Asian Adventures

Wishing I Was There

On Monday Paul left for Laos.  He should be there by today, well, probably last night.  I'm a little jealous, but I can't wait to hear how everyone is doing when he gets back.  I sent gifts for everyone with him.  It's going to be quite a whirlwind trip for him.  It takes 2 days of airplane travel just to get to our small, mountain town of Xiengkhwang (XK as we like to say) so he'll only be there for roughly 2 days and then he begins the 2 day travel back to the US, but we won't see him until Sunday night because he has a meeting to go to on Sunday morning.

The kids were sad that we all didn't get to go with him, but we tried to explain that it's such a quick trip that it wouldn't have been a fun one and that soon enough they'd be back there to which Madelyn replied, "Mom!  Next summer is NOT soon!"  Time seems to fly for me, but not my little ones.  Luckily Maddy has off school today so we are getting a breather of a day.  We slept in, watched a movie together when the kids woke up, now they're playing, and later this morning we'll go play at the park.  I'm so thankful for such great kids.  My favorite part of the morning was watching the boys interact together.  Tag was lying on the floor watching the movie when Axel came over, sat on Tag's tummy, and then laid his head on Tag's head.  After a few seconds he lifted his head, looked at Tag and smiled a huge, nose crinkling smile then Tag said, "You're my love bug, Axel!"  It was melt-my-heart-sweet!  Tag is definitely our family sweetheart.  He loves everyone and is so gentle and kind, a real peacemaker.  Most of my stories involve Axel and Madelyn because they are the out-of-the-box, adventurous ones who do (or say as in the case of Madelyn) the craziest things.  But, Taggart is the peace in the midst of the storm.  He's the one who at just the right time will come to me and say, "Mommy, I have a surprise for you!"  Then he'll come over and give me a kiss!  So sweet.  I'm so thankful for the uniqueness of each of my kids. 

Happy Halloween

This might be controversial, but we allow our kids to trick or treat.  Trust me when I say we've discussed with our kids at length about it.  End of discussion.  Anyways, we were SO delighted that Paul's parents drove down here just to spend the day with us (ok, well, mostly the kids!).  We were ALL so delighted.  It really made the day so fun.  We made spider web cupcakes, played games, read books, and just enjoyed each other.  And then when Oma & Grandad (Paul's dad and mom) left we headed over to my sister's to go trick or treating together with the cousins.  It was so much fun.  Madelyn was Nala, Tag was Spiderman (Paul's mom made his costume!), and Axel was the scarecrow.  Trick or Treat is the reason my kids think of Halloween as "the candy holiday".  Funny.  

Axel's Antics

From the pictures below you will see why I really don't get much of a chance these days to blog.  So sorry.  I SO love writing stories, but Axel keeps me busy non-stop.  It's just the season of life right now.  

This is what happens when I try to answer e-mails:

I had put Axel in his high chair for a morning snack and then went over to the computer (not too far away) to check e-mails and when I glanced over to check on him there was no Axel!  When I rounded the corner, of course, I found him on the table.   Scribbling with a pencil on Maddy's spelling practice sheet.

This is what happens when I try to go to the bathroom...alone:

This little episode was a more costly venture.  Paul had left town to go speak and asked me to update our e-mail newsletter contact list while he was gone since it's on his computer which he needs to work on when he's home.  So, I took the laptop upstairs with me and was entering these e-mails for him when nature called (which is happening more frequently as my belly expands).  I knew better to leave the laptop open so I closed it, scooted it away from the edge and went to the lieu.  I was gone for no more than a minute and a half and when I returned I found this pillage on the floor.  Seriously?  Axel strikes again.  He's so quick with his destruction and had already moved onto playing in a different room!  How does that happen is such a short time?  I will never know.  

And this is what happens when I say, "NO!":

He loves the mouse to Mr. Mac (my computer - I respect it - it deserves respect it's so awesome) and we'll find him running off with it.  We've had "training" sessions and everything to train him NOT to take the mouse.  Every now and then it happens again, though.  Stubborn?  Forgetful?  Ornery?  All the above.

