Thursday, January 2, 2020
Okapuka
Luke’s first grade class went on a field trip to Okapuka in November. He said a rhino touched him with its horn on the game drive! I think his favorite animal of all, though, were the Damara dik diks. He loved seeing those little guys.
Monday, November 4, 2019
Kalahari
We took a really lovely trip to the Kalahari desert in October for the kids' fall break. Here's where we stayed:
We rode electric fat-tire bikes, the kids cooked us three course meals on the grill and read a Roald Dahl book each, we swam, drank hot chocolate and went on a stunning sundowner game drive one night. It was relaxing and exactly what we all needed after the busyness of the initial weeks here.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Some updates since it’s been a while...
That's all for now...more to come soon!
Our new routine/schedule has taken some getting used to and we were all exhausted the first few weeks. The kids start school at 6:50am and we pick them up at 12:30pm (Luke finishes at 11:30 am Wed-Fri).
Here are the kids on a hike near our house. It’s also where we walk dogs and go running...
First evening in the new house...
Kiera and I have started volunteering at the Windhoek SPCA...
That's all for now...more to come soon!
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
First Day of School
Kiera and Luke started school yesterday. We dropped them off at 7am at the Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek. It's the third trimester of the school year.
Kiera asked that David and I not walk her to her classroom and chose instead to go on her own with the school administrator. We then walked a tearful Luke to his classroom, where he was paired up with a buddy named Colin, and said our goodbyes.
______________________________________________________________________________
Luke ended up having a great day once things got going. In the car on the way home, we heard him say (to Kiera): 'My teacher is really pretty and she's like the nicest person...she's like the...*...third nicest person ever.'
*at this point I can only assume he was calculating the number of parents sitting in the front seat who might be listening in
Yesterday evening, Luke asked if he could use the treadmill at the house we're renting. While I was obliviously cooking dinner, he ran 3 miles at a 10k/hour pace in his undies. Toward the end of his workout, I heard him calling for Kiera to bring him ice packs and water. She's the best sister.
Kiera had an ok day, but really does miss her friends and school in Texas. She asked me last night why we had to move and why kids don't have any say in decisions like that. She has a playdate with a girl in her grade on Friday, so hopefully that will help her feel more connected here.
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
a bit of traveling
Last week, we visited a small game park very close to Windhoek called Daan Viljoen National Park. We saw wildebeests, baboons, warthogs, ostriches, kudu and oryx. It's only about 10 miles from the city- we drove the park this time, but plan to hike next time we go. It's beautiful!
Daan Viljoen
This weekend we drove about 4 hours west to the coast and stayed in Swakopmund. We ate seriously yummy German food and played on the beach. We also rode fat tire bikes on the dunes...
Also, I am so excited to have rediscovered rusks! They are South African - similar to biscotti, but way better, IMHO.
This weekend we drove about 4 hours west to the coast and stayed in Swakopmund. We ate seriously yummy German food and played on the beach. We also rode fat tire bikes on the dunes...
south of Swakopmund near Walvis Bay - cute kids and flamingoes!
Also, I am so excited to have rediscovered rusks! They are South African - similar to biscotti, but way better, IMHO.
Namibia
After a long break from this blog,* I'm going to have another go at it in case friends and family at home would like to check in.
I called the blog 'love you tutter' years ago because that's how Kiera was saying 'love each other.' She's since learned how to say it properly, but thankfully Luke hasn't and still says 'love you tudger'...evolution of the phrase passed along from sister to brother. I love that he still also says 'benember' instead of 'remember.'
We all arrived in Windhoek last week- David on Wednesday with Peanut, and the kids and I and both dogs on Saturday. I'm so thankful we all made it safe and sound. The kids were superb travelers- patient through it all and thrilled to have their own little movie screens on the plane.
Luke and Dave have joined not one, but two golf courses, so they are settling in just fine. Luke loves seeing warthogs running around on the course that is outside of town.
Kiera has found The Book Den - a lovely bookstore in town, and a violin teacher, too, so she's feeling better about all of this. She misses her friends in Texas a lot, and her fabulous teacher of two years, Frau Maar...so this hasn't been the easiest transition for her. (She's ok with me sharing this, and hopefully she'll write some of her own blog entries some day!)
I'm excited to start volunteering at the local SPCA and to spend more time training Ella and Henry.
*Looking back, the blog seems to have come to a screeching halt when Luke started figuring out how to walk. Not. Surprising. At. All.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
A Typical Morning These Days...
Eventually I would like to start waking up about an hour before the kids to have some slow-paced time to myself...kind of along these lines:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya5ICVKUERg&mode=related&search=
But I'm not a morning person and I'm just not there yet. Actually, that's pretty much the opposite of how things are right now-- but that's ok. I know there will be plenty of time for Edvard Grieg at another time in my life. And I'm guessing that when that time comes I'll be wishing I could wake up and discuss the pros and cons of Hello Kitty versus bumblebee undies with Kiera or give Luke zerberks on his bellybutton.
