Project 52: Presents

This is the last Project 52 post, a little late. I know I didn't quite manage to post every week, but I hope the ones I did gave you a glimpse into our life.
This Christmas Jude learned a new word, presents!

We had a great time sharing this Christmas with our families here in Tennessee! Now we are just hoping for a little snow sometime in the next month to round out the Tennessee winter experience!

Project 52: Grandparents

Grandparents are pretty much the best thing that ever happened to parenting. Jude absolutely adores them and wants to help out with anything they are working on. He is also quick to order them around if he thinks they should get in the floor to play or come to another room with him! And Carson and I love having extra help with baths, mealtimes, and even getting up with him so we can sleep in! We miss them when we are in TZ and I suspect Jude is REALLY going to miss them after this furlough, but we'll soak up all the grandparent time we can while we are here and turn to Skype when we're not. Here's a shot of Jude helping my mom make pumpkin bread.

Project 52: Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with family this year.  Here's one of my favorite pictures from the day, Jude with Uncle Brian looking at Aunt Carole's tree.

Project 52: GiGi

Jude loves to help out and lately he has really enjoyed helping GiGi (his great-grandmother) anytime she is in the kitchen!

We have had a wonderful time on the farm and with lots of Carson's family. Now we are in Gallatin for a couple of weeks with my family. It is such a blessing to see Jude enjoying time with family.

Project 52: Healthy Baby...

Boy! It's a boy! We didn't expect to find out this early, but at my appointment yesterday they did an ultrasound, I think because I've been so sick. I said, "I don't guess you can really tell the gender this early." to which she replied, "There is something there!" Of course the most important thing we found out is that he is healthy, measuring the right size and with a good heart rate. I wasn't terribly worried because I was pretty sick with Jude as well and he was healthy, but it is really good to know that everything is as it should be. Here's a fuzzy ultrasound pic that looks like outerspace, but that's my boy!

And of course you'd like to know his name, right? It's Silas Andrew. Silas is a name that we really love and even considered for Jude. It means wood or of the woods which we think is fitting since Carson is a woodworker. Andrew is a family name. My granddaddy was George Andrew and went by Andy. One of Carson's cousins is also named Andrew. I love that we have great Andrews from both sides of the family!

I'll try to throw in as many posts as possible, but the Project 52 posts may be the bulk of it for a while now. We are enjoying our time with family and the fact that I am eating so well these days.

Project 52: Hyperemesis Gravidarum

These project 52 posts are supposed to give you a glimpse into motherhood and I try to include things that also give you a glimpse into our life here in Tanzania. This week I’m showing you a glimpse of my hospital room at Bugando Hospital in Mwanza last week.

This isn't what all the rooms at Bugando look like. I was fortunate to get in a VIP room rather than on a ward, which enabled me to have some privacy and Carson to come and go any time.

I was in the hospital due to Hyperemesis Gravidarum which is basically when you are pregnant and your body tries to kill you! Ok, that’s not what the dictionary says, but, hey, that is how it feels at times! It’s a severe form of morning sickness, and Wikipedia says this of the actual term,”Hyperemesis gravidarum is from the Greek hyper-, meaning excessive, and emesis, meaning vomiting, as well as the Latin gravida, meaning pregnant.”  You’ve probably heard a variety of techniques for dealing with morning sickness and maybe even had the occasion to try some out for yourself. It might seem that severe morning sickness would just require a bit more or the “cures”. Unfortunately, not so much. Sunday night my body stopped accepting food, water, medicine. Wednesday night I was admitted to the hospital and started on fluids and meds to stop the vomiting. I didn’t stop vomiting for a couple more days and continued to have a variety of symptoms, but by Monday I was able to leave. We decided to change our tickets and come home a month earlier than expected so that we could recover surrounded by family and familiarity and be in the states in case I needed further medical care. So, we're back in Tennessee. I did really well on the flights (so did Jude) and we are relaxing. I'm still on three different medications that are helping me to keep down wonderful food like Pop-Tarts! 

We really couldn't have survived this without the help of other missionaries in Mwanza who spent lots of time watching Jude and housing and feeding both Jude and Carson. We are also very thankful for the American doctor who treated me. We are so blessed with good friends in Tanzania as well as all of our friends in the States who were praying for my recovery and our travels.

I hate that Hypermesis Gravidarum is a part of my motherhood experience. I was really sick with my first pregnancy as well and most likely had the same thing, though I was never diagnosed and never had to be in the hospital. It makes for a rough start to the motherhood journey, but I'm trying to remember how well it ends, with the arrival of sweet baby!

