Have I mentioned it's cold? Tomorrow the high is supposed to be -2. Yes, Fahrenheit. So tomorrow we won't be going out. I've decided 0 degrees is my cutoff.
Today, however, it was a balmy 5 degrees. So we went grocery shopping. I'm pleased to say I cut our preparation time in half. I managed to get my own boots on before dressing the girls. That helped tremendously. I wore Zoia in the Ergo, but constantly peeked down to make sure she was still breathing - I was worried I'd smother her! Natasha went into the umbrella stroller with a rain canopy over it to block the wind. We managed to get through the store without incident. Somewhere between the store and home, though, Natasha lost a mitten. I knew I needed to sew them onto a cord and thread them through her parka sleeves, but I was procrastinating. Mommy fail. Good thing I have a few back-up pairs. I can sew them together tomorrow, since it will be too cold to go out.
Also, today I learned that they keep their caviar under lock-and-key. And that's just your run-of-the-mill red salmon caviar. They don't sell the pricey stuff at this particular store. Guess caviar theft is a problem here.
No pictures at this point because wrangling two babies leaves no hands free for a camera. Maybe this weekend.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
We're back! Also, it's really freaking cold.
After a couple false starts, wherein Jeremy flew back to Moscow alone in mid-November and then returned to DC for 48 hours over Thanksgiving weekend to pick us up, we are all back in Russia.
Also, it is ridiculously cold here. It was about 50 degrees when we left DC on Saturday. Today it is 7 degrees. And that's without windchill.
Our flight from DC to Moscow went about as well as we could have hoped. No one was forced to pose for nude photographs or groped during our trip through security. The TSA agents were very polite. The flight was half-empty and Zoia slept almost the entire time. Natasha didn't sleep much but only screamed for about 10 minutes. All our luggage arrived and nothing was broken. All in all, a successful trip.
This morning our layette shipment arrived. Then Jeremy left for work. I am proud to report that I did not grab him by the leg and plead him not to go, though I admit that I was afraid to be left alone with our daughters for the first time. About an hour later, I decided that we were going to take a short walk, despite the fact that it was 7 degrees outside. I figured that if I didn't do it now, I would never conquer my fear of taking them out in the cold and we'd be stuck inside for six months and this would officially be The Winter That Masha Went Insane.
First I had to get everyone bundled up. That took awhile. When I was sitting outside on the steps, wearing Zoia on my chest, trying simultaneously to put my boots on and preven Natasha from running off, tripping over her too-big boots and cracking her skull open on the concrete, it occurred to me that I need a better system. Winter is going to be long, so I'll get a lot of practice.
We walked to the produce stand, which is only five minutes away, and which, I was delighted to find, is open even when it is ridiculously cold. I bought a pound and a half of mushrooms, two heads of lettuce, four cucumbers, two zucchini, two enormous pears, two persimmons, a pound of mandarins and a pound of grapes. It cost me $30. I didn't even care. I was just grateful that I didn't have to walk a mile to the Ramstore.
Jeremy should be home in about two hours, and there have been no catastrophes.
A good first day back, I'd say.
Also, it is ridiculously cold here. It was about 50 degrees when we left DC on Saturday. Today it is 7 degrees. And that's without windchill.
Our flight from DC to Moscow went about as well as we could have hoped. No one was forced to pose for nude photographs or groped during our trip through security. The TSA agents were very polite. The flight was half-empty and Zoia slept almost the entire time. Natasha didn't sleep much but only screamed for about 10 minutes. All our luggage arrived and nothing was broken. All in all, a successful trip.
This morning our layette shipment arrived. Then Jeremy left for work. I am proud to report that I did not grab him by the leg and plead him not to go, though I admit that I was afraid to be left alone with our daughters for the first time. About an hour later, I decided that we were going to take a short walk, despite the fact that it was 7 degrees outside. I figured that if I didn't do it now, I would never conquer my fear of taking them out in the cold and we'd be stuck inside for six months and this would officially be The Winter That Masha Went Insane.
First I had to get everyone bundled up. That took awhile. When I was sitting outside on the steps, wearing Zoia on my chest, trying simultaneously to put my boots on and preven Natasha from running off, tripping over her too-big boots and cracking her skull open on the concrete, it occurred to me that I need a better system. Winter is going to be long, so I'll get a lot of practice.
We walked to the produce stand, which is only five minutes away, and which, I was delighted to find, is open even when it is ridiculously cold. I bought a pound and a half of mushrooms, two heads of lettuce, four cucumbers, two zucchini, two enormous pears, two persimmons, a pound of mandarins and a pound of grapes. It cost me $30. I didn't even care. I was just grateful that I didn't have to walk a mile to the Ramstore.
Jeremy should be home in about two hours, and there have been no catastrophes.
A good first day back, I'd say.
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