goings on

What have we been up to recently?  Well I, for one, have been happy to be getting back into a routine.  Here's a brief rundown on what's happening in our family:

Abby - good heavens, that girl is growing so fast!  She's been giving away her special coos to her little bear mobile above her bed, and to mommy and daddy and our house helper.  In fact, our house helper got a real smile from Abby before I did --- but I'm convinced it's just because there's such a big contrast in our looks that it evoked a quicker response...or something like that...   Anyway, she's surprising me with her little milestones - holding up her head, smiling at her toys, watching me intently whenever I leave her room  =)  Last night I went in her room to wake her up so I could feed her before I went to bed, and I found her (wide awake) staring in wonder at the white christmas lights that are tucked into the greenery on the top shelf of her closet.  Just staring away...

Samantha - She's been going back and forth on whether or not she really wants to be a big sister.  She told me the other day that she didn't want to be Abby's big sister anymore, she really just wanted to be a puppy (role-play taken to the extreme happens in our house frequently)...but then, she'll surprise me and I'll see her sneak away to go sit by Abby and sing her songs or read her books.  She's been loving our mornings where Emma goes to preschool and she has mommy and abby all to herself...

Emma - She has resumed going to preschool three mornings a week, where she dodges the mean looks of a certain boy and sings songs and makes weird origami things with her best friend (who has been sick since we've returned home).  In the afternoons, Emma has started learning how to read!  We're 16 lessons through a 100-lesson course and she is doing really good.  She was really surprised when she discovered she could read the sentences - see me eat, mad at me, read it!  We're using the "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" book, and so far it seems to be working well for us and our time. 

She is also working on writing her letters, and sometimes if she messes up, she puts an x through it to show that it's not right.  One evening she was showing josh her letters, and she pointed to an "e" that she had x-ed out.  She said, "Daddy, don't look at that one.  It's x-rated!" 

 Now that she is four years old, she is old enough to start some sort of extra-curricular activity here, like rollerblading or ballet lessons.  She told us this weekend that she thought rollerblading looked boring (a blow to her mama's heart! I loved rollerblading!) and that she'd rather go to ballet class with her friend clara anne.  We'll see how all that works out.  

Hubs - has been busy since coming home...he's found newfound motivation to eat healthy and exercise (a motivation that seldom visits my door!) and also has started studying language a bit more (as if it wasn't good enough already...)  He's still been meeting with his deaf friend a couple times each week and has seen really fruit from that.  

Me - me, me...I'm pretty much the same.  Still drinking coke, still eating chocolate, still loving to sleep late.  I've recently read the book "the mission of motherhood" and I found it supremely convicting.  Sure, I'm good at meeting my kids' needs, I'm good at planning stuff for them, but how often do I sit and play with them?  doing something they want to do?  or how often do I put them on hold so I can run and do the dishes or tidy up or write that email?  Too often!  So my motto this week (I had to choose only one area to work on after reading her book...because I became aware of way too many areas to work on!) is " I have time".  I really do. I have time to read a book one extra time for them.  I have time to stop what I'm doing to watch samantha slide for the six billionth time.  I have time.  The dishes can wait.  Email can surely wait.  Whatever I'm doing is not that important, but my kids are. 

Anyway, here are some pictures from this week:

One extra picture from after the wedding last week (and one of the times when they agree about who gets to ride the bike!):

reading books with our house helper:
dress up continues, but this time they found MY clothes on the floor and decided that was a great change!  Those girls are so silly!
Even though the lighting on this picture is wierd, it was actually the first picture I snapped and I  was afraid the moment would be gone.  I loved how emma grabbed samantha's shoulder and samantha leaned in - they really like each other!  =)
This week, our house helper taught emma how to "wash" the dishes, and since then, Emma can't get enough!  She brings her little stool in, puts on an apron, and washes away.  It's so funny.  She asks after every meal if she can wash the dishes, and gets a little irritated if I say no.  Now, if I can just channel that energy long enough to last until she's in her teenage years...


Ahhh, friends...one of my favorite things about my life.  We love playdates, we love surprise visits, we love having friends.  Here are two of emma and mantha's playgroup posse:
That's all for now...now you all know what's been up with us...

to the zoo

Flashback with me, if you will, to our time in Thailand.  Even before Abby was born.

