Dog Years

So, I’ve been away on business for 9 days…not straight, but almost. When I got back and saw Stan walking thru the airport with the kids, I was struck by how much bigger Jonah looked. They came running up to me and Jonah repeatedly kissed me on the lips and hugged me….as did Zoe. Happiness is truly the love of your children. Anyway, we waited for my suitcase and once it arrived, Jonah took my computer roller bag and dragged it all the way to the car for me. Such a little gentleman! We headed to dinner and Jonah asked me to take him to the bathroom, which I was very thrilled about. I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to actually result in him successfully using the toilet, but wanted to be encouraging anyway. I was wrong! Yay, Jonah. I tell Stan and he says that they had been working on that, especially before bath time. So when we got home, I ran their bath and Jonah wanted to try and use the potty again…this time he said he wanted to stand up. You know, like boys do. So I put the seat up, he peed, shook and was done. I. could. not. believe. it. I told Stan and even he hadn’t ever seen him do that.

In a little over a week, he’s grown up so much…if a year is the equivalent to seven dog years, how does a week equate to toddler years??

Delicious

Last week as we were driving up to visit friends in Ashland, Oregon, we stopped at Lake Shasta for the night. At breakfast, both the kids ordered hot chocolate and, as expected, there was a spill. Not Jonah, the 2 1/2 year old, but Zoe the BIG kid. She spilled the WHOLE cup all over herself. Luckily, she had diluted it with like 9 little creamers, so it wasn’t too hot. But she was

covered

in hot chocolate. A chocolate covered Zoe. So, we excuse ourselves and hoof it back to our room to clean her up. On the way there, she licks her arm and says, “MMMMmmm! I taste GOOD!” And it reminded me of this, which I found on StumbleUpon.

The dichotomy of motherhood

As my babies become less baby-like and more people-like, I find myself feeling torn between two completely opposite emotions. I am relieved that I have a bit more time that I can use to do what I want (see previous post…obviously doing nothing good) and I am sad that Zoe and Jonah are growing up so fast.

Yesterday, though, I had such a good day with Zoe that I didn’t have the feelings of wishing she was still little. My big 4-year old and I had a mama-and-me day and we went to see Chihuly at the de Young museum. If you happen to live in the Bay Area, you MUST go see this exhibition. It was incredible. Zoe came out of it and said, “Chi-HOOOO-li is an amazing artist!” (I’m not making that up.)

Glass ceiling

We made the requisite stop in the museum store where I agreed to buy her a Chihuly Artist Kit for kids, and a puzzle for Jonah. Zoe also wanted a purple pencil sharpener. We’ve been trying to teach her that things cost money, and that money comes from working instead of just magically out of our wallets. So I told her if she wanted the pencil sharpener she’d have to see if she had enough money. She did, and she was so proud to be able to buy it herself. (She had earned the money from helping to put Jonah to bed a few nights before….I was joking when I told her I’d give her $5 if she could help her Daddy put Jonah to bed. She promptly got up, picked some stories she knows by heart to read to him and was mostly successful.) We have been talking about making a list of chores for her to do to earn some money so she can buy herself the infinite list of things she asks for whenever we are in any retail establishment. The thrill of purchasing the sharpener made her hungry for more, and she said she wanted to do some chores when we got home. (I’m not making this up either.) Alrighty!

Zoe at Chihuly

After the de Young, we went to see the butterfly exhibit at the Conservatory of Flowers where we actually got to observe a Monarch butterfly emerge from its cocoon and watch as its wings went from crumply to beautifully expanded. It was so neat. And we had such a good time. I felt a little bad that I didn’t bring Jonah along, but in hindsight I realized the days agenda really wasn’t geared toward an 18 month old.

We were both hungry and so had lunch at the Beach Chalet, then headed home. Zoe fell asleep during the car ride and took a nice long nap, but when she awoke, here are the chores she completed:
1. Dusted the living room furniture.
2. Vacuumed the bench in the kitchen and under the table.
3. Picked up her shoes and jackets from the living room, put them away.
4. Picked up Jonah’s toys from living room, put them away.
5. Picked up her room, dusted her dresser.

For this, she earned $1.25. So when I am feeling sad that she isn’t the little baby she used to be, I am going to think back on this day and remember what a great time we had and be thankful for the present.

Big Questions

Zoe has been handing out some doosies lately. On Saturday, she was sitting in the car eating a Popsicle while I cleaned my car (yes, I know…two opposing activities). Out of nowhere, she asks if I know cheezus. I thought she was asking about goldfish crackers so I asked if she wanted some crackers.

Zoe: “Do you know Cheezus?”
Me: (thinking she wanted something else to eat…) Do you want some goldfish crackers?”
Zoe: (annoyed) “No. Do you know CHEEZ-us?
Me: “Do you mean Jesus?”
Zoe: “Yes. Some bad men did things to him.”
Me: “Um. Yeah. Where did you hear this?” Note: we are not at all religious, so I am now confounded about where this is coming from…
Zoe: “Daddy.”

