to our yard wall. He hopped over there and has been there ever since. We aren’t exactly sure what to do now. I think their nest is outside our gate, but he can’t fly. We were torn whether we should bring Hubert inside for the night to keep him safe from Jasper (who keeps his distance when we are around but we aren’t sure what he will do tonight) or if we should just leave him with his folks. I think we will end up leaving him with his parents to take care of him. As attached as we are to Hubert, it seems like his best chances of having a life as a wild bird is to be with other birds and not getting used to having people care for him.
I have to say, I am very happy that we saw that his mom found him and fed him so we could hand his care back to her. The children were talking about building him a cage and keeping him as a pet forever!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
nearing a year!
We are in the middle of our 2nd week of school for this year. These are busy, busy days for me and I am trying to find a balance of doing everything to keep my head above water, or just doing what I can and still enjoy life outside of homeschooling and not worrying about what I can't fit in.
Some things that have been happening here in the last few weeks.
We have had lots of visitors from the US, Zambia, South Africa and the Philippines! It was a great time. At the same time I was organizing my books for school so my livingroom looked quite messy for awhile with stacks of books everywhere. One of the visitors became my hero when he and Kaleb fixed my washing machine and even more importantly, my popcorn popper! Yeah! I gave him my rice cooker to mess around with but they were unable to bring it back to life. But, happily, our guest from the Philippines taught me how to make rice without having it stick to the bottom of the pan or burn, so we should be all set.
Andrew and Alissa joined the youth group! They have started 7th grade so it was time for them to go with Kaleb. They both loved it and are looking forward to going again this week. Joel thought it was pretty hard to drop his daughter off at youth group and is wondering already how he will ever handle dropping her off at college!
Kids are still keeping me humble. As soon as I think I have it all figured out they show up in church with their jeans on backwards (Jonathan...and even worse is that I didn't figure it out until we got home!) or involve me in a huge drama over whether it is reasonable for me to expect him to find a pencil for math instead of using a pen (Kaleb; and we finally decided that obedience is the key here; and it doesn't matter if he thinks I am reasonable or not).
Mostly, though, the kids made me very proud as they handled all of the company (which meant that we were moving around every night; sometimes in one room, sometimes in another; and a few nights with all 8 of us in Kaleb and Andrew's room) and helped me with keeping the house clean and meals made. They are great kids!
It is hard to believe that we have been here almost a year already. It seems like a lot longer. At a bible study yesterday somebody said that they have been here since February and they still felt new. I was thinking about it and realized that I no longer "feel new" here! I know people and have friends and know who people are talking about when they discuss things. So, maybe this really has become home!
Some things that have been happening here in the last few weeks.
We have had lots of visitors from the US, Zambia, South Africa and the Philippines! It was a great time. At the same time I was organizing my books for school so my livingroom looked quite messy for awhile with stacks of books everywhere. One of the visitors became my hero when he and Kaleb fixed my washing machine and even more importantly, my popcorn popper! Yeah! I gave him my rice cooker to mess around with but they were unable to bring it back to life. But, happily, our guest from the Philippines taught me how to make rice without having it stick to the bottom of the pan or burn, so we should be all set.
Andrew and Alissa joined the youth group! They have started 7th grade so it was time for them to go with Kaleb. They both loved it and are looking forward to going again this week. Joel thought it was pretty hard to drop his daughter off at youth group and is wondering already how he will ever handle dropping her off at college!
Kids are still keeping me humble. As soon as I think I have it all figured out they show up in church with their jeans on backwards (Jonathan...and even worse is that I didn't figure it out until we got home!) or involve me in a huge drama over whether it is reasonable for me to expect him to find a pencil for math instead of using a pen (Kaleb; and we finally decided that obedience is the key here; and it doesn't matter if he thinks I am reasonable or not).
Mostly, though, the kids made me very proud as they handled all of the company (which meant that we were moving around every night; sometimes in one room, sometimes in another; and a few nights with all 8 of us in Kaleb and Andrew's room) and helped me with keeping the house clean and meals made. They are great kids!
It is hard to believe that we have been here almost a year already. It seems like a lot longer. At a bible study yesterday somebody said that they have been here since February and they still felt new. I was thinking about it and realized that I no longer "feel new" here! I know people and have friends and know who people are talking about when they discuss things. So, maybe this really has become home!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
August days
The days have been so beautiful. The mornings and evenings are still cool; I love that! It can be pretty warm during the day but some cloudy days stay breezy and cold. Perfect days for hanging clothes on the line.
