Almi's teacher is Ethiopian. I love that. They connect in a special way and Almi loves her. One cool thing is she tells me when Almi is using her Amharic. Since we keep "ishy" alive in our house I wasn't surprised to hear she still says that, but what did surprise me is she still says "ow" and "ay" (yes and no). If she hadn't done this in front of me the other day, I might not have believed it but Ms. Essie asked her if she had to go potty and she said, "Ow." I had no idea she remembered these words! I never say them because I can never remember which is which! How does she remember those from six months ago?! She amazes me.
From observation, you might think this is broccoli with cheese sauce. Looks like fake American cheese sauce at that. It's not! It's broccoli with carrot ginger tofu soup poured on top. It gets its lovely orange coloring from carrots! And it was yum-my!
Almi has recently decided she no longer likes most vegetables and it has been a head ache to try to get her to eat them. At the same time, I am trying to eat more healthfully and I am becoming concerned about her weight. I'm grateful she is a good eater but she eats a LOT so I am trying to get her to eat more veggies and fewer carbs. I am concerned about her BMI and I am concerned about my back! If she keeps eating like she does, in a few short months I will no longer be able to lift her up! I'm not kidding. It's already a challenge to get her in and out of her crib and carseat.
This is the recipe we made tonight. I used my new Vita-Mix. I love that thing. I declare it's going to bring us both to excellent health.
For those of you who have adopted from Ethiopia, did you notice how unbelievably well-behaved the kids were there? I was impressed but also befuddled. I mean, seriously, how were they able to get the kids to do what they got them to do? While there to volunteer, I went to a going away party for a toddler being adopted and they had the the other toddlers there to enjoy the party. They brought the toddlers in and seated them up against the wall while they finished the preparations. I couldn't believe my eyes! Six little toddlers about 2-3 yrs old sat there watching for about 15 minutes while the drinks were poured and cookies put on trays. Then they brought them each a cookie and a cup of juice and they all sat that and ate their snack without getting up. The whole thing lasted abut 30 minutes and none of them got up!
They would sit like this before mealtime as well. The nannies would line them up in the high chairs and they would sit and wait for the food to come. No crying. I'm sure they were hungry sometimes but they never threw tantrums.
Another thing that was amazing was in the orphanage where I volunteered, they put the toddlers on little bowls in the morning to do their business before they dressed them for the day. Since they don't use diapers, they just change them throughout the day as they have accidents, but the morning potty time (I guess) keeps them from having as many accidents.
We would arrive in the morning to volunteer around 8:30 and they would all be seated on their little bowls. They would be so happy to see us and would smile and smile and even scoot up close to us but not one child would get up off that bowl! And sometimes they had them sitting there for 20 minutes. How in the world did they do that? They were just as happy and content (or simply obedient) sitting on that bowl. None of them whined or cried or complained. Utterly amazing!
Having a toddler at home now I am especially impressed. How in the world?! When I had my Ethiopian (Eritrean) nanny stay with me I decided to pick her brain. Perhaps she could give me some insight on how to raise a fantastically well-behaved child. She wasn't comfortably fluent in English so she went home and asked her husband for some advice for me. The next day she me this:
(click to enlarge)
I do time outs, for example, but let me tell you that does not stop a child from crying in public or refusing to eat certain foods--or at least not my daughter. I'm pretty proud of Almi, though. She is pretty good for a 2 year old (very good compared to a lot of American 2 year olds I've met!) but she does not act like I described above. I wish I knew the trick. Any Ethiopians reading my blog? Wanna share the secret?
On Saturday we went to this amazing farm! For wee ones like my girl, this farm had tons of things to entertain her including live farm animals (she saw cows, horses, chickens, pigs and sheep), slides, food, picnic areas, live bluegrass music where she danced --as she always does around music-- and cool play areas with bales of hay to climb on. We also went on a really long hayride and got free pumpkins of our choice at the end. I bought the tickets almost two weeks ago and I couldn't wait for the day to arrive. I knew she was going to have so much fun and I was looking forward to her experiencing so many firsts. And experience she did.
First time touching a cow!
First time on a hayride!
