Things that make me smile

- Having a moment of panic when I'm watching a movie from the US and someone is driving on the "right" side of the rode." A moment of, "Oh my gosh they are driving on the wrong side of the road!"

- Four adult men squished like sardines on a motorbike. FOUR!

- People riding with motorbike helmets that aren't strapped. Uh, not going to do much accident except fly off your head. (I'm thinking these people probably just have the helmets on in order to not get a ticket)

- Me telling my Thai tutor I have a sore throat and her insisting I take three of her green capsules right away and me praying there is nothing weird inside as I swallow them down.

- The fact that I live in a country that's about 95% Buddhist but that I'm happy Ramadan is over. Never thought that would be something on my radar here. There is a mosque right down our street and our neighborhood has lots of Muslims...and my favorite little convenience store right down the street (where I walk to when I need eggs or milk...) was closed on and off for the month.

- Getting home late and rushing to get the kids to bed and telling them that they can skip brushing their teeth yet my six year old insisting he brush his teeth. Every.single.time. "I REALLY don't want to get a cavity mom!"

- Micaiah insisting that he has "Taste bugs" and arguing with Damien to no avail because "My teacher said they are called taste bugs and she knows more than you."

- Orin constantly correcting me when I'm reading to him. Seriously, I have to pay very close attention or he WILL tell me what I said wrong.

- Orin learning things at school and coming home so excited to tell us as if he's telling us some new interesting fact. "Moooom, did you know there is gravity!?!?!" "Moooom, did you that we're made up of mostly water!?!?!?!" Really, Orin, you don't say?

- Aloe Vera yogurt. Don't think I'm gonna try this one.

- Signs that make no sense (What is "meat roaf" anyway?) I could post a million signs like this...

- Constantly seeing random shoes (usually just one) in middle of the street. I'm guessing it's motorbike passengers who lost them. I wonder if I start collection them if I'd ever end up with a matching pair? If I ever lose my shoe I'm totally going back for it!

- Streets that have trees in the middle of them; or maybe I should say tress that have streets around them?

- The kids and I being excited to get small bags of free chips at the grocery store...only to realize that they are seaweed flavor. Yuck. Sora liked them though!

- Orin's illustrations compared to three other girls in his class. Guess which is his? I love it!

- Having to push a car out of the way at the mall because it's blocking you from getting out - and it be a completely normal thing to do.

- Thailand's Got Talent bus parked in the Thai school we walk through to get to Orin's school. They have that show here?

- A little boy who can help me make sandwiches for his class for their field trip. :) And for himself whenever he's hungry... and me later finding the table covered with ants because he forgot to wipe up the jelly he dripped. :)

- A left-handed little boy who loves doing his Kindergarten workbook without me ever needing to ask.

- The "surprise' of finding out why my package from the US is inside a HUGE plastic bag when I pick it up from the post office. This time it was some red gooey stuff that got all over everything in the package. Fun!

- How cute the boys look every day walking home from school with their backpacks on...this day with a friend as well.

- Finding random pictures in my camera apparently taken by kids who seem to like to take pictures of random things.

(The week we actually wanted the Bears to win...)

- Another little boy who can spread jelly on this bread (hey, it's the little things that excite me these days).

- The amount of hair that comes from cutting Damien's hair only three months after I cut it last. Wow!

- Micaiah at his celebration ice cream for working so hard at reading and finishing the Kindergarten Hooked on Phonics.

- Driving Orin and three little girls from his class to a field trip and listening to their amusing conversation. (Such as, "I heard that in America if a boy is cute they call him "Hot.")

- Sora being a good mama

- Veggies piled up on a motorbike

Walking past this construction site every day for the past 3 months, watching this building being built and never once seeing a machine there. Just a ton of people, lots of tree branches (used for support) and an occasional small cement mixer. And every single day the people telling us hi as we walk past.