I say "dinner", you say "playtime".

I was at the grocery store this week and needed to pick up some rice for dinner. While I was perusing the endless varieties of flavored rice products, desperately searching out plain ol' brown rice, Marcus' sweet voice finally seeped through my bewilderment and into my awareness. He had been repeatedly asking "Can I play with it?". "Can I play with it?".

It took me a moment to figure "it" out and then it hit me: My boy will never view rice in the same way again.

"Oh, no, Marcus. You can't play with this... it's for dinner."

I'd love to know what thoughts ran through the mind of that unsuspecting shopper who shared the aisle with us.

Yes, living internationally has a profound and lasting effect on children.

Alive. Barely.

I can't believe it has been nearly 2 weeks since we've been back in the States. It feels like an eternity and already I have to ask myself "did we really go to China for 2 months, or was that just a dream?" It has been a tough 12 days and I, for one, am completely exhausted.

Right off the bat, we extended Lydia's 5th birthday with one more party. Or two. As it stands, 'five years old' will live in infamy as the longest celebration ever.

I'm still wrapping my mind around our China experience and trying to determine my Top 10 takeaways ... in time, I hope to verbalize it well.

For now, I really need to get to bed and get a GOOD night of sleep. It's 9:26, so I am officially 'pathetic'.