It was about 4 a.m. in Ethiopia. Patrick was sound asleep in his bed in the guesthouse. Jason and I were tossing and turning, both of us nervous and excited for the next day.
Six hours later, we met Melkamu. And life changed in so many wonderful ways...
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Apples to Apples, or Atlanta?
Golf ball-sized hail...it's not just in the game anymore. Actually, we were lucky in the tornado warnings and severe storms that we had yesterday. There were pictures on the news of people in the area who had baseball-sized hail. And 9 tornadoes touched down in Georgia. In retrospect, golf ball-sized hail wasn't too bad.
Kamu and I got home just as it started to hail. There were little pea-sized pieces coming down as we were getting out of the car. I grabbed him up, ran inside, and immediately called Jason (who had just gotten to Patrick's school to pick him up). By the time Jason answered, there were pieces coming down that were probably nickle-sized. Within a few minutes, it sounded like someone was lobbing buckets of golf balls at our windows. It was a terrifying sound. Poor Kamu just looked around like "What's going on?" We sat on the stairs with the dogs and cuddled, listening to the radio and hoping not to hear the tornado sirens go off.
It tapered off in about 10 or 15 minutes and the sky cleared for a little while. I went out to get the groceries out of the car and took some pictures of the hail:
This is our front porch. Our covered front porch. Hearing enormous pieces of hail coming down at an angle and hard enough to whack against our front door was frightening.
Our front yard after the hail.
Here's a piece in my hand.
And here's another one.
But luckily, this is who was inside waiting when I came back in!Friday, February 6, 2009
Oh the weather outside was frightful, but now it's so delightful
And since we've got flowers to grow,
Go cold, go
Go cold, go
Go cold, go.
It was 16 degrees on Wednesday, with a windchill of about 0. In Atlanta. It reminded me of why I left New York, and made me consider moving to Rio.
Today, Friday, it was about 23 when I left for work. It almost felt balmy. I was inside all day and when I came out--IT WAS 63!!! And the forecast shows it being sunny and warm for the next 5 days. I may survive winter yet.
I did promise pictures, didn't I?
Here is the new carrier that I made for Melkamu, since my old one was lost when my diaper bag got lost. I LOVE it. It's so pretty, but not so girly that I feel weird carrying a boy around in it. Jason said it looks like designer jeans, which is exactly what I was going for. And it works perfectly. I can carry my 30+ pound toddler in it so comfortably. It's so much fun to pull it out, because he giggles and shrieks and can't wait to be in it.Um, that wasn't the kind of picture you wanted? Huh.
Is this better?
What about this?Oh fine, I'll give you a video to tide you over until next time. And now that my camera seems to be recharging properly, I can take more than 5 pictures this month!
Friday, January 30, 2009
I like sleep, so why don't the kids?
My kids have stopped sleeping. When the kids stop sleeping, we stop sleeping. (Correction: I've stopped sleeping. Jason is recovering from bronchitis, so I've taken pity on him and let him sleep.) It's not fun. I miss sleep.
The other night, Patrick came into our room at around o'dark thirty (I didn't put on my glasses to see the actual time) and asked if he could get up yet. He was unhappy when we said no.
Two nights ago, I didn't get to bed until about 1 because I was doing work. Within a minute or two of getting into bed, Kamu started saying "Mama. MaMA. MAMA!" He's like a metronome and can do it forever, or at least for as long as I can take it before going in. He has figured out that the magical word to get him out of his crib at any time is "Potty?" Finished that and went back in. "Water?" Drank some and laid back down. I stroked his head for a bit, then kissed him and headed out of the room...and he started crying. 10 minutes later, I finally got him to relax enough to go back to sleep so that I could get into bed for real.
15 minutes of calming a child is not so long. 15 minutes of calming a child when it's already 1 a.m. and you're afraid you'll fall asleep leaning on the crib is an eternity.
Last night, Kamu fell asleep pretty quickly but Patrick asked if he could read for a while. I said yes, so he got a Calvin and Hobbes book (my child has awesome taste in books!) and read in the hallway upstairs for...well, until I went up at 9 p.m. to get my slippers and found him still sitting there. Usually, he'll read for 10 or 15 minutes and then go to bed. Not so last night.
About 15 minutes later, Kamu started crying. Really crying, like scary dream crying. When I went up to get him, Patrick sat up and said "He's scared of the dark." Maybe that was it, I don't know, but I do know that Kamu could NOT be comforted in his crib last night. He pulled the same "Potty? Water?" routine from the other night, but only did it between sobs. If I stroked his head, he was OK but if I tried to leave the room, he'd start crying hard again.
