I'm starting tonight to try to reclaim my nights as each morning I continue to wake groggy and unrested. The dreams, while varied and not quite as panicky as earlier, have continued. Oh wait, there was a dream this weekend that involved "waking" to our mosquito netting plastered with bugs of all sizes including many mantids. Big huge mantids right by my pillow. I actually like mantids, but they certainly don't bring our warm fuzzy feelings in my bed. So tonight I try step one... no snacking after dinner. Perhaps it's the late ice cream or chocolate or ice cream and chocolate that is doing in my good night's rest.
Ian thinks it could be a build up of the mefloquine in my system.
Last night Rebecca and the boys were n the tent and slept well so maybe I should follow their lead?
But heck, no one wants to read about how I'm blaming my pillow, or nerves or anything else. Even I'm tired of hearing how tired I am, yet can't fall asleep when I do go to bed. Bleh.
So, to keep busy we had an enjoyable day outside. Earlier this year, our friend Elise in PA sent a really neat Klutz project called "sun painting" where cloth is dampened, painted, a design is placed on (with just about anything, but popular items are flowers and leaves, toys, pasta shapes) and once the sun dries it, the removed items expose a white shadow/pattern in the dye. One thing we have plenty of is sun, so the kids enjoyed donning swimsuits and painting away this morning. The dog was none too pleased since she was barred from the pool area during project time. The projects turned out pretty nice, there was a learning curve though as Jonathon's (finished first) was lighter and not as developed as Katherine's (done last).
They swam this morning around the painting, we finished the "Art Fraud Detective" challenge (and only cheated once), watched "Emperor's New Groove" (can't thank Jeff enough for encouraging us to give it a try... funny funny movie), we had reading and workbook time, they swam again this afternoon, and Katherine made dinner. We have been carting around a Chef Boyardee cheesy beefaroni pie meal-in-a-box creation for, well, a long time. Easy enough to make, we had it tonight. Our kids have not been raised on the Chef and it didn't go over too well with the boys, which really is OK with us, but it gives Katherine good practice on following a recipe. She hasn't quite mastered reading the -whole- thing through yet which has made some interesting learning opportunities. Like the time she made a cake and poured the entire batter into a single pan.... when it made 2 round cakes. She'll learn. My mom sent her a spiral bound notebook to keep her own recipes and she's eager to fill it up.
Last night the boys played Risk with Ian while I continued working on Rebecca's blanket and Katherine practiced the piano. Once the kids were in bed I put together the new digital cameras we purchased for the girls, some low cost Kodak Easy Shares I think they will really enjoy.
So what else is new? I'm trying to convince Ian (though it's not proving too difficult) to take a weekend in Accra next month. I'd like to do the canopy walk if possible. We need to get out of the house, out of the yard, out of Lome'. Everyone we hang out with is gone or leaving for the next -6- weeks. Literally everyone is vacating... Emily is gone, Monica is leaving this week, Laura and Todd leave soon. We have six very quiet weeks ahead of us.
But wait, you say, what about the talk of curtailing? Well, it's still in limbo. Trust us, you'll know, when we know.
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