When Emma turned four, we asked her what special and fun thing she'd like to do.  She chose going to the zoo.  This seems to be the hot event in our family ever since we went to the zoo for samantha's 2nd birthday.

So we jumped in one of those red pick-ups and headed to the zoo.  The zoo is kind of up on a mountain, which is lovely and natural feeling for the animals...but not so lovely and natural feeling for the humans who are walking around to see the animals!  

One interesting facet of this zoo is their comfortability level with distance.  They don't seem too worried by how close you get to the hippo.  And the potatoes they sell to you encourage the hippos to get even closer.  No, this would never work in America!  We bought a bag of potatoes, and the hippos were magnetically drawn to us.  I didn't even know that hippos liked to eat potatoes.  

Everyone got a turn to throw some in:
Hippo hair:
He was close!
Josh actually threw one potato in and it landed in the hippos nostril. After several heavy breaths, the potato still remained lodged in the nasal cavity.  Josh asked if I thought he should just "quick, reach over and try to thump it out."  

Um, no.  Bad idea.

Hippo went underwater, we saw a stream of bubbles, and when he resurfaced, it was gone.  No need to stick your hand in his nose, dear. He can handle it himself.  

Moving on past the hippos...to the playground at the zoo.  The birthday girl:
Then on to the giraffes, where again, they aren't concerned with how close you get.  Unfortunately, as we were admiring the giraffes (and getting all set up to document our children feeding the 10cent bag of green beans to the giraffes) we were inundated by purple-clad children on a field trip.  Everyone loves a field-trip, except everyone who goes to the same place as the field trip destination.  

If I were a giraffe, I would have been a little scared.  These kids were a little out of control with their green beans.  
But we waited patiently, and then they moved on to the ostriches (and the green bean seller packed up for the day. He had done good business!).  While the 4-th graders were elsewhere, we re-set up for the documentation of feeding the giraffes.  (*Note - yes, we do have to set up, because some events require video tape and still photos.  How do you decide which one when you can have both?! =)

Fortunately, the giraffe did not take off Samantha's hand, but he happily ate her green bean.  She thought it was way cool that she could get so close to him.  Heck, I thought it was way cool to get so close.  I've never been that close to a giraffe before!
See?  That's a "this is way cool" smile if you ask me:
Check out the long black tongue!  Emma thought that was neat.  Experiences like this make a trip to the zoo seem very educational!
Daddy with his girls...and two giraffes with full bellies in the background:
The rest of the zoo was fun, but it doesn't really compare to feeding hippos and giraffes.  I hope their next trip to the zoo is just as fun!

the color of love

What is the color of love?

My answer is yellow and orange.  And maybe a touch of brown.

Now, before you go and correct me and rattle off red roses or pink ribbons or brown chocolate, hear me out...

I think I have spent many a blog post extolling the virtues of my house helper.  Truly, I love her - and not just because she makes my life run smoothly.  She's a great friend, a sounding board, she doesn't get irritated with me when I get irritated with life and culture here, she loves my girls, and does tons of things on her own initiative just to help me.  

But sometimes...sometimes...I wish she would just ask me first.

While I was gone in t-land for Abby's birth, she wondered and pondered what kind of present she should give to Abby.  Usually, her presents are very homemade and very unique.  This one was no exception.  She was aware that I already have too many girl clothes, so that was out.  Same with toys. So what could she get me that I didn't already have?  What could I possibly need?

Of course!!! A cover for Abby's bed!!!  Yes, that's right, a cover for a pack and play.  Let me give you a visual:

Yep, that goes all the way around and inside the pack-and-play.  She got this brilliant idea after we had left, and spent the morning at the seamstress' place talking about how it would work.  The seamstress could not seem to conceptualize what she was talking about (there's no pack-and-plays for sale at wal-mart here, folks) so what did my house helper do?

Well, she packed it up and took it to the seamstress' place.  And then they planned and organized this great gift for me and Abby.  In this great orange and yellow color.    In a room that is light green and tan.  It doesn't stick out too much, does it??  =)

Truthfully, I'm touched by her gift.  And I can actually imagine a situation where I'd like something like that - but I'd also like to pick out the colors myself.  Especially since she's at my house every day and I can't just effusively thank her and then stuff it away in a closet somewhere.  

But, she loves me and I love her, so if Abby's bed is orange for the next year and a half...well, there's worse things that could happen.

dress up!

One of the great things about coming home after being away is that everything seems new again.  