Finally, I brought him downstairs to cuddle for a bit so that he wouldn't keep Patrick awake. Then Patrick came downstairs, very upset because his little brother was out of bed and he had to stay there. I persuaded Patrick back up and Kamu and I cuddled for 45 minutes or so. But he started crying again in his bed, so I gave him to Jason and they laid in our bed for a while. Jason came back downstairs and said that Kamu was going to sleep in our bed.
About an hour later, I went up to bed. Walked into the room and the first thing I heard was "Mama!" At least he was still in our bed. I laid down with him and have no idea if he fell asleep quickly because I'm ridiculously sleep-deprived at this point and fell asleep in 0.2 seconds flat. All I know is that Jason moved him back to his own bed at some point and we woke up at 7:15 a.m. when Kamu started yelling and Patrick came in to get us. Good thing, too, because I forgot to set the alarm.
Please, oh please, let my kids start sleeping again. I liked taking it forgranted that my kids slept pretty well, but won't do it again.
Next time, pictures for sure.
The other night, Patrick came into our room at around o'dark thirty (I didn't put on my glasses to see the actual time) and asked if he could get up yet. He was unhappy when we said no.
Two nights ago, I didn't get to bed until about 1 because I was doing work. Within a minute or two of getting into bed, Kamu started saying "Mama. MaMA. MAMA!" He's like a metronome and can do it forever, or at least for as long as I can take it before going in. He has figured out that the magical word to get him out of his crib at any time is "Potty?" Finished that and went back in. "Water?" Drank some and laid back down. I stroked his head for a bit, then kissed him and headed out of the room...and he started crying. 10 minutes later, I finally got him to relax enough to go back to sleep so that I could get into bed for real.
15 minutes of calming a child is not so long. 15 minutes of calming a child when it's already 1 a.m. and you're afraid you'll fall asleep leaning on the crib is an eternity.
Last night, Kamu fell asleep pretty quickly but Patrick asked if he could read for a while. I said yes, so he got a Calvin and Hobbes book (my child has awesome taste in books!) and read in the hallway upstairs for...well, until I went up at 9 p.m. to get my slippers and found him still sitting there. Usually, he'll read for 10 or 15 minutes and then go to bed. Not so last night.
About 15 minutes later, Kamu started crying. Really crying, like scary dream crying. When I went up to get him, Patrick sat up and said "He's scared of the dark." Maybe that was it, I don't know, but I do know that Kamu could NOT be comforted in his crib last night. He pulled the same "Potty? Water?" routine from the other night, but only did it between sobs. If I stroked his head, he was OK but if I tried to leave the room, he'd start crying hard again.
Finally, I brought him downstairs to cuddle for a bit so that he wouldn't keep Patrick awake. Then Patrick came downstairs, very upset because his little brother was out of bed and he had to stay there. I persuaded Patrick back up and Kamu and I cuddled for 45 minutes or so. But he started crying again in his bed, so I gave him to Jason and they laid in our bed for a while. Jason came back downstairs and said that Kamu was going to sleep in our bed.
About an hour later, I went up to bed. Walked into the room and the first thing I heard was "Mama!" At least he was still in our bed. I laid down with him and have no idea if he fell asleep quickly because I'm ridiculously sleep-deprived at this point and fell asleep in 0.2 seconds flat. All I know is that Jason moved him back to his own bed at some point and we woke up at 7:15 a.m. when Kamu started yelling and Patrick came in to get us. Good thing, too, because I forgot to set the alarm.
Please, oh please, let my kids start sleeping again. I liked taking it forgranted that my kids slept pretty well, but won't do it again.
Next time, pictures for sure.
Monday, January 19, 2009
National Day of Service
I was so happy to be able to participate in the Martin Luther King, Jr. national day of service today. Patrick came with me and helped out as well, which was a great mitzvah that he really enjoyed.
I started the day by going through my dresser and closet for clothes to donate to Goodwill. I came out with an entire garbage bag full of them. Just my own clothes. Eeps. So I brought them over and stopped at the grocery store on the way back to pick up meat, cheese, and sandwich bags for our main project. We went to a church and, with at least 100 wonderful people, helped make sandwiches for the homeless. Patrick, who looked very funny with enormous plastic gloves on his hands, took bread out of the bag and put on a slice of cheese. I put on the meat and mustard and bagged it. Patrick helped assemble a good 40 or 50 sandwiches!
It was great to see how many people had brought their children with them, many of them around Patrick's age. They even had a table set up with crayons, coloring pages of Dr. King, and some activity sheets that the kids could do when they got tired of making sandwiches.
They reached their goal of 2,000 sandwiches in less than 90 minutes! We left at that time, happy that we'd been able to do something worthwhile. I think it's so important for children to understand the importance of giving their time and energy to help others, and I'm really glad that Patrick is old enough to get involved now. I'd like to do some community service activity at least once a month if we can.
