More February Fun!

We also celebrated my birthday in February! It was a big one (35!!!!) but I seemed to have survived. We had a nice family evening- Mikael had gone shopping with Miki and Lili the week before when I was busy, and Miki had helped to pick out a new outfit and watch for running (ok, running is a total overstatement, but it sounds so much better than jogging). Apparently he had a real strong opinion about a pink/red watch (pink is his favorite color at the moment) and told Mikael I would not like the black one. And he was right. We tried to take a family picture but you can see that not everyone was in the mood.

Carnevale

February flew by but not without some fun! We celebrated carnival, which, even without the crazy Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, the even crazier celebrations in Jacmel (Haiti), or the famous parades here in Italy (such as in Venice and Viareggio) is superfun if you have children or just get into the spirit of things. Miki was talking about the festivities the entire month, brought home little masks and hats and frappe they made at school. Just like last year, we were again invited to a fun party at a schoolmate's house. When we arrived to the party, Giorgio ( the little host), did not even recognize Miki with his wig on - he kept on insisting that it was not him! Lili showed variable interest in the idea of dressing up, for the party she wanted nothing to do with her cowgirl vest (she wore it for the school party). I never even dared to try on her hat ( that girl is opinionated and antihat at the moment).

Stir-crazy?

As I mentioned before, there were some rainy days in the last month so we were forced to entertain ourselves inside.

We, the parents, entertain ourselves by torturing our very tired daughter (believe me, she could not have cared less). I am not even sure how she ended up in that laundry basket.

Miki entertains himself by dressing up (and just wait, we will have to take some pictures in his pirate costume complete with long black pirate hair).

And Lili, well, apparently she really knows the meaning of entertainment.

January rain (or shine)

We spent the month of January relatively peacefully. It rained. A lot. And then some more. Mikael, as I have stated before, is impervious to weather. I like rain. I do. Like a rainy Sunday afternoon, cuddled up with a good book on the couch ( I am not sure if this has happened in the last decade but it sounds good). Or a nice cool rain on a muggy summer night. I even like swimming in the rain ( this I have done recently, at some thermal pools with my Mom-fun). But the January rain is COLD and unrelenting. Furthermore, I have come to believe that it has some personal vendetta againts me (yes I am that important- maybe the sun does not revolve around me, but rain certainly does). It always seems to be coming down the hardest the 10 minutes I need to walk from the metro to the daycare or even more so, the 20 minute walk home pushing the stroller. With 2 kids. It is not really possible to hold an umbrella while pushing the stroller, plus it is often windy anyways. I hate arriving home drenched. But I have been trying to keep positive--I have been trying to tell myself how much I will miss this rain in Doha. And I probably will, but that really does nothing for my appreciation of it now. But enough about the weather. I should not complain- this winter, I have shoveled no snow, I have worn no gloves and really when I look at our January pictures we have gotten to be outside quite a bit. Villa Borghese, Villa Ada, Villa Chigi, Parco Virgiliano just to name a few. Needless to say, the playground in the park is always the ultimate destination.

We like the swings, of course

And some kung fu ( Miki style).

And even if not the rain, I will definitely miss the beautiful year around greenery that we are surrounded with in this climate.