Looking Back

So I've been going through the blog looking for some specifics I need, which means I'm also spending a lot of time reading old entries that have nothing to do with my search.  Like the one from 28 August 2004 where I posted:

Bubblefly: A flying insect with often colorful wings.
Catterputer: Those little crawly bugs that turn into bubbleflies.
Munty: aka Something.

These were a few shared words between the boys, when Nicholas was 4 1/2 and speaking at about 3 1/2, and Jonathon was 3 years old.

Of the three, two are still in use in our house, though Bubblefly has since mutated to Bubblebye.  Catterputer remains the same.  Munty has sadly disappeared.

Kids and Cats.

Videos from dinnertime yesterday. Bad video because the room was dark.  But up because Becca asked.

And the Answer is...

Visa Window!

And the Question is:
What do four Foreign Service kids play when stuck in a hotel suite while on vacation, even for a few minutes, with a cut out window between the rooms, an appropriately placed desk, lamp and chair, a pad of paper and a pencil?
They set up an interview window, of course. With the finer details of income per week and relatives currently living in America, Katherine issued or denied with abandon, while her sister patiently doled out itineraries and business class tickets to the lucky few (Jonathon in most cases).
Consular officers in the making.

A Better Day

A bit of sun and everything looks brighter.

Not that we've been out in the sun, but there's light outdoors and that's enough sometimes.
I'm a little crabby and cranky, but the boys are so much better behaved today. Yesterday the neighbor and I took the 4 kids to KFC for lunch and stopped at the school to let them play. That was the plan, but it wasn't quite as idyll as it sounds. My boys were rotten at KFC, standing on the seats, being loud, pushing each other. And the school is under construction again. The 6 new classrooms going up on the 2nd and 3rd floor of the elementary school are right over the little kids' playground, so all the equipment has been wrenched from the earth and is piled on the green field. The bigger kids playground is one of those old things you'd expect in a 1970s yard. I truly think that when the new grounds were build 3-4 years ago that the original equipment was brought from the old school. That's sad, IMO. The stuff isn't nice and certainly isn't safe.
In addition, the halls and field and eveywhere inbetween were littered with sleeping Indians. The "construction crew" on break. The number of flies was crazy from all the grease spots left by the crew from eating on the ground. And something kept dripping on me off the playground cover.
I was glad to go home and take the kids swimming, even in the rain.
This weekend we're having a new family over on Saturday and Sunday is haircut day. I'm looking forward to Skyping with the girls as we haven't had a chance all week. They've been out the door early to go to Fencing Camp and I'd have to get up before 5:30 a.m. to talk to them during their evening. That's not appealing.
We fired our driver last Saturday. It went better than it could have, but still not great. We counted 150 honks (most of them unnecessary to our eyes) on a regular drive to and from Spencers Plaza. But this new guy I'm still trying to figure out. Some of his references were good but old, his most recent employer was the Kindergarden teacher at AISC. He only worked for her for 6 months, not the 2-3 years we expect to see on references. In fact, a bunch of his good references were for short term employment and while he likes to say he has worked for the Consulate before, but a former U.S. Consulate person also fired him for getting cash and "favors" by helping others get job placements. And he was lazy.
I'm really thinking there's no magical fix to this. I "can't" drive and good, honest, pleasant, safe drivers are few and far between.
Enough on that. I have a lot of cleaning and picking up to do before our guests arrive tomorrow afternoon, so I'd best be on it.

Just Not a Good Start to the Day

It's only 11 a.m. but I feel like the day has been wasted and is a loss.