Our comfy bed with fab sheets seemed like heaven.

Our shower was hot and strong.

Washing dishes was a breeze with hot water in my taps.

And all toys - no matter how long they have been owned - are interesting.

As soon as we entered the house and sat down our suitcases, Emma and Samantha rediscovered all their treasures.  High on the list of favorites this time was the bin of dress up clothes.  They came up with some good outfits:

China doll with purple high heels:

Scrubs with padded kitty slippers:
Nightgown, headband, brown sweats and red clutch:
Nightgown, pink sweats, headband, and yes...the kitty slippers.  
What's old is new again!  Wonder how long that will last...

earth angel

We arrived home (yay!!!) on Friday afternoon, and Sunday morning one of our dearest friends in our city was getting married.  Not only were we going TO the wedding, but Emma was going to be IN the wedding.  No, not as a flower-girl in a typical American wedding.  She was going to be an angel - complete with wings - walking down the aisle carrying a candle. 

Emma actually has been excited about her wedding duties for several weeks.  I've been surprised at how well she mentally prepared herself for it.  For example, one evening a few weeks ago, josh asked her if she still wanted to be an angel in the wedding.  Here was the summary of her reply:

"Yeah, I still do.  Sometimes when I lay in bed, I think about being the angel.  I know that people will want to take my picture, but I can be friendly and do it.  I will be brave and do a good job."  

Wow. I was impressed with her thoughtfulness about it.  

Well, anyway, I was excited to get some wear out of the cute Gymboree christmas dresses I bought for them in the states last fall, and emma was excited about the wings.  Everyone was happy.  

The day before, we straightened Emma's hair (those pesky flyaways plague emma in a big way!) and laid out all her and mantha's clothes for the next day.  When morning came, everyone ate quickly and jumped into their dresses and red tights and we headed to the restaurant.  (Most weddings, even ones for believers, are done at restaurants.)

Here's Emma and Samantha before everything started:

Then she got her wings and flowery halo:
Getting instructions and practice from daddy while mantha watches on:
Emma had to wait a while for other things to happen during the ceremony before her turn.  She and samantha were happy to sit with our friend and eat all the snacks laid out on the table.  It helped that she and her husband cracked nuts and sunflower seeds non-stop for them.  I couldn't even tell you half of what they ate that day, because they just kept eating...
Finally, it was emma's turn:
Just look at my girl performing under pressure!  All those cameras!  All those people!  You go, girl!!
The mothers of the bride and groom used Emma's candle to light their own candles, which in turn lit some other candle...
After the ceremony, we were ushered into the "honored guests" room to eat lunch, while the other 200 guests stayed downstairs in the main dining hall.  I'd never been to the "honored guests" room at a local wedding - but it's the way to go!  Usually at weddings there's a lot of smoking (free cigs, courtesy of the bridal party), lots of drunk people (hey, open bar - what do you expect?) and more attention to my kids than I'd like.  But in the room today, there were just a few people (whom we already knew and really liked) and it was very quiet and conducive to good conversation.  It was nice to be an honored guest!

One of the ladies in there felt particularly drawn to hold abby almost the entire meal. In fact, except for the brief time I fed her, she did  hold her the entire time!  But I was very ok with that - I ate and talked and briefly forgot I had an infant!
And here's the first family portrait with all five of us together. No, we weren't in a ship.  That's just the classy decorations in the restaurant...  =)
Surprisingly, that was only our 3rd wedding in this country, but it was certainly the most enjoyable.  We love this sister and her new husband and were so honored to be a part of their special day!

I'll quit crying for my sister...

I have no shame in admitting the truth.

I actively recruit my older children to help when Abby is crying.

And - miraculously - whenever they come near to talk to her or (my personal favorite) "share" their toys by stuffing them in her face, she stops crying.

Maybe it's sensory overload - a huge, smiling face within centimeters of her eyes...or heavy toys being thrown on her lap, or loud, giggly voices directing all their attention towards her ears.  It doesn't really matter why, I guess, but the result works.  She's interested in them.  She wants to look at them and follow their spastic movements all around the room.  She likes being near them.  

Here, samantha is "sharing" a huge and heavy rolling toy.  Abby loves it.  Eyes wide open, drinking in all the sensations.  (isn't she cute in her styling baby gap clothes from andy & nat?)