One of the local churches is having a blood drive today and it goes until 7:45 tonight. I'm planning to go over once Jason gets home (right now I've got our boys + a friend of Patrick's here, so I can't go now) and am hoping that, unlike the last two times I've tried to donate, I'm not anemic and am set to go.
It's been a good day.
I started the day by going through my dresser and closet for clothes to donate to Goodwill. I came out with an entire garbage bag full of them. Just my own clothes. Eeps. So I brought them over and stopped at the grocery store on the way back to pick up meat, cheese, and sandwich bags for our main project. We went to a church and, with at least 100 wonderful people, helped make sandwiches for the homeless. Patrick, who looked very funny with enormous plastic gloves on his hands, took bread out of the bag and put on a slice of cheese. I put on the meat and mustard and bagged it. Patrick helped assemble a good 40 or 50 sandwiches!
It was great to see how many people had brought their children with them, many of them around Patrick's age. They even had a table set up with crayons, coloring pages of Dr. King, and some activity sheets that the kids could do when they got tired of making sandwiches.
They reached their goal of 2,000 sandwiches in less than 90 minutes! We left at that time, happy that we'd been able to do something worthwhile. I think it's so important for children to understand the importance of giving their time and energy to help others, and I'm really glad that Patrick is old enough to get involved now. I'd like to do some community service activity at least once a month if we can.
One of the local churches is having a blood drive today and it goes until 7:45 tonight. I'm planning to go over once Jason gets home (right now I've got our boys + a friend of Patrick's here, so I can't go now) and am hoping that, unlike the last two times I've tried to donate, I'm not anemic and am set to go.
It's been a good day.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Sharing a room
Good parts about the kids sharing a room:
1. Have you seen how cute their room is? There's no way we could make two rooms cute like that. And that's even without it being painted!
2. I genuinely think they're closer because they share a room. We'll see how long that lasts, but it's great for now.
3. At the rate that Melkamu's growing, they'll be sharing clothes before long (Melkamu has recently started wearing 3T shirts, though he's still in 2T pants).
4. Patrick will sometimes entertain Melkamu for a little while in the mornings before they wake us up.
5. Only have to keep one room clear of clutter in case of nighttime trips to the bathroom!
6. The giggles that sometimes come down the stairs as they're supposed to be falling asleep.
Bad things about the kids sharing a room:
1. The giggles that sometimes come down the stairs as they're SUPPOSED to be falling asleep (though it really is hard to mind that).
2. If one kid wants a drink, then they BOTH want a drink. We just keep cups of water on the windowsill now.
3. If Patrick gets up to go to the bathroom, it sometimes wakes up Melkamu--who, since he is pretty well potty-trained, often wants to get up to go to the bathroom.
4. The other night we heard a very whiny "Kamu, please be quiet! I'm trying to go to sleep!"
5. Patrick is apparently insomniac extraordinaire tonight, because he WILL NOT GO TO SLEEP. Jason ran out about 30 minutes ago to get some dog food and took Patrick with him so that poor exhausted Melkamu could finally fall asleep. It's 10:20 and they're still out. It's a good thing Patrick can sleep in in the morning!
1. Have you seen how cute their room is? There's no way we could make two rooms cute like that. And that's even without it being painted!
2. I genuinely think they're closer because they share a room. We'll see how long that lasts, but it's great for now.
3. At the rate that Melkamu's growing, they'll be sharing clothes before long (Melkamu has recently started wearing 3T shirts, though he's still in 2T pants).
4. Patrick will sometimes entertain Melkamu for a little while in the mornings before they wake us up.
5. Only have to keep one room clear of clutter in case of nighttime trips to the bathroom!
6. The giggles that sometimes come down the stairs as they're supposed to be falling asleep.
Bad things about the kids sharing a room:
1. The giggles that sometimes come down the stairs as they're SUPPOSED to be falling asleep (though it really is hard to mind that).
2. If one kid wants a drink, then they BOTH want a drink. We just keep cups of water on the windowsill now.
3. If Patrick gets up to go to the bathroom, it sometimes wakes up Melkamu--who, since he is pretty well potty-trained, often wants to get up to go to the bathroom.
4. The other night we heard a very whiny "Kamu, please be quiet! I'm trying to go to sleep!"
5. Patrick is apparently insomniac extraordinaire tonight, because he WILL NOT GO TO SLEEP. Jason ran out about 30 minutes ago to get some dog food and took Patrick with him so that poor exhausted Melkamu could finally fall asleep. It's 10:20 and they're still out. It's a good thing Patrick can sleep in in the morning!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Indeed, it IS my birthday
And Jason's present rocks: the first two seasons of Duckman on video! If only I didn't have to turn 31 to get it :-)
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