It was just about time for me to wake up when I heard some choked sobs coming from the hallway. The sobs made their way into my room.
"I had a bad dream Mommy!" she cried. It was Sophie. She was wearing only underwear, and climbed into the bed with us. My husband comforted her.
"I dreamed that I got arrested and they took me away from you and I didn't wanna be away from you!" she explained through her tears.
It's times like these when I am grateful my daughters still need me. I cherish them wanting to snuggle in bed with me.
Even though she is 8 years old and very very tall, she has only been on this earth for 8 short years. I love being her mom and am glad she still needs me.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Pole-ittan Ice Cream
You would think it is Christmas day here! They want to wear their costumes every single day after school. And then, after donning the Wonder Woman and Bat Girl costumes, they say they are "training" and they begin sparring matches. It is rather hilarious.
Also of note, we have some Neopolitan ice cream. I don't usually buy it b/c Sophie only likes vanilla, plain. Only Viv likes chocolate and other flavors. They are not used to eating Neopolitan. Last night, Viv says to her dad, "Daddy, can we have some Pole-ittan ice cream?" He says, "What?" And she says, "You know, Daddy, Pole-ittan." She opens the freezer door and proudly points to the ice cream in the freezer.
In 1st grade, Viv has started her new unit on Celebrations. They study how communities celebrate various events, across all religions and cultures. The teacher has the classroom decorated with a christmas tree and lots of other things.
She came home with a long stemmed rose yesterday and a red envelope. She said "Ni Hao" and explained that red envelopes are how you celebrate Chinese New Year.
Today is the school's celebration of Ugandan Independence Day. This year happens to be 50 years of independence. Sophie will be performing the song "there was an old woman who swallowed a fly" with a twist. The librarian at the girls' school has written an African version called "There was an Mzee, who swallowed a fly". They are honoring the book launch and the kids will be singing the song to celebrate.
Also of note, we have some Neopolitan ice cream. I don't usually buy it b/c Sophie only likes vanilla, plain. Only Viv likes chocolate and other flavors. They are not used to eating Neopolitan. Last night, Viv says to her dad, "Daddy, can we have some Pole-ittan ice cream?" He says, "What?" And she says, "You know, Daddy, Pole-ittan." She opens the freezer door and proudly points to the ice cream in the freezer.
In 1st grade, Viv has started her new unit on Celebrations. They study how communities celebrate various events, across all religions and cultures. The teacher has the classroom decorated with a christmas tree and lots of other things.
She came home with a long stemmed rose yesterday and a red envelope. She said "Ni Hao" and explained that red envelopes are how you celebrate Chinese New Year.
Today is the school's celebration of Ugandan Independence Day. This year happens to be 50 years of independence. Sophie will be performing the song "there was an old woman who swallowed a fly" with a twist. The librarian at the girls' school has written an African version called "There was an Mzee, who swallowed a fly". They are honoring the book launch and the kids will be singing the song to celebrate.
Halloween Madness
This weekend, Sophie was invited to sleepover at her best friend's house. Best friends, in 2012, are now referred to as bee-eff-eff's by children. It is getting a bit easier for Viv to accept the fact of Sophie being invited for sleepovers.
One thing we did, by ourselves, was get the Halloween boxes out. This caused a ton of excitement for Viv. When we moved overseas and I was deciding what to bring or not, I decided the holiday decor was a "must have" item to make the house feel like a home.
I must admit, it gets boringly blue here at the equator. Weather is pretty constant all the time, never too hot, never too cold and no seasons, but the holiday boxes help a lot in that department.
She was so excited to look through the boxes. Mummy that dances to Thriller - check. Rock with light up "stay away" sign and evil laugh - check. Small cauldrons and pumpkins - check. Black apron with glow in the dark skeleton bones - check. Gorilla mask - check. And when I was back in the states last year, in November, it was the perfect time to pick up some bargain basement items at the drug stores.
I got a mirror that has the voice of a man saying "Get me out of here!" with light up face/eyes inside the mirror. It's a bit creepy but just perfect.
I also bought our costumes a year early and I'm so glad I did. I went with a Super Friends theme. Batman for daddy, and his sidekick for me (of course), with matching Wonder Woman costumes for the girls. But, in case someone did not want to match their sister, I do have a Bat Girl costume. It's all black and Viv loves it.
