Monkey Crawl

This is Asa's new way of moving. Is this a form of walking, or a form of crawling? No one knows. I wish he maneuvered around like this forever. It is just so cute...

especially from the backside.

What is not so cute is the fact that with his new speed he has encountered a whole new world of naughtiness...

but with the naughtiness also comes the cuteness.  

I am so conflicted as a mother. Do I squeeze cheeks or spank butts????


Disclaimer - No butts were spanked during this photoshoot.  As we all know, discipline only works for the first kid not the last.  (Unless you consider excessive cheek kissing discipline).  

Egyptian Period

In homeschool we have been talking about the Egyptian period. The kids really love it because there are so many cool things to discuss (dismembering a body, sucking out brains, hidden treasure). For the history/art units I have been using Story of the World and my sister-in-law's brilliant program Art Through the Ages. So far, the resources have both worked out perfectly together.

Heavah and Xavier in front of Daddy's Egyptian artwork of his life

Today we made headdresses and the kids pasted jewels and all sorts of things to make them look like the most important Pharaoh. Then, Heavah insisted that we do a reenactment of the robbers stealing the treasure from Cheop's tomb. They were the mummies and I was the robber. It was a great way to put in some serious tickles as, of course, the robbers stole the mummies as well.

What $75. USD Looks Like

My recent extravagant purchase

...which is rather amazing considering a gourmet dinner at a 5 star restaurant in this country costs less than $15.

At least after the food is digested it has a nice, expensive place to land.

I am sorry for all the undertones of poop lately. Can you tell what dominates my day? If I could just get Sedona fully trained I'd only have one butt I have to deal with. One more to go and counting....

Inauguration Night

This is Axel again. Terah and I have been following politics in the US via the internet and have been proObama for a while. The few speeches I have seen him make made me proud to be an American, and I think he will do what he thinks is right. Even if I disagree with some of those views, I respect someone who does what they think is right regardless of PACs and other special interest.

So when we got an invite to go to the US Ambassador's house (or mansion..) to stay up late and watch him get sworn in, we went. It was a black tie affair and low and behold I didn't have one. Non-profit not being my deal anymore all my ties are loud and colorful. Terah and I went and it was mostly embassy people. I was glad our friends the Rosses invited us to go and were there so we would have someone to talk to and toast water with...

It was pretty cool to see him coming down while we were sitting in the Ambassador's house.

But then he started to speak and I have to admit it was the first time I have heard him speak that I did not really understand what he was trying to convey.

I felt the speech was pretty much anti business. I liked his lifting of JM Keynes idea about being just as able to produce now as we were before, but he did get it a bit wrong at the end. I agree that we all have to pull together but I didn't understand how that is going to happen if business is always associated with greed. Where then will the jobs come from? It was interesting to hear him talk about leaders who are on the wrong side of history knowing that the leaders of the country I am in must have been feeling a little uncomfortable hearing them mentioned. I liked him saying we had to help those in need, but having worked with welfare recipients for over 12 years, I know that route never really works and hope that isn't what he was referring to.

And I did not appreciate hearing the whole thing "And White Man, do Right man". What?!? Am I supposed to think that we haven't? Or implicitly that non whites have? I think this is dangerous territory for our first African American president to have been associated with. This period is one of the best we have to heal the racism on both sides that exists in the US just below the surface.

BUT having said that, I still am pro-Obama. I think that he is going to make some mistakes and rely on people who perhaps are not going to give him the right info (I would HATE working for the FS with Hilary as a boss and can you imagine the Arabs having to deal with her? Ugh...), but as I said, I think he will do something. What I don't know, but I think it will be a change from what we have had, and you know what, what we have had just really isn't working. Is capitalism working? Really? I know it is the best thing we have until Christ comes again, but let's give his socialism a try. What the hell.

I know the rest of the world loves Obama and that counts for a lot. Let's face it, faith is what makes this world work. Faith in 'the system' in 'our leaders' in 'the future'. What do those things really mean? I don't know and after meeting 10 ambassadors last night at another meeting discussing the future of this country I can tell you I don't think they know either. But if we believe that things can get better or are getting better then I know it will.


In the end, it was night to remember and it was nice to be with the smartest and most beautiful woman in the room or on TV. She was more positive than I was about the whole thing and it brought on a great discussion.

Princess Dona

Heavah never cared too much about being a pretty princess. While all the other girls talked about castles and pink, Heavah dreamed about shoveling horse poop (yeah, she loves horses that much). I, too, was not much of a princess girl and found my inner tomboy at a fairly young age.



However, Sedona has a strong desire to look at and play with princesses, barbies, and makeup. Most of the time it does not manifest itself, but the odd time, Sedona's love for 'all things girly' comes out loud and clear. In fact, to get a photo of Sedona smiling is next to impossible. However, when I brought out a dress and convinced her it was worn by princesses, she beamed.


Now, if I could just convince her that princesses don't poop their pants...