It's more to do with me than anything else. As always. I went to bed too late last night so I'm a little cranky this morning. And the boys are wired for some reason so they aren't listening, aren't doing what I've asked, aren't being QUIET. They are procrastinating through their school stuff. I would let them off the hook today, but they didn't do anything yesterday. I finally told them to have a snack thinking they'd come back more focussed. But they ended up in the pantry having a mock fight and banging on the door so I canceled snack, turned off the lights in living room where the school stuff is all laid out, and put them both in their room. I told them to be quiet, they are playing instead. I could take a nap.
There will be no (more) xbox today. And probably none tomorrow either. They played hours yesterday which really was a lot of fun to watch as they finished all the main quests on Lego Star Wars 2. That doesn't mean the game is done, in fact it's about 1/2 done so there are dozens more hours to go. But not today, not soon.
I just want to sleep. I should go out to Cottage Industries, but I just can't pull myself together to go, and I don't want to go with them, but I don't want to leave them at home either because I do think they could use a change of scenery.
Have I mentioned I just want to sleep?

Hopper Summer Camp

I'm sure the boys wish they were in a summer camp right now!

It's Day One of "home all day with mom." The boyss got up (they've moved themselves into Katherine's bed for the duration) and made themselves breakfast, then by 8 a.m. our day was rolling. Here's a breakdown:
Math: Both boys have math work to do. Everyday Math may not be perfect for in-class work, but it's great for at-home review. A problem of this, a problem of that, nothing too long or involved and therefore not boring. Last week I tore apart the kids' used math books from the school year and pulled all the pages that hadn't been finished. Nicholas is doing Rebecca's incomplete pages, and Jonathon is doing Nicholas's. Working on these through the summer will keep topics like measuring, time and adding money in daily use aside from normal activities.
Reading: I expect each kid to read every day, it's not so much to ask. Jonathon has several _Now I'm Reading_ sets he hasn't finished, and Nicholas has chapter books to work through. In the evening we'll have regular storytimes again.
Piano: Each boy did 10 minutes of piano practice. Again, it's to keep things fun, short with a little learning. A measure here and there of practice means over time playing will get smoother. I'm not looking for little Mozarts, just kids who enjoy figuring out a piece of music.
French: Two lessons of Rosetta Stone each. We started at the beginning again. Easy stuff, fun and quick. It'll get harder over time, but no need to get frustrated yet, right?
Letters: I'm going to have the boys regularly writing to keep up their handwriting, spelling and getting thoughts on paper. Today they wrote letters to their sisters, but other days it will be different.
Spelling: From the "100 Words" books, we started with 1st grade. Of the 17 words Jonathon had in Group 1, he got 12 correct. Sure, it starts with words like "as" and "it" but that's a good way to have him start with success. Nicholas did Group 6 in the 1st grade book and missed one. He'll do the rest of the groups as review over this week then he'll move to the 2nd grade lists.
I'm not looking to confuse or frustrate the kids this summer. It will be a lot of review, some new stuff, and useful things too. This afternoon we'll bake cookies, tomorrow we'll go bowling, and we'll do a lot of swimming and Dance Dance Revolution too. There will be plenty of laundry folding and room cleaning as well.
I know not all days will be as productive as today, but my goal is to keep us moving. We have a list up so the boys know what to expect each day and I'm always up for alternatives.

A Couple Kidisms

Jonathon: Since we're unpacking, everything is new and novel again. One particular item of interest to Jonathon has been our mini solar system where the Sun us about an inch across. All the labels fell off so we're learning the planets by rote (Ian removed Pluto), with the favorites Saturn, Mars and Earth. Jonathon sits on my lap with the solar system and asks "Where's Texas?" Come to find out today that one of his classmates left and was moving to Texas, so he wanted to know where she was going. Finding Texas in our section of the universe can be a little tough though!

Katherine: The kids have been enjoying riding in our car as much as we have. Today Ian flipped on the radio to discover a station playing American music. We expressed awe at this, and Katherine's reply? "Well, it is an American car."

Phew, what a week(end), glad it's over.

The past few days have been good, but plain busy.