One thing we did, by ourselves, was get the Halloween boxes out. This caused a ton of excitement for Viv. When we moved overseas and I was deciding what to bring or not, I decided the holiday decor was a "must have" item to make the house feel like a home.
I must admit, it gets boringly blue here at the equator. Weather is pretty constant all the time, never too hot, never too cold and no seasons, but the holiday boxes help a lot in that department.
She was so excited to look through the boxes. Mummy that dances to Thriller - check. Rock with light up "stay away" sign and evil laugh - check. Small cauldrons and pumpkins - check. Black apron with glow in the dark skeleton bones - check. Gorilla mask - check. And when I was back in the states last year, in November, it was the perfect time to pick up some bargain basement items at the drug stores.
I got a mirror that has the voice of a man saying "Get me out of here!" with light up face/eyes inside the mirror. It's a bit creepy but just perfect.
I also bought our costumes a year early and I'm so glad I did. I went with a Super Friends theme. Batman for daddy, and his sidekick for me (of course), with matching Wonder Woman costumes for the girls. But, in case someone did not want to match their sister, I do have a Bat Girl costume. It's all black and Viv loves it.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Depths of Compassion
9/7/12
Sophie continues to amaze me with her compassion. When she learned that her father was not
going to be home for his birthday, she said, “But MOMMY! That’s even more sad
than if Daddy isn’t home for MY birthday. POOR DADDY!”
I am pretty sure I would not have said anything like that at
her age.
When her sister was sick yesterday, she was so helpful. She
grabbed whatever we needed; water for her to take a pill, the thermometer, etc.
and announced, “Nurse Sophie to the rescue!”
Vivi came down with tonsillitis two nights ago. Her tonsil
was swollen to the size of a strawberry! I never saw anything like it. She told
me, upon laying down for bed, that her neck hurt.
“Well, lay a different way then,” I suggested.
“No Mommy! I can’t get comfortable. It’s when all this snot
is going down my throat.”
“Do you mean your throat is hurting? Your neck is the
outside, your throat is where you swallow food, on the inside,” I explained.
I looked inside her mouth and her tonsil was huge. I couldn’t
even see the back of her throat. When I walked her to the medicine closet, she
began whimpering and the tears started falling. She was having a great time
feeling sorry for herself.
“Mommy, I tried to tell you this before,” she cried.
I gave her an ibuprofen and some sore throat spray and put
her to bed. She fell asleep before the bedtime story was over. I was glad she fell asleep so fast.
Later in
the night, she crawled into my bed, and she was the last one up the next
morning. This usually never happens, so I knew she wasn’t feeling well. Another
clue was that she was not hungry.
We visited the school nurse, and then headed into town to
the doctor to see which antibiotic would work.
She was miserable on the ride into the doctor, and a bit better on the
way home. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home, and she took great
delight in showing anyone we saw her throat.
They gave her penicillin. Her tonsil is still swollen, but
the school nurse is so wonderful. She is the kind of woman who I wish was my
own mom. She is so loving and caring. She even called us that afternoon to find
out how the doctor’s visit went. She said if Viv felt OK, she could come to
school the next day, but she would make sure she took her antibiotic at
lunchtime. She also suggested Viv not do PE, but instead, rest at the clinic
during PE time. Viv just thrives and blooms in all the attention the nurse
gives her!
Friday, August 31, 2012
International Sleepover
We have been back to school for a little over 2 weeks now.
My daughters are in 3rd and 1st grade. We are entering
the territory of separate playdates for separate daughters. The older daughter is at the age where she is
being invited for playdates without her sister. This is completely appropriate and normal. However,
my husband swears that he and his brother were best friends and never did anything
without the other.
This week, Sophie, 3rd grade, was invited to a Belgian
friend’s house Friday after school for a playdate. The exchange went something like this:
We are standing in the schoolyard after school. Parents are
chatting while kids are having one last go on the playground equipment before
being carted off home at the end of the day. My daughter and her friend
approach me and the Belgian Mom (BM).
Belgian Daughter (BD) to BM: Can Sofee come to ow-ah house for
playdayt on frightee?
BM: Shrugs her shoulder and turns to me. “Is dat ohkee
witchoo?”
I say sure, sounds great. But in my mind, I am thinking
little sister has just been left out in the cold. We discuss it on the car ride
home. I really don’t even want to tell
Vivi about this playdate because I know it is going to trigger an outburst.
Viv moans, squinting her eyes in pain, “Sophie’s going to
Lois’s house? But not me? OH! I HATE it when Sophie gets invited to playdates.