Tibetan Furniture

There are so many great things to buy in Nepal (much to Axel's dismay). Everything is so authentic and artistic and it is difficult to know where to start. It is a big switch from the variety we had in Dubai. The only thing we loved there were carpets imported from Iran. Dubai can only make big expensive things, not small affordable things.

Axel and I have been especially drawn to the traditional Tibetan furniture they have here. We recently decided to order a few for our home. We got to look at many samples and had them custom made to our liking. We got to see the process from beginning to end.

Embossing

The Result:

I consider it the interior designing challenge of the year. Any suggestions?

The Challenges for Nepal

It is hard not to notice how Nepal is declining--and fast. Ever since the King was abolished and the Maoist were put into office, this country has regressed in a big way. I must admit, I am a little nervous of the fate of Nepal if something doesn't change. These are the things we have noticed:

1. We went from losing only about 6 hours of electricity a week to 18 HOURS A DAY. The Nepalese people can't do business. In fact, one of Axel's staff members noted that they were very lucky to work there because they have electricity practically all day long. Any other small business is out of luck. The situation is especially sad because Nepal is actually the second richest country for hydroelectric resources. It doesn't make any sense.

Luckily, we recently got a generator. It is a fine thing, but it can not be used on a continual basis. However, I am so thankful that we can use it when needed.

2. Strikes (bandhas) are ramped throughout the city on a daily basis. Just yesterday I tried to get home after going out to lunch with Axel. The ride home should have taken me 20 minutes. However, there were so many strikes throughout the city that everywhere we turned we were denied entry. The entire city was on lockdown. The drive took us 3 hours to get home and even then, my driver had to sweet talk one of the policemen to actually allow us to enter a forbidden area. In fact, the children were stuck at school because the busses could not exit the premises. We have had threats of week-long strikes that shut the entire city down. It has been a great incentive to keep up my food storage.

3. We frequently don't have water. If our tanks empty, we must order water. However, the water company has recently been on strike and therefore, we cannot get water brought to our home.

4. There is currently a garbage strike that been going on for weeks. There are heaps of disgusting garbage piles all throughout the city.

5. Crime has recently increased. In fact, the one thing that was so great about this country is you felt fairly safe. However, we are hearing numerous stories about how people are being beaten and robbed. Just yesterday my maid was robbed and her entire earnings for the month were taken.

6. At the very time when job insecurity is at its height around the world, the Nepalis are forming unions and striking like there is no tomorrow. Daily factories are shut down, offices are padlocked by workers and the general feel is that the unions control the businesses. There is no way FDI will be coming back to Nepal in the next few years if this problem isn't solved, and there is every chance that the businesses that are here will be considering leaving due to this fact. It isn't hard to see where this is going if it continues. Factories close, more people out of work, it is blamed on capitalism and more strikes and unions are formed so more strikes happen and thus more problems.

7. Jobs overseas are drying up. The government says that 17% of the GDP of Nepal comes from remittance (foriegn workers sending money back to Nepal). The true number is probably closer to 25-30%. As the GCC's construction industry slows down, the need for Nepalis working there will also slow down which will mean less money coming back to Nepal, but more workers out of work. Add to this the problem described in #6 and you have the perfect storm.

8. Tourism slowing down? It is low season right now so it is hard to gauge this, but the strikes in Pokhara a few weeks ago that shut down all the hotels and resturaunts stranding all the tourists there didn't help. If things like that continues to arise, then tourist will get the picture that your carefully laid plans to come here could be totally blown away by a strike on the roads or with the hotels. This could really hurt another major source of income for the country.

9. Foriegn Assistance. Not hard to see that NGOs get there money from the US and the EU. DO either of these places have money to spare? It could be a tough sell for Nepal to get shrinking funds, when even if they do get the funds the political insecurity here can't garantee that these funds will wind up in the right place. And let's face it. There is no oil or terrorism here. IF there is money coming out of the US and EU, it will probably go to countries with these two problems. Not the ones we have here.

10. More and more small banks and financial institutions are being granted licenses here. For as small as the banking sector is in Nepal, new banks are opening all the time. Usually by rich investors who feel that opening a new bank is the chic thing to do now, so they have to have one too. Then once the bank is opened, how do you attract such a small minority who believe in banking? By offering 6.5% returns on SAVINGS accounts and loaning out to anyone who has a heartbeat. This is what killed the US, but apparently this is a lesson that has to be learned here first hand. Let's see if any banks default here, but as you can see from the above points, everything is in place to help that happen.

