Bits and Bobs

Baby got his second tooth yesterday!

This week big boy has been proud of himself for having learned to say 'kettu' (fox) instead of the old twisted-toddler-tongue 'tekku.'

The way I communicate with my husband while he's traveling abroad is a bit complicated. I receive his text messages from Finland, China, or wherever, but since I'm unable send any to his Finnish mobile operator I have to send my messages to him first to my mom, in Finland, who then passes them on to wherever my husband is. Talk about possible censorship! ;)

How do you know when your kid has watched too many cartoons? When he asks if mosquitos can suck out bones along with blood. How do you know when you yourself have watched too many zombie movies or episodes of The Walking Dead? When you start to wonder the same... (Which is why I don't watch them, zombie movies, nutty cartoons, or eating mosquitos.)

I found this interesting blog written by a Helsinki-based mom of thirteen. In one entry she calculates that they spend more than 4800 euros a year on: milk. Thirteen kids drink a lot of milk, daily. I think it was like 10 liters a day... When I told this to our local nanny/helper her expression was worth a hundred, no wait - 4800 bucks ;)

I was going to end this blog here but I just have to point out I find an fascinating anthropological link here - I mention both blood and milk. Victor Turner wrote a classic ethnography on Ndembu symbolism, The Forest of Symbols (1967), in which he looks at liminality, the ritual passage from one socio-physical state to the next (e.g. birth, initiation, death), and how it is entwined with color symbolism (e.g. red for blood, white for milk)... So as random as my little anecdotes here may seem - just as I promised in my title, I may ramble but it's not that random!!

Good night.

Ndembu