There was all the excitement over Rebecca's 9th birthday yesterday which left me quite wiped, and today we had church this morning, Advent projects (we don't have our advent stuff, so we're making them anew), lunch out at Cappucino, a swimming birthday party for a 1yo, finishing Advent crafty stuff, Katherine's homework, etc etc.
Church was at the Santhome Basilica, a beautiful building with a slightly gaudy interior. No neon crosses about (like at St Louis last week), but gaudy nonetheless with way too many statues vying for attention. While every first Sunday has the boys' choir from St. Bede's school, the music throughout was more reminiscent of a pop concert than a Mass. I'm still undecided about this place, especially as I was expecting so much more from the bbuilding built over a crypt believed to house the bones of St. Thomas, the St. Thomas of Jesus disciple fame. I'd expected something a little more... traditional. But it was in English, a definite step closer since last week's Mass in Tamil.
We will probably try Santhome again next week to see the next yellow candle with purple tinsel lit.

And the winner is...

Jonathon. Of the four Hoppers in the AISC Turkey Trot, Jonathon beat out his siblings to reach the finish line first. Cheers to all the kids who completed the 3km race without a day of training and were still smiling at the last lap.

What next? Leprosy?

Ian and I were joking last week that it must be what Nicholas has. Leprosy. In reality of course, it looks like his hands are suffering some major eczema. While the palms of his hands feel like those of a 100 year old man, his fingers are flaking causing him to pick and expose raw, red and painful skin underneath. It's not pretty and I'm currently treating with cortisone cream. But while talking with Jeff a little lightbulb went on in my head and I'm wondering if Nicholas is allergic to the material wrapping his tennis racket grip. I'm searching to see if it's, perhaps, latex. My dad is allergic to latex, and once I figure out what wraps our tennis rackets we'll be a step closer to figuring this out.

In other news, Jonathon is home this morning. He woke up hobbled, apparently by a midnight spider bite on his foot. The two telltale dots and a red, swollen foot means I'll bring him to the clinic just to see what I should do for it (if anything), then it's off to school for him, but no P.E.

Ian and I start our rabies and JapB immunization series this morning. I've already taken a couple motrin to take the edge off. JapB apparently hurts quite a bit.

UPDATE: JapB does not hurt nearly as much as the kids would have me believe. Then again, I think Motrin is a gift from the gods.

Jonathon's foot is still all red and puffy so he's home for the afternoon even though he's running around like nothing's wrong. Actually, he's sitting watching TV between snacking and playing games with me, but he's not upset like he was this morning. I brought him to the clinic and the nurse suggested an antihistemine. I should know by now to go that route since Jonathon reacts pretty violently to even non-yucky things like spider bites. Mosquito bites swell into welts, that sort of thing.

I also brought him back to Lister Lab to have his platelet count rechecked after his Dengue diagnosis. We received the results right then and as far as I can tell, they're perfectly normal. That's a relief.

Successful Shove Out the Door

We did it. All the kids went to school yesterday, and I was able to go to school with them to do what needed to be done. I even picked up our school IDs.

