Aside from the no-TV thing falling apart when daddy gets home from work, the days with the kids have been going really well. Monday was truly a growing pains kind of day. The past 2 days Nicholas has turned the TV off on his own when I get up.
Now to be completely truthful, no TV does not mean no computer. I do let the kids play webkinz since they all got new pets in their stockings. They'll play at the same time, so they can "hang out at each other's houses" and play games together. It keeps them busy and gives me some quiet time too.
Wednesday is pretty much a blur at this point. I know I started readingListening for Lions, which I finished by the pool on Thursday, and I know that Nicholas went to his friend's house for the afternoon. I remember we had crockpot pork chops for dinner, and while they were tasty, the cost isn't justified after the bones and fat are removed. Katherine went to the opthamologist in the morning for an odd eye-rolling thing she's been doing. The doctor agreed with my parents (because I totally didn't catch on) that it was most likely an allergic reaction to the eye make-up she's been wearing. She pokes herself in the eye with mascara and smears eyeliner everywhere when she rubs her eyes. I'm sure people wonder why I don't use make-up and it's because I'm just as inept. So... no more eye make-up for her (ever, or at the very least no more funky local brands).
Yesterday we brought Raita to the vet, you've read about that. We made a picnic and the kids hit the pool for a bit but complain it's too chilly these days. I think the temps drop to the low70s at night, so I can see what they mean. Brrr. The boys scootered around the CG compound on various adventures. The girls decided to make the roof of our staff house their "secret" club spot. The roof. Reached via 6ft ladder, onto an overhanging ledge, and a climb over the concrete side "rail." It's only about 8 feet up, and with the high ledge wall, very little chance of falling off. Granted, the getting up and down is tricky, but the girls can manage. Trouble arose, of course, when the boys wanted to go up. More trouble arose when initially the girls didn't tell me they were even up there. Katherine felt she could be the responsible one should anything happen (and of course she thought I'd say No... which led to another discussion on how not telling me doesn't make it OK to do). It took a long while for her to even acknowledge that as the parent I should know when my any of kids are climbing on rooftops. She didn't quite get that if someone fell off, she wouldn't be responsible in the sense of actually being able to DO anything besides run in the house screaming. She also didn't get that her desire to be responsible by omitting key information when claiming "We're watching the sunset"... from the rooftop... meant I had to trust her less and consider her less responsible. UGH. Many days I simply don't get her.
The rest of our day was spent preparing dinner. A friend was coming, so we put together a lasagna. Jonathon is going to become my lasagna maker. He's asked to not have the responsibility until he's about 9, but I think he can handle it now. A few more practice lasagnas and he'll be good to go on his own. We also made buckeyes. I've never made a buckeye before, and they aren't something I'll eat seeing as it's peanut butter rolled in chocolate, but Ian being from Ohio it seemed high time I learned. I scorched the first batch of chocolate and turned over the whole chocolate melting mess to Kelly and buckeye dipping to Ian. Honestly, sometimes I can't even make no-bake treats properly.
It all ended up well, and we had a great cup of Mexican hot chocolate, provided by Kelly, while the buckeyes refroze.
It's already Friday in India. A week out of winter break almost done. I'm going to miss the long breaks in the States, though perhaps not really since here this break comes during the gorgeous season, where everyone wants to be outside for hours. Next week is a 3-day week for Ian and I'm really looking forward to it.
While I'm enjoying being home, I'm missing the travel just a bit. Friends in Cairo are driving over to Jordan to see Petra, lots of friends have gone home to the States and Canada and are all over from California to Niagara to Disney cruises, other friends have hopped to Bali. Spring break is around the corner too, and I hear all these wonderful plans for Cambodia, Thailand, even short jaunts to Kerala. I know it makes the most sense for us to hunker down here until we leave, but sometimes I get that jolt of wishing we could go somewhere else, just for a little bit.
I was up early this morning, so I'm going to curl up on the couch for a bit and wait for the house to wake. The little chipmunk squirrel things are up and about in the trees outside the window, and the dawn bird cacophony has ebbed, so I'll crack the window open and enjoy the quiet.
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