smoothie mustache

One of Sophia's favorite stories is 'if you give a mouse a cookie' and she laughs at the part where the mouse says he wants to look in the mirror because he may have a 'milk mustache.' I went with this theme when trying to get her to drink her green smoothie (spinach, papaya, strawberry, it is quite yummy). She likes them sometimes and sometimes she doesn't, but with the promise that it would give her a mustache like the mouse, she gobbled it up, and said 'look I have a milk smoothie mustache.'

After I had organized the toys...

Sophia decides to take them ALL off of her shelf and put them in her tent.



all smiles in her mischief


she decides that is not enough, the top baskets need to be emptied too.
when I asked her what she was doing....'straightening up a little bit'...

I suggested the pillow, blanket and book, which she did enjoy




meanwhile Bella chomps on the soccer ball

down and out

I had been running consistently for a few weeks now, on a really good schedule trying to incorporate long runs on Saturdays. Then I got a cold. I ran through that, my normal mid week runs. David said I was pushing it, but I was feeling okay. On Saturday I decided to do what we call 'the belt line loop' (for those from the RDU area), which is flat and not as far as my hill run, knowing I wouldn't make the 10k I had done the previous Saturday. By Monday, cold subsiding, I did my normal route, hoping to do another 10k, getting my long(er) run in that week, I was excited. It really is a beautiful run, around a lake with mountains staring down, in the shade it drops a few chilly degrees and in the sun it just warms the soul. The road, though, is horrible. Cobblestone that is treacherous on the feet, so I run on the egde and go from one side to the other when I need to. On this particuar day, I was feeling like I could do the 6 miles, and I went just a little farther to make sure I got the whole 10k in. The last little section before turning around is a short but somewhat steep hill and as I went down it, I thought 'ut oh, I am about to have to turn around and come back up this thing.' And I did, I was feeling a little weak, slower than before and I started feeling a rub in my toes. To compensate for this I tightened my toes together a little and pressed on the sole of my shoe with my toes every stride, it helped, no rub. But that was only mile four.... I made it home fine (never will I do that run on Monday, where it puts me back in front of the school right when their break is over, it was a gauntlet, bound to get hit by something). The next day, rest day, I started feeling soreness in my very low shin. By that night it was killing me. The next morning, I rode my bike to the store and could barely walk back up the stairs. It was the same foot I had changed my stride on. Don't ever do that. Run through a blister, run through the rub, or, hello, just walk, but don't change the way you use a muscle (tightening in a weird way), and do so for two miles, STUPID. I seriously messed up these muscles, and am down and out for who knows how long. I have iced it a few times, thought it felt a little better today, but it is so hard to really 'rest' it with two kiddos and so much to do. Humbling, hard, painful. Pray for me.

The Waiting

David had to go on a short trip. All day Sophia kept saying, 'I miss daddy so much,' and 'where's daddy?'
Usually we can see the airplanes as they approach our city, so I let Sophia sit by the window to watch out for his. A few times during the day she said: 'I am going to wave to his airplane and then he can see my hand.'
This was so incredibly precious that I had to document it. She sat in this spot for almost an hour, and since his plane was late, we rushed to put her PJs on, then we did our devotions right there. We read our story, sang our song, prayed our prayers, and I even let her have her snack over near the window. Don't you know, we never saw his airplane, maybe they changed the approach or something. He called, and I told her she would have to wait and look out for his taxi. These are David's favorite videos...


'waiting for daddy's airplane'
'he went to Kunming'



'waiting for daddy's taxi'



"daddy!!!.....daddy!!!! Can you see me?....I am upstairs....I am finished now (with her yogurt)....I missed you so much when you are gone.... I love you"




Daddy's arrival: "I missed you when you are gone. I am sad when you are not here."

And no, I did not prompt her to say any of this. Just her sweet heart.

Papaya

Here is Bella's first try at papaya, we thought she would not like it (I don't), but she was quite keen.

Bella in her walker

Nai Nai

There is a grandma that lives in our school who is quite aggressive. Sophia used to be okay with her, but not anymore...she runs every time she hears her call her name, she clings to my leg and does the peek around to see if she will bite. She is harmless (mostly), but Sophia doesn't know it yet. I am trying to do better in these situations, be calm, love, really converse, show Sophia that all is okay. This lady is actually our friend, more than just an acquaintance, so that makes this even harder.

Yesterday as I was outside with Sophia playing, this grandma beckoned us into her house. Before Sophia could see, I prepared her: "Sophia there's ---, lets go see her for just a minute and then we will finish playing." She slowly obliged. The first thing Nai Nai (grandma in chinese) gave her was a little cake (good thinkin' there). We went into her house where she put on music and started showing us a special local dance. She has been trying for awhile to get me to come over to teach me how to do this dance (I can go back to America and teach it others, she says). That was fine, Sophia sat quietly, no smiles, no dancing, just eating. I got up and tried the dance (mainly to show Sophia that it was okay to be Nai Nai's friend). Then Nai Nai forced one of her dresses on me, Sophia started getting uneasy (she wasn't the only one). I kept telling Nai Nai "I will have to think about it, I don't know...if I want to learn..." (it was a polite, no way!).

As we were going out the door Nai Nai literally hit me 7 times on the shoulder, more forceful than a pat, not quite a punch, it moved my body weight. She was just trying to convince me that I needed to dance...look what it did for her, it is great exercise, etc. etc. She even said 'you walk every day, it has no meaning,' I, in all pride, said, 'actually I run.' I wanted to say: 'and I am skinnier than you too.'

Finally we got out of there. I had to debrief this whole episode with Sophia whose eyes were wide with fear:
'she was not hurting mommy, she was just excited about what she was saying.'
'but why?' 'why she do like that?'
and on the conversation went, with all the 'but whys?' you could imagine.
honestly Sophia, I have no idea.
(But I kept that truth to myself.)