Project 52: Breakfast

The "experts" who decided that kids shouldn't watch TV before the age of two were obviously never pregnant with a child under two. Or else, they were those people who think pregnancy is this beautiful, natural, thing because they didn't have a single pregnancy symptom. Let me assure you that it is the most definitely supernatural and I dare you to look up the symptoms and come back and tell me it's not an illness! Anyway, back to the TV issue. Here is what breakfast looks like these days:

Yep, eating in front of the TV. Mornings are sometimes rough for me and putting him in front of the TV is the only way to insure that he's going to eat long enough for me to eat. I'm sure letting kids eat in front of the TV is linked to obesity, but in our case it's linked to getting the kid to gain enough weight that he's in at least the 5th percentile! We've got a lanky one!

I'm nearing the end of the first trimester, but honestly I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I was MUCH sicker with the last pregnancy and it didn't disappear with the first trimester like all the books promised. It did let up quite a bit around that time, however. I just try to remember everyday that this is so much better than last time and when I have a rough day I listen to Christmas music!

We're also really looking forward to some R&R in the states. I get exhausted if I stand for long periods of time and there are lots of days when I just can't even think about fixing dinner, so Carson has had his hands full taking care of us! We are both TIRED and ready for fast food and babysitters!

Project 52: First Trimester Food

I had this post planned out. I was very excited to tell you how much better I've been feeling with this pregnancy than the last. Then last night, around 2 am, I threw up. That may be too much info for some of you, but there's just no other way to say it. Now, I'm much further along than I was when the sickness hit with Jude, so I'm still clinging to the idea that I'm not going to fall into the vicious "eat, throw up, eat throw up, cry, cry, cry" cycle of last time. Up until last night, I'd just been having very mild and occasional nausea. I'm trying to believe that last night was just a fluke and we will now return to how incredible I've been feeling. At the very least I'm thankful for an extra two and a half weeks of keeping down food.
Last week we were in Mwanza for my first doctor appointment which gave us a chance to stock up on a few special foods that really appeal to me. I've been having to eat basically all day, lest I feel like passing out. Here are the highlights of the shopping trip: cereal, pre-made pasta sauce (can you say easy), and cup a soup packets.

Yep, we paid close to 8 bucks for a box of Speical K. Cereal is a real treat here, and what better time to treat yourself than pregnancy. Now if only I could get my hands on some Eggo frozen waffles...
Just 9 weeks till we get on a plane headed for the land of frozen waffles!

Project 52: Cooking

Saturday morning Jude helped me make some double chocolate cookies.

Whisking is great, but licking the spoon with melted chocolate and butter is better!

I can't wait till he can participate more in cooking. He loves watching the mixer and he is always wanting me to pick him up so he can see what I'm working on.

Project 52: Grandparents

Immediately after my mother-in-law and sister-in-law left, my parents arrived! They were here for nearly 4 full weeks which was great. I love seeing Jude spending time with them and hearing them read to him or play with him from the other room. Here is a picture of him with them, being goofy, of course.

We really enjoyed all of our visitors, but are excited that next time, we'll be the ones visiting! Carson's sister is getting married in January and we are thrilled to be making a trip back for it. Since it is so close to Christmas we'll be back for the holiday as well. I'm really looking forward to Jude's first Tennessee Christmas!

project 52: proper form

A less serious post this week. Just Carson teaching Jude proper form with his golf clubs. Here's Jude trying out the big golf club.

project 52: toys

We live in a place where most people have less than us. There are Tanzanians in our neighborhood who make more money than us, but not most. There are always people at the gate asking for work, or money, or both. Many of them live in houses that look something like this.

Sometimes a little bigger. Sometimes with a metal roof. You can probably imagine that the kids don't have a lot of toys. Ok, in most cases they don't have any toys. Walking around the neighborhood I see kids playing with all sorts of things. Making mud with a stick and an old plastic container. Playing with a corn cob that has had the dried out corn removed. They turn ordinary things into toys, much like the child who plays more with the box than the toy that came in it.