The day itself wasn't great. I was able to attend the assembly in honor of Mahatma Gandhi, but in the process missed the Kindergarten parents meeting. I think that's OK, when I did finally make it the parents were all up in arms over not knowing what stage of hiring the school was at. One of the Kindergarten teachers is leaving over the winter break and a replacement still isn't set. I just stayed quiet in the background, listening. Hiring a new teacher is a lengthy process, but a thorough one and I've no doubt that someone qualified will be found.
The assembly was fun to watch. The 4th graders put on a play/narrative on Gandhi's life, a quartet of high schoolers sang "Seasons of Love" (which put me a little on guard... as I walked into the gym a group of 3rd graders were singings "five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes" and I checked with the teacher to make sure "Rent" wasn't part of the curriculum), and after a lengthy discourse on cancer from a survivor who shared the microbiology of the disease along with pleadings for checks after the age of 40 (remember.. the audience was elementary and high school kids), two high schoolers performed a trumpet and sax duet of one of Gandhi's favorite songs.
I had the rest of the day to meander until the 5th grade project presentations on _A Single Shard_. I read through a "Popular Photography" magazine in the library and understood again how clueless I really am about this photography thing. Feeling pitiful, I spotted the 5th graders through the window on the soccer field, so I plopped in the grass to watch them dribble the soccer ball around. Until the water break all was well, but it was destined to tick off the teacher when the class dallied getting back. Rather than have every kid bring their water bottle to the field for quick drinks, he allows them to leave the field, pass the gym and circuit the pool to reach a water fountain. All together now: *SMACK forehead* As punishment, they sat on the field doing nothing for the rest of the period. No hats, full sun at 11:45 a.m.
I poked through the Diwali sale held in the Black Box theater room. Lovely jewelry priced into the nearly $1000 range. Tops, skirts and Sari sets. While the jewelry was tempting, I stuck with a $10 top with buttons and sequins. It's lovely, really.
After spending lunch with Jonathon (and getting to finish his Thai food), I was sucked into helping in the Kindergarten class. Each Friday, a group works to whip up a little treat for the class. This being "L" week, the treat was lemon bars. I don't know who picked it, but even on my best days with all the ingredients and perhaps an accomplished chef at my side, I can't make lemon bars. Put me in a class with four 5 year olds, a lack of proper ingredients, no 9x9 baking dish, and an inability to use the oven and the mixer at the same time, the result was a disaster. Without baking powder or the use of the mixer while the crust baked, the lemon topping was a runny mess. With only a 13x9 dish the ingredients didn't fit the pan and the oven baked one side of the crust more than the other, leaving half burnt. Quite the disaster. Somehow I knew and had asked our cook to make lemon squares at home. I'll send those in to the class with Jonathon on Monday as compensation.
Oh, and I need to send a note to his teachers anyway. They spell his name wrong.
After escaping Kindergarten (and an oath to stick with Thursdays when they're in the library), I chatted with Marjorie (our neighbor) as we made our way to the 5th grade classroom. The presentations were good, if repetitive. Katherine's group did a portion of the setting of the story. She didn't like the book, which is something for Katherine since she'll read just about anything, so her heart wasn't in the project.
The day was finally over, and none too soon. It's always good to chat with the teachers and make my face known on campus, though the Kindergarten teachers may put a bar on my entering their classroom any time soon.

*yawn* *sigh*

Apologies in advance for such boring updates. It's just I haven't seen much outside the house since Saturday when the girls and I went to Spencer's to pick up some birthday gifts and a kitty scratching post. Ian was sick that day. If Ian wrote, you'd probably hear all about the folks at work still dropping like flies or coming in sick. The newspaper today was filled with articles about health issues, Dengue and Chikungunya (look it up). So my standard update:

Rebecca stayed home from school today. A good thing, her fever came and went and came and went. She looked pretty yucky all day though thankfully did not throw up again. She managed to eat some orange slices and about 1/2 of dinner.

When the bus came home with the kids, Jonathon had fallen asleep. He was burning up, skipped dinner and fell asleep at 6:30.

ISO a Qualified Dentist

Nicholas's wiggly tooth is still wiggly. It's been weeks! Each week it gets a snidgen looser, but it's in no way on the verge of falling out. He's doing well otherwise.

Katherine cracked her front tooth last summer (funny story... she was running down the hall in the apartment building, pushing a luggage trolley and her face ran into the wall.... ok, not so funny) and the repair we had done is slowly crumbling away. She hasn't whacked it again and she's brushing and flossing and all that, but it's just falling apart. She's becoming self-conscious about her smile, and that's not good.

Rebecca's spacer fell out well ahead of schedule during the school. No idea why, she was sitting in class when it happened. Now she's worried about why her teeth aren't coming in white like Katherine's, and why one of her lower teeth has come in facing the wrong way. I think she's accepted braces in her future, and she's only 8!

Jonathon has tartar issues, so he needs a good cleaning ASAP.

When we get to India, someone point us to the nearest and best dentist!

A week of contrasts

Summer vacation is here!

