Thursday, June 14, 2007

Oh the drama...

It's an all-out disaster. You may have seen on the news that quite a lot of Thomas the Tank Engine pieces have been recalled due to the high lead content in the paint. Mia likes chewing on train pieces... I guess they have to go back. The big problem is that the trains are Lucas' favorite toy and the red ones (of which all of ours have been recalled) are his absolute favorite. Usually everyone else plays the other colours and Lucas drives the track with his red six-train-long wonder (including the musical caboose). How do I explain to him that his trains arer taking a long, long trip, from which they will return, but perhaps not before the train phase passes??? Do I send them on, as I responsibly should? Or train Lucas to keep them away from Mia? (Yeah right - that kid has figured out crawling like a true champ and nothing will stop her now...)

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

No Pics Again

My computer decided to permanently lapse into hibernation and not do ANYTHING again, so I had Dell clear and then reload the operating system. This means that all my data is now saved onto a disk (phew) but my programs all have to be reloaded. Heaven only knows where the disk is that connects my camera to my computer for uploading...

On that note, how in the world do the rest of you store your thousands of photos? Is there something I just don't know beside the fact that I never remember to burn them to disk? Apparently I had a lot.

It is frightening that a barely two-year-old computer could bite the dust like that, but I'm inclined to think it had something to do with the modem installation hardware that I had to use to get crappy internet service (paid for but never saw wireless) in Zihuatanejo. I am scared of the day that this three year service warranty runs out. I'm sure my laptop will spontaneously combust the day after, so I am forced to buy a new one.

Speaking of old, we were sad to say goodbye to Negrita this last week. (Our old Pathfinder, don't worry.) Although we are pretty happy with the arrival of Plata, I have to admit that I will somewhat miss her. We shared so many memories, especially of stinkin' hot trips around town in Mexico with too many people crammed in, sand in our suits and beer breath. Amazing to think that a '95 Pathfinder with more problems that you could shake a stick at made it there and back really.

While we're on the topic of old, let me tell you how much Lucas loves the good old classics by Richard Scarry. There is nothing like the joy on a child's face as they discover pickle cars and Goldbug. I bought him a new Richard Scarry for our trip to Whistler and Rob has been in stitches because Lucas' favorite story is Building a New Road, which must contain the word "asphalt" over a dozen times. Now, there is nothing wrong with the word asphalt, in theory, except that Lucas cannot pronounce it. Therefore we read, nightly, a long and complicated story about " ass-fart." A hot and sticky ass-fart story, to be exact!

I got some great shots on our last sojourn to Whistler, which I'll post when I get myself organized again. This is my last week at my teaching job, so I should have a bit more free time for those sort of chores that cannot get done while children are awake.