This is how we roll

Most little boys would not rate a 17hr plane ride as their numero uno choice for a birthday party celebration. I'll pack some cookies and all, but let's face it...Grant's kinda getting a bad deal for his seventh birthday.

He's been a good sport about the whole thing, though, and so we did a little early celebrating with some buddies at the bowling alley. Now, nothing says fun for grownups like watching 7yr-olds bowl...for 1.5 hours...10 painfully slow frames. But, they loved it, and Grant was a happy boy. Can't believe he's almost seven. Sniffle.

Side note: Gerbes' balloons rule. Seriously, even the latex ones are still bouncing along our ceilings after a week.

From the mouths of babes

Just for kicks, I thought I'd get my kids' impressions of Malawi before we head off. I asked 4yo Lydia what she was most excited about for our upcoming trip. She exclaimed "I can't wait to see whales!," threw her arms in the air and demonstrated a lovely pirouette. Looks like my "learning through play" education model is taking a hit on this one, seeing how Malawi is a land-locked country (however, it appears the ballet money has been well spent). Guess we'll have to have a structured lesson on the definition of "land-locked."

19mo Iris was next. "What do think will be the best thing about being in Africa, Wee One?" I asked. She yelled "Rabbit!," then "One, two, three, GO!" and ran from the room. Hmmmm...

My most satisfying answer came from 6yo Grant who said he was really looking forward to seeing elephants and hippos in the wild, and getting to know kids from a different part of the world. He reminded me that he's been studying Africa and African animals at the enrichment program he attends once a week, and that it should be really helpful since he can answer all our questions while we're there. I'd call him out on that, but I did need his assistance earlier with a piece of electronic equipment, so I bit my tongue.

Getting excited! Twelve days 'till lift off.

Your seat cushion as a floatation device...

When you embark on an adventure to the developing world with your three young children, there are things you're just gonna have to get over. Say, the variant level of cleanliness, lack of privacy from your children and chicken with gristle. But carseat safety?

Admittedly, I am anal when it comes to carseats. My almost-7-year-old is still in a 5-pt harness. But when you are lugging three kids and bags through 3 airports, 2 bus stations, 24 hours of flights, 21 hours of layovers, 5 hours of bus rides and 3 taxi rides (that's one way), you begin to reexamine your dedication to the carseat.


My research led me to the BubbleBum. Yes, that's the name of an inflatable booster seat that hit the States' market in July. Seriously? Why don't I just dig into the pool bag, secure a plastic innertube around my kids and call it good? But, don't let my initial skepticism fool you. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gives the BubbleBum it's highest rating. And reviewers are going gaga over it.

The good people of BubbleBum have agreed to send me one for our trip, so you will definitely get my full review. In the meantime, feel free to find them at bubblebum.us and drool over how small this thing gets when it deflates.

The mango worm

All I set out to do was figure out what laundry detergent works best for hand washing in cold water, and I learn all about the Mango Worm (dunh, dunh, dunnnnnnhh)...

Apparently, there's this little creature called the mango worm. Flies (aka grown-up mango worms) like to lay eggs on your damp laundry that's hung out to dry. The eggs (future baby mango worms) get all nice and toasty when you slip into your undies (or shirts, or socks) and hatch. The little worms then sneak down into your epidermis and begin consuming tiny amounts of yummy human flesh. "What's this itchy red bump?" you ponder. Oh, no worries. It's just a little worm enjoying the pleasures of the flesh. If you cut off it's oxygen (think a good coating of petroleum jelly or piece of duck tape), it eventually pokes it's little worm head out of your skin. That's when you go after it with a tweezer.

I haven't decided if this is just plain gross, or a bit fun. Maybe I could convince the mango worms to focus on an area of my anatomy where I have a <ahem> little flesh to spare.