And the deep cleaning of everything commences. I'm not talking about scrub cleaning as our house is clean but for the copious amount of dust that seem to appear overnight. I'm focused on decluttering, thinning, and tossing of every random bit of junk (and at this point everything but the kids could fit the category) into the trash. With more people in the house on a full-time basis, there's no pity for stuff that doesn't belong and isn't 100% loved, or at least 90% liked. We've been here for 9 1/2 months and if it hasn't been used, it most likely won't be. Out it goes.

But let me back up a bit.

Earlier this week Nicholas was ill. I was sure amoebas were the culprit as he had the same symptoms (fever, nausea, abdominal cramps, green mucousy diarrhea) Rebecca experienced in Manila. After two lab samples came back negative I was happy to be proven wrong and he was even happier not to face the course of meds and miss the last few days of school. He did stay home on Wednesday which threw off school for Katherine, but what the heck. The last week of school should be light.
Thursday was sports day at AISL. Rebecca and Nicholas's class played street hockey, Jonathon's class played frisbee and relays. With a single play court, all the kids didn't get to play all day but took turns, followed by a picnic. Parents weren't even asked to supply a dish!
Friday, last day of school, and a half day. I spent the morning tidying up the library while Katherine helped out Miss Emily's class taking items off the wall, reading stories to the class and being a teacher's aide. She had a blast. After snack time, I spent an hour filling up not nearly enough water balloons for the whole school (remember, only about 40 kids, but still). The kids knew they're not coming back to AISL next year and wanted to say goodbye to the Icee man, the one who sells ice creams and frozen juices in the courtyard each afternoon. They bought enough for the family and gave him extra to keep. He was beyond thrilled.
We had an informal lesson on how little things can make a difference. Sure, the extra money made his day, but also the fact that the kids are always polite, friendly and cheerful set them apart from many of the kids at school who purchase icees.
Ok, what else comes with the last day of school? Report cards and test scores. Everyone did fine on report cards. Jonathon is more than ready for Kindergarten, Nicholas is prepared for 1st grade. We'll continue with improving reading and math over the summer for both boys. Rebecca surprised us this year, but we owe that entirely to Miss Emily. Katherine, well, you know about her already.
The girls received their IOWA test scores. If you believe in such things, both girls rated a year ahead of their current grade. Rebecca is a rising 3rd grader and rated beginning 4th grade, while Katherine is a rising 5th grader and rated middle 6th grade. We're pleased, especially as the school does not teach for the test as many schools do, so it's not solely that they are good test takers. Science Focus in Arlington taught many subjects specifically for the Virginia SOLs. The big surprises? Rebecca rated middle 5th grade for Listening skills, and Katherine rated 9th grade for Laguage Usage and Expression skills. OK, not so much surprises as we already knew Rebecca can remember just about anything and Katherine has always been good with Language skills. Sometimes it's nice to see it on paper though.
In other news, Ian sent in a cable officially requesting curtailment from Togo. Fully half of the teachers at the British School have quit and part of the school has been sold off. The new director at AISL, the current middle school teacher, in already having management difficulties.

Graduation and End of Year Schtuff

This evening the whole family went to AISL to attend the graduation ceremony.