Joel is in Zambia again. He is attending a missions conference and then speaking at a youth conference. I have only gotten a few text messages from him since he left so I am not sure how everything is but I am thinking he is really busy and probably having a great time.
We have company coming this week. Several people from our mission are here in Malawi to give a conference at the lake and our house is a good place to stay the night on the way there and back. Three ladies will be here while their husbands are at the conference to speak at a ladies conference here in Lilongwe. These folks are also bringing my school books (yeah!) so I am going to be busy organizing our new school year and probably starting school in the next few weeks.
Because of having many people staying here the kids and I have been busy cleaning and decluttering the house this week. Joel will arrive home on Monday (our 18th wedding aniversary) and we will have a chance to go out to lunch on Tuesday (his birthday) before he leaves again to the conference at the lake.
Kaleb is enjoying youth group, volleyball, and playing guitar in church. Andrew is growing taller and taller; he has passed Alissa (his first goal) and now measures himself against me each day to see if he has passed me yet. Alissa is one of the most self motivated people I know. She wakes up early and runs, washes dishes and does her math each day before I even wake up! Anna enjoys her friends (she loves people) and playing soccer on Tuesdays. She was the only girl when she joined and now there are as many girls as boys attending! Joshua is still missing his two front teeth but they are showing signs of growing in. He loves soccer and his favorite job is washing out the garbage pail for me when we change the garbage (I am glad because I hate that job). Jonathan is behind Joshua in tooth loss, but he is really enjoying reading. He says that Tuesdays are his "favorite day of the whole year" because that is soccer day. Anna, Joshua and Jonathan also love their Sunday School class and last Sunday sang in front with their class.
I am really enjoying my Saturday Bible study where we are going through Elizabeth George's book "A Woman's High Calling". My Tuesday bible study is starting back up this coming week and I look forward to seeing the ladies again after taking a few months off. Besides that my days are filled with housework, schoolwork (even during our break we do some school each day!), soccer on Tuesdays and I am still doing once a month cooking. Once a month or so we have a homeschooling meeting here at the house and have had a few field trips as well. In fact, yesterday we just got our homeschooling group t-shirts for the Lilongwe homeschoolers.
We miss everybody from home; last year at this time the days were filled with cookouts, swimming, card nights, and just fun days with family. We are especially thinking of Jamie and Michael as Michael nears his 2nd birthday. It is also my oldest nephew's 18th birthday in August...he was born the day before Joel and I got married! I think I must be getting old. I do have the grey hairs to prove it although I have recently learned of a hair dressers that does highlights so hopefully soon my age can be less obvious. (smile)
Joel is in Zambia again. He is attending a missions conference and then speaking at a youth conference. I have only gotten a few text messages from him since he left so I am not sure how everything is but I am thinking he is really busy and probably having a great time.
We have company coming this week. Several people from our mission are here in Malawi to give a conference at the lake and our house is a good place to stay the night on the way there and back. Three ladies will be here while their husbands are at the conference to speak at a ladies conference here in Lilongwe. These folks are also bringing my school books (yeah!) so I am going to be busy organizing our new school year and probably starting school in the next few weeks.
Because of having many people staying here the kids and I have been busy cleaning and decluttering the house this week. Joel will arrive home on Monday (our 18th wedding aniversary) and we will have a chance to go out to lunch on Tuesday (his birthday) before he leaves again to the conference at the lake.
Kaleb is enjoying youth group, volleyball, and playing guitar in church. Andrew is growing taller and taller; he has passed Alissa (his first goal) and now measures himself against me each day to see if he has passed me yet. Alissa is one of the most self motivated people I know. She wakes up early and runs, washes dishes and does her math each day before I even wake up! Anna enjoys her friends (she loves people) and playing soccer on Tuesdays. She was the only girl when she joined and now there are as many girls as boys attending! Joshua is still missing his two front teeth but they are showing signs of growing in. He loves soccer and his favorite job is washing out the garbage pail for me when we change the garbage (I am glad because I hate that job). Jonathan is behind Joshua in tooth loss, but he is really enjoying reading. He says that Tuesdays are his "favorite day of the whole year" because that is soccer day. Anna, Joshua and Jonathan also love their Sunday School class and last Sunday sang in front with their class.