A Strange Obsession

Axel continues to entertain us endlessly with his antics.  He's getting so much bigger and is trying so hard to communicate.  His favorite thing to do is go over to the pantry and point to it and make the sign for "hungry" (I've taught him a little bit of sign language).  However, I think the strangest thing is his obsession with the refrigerator.  Every time I open it he comes running, but not for what you think.  Oh, no, he doesn't want food; he wants to SIT IN the refrigerator.  Yes, that's right.  Axel's strange obsession is sitting in the refrigerator.  If I start to close the door indicating he needs to come out he won't budge.  No thank you.  I have to pull him out and he's usually not very happy about that.  I think it's strange, but then we're talking about Axel here.

I Scored It For You, Daddy

Yesterday was Maddy's last soccer game for the Fall season.  We decided this summer that we would let Maddy play the fall season and Tag could play the spring season.  We didn't want them both playing at the same time because we wanted to be able to attend their games together as a family all supporting one another rather than running around in 1,000 different directions.  It was a really great experience for Maddy.  Before yesterday's game she had only scored 1 point the entire season and Paul had missed it because of having to travel.  She was great at defense and getting the ball from the other team and taking it to the goal, but for some reason she would just stop going when she got closer to the goal.  The last game she played there were 4 or 5 different times that she missed scoring a goal by inches!  She was getting so discouraged, but we encouraged her to not give him and that she was still making it possible for her teammates to score which was part of being on a team.  She ended playing that ENTIRE game, but didn't get a score.  Then came the game yesterday.  The team was a harder team than the last game so I was really doubting that she would get a score, but in all honestly I really did pray that she would get one.  The game was nearly over and Maddy had been playing really good and had tried to score several times, but it just wasn't happening we kept encouraging her to not give up and then sure enough she ended up getting one in the net!  She was so excited.  She looked at us with her mouth gaped open then she ran to Paul and gave him a hug and said, "I scored that one for you, Daddy!"  It was so precious.  Then the coach asked her if she wanted to keep playing and she told him no and that someone else could get a score.  :)  I love that girl.  She's a hoot!

 

What Happened?...AND a Week in the Life of 2009

Yes, I know I didn't finish my "Week in the Life of..." series.  We went out of town.   Then came back.  Then went out of town again.  Now we're back again and only Paul is leaving the next time...tomorrow.  I won't complain, but all I have to say is that I don't appreciate all the crazy traveling.  It's hard when we go with Paul and it's hard when he leaves without us.  It's just hard...and that's all I'll say.

So, I guess I really should finish where I left off.

THURSDAY (I can't remember a THING about this day...so sorry)

FRIDAY (mind you this was a few weeks ago now so my memory might be fuzzy as it tends to be during pregnancy and pretty much every other time, but here goes):

• Wake up and get ready before the kids get up because I have a big day ahead of me.
• Take Maddy to school.
• Take Tag to school.
• Stop at Target on the way home.  No luck in the Maternity section.
• Stop at Macy's on the way home.  I have a few events to attend this weekend and jeans are not appropriate attire.  I have forgotten how expensive Maternity clothes can be...even on sale!
• Go home and start packing for my weekend trip.  Decide out of the blue to take Maddy with me (my mom and sister were going to tag-team watch the kids for me this weekend while I attended  some meetings in Youngstown, OH).
• Call Maddy's school and arrange to pick her up early.
• Call my mom and tell her of my new plan.  She's so flexible.  She's like a bendy straw.
• Pack Madelyn's clothes.
• Work on laundry knowing there is no way on God's green earth I am going to finish before my sister arrives to watch Axel.
• Unload and reload the dishwasher.
• Vacuum.
• Sweep the kitchen floor (I have to do this at least 4 times a day...let's just say Axel is a vigorous eater)
• My sister arrives (she picked up Maddy from school on her way), but I didn't get to clean my bathrooms.  Oh well.  They'll be waiting for me when I return.
• Maddy has a "drama session" in which she decides whether she really wants to go or stay and play (because my sister's son, Caleb who is 5, is at our house and him and Maddy love playing together).  She opts to go.
• Leave for our journey, but forget my cell phone so I turn around.  Luckily I haven't gone too far.
• A 5 hour drive to Youngstown, OH takes me an extra 40 minutes or so because of rain and "potty breaks" and a traffic jam.  We listen to "Jungle Jam" tapes the entire trip.  I question my decision whether to have brought Maddy or not.  
• Arrive at a house for dinner and meet Paul there.  We share about Laos and have a great time of fellowship...and the food was fabulous too!
• Go to our "host home" for the night.  Maddy doesn't want to sleep alone so we have a "girls party" and I put her hair up in curlers and we talk, eat candy and have fun.

