Warum der Sommer stinkt / Why summer stinks

Angeblich regnet es hier zu viel und wir bekommen nicht genug Sonne und Vitamin D. Ich weiss, ich weiss, alle Leute lieben Sommer und Sonnenschein. Aber ich NICHT!!!
Es ist zu heiss und ich schwitze zu viel. Phillip und Spencer haben ganz schlimmen Heuschnupfen und wir müssen ständig Medizin kaufen, die dann doch nicht hilft oder nur minimal. Talitha hat Angst vor den Wespen und Bienen und zieht daher den ganzen Tag lang an meiner Hand, weil sie raus möchte, aber nicht alleine (Phillip zählt anscheinend nicht). Winston, andererseits, will immer draussen sein, auch ganz allein, was mir Sorgen macht, denn unser Grundstück (naja, es gehört Bob und Deanna) ist sehr gross und nicht umzäunt. Winston ist sehr unabhängig und sturrköpfig. Plus Winston (und Phillip und ich) kriegt leicht Sonnenbrand, und selbst wenn ich ihn eincreme, was mache ich mit seinem Kopf? Leider lässt er keine Mützen auf. Und ich hasse diese blöden Sonnenschutzcremes. Die Kinder können es nicht leiden wenn ich versuche sie einzucremen, alles ist schmierig (einschliesslich unser Holzfussboden) und es lässt sich nicht abwaschen, und die Klamotten bekommen Flecken von der Creme, die nicht mehr rauskommen. Ausserdem haben Talitha und Winston Ausschlag...von der Hitze, oder der Sonnenschutzcreme, oder wer weiss was. Abends wollen die Kinder nicht ins Bett weil es noch hell ist, aber alle sind überhitzt und übermüdet. Ergo, der Sommer stinkt und ich will mein Geld zurückerstattet haben!!!

Supposedly it rains too much here and we don’t get enough sun and vitamin D. I know, I know, everyone loves summer and sunshine. But I DON’T!!! It’s too hot and I sweat too much. Phillip and Spencer have bad allergies and we constantly need to buy medicine, which ends up not helping much anyway. Talitha is scared of the yellow jackets and bees and is always pulling on my hand because she wants to go outside but not by herself (apparently Phillip doesn’t count). Winston, on the other hand, wants to be outside all the time, even all alone, which worries me because our property (well it’s Bob and Deanna’s) is very big and not fenced. Winston is very independent and stubborn. In addition, Winston (and Phillip and I) sunburns easily, and even when I put sunscreen on him what do I do with his head? Unfortunately, he doesn’t do well with hats. And I hate these dumb sunscreen lotions. The kids don’t like to get all lotioned up, everything gets greasy (including our wood floor), the stuff doesn’t wash off, and the clothes get stains, which don’t come out. Furthermore, Talitha and Winston have a rash…from the heat, or the sunscreen lotion, or who knows what. At night, the kids don’t want to go to bed because it’s still light outside, but everyone is overheated and tired. Therefore, summer stinks and I want a refund!!!
And I hate all you people that love the sun and the heat, because you can actually enjoy summer with your tan skin while my legs stay pasty white no matter what I do and my nose gets redder and redder, and you can wear cute clothes and even layer because you don’t sweat, while I start to glisten just thinking about stepping outside, and you wear cute sandals, too, which I can never find when I look for some, and besides my feet sweat too much as well, even in sandals, and then I slide all around…spring and summer, argh!

No Comment / Kein Kommentar

Unlike many of my friends I have absolutely no good reason for not blogging for soooo long. So without any further comment I will give you a blog entry...

Im Unterschied zu vielen von meinen Freunden habe ich überhaupt keinen guten Grund dafür, dass ich schon soooo lange nicht mehr geschrieben habe. Also ohne weiteren Kommentar gebe ich euch einen blog Eintrag...

Haircut / Haarschnitt

So, we decided it was time for a haircut for Talitha. She hates having her hair brushed and it's always in tangles. I was worried about cutting it myself, but I also didn't want to pay to have it cut and possibly not turn out...so, I just bit the bullet and did it myself. It's not all straight and not quite right in places but it'll have to do for now.
Here are the before and after pictures. Her pouty face, by the way, is not about the haircut but because she didn't like the clothes I put on her...she wanted to wear a "pretty dress".
Now Talitha is in love with her hair. When I told her that it could grow out again she protested and said that she will always want it like this--she calls it "little" instead of short. I guess I got lucky.