So I asked Stan about this and he told me that with all the missions and churches they visited while in Mexico, Zoe was fascinated with all the images of Jesus and kept asking about his wounds and why people hurt him.

Then this morning I am driving her to school and we are, as usual, listening to NPR. There is a story about a man who flew fighter planes in WWII, in spite of the fact that he was African American. At that time, African Americans were only given menial jobs because of a study that was done after WWI that claimed that “negroes were a sub-species of human”. (I’m not kidding….here is a link to the story) After listening to this story, Zoe asks:

Zoe: “When will we die?”

After a moment of panicking because I don’t know exactly what to say, I decide on this:

Me: “Not for a long time, sweetie.”
Zoe: “YAY! Can I have a lollipop?”

Getting to know your friends meme

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:23 am (6:30 am during school year)
2. Diamonds or pearls? pearls, but diamonds if I could afford them
3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? Into the Wild (sadly, I almost couldn’t remember)
4. What is your favorite TV show? Lost, The Daily Show
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? caffe latte, fruit
6. What is your middle name? Morrow
7. What food do you dislike? greasy food (does not mean I don’t like fried food, however)
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Stan’s mix titled, “Thinking of my Family”
9. What kind of car do you drive? 2000 Audi station wagon
10. Favorite sandwich? prosciutto & arugula & mozzarella on a baguette (copied directly from Meri)
11. What characteristics do you despise? selfishness, meanness
12. Favorite item of clothing? my new sweater from anthropologie
13. If you could go anywhere on vacation where you would go? Africa, specifically Zanzibar and the Seychelle Islands
14. What color is your bathroom? black and white marble, teal walls
15. Favorite brand of clothing? anthropologie
16. Where would you retire? I haven’t been to enough places yet, but probably Mexico or Costa Rica
17. Most memorable birthday? My 35th, five days before Zoe was born. Meri’s 40th when Theresa and I surprised her.
18. Favorite Sport to watch? Sailing, Tour de France
19. Furthest place you are sending this? North Carolina
20. Who do you expect to send this back to you? My sisters, Anne
21. Person you expect to send it back first?? Theresa
23. When is your birthday? April 30
24. Are you a morning person or a night person? a night person
25. What is your shoe size? 11, sadly. Thank God for Zappos.
26. Pet? Seven fish
27. What did you want to be when you were little? A hair dresser and a doctor. A hair doctor?
28. What are you today? eMarketing for
an awesome biotech
29. What is your favorite candy? Vosges Barcelona bar
30. What is your favorite flower? gerber daisies, lilacs
31. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? June 20
32. What church/temple do you attend? none
33. What are you listening to right now? a conference call
34. What did you eat last? Specialty’s dark chocolate chip cookie
35. Do you believe in Angels? Yes
36. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? goldenrod
37. What is your pet peeve? conspicuous consumption
39. Favorite soft drink? pellegrino limonata
40. Favorite restaurant? Where? Japonais in Chicago, Bangkok House in San Francisco (not there anymore)
41. Hair Color? blonde
43. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
46. Hugs or kisses? why choose? Hugs, because you can get one from almost anyone without being weird or contracting a cold
47. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
48. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Yes
49. When was the last time you cried? In March when I found out my Mom was in the hospital
50. What is under your bed? A rolled up rug, slippers, toys
51. Who is the friend you’ve had longest? Laura (is she my friend or my sister? Zoe thinks we’re sisters)
52. What did you do last night? ate dinner, put kids to bed, updated Quicken w/ finances
53. Favorite smell? the smell of landing in a tropical place
54. What are you afraid of? people I love dying
55. How many keys on your key ring? three
56. How many years at your current job? less than one
58. How many towns have you lived in? 6
59. Do you make friends easily? yes, but it takes a while

I’m now tagging Anne and Mrs. Flinger

Say Sari!

We get a free continental breakfast here at the hotel. I was thinking it would be the same as in the US – bins of cereal, bread, and bad juice. Oh no. This was a full spread of beautiful fruit, delicious looking breads, cheese and cold cuts, and hot breakfast – Indian style or other. We each had a HUGE breakfast. Mine included scrambled eggs with cheese, masala dosa – which is a burrito like thing with potatoes and onions and spices all rolled up and served with chutney, idlis – little rice cakes that you dip in a delicious chutney, delicious mango juice, and chai. It was delicious.

After breakfast, we walked through the garden and over to the pool to enjoy the sun. The weather has been very cool for India – quite comfortable by my standards though. Atma picked us up and we were off to his parents house.

I met his parents, Rajshekar and Meenakshi. Very nice, welcoming, and friendly people. We visited for a while, and then we were off to go sari shopping!!!