Rebecca and Nicholas did a song with their music class (entitled "Our School is the Best" ... you can only imagine the variations that have been practiced at home), so we all attended. Nicholas was his typical self, avoiding singing while trying to distinguish exactly how many bugs were on the stage around his shoes. Ian said that if Nicholas put his head any further down, he'd be looking behind himself. At this rate he'll never be a showman. Rebecca more than makes up for him with her, uh, dramatic flair.
The program began on AST (Africa Standard Time = 30 minutes late... as opposed to PST = Philippine Standard Time = 3 hours late), so we had the opportunity to chat with some of the other volunteers at the school. Miss Jennifer helps out in the French classes 3x/week and my girls rave about her. She'll be in-country for the summer and is looking for tutoring opportunities. I'm thinking we might hire her. Rebecca has made her an adorable certificate for being Best French Teacher.
Ms. Frances was also back, she tutored several high schoolers in literature this year in "my" library. She's an older lady, working as a counselor for the Peace Corps volunteers but giving her time to AISL as well. She's a wonderful person.
Back to the graduates... there were four this year, all women (I'd say girls but I'm pretty sure they're all 20 somethings), and all with great plans for their future. I have to say that their speeches really were inspiring. You could see the pride in Mr. Bob's face (the Nebraska coordinator) with his charges. Mr. Diffily, our DCM, was the keynote speaker and also gave an inspiring speech listing the 5 points he feels are key to being a success... doing what you love, being a good listener, being open to learning, keeping in touch with family aka Calling Mom, and hmmm... one I'm forgetting. Mr. Naylor put together a PP slide show of activities through the year, and the new director was announced. Mr. Andrew Dodds, the current 6/7/8 teacher, has accepted the position.
Speaking of Mr. Andrew, he's asked Ian to speak to his class about diplomacy and the Foreign Service on Monday. Ian's great at doing things like that. In fact, he received a thank you note from Condoleeza Rice just this past week for his "hometown" talk at the University of Cincinnati last summer. Well, I thought it was pretty cool!
And guess who received a certificate and an engraved pen this evening? Yours truly, for volunteer work in the library. It's been a long hard road at the school this year, but aside from the politics and difficult personalities, I have been proud of what I've been able to give to the library. With a couple hundred hours of time, several hundred dollars in books and supplies (gotta love ebay), donations from people round the world and a generous supply of elbow grease, the library is functional. What I could have done with a budget! Getting library catalogs makes me drool with what I wish I could accomplish in there.
But that's for someone else to do now, and I wish them well.
So we enter the final week of school for the year, for our time at AISL and potentially for our time in Togo. It's been an eye-opening school year for all of us, and no, it hasn't been all bad even for all the complaining we've done. While you read all my whines (and it must seem like it's all me all the time), there's been grumbling from everyone. OK, not from Jonathon. He's a happy-go-lucky kid anywhere in the world and I don't think he ever registers "Togo" in his ever-expanding brain, so he doesn't count. But for the rest of us with functioning memories we have had adjustment issues (some would call it an incompatibility with West Africa, others would call it being too pampered to cope), but we've had some great times here as well, and there are things I will miss whenever we do leave.
After everything, this really is a fabulous family post. I know I mentioned this months ago, how it's a family post not for bringing in lots of families or catering to families, but for getting to really know your own. I like my family more now than I ever have before, and I've always liked them. I try to listen to them as individuals more. I interact with them more. I play with them more. I'm not just talking about the kids either, it's flowing to Ian as well. We've been together 11 1/2 years and now I feel like I'm truly appreciating how wonderful they are and how much I really like each and every one of them. I imagine this is a life long process that just keeps improving.
With family, loving is a given. Liking takes energy and work. But more than that, it takes time and the absence of distractions. Togo provides more than enough time for introspection and interaction with those you love to firmly create a family of those you like.
For that, I'm extremely grateful to be posted here.

Two Problems

I don't often post my parenting issues here, but I'm really stuck with these two things, and they're driving me more than a little batty.

1) Towels. How do I get my children to hang up towels? It has been weeks, nay months, where every time they swim or shower, the towels end up on the floor. Either in the bathroom or the bedrooms, but always on the floor. Even when it's a towel for drying hands or after toothbrushing, 95% of the time it ends up on the floor. I don't get it. I literally spend the 5 minutes every night picking up towels from both bedrooms and the bathroom, and put them back on the towel racks or over the shower rail. Obviously it's not a time issue.
What can I do to get it through their thick little heads that hand towels don't even need to come off the rack?? And that shower/swim towels NEED to be hung up in the bathroom? I admit the shower bar is too high for most of the kids, but Katherine can fling it over. And the towel bar by the sink is low enough for even Jonathon to put the towel back.
I got so annoyed today that I removed every towel from their bathroom and left them a roll of paper towels. It's SUCH a waste though. What else can I do? They don't even seem to see the towels though they are literally walking on a carpet of them.
2) Dinner time. I don't know where my kids got it in their heads that during dinner they can get up and walk around, play charades, crawl under the table, etc. Nicholas is the worst offender. I (again) got so fed up today that after he got up and literally started walking in circles by the kitchen door I told him to sit down and if he got up again he'd be eating his dinner my himself the next 2 nights. Not a minute later, he slid off his chair again.
I don't get it. We've never changed the rules, yet somehow this has creeped up on me and now it's ridiculous. Could it be because I let them get up to get their own stuff (i.e. condiments they want, ice, clean fork)?
How can I get them to sit at the table and then stay sitting?

