Typical Tuesday

This morning Benjamin and I hit the bay early for a swim...and found this cute little hermit crab wielding an auger for a sword:

Miriam walked the little kids to the beach to play for a bit, and then went back to the house with Benjamin to get started on their schoolwork. 

We had the beach all to ourselves, and while our beach doesn't have lovely palm trees or cabanas or anything, it does have skyscrapers, so we were able to spend all of our time in the shade of the buildings.

We went home to do Even More Schoolwork and then went to the library (again). While we were waiting at the (air conditioned) bus stop, this cute little quail came be-boppin' along and was rather curious about the door.

"You can't get in here!" the kids tried to explain to the quail. 

Phoebe reminded it that no animals are allowed on the bus—and birds are animals.

I used my "Seek" app to find out what bird it was and it searched and searched and searched, eventually telling me that it was a "typical quail." Evidently, when the app is fairly certain about the Genus level—which in this case is Coturnix, it will suggest that what you're seeing is a typical quail. 

I can't help but say that with an eye roll: Typical quail. 

This was likely a common quail, actually (which feels a little basic). Apparently it is "known for its shy nature," but this particular specimen was quite outgoing.

At the library we did story time, tried out the art majlis, and then met Daddy at work. I took Phoebe home and he took the rest of the kids to mutual and activity days. Phoebe was so excited to have some alone time with Mom. 

She got to ride the escalator herself:

She got to sit on her own seat on the bus:

We had ramen for dinner (which she felt was rather fancy because we never have ramen for dinner) and then we made some peanut butter bars to be ready when everyone came home because we knew everyone had...pretty abysmal dinners. (Benjamin, Zoë, and Alex, for example, had peanut butter sandwiches and apple slices at the library). I knew they would be coming home hungry.

*****

A bit about the bus...

Phoebe rode the bus for the first time yesterday. Initially she had her own seat, but when some more passengers got on I made her give up her seat to come sit on my lap. She was still excited about the bus ride but she was pretty ticked off that I made her give up her seat...though I didn't realize this until she tore into me on the walk home.

"Why did you make me do that?" she asked.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Give up my seat!" she raged. "I was sitting perfectly great, looking out the window just fine, and then you made me give up my seat!"

I explained to her all about seating etiquette—she's not a paying traveller, so she doesn't need a seat, per se. It's respectful to her elders to use her young legs and let older people rest theirs (though sometimes people give up their metro seat for her because she's little and they don't want her to fall over). Older women, especially, need seats, but sometimes older men, too. Young men—like Benjamin—are expected to always give up their seats for women. Pregnant women are also good candidates for getting seats, with the tricky part being that you can't always tell when a woman is pregnant. As a small person, Phoebe can always climb on Mommy's lap to have a seat...but when Mommy is carrying home two bags of groceries and a backpack, Mommy gets the seat, not Phoebe. And if anyone comes in with a heavy load, too, they should be offered a seat and...

"Okay, okay. I think I get it," Phoebe grumbled. "But I'm still mad about my seat."

Valid, but...sometimes the bus is just so full that not everyone can have their own seat—some people have to stand and some children have to sit on laps. Other times (like this evening) there are plenty of seats available and she can have the first pick (very back of the bus, if you must know).

Remind me never to take her on the bus in Egypt...