Dunkin Doughnuts

 
I think these are the same anyway. We are used to tim horton's donuts of course... but these are pretty good. David brought these home today for a special treat for the kids. They were sooooo soft and fresh. I'm not really into doughnuts but these were good. 

Emma and Sonya

 
Even though the kids had already spent hours outside in the morning, I decided to take the kids out again last night while david was having his language session with Vanya. I am so glad that we did because we got to meet a great little girl named Sonya. Emma and Sonya hit it off really good and held hands the whole two hours. Emma learned lots of new russian commands like run! come on! stop! etc. And I visited with Sonya's Mom- Natalia the whole time as well. Unfortunately she could speak English fairly well but I tried to always use russian even if she was speaking English. It was great to meet her and discuss life in Moscow and bringing up kids in Moscow. She was telling me how she finds the people hard and difficult here in Moscow and that she only has a couple of friends. I then asked where she was from and she replied "Moscow". So, even those from Moscow notice what we have noticed:) I really felt comfortable talking with her and I think we have a lot in common. She has a little boy too (3 months old) but he was with his babushka of course. She couldn't believe that I looked after 3 kids all day and all night and didn't use the detski cad or even have a babushka here. She doesn't live right near here but I hope I will meet her here again anyway. Emma says Sonya is her bestfriend now. Hope she sees her again! 

Fall in Moscow

 
 
 
Technically it has been fall here for a while but now it really looks like it. Today was pretty chilly but we had a great time catching the leaves as they fell (even some maple leaves:) and writing in the dirt with our sticks. Fall is by far my favorite time of year. I am glad that we have so many trees right by our place. 

more fall

 
 
  

Sleeping Sweetly

 
Sometimes Huddy can be a bit of a bully but when he is asleep he looks like the sweetest little thing ever.... We are all a little grumpier than usual because of our colds, well except David cause he doesn't have a cold, but we are all getting better I think. It is just runny noses and watery eyes etc. Nothing to stop us from doing our schoolwork or anything:( owell. But we are thankful for the nice warm weather and sunshine and for nice comfy beds and blankets. Carla made the blanket in the picture for Josiah and now Huddy gets to cuddle with it. THanks Carla! We had a busy day and it's not over yet (david is having his language session in the kitchen and our neighbour is coming over later with a plumber to check if we are causing the drip behind the toilet, we aren't cause it drips from above us...anyway.), but the kids are asleep and the house is quiet and I'm just going to do some homework. I had a great session with Anya again, I love listening to all her ideas and dreams. She sang for me again tonight, I mentioned something about Italians and she broke out into some Italian Opera. She is such a pretty singer, maybe someday she'll be famous! 

67%!!!!!!

 
Hey Joan! Look what we found, an even better mayonnaise! 67% fat! Joan said that her hellman's jar in Canada said 8% fat, no wonder we like russian mayo so much! I'm gonna see how high it goes! You'll notice it is the same brand as the one huddy was drinking. There are many many different varieties, this one if you couldn't read it is classical, provincial kind. What is the percentage for Miracle Whip? Kraft? 

Our 3 Little Ones

 
 
Well, now all three have colds but they are enjoying just relaxing and watching movies etc. Emma went and got them all a soft toy to cuddle and then they asked for Mary Poppins. They are still sitting together cuddling and it has been 1/2 an hour. I love it when they enjoy eachother. Emma gets them kleenex and helps them wipe their noses. I have a cold, but it isn't too bad and David still is cold-free. It has been pretty warm out lately. Hopefully we will get better soon, I wonder if we will just keep passing the germs back and forth. I figured Emma and Josiah would get it to as they all sleep in the same room, fairly close together. I have lots of medicine for them and vitamin C which is helping a lot. And we have some honey from our Babushka. 

It's no fun....

 
being sick. Hudson and I both have colds, so while the rest of the family are out the two of us are just hanging out together in here. Huddy is soooo boogery. Emma and Josiah were running away from him this morning cause they didn't want to get his boogers:) Poor guy. We had a busy morning as while david was at class I had a russian friend over (Irina) and she was talking and talking (she is the fastest russian speaker we know) and the kids were going crazy and crying and needed food or sleep or something and at the same time the babushka that lives below us came up to see if our tub was leaking (it wasn't) and she wandered around our apartment checking things out or something like that. It was pretty crazy, I couldn't wait for David to get home. It was really good though as I got to know both Irina and the babushka better and I learned more culture for sure. The babushka was quite nice and said that because Huddy's babushka was so far away that she would be his babushka! I don't think of either my mom or charlotte as babushka's but I guess they are! Anyway, it was a good time now that I look back on it. But I am glad that it is just us at the moment. Huddy and me are going to go have a cookie...are cookies good for colds?:) of course they are... 