As Jude reaches an age where he enjoys playing with other kids, I'm faced with a dilemma. If a child comes over to play what will they think of all the toys? Jude doesn't have nearly the amount of toys that many American children do. We can't exactly buy good toys here, so the bulk of his are things we or visitors have brought over. I have no desire for the kid to be drowning in stuff, but I like for him to have some things. His new Duplos have already provided hours of creative play time. His books encourage reading and language development. The food and kitchen toys I'm planning to give him next Christmas will provide opportunities for dramatic play. I don't want to throw out all the stuff, but what do I do when his Tanzanian friends come over to play? Hide the toys in the back? What if we just share and give his friends some of the toys he's grown tired of? Will they see it as a friend sharing something they have plenty of or a white person giving them something because white people are the ones who have all the stuff? I don't really have answers to any of these questions. These are just the sort of things I'm dealing with raising a child in rural Tanzania.

These questions all came up this past week because Nathan came over to play. Here's a picture of him with Jude.

I ended up clearing all the toys out of the living room except the Duplos, which Nathan loved. They also watched a DVD called Shaun the Sheep which has no talking so it is any language friendly. Still, I'm not sure if this was the best approach and how I should handle future play-dates.

Project 52: Livestock Dodging

My last Project 52 post was about my new Boba carrier and how much I am loving it. Jude and I went for a walk 4 days this week. It's great for both of us to get out of the house and greet our neighbors. This time I thought I'd share another aspect of going for a walk here: livestock.

It is very common for livestock to be herded down the street to get to another spot to graze. This picture was actually taken from in the car, but you get the idea. You round a corner and a full herd of cattle and goats are walking straight towards you. One day, several months ago, I got over on the side of the road as far as I could. As one of the cows passed he walked straight up to me and head-butted me before moving on. Since that day I do my best to get away from any oncoming herd by taking a different road or getting into someone's yard. So there you have it, motherhood in Tanzania involves livestock dodging.

Project 52: More of the Same

Yes, I know. My last Project 52 picture wasn't too different from this one. This remains Jude's most desired activity. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. He's always preferred being outside, but when EVERYONE is outside working staying in is like torture to this kid.

 Of course he can't be outside all the time, so this is a really challenging time in the world of toddler discipline and time management.

Please note that he has one hand on the dirt and one hand on the hammer. Also note the color of that good Geita dirt and imagine how much stain stick I'm going through these days!

I just noticed that Jude is the only one in this picture actually working! This must have been break-time. The other three have been plugging away at the oven tests. Once they get a little further along I'll do a post about it.

Project 52: Busy!

Jude is extremely busy these days, and loves to be right in the middle of anything we are working on. This is a picture from a couple of weeks ago.

We're working on plans for a cooking class that I'd like to offer to women in Geita, particularly women working in the sex industry. We're still in the early stages of working out all the details. First on our list is designing an oven that can be made easily and cheaply in Geita. This first attempt was just some dry stacked bricks and metal scraps. Unfortunately, it began to rain before we could finish the test. Carson already decided on some changes that need to be made for the next test. That same day I tried out a new recipe for chocolate cake that doesn't require eggs, milk, or butter making it cheaper. It turned out pretty good in my electric oven.

As you can see from the picture Jude was right in the middle of it all! That is the norm these days. He loves to be involved in anything we are working on. I'm glad that he is so curious and I know he is learning a lot, but it's also a little frustrating when what we are working on involves power tools or scissors! Some tasks just have to wait until nap time!

Project 52: Language

Jude is 14 months old now, and so far he has hit most of the baby milestones, (sitting up, crawling, walking, etc) on the early end of normal. I mean the kid was pretty much able to hold up his head when he was born! Of course he was quite late and quite big! Anyway, with speaking this has not been the case. He does occasionally try to repeat something we've just said, but the only things that he has said again later on his own are Mama, Dada, mo (more), and Taay Tuu (thank you said with the same inflection I use). You might think I'd be a little worried, but I'm actually not. Here's why: 

1- He's not actually "behind" yet, just not ahead of the game.

2- He seems to understand most of what we say.

3- He is able to follow 1 step and sometimes 2 step commands.

4- He is hearing both English and Swahili on a daily basis and it is typical for children learning 2 languages to bloom late in speech.

5- He can follow some directions given in Swahili.

6- He is able to sign the words more, eat (which he also uses for drink), and all done.

Here's Jude signing eat.

And here is more, or his version of it.

Language learning is just a little different when you are learning 2 languages at once!

