I don't really think I have anything to say today...

But I am daily realizing a two month silence is completely not okay. I could have said something in two months. It's not like we've been sitting on the couch watching Hannah Montana episodes for 8 weeks... we've been living. We've been sharing. We've been learning and stumbling and laughing.

Yesterday in the car home from the zoo (which we had to leave the house at 6:15 in the morning to beat city traffic!) the kids and I struck up a conversation about tattoos. "We are all getting tattoos at LOVE when we get home - so start thinking now about what you want yours to be." (small disclaimer, I am not a horrible mom. We are not all getting tattoos in November. You have to be 16 at LOVE before they'll even look you in the eye. I just like to start these conversations sometimes to see where they go. )
Without a hesitation, Harrison answers "I'm just going to get clothes tattooed over my body so I'll never have to worry about what I'm going to wear."

Jae wanted to know if he was going to have a coat tattooed on his body in the winter time. That girl is always thinking. I guess since we live in Africa now and didn't use our coats this winter I wasn't thinking as clearly. I just asked "Okay, if you are going to have clothes tattooed onto yourself, what will your tshirt say?" It's a good question, I think... and one of the reasons I pride myself on these random road-trip conversations. I remember in times like these that I am a good parent... Always encouraging my kids to think through those complex situations that we, as conservative Americans rarely talk about.

"Shield your eyes young ones!" Harrison replied....and the conversation kind of plummeted from there - but, oh the laughter in that car. Sometimes I don't mind so much that these kids are growing up. We do have a lot of fun.

Today is a bit different of a day. I have a headache, no doubt from my eyes that have been struggling again all this week... each day getting noticeably more blurry. I might be allergic to Johannesburg. We skimmed through school and have spent the rest of the day outside, just sitting. Reading a little and taking lots of breaks to get water. I'm dying for a Coke... but it is day three of the great DiCocco family sugar fast. It really was getting out of control. I figured a week without sugar would break some of those cravings. Right now they seem more intensified than ever. I've done this before, by myself, and remember how grumpy I was about the whole thing for the first two weeks. Avery is struggling the most through this. Today she fell apart at her math lesson. I tried to comfort her, I tried to sit with her and figure out the answer to her subtraction problem... but all she could say was "sugar fast" and burst into tears. Mady is being a bit militant "Mom, this ranch dressing has sugar in it. We'd better not do any dipping." "Blah" I say to her - and hand Avery another cucumber to dunk into the bowl. I just want gooey brownies and a coke... but I know that I am an emotional sweet eater - so I'll try and spend my energies in prayer instead. "God, please help me make it till Monday when I can make a pan of brownies." That should do it.

More stories later. Apparently I've been saving them up.