Little Bo Peep

I just LOVE this little expression! She looks like a cross between Bo Peep and some sort of baby nerd (= She used to do that scrunchy nose thing but she stopped for awhile. I LOVE it when she does it (=

The bonnet she is wearing is one that I used as a girl and also used with my dolls. I just found it and realize I'd better snap a picture right then or she'd outgrow it soon. I guess it is basically designed to keep the sun off a bald baby head like Layla's (= cute cute cute

It's so hot that....

We went away for two nights and I just thought I'd share what we found when we got home. I think the temps have been about 110-115 down here. Anyway, this is what happens when its hot around here:



The tile floor is warm enough that you notice a distinct difference



The outside walls are DEFINATELY warmer to the touch.



My candles have all bent over



My daiper cream for Layla has separated into oil and glumpiness



The coffee pot in the kitchen feels like I shut it off 10 mins ago - not three days ago



The kitchen smells



Opening the doors to rooms lets out a whoosh of very warm air


The kitchen really smells


When I open the cabinets in the kitchen a big whoosh of very warm air comes out


There's probably more stuff that I can't think of, but we just noticed this after our little visa hop to a town about 4 hours away. I don't think it is so much that the temps here are THAT different from deserts in the US or elsewhere, it is just that everything is out of cement which holds the heat and makes it all worse! Plus it isn't like there are trees all around or anything to break the heat. Our neighbor has lived here for many years and he has trees, and things do grow fast, but they have to be really big to shade a whole house!!

Out here in the world of dates, it is the season for what they call "Ruh-tub" dates. They are different from the dates you see in the US in that they are not moist. They actually have a major pucker factor to them. There is something dry or wierd in them. Maybe you other folks who know can tell me (=

Anyway, my neighbor sent a plate of them over to our house and I just giggled when I realize that she used a Sponge Bob Square Pants plate! How funny is that.

By the way, lest I have a post that doesn't mention Layla, she LOVES these dates. I peel half of it for her and she hold it in her little fist and sucks and sucks all the juice out of it. She works harder on that date than she does when she is breastfeeding! So funny to watch.

This is our kitchen table by the way. It has a glass top. We bought end tables and coffee tables for the whole house with the same iron lattice thing. Good 'ole IKEA (=

What is my DEAL with BUNS!?

I don't know if other mothers are like this, but I just LOVE seeing Lj walking around naked with her little buns jiggling (; I can't get enough of it!

A friend lent us a Baby Praise Video which I thought was going to be kind of dorky until we saw one at her house. The music is really nice and Lj likes the pictures. She's not totally into it all the time, but today after her vaccinations, it was just her speed. That is what we are watching on the TV in the photo.

Yesterday my neighbor said that I need to be sure to let her walk around the house without a diaper during the summer. No problem there.

What's that chant....

Let's have ANOTHER ONE just like the OTHER one!!!!

We're not pregnant or anything, I just feel like saying come ON already (=

Am I really just supposed to play all day??

On the few days a week that I find myself at home with Layla and nothing to do, I often find myself at a loss for how to be a mommy. It just seems TOO wierd that I am supposed to PLAY with her all the time! I mean, is that what you other moms do? I feel like I just WAIT for her next nap time.

Thank goodness she is still taking three naps a day. I am SO lucky... her last nap of the day is often the longest of the three which is even more lovely.

She has definately started that stranger anxiety thing and it just irritating. I hate it when she is so clinging....I mean I just wish she was more willing to be held by anyone and everyone. She is quite willing sometimes, but I sure can't predict it.

Today in the kitchen she was standing next to me and holding on to the cabinet handle. She was wearing these sweet little jeans and just looking up at me. It was the first time I thought about us being friends or enjoying each other's company in the kitchen doing stuff.

About 10 years ago I briefly visited a house with a friend who knew the family. The father was a chef and the mother some sort of artist. They had a two year old girl in the kitchen and she had her own table and she was "cooking". She had a little pile of flour and an egg and was mashing it all around. It was so adorable. I remember being rather shocked at first because she was making a COLOSSAL mess but then thinking that it was so cool that the mom and dad let their little one experiement.

Well Lj isn't quite yet ready for "cooking" but I am really enjoying watching her have moments of looking like a little girl as opposed to a baby (=

Fun fun

Here we all are. It was a fun and crazy time together (= I love how Lj is holding on to Amanda's shirt!

Here are the daddies. I made it black and white because in a bizarre twist of events both of our flashes went off at the same time. The wall behind was already covered in an "electric" design and the final effect was rather comicbook-like. The daddies sure are proud aren't they!!

3 mommies, 3 babies + one pregnant lady

Well, my friend Vic was in town for about 9 days - she lives about four hours from us now. Jeni has been living here but is moving in a week (!) so we were trying to maximize our time together. Here are some photos: all three kids were born within 5 weeks! Layla is the youngest at 9 months, today!

Here we are in Vic's car - we actually managed to get one pregnant lady, three mommies, three kids and all their gear in her car. Needless to say we were to distracted to take a picture (=

Yet another reason why I love living here

I really wish I could take photos of women here and post them for you to see.
Since I can't - here is a pic of our beautiful landscape.

I was at the grocery store yesterday afternoon with Layla. It is a big, French chain that is all over the world and if you go at the right time of day, you'd swear that there are no white people in this part of town. (this is across the border in the larger town, by the way!)