Project 52: Scrabble

Carson and I have a lot in common. We're both artists, we're both from middle Tennessee, we both love Chocolate, we both have one brother and one sister... but there is one area where we differ greatly. I am a game person and Carson is a movie person. Anytime, anywhere, I always want to play a good board game. You could even wake me in the middle of the night and I would seriously consider getting up for a good game. The only games I don't like are trivia games. Either you know the useless information or you don't, and I don't. Carson, on the other hand, enjoys games but rarely admits it and would ALWAYS prefer to watch a movie. These Project 52 posts are supposed to be a glimpse into Motherhood, so why exactly am I talking about this? I have discovered the perfect game for a mom of a little one with a husband who doesn't want to sit down and focus on a game: Travel Scrabble.

(it's not really so yellow in person. Check out the word retained near the top. That was Carson's move and it used all 7 of his tiles getting him 50 bonus points.)

We recently borrowed this travel version of the popular game from our teammates, the Harrisons. The tiles snap onto the board making it possible to fold the game up and come back to it later. It's also easy to move around, like passing it back and forth on the couch or moving it to the table when the kid starts fussing. It's great for Carson, because we can play while watching TV or doing other things and we don't have to sit down and finish a whole game all at once. It's great for Jude because he can't quickly move the tiles, and it doesn't keep us tied down to the table. Jude really hates when people do things at the table and he doesn't get to participate. And unlike a lot of other games it's not completely lame for just two players. So there you go, a game that is perfect for a "game loving" mom, "anti-game" Dad, and "into everything" toddler.

Project 52: sick

We've all been sick this past week. It's the first time all three of us have been sick together and the first time Jude has had a stomach bug. Luckily, Jude was past the worst of his before Carson and I got really sick. Still, it was not fun!

Of course I didn't take any pictures of us sick, but here's a nice shot of the aftermath: laundry! (this isn't all of it, just a symbolic picture)

Jude has not yet learned to run to the bathroom when he's going to be sick, and the result is lots of laundry. I think one day he went through 5 shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, and 3 pairs of pants! 

Here's a shot of Jude helping out with the stain stick, wearing mismatched pjs of course!

We've all been well for several days now and are enjoying a nice Mother's Day at home.

Project 52: the kitchen!

My life as a mom revolves around taking care of Jude, but where we live cooking is a necessity. There is no take out, only one decent restaurant 30 minutes away, and the only frozen dinners are the ones I made last week and stuck in the deep freeze! Before we moved here I thought I liked "cooking from scratch", but my knowledge of such was limited to desserts. As it turns out you can make all manner of breads [pita, french, tortillas, hamburger buns-though that one eludes me still] and other basics [chicken stock, crackers, bread crumbs, caramel sauce, ricotta cheese, sour cream...] completely from scratch, and we do! I'm so glad to have a husband who LOVES to cook! I now know that if it involves anything from a can, and you didn't have to make at least one of the ingredients a day in advance then it's not really "from scratch". Ok, that's an exaggeration. And, honestly, I really love that I've been put in a position to try all sorts of recipes I never would have in America. It's exciting when you make a cracker that really tastes like a Ritz, or you get one of the pitas to properly puff up in the oven. I know more about cooking than I ever dreamed and I bet, one day, after we've lived in the States again for a while, I'll find myself returning to some of my favorite from scratch recipes. The point of all my rambling about cooking is to say that while I was in Kenya in March, Carson did a lot of work on our unfinished kitchen. This post is supposed to be a glimpse into motherhood and this mama spends a lot of time in the kitchen! Check it out:

Chalkboard Backsplash

You might have to look close, but the whisk is drawn in. It's usually dirty!

A great drawer for all my pans.

A handy little hanging cup for toothpicks.

Most importantly, drawers with faces and handles!

The changes, in particular the drawers and drawer faces on the already existing drawers have really made it easier to do little things in the kitchen with Jude. He sometimes tries to get into the bottom drawers, but if we start chanting push, push, push, he pushes the drawer closed and moves on about 61% of the time! It also eliminated the open space under the sink where Jude used to play. It was not a good place for him and hard to get him out because the framing for the drawers were already in. It's also really great to now have all the dishes in the kitchen instead of the cabinet in the living room.

On a design note, I'm still trying to decide what to do about artwork and curtains. I want to add some color and softness to the room, possibly some fabric stretched on frames above the chalkboard? or maybe Tanzanian paintings? And also some sort of window treatment. I don't want to block any of my light and don't really need any privacy, so maybe just a valance? I'm in no hurry really.

Well, if you're still reading this post I do apologize for giving you more information about my kitchen than you could have possibly wanted! You are a true friend to care about such details! I should also tell you in the interest of complete transparency (good friendships have that) that my kitchen is never that clean! I just cleaned up so the pics would really highlight all the great work Carson did. And didn't he do good?!