First time seeing a horse! First time seeing chickens! First time seeing pigs!
First time seeing and climbing on hay!
Holding her first pumpkin!
First time down a huge slide, too!
I knew this would be a really fun fall activity. It was nice and sunny but it didn't feel very fall-like. It was hot, hot, hot! It was over 90 degrees and all that walking and playing really tuckered us all out in about two hours but if we still live in this area when she's about 5 I could see spending the whole day here. It was so. much. fun!
Summer is ending and that is truly bittersweet. She will never have another summer of being two! I wanted to expose her to so many things and to document them all but there were many things I could not/cannot do due to time constraints, financial constraints or that it's not possible with just me. Eh, it is what it is. We have more than most but man I wish I could have taken her to the beach more often. I don't live far from a body of water that passes as a beach but I couldn't take her because I need two pairs of eyes to watch her. She likes to run off and explore and if that happened who would watch our stuff? I never did get the shot I wanted of her in her adorable ruffled bathing suit. She had it on a few times when were at the beach in MV and at pool by my house but I couldn't stop and photograph her because I needed t to keep her safe. I bought her a life jacket with the plan of going canoeing or boating. Nah, didn't happen. Her daycare took her to a splashpark but I never took her for whatever reason. We never caught fireflies or laid in hammock. I never put together the water table I bought her.
I don't say these things to whine and complain. I will do better next summer. I say them because deep down--or really not so deep down really--I want so much more for my girl. I want her to experience all life has to offer and at times I feel like I am short changing her. I want her to experience opera and dance and gymnastics. I want her to take ballet and play soccer and have a huge swingset in the backyard. I want to take her to foreign countries and show her amazing things. And I want something as simple as allowing her to be able to be a curious toddler who gets into things and not try to avert every situation because I don't have the energy to clean up the mess it will make. Basically, I want her life to be full and enriching and fun. I don't want it to be all daycare/dinner/bath/bed/errands. I want so much more for her and I'm disappointed that at the moment I can't do more.
As always, things are so busy around here and I am beat. I knew going back to work would be hard while trying to raise Naomi; prepare healthy, home cooked meals; clean and have a social life. Unfortunately, the social life has taken a back seat. Well, that and the cleaning. ;-) But not the healthy meal part. I am trying hard to combat my constant fatigue but for years it has been a losing battle. Having a toddler at home has exacerbated the problem so I decided to try fasting to give my body a rest and try to regain some energy. For three days I only ate fresh or steamed fruits & veggies and water. After three days I was so bored I added sweet potatoes, fish, seeds, sea salt, olive oil, garlic and turmeric. It's still pretty boring but I am determined to feel better and thankfully the cravings are minimal. I can't believe I'm not tempted by the icy, cold Cokes in my fridge or the ice cream and chocolate chip cookies in my freezer. I am very motivated by wanting to be healthier for my daughter and by the fact that I have already shed 8 pounds! Woot! The scale hasn't read in the 140's in a l-o-o-o-o-ong time. I think I may even have a shot at seeing it in the 130's again at this rate! It's amazing to think I weighed 126 lbs. when I moved to California in 2000 and sometime last year I was as heavy as 160. Ugh. That was not pretty. But what was worse was how sluggish I felt and just blah. I am on my way to reclaiming my health and my drive is motivating my friends and family members as well which is nice. To top it off, my school district, which I hate for so many reasons, is at least doing one cool thing: they have started a program/contest to see if we can band together in teams to lose weight and exercise. Their bottom line is to lower their health insurance costs. Yeah, exercise and diet will no doubt help but if they stopped making the job so f'n demanding and the pay so sh!tty people wouldn't be stressed out and eating crap all day to survive the b.s. I'm just sayin'.
The Kindergarten team in my building has formed a team and I wanna win! I don't even know what the prizes are but I still wanna win! lol Anyhoo, I am hopeful that this will help other aspects of my/our life.