I am really enjoying my Saturday Bible study where we are going through Elizabeth George's book "A Woman's High Calling". My Tuesday bible study is starting back up this coming week and I look forward to seeing the ladies again after taking a few months off. Besides that my days are filled with housework, schoolwork (even during our break we do some school each day!), soccer on Tuesdays and I am still doing once a month cooking. Once a month or so we have a homeschooling meeting here at the house and have had a few field trips as well. In fact, yesterday we just got our homeschooling group t-shirts for the Lilongwe homeschoolers.
We miss everybody from home; last year at this time the days were filled with cookouts, swimming, card nights, and just fun days with family. We are especially thinking of Jamie and Michael as Michael nears his 2nd birthday. It is also my oldest nephew's 18th birthday in August...he was born the day before Joel and I got married! I think I must be getting old. I do have the grey hairs to prove it although I have recently learned of a hair dressers that does highlights so hopefully soon my age can be less obvious. (smile)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Stir-Crazy
I love popcorn. Every country we have gone to so far I have taken a Stir-Crazy popcorn popper with me. It is kind of bulky so I don't try to take it home with me aftewards but leave it with somebody and then get a new one before our next country. I can't remember who has my Indonesia or Philippines popcorn popper but my Brazilian popcorn popper was left with Lucia who was my popcorn buddy while we were there.
So, we have been enjoying popcorn here in Malawi for 9 months now with my latest Stir-Crazy popcorn popper. I remember when I bought it. We were at one of our wonderful Birch Run weekends with Jamie and Mom and at one of the kitchen stores I had to choose between a popcorn popper and an ice cream maker. The kids thought it would be an easy choice...and it was! Of course I got the popcorn popper (not exactly what they were thinking...)!!
Well, a few days ago one of my sweet children (I name no names) plugged my popcorn popper into the wall. In the US that would be great; but here it means an instant spurt of heat and light and a large popping sound...then the child comes running "Mom! I did something to your popcorn popper!" Sigh. After living with transformers for so many years I forgot to remind them about it this time.
After being extremely annoyed for a good five minutes I decided to plug it in and see what the damage was (but my experience told me the damage would be complete) and the little stir part started going around! I was so happy...we jumped up and down and hugged and ran and got the popcorn and oil and started making popcorn. We waited...and waited...and waited some more before we were finally forced to admit that while the stir part was not broken, the popcorn popper was not heating up at all. Kaleb told us that we should have known; the whole inside would be all melted together now. (sniff sniff...what a sad thing to have happen to my favorite popcorn popper!)
While I was not a grump (for long) because of the loss of my popper, I was not ready to listen to the well meant comments from the children. "At least you can still make popcorn in a pan mom!" "It isn't like you can't have popcorn again."
At soccer yesterday somebody told me a place that fixed their microwave so I might try to see if there is any way it can be fixed (which means I have to ignore Kaleb's 'completely melted inside' comments). Now I have the fun of looking forward to making enough popcorn for 36 people on Thursday on the stove! Sigh.
So, we have been enjoying popcorn here in Malawi for 9 months now with my latest Stir-Crazy popcorn popper. I remember when I bought it. We were at one of our wonderful Birch Run weekends with Jamie and Mom and at one of the kitchen stores I had to choose between a popcorn popper and an ice cream maker. The kids thought it would be an easy choice...and it was! Of course I got the popcorn popper (not exactly what they were thinking...)!!
Well, a few days ago one of my sweet children (I name no names) plugged my popcorn popper into the wall. In the US that would be great; but here it means an instant spurt of heat and light and a large popping sound...then the child comes running "Mom! I did something to your popcorn popper!" Sigh. After living with transformers for so many years I forgot to remind them about it this time.
After being extremely annoyed for a good five minutes I decided to plug it in and see what the damage was (but my experience told me the damage would be complete) and the little stir part started going around! I was so happy...we jumped up and down and hugged and ran and got the popcorn and oil and started making popcorn. We waited...and waited...and waited some more before we were finally forced to admit that while the stir part was not broken, the popcorn popper was not heating up at all. Kaleb told us that we should have known; the whole inside would be all melted together now. (sniff sniff...what a sad thing to have happen to my favorite popcorn popper!)
While I was not a grump (for long) because of the loss of my popper, I was not ready to listen to the well meant comments from the children. "At least you can still make popcorn in a pan mom!" "It isn't like you can't have popcorn again."
At soccer yesterday somebody told me a place that fixed their microwave so I might try to see if there is any way it can be fixed (which means I have to ignore Kaleb's 'completely melted inside' comments). Now I have the fun of looking forward to making enough popcorn for 36 people on Thursday on the stove! Sigh.
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