It’s NOT FAIR!”
“Well, what if we invite Leon (pronounced Lay-on) over to
our house for a playdate?” I suggest.
Leon is the brother of BD. He is in Vivi’s class.
She immediately brightens. “OK Mommy.” Problem solved.
Two days later, I am chatting with BM again when BD and
Sophie approach. This time they have another proposition.
BD to BM: something unintelligible in Belgian
BM to me: Lois is asking if Sofee can spent da nyte? Is dat
okee?
I say sure, but I know Vivi will be crushed. Even the offer
of sleeping in the bed with me can not fix the feeling of abandonment she has
when her sister is invited somewhere to spend the night without her. Suddenly, I remember about inviting the
brother for Vivi to play with. I ask BM
and she says it’s OK.
Right now, all is well. Vivi barely acknowledged leaving
school without Sophie. I brought her and Leon home and they are both happy.
They are playing very nicely. I love the low drama factor when my daughter
plays with a boy. I seem to remember having the same low drama, low fuss
experience when playing with boys myself.
They were out in the garden (this means yard in the US) and
I heard them talking excitedly about pumpkins. Pumpkins grow all year here and
are a main staple. We tried our hand at planting a few but so far, not so good.
I hear Vivi shout: “No Layon! Let’s show my Mom!! She been
waiting FIVE WHOLE YEARS for a PUMPKIN!” They run inside to get me. I pretend to be
surprised.
The small green pumpkin is the size of a large orange. It is
hanging on a brown and withered vine. I don’t even know how it still looks so
green and fresh.
“Can we carve it?” Vivi asks.
Soon Leon’s mom will come to pick him up. I hope I can be enough for Vivi tonight.
She was utterly shattered when Sophie had a Brownie sleepover at the end of
last school year. I had never seen her heart so broken and it killed me.
Her moods can pass like clouds in the sky. I never know how she is going to react. A
strong reaction one day does not necessarily portend the same kind of reaction
the next time. Does that mean they are growing up?
UPDATE: When BM came to pick up Leon, Vivi protested saying she would be bored. She quickly asked if Leon could spend the night with her! Leon is VERY tiny. He is 6 but looks 4. He claims he is not scared to spend the night.
His mom said it was OK so now we have our very own sleepover guest.
UPDATE 2: All went great! Fed them dinner, there is no drama at all. Brush teeth, pj's and he climbs up into the top bunk. He is so low key. We read a story, say prayers and then he says, "I think I feel a bit scared."
Do you want me to call your mom? He says yes.
Daddy came and picked him up. It was a stellar effort for such a little guy to try a sleepover. I told him I was proud of him and he could come back and try again anytime.
Vivi is now bathing herself so she can sleep in my bed tonight.
UPDATE: When BM came to pick up Leon, Vivi protested saying she would be bored. She quickly asked if Leon could spend the night with her! Leon is VERY tiny. He is 6 but looks 4. He claims he is not scared to spend the night.
His mom said it was OK so now we have our very own sleepover guest.
UPDATE 2: All went great! Fed them dinner, there is no drama at all. Brush teeth, pj's and he climbs up into the top bunk. He is so low key. We read a story, say prayers and then he says, "I think I feel a bit scared."
Do you want me to call your mom? He says yes.
Daddy came and picked him up. It was a stellar effort for such a little guy to try a sleepover. I told him I was proud of him and he could come back and try again anytime.
Vivi is now bathing herself so she can sleep in my bed tonight.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Three Scary Vegetables
This weekend, my daughter informed me that her band was messed up now that one of the members had moved back to Lebanon. The band was called The Three Scary Vegetables, and one of the songs went something like:
We're in the soup, we're in the soup,
HOT HOT HOT
She also explained that the members' names all rhymed with potato. One was potato, one is tomato and one was karado (carrot-o).
Stay tuned to find out what will become of the group that is now down to two members.
After homework today, Vivian began cutting out birds she learned to draw, and was determined to make a nest for them. She left a basket outside and the dogs chewed it up, so we fished it out of the trash and used it for the "nest". She has taped the bird pic's inside of it, complete with a picture of eggs as well.
She has made art exhibits of:
1) Cut-outs of fruit, that she glued onto black construction paper and cut out, hanging each one from a ribbon.
2.) A series of portraits of all the contestants and J. Lo from American Idol.