Thankfully, my new job is so much better in a lot of ways. I have some behavior problems and it's probably one of the lowest groups of kids I have ever taught (can't count to ten, don't know their letters, can't write or recognize their names, etc.). I seriously have my work cut out for me--I have to get them all on or above grade level by June (wish me luck on that one!!!!) but I really like my new colleagues a lot and that makes a world of difference! Here are some pics from my classroom:
Meanwhile, the apartment is still not rented. I have been having internet issues and every time I got on to try to fill out an ad, it was on the blink. Frustrating! I hope to get it rented out starting in October. I could really use the extra money!!
That's about all going on around here.
Here are some not-so-great photos of my funny, active girl.
And a video of her eating a concoction I prepared. You can hear how congested she is. She has had a runny nose, diarrhea or been congested practically every day since she's been home. I had her tested for everything under the sun and they all keep coming back negative. The doctor said she may have "toddler's diarrhea" or seasonal allergies. Maybe. Or she may have some sort of food intolerance or sensitivity. I am equally committed to getting her healthy so have begun preparing more homemade things for her now as well. As she eats up the boxed cereal, canned spaghetti and fruit cups I am not replacing them, but instead making things from scratch. Making things at home and controlling the ingredients is also a great way to get more fruits and veggies into her.. and me for that matter! No wonder I'm so tired!! :)
(sorry it cuts off as she's talking, the battery in my camera died. oops!)
Sometimes I am too tired to do our whole bedtime ritual and sometimes it has gotten too late and I choose more sleep for her but when I can fit it in, I really enjoy it. I love these quiet moments with my girl.
No alarm. Eating breakfast together in the house instead of in the car. And then hanging out in our pjs playing and singing. Soooo much better than that Monday-Friday madness.
Dropping my little girl off at 7:00am and picking her up at 6:00 is no fun. I'm sorry, but leaving her with strangers and spending the day with other people's children doesn't make any sense. All we have time for is dinner and bath and bed. Very little time to play and interact with each other and I miss her! I cried tonight because she was a bit cranky and I feel guilty because I think having her in daycare is to blame. She needs more sleep but it's hard to get her to bed before 7:45. I hate rushing her in the mornings but I need my a.m. planning time. Tonight I picked her up and she was spotless. No art projects today I guess. And no playing outside either, apparently. What are they doing all day in that small room?! I want her to be able to run around in the sunshine and have fun!! She's only 2.
It will get better. Soon I will be able to pick her up earlier and take her to the park or do something fun after school. The beginning of the school year is just so busy and even more so with a new job so I need to put in the time but it makes me so sad for her. For us. I want to be the one teaching her new things and potty training her and seeing her bright eyes when she excited or comforting her when she's hurt. :(
I believe her Ethiopian teacher cares about her and they all tell me how happy and verbal and how good she is and I know as a teacher kids like that are easier to be nice to so I am not too worried about how she's being treated, but I really wish there was some way that I could stay home with her and teach her everything she needs to know. At least until she's verbal enough to tell me about her day. Now I am left to speculate and wonder if she's having fun.
Back to School Night is next Friday and I look forward to hearing more about their program. I did find out she goes to the media center, PE and music class (M,W,F) so that's nice. And I like being able to drop in unexpectedly throughout the day to see what she's doing, but nothing would be better than having her home with me.
God, can you please send me my rich husband soon so I can quit my job and be a stay at home mom? I have been very patient. Thank you. Amen.
(I know she doesn't seem very enthusiastic about it. That's because she counted many times before I decided to break out the camera and catch it. Such a good sport!)
I bought Almi a cute doggie lunchbox for school. Though I really don't enjoy packing lunches, the alternative is having her eat our school lunch. Yuck! They're full of sugar, preservatives and fat; the fruit is rarely ripe; they don't offer dairy free options; they don't serve whole grains; they're too processed,etc. I could go on and on. Not something I want my child to eat! So I suck it up and pack her one. (ok, it's the first week of school and I may be lazier come November but for now I am holding strong to my convictions!!)
Here is a lunch I prepared this week. Some leftover chicken the nanny made, some julienned baby carrots, 1/2 banana and 2 boxes of raisins. Unlike my old daycare, I have no idea if she is eating it all because they don't communicate that but at the last place the feedback pretty much was she ate whatever I prepared so I try to keep these super healthy since she's refusing veggies fairly often now at home.