Day 4

The kids were home today, a holiday for Togolese Independence Day. The real Independence Day, from the French (after the "independence" from the British when Ghana was split with the Brits taking present-day Ghana and the French taking current Togo, which was after the "independence" from the original European occupiers, the Germans).

I took a couple night time Tylenol last night and slept well until 8:30 this morning. The kids had gotten cereal and cartoons, so they were happy to let me sleep.
Just after 9 they went swimming for a bit before an early lunch. We learned Sable, like most dogs, will eat anything and seems to enjoy carrot slices. When Emily arrived, we made brownies, then she and the girls made oatmeal/chocolate chip/craisin cookies and played a couple games of Cadoo while the boys played Nemo on the computer and I scrapped some of last summer's home leave trip. It will be done before we go on R&R this summer!! It will! Really.
After Emily left, a couple kids joined me in scrapping until Ian called to say he'll be heading home tomorrow at 10 a.m. (9 our time). If all goes well, he'll be home before noon.
Katherine and I made ploye for dinner, which reminds me, we're running low and should order more. Leftover meatloaf, corn and stuffing make a nice filler for ploye, though the kids generally prefer breakfast ploye with sweet stuff inside.
We saw American Idol and Amazing Race, then everyone went to bed. Except me of course, I'm right here. I'll probably get a couple more pages of scrapping done before hitting the sack myself.

"Spring" Break

It's not really "spring" break, is it? I mean, it's still about 88 degrees outside with about 88% humidity. But still, today is day three of our break.

Yesterday we made brownies and an Oreo cake. The three older kids went swimming. Twice. Jonathon played Big Thinkers on the computer. As a group we cleaned up the TV room. Complete with vacuuming, it took all of 15 minutes. Amazing what can be accomplished when we all pitch in. We played Harry Potter Scene It and watched 101 Dalmatians. The kids drew pictures... their individual flags, holidays, and some abstract swirls of color. Of course, there's homework each day and plenty of free play time too. They've been setting up a "Chinese" restaurant which I absolutely must patronize as they take orders and serve food dressed up in clothes Amy in Beijing sent them. They look adorable.
Last night I went to bed way too late, so I've been quite the grump today. I try to take my bad moods out on dirty sinks and piles of laundry, so this morning I cleaned our bathroom, helped Nicholas pick up his room which still looks fabulous from my deep clean a couple weeks ago, threw in a load of laundry, cleaned out a bunch of magazines to bring to the school and weeded through books in the girls' room (have you ever read the "... from the Black Lagoon" kids' series? It's awful, and I only just cracked one of them open today. I thought it would be good easy reading, but found the language itself rather pointless). Together we've had lunch and begun the Art Fraud Detective book. Now, they're watching Star Wars III, though it's not going so well. Jonathon was just put down for a nap because he's had one too many crying jags about the unfairness of mankind. Or at least of his brother.
In a couple hours Ian and I will head out to the store. We have a list of groceries we need and tomorrow is busy with his proctoring of the FS exam, and then a get-together for some recent promotions in the Embassy. Stores are only open 9-12 and 3-6, and closed on Sundays, so it's this afternoon or not again until next weekend.

Hello, Bonjour, Buenos Dias

International Day, all 3 hours and 20 minutes of it sitting in the heat on plastic chairs and wooden stools, was a success. From youngest to oldest, each class or cultural group performed.


