Catch Up

Here's my Ugly American comment for the day: this country needs to be told about the snow shovel. Last week we got about 3 inches of snow, which was great for about a day. To my great surprise the roads weren't plowed or sanded and nobody shoveled their sidewalk for several days (I saw one guy shoveling 3 days later and evidence that about 2% of my neighbors made some attempt at clearing snow).  I'm used to being in New York where everyone is responsible for their own sidewalk. New Yorkers may say "nobody shovels, referring to the 2 or 3 lazy people in their neighborhood, but here NOBODY shoveled. 

In their defense they do have some kick-ass sleds. In New York I often considered getting my kid around by sled when it snowed but because of the variation in snow removal quality it wasn't really practical. Here it seems to be the snowy day alternative to the bike for some. Just some, though because there are still plenty of people on bikes.  Today we went to the mall where the toy store was selling one that was described as a "2 ass slee."  I'm not sure if this meant it seated two kids or was available in 2 colors.

 

 

M got a great new balance bike from his Uncle and Aunt for Christmas.  It's a Go-Glider, specifically designed for taller kids.  Balance bikes are bikes without pedals that help kids to master balance before they add pedaling.  The result is that they learn to ride a bike quickly.  I can certainly attest to this because M had a balance bike that we started using recently.  Within a week he nearly had the thing mastered but it was just too small for him.  Unfortunately the bike arrived just before the snow so he hasn't had much chance to ride it.

We had a houseguest last week, which was great fun.  Claire was here from New York.  Since her boyfriend has grandkids M's age she knew how to bond with him and he LOVED her.  We were both sad to see her go.  While she was here we went to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, the Diamond museum, Ann Frank House and the Tulip Museum.  It was a whirlwind 3 days and would have been one killer Museum Monday post, but again work has gotten very busy.

Today we went to the mall, and M and I both got Playmobile Mystery Figures. I was thrilled mine was the mama with the Ergo.