Inching Forward

I'm in that last few days dilemma of how to keep packing without packing something vital for the last few days.  Especially with kids that is tough.  I've been wrong on a few things already.  Might have been wrong by a day of meals with our last grocery shop too.  I think I much prefer the other end of things - unpacking ans setting up are more rewarding and less frustrating than packing a household while living in it.

Today, the big clean for damage inspection. Last year we were dinged big for upholstery cleaning and wall painting, so we have all day plans of wall washing and laundering...

Randomness in the last week

Jasmin's copywork on a distracted day. She didn't notice what she's done till I showed her, then she simply added the arrow :)

Jasmin showing off Aiden to her friends

Small goodbye party

When the books are all packed...

Enthusiastic packing "helper"

Did we eat too much yoghurt, or are we just silly to have kept all the cups?

OOPs

Jasmin's gone off rice recently, and so I hadn't cooked rice for over a week... guess the weevils thought that was just fine.

I tried washing out enough for supper, but so many grains floated, so many black with an inhabitant or two, and so many bugs that 8 washings later I was still picking... I gave up and we ate something else.  So we've lost about 3kg of brown rice :(

Relief

An evening of relief because:

I'm making headway in packing - though the cleaning and tidying is suffering in response.

We're managing to sell the few bits of that furniture we bought here (just sold computer desk and office chair this eve).

Found a secondhand ministry store that will collect our unsold items just before we leave.

Wednesday is hump day and it is "downhill" now till Daddy comes home Saturday.

Kids are still relatively happy, though Mommy's gotta get bedtimes back together... Jasmin is showing the effects of late nights and early mornings - she is terrible at sleeping in even when really tired - and our days aren't getting going until nearly 9 as we wait for Grace to wake up.

The internet still works after jumbling everything to get the desk away to sell it without unplugging everything.

I get to be with adults tomorrow - it's park day with the home school group.  Double bonus: I get to visit with the one I would consider my best friend here, though not at the park with the others.


Penang was talked about in a positive light spontaneously by the girls today. We were walking to Tesco for lunch and to shop for goodbye presents for their friends.  Mommy forgot to bring water, so we were all thirsty.  They began talking about drinks that they like, coke and lime juice (fresh made lemonade made with limes) being the top two! Lime juice they discovered in Penang, and talking about it triggered other good things about our short visit to Penang last month... so Grace talked about moving there without tears - even enthusiasm.

18 days

18 days until we leave.

Some days it seems so far away as to be unreal and to keep us complacently living day by day without thought of that move.

Sometimes it feel so close that there is a rise of panic, that "I'm not ready!" push back that can mean simply no more packing is done, started, or even planned or can attest to unprocessed reluctance or sadness for the impending goodbyes.

Tonight is one of those "it's so close!" times.  A casual comment about when we get there brought a jolt of realization that that is not all that far away.  Which brought on slow comments with a voice thick with tears from Grace, silence from Jasmin, and a rush of emotion and tangled thoughts for Mommy.

Grace wants to forget about it until it happens so not to be sad all the time.
Jasmin wants a calendar to cross off the days.
Mommy wants an injection of wisdom to know how to shepherd these precious hearts through this move.

It is an odd way to start Lent.  But perhaps a very apt one.  What more do we need now than to focus on the Unchanging One, whose love is also unchanging?

February Firsts

• The girls made a cardboard box stove/cooker all by themselves following instructions from a craft book (and improvised where necessary).  This is the first craft project Mommy hasn't had to finish or throw out unfinished! AND they are playing with it - another first.  So our living room has been a restaurant the last few days.  Milkshakes and eggs are the main things on the menu currently, though there are frequent promises of meat and tea coming soon :o)
• Aiden has opposing teeth now, and so likes to gnaw on things... like Mommy's iPhone, the table edge -  anything within reach. Since he is now properly mobile with a tummy flop-crawl, there is a lot in reach...
• Aiden finally condescended to drink from a bottle!  What a relief for Mommy, since his propensity to bite during nursing has been growing fearsomely. It only took 3 weeks of trying and lots of tears...
• We were told the best place to try sell our furniture that we can't take with us was craigslist.  We were surprised to find that it is used quite heavily and we ended up saying good bye to our homeschool table and shelves before we were quite ready.  But it is good to know that selling what we need to sell will not be a hassle or lots of stress.
• The girls and I went to Lumphini Park for a homeschool gathering, but the turn out was rather poor, so we opted to try out the paddle boats instead. Crazy Mommy! With two kids, an extremely tired baby, and a stiff/sore back? But we did it - and had fun, though the girls' steering attempts have a long way to go to being useful.
• Last Thursday Mommy woke up with a slightly stiff back which got worse all day until by supper she could hardly walk. (Unfortunately, we also had an overnight Wycliffe guest, so she couldn't just disappear into bed.) One week and numerous painful massages later, she is still stiff, but able to act more or less normally again. Whew!
• Yes, a guest! Our one and only in this house. It was so pleasant to have someone with us for a meal, and overnight!  He is the Wycliffe Thailand director, so he and Michael had much to talk about.
• Jasmin seems to have a mild allergy to her beloved Christmas necklace.  She was in tears when Mommy realized what was going on.  She does not want to even try trading with Mommy - it has to be hers.  So we compromise - she doesn't wear it all the time as she would like to.  Seems to be working well enough so far.
• Aiden has an allergy too :o( We haven't quite pinned it down yet, but once in a while after a meal he is covered in rash around his mouth and down his tummy. Doesn't seem to bother him any though.

January photos and notes

Daily school that morphs into play...

Fraction work becomes butterfly creations

which get reincorporated into school via art class...











A story and discovery video on water spiders colors subsequent play: the deer (Grace is always a deer) and the puppy (Jasmin is always a puppy) begin gathering air bubbles in their house for their babies - this is what water spiders do - but they couldn't figure out how to have the door of their home on the bottom like the spiders as the couch was the base of their home...





A construction lesson with play clay fizzles... but at the mall a few days later (we discovered a Payless Shoestore - finally decent kid's shoes!), at the lego stand, it clicks, and Mommy can hardly bear to drag them away with their houses unfinished. If only lego wasn't so crazily expensive...










Recently there seems to be a grouping of birthdays - seems like every day for a week the girls came back from their playing saying someone had invited them to their birthday party on the weekend.  Mommy had a hard time convincing them that without a paper invitation, they couldn't go (besides the fact that they never knew where or what time!).  But then they got two real invitations in one day! Excitement abounded.  One has come and gone, and the other is yet to come. 

This first one was at Little Gym.  It took us an hour and a half to get there by public transport, so we missed the first 1/2 hour! Still, worth it.  The kids had a blast in the gym - it was mostly organized routines on the various equipment to loud music, but the staff were excellent with the kids, keeping it fun and interesting. Jasmin told me afterwards, "It was lots of fun, but I'd rather go next door." - a ballet studio. That, plus the transport time means we won't be taking advantage of the coupon for a free session...      This was also the first party in which the gifts were taken home to be opened - I think I like that, though the girls were disappointed they didn't get to see their friend open their present.                                                Aiden behaved himself excellently, despite missing his nap-time completely.  He really enjoyed the low balance beam and the soft floors. He spent a lot of time inching his way along this beam or trying to stand alone beside it.  Looks like he is going to be an early walker...

The girls are thoroughly enjoying their freedom to go play on the playground each afternoon without escort.  By 10 am, Jasmin begins asking if it is 4 o clock yet - the time all the kids are out playing!  Our two are often the loudest on the playground (blush), so Aiden likes to stand watch... to Mommy it seems like he can hardly wait to be able to join them down there...