Welcome Charles!

A new baby brother was born yesterday afternoon. Dad wore his 'sympathy belly' t-shirt to the hospital, hoping to give the labor and delivery nurses a laugh. I'm sure they were entertained.

Will and Carolyn were so excited to finally get to meet the baby that mommy had been talking about. Charles was born 9 lbs, 8 oz and 20 inches long.

A big boy. And getting born is hard work, so when we went to the hospital, he slept the whole time.

Will passed the time playing games on his dad's iPhone. Every few minutes, he'd run over and check the bassinet to see if Charles' eyes were open. Every time the baby kicked his legs, Will was sure that he was finally waking up.

But Charles slept on.

Carolyn is a momma's girl and she was so excited to see her. Carolyn crawled up into the hospital bed to give her mom a kiss, then reassured, she inspected the whole room in great detail.

She charmed the nursing staff with her 'big sister' shirt that sparkled. She also tried very hard to say "Charles". It was adorable. Other than trying to poke him, she was very pleased with the new baby. I'm not sure if she realizes he's an actual boy and not a play toy yet. That will come with time.

Like all newborns, Charles was wrapped up tightly in blankets. A regular 'baby burrito' to quote my son. I couldn't wait to get my hands on him. Who made the rule about 'never bother a sleeping baby'? I want to smack them. Charles slept the whole time we were at the hospital and I never got to hold him at all.

Mom, dad and Charles are due back from the hospital today. I'm sure they'll be glad to sleep in their own beds and get some routine back into their lives. I'm hoping that I'll get a chance to cuddle that little bundle of joy.

The camera is prepped with new batteries and I'm all set to take some more pictures!

--Sandee Wagner

Anticipation

Well, it looks like tomorrow might be the day.

My DIL has been told to call the hospital at 0530 to verify that they have a labor and delivery room free for her before she heads up to the hospital to be induced. This is her third child and we are anticipating a regular birth. Both of her previous labors had to be induced. My son says that the kids hold on to handles in her uterus. Coaxing them out is the work of medical professionals.

The hospital is right down the road, and the doctors are close. All in all, a Wednesday during daylight hours after a full night's sleep seems like a perfect time to have a baby.

So, we'll welcome Charles Jacob Wagner into the family some time tomorrow. The kids cannot wait to meet their new baby brother!

I'm on babysitting detail, so I'll post pictures after they get back from the hospital. I'm sure we'll have time to take some wonderful shots of the darlings getting to know the new addition.

Also, on the home front, DH is house hunting in Dubai. He saw a house today that passes muster. He'll see another one tomorrow and probably make a decision pretty quickly. We want to settle in and 'feather our nest'.

Tomorrow is going to be a great day! I can't wait.

--Sandee Wagner

Como Park Zoo and Conservatory Trip

My DIL wanted to go to the Zoo and walk around since it was 40 degrees and sunshiny today. She's due this week, so what she wants, she gets.

We got up, ate some breakfast and drove to the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. This little treasure has got to be why Minneapolis and St. Paul consistently rank in the top ten places to live on all the lifestyle polls.

It's a great zoo. And it's free.

This being the first week of April, not a lot of the animals were outside, but there were inside exhibits for most of the animals. It's a compact zoo, but about perfect size for taking small children.
We looked at monkeys, giraffes, zebras, and all kinds of fishes inside. Outside we saw tigers, polar bears, arctic foxes, reindeer and mountain goats.

Once we trolled past the animals, it was time to take a look inside the conservatory. Boy, was that a surprise! What a lovely treat. And the native Minnesotans were out in force to enjoy the greenery.
One of my favorite parts was called 'the sunken garden'. It was where most of the blooming flowers were and you just have to imagine how wonderful it smelled in there.

There is a water feature down the center of the formal garden with raised beds down both sides. The koi were swimming and a fountain bubbled away at the end. The combination of the sunny, warm atmosphere and the formality of the hardscape made it a gorgeous showcase for all the blooms.

Most of the flowers were ones I've seen in southern gardens, so I imagine they're a little harder to grow at this latitude. All of this beauty is provided to the people of MSP for just a donation! Amazing. For the amount of greenhouse I saw, I would expect to pay $10-$15 for entry into an exhibit like this. It was a pleasure to walk through the humid warmth and see all the lovely and exotic plants.

We had a wonderful visit and I think the kids liked it almost as much as I did!
I'm guessing that with a value like free/donation, they will be making the outing to the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory a regular trip for the family. I know I would. Apparently, MSP is filled with family friendly venues so this is one of many. I'm guessing that my family will find a bunch of other places to spend a glorious sunny day. But this one tops Grandee's list.

--Sandee Wagner

Musical Talents

I'm the youngest of eight children. When my oldest sisters started having children, and grandkids were an exciting part of any holiday season, my father encouraged his kids to bring the grandchildren home for Christmas by gifting musical instruments to any children who didn't make the big, family Christmas.

Looking back on that, it seems a little mean spirited, but it was funny at the time. We got phone calls from my sister and you could hear her two kids whaling away in the background playing discordantly. She did make it home for the next Christmas.

Last year, I bought my MN grandkids a 'bag of buggies'. Brightly colored, snap together toys with cartoon like bug bodies. My DIL told me that they still play with them all the times, they love the bag o' buggies. We went to Target today and they had a drum and musical instrument kit with the same buggy theme. I had to buy it.

