on sunday, magnificent left for san francisco.

before he left, the entire family gathered around to give him pictures (some hastily scribbled, some carefully created) and to pray.

the kids' prayers were pretty predictable.

sebastian: please let me be a good boy.

carys: please let daddy's plane not crash and daddy not die.

just what you want.

charles closed the prayer by asking protection over our home. then he left.

weng and her children, james and mary mae came over to spend what was left of the afternoon with us. the boys took light sabres down to the playground and the girls did craft-y type things at the table and then on the carpet. when i asked them to tidy up, they skipped back into the room with fairly good nature and prepared to do so.

next thing i heard was carys wailing. real tears. sela came racing out. "the heater fell on carys and she is crying".

the girls room has an iron bar heater we have pulled out during this cold time.

"was it plugged in?" i asked in alarm.

"no" sela assured me. "but it fell on carys and cut her"

"is she bleeding?" i asked in horror. i could just imagine.

"no." said sela. "but it fell on her mummy…"

and then carys arrived to be soothed.

she had a thin white strip surrounded by red on her chin and lower cheek. it was only God's grace that prevented her from having a split open chin. God knew i couldn't handle stitches again, and three more at the hospital. charles had prayed protection on the flat….and we had gotten it!

moving on to PRESENTS…

i am having a tough time trying to figure out what the triplets need for their birthday. not a lot, let's be honest. my parents deposit $$$ into charles' account and then i buy presents for the kids, which means that i have to be creative. (i do like vetoing things like loud musical instruments, though!!)

should i get them each a movie? i dont think they would love a zhu zhu. jasper wants a few lego figurines, but what about the girlie whirlies? frankly, they don't need anything, since the only gift they are "desperate" for, the strawberry shortcake cafe, i already know they are getting. it seems like we just finished with Christmas and i was wracking my brains trying to figure out what to get them from aunties and grandparents! (have to say, seb loved his magician kit).

sela wants a hamster, but a girl hamster because she heard a daddy hamster bites. i say no hamsters and blame it on jasper's allergies. carys suggests we get a turtle. i say no pets, but secretly wish we had a cat or a dog.

i bought the girls puzzles (real ones with boxes vs the wanchai markets puzzles) and they did them a couple of times and that's been it.

i think i might get them dresses. does that sound boring?  i could take them to stanley or marks and spencer and say, "choose a dress. whichever one you like, it's yours as long as it fits and is not suggestive or inappropriate or too lacy or or or." (basically, as long as i like it).

does that sound like controlled compromise?

xoxoxxo