The Moscow Zoo

 
 
 
 
Today was a beautiful warm sunny day and we spent it with our friends Kathy and Maya at the Zoo. The zoo was much nicer than I thought it would be, especially nice because it was free for us because we have a big family!!!! Nice! One thing that is nice about having such a "big family" is that we can get discounts many places in russia. We've heard that stores will give a good percent off if you have 3 or more kids but I haven't experienced that yet. Maybe you have to ask? Anyway, the zoo was great and I think we will definetely go back! Here are just a few of the pictures of our day. 

more zoo photos

 
 
 
  

Jo's favorite toy

 
We got Josiah this horse for Christmas last year and he still loves it. He played with it for over an hour today on my bed. Emma was helping him take care of it, bringing it water, carrots etc. But right before naptime when I was putting him in bed he asked "where my horse?" which is a first. Normally he just makes an animal sound? but today he said "horse" nice and clear! Yay Jo! 

Boy's Walk

 
 
 
 
Today we found another SW Boy's Garage so we had to take another picture. We had lots of fun roaming the neighbourhood for about an hour. The babushka's (sorry not a clear picture- i didn't want them to notice me taking their picture) really enjoyed watching the boys play. They were giggling away and said I was a good mother! Yay! Maybe cause the boys had their hoods on:) And it wasn't cold...
The lady on the left reminded me of a cross between eleanor moyer and my grandma inga. (ladies that have passed away fairly recently that I loved very much.) so I especially liked this babushka and chatted with her a little but shared smiles with a lot. I hope to see these babushkas again. Jo kept saying "Hi" and they would giggle. And the old man I mentioned before (with the cane and crutch) was sitting on the other bench also enjoying the boys. I like our neighbourhood. 

Huddy loves it too!

 
I caught Huddy taking a drink of russian mayonnaise before lunch. 

"Jake"

 
There are wild dogs all over our area. This little one was waiting in the bus depot with us. The kids really liked him, though jo got scared of him when he licked his face. Yuck. Sara, you would have a hard time here I think, how would you resist taking them all home??? This little pup was really cute though, I didn't get one of his face... Josiah calls all of the dogs Jake (after Jon Keatley's dog) When we were riding the bus and he saw a herd of wild dogs he pointed to them and said "Jake!" doesn't matter how many dogs there are it is always just "jake!" The dogs get fed by some of the babushka's but they are in pretty rough shape. They stay in one spot though, there is a dog that always stays at the one intersection we walk by. They seem more calm than dogs in Canada. They don't sniff you down or chase you or even bother moving most the time. The little dog at the bus stop is the first one to come up close to the kids. 

Rug Beater

 
Funny Story. The other day, David took our kitchen rug out to be beaten on the rug beater bar. He saw that I was watching from the window so he started to ACT like he was mad and started swinging at full force and beating it like crazy, even with grunting? (what do you call that noise that tennis players make?) But then we both realized that I wasn't the only one watching him:) There was a bunch of young russian women watching him with delight, cheering him on, saying things like "What kind of man is he?!!!:)" He then toned it down a bit, you can see him smiling from all the attention:) he didn't stay out too much longer but my rug is nice and clean now. 

Josiah on the Bus

  

Before and After- kitchen cabinets

 
 
We painted away the flowers! I love my new kitchen. We still intend on buying some curtains and a light fixture (we just have a light bulb hanging from the roof) but I really like the improvements so far. I think we should paint inside the cubby hole shelf (where the tea cups/clock/sugar is) maybe with the browny colour. What do you think? No that isn't david and me in the top picture:) It is our landlady, David took the pic when he was looking at renting the place. The cupboards are really shiny now cause we used the same paint we used to cover the window frames etc. Now the kitchen almost needs some colour:) 

This part will have to wait

 
We don't have the money or time right now but there are plenty of other areas in the apartment that could use some TLC. This is a shot of our corner in the hallway. I don't know why there is particle board up. In the kids room there is a layer of newspaper on one wall. (Sideways so it wasn't supposed to be interesting wallpaper.) But I will be happy with having one nice room when the kitchen is done.