10 Days Home

Some of you may be wondering what it's like now that the girls are finally home and I have not had much of a chance to write about that. In fact, I have little chance to write about anything! The biggest change is that I am extremely busy and only have a little time to hop on and off the computer during the day. The girls are very interested in the computer, but there is still too much language barrier for them to understand the parameters of computing rules and so I am avoiding it for right now. They just want to pound away at any and all keys, and with that I see disaster looming. However, I will start to teach them in short time.

I came home sick for the first time, and not only that, the first day back, we'd only had about 3 hours of sleep before we started our first day together. Those things may have been unavoidable but they made things more difficult. Of course, we don't live in a perfect world, so we do the best we can. They were very curious about every little thing in the house, and wanted to explore and take apart (and put back together) everything. As ready as W may have thought that she was to come here, the whole thing just rocked her world. I could tell she was really grieving and wondering what the heck she'd gotten herself into. Both of them tested boundaries to the max and found out they had some. After a couple of days of testing and pouting and crying, they settled down a little bit. Through it all I tried to keep them on a simple routine of breakfast, some morning cartoons (I don't have cable so the one's on public television are what they get and especially little ML loves those, she repeats the alphabet and numbers, etc) Then we get ready to go SOMEWHERE in the MACHINE which is the big event of the day. At first it was taking forever even get to the car to get going because of the amount of stuff they wanted to take with them, but we are down to snacks and W's little handbag, as of yesterday.

Remember this; everyday gets easier, and that is just the truth.

They eat really well...and constantly! They like plain spaghetti, rice and beans, (I use Zatarain's and it is very inexpensive at Wal-Mart) potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, pineapple, mango, watermelon, grapes, corn on the cob, eggs, popcorn, bananas, banana chips, chicken, pork, and beef although they are unsure about hamburgers. They like hot sauce and salsa verde. It's easy sometimes to forget about the Latin influence in Haiti sometimes because other things (like the poverty) are so overwhelming, and the language of business is French, and there is a dominant French, as well as American and Canadian influence there. But staying at the Visa this time, I sat on the terrace alot, and I felt like I was in Hemmingway's Cuba. Also, there were alot of Dominicans staying there, which added to that atmosphere. I believe it also contributes to their culture in the way they do things. Very socially, and a strict timetable is often just a suggestion. (No slam on anyone's culture, just saying our is different.)

Anyway, I was worried about them eating, because W was such a picky eater at Walls, and ML was always overdoing, but they have evened out to some good healthy appetites, which goes like this:

Breakfast, snack, lunch, (also an on the road snack) snack, dinner, and possibly a bedtime snack.

I have started them on a multivitimin. They went to the doctor on Monday. They will go for lab work later this week. He is going to do their immunizations in about a month. They are the same sizes, both clothing and shoes, as they were the day that I met them, almost two years ago. W has gained 5 lbs, and ML has gained 1 lb. To give you an idea...ML is 6.5 years old and weighs 38 lbs. These kids are tiny. It will be interesting to see what the lab work reports.

Knowing some simple creole helps, and having a book handy for language reference has also helped. In fact I would say the most frustration comes from communication breakdown. They get really frustrated with it, especially W. The first couple of days they were hoarding their stuff. Not food, their stuff. They kept it all in plastic bags, and W even put it back in her suitcase. I put the suitcases away and helped them put all their clothes and toys away again. And they have stayed there. Now they help me put their clothes away after I wash them, which I do alot, because they have about 4 outfits they wear over and over again. They finally figured out I was only trying to take care of them when ML ran laughing out into a busy parking lot and got a very very stern talking to which made her cry. When I got in the car with her, I saw one of my creole books and was able to explain to her that it was dangerous and I did not want her hurt. Then we went to the park and it had a little street with a crosswalk in it and I was able to show both of them how to cross the street.

They love going to church. This is a big deal. Something they obviously did before, but were unable to do for the last 2 years. I go to a very contemporary non-denominational Christian church. They are big on music, and the girls LOVE this. It is also very casual, but the girls also think church is about being dressed up, so we are the most overdressed people there. LOL. Ya can't miss us!

Yesterday I bought a $9.99 Rubbermaid step stool, which ML decided was a doll's table. As soon as we got home from the store they set up for a tea party. Except they call it "Cafe". They got all the dolls out (wish I'd been faster with the camera) and also set up on this other stool. Tea towel is the table cloth. If you look close you can see some tiny porcelain tea cups and saucers. I made them some pasta, (it was snack time again) and wha-la....we had a Cafe in the living room.

Everyone asks how is LG adjusting, and I have to say, pretty well. It is a big change for him. He and I have been pretty laid back in our lifestyle, it's just been me and him. He was talking to his brother, NG on the phone yesterday and I could tell NG asked him how it was going. LG said it was going good. He said they were loud and very energetic. This is true, especially in comparison to how quiet things were around here previously. But he does well with them, and I am sure to allow him plenty of time ALONE when he needs it, or with his friends. Of course, the girls ADORE him!

As for sibling rivalry, they have reserved that for someone else.

And ML is very serious about this. She came up to me the other night, and very vehemently informed me that I was NOT Tyler's mama, I was HER mama, then she said "and I love you very much!" Poor Tyler. He is feeling left out and lost lately. He just can't believe someone does not love him, because EVERYONE LOVES TYLER! Again, it gets a little better everyday. They are less and less afraid of him, but I would not say they are totally accepting by any means. Right now I am keeping the other dogs outside most of the time. Strangely, Molly the big fluffy Chow-Golden mix does not bother them. She is pretty mellow and unlike Tyler, I don't think she cares if they like her or not, so that may be it.

Well, that's about it for now. Today we are going to an educational toy store to see what I can find to help with some language issues. Other than that, it's taken me 2 days to post this! Yes, life has changed!