SATURDAY:

• Wake up and eat a wonderful breakfast provided by our host family.  Go to another house and have brunch with other workers who also work overseas and hang out for a bit.
• In the afternoon we took Maddy to a local mall to play and she even got a milkshake and piece of pizza.
• Go to an "International Dinner", answer questions about Laos to the adults and the children.  Really cool.
• When we get back to our host home Maddy and I have a chat before going to bed about "what we do" in Laos.  She likes telling people about the crazy food she's eaten and what foods she actually likes there.  

SUNDAY:

• Get up and eat yet another wonderful breakfast...oh dear.
• Speak to the women's group.
• Go to the service.
• After the service we go to a great place to eat.  So yummy.
• Maddy and I had to scoot a little early because of our drive home.  
• I get lost trying to find the freeway.  I have to stop and ask for directions.  I HATE asking for directions.
• I find the freeway only to discover that it's a toll road and I have no cash.  I get on it anyway and pray that the Lord miraculously puts money in my wallet or something...anything really...I'm completely open to all options.
• Get off the next exit (I only went one exit) and my toll is $.50.  "I don't have cash," I explain to the toll booth lady, "Do you happen to take credit cards?"  THEY DO!!!  I think that is the silliest 50 cents I've had to spend.
• The drive home is SO much easier than the drive there was...we had sunny skies and little traffic the whole way.
• Get home to my boys and I'm so delighted to hug and squeeze them.  I'm so grateful to my mom and sister for their help and that they actually enjoy it.
• It's so good to be home and sleep in my own bed.

So, that's the end of my week.  It was typical yet atypical as well.  Usually I don't travel with Paul, but when I do it usually ends up for some reason that I drive separate.  Or, as in the case of this past weekend, we drove together only to have my precious mother come and pick me and the kids up about an hour from our house late Sunday afternoon so that I could get the cranky, sick kids home and Paul could continue on to his next meeting.  We had originally just planned to go with him, but let's just say the morning didn't go so well and we realized why it is better for me to stay home with the kids instead of travel with Paul to his meetings...a hard, but necessary thing.

A Week in the Life of...2009...Wednesday

Wednesday.

• Stayed up too late with Paul so I sleep in and don’t exercise.   Arrrgghh.
• Shower and get ready while Paul helps with kiddos. 
• Take Maddy to school, but let Tag stay home today.
• Drop Paul off at auto shop to pick up his truck.
• Go home and pick up and organize from the morning rush.
• Read blogs and update my own blog…finally
• Practice some letters and sounds with Tag.
• Do some laundry.
• Play with Tag and Axe.
• Make lunch for Paul and the boys and start chopping vegetables for a soup to simmer on the stove for dinner.
• Eat some crackers, spinach and pickles.
• Clean up from cooking.
• Help Paul get ready to leave.
• Water the grass seed outside Paul planted this morning.
• Finish the devotions I didn’t get to finish from yesterday while the boys are in resting hour.
• Watch a movie with Tag and fold some laundry.
• Take the boys and go pick up Maddy from school.
• Pick up some Cinnamon Bread from the bakery for my Grandpa.
• Come home, have afternoon tea with Maddy and help her with homework.
• Maddy reads some stories on Starfall.com while I make dumplings to add to the soup.
• Finish the movie Tag and I started earlier.
• Eat Dinner.
• Go to church.
• Come home from church and get the kids a bedtime snack and changed into pajamas.
• No time to read a book so we sing a song and say our prayers.
• Give Axel a bottle and put him down for bed.
• Finish folding laundry and prepare for the next morning since I won’t have Paul to help me.
• Read a book and go to bed.

