One of our biggest challenges here so far has been the heat. No surprises there I'm sure. We have a small yard here but we never play in it. We have access to a playground at the embassy and I'm pretty sure there's one somewhere in our neighborhood too. I've yet to go out and find our local one though because it pretty much feels like we live on the face of the sun. The heat here is no joke.
All this to say that we don't go out much during the day. We do go to the embassy playground at least once a week to provide some variety (it's outdoor but shaded). We have also started playing indoor soccer and Jo does Cosmic Kids Yoga (shout out to Nancy W for the intro to that life saver) because we all need to move. Dance parties are regular enough that Maggie starts yelling as soon as our song comes on.
We've also done the occasional evening walk. When we first got here, I didn't have a handle on how little the temperature changes after the sun goes down. So that first week I decreed we would all head out for a walk after dinner. Man alive it was brutal. Now that we are all a little more acclimatized to the crazy height of the heat, the post sundown walks don't seem so unreal. When I go outside and 90 degrees is a relief, you know it's a strange state of affairs. The plus side of having arrived in July is that it can only get better.
Right?
September, I'm looking at you.
At the very least, evening walks make for some fun pictures.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Saubi Rules: Write it down
Seriously though, maybe 'write it down' just needs to be a life rule. In general it seems the best/the only way for me to remember anything is to write it down or have a picture of it. I've just been over on Shutterfly looking at old projects while getting ready to make another book. It's crazy the things you forget. I'm so glad I have pictures to remind me of Jo's precious curls (it's wavy now and still gorgeous) and fun things we did - searching out the best shave ice - gah! Too fast! It's all going so, so fast. <and breathe>
Our current stage of life, I think, will be particularly interesting to me as I tend tend to forget the details of major life transitions. Defense mechanism perhaps. Say no more.
So here are some things going on for us right now, or at least since we've arrived in Saubi. No interesting stories about the place we are today. Apologies. Just small life details I'd like to remember.
Maggie has made huge strides since we got here - she was already on her way to full fledged toddler <sob> but she's really outdone herself since our arrival. She mastered sleeping through the night, significantly decreased her pacifier use (now only at naps and night) and as of yesterday, is fully weaned. Self-weaned too. She literally turned her head and said 'all done.' It doesn't get more self-weaned than that. She's also started drinking milk, much to my surprise. She has a few words and is constantly trying to tell me something. She'll say/screech/yell 'more,' has a pretty clear 'all done,' makes a rough estimate of 'please' (which sounds more like 'cheese') and is pretty clear about Dad and of course her version of Jo (though Jo's name would be unintelligible to anyone who didn't know her well). She will also say 'drink' and 'tree,' can point to her nose, toes or fingers and constantly, constantly asks me read to her. She's a little bundle of fierce joy. She loves to play hide and seek- mostly I hide then jump out on her and she laughs like a maniac. She also loves her older sister. Who wouldn't?
Jo is such a delightful four. She wants to please and she is easy to please. She wants nothing more than to spend every day all day with people. She's a genuine little ball of love. And stubborn. Four, did I mention she's four? She knows lots of things and will correct me repeatedly even when she's wrong. She misses her friends in Utah and that's sometimes been hard for her. She has a limited understanding of what our moving really entails. She will still occasionally ask when we are going to move back to our old house in Orem. She doesn't really comprehend that someone else lives there now. She is however, comforted that her dearest friend moved too. To Jo's mind that means she doesn't need to miss her. Of course her friend moved to the house next door, but the principle remains the same for Jo.
We are slowly getting into a rhythm to our days here. Jo has an alarm clock and isn't supposed to come out of her room until 7. We usually have to send her back at least once. We send Adam off to work in the mornings while I am trying to rustle up breakfast. I took the opportunity of stocking my pantry from scratch as a chance to eliminate processed food. This is hardest at breakfast because now I have to cook something. Oatmeal, pancakes, yogurt and fruit, eggs and toast are all on regular rotation. While Maggie takes her morning nap, Jo and I do 'school' - her reading book, workbooks and a math app on the iPad, sometimes followed by an experiment, art project or game of some kind. All of this has reinforced that homeschool really isn't for me. I've started going to Zumba and Pilates and need to really focus on kicking my sugar habit. There are so many British options for chocolate here that I have yet to go grocery shopping without picking up something. I've found it incredibly comforting to find such an array of food from 'home' here but it also creates a strange dissonance - I'm not in either once of my 'homes' but there are trappings of both. So much to learn and incorporate. I'm still dreading the culture shock settling in, but I do have a trip to look forward to!
Our current stage of life, I think, will be particularly interesting to me as I tend tend to forget the details of major life transitions. Defense mechanism perhaps. Say no more.
So here are some things going on for us right now, or at least since we've arrived in Saubi. No interesting stories about the place we are today. Apologies. Just small life details I'd like to remember.
Maggie has made huge strides since we got here - she was already on her way to full fledged toddler <sob> but she's really outdone herself since our arrival. She mastered sleeping through the night, significantly decreased her pacifier use (now only at naps and night) and as of yesterday, is fully weaned. Self-weaned too. She literally turned her head and said 'all done.' It doesn't get more self-weaned than that. She's also started drinking milk, much to my surprise. She has a few words and is constantly trying to tell me something. She'll say/screech/yell 'more,' has a pretty clear 'all done,' makes a rough estimate of 'please' (which sounds more like 'cheese') and is pretty clear about Dad and of course her version of Jo (though Jo's name would be unintelligible to anyone who didn't know her well). She will also say 'drink' and 'tree,' can point to her nose, toes or fingers and constantly, constantly asks me read to her. She's a little bundle of fierce joy. She loves to play hide and seek- mostly I hide then jump out on her and she laughs like a maniac. She also loves her older sister. Who wouldn't?
Jo is such a delightful four. She wants to please and she is easy to please. She wants nothing more than to spend every day all day with people. She's a genuine little ball of love. And stubborn. Four, did I mention she's four? She knows lots of things and will correct me repeatedly even when she's wrong. She misses her friends in Utah and that's sometimes been hard for her. She has a limited understanding of what our moving really entails. She will still occasionally ask when we are going to move back to our old house in Orem. She doesn't really comprehend that someone else lives there now. She is however, comforted that her dearest friend moved too. To Jo's mind that means she doesn't need to miss her. Of course her friend moved to the house next door, but the principle remains the same for Jo.
We are slowly getting into a rhythm to our days here. Jo has an alarm clock and isn't supposed to come out of her room until 7. We usually have to send her back at least once. We send Adam off to work in the mornings while I am trying to rustle up breakfast. I took the opportunity of stocking my pantry from scratch as a chance to eliminate processed food. This is hardest at breakfast because now I have to cook something. Oatmeal, pancakes, yogurt and fruit, eggs and toast are all on regular rotation. While Maggie takes her morning nap, Jo and I do 'school' - her reading book, workbooks and a math app on the iPad, sometimes followed by an experiment, art project or game of some kind. All of this has reinforced that homeschool really isn't for me. I've started going to Zumba and Pilates and need to really focus on kicking my sugar habit. There are so many British options for chocolate here that I have yet to go grocery shopping without picking up something. I've found it incredibly comforting to find such an array of food from 'home' here but it also creates a strange dissonance - I'm not in either once of my 'homes' but there are trappings of both. So much to learn and incorporate. I'm still dreading the culture shock settling in, but I do have a trip to look forward to!
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