Wir haben beschlossen, dass es wirklich mal Zeit ist Talithas Haare zu schneiden. Sie kann es gar nicht leiden, wenn ihre Haare gebürstet werden und es ist immer zerzaust. Eigentlich wollte ich ihr nicht selbst den Haarschnitt verpassen, aber ich wollte auch nicht dafür bezahlen, vor allem wenn es dann vielleicht trotzdem nicht wünschenswert aussieht. Also, habe ich einfach die Zähne zusammengebissen und es doch selber gemacht. Es ist nicht ganz gerade und nicht ganz so wie es sein sollte, aber für jetzt muss es reichen.
Hier sind die davor und danach Bilder. Talithas Schmollmund ist übrigens nicht wegen dem Haarschnitt sondern wegen den Sachen, die ich ihr angezogen hatte. Sie wollte ein hübsches Kleid anziehen...
Jetzt liebt Talitha ihre Haare. Als ich sagte, dass sie es jetzt wieder wachsen lassen kann, protestierte sie und meinte, dass sie ihre Haare nun immer so "klein" haben möchte. Anscheinend hatte ich Glück.

The Audacity of Me

I guess I better write a little something before my blog goes inactive....I do apologize to those who actually look forward to see pictures and hear about our adventures. It had been pretty crazy here over Christmas with the weather, the season, activities and our kids in general. Then of course there's the usual and obligatory procrastination for me. Well, again, I'm sorry for not posting in sooooo long. Now I just have to decide if I continue where I left off (in July) or if I will start with Christmas and then possibly go back...?

Winston's Fall

One of Phillip's friends wanted to help Winston off the trampoline...but of course he couldn't hold my heavy baby and Winston fell on his face...Ouch.
But Winston still loves the trampoline.



Einer von Phillips Freunden wollte Winston vom Trampolin runter helfen...aber natürlich konnte er mein schweres Baby nicht halten, und Winston fiel auf sein Gesicht...Aua.
Aber Winston liebt das Trampolin trotzdem.

July Camping, Continued

I guess, I got so carried away about the sleeping thing that I never told you about the actual camping/boating experience. So, after sweeping Talitha off the table sleeping position and into the car, we were on our way. We met Bob and the rest of the boys at the lake. They had already been on the lake (Yale Lake, near Mount St. Helens) fishing. We joined them for a while until we all had to go and set up the tent. Then we had dinner--well, the adults had dinner, the kids were too excited to really eat--and the obligatory roasted marshmallows and s'mores. The kids slept well, once they settled down enough to fall asleep, and I found out that I don't do so well on a thin pad on the floor anymore. Aparently I'm getting old. The next morning Earl, Ethan and Tyson (whom I forgot to mention, sorry, Earl's youngest son was there too) had to leave. But we were joined by Spencer's brother Adam and their sister Jill. And it's good that Jill was there with her camera, because I had no chance to take any pictures, what with all the awesome wakeboarding I did...OK so I never really got up...this time anyway. Spencer's the good one. All in all we had fun, although we only caught 2 fish (1 had to be thrown back) and the water was really rather on the cold side. Oh, and we saw 2 bald eagles. How cool is that?!

Me, trying to get up.
Bob
Spencer
Adam and Wade
Phillip

Talitha
Bald eagle





Thanks for the pictures, Jill, and sorry I don't have any of Earl, Ethan and Tyson.

July Camping

My father-in-law, grandpa, or Bob, likes to take his grandsons fishing. So he scheduled a Friday/Saturday fishing/boating trip with a one night stay at a campground (July 18 &19) for Spencer, Phillip, Earl (Spencer’s brother) and son Ethan, and Wade (another cousin). Spencer’s other brother, Adam (Wade’s dad), was scheduled to join the group on Saturday morning. Phillip was very excited.
Well, if you know me at all, that whole guy thing, girl thing just doesn’t sit well with me. It’s not that I think that guys shouldn’t have any fun on their own or that I have to do everything they do; but I do enjoy a lot of things that aren’t typically associated with girls. And I have noticed that the boys get to do things more often than the girls in this family. However, I know that this is not intentional. Bob likes to do outdoor stuff and girls usually don’t.
So, I may have said something to Spencer, ok, ok, I did definitely say something (don’t remember what) and my voice was heard…Therefore Maike plus daughter Talitha were also invited, as long as we didn’t mind sleeping in a big tent with a bunch of boys. On a side note, Winston was invited, but grandma and mommy agreed that it would be better for all of us to not bring a rather active, curious, mommy-attached, yet independent and loud 19-month-old. He stayed home with grandma.
Now Talitha got really excited, too. Bob left Friday morning with Phillip and Wade, Earl and Ethan. Spencer had to get some work done, so we wanted to leave in the afternoon with Talitha. I was getting stuff ready and Talitha got all dressed for camping and insisted on wearing her backpack around the house. I wanted her to eat something before we left, so I put her at the table with her food and continued getting ready. When I walked back into the kitchen I found her asleep at the table. I guess the excitement wore her out.
My family has a thing for falling asleep at the table--or other places--by the way.