The presentations began with the student drummers. As odd as that might sound, the school offers weekly African drumming lessons. Some of these kids (age 6-16) have been learning for several years and they are quite good at intricate drum rhythms.
Then it was my little group's turn to sing "Hello to All the Children of the World". The kids did great, I'm still impressed by how they enjoy singing, though I noticed from the tape that the "music instructor" needs to cut back on her own volume. We were followed in quick succession by the preschooler introductions, then the 3/4/5 class which put on a native American vs. colonists play. The kids made their own costumes and wrote the play. The rest of the morning was broken up among the various Teams... Team Arab, Team Korea, Team America, etc. Team America consisted of Nicholas, Rebecca, and Miss Emily as they gave a brief history lesson, explained the flag, currency and lack of national costume.
As the morning wore on, the international buffet appeared. Our donation was homemade fudge and a package of Oreos. How much more American can you get? OK, OK, I admit I chickened out of spending my previous evening baking apple pies and making chocolate chip cookies like a good American housewife. Next time.
But here's a tip for all those heading overseas for the first time, or the first time with kids. There is always an International Day at the school, and you as a parent will always be asked to provide something from your home country. Apple pie? Snickerdoodles or Chocolate Chip cookies? Sure. Though, don't forget the easy stuff like rice krispie treats, slices of watermelon or corn on the cob. My kids actually wanted to bring a big pot of macaroni and cheese. OK, but here's my tip for before you even leave the States: Buy those American flag toothpicks/napkins/stickers; get red/white/blue paper plates; put powdered lemonade in your consumables shipment; bring M&Ms and chocolate chips. In other words, purchase all those items you'd usually only pull out for the 4th of July. You'll thank me for it later.

Why yes, it is 3something in the morning.

I'm not supposed to be awake. In fact, I went to bed shortly after 10 in order to avoid being awake right now, and in my own small way to help the Redskins win their playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. Obviously, I'm awake now and I didn't go to bed early enough because the 'skins lost their game anyway. I'm sorry. I'm bad luck for the Washington team.

But this isn't about a football team and the losing vibes I spread to them no matter where I am on the planet. It's about a short-lived adventure right in our very own backyard.
For Christmas, one of the kid group gifts was a 3-man tent. Three adults = approximately 4 kids right? Ian and I set it up in the living room this afternoon then after dark moved it to the yard. Set-up with sleeping bags, pillows and all the necessary stuffed creatures (live pets not allowed), they crashed around 9 p.m. At 10 I checked and all was fine, but Ian and I waited for the first bail-out. It didn't take long. Around 10:30 a thoroughly drenched (with sweat) Nicholas was done. I tucked him under his covers and went to bed myself. Sometime after the game ended (all I know is Ian was already asleep), Jonathon stood by the bed and said he was done sleeping outside.
With the extra room I rather figured the girls would finish out the night. Five minutes later Rebecca announced she couldn't sleep outside and I guessed Katherine wouldn't make it long on her lonesome. At 3 a.m. I checked on all the kids. Imagine my surprise to see both boys in their beds yet not a girl to be found.
I slipped on a pair of Ian's shoes and went outside one last time to check on the tent inhabitants. Rebecca was back with her sister but awoke the instant I unzippered the door. My plan had been simply to open the 2 windows to allow the cooler night air inside, but by then Katherine was awake too and it was agreed they would both return to their beds and air conditioning.
I can't really blame any of them. Somehow mosquitoes were still getting in which is annoying as well as a health-hazard. Someone (*cough* Rebecca? *cough*) kept zippering the windows closed, making it extremely warm inside with four bodies emitting heat. The hotel next door was having its regular weekend party complete with loud music. When we said goodnight, the kids were being serenaded by Amazing Grace. The dog was snuffling around, periodically getting herself stuck in the pool enclosure, requiring her to bark her fool head off to be released. And the bats were out in force, which doesn't mean they were swooping into people's hair or anything, but they are loud with their batty chirping.
I won't give up hope yet, but maybe for a while the tent will remain a daytime adventure.