11. The bird flu has just arrived in Nepal.

Believe it or not, I still have a great love for Nepal. If you could visit here and get to know the people you would fall in love with them immediately. For the most part they are kind, hard workers and all want what's best for the country. I suppose that is why it is difficult to see it run into the ground. There is definitely a strange vibe here and the people are on the verge. The verge of 'what' is anyone's guess... However we have to remember that when the US went from being a monarchy to a democracy it took several years, one civil war and a few depressions to get it right. And is it 'right' even now? Did our founding fathers envision what we have now in the US? PACs, career politicians who can rezone voting districts at will, wars started with no clear goals, loss of religion in government, too much religion in government, money flowing from the tax payers to the entire world with no results and to top it all off proof to the world that as much as we sell democracy and capitalism around the world, in most democratic places there is political instability and strife while in place where there are monarchs or emirs security abides and trade happens. Perhaps it is time to re-look at things.

We are all praying for the leaders of Nepal to do a good job and doubly praying for Obama as well.

The Power of Prayer

The Culprit

Ever since Sedona started to learn how to say prayers we have had her also bless the 'tikus' ('mouse' in Indonesian). This is not because we have a pet mouse, but because we love to hear her say the word. It is just too, too cute.

The mysterious part of this story is that every time Sedona says the prayer, a mouse-like creature would appear in our home. First, it was a cute little shrew. Then, we had a few small mice appear in the kitchen.

It had been a few weeks since Sedona said a prayer so we had her say one yesterday during scripture reading. I assisted her and just as I told her to close her prayer, she quickly added 'Bless tikus'! Immediately after Heavah said, "No, Dona! Now we're going to find a mouse somewhere in our house." We all laughed and went about our day.

That evening, Axel and I went on a date night. When we arrived home we went up to our room to get dressed in our pajamas. For a brief moment, I saw a very large something run across the room. I instantly jumped up on my bed hyperventilating (Too may bad childhood memories of sharing an old home with bats and mice. I am scarred). As I was panicking, the RAT jumped up on my bedside table, bounced off my bed and hid somewhere. Axel had no idea what was going on. I yelled 'RAT!' and ran out of the room.

For 15 minutes I heard banging, clanging and shifting of heavy objects. Despite Axel's great effort he could not find the creature. I panicked and vowed never to sleep in my bed again until the rat was caught. Luckily, my parents brought sticky mouse catchers for us and Axel placed one on the floor before we went downstairs to decompress for the evening.

When we returned to the room, there he was. A giant, hairy rat about 7 inches long (not including the tail). Axel insisted I look at it because it was quite cute. I refused and asked him to dispose of the animal ensuring it will never return again.

Moral of the story: Be careful with what you pray for...It just might appear in a very large, hairy form!

Cool Cat

Xavier came downstairs yesterday morning looking like this:

Apparently, it's Halloween in January.

Final Day

We tried to pack a lot in before my parents made their way back to Canada. We first went to a really fancy Nepali restaurant (an oxymoron, I know).

The next morning, we boarded a plane headed to see Everest.

Mount Everest is the only one with a cloud above it.

Again, Everest is the one with the cloud.

Every passenger gets a view from the captain's seat. It is a little odd having the captain chat with you while the plane is in flight. I know there is autopilot, but being that high up and having the captain talk about the view is a little unnerving.

This mountain is considered sacred and no person is allowed to trek on it. No one has been able to tell me exactly why, but I hear the gods will curse anyone who attempts to climb it. Obviously, no one has given it a try. I am sure any trekker knows that climbing such a massive mountain is risky enough. I would not want to tempt a god no matter how beautiful the peak is. Have you not seen how scary those gods can look when they are mad?

That is the only way I care to visit 8 of the World's highest mountains. In a plane, where it is warm, and back on the ground in 45 minutes.

_________________

Within hours my parents boarded a real plane headed to the UAE and then Canada. We miss them greatly and wished they could have stayed MUCH longer. After all that fun, everything is a downer. We can't wait till their next visit. Love and miss you, Mom and Dad!

Yoga

For the past 5 years I have practiced yoga. It was a little on and off since I have been carrying babies for 40 months out of that time. It seemed that I would birth a baby, get back into yoga, and then in no time, I was prego again. It was always disappointing knowing that all my hard work would just result in a big belly and flabbiness all over again.

Regardless of my many expanding waistlines, I have always been a big believer in the benefits of yoga--mentally and physically. Ever since our trip to India, I turned my mom onto yoga as well. She has faithfully attended a class back in Canada and firmly believes yoga has benefited her as well.

Our breathing and 'om' practices

Sinus acupuncture

I have worked out a bit since I arrived in Nepal, but much to my dismay, I have not practiced yoga. Before my mom arrived, I was determined to find us a private yoga teacher.

Our Nepalese yoga instructor has been practicing for years. Her teacher was a physician and well known yogi in these parts. It has been interesting to see how yoga has been 'westernised'. There are a lot of differences to what I was practicing back home to what our instructor has taught us here. She has taught us the true practice of yoga from dietary requirements to breathing techniques. She has also made us memorize all of the 'assins' in yoga.

Yoga is a little funky, but it rocks. I could not live in Nepal without being exposed to the true form of yoga.

Yet again, just another thing in Nepal that has deeply enriched my life and kicked my a*&.