I had put Layla's stroller in the shopping cart and stacked things around it. Layla is old enough to ride in the front part of the cart if I am able to stay close to her. Becuase I needed to uncover her stroller, I held her on my hip as I started emptying the cart. There was a woman in line behind me, actually sitting on the floor near a pillar. She was wearing the typical black covering and just had her eyes showing. She had about four kids with her and was probably waiting for her husband to come with the cart/s. She stood up and offered to help me hold Layla while I unloaded. People are SO kind here! It helps that Lj is cute and very white (they have a thing for white skin) and has red hair. Besides that though, they all love children and there is a community mindset to help all children be happy, safe and fed.

So she held Layla and then she sent her girls over to help me load the groceries. That was hysterical. One girl just started putting the food straight back into the cart without putting it in bags first! So I was trying to show her how to do that and keep a handle on everything going on.

I'm curious about this different cultural attitude towards children. Friends back home keep telling me what a stark difference there is back in the US. Somehow a fear for the safety of children has developed and is very present in the mind of mothers. That is SO different here. It is so great to know that if I ever got into trouble or needed help, I would most certainly get it.

Part of the issue with valuing children does have it's downside of course. Children are the responsiblity/property of the father's family. There isn't really any issue of custody over here. Until the age of seven, kids legally stay with the mom if there is a divorce and after that, the father's family is supposed to pay the mother a sum of money and then the kid grows up in the father's household.

The kids are considered to be of the father's family because of their blood connection. The mother isn't actually considered to be part of the father's family in the same way as the kids.

This is part of the reason at the hospital on Layla's records she is called Layla Thomas Carlson (= It caught me by suprise at first until I figured out the connection. Her records are all under HIS name and not mine.

Anyway, just a snippet of my day yesterday.

Ambiguity

I've heard that one of the most stressful things about living overseas is living with ambiguity. We always have some level of ambiguity in our lives now matter where we live, but it does seem to be a little more intense here.

Our border town is getting batted around again by the local politicians on both sides. Apparently they are making another move to cut our town off from the other side. There has been talk of this for 15+ years but nothing really happend until we moved here two and a half years ago.

It isn't a bad thing to only live on our side of town, but when the two towns have been integrated for as long as both have been inhabited, there are alot of things to untangle. Thankfully we don't have kids attending school on the other side of town. Many people - locals included - send their kids to school across town since they are much better. Our hospital is also on the other side of town...thankfully we're not pregnant at the moment!

So, everyone here is buzzing with the many possibilities for how life is changing. I was COMPLETELY against moving when the idea would come up in the past, but for some reason, God has completely changed how I feel about it. I'm ready to pack up and move now! Bizarre.

Tom's buddies on the other side of town are already investigating housing for us. We're just figuring out what our options are in case we really do have to pick up and move.

So, I'm trying to live with the amiguity and NOT choose a scenario in my head just to make myself feel better (= That's how I usually deal with ambiguity - I just choose one scenario and play that one out in my head to keep myself busy. If reality turns out differently, I just adjust at that time (= strange, but it works.

Well, I need to come up with something for dinner.

Just needed a little extra lovin'

People have asked me about how I feel about motherhood. One of the things I always say, is that it is actually easier than I thought it would be.

I was anticipating all sorts of sleeping problems and craziness and total unpredictability. Thankfully, our little Layla is a real predictable baby.

Anyway, when I put her to bed tonight she stayed up and just chattered for an extra 45 mins. That is pretty unusual for her. She didn't seem upset, but I thought I'd check on her diaper. Turns out she just wanted a little holding and rocking. She snuggles up so adorably for about 15 seconds and then wiggles and wiggles and then snuggles etc. It isn't exactly the most relaxing thing for either of us. Either way, it was what she needed - I popped her back in bed and she was out a few minutes later. It is so interesting how their emotional needs differ from day to day. I really love these little moments where she wants to curl up.

Giggles on the couch

Layla and I really enjoying hanging out on the couch. I had her giggling so loud that Tom heard in the other room with the doors closed! She gets SO distracted when she sees the camera it is hard to get her to be normal, but she gives you a few giggles here (=

Well, the sweet little video won't work, so you'll have to take my word for it!

Softer than a ......

Well here we are! These are the babies in our little group all together and having fun! I just couldn't resist trying to get a shot of their sweet baby buns. Layla is on the left if you haven't figured that out yet. My dear chubby daughter is the youngest of the three. In the middle is Josiah, Vic was busy for the day and needed to leave him with me, so Jeni came over with their new son they just adopted from Ethiopia! It was certainly a crazy day and we even had an extra pair of hands. My hat goes off the parents of multiples!!

A couple of days ago, we bought a pool for us to play in. It has been SO fun - we've kept the water in it for a few days to see how it goes, and it is suprisingly COLD at midday! Tom does a great job with playing with Layla....it is really fun to watch!

This isn't a great photo, but it the only one I have of Joseph. He is SUCH a sweetie. Bless his heart he is teething, dealing with adjusting to his family, jetlag and on top of it all he has bronchitis! We are hoping he is better in a few days. He is about two weeks older than Layla.

Good Friends

Well this was taken a few weeks ago, but I am happy to say that Vic and her son Josiah are coming back for a longer visit! So we'll have Jeni with her new baby boy from Ethiopia as well. We MUST get some photos. They are all about three weeks apart. Josiah is very interactive and fun and smiley. Updated photos coming soon!