If I haven't said this before, let me get it out of the way. Both my DILs are saints. They put up with my sons, for one. And they are the best mommas a kid could ever hope to have. My MN DIL told me she didn't mind the musical instruments, she doesn't even hear the noise after a while.

It's a good thing.

I taught my 3 year old grand son to whack the sticks above his head yelling, "one, two, three, four" and then hammer on the drum head yelling "rock on!" It's the cutest thing you've ever seen. My 18 mos old grand daughter has some mad marimba skills too.

It was fun trying to demonstrate rhythm to a couple of kiddos. Especially since I have never been accused of having any for myself. I showed my grandson the ubiquitous "shave and a haircut, two bits" rif and that's about all I've got. For now, the kids are entertained and so am I. Here's hoping my kids don't smother me in my sleep for arming their children with musical instruments.

--Sandee Wagner

All Ready Now

I flew to MN yesterday. I'm in my kid's home awaiting the arrival of a new grandbaby. I'm hopeful that I can help out around the house and chase the toddlers enough to allow my pregnant daughter in law to put her feet up and rest a little bit.

Here's hoping!

International travel is difficult. One cancelled flight and my itinerary went from a 17 hour fly day to about 23 hours long. I felt like a zombie last night. Then my eyes popped open when it was still dark outside, so I know I'm riding the jet-lag now.

I love getting to enjoy daily life with a family with small kids. It brings back so many memories of my household when my kids were little. Just hearing the kids run around and play makes good memories ring in my head.

If you have young kids, enjoy them. Watch them play, grow and learn. Value each moment you spend in their company for the tiny slice of discovery that it is. Some day, you'll be remembering these while you watch the next generation at play. It's the circle of life, baby, and we're riding that Merry-Go-Round!


--Sandee Wagner

Promises, Promises

A few months ago, I told DH that I'd follow him anywhere... anywhere with High Speed Internet. In the old days, when we were young married folks, I told him I needed a Taco Bell and a WalMart before I thought a town was truly habitable. Of course, we lived in a few that didn't even have those two institutions. But I thought the requirement for High Speed Internet was very clear.

Then I moved to a third world country. A place where 'island time' seems to exist without the actual islands. A place where most businesses are on a 'cash only' basis and you spend part of your time running around paying bills in cash. I told a friend the other day that what separates a third world country from a first world country is two ply toilet paper and ATMs. I still stand by that assessment.

In Tunis, household internet requires a working phone line. A hard line. So, I'm guessing it's DSL. Who knows? We never got it. We still don't have a hard line connected to our house. It's a nice house. It has phone jacks all around the place. But apparently, the wiring from the house to the exterior has some kind of issue. The phone company came and there is a pile of wire in the yard that looks to be 20 yards long. It needs to be connected to the house somewhere, somehow. Which falls to the landlord. Who doesn't speak English, or French. While we were assured that 'it would be taken care of', time slipped by. Now, I'm leaving in less than a week. So getting internet connectivity for the next renter is not real high on my list of priorities.

What I'm reminded of is how fate makes you eat your words. Maybe not fate, maybe God. But someone has a sense of humor when it comes to stuff like this. I laid down the one rule. Here's as far as I will go... and I spent the last six months living without just the thing that I said was a requirement.

I'm now convinced that I can do with less. It's hard not to be when you've lived among the deprivations of a poor country. The things that I 'require' are pure luxuries. Plenty of people live their whole lives without high speed connectivity. I can certainly go for a couple of months with access in public places. This time next week, I'll be on my way to the states. I can pretty much guarantee that I'll have high speed Internet everywhere I go. I'll probably also have a working cell phone, Taco Bell and WalMart. It gives me pause.

I love the USA. I cherish the freedoms and plenty that we enjoy there. Living ex-patriate has been eye opening for me, and I consider myself to be pretty well traveled. Being away from things that make our lives easier is hard, but it's not impossible.

--Sandee Wagner

Unpacking, Just In Time

We received our new bookcases this week. When we arrived in Tunis in September, I dragged DH out shopping and we hit every furniture store we could find looking for bookshelves. I even memorized the French words for both bookshelves and bookcases so I could ask at every showroom. No joy.

Finally, we broke down and asked one of the locals to go with us. As soon as she realized what we wanted, she took us to a shop that builds to order. The guy came out to the house and measured the spaces, then we placed an order for five bookshelves. Two tall ones and three shorter ones.

What sold me on this carpenter was the funky modern design. He made these bookcases with slanted shelves that were just fun. They really appeal to my sense of the absurd. A little costly, but they'd do the job.

My theory is that we can place these anywhere in whatever house we're living in. I knew it wouldn't be the only bookcases we'd need, but I figured it would be a start. I planned to put these in the dining room to extend my storage for barware and decorative stuff as well as some of DH's business books.

They turned out great. Really solid, excellent finish and very sturdy. I can see handing these down to my grandkids.

So, I dragged in the boxes of glassware and decorative stuff that had been clogging up my front hallway and went to town. I unpacked and set up the bookshelves. And they look great! I probably need a couple more to hold paperbacks, but I won't be ordering them in Tunis, that's going to have to wait. Because we're moving again. The packers are coming on the 28th of this month to box us up, again. Word on the street is that we have a 50%-50% shot of landing in Dubai or Houston, but all people in the know are leaning toward Dubai. Either way, just about the time I get settled in here, I need to pack up and move again.

Oh well. Remining flexible is my new watchword.

--Sandee Wagner