First ever field trip

This was written a few days ago, but I'm just getting around to posting it...
Sophia had her first ever field trip today. Despite the cold weather, Sophia's class has decided to venture out to the riches of the Central Park. All parents (or caregivers) were asked to come along, so at 9 a.m. we all met at the entrance of the park, ready to march. Sophia took the role of "заводила", screaming the oh-so-familiar to the children's ear songs of "Солдатушки, браво, ребятушки" и "три танкиста". The kids couldn't wait to begin the planned performance - as soon as we got to the planned destination, they started the chorus performance of the songs they've been learning in school. The parents joined in, and soon enough, our joyful singing attracted spectators. In retrospect, we could have collected enough for a whole semester at the Pushkin Academy.
After everything was danced and sung, we quickly consumed сушки that Sophia and one of the teachers, Ira, brought along. Sophia said that we should have also taken the tea in the thermos, we agreed. Too bad she didn't think about that back at home, because we definitely could have used some tea.

Social-Security
Some of you may already know this - I have been desparately trying to correct Emil'ka's social security card to include all three "v"s (someone at SS decided that it was one too many, so they took the liberty of abbreviating the name to Volvosky). I've been corresponding with them for almost 7 months now, and the name is still not changed (I do have to be fair to our government employees and say that they have corrected the birth certificate to identify him as a male without a physical proof of his masculinity). I have today once again called them, trying to set the record straight. The first person I spoke with told me that I should drop my attitude, and there is noone superior to her in the Social Security office. The second person I spoke with (after another wait of 30 minutes) said that I would need to bring in two pieces of identification, including a photo ID, such as a driver license for the child. I finally decided to adopt a "oh-you're so helpful" attitude, and was able to somehow get a name of the main manager in the local SS office, to whom I have promply called and sent a fax. So, end result - Greg (that's the manager's name) is now looking all over the SS office in efforts to find Emil's birth certificate and get the name corrected either today or tomorrow. Wish us luck.


Мама, я уже по-беременнела. Вы этого ждали?
У меня чистые руки, я их уже облизала