Like Father, Like Daughter

Often, Tessa imitates Dusty in how he is standing, what he's doing with his hands, etc. This is how it looks when he goes to look at a dhow boat on the lake or search for an airplane flying overhead. I'm constantly amused when I watch her imitating him, and he doesn't even realize it.

When I was 9 months pregnant with Jack, she used to shuffle around the floor with her head thrown back, back arched and arms out to the side. It took me a while to realize what she was doing. Even now, if we say "walk like Mama," she does the prego-shuffle. Hilarious! Did I really walk like that?

She also imitates Jack's movements and noises. But I think it's more to get attention and to remind us that she's still our baby too.

Now if I can only get her to imitate perfect Swahili, and then teach me!

Family Weekend

We simply could not get the painters here when we were seriously ready for them, so guess how we spent our weekend? That's right, folks. Covered in paint. All four of us. We turned on the tunes and got busy. At one point, we took Tessa's crayons away and gave her a paintbrush (no paint) because she was trying to imitate us by coloring on the walls. Not helpful. An unloaded paintbrush never made anyone happier. Brush it girl, brush it!

I have to say I never thought I would be painting with a baby attached. Frankly, I had hoped my wall painting days were over, but I now realize such is not the case. Multi-tasking SuperMom Africa-style (well, true Africans would have the baby on the back). Jack was mesmerized by the roller brush, but I doubt I'll ever resort to this technique for quieting him when he fusses. You can see he was a pretty happy camper.

Hospitals and Jails

We recently found out an interesting fact about jails here, which is that the jailors do not feed the jailees. Families of inmates are responsible for bringing the prisoners their food. One of our TZ friends recently landed there as a witness for a theft, and as she has no family, we and other friends brought food to the jail. Yes, they locked her up as a witness who might have been involved. I cooked, and Dusty took the meal to the jail and returned saying "let me tell you, you do NOT want to be in jail here!" Let's just say the cell had nothing in it other than people (and critters) - no beds, toilet, etc.

The same feeding concept goes for patients in hospitals, here at the local level. When I was in the hospital in Nairobi having Jack, they did indeed feed me well, but such would not be true for the Musoma hospital. Plus, if you do not pay your bill before leaving, they will NOT let you go, so you just keep on racking up the cost until you really are in debt and CAN'T leave. We heard of one woman in a Nairobi hospital who has been there for a year - reminded me of Tom Hank's character in Terminal. So, yeah - another way hospitals and jails are similar!

Screwdrivers, Ants, and Popcorn

So what do screwdrivers, ants, and popcorn have in common? Confusion for Tessa, that's what. We thought the word for popcorn was "bisi bisi" so that's what Tessa calls it. The word for ants is "sisi misi"- and the two get mixed up in her mind/mouth, so she points to ants and says "bisi bisi!" But then we learned that "bisi bisi" actually means screwdriver, and popcorn is just "bisi." I don't think she has much need for using the word for screwdriver, so if I can just straighten her out on popcorn, then maybe she can recall the word for ants. Whew!

On a side note, it took me coming all the way to Africa to figure out how to cook non-microwave popcorn, and now I'm a pro (after ruining one pot - which I now only use for bisi)!
As for ants, we have LOTS! They've gone beserk, and I've even found colonies forming in our truck, as well as behind Tessa's curtains, and in the holder for the toilet cleaning brush. YUCK! Dudu (bugs) have great names here. You already know sisimisi, but we also have "washa washa" for asps, "kumbi kumbi" for termites (a yummy snack for some folks here), and "bui bui" for spiders. That's just a start for all the dudu we see daily - inside our house.
As for screwdrivers, well, that's Dusty's specialty. He's certainly puts his to use a lot, so now it's good to know what to call them.

Ants in the Pants

In the effort to reduce crankiness in our children, I am constantly on the prowl for "ants in the pants" - literally. While the diapers are hanging on the line (photo), the ants take a strong liking to them. Why? Well, with hand washing they don't exactly have that "Downy Fresh" scent out here. I am always flicking the dudu (bugs - nice translation, eh?) off so they won't end up on the kids' backsides. Ouch!

With the rain, laundry is a challenge these days. Last night I was up at 1am unlocking padlocks and deadbolts bleary-eyed and rushing outside by the light of my headlamp to pull off the laundry because it had begun to rain. It has taken this particular load a full two days to dry because it's on and off again with rain. Great for the flowers, but not so great at 1am.

When we come home for furlough, we'll have to teach Tessa the word "bugs" so she's not grossing out the other kids when she says something like, "kiss the dudu" as she did the other night. Don't worry: I stopped her from kissing the bug that she was puckering towards.

Introduction to Spit-Up 101

Wow! Yes, she's a cutie, but this morning she gave me a rather severe introduction into the reality of "spit-up," which prior to now I had thought was the white drooly gelatinous liquid frequently emanating from Jack's mouth. WRONG.

When I went to wake Tessa this morning, she informed me, "Tessa spit-up!" Uh, yeah, right. She had vomited copious amounts of chunky tummy contents over her cheek, mouth, ear, hair, PJs, quilt, sheet, and the Very Important Blankie and Bunny.

Dusty picked the best time to be on a work trip as successfully as he picked his fantasy baseball team.

Fortunately, she's as happy as a lark, with no fever. After changing ALL the bedding, Blankie and Bunny had baths, I washed her hair (inducing tears), and now we're right as rain.

But I have to tell myself that I can't complain since this is the first major vomit experience (of many in upcoming years I presume) in her 2 years. I have a whole new appreciation for the good old Jack kind of spit-up now. Remind me next time I complain about frequent white drooly gelatinous liquid.

Birds and Bandanas

This is our outside yard man, Deus, who helps us deal with our yard and garden (flowers, tropical fruit, veggies, grass). They cut grass with a machete type thing here and no sprinkler systems, so now you know why we have a yard man. In this photo of our back yard with Lake Victoria behind, he is holding Flat Stanley, sent to me from my cousin's daughter for a elementary school project.

But anyway... recently, he told me he was having problems with the kites in our yard. No, not the kind that fly on a string, but the kind that helpfully swoop down and pick up mice and snakes with their talons. They were swooping to try and pick up his head apparently, maybe because of the shiny oil he puts in his hair, or maybe because they're just mean spirited. So he started wearing a hat.

On Friday, he forgot his hat, so I lent him a red bandana, which he tied on his head. About an hour later, he told me that a kite had stolen the bandana right off his noggin! He watched until the bird dropped it and in defeat, brought it back to me. I doubt he will again forget his hat! And it's a good reminder to me to keep the kids and ourselves in hats while outside too.

Ellie's Tail

Here's our true canine companion, Elllie (humbly named after Mt. Elbert in Colorado). Being a Rottweiler, you would think she has no tail, but Tessa has informed us otherwise. See the rope Ellie's chewing on? Well, Tessa named it "Ellie's tail." Pretty fitting, huh?

Ellie may be the smallest purebred Rottie in the world, but she's just the right size for Tessa. Their best game is to see who can get in trouble the fastest. So far, it's Tessa: 1,214 to Ellie: 1,063.

Chipotle Sorrow

Yes, Dusty's normal lament is that he can't get Chipotle's here, but last night when I heard "Oh no! Oh man! Aaaargh!" (repeated a few times) it was not because of his tummy missing his favorite burrito. No, it was because Chipotle's stock had gone up 18 points, and Dusty had missed it. You Colorado folks keep eating those yummy burritoes, and maybe Dusty will get a second chance.