Consider this quote when frustrated with mundane, everyday life:

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return. 

A Week in the Life of...2009

Remember last year when I did my "A Week in the Life of" posts?  Well, it's that time of year again.  So here I go.  It's mundane, I know, but I'm sure my kids will find it interesting when they read this in the future.  Surely.

Monday.

Up at 6am to exercise.

Shower and get ready while Paul gets the kids dressed and eating breakfast.  I SO love it when he’s home.

Take the kids to their schools.

Continue organizing at home.  Todays project was organizing the mound of paperwork that slowly is taking over my entire counter in the kitchen.

Do some laundry…that also never ends.

Do some office work.

Eat lunch and chat with my brother (he had a day off…I enjoyed the company).

Put Axel down for a nap and work on changing out Maddy and Tag’s summer/winter clothes jotting down a list of things I see they are short of.

Take Axel and we go to pick up Maddy and Tag from schools.

Come home, have afternoon tea with Maddy and help her with homework.

Make dinner.  Cheese ravioli, homemade cheese bread and green beans.

Clean up from dinner and start baths.

Finish baths and while Paul reads to the kids I begin working on formatting an order to the printer for more bookmarks.

Clean up toys, get the kids a snack and put them to bed.

Finish bookmark order and prepare the next days’ music lessons and read a little before bed.

 

Tuesday.

Up at 6am to exercise.

Shower and get ready while Paul does the kids’ morning routine.

Drop Paul’s truck off at the repair shop (that’s what we get for buying old cars)

Drop Maddy off at school.

Take Paul and Axel back home before going with Tag to his school.

Drop my van off at Walmart for an oil change…it takes 20 minutes just to get someone to take my keys!

Teach music to the 2, 3, and 4 year olds at Tag’s preschool and then help my sister in her class until lunch time when my mom and take me to pick up my van.

Pick up my van at Walmart.

Go home, eat some beets and pickles for lunch (don’t ask…I’m pregnant) and play with Axel a bit before he goes to nap.  I keep him up later than usual so he can sleep while I go to Maddy’s school to work an hour at the bookstore for Right to Read Week.

Leave to go to Maddy’s school and call to tell them I running a little late only to find out that Right to Read Week is 2 weeks away!  Whoops!  I am TERRIBLE at following a calendar…especially when it’s filled as crazy as ours.

Go back home do some laundry and work on paperwork until it’s time to go pick up Maddy from school.

Tag and I go to pick up Maddy from school.

Come home, have afternoon tea with Maddy and help her with homework.

Maddy and Tag play games on Starfall.com while I start making dinner.

After dinner is prepped Maddy and I color while Tag and Axe play playdough.  Amazingly after five reprimanded attempts Axel gives up trying to eat the playdough and just plays with it.

Clean up from activity and resume making dinner while the kids play in their rooms except Axel who walks around whining until dinner is ready.

Eat dinner: Fried fish, wild rice, and broccoli.

Clean up from dinner and get baths started.

Clean up toys, get the kids a snack, read aloud to the kids and then put them to bed.

Watch a show with Paul.

Go to bed.

Getting Organized

Since moving into the house in May (or was it June?) I've made several attempts to get organized, but have fizzled out on each attempt.  I'm determined not to give up this time and I've recruited help from Paul so I think it will work this time.  Part of me didn't want to go through the effort since I knew we wouldn't be here but for one year.  However, if I'm not organized I can't think, cook, or really anything else.  So...I'm organizing.  Today I tackled my bedroom closet and had to exchange my regular clothes for pregnancy clothes.  Now it looks really empty...well, my part does anyway.  Next I moved on to Axel's room.  It's still not quite finished because his room gets all the excess from other areas like everyone's summer clothes and hand-me-downs waiting for the next baby to grow into.  I should get that completed tomorrow.  Then while Axel was taking his afternoon nap Paul and I tackled the kids' room together.  Wow do they have A LOT of junk.  We threw away a big tub full of miscellaneous junk.  Madelyn LOVES the new organization and keeps getting upset with Taggart if he gets toys out.  I had to explain that getting toys out was just fine, except the rule was that they had to put them away in their new homes.  This will be easy with Madelyn.  Tag, however, will require much more work and diligence to get him "trained".  Now, I'm off to Walmart for grocery shopping.