I love how abby is scoping out mantha in this picture:

She's cute, huh?!  We like her, pimples and all.  

out and about

The transition to three kids hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be, though I have the distinct advantage right now of having a sleeping newborn 85% of the time.  (and that other 15% she is easily pacified by eating or being held).  So really, it's like I have two kids and a 10 pound purse.  Well, you know what I mean.

anyway, I'm posting these pictures for those of you who don't travel to thailand every year. I think transportation here is...very...interesting, especially if you've only driven yourself everywhere in your own personal car.  

Option #1 for transportation is the red pick-up truck.  Granted, it's been altered and modified, but basically it's a red pick-up.  There are no bus routes to speak of, so these function loosely as buses.  You flag one down, tell him where you want to go, and if he's headed that way, he'll give you a nod of the head.  No yes, no no, just a nod.  The fare is based on a per-person basis, though our kids usually don't get charged.  Hop in the back of the truck where there are padded seats for you to sit on.  And usually a padded roof, and in case you decide to go mentally insane, you'll be safely protected.  =)  

This is the mode of transportation we use most often, because it's cheaper and a little less haggling. 

Option #2 is the very thai looking tuk-tuk.  I see tuktuks driving down the road, and I immediately think of thailand.  I think they also have them in other southeast asian places like cambodia and stuff, but that's beside the point.  Here's a tuktuk - a little 3 -wheel motorcycle with a spacious backseat, an overhead canopy, and a driver that wants to make a little extra money off the foreigner.  
Tuktuks are more expensive, because they're dedicated to where you want to go - not like the red truck that eventually makes it where you want to go.  But tuktuks have nice, loud motors and they zip in and out of traffic, so they're the favorite of our kids. 

And while we're out doing all this driving around, where is Abby? Well, it's a funny story...

...that I'll save for another time.  =)

But anyway, I'll just say that someone gave us a baby sling. I've never had a baby sling before; we've always used our trusty Snugli front-carrier thing.  The sling has a special advantage - no one even notices there's a baby in there.  People give me crazy looks when they realize my purse isn't really a purse!  I'm so excited about having a newborn and walking through the streets of my city with NO ONE noticing...and touching...and scolding me...

The sling is very heavy on my shoulder, so I probably won't be able to use it for long, but for now it's been a great way to transport baby around unnoticed!

flying through the trees

Tuesday is our last day here in this city.  We'll still have a day in Bangkok and then overnight in another city before finally making it home on Friday, but the countdown has officially begun.  Just a few hours left here, so we are happy!  

As the days have dwindled down, we've been checking our lists to make sure we've bought everything we need, met with people we need to meet with, gotten doctor's appointments out of the way, and done all the fun stuff we had planned to do before we left.

One thing was left - a new attraction that came during our 4-year absence from this city - and I, being the great wife that I am, suggested that hubby and some friends try it together.  

It's called "Flight of the Gibbon" and it's basically a mile and half of ziplines and suspension bridges built up high over the rainforest.  Super. Cool.  

We're talking, like 200 feet in the air.  Too bad they don't allow newborns....

Last saturday morning, josh and a couple of friends went out and swung through the trees.  Emma and samantha had a hard time believing that daddy was telling the truth when they found out where he had been, but the video helped convince them...

Josh didn't take his camera, but Mr. P had his and took some pictures and video.  Thanks John and matthew for being so adventurous with josh!

One of the ziplines...flying from tree to tree seems way fun to me!

you want to walk across this, don't you???
Josh said the safety standards were first-rate and truly impressive...

And here it is, my first video upload on blogger.  Maybe this will give you a better idea of what it was like:

Apparantly in the spring rainy season, all the trees and flowers are in full bloom and there's even lots of wildlife (um, like bears...yikes!) roaming around under you while you fly through the trees.  It was about $60, so kind of pricy, but josh said it was great. I can't wait to go again when someone will watch my kiddos for me!  =)

three weeks going on 13

Just a few days after Abby was born, a crop of infant acne popped up on her face.  Well, almost three weeks later, it's still there and Abby is getting a taste of what it's like to be a teenager.

Except that when you're a baby, no one cares about your pimples (except your mama!) and no one would dare make fun of you (or mama will come get you!)

Anyway, here's some pictures I took yesterday in my attempt to take more pictures before abby is all grown up:

She already loves being on her tummy:

...as long as you don't leave her there for too long!