Mr. Postman

Well, it seems that since summer has pulled in for a visit, I haven't had much of a chance to write anything. I've revamped our whole schedule, which is a good thing, really. I used to just get up and wander around the house, getting breakfast on the table and Josh and Dev out the door, then I'd set the kids in front of the tv and I'd shower. By the time I was out of the shower, the kids would be ensconced in some random game with Meekness in the play room, so I'd take the time to blog.

Not so anymore! Now that I've instituted the almighty job chart en force, we do chores first thing in the morning. Then we play or read or do some 'school-y' type thing. Then we go on a 45 min walk around the 'block' (or whatever you call it). Sometimes we go on outings to see friends or do things.

This week, we went to the post office! They just opened an actual post office just down the street from us, so I got together with my fellow Mummy-in-Crime and we had our kiddies draw up cards to send through the African post! They all had a blast decorating. Claire dictated her whole card to me, which got very wordy, and I sort of summed most of it up. She wrote to Ant Sulest (you like how that got spelled by Josh??), Josh wrote to Grandma and Papa Edwards, and Andrew wrote to Grandma and Grandpa Hendriksen. They were so proud of their letters! (Now, to you whom they wrote to, you have to tell us IF and WHEN they actually get to you. I'm seriously curious to see if it works...)

Then, off we went on a walk to the post office! We got there and all the workers giggled a bit. They have a high tolerance for children here, which I really appreciate. (It helps that the kids are small.) The ladies took each letter (the kids had to hand their letters to them individually so they could feel cool), weighed it, then said "500 fcfa!", and each child 'paid' for his stamps. We got to look at the stamps and what was on them, then the lady behind the counter put the stamps on, stamped them with the canceled stamp, and handed them back so that the kids could put them in the actual mail slot.

Here they are holding up their cards, all ready to send!



And here they are putting them into the mail slot. So cute!!




It was a great outing--thanks for the idea, Leonora!

So, back to my daily schedule change (which is, I admit, much more boring than an outing to the Post Office of Upper Bastos Road...) With all these morning things always going on, I never get a chance to shower anymore. By midday, it's time for Peter's nap (after lunch), and so the kids get their movie time. By the time Peter is down for his nap, the kids' movie is done, and they need more mom time. So, we play some more until it's time for dinner and bath time. Then we eat dinner with Devin, read scriptures, pray, and everyone heads off for the fun bedtime...where I read to Andrew until he falls asleep, put Peter down, then, often, read to Josh and Claire until they fall asleep. THEN I get to shower, and let me tell you, it's heavenly!!!! I can just stand there with all that hot water--and I know that no one is going to come bursting through that door to tell me that someone stole their bunny or their car or won't let them go on the red swing!!! Why didn't I shower at night before? It's so much better. Then I feel all relaxed and clean and I sleep better... Yah, it's nice.

So, really, the point of this entire posting here is: Shower at night. It makes one happy.