3.) Underwater creature series, one picture of each creature
4) Bird series, featuring artistic pic's of flamingos, ibis, crow, robin, etc.
I am listening as I type to them singing "How will I know if he really loves me?"
We're in the soup, we're in the soup,
HOT HOT HOT
She also explained that the members' names all rhymed with potato. One was potato, one is tomato and one was karado (carrot-o).
Stay tuned to find out what will become of the group that is now down to two members.
After homework today, Vivian began cutting out birds she learned to draw, and was determined to make a nest for them. She left a basket outside and the dogs chewed it up, so we fished it out of the trash and used it for the "nest". She has taped the bird pic's inside of it, complete with a picture of eggs as well.
She has made art exhibits of:
1) Cut-outs of fruit, that she glued onto black construction paper and cut out, hanging each one from a ribbon.
2.) A series of portraits of all the contestants and J. Lo from American Idol.
3.) Underwater creature series, one picture of each creature
4) Bird series, featuring artistic pic's of flamingos, ibis, crow, robin, etc.
I am listening as I type to them singing "How will I know if he really loves me?"
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Dear Hearts
I am so in love with these little creatures God has given me. They are such loving girls. Vivi tells me several times a day how beautiful I am. She makes sure that I know there is no one more beautiful than me. Sophie came up to me and hugged me today and said, "Mommy, I just needed to tell you that I loved you today."
They began school last week, and Sophie is just the most excited child in the world. There is nothing more she loves than school. And the cherry on top is that she got into the class she wanted, with the teacher she wanted and her best friend is also in the class with her. She didn't want the weekend to come. School began on a Thursday, and then the weekend was here, so it was a short week, which disappointed her.
We had a delightful weekend. Daddy has been home which is a real treat. And we have not done much of anything. Haven't left the house except to go to the grocery store. The girls played lacrosse with Daddy and practiced their archery. We swam at the school pool today for the first time all summer. They did major renovations this summer. I was thrilled the diving board was reinstalled. Sophie did a great job diving.
An old movie was on Turner Classic Movies called Light on the Piazza. It was about a beautiful girl with a brain injury who acted like she was 10 years old. The girls were very interested in it. Those old movies are great because they have good story lines that are interesting and not inappropriate. I was shocked they wanted to watch an old movie.
I love and adore them so much.
They began school last week, and Sophie is just the most excited child in the world. There is nothing more she loves than school. And the cherry on top is that she got into the class she wanted, with the teacher she wanted and her best friend is also in the class with her. She didn't want the weekend to come. School began on a Thursday, and then the weekend was here, so it was a short week, which disappointed her.
We had a delightful weekend. Daddy has been home which is a real treat. And we have not done much of anything. Haven't left the house except to go to the grocery store. The girls played lacrosse with Daddy and practiced their archery. We swam at the school pool today for the first time all summer. They did major renovations this summer. I was thrilled the diving board was reinstalled. Sophie did a great job diving.
An old movie was on Turner Classic Movies called Light on the Piazza. It was about a beautiful girl with a brain injury who acted like she was 10 years old. The girls were very interested in it. Those old movies are great because they have good story lines that are interesting and not inappropriate. I was shocked they wanted to watch an old movie.
I love and adore them so much.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Uganda for one year
I can't believe we have now lived in Africa for a whole year!
The school the girls attend is amazing in many ways. Swimming is part of the regular curriculum,but both girls shy away from any kind of swim team training or practice, much to my dismay. They love to swim for fun, but even though they have wonderful potential, they do not want to do any type of swim competition or training.
Sophie loves school. She has many friends and is very popular. Lots of her schoolmates vie for her attention. She said she loved dogs, and some little boys in her class started crawling around and barking. She's becoming a bit preoccupied with "crushes" and who likes who, but I think it's all normal developmental stuff. She professes to love math best, although she is not very quick at it. She started playing violin this year but loves recorder better.
Vivian claims to hate school. She has a hard time getting along with people. She is a very loving child and it seems that her issues come from being over sensitive. Many times she claims that "no one wants to play with her" and she doesn't have "any friends". If she perceives two girls ganging up on her, she says that "no one" likes her. Her teacher has only good things to say about her. She is a natural born leader and very very bright when it comes to her school work.
