10 stuffed animals and two feet of track

do you see the sparkly floors and general clean house behind greg and henry?  that's what greg and i spent the entire day doing. it got a little undone when the kids got home, but then we (verbally) locked them out of the house (banished to the trampoline) and got it clean again.  

after showers, the boys finished packing their bags.  henry brought home from school a suitcase with a stuffed animal in it and a journal to write down all his adventures in.  he promptly decided to fill the remaining space in the suitcase with all his stuffed animals from his room, along with a few random train track pieces.  so that's what he's taking to the u.s.: 10 stuffed animals and two feet of track.

william was more thoughtful, as a seven-year-old would be: toys, candy, two workbooks from school, his pencil case, and an empty wallet, because, as he said, he plans to make money while he's in the u.s.

and they both got new headphones for the trip and reading lights (you see greg putting in the batteries).  there's a "dollar" store here, called 'tiger'.  it's actually coming to new york city soon and they're billing it as a home goods store.  i don't know if i'd go that far, but it is cute and things are cheap and while i'm not so into accumulating lots of cheapy things for the sake of taking advantage of a good deal, it felt like a fine thing to do to pick up a couple pairs of $10 headphones for a long plane journey (and, fingers crossed, they'll last beyond the first leg and that the boys will take care of them).

it's nearly ten and we still have odds and ends on our packing and to-do list that have yet to be crossed off.  and i'm also hoping to fit in a little yoga as my hip is sore from too many days of not stretching (a very clear side-effect of my new-ish treatment change) and i don't want to sit for hours on end without at least trying to do something about it.  so i'll end here.  hopefully a little jet lag doesn't stop me from posting again soon.  see you across the atlantic!