2021 Hopes
Virtual School in COVID 2020-21
Elia loses a tooth!
Unexpectedly Elia loses a tooth! She is 6 and it is normal, but because Curie was only 5 in kindergarten, it seems so much sooner. Also it wasn’t wiggly and just came out (on Twizzlers). And we think she swallowed it. Curie is going to help Elia write a note to the tooth fairy tonight to explain the situation. Congratulations Elia! (Oh yeah, both girls are wearing Albert’s coat together. They were cold.
Elia January 2020
We’re working to get caught up in our blogging. At this time it is May 17, and we are nine blogs behind. We have never been this far, and for history sake we should explain that Albert’s job is in existential concern, and the start of the pandemic has made it hard to keep everything going. In early March Erin fell and got hurt which also lent to just doing the minimum to have enough brain space to get things done. We have not updated our picture gallery since November also, which will have to wait until we get caught up in some writing. The worry is that we keep not remembering because we are always behind. One plan is to write the current blog and catch up slowly on these. We have not started that yet.
Curie December 2019
December seems like a long time ago and we should say that it is in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic as we write this in May. So back in December we had worked out that we would see Erin’s family for Christmas in New Jersey having just seen Albert’s family in Atlanta for Thanksgiving. The idea was to find a place that was equidistant and an easy drive for everyone, including Julie and Steve. In fact we had planned to rent a large car or van to make it easier to drive. Continue reading “Curie December 2019”
Albert’s 50th Birthday Weekend
So first, thank you to everyone for their birthday wishes, and to Erin for trying to plan dinners with friends – since canceled or rain-checked. We were derailed because Curie got the flu the night before on Elia’s birthday and we have been worried and taking care of her since. Good news is that she has been fever free for the past 36 hours, so we are grateful, and grateful Elia seems flu-free and grateful we got our flu shots – the Type B going around was not part of the prediction this year but her flu lasted about 3 days instead of 7 as they say. BTW here is a picture of the girls, Elia from Sunday, and Curie from yesterday – evidently feeling better.
Before you begin about how sorry you are that this happened on my 50th birthday, 1) we already celebrated in Japan earlier this year, 2)Julie was willing to brave the flu and babysit for us for a few hours so we could see Star Wars on opening day. And 3) the silver lining is this – we did some Chengineering (check out those pictures too), we held Curie every night to soothe her to sleep, played with Elia while Curie slept, and held Elia in the guestroom so that she wouldn’t get sick. Playing with your kids and holding your kids while they sleep? Not a bad birthday weekend at all.
Elia December 2019
“It’s snot, It’s not. It’s NOT! It’s SNOT! It’s not snot, It’s NOT! It’s SNOT!” This is Albert and Elia’s conversation for almost 20 minutes in the car driving Curie nuts, driving Erin nuts. “It’s snot….” Peals of laughter goading each other on. “It’s not…” Doesn’t matter where or when, they will start and get frustrated protests from the other two. If Elia is upset or crying or anything, Albert just has to make a potty joke and she will burst out laughing. And if you say anything like “It’s not funny…” Watch out because you may just start them off again. Continue reading “Elia December 2019”
Curie November 2019
IT is fascinating to write blogs in such retrospect; it is January 24 and we are just writing the November blog; to be fair we have been sick and work has been stressful. To write blogs so far past we rely on any notes, if any that we took on Erin’s Google Docs, and Google Photos for the daily description. We we miss though are all the funny things that the girls say each day, the real reason for these blogs, to capture those things because you will forget even by the next day.
Curie continues to develop and grow, she has lost her front teeth and will need orthodontic work, but she is a trooper and her smile is relentless regardless of having her front teeth or not. Sometimes she smiles with her mouth closed, self-conscious, but invariably life lets her laugh and smile all the same. Of course all kids go through this, but when it is your child it is an important reminder that we must let the joy rise. Continue reading “Curie November 2019”
Elia November 2019
It takes time to blog and often you find yourself months behind in the work. The end of the year is weird for Elia’s blog as you will find Halloween in her November blog, Thanksgiving in her December blog and her birthday and Christmas in her January blog. Perhaps it is time to cycle the blogs together but for now this is how it is. For Halloween, we had inclement weather so we took the girls to Pentagon City Mall to trick or treat. Elia was Jasmine and Curie was Cinderella/and the Fairy Godmother. We had a great time actually (except forgetting that we don’t like the Chinese street food restaurant there) with most stores participating and being good sports. The best was the Lego store but the kids got a pretty good haul. Continue reading “Elia November 2019”
Curie October 2019
We were at the Mosaic district with Isabella’s family when Erin was away and we discovered that Curie likes fried rice. Up until then, she has only liked steamed rice, so the changes in her palate as she grows has meant that she has an expanded repertoire of food that she likes. Interestingly at the same time Elia has expressed a like for the trout at Cracker Barrel, then when Curie wanted a hamburger patty instead, Curie found out that she prefers trout also, leaving us without food for our lunches. The next time we went we ordered them trout and discovered that we love the haddock too. When Curie tried it, she said she liked the haddock over the trout.