She's been having issues wetting her pants. This only happens at school. It doesn't happen at all at home so of course it is situational. She hasn't even wet her pull up at night. She claims that the bathrooms at school are dirty. Or that boys are trying to look at her. She likes her privacy so we will continue to work on the pant wetting issue. She is holding and holding it so long that by the end of the day, she just lets it go. It happened before break when she was getting ready for swim class, and the teacher said she was mortified and really embarrassed. They have given her permission to use the bathroom for the 3rd graders since it is cleaner. These problems never happen at home so that tells me there is a lot of stress going on at school.
We are just coming off of a long break - 3 weeks for Christmas holiday. I am sure it will not be easy for her to go back to school, but she is doing very well.
She tells me she loves me all the time, tells me she is sorry to have to say it, but she loves me a bit more than she loves Daddy. She wants to be with me all the time, never wants to be away from me. She loves to play the "Love Game" where we profess our love to each other. "I love you more than the stars love the sky" and "I love you more than the God loves the whole world!"
She always wants someone to play with, but no matter who we invite over for a playdate, she ends up unhappy.
If we invite a friend of Sophie's, she claims they leave her out.
If we invite a friend of hers, the friend inevitably ends up playing with Sophie because she is so easy to get along with. Vivian likes to dominate and tell everyone what they must play and gets very upset if everyone doesn't go along with what she wants to do.
She also loves to eat and peeled 6 bananas yesterday morning without asking permission and wanted to eat them all. She did eat them all, plus 2 hotdogs for lunch, plus 2 chicken burgers for dinner. She asks for candy constantly, as does Sophie.
Vivian does very well with her reading. Both girls lost a tooth on the same day, Tues Jan 3. Viv lost her first front tooth and Sophie lost an eye tooth on the bottom. Tooth fairy has been taking one extra night to get here while we are in Africa.
The school the girls attend is amazing in many ways. Swimming is part of the regular curriculum,but both girls shy away from any kind of swim team training or practice, much to my dismay. They love to swim for fun, but even though they have wonderful potential, they do not want to do any type of swim competition or training.
Sophie loves school. She has many friends and is very popular. Lots of her schoolmates vie for her attention. She said she loved dogs, and some little boys in her class started crawling around and barking. She's becoming a bit preoccupied with "crushes" and who likes who, but I think it's all normal developmental stuff. She professes to love math best, although she is not very quick at it. She started playing violin this year but loves recorder better.
Vivian claims to hate school. She has a hard time getting along with people. She is a very loving child and it seems that her issues come from being over sensitive. Many times she claims that "no one wants to play with her" and she doesn't have "any friends". If she perceives two girls ganging up on her, she says that "no one" likes her. Her teacher has only good things to say about her. She is a natural born leader and very very bright when it comes to her school work.
She's been having issues wetting her pants. This only happens at school. It doesn't happen at all at home so of course it is situational. She hasn't even wet her pull up at night. She claims that the bathrooms at school are dirty. Or that boys are trying to look at her. She likes her privacy so we will continue to work on the pant wetting issue. She is holding and holding it so long that by the end of the day, she just lets it go. It happened before break when she was getting ready for swim class, and the teacher said she was mortified and really embarrassed. They have given her permission to use the bathroom for the 3rd graders since it is cleaner. These problems never happen at home so that tells me there is a lot of stress going on at school.
We are just coming off of a long break - 3 weeks for Christmas holiday. I am sure it will not be easy for her to go back to school, but she is doing very well.
She tells me she loves me all the time, tells me she is sorry to have to say it, but she loves me a bit more than she loves Daddy. She wants to be with me all the time, never wants to be away from me. She loves to play the "Love Game" where we profess our love to each other. "I love you more than the stars love the sky" and "I love you more than the God loves the whole world!"
She always wants someone to play with, but no matter who we invite over for a playdate, she ends up unhappy.
If we invite a friend of Sophie's, she claims they leave her out.
If we invite a friend of hers, the friend inevitably ends up playing with Sophie because she is so easy to get along with. Vivian likes to dominate and tell everyone what they must play and gets very upset if everyone doesn't go along with what she wants to do.
She also loves to eat and peeled 6 bananas yesterday morning without asking permission and wanted to eat them all. She did eat them all, plus 2 hotdogs for lunch, plus 2 chicken burgers for dinner. She asks for candy constantly, as does Sophie.
Vivian does very well with her reading. Both girls lost a tooth on the same day, Tues Jan 3. Viv lost her first front tooth and Sophie lost an eye tooth on the bottom. Tooth fairy has been taking one extra night to get here while we are in Africa.
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