week thirty-five, 2011

This box of books took three days to unpack. ;>

week thirty-four, 2011

week thirty-three, 2011

week thirty-two, 2011

One of the reasons we're moving. Note how short the "wall" was in L's room, right by the stairs...and the semi-exposed wiring. This is part of a series of photos taken in case the landlord decides not to return our deposit.

week thirty-one, 2011

That's my Ladybug Girl.

week thirty, 2011

county fair

week twenty-nine, 2011

week twenty-eight, 2011

week twenty-seven, 2011

A birthday cake for America--with knife, fork, and glass of milk.

week twenty-six, 2011

week twenty-five, 2011

week twenty-four, 2011

A big week for us.

Sometimes I look around when we're out and wonder,
"Is that what she'll look like when she's bigger?"
I'll miss that once we're home.

At Ksusha and Misha's birthday party.
It was a warm and happy gathering of all my class and their families.
The balloon man was a bigger hit than the fairy wings or the "unicorn" ride.

All of our worldly goods (minus the ones in the suitcases).

Good-bye, AASSP!

week twenty-three, 2011

Outside the Hermitage:

capital I's

and handwriting paper

also week twenty-two, 2011

Beazy and Mia are not impressed with their Delt@ approved cat carriers.

week twenty-two, 2011

Happy birthday, St. Petersburg!

week twenty-one, 2011

Took a bad fall off the monkey bars at school.

week twenty, 2011

Love the shirt. Love the girl.

week nineteen, 2011

Balshaya Konushenaya (Big Stable Street) has been under renovation for months. They have decided to cobblestone it to match Palace Square and update the median for pedestrians. These guys remind me of playing rock factory in elementary school. They take these square rocks, chip pieces off, and fit them into the circular pattern that will pave the road.


It was not finished in time for Victory Day. (When I did drive on the finished road--after St. P's birthday--I found that they did not level out the potholes before they cobblestoned. They just cobblestoned over them.)

A rather picturesque and atypical photo on Victory Day. The crowds were HORRIBLE.

Later that week we celebrated Lexi's birthday at home and at school.

Being hugged by her best buddies
Emily (US), Emilia (Netherlands), Begum (Turkey) and Sasha (UK/Russia).

week eighteen, 2011

week seventeen, 2011

Happy Easter!

hiatus unforced

So, both new girl at the produkti and I are crazy.

(Although, I think she's crazier. She had a whole fantasy about my friend putting the strap around his neck and walking out. I just forgot. Which I will blame this time on too much on my mind with Lexi's party and the move and everything.)

My camera was in my classroom.

Friend who felt needlessly guilty can stop feeling guilty.

I can help with impunity.

And you, I hope, will have pictures soon.

forced hiatus

My camera was stolen.

I suspect it was the new worker in the produkti right under my flat. But there's no way to prove it. So. I have to find another chunk of change to replace it.

Unfortunately there is no replacing the photos that were still on there. I don't have anything on my home computer after Cyprus. There might be some on my school computer...but I try to keep that school-only.

If I were a thief and I stole a camera, the FIRST thing I'd do is erase all the photos. That way, if the person saw me, [and there is the possibility someone else picked it up in the produckti--I had it out of my bag and on the counter to loan my friend seven rubles so he could buy a Coke. New girl wouldn't take his larger bill. (My friend Scott's voice is ringing in my head, "Don't help, Kate." He wasn't being cynical or opposed to helping others. He was just pointing out that every time *I* "help" it somehow comes back and bites me. No good deed going unpunished. And yet...I can't help helping.) New girl says my friend picked up my camera and put the strap around his neck. She said it was big. It is big...but friend says he never touched it. So either it's a different person--new girl wouldn't listen when I repeatedly told her it was NOT my friend and asked who it was; just kept saying it was him--or new girl is lying.] and tried to reclaim the camera by pointing out pictures of her daughter on the camera, she couldn't. So if I were a thief, I'd do that first.

I just hope my thieving instincts are correct and no one is walking around with photos of Lexi. That makes me a little sick.

So...it's unlikely there will be photos until we're back in the US.

Oh--we have a house! We'll be in a little farmhouse built in 1865 in Cincinnati. It's small but there is lots of outside space and a park four houses away.

2011, week sixteen

Do you know your flags? We were just southeast of this flag's country.
We just got back from Cyprus.

2011, week fourteen

We use our dictionaries every day in second grade. ;>

2011, week twelve

Why do all the second grade girls have their hair up? L-i-c-e. Fortunately, no one else--including Lexi and me--got it.

2011, week eleven

The AASSP cast of Into the Woods.

(Note the darling little chicken sitting stage right.)

I decided to costume them in black with one accent piece in color. I think it worked well.

(for the curious) R-L, front to back:

Jack's Mother, Jack, Red, Cinderella, C's Prince

Baker's Wife (whom I adore--she's been in all my shows here. Her favorite roles, according to her bio in this program were a flying monkey in Wizard of Oz and a bird girl in Seussical! She was also Wendy in Peter Pan and Helena in Midsummer. ), Baker, Mysterious Man, Witch, Rapunzel's Prince, Rapunzel

Giant's hen, Steward, C's Stepsisters, Wolf, Granny, Mama Bear, Goldilocks

Narrator, Cinderella's (dead) Mother, C's Stepmother, Baby Bear

2011, week eight

This box cracks me up.

Unbeknownst to me, Lexi put it in our Target shopping cart on one of our stock-up trips this summer.

Do you see that it is in Braille? Of course the Braille only says, "band aid". It doesn't mention that it's Hello, Kitty Band Aids. Can you imagine some blind executive showing up for work with one of these covering a shaving nick?

And the side tells you to seek professional help for medical emergencies. I guess Kitty isn't an MD.

2011, week seven

At Shuvolovka, celebrating Maslenitsa.

2011, week six

On R 'n' R (Read and Relax) Day, we had a tent up in second grade. (This was a very overstimulating day for Lexi. Actually, all of February was with one special day after another.) AND it was the day that Lexi "got" to take Albert home for the week.

2011, week five

Lexi wants a car just like this one when she's old enough to drive.

2011, week four

2011, week three

The car is not available, again, so we went to the new Stokmann's on the metro and took a cab home. Look what we found! Very. exciting.

2011, week two

Came to bed and found this little person sleeping in my bed with the lights on.

(Note the stash of bedside medications--and tissues.)

2011, week one

Not a good sign.

When I pulled up to deliver Christmas gifts, I saw this--the new glassblock wall with lots of blocks destroyed. It was a sign of what was to come--I learned the orphanage would be closing in June, the children scattered across the region, and my two dearest girls, the big sisters, both had taken tragic turns on their life paths. One, who is now in an orphanage far away, has become a smoker and "an alcoholic". The other, who is the kindest, gentlest, most empathetic soul I know, had been adopted along with her sister. She's been returned to the orphanage. Without her sister.

The girls who were there that day (only one of the original 3.10 girls, actually) were not in the least bit interested in visiting. They were...harder.

Their wonderful caretaker, who will soon be out of a job, told me about her husband. He recently had open-heart surgery and will be an invalid for the rest of his life. This man built a sauna at their dacha and wanted me to come visit. And now...he can't get out of bed. And his wife will shortly be out of work. And fewer children will be known and loved because of that.

The oldest of my girls from 3.10 are now 15 years old...and have only one more year before they're pushed out into the world. I'd bet that was why they're hardening their shells, not wanting to visit, smoking and drinking.

My heart just broke. Again. And I felt utterly defeated.

lapland

Did you miss it down there in week 51? Here are the pix from our trip to Lapland: