Photo Friday

All the girls are bundled up for walk

Pot roast with mashed potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower

Improvements on the left: Newly painted window frames, pillars, and door.
Trimmed bushes and removed tree by front door.

More work in store for front: Rotten wood and chipping paint

Bathroom demolition begins

Sunday Fun Day

Taylor and I are feeling much better. We're on the right schedule (even going to bed at a better time) and just coughing a tiny bit. I took her to a follow-up visit with our pediatrician who said she could maybe justify giving her antibiotics if I was really concerned about the cough, but if she was that apprehensive I figure the best course of action is to wait and see a little longer.

The childcare workers at our church think Taylor is hilarious. When we picked her up after the service last night, we heard the whole story: Taylor was playing when she noticed that one of the children had a runny nose. So she went to the changing table, opened a package of wipes, and wiped the child's face. Then she proceeded to wipe all of the children's faces...and then the walls and other surfaces. After that she went back to the changing table, got out a pair of latex gloves and put them on, and then she grabbed a diaper and started walking around with it (perhaps looking for a doll or a child in need of a diaper change). And during all of this, she would occasionally get distracted by the music they were playing in the room and break out in spontaneous dance [the woman telling me the story then acts out the arm flailing and head banging].

Oh my goodness, our child is so funny. When Mark and I picked her up we found her carrying two purses (one on each shoulder) with a diaper tucked inside. The childcare worker also said that she was amazed with Taylor's comprehension, that Taylor understood absolutely everything they said. What a smart cookie.

Today begins another stint of intense home repair. While Mark works on the baseboards and repainting around the door frames, I'll be working my way through the piles of laundry and dishes. Mark's mom is coming back into town this afternoon and will be here until Thursday helping us out. We'll likely know the outcome of the Dallas position by Wed (definitely by the end of this week), so we can adjust our repair schedule accordingly.

Home and readjusting - plus home adjustments!

Sorry there was never a Part 2 to my "On my way home" post. We didn't end up having anytime in Tokyo to use the computer before the trans-Pacific flight and I don't think any free (or moderately priced) internet stations exist in the Dulles airport.

Anyway, long story short, we made it home safely with extra seats on every flight. Though we had a few rough spots during travel, overall Taylor was very very good and we survived the sleep-deprivation and the airplane food and the close connections.

The only sad news: Taylor picked up a cough in KL and I ended up contracting it after we returned, so at points we've been feeling pretty miserable. But lots of sleep is helping us recover.

There's a possibility we will move to Dallas! Mark has applied for a position with Boeing down there, so while we await the interview process and such, we decided to get moving on some of the home repairs we've been intending to do for so long. Whether we move in the next couple of months or stay in this home for 5 more years, this stuff needs to be fixed.

This weekend, Mark filled holes in our door frames and baseboards and then mudded around the door frames where there were gaps in the paint. Yesterday, he power-washed the house and the back patio, built a brick border around our backyard garden, and trimmed half of the trees. Then he and his mom started repainting the front of the house. Quite a bit of work done, but a lot more left to go!

Over the next couple of days they will do more painting, plant some bushes, and start some of the inside repair work. By the time we're done (in a few months?), we hope to have two newly redone bathrooms, a finished fireplace, a couple of freshly painted rooms, and new curtains and blinds on every window. Whether the curtains will be generic or my lovely handpicked fabric all depends on if we're actually moving or not.

Last night we tried the first meat from our 1/4th of a cow (a Missouri-raised, grass-fed cow). We made spaghetti with ground beef. I could tell a difference as soon as I plopped the meat in the pan. The raw beef smelled so much better than the stuff we usually buy at the store. In the final product, I think the meat was more tender than usual. I'm really looking forward to trying out new recipes for the cuts of meat I've never cooked before - brisket, pot roast, flank, etc - that showcase the meat more.

On my way home, Pt 1

We made it to Singapore safely. Though I was originally told that the flight was full, we ended up with an empty seat right next to us. Amazing! I don't know right now if we'll have extra seats on the flights back, but I'm still praying for it.

My friend, Titus, who I know from Northwestern, met me at the airport. He and his wife, Evelyn, offered to house Taylor and me for the evening. They took us out to dinner at a local food plaza and ordered a variety of dishes - roasted chicken, fried fish, noodles, rice, and veggies. Taylor at so much chicken and rice! I was very thankful. It's been neat to see a different side of Singapore this time around. I feel like I'm experiencing authentic Singaporean food and culture.

Titus and his wife have a dog and a cat at home, which means Taylor is thrilled to be here. She seems to be having more fun with the pet toys than the pets do.

We told a cab to come get us at 5am tomorrow (yikes, that's in 6hrs!). It is a short ride to the airport and our flight leaves at 7:10am. We have a layover in Tokyo, where I'll try to write a little again, and then on to D.C. and St. Louis. We'll be back by 6pm on Friday night.

Relaxing

We've been taking it fairly easy the last couple of days - just little outings here or there to keep the kids active.  I've been reading through the stack of books I bought from the Bible conference.

Tomorrow is Nelya's birthday, so we picked up a few little things to create a party-like atmosphere.  At a party store we found a "Happy Birthday" button with confetti and ribbons, and today we bought a box of really nice assorted cupcakes.  We'll just be eating at a little restaurant with a playground for the celebration.

Last night I ended up giving Nelya a couple of her gifts early - a beautiful doll stroller from Pottery Barn Kids (from Lolo & Lola) and a lovely green-eyed Cabbage Patch Kid (from Chris, Carol, Mark, and me).  This was mostly in an attempt to fend off fighting between her and Taylor over toys.  It helped quite a bit, until the kids all got really tired and Taylor was snatching toys from everyone.

I also brought a couple little gifts for Leisan, to ease the jealousy over Nelya's birthday.  She went crazy over the Highlights magazine from Lolo & Lola, and was really excited about a Barbie Target gift card (i.e. a play credit card) I gave her that doesn't actually have a balance on it.

Leisan celebrated Deepavali (an Indian holiday) at school yesterday, which involved everyone dressing in traditional Indian clothing - including bindis.  Here are a few photos of the celebration and areas around her school:

Rice art

Leisan in her classroom

Cathe, Taylor, Nelya, and Andrea outside the school

The little girls enjoy the playground inside

Jetlag and Nicknames

It's another cloudy morning in KL.  Angela just left to take Leisan to school and Taylor wanted to tag along.  Cathe and Nelya are back to sleep after a brief waking period in the wee hours of this morning. 

Taylor woke up at 3:30am and, sadly, made enough noise to wake the other girls around 4 or 4:30am.  They all played together and ate Cheerios for a couple hours, until Nelya went back to sleep.  She's been running a bit of a fever the last couple of days and we don't know why, but it doesn't really seem to be bothering her.  Her body temperature cooled down significantly after she had some water and food.  Leisan didn't end up sleeping again before school, so hopefully she can make it through today okay.  She has a swim lesson this afternoon and I told her it wouldn't be good to fall asleep in the pool.

Despite the early rise, Taylor actually slept quite a bit.  She napped from about 3-5pm yesterday and then was down at 6pm for the night.  She ate a bit of an orange and some cheese and a good amount of Cheerios for breakfast, so I'm not worried about her not getting enough food here.

It was funny to listen to the girls play this morning.  The little ones are still learning names and trying to work out the new sounds those require.  I had tried to prep Taylor to say "Nelya" before we arrived (it was too hard to learn "Leisan"), so she's been calling her "Nana."  However, it all gets a bit confusing because Cathe and Nelya call Leisan "Nana" (originating with Leisanka Bananka, I believe).  So now I think Taylor is referring to both of the girls as "Nana."  And, kind of out of nowhere, Nelya calls Taylor "Baby Boy."  So silly.

Last night Cathe took me to the second evening of the Klang Valley Bible Conference, where David Chapell (the president of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis!) was speaking.  It was crazy to have come all the way to KL to hear a St. Louis native speak.  The talk he gave was interesting - an exposition of Daniel 8.  I'm curious to dig up more research about it's historical implications.  We may return tonight for the final evening of the conference, and Chapell's final talk.

I think I'll try to read until Taylor and Angela return.  It's so rare to get this much free time without the pressure of chores hanging over me, I barely know what to do with myself.  At least you all benefit from the blogging ;)

Whew! In Kuala Lumpur

After two days of traveling, we have finally made it to KL.  The morning flight was quick, so even though Taylor was more energetic than the previous flights, we managed just fine.  Cathe met us at the airport and it took about an hour to drive back to her place.  I have a future blog posting in mind already about all the traveling tips and tricks I've acquired in this process.  There were definite differences between this journey and the one in June - toy interests, food choices, necessary accessories, etc.  I have a lot I could say about what to do/bring to be prepared for traveling with a toddler.

So far I've unpacked all of Cathe's stuff and we've had lunch.  It's close to time to pick up Leisan from school and take her to gymnastics, but I think I'll skip out on those activities so I can rest up and get settled.  Taylor and Nelya are playing very well together.  I think it makes a huge difference that now both of them are active and know how to play.  It's interesting to think that Taylor is as old now as Nelya was the last time we were here.

It's a really cloudy day - not nearly as sunny as in June, but still very warm and humid.  I'm not completely exhausted yet, so I'm hoping I won't have bad jetlag.  Though I must say, it is a harder to stay awake when I'm not running around, zooming from one place to another.  I'm looking forward to this next week of little outings and yummy Indian and Thai food.  I'll post pictures as I take them.