Vacation Rewind

Our vacation was a blast!  Packing and getting ready for vacation was a chore and took me FOREVER with Axel in tow, but once we got there it was a really fun, relaxing vacation.  We spent a few days at the beach, a few days at Disney (which were fun, but not relaxing) and a few days just at the rental house enjoying the pool.  We are really grateful to our friends at Faith Assembly in Orlando, FL for making this happen for us.  It was awesome. Here are a few of the highlights.

One of the things we really enjoyed doing was going to the Arabian Nights dinner show...for FREE!  It was amazing.  Before the show even began we were able to go backstage and visit the horses and the kids even had their pictures taken on one of the huge horses.  They were thrilled!  Axel didn't last through the whole show, but me and my brother took turns watching him roam the hallways of the theatre.  Where does he get all that energy?

Another highlight was our visit to Disney World.  Now, I don't like crowds and I'm not a big fan of amusement parks, but I really enjoyed Disney.  Mostly because my kids had a blast!  One day we went to Animal Kingdom and the other day we went to Magic Kingdom.  I'm glad we went to both because I was debating going just to Magic Kingdom for two days, but Maddy really wanted to go to Animal Kingdom.  I really liked the shows at Animal Kingdom A LOT better than Magic Kingdom because two of them were live performances and the musicians and acrobats were incredible, particularly the Lion King show.  Loved it!  Magic Kingdom had more rides and the kids liked that.  The kids met many of the characters, but Tag wasn't really into them, in fact, he was quite shy around them and wasn't thrilled when he met them which was the opposite of Madelyn.  Axel really liked Mickey and squeezed his nose!  So cute!  My brother was the super strollerer - he strolled Axel around during many of the rides so that I could enjoy them with Maddy & Tag.  And then the ones that I couldn't go on because of pregnancy we switched and he rode while I strolled.  My mom and sister were sweet to help out with Madelyn when we needed to take the boys back early.  Maddy was able to stay and see Tinker Bell and the fireworks at the end of the day.

Madelyn had two particularly special things happen for her at Disney.  The first was during the midday parade at Magic Kingdom.  As Cinderella's float came by Madelyn was pointing to the pink Cinderella shirt she was wearing and when Cinderella saw it she waved at Madelyn and then put her hands on her heart and then blew a kiss at Maddy!  Aaaaahhhh!  Me and my sister were screaming!  Yes, I was reduced to ridiculousness...kids will do that.

The second special event for Maddy also happened at Magic Kingdom.  One of the first rides the kids rode was Aladdin's carpet ride.  As Maddy got on the ride with my sister (my kids call her Ti Li  - short for Auntie Lisa - a name Maddy gave her as a baby because she couldn't say her name right) Jasmine and Aladdin also got on the ride right behind them.  Then Aladdin decided to ride with my nephew and brother-in-law so my sister suggested that Jasmine ride with Maddy...and she did!  Maddy was so excited to ride a ride sitting with Jasmine.  She really was so thrilled.  The characters were SO incredibly nice and asked her all sorts of questions about her favorite color, etc., etc.  It was so much fun.  The only bummer is that I couldn't get a good picture from where I was so I was really bummed about that.  Madelyn loved Magic Kingdom so much she spent the entire day there from 9am-10pm!  Paul and I left earlier with Tag and Axe because they were wiped out.  

We just really had so much fun.  Getting home was a different story (we were supposed to be home by 6pm, but it ended up being past midnight!) but I'll leave that story to fade from my memory and stick to the good stuff.

Below:  Please note the sand around the mouth - I discovered Axel was eating shells!  Who does that?!?