The drive to the shopping district was a bit more entertaining, as we were now at the mercy of the driver Atma’s parents had hired who is hard of hearing. Honking is a major way of communicating on the roads in India, so being hard of hearing is a bigger deal than it sounds. It seems totally impossible that we didn’t hit any other cars, trucks, busses, motorcyclists, taxis, rickshaws, dogs, pedestrians, bicyclists, or cows as we were driving. It’s like an elaborate dance that you can’t quite figure out the rhythm to. It’s no wonder they don’t let foreigners drive. When you rent a car here, it comes with a driver. Don’t get me wrong – it wasn’t scary, it was fascinating. We arrived at the sari place without incident, parked, stepped over the dead rat in the gutter, and entered the sari store. Up on the second floor, we sat in chairs across from the sales people on the other side of a wide counter. Meenakshi asked what kind of sari I wanted to look at. I had seen the sari Theresa was going to wear for the reception and indicated that would be a nice place to start. (How do I know?!?) They started bringing saris out from the shelves, and I was presented with the most stunning colors and designs of silk that I’ve ever seen. It was totally overwhelming because they were all so beautiful, I was helped by Meenakshi so I wouldn’t pick a color that was too close to either her sari or Theresa’s saris. Theresa will be wearing two – a red one for the wedding ceremony and a teal one for the reception. After looking at several, I tried one on. This tiny woman started wrapping me in yards of silk, expertly folding and folding the front pleats and placing my hands where she wanted me to hold everything in place. I’m not sure how I’m going to keep from killing my self while trying to walk in a sari, or accidentally disrobing myself by pulling the wrong thing. But I trust it will all be okay. Anyway, trying on saris was so fun. They are all incredibly beautiful. Theresa tried some on for me because it is easier to see it on someone else. We tried on 8 or 10 different ones and finally made a decision.

Trying on saris

Marilyne wasn’t going to wear a sari, but after seeing how beautiful they are and with a little influence from Theresa, and myself she agreed she would wear one. She was more decisive than I was and only had to try on three or four before she made her decision. We then were measured for the blouse that we’ll wear underneath, and everything was promised to be ready the next evening.

We headed upstairs to look for a salwar kamis that I will wear for the mehendi ceremony. Theresa already bought hers and it’s gorgeous. I was shown a few and knew right away which one I liked. I ended up trying on several because Meenakshi wanted me to and I kind of liked trying them. There are a couple different style of pants. The traditional style is very loose, and the more modern style has pants that are very fitted near the ankles. Meenaksi wanted me to try on some of the more modern styles, but they didn’t fit….big tall American woman trying to fit into fitted Indian women’s clothing….I don’t think so. So I decided on the salwar kamis I liked at first, then Marilyne, Theresa, and I picked out some silk scarves. So much fun!

We headed back to Atma’s parents house for a late lunch, took a nap, and headed out for more shopping…this time for shoes and bangles. So, keep in mind that I am a 5’10” tall woman with size 11 feet in a country filled with some of the most petite, beautiful women in the world. I wasn’t optimistic about finding shoes or bangles that would fit my Amazon sized hands and feet. In the bangle shop they pulled out the largest size bangle and tried shoving it over my hand. It shattered on the counter and the sales girl looked at me with a bewildered look and then looked at the sales man who was in charge. He just shrugged and told her to try different ones. Not bigger ones, Just different. Eventually they were able to find some that both coordinated with my sari and could withstand being forced over my hands. Now on to the joy of finding shoes…I was sort of dreading this part, but surprisingly they had several pairs that fit me, so I was able to find a pair that will look nice. They have an interesting system for fetching shoes here. The salesman on the floor takes the shoe you want to try on and throws it up a hole in the ceiling to a boy waiting above. He finds the shoes mate and throws the box down the hole in the ceiling. You have to be aware of this because it can be perilous to mis-time being under the hole. Atma needed shoes also so we went to another shoe store. I was sitting next to Sushima – Atma’s sister-in-law – while he was waiting for shoes to be delivered. My seat was almost directly under the hole in the ceiling. You see, I was naïve to the potential peril of the situation. As they are about to throw a box down for Atma, I look up to see a tower of shoeboxes coming down the hole in an uncontrolled manner. I throw my hands over my head and duck away, miraculously avoiding being pummeled by shoeboxes. Lesson learned: check, check. We didn’t find any shoes for Atma so we headed home.

This time instead of driving in the car I hopped in a rickshaw with Theresa and Atma. It was fun and exhilarating, just as I remember the tuk tuks being in Thailand. It really is absolutely remarkable that things work so well. You literally get within an inch or two of other vehicles. It was very dusty and polluted, so we covered our faces with the beautiful scarves we bought earlier.

We had a lovely dinner at Atma’s parents house, visited a little longer, and then headed home (to the hotel), exhausted.