Kiera usually wakes up around 7am after about twelve solid, uninterrupted hours of sleep in her cozy bedroom. She walks to the gate at her door and calls down to me so that I can come unlock it for her.
We walk down the stairs quietly-- she is aware of the fact that Luke is still asleep and we whisper to each other in the mornings. I'm constantly being surprised by her consideration for him-- I think it's remarkable considering her age and the fact that he pulls her hair all the time.
Right away we pull off her pink princess Pull-up, she puts on undies and gets dressed if it's a school day. If it's a non-school day she stays in her pjs a bit longer and then selects either her princess dress, one of her tutus or her Tinkerbell outfit. More often than not she has worn one of these outfits to bed the night before. This makes getting ready easy. If the weather is cold it's then up to me to be creative with suggesting layers to put on over or under her outfit of choice so she won't be freezing all day. This usually involves a discussion about the fact that ballerinas wear stockings and even long sleeves sometimes when they warm up before their performances. They need to keep their muscles warm. Around December (!) she gave up long sleeves completely and it took me a week or two to realize it was because none of the ballerinas she saw in books or on YouTube ever had on long sleeves and princesses usually don't either.
Then Kiera's ready for her daily 30 minutes of boob tube. And she always wants Dora. No other cartoon will do. And she almost always comments about Swiper's purple boat during the intro. "Mom, that boat i' for Swiper!" She repeats this until I acknowledge that I have heard her.
'Min' is to Dora the Explorer as mint juleps are to the Kentucky Derby. 'Min' is the banana-oatmeal-honey-spinach-flaxseed breakfast shake that Kiera loves. It's the only thing she has had for breakfast since she was approximately a year old and could eat honey. I can count on two hands the number of times in the past two years she hasn't had min and it's usually been because we ran out of milk. David and I love that it's quick to make and so packed with nutrition- including an entire banana and a large handful of spinach leaves!
Once Kiera is situated I know it's only a matter of time before Luke starts chatting in his Pack n Play so I usually try to eat, shower, get dressed and make Kiera's lunch for school in about a minute and thirty seconds before he wakes up or right as he's waking up. If I try to take care of all those important things with him up and once Kiera's show is over it will definitely take about thirty times as long.
Luke's usually up around 7:30ish. He still wakes up to eat a couple of times at night but it's remarkable that he sleeps as well as he does. He can sleep through the cats crunching food, scratching in their litter boxes, having huge loud fights (usually because Julio is following Peanut around to get a rise out of her), the cats occasionally using the sides of his Pack n Play as a scratching post, Ella's long toenails clicking on the wood floors and the incredibly loud sound of David's footsteps when he wakes up early to go to work. He tries to be as quiet as possible but I don't think people with size 14 feet can tiptoe. Can you picture him tiptoeing? It makes me laugh ;)
Once Luke starts cooing Kiera's often the first to hear him and she runs in (loud footsteps from her big feet as well) and jumps into his Pack n Play with him. This usually buys me enough time to comb my hair and finish getting ready because they play for a little bit and she talks baby talk to him. ("Good morning wittle guy...Wittle Wukie Pie...") No one's sure where this came from because neither Dave nor I talk baby talk to our babies. It's cute.
Right around when I'm set to go Luke starts to get overwhelmed by the intense showing of emotion and smothering so early in the morning and lets me know he wants to get out and be free.
Then the kids play for a little bit and we eventually get out the door. If it's warm we walk to school with Ella and tie her to the stroller while we walk Kiera to her classroom. She usually runs down the hallway to get to her room, gives us both hugs and kisses (smothering Luke's face just a tad bit) and then doesn't look back.
By this time, little Luke is worn out and ready for his morning nap.
Stay tuned for 'A Typical Afternoon These Days...'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya5ICVKUERg&mode=related&search=
But I'm not a morning person and I'm just not there yet. Actually, that's pretty much the opposite of how things are right now-- but that's ok. I know there will be plenty of time for Edvard Grieg at another time in my life. And I'm guessing that when that time comes I'll be wishing I could wake up and discuss the pros and cons of Hello Kitty versus bumblebee undies with Kiera or give Luke zerberks on his bellybutton.
Kiera usually wakes up around 7am after about twelve solid, uninterrupted hours of sleep in her cozy bedroom. She walks to the gate at her door and calls down to me so that I can come unlock it for her.
We walk down the stairs quietly-- she is aware of the fact that Luke is still asleep and we whisper to each other in the mornings. I'm constantly being surprised by her consideration for him-- I think it's remarkable considering her age and the fact that he pulls her hair all the time.
Right away we pull off her pink princess Pull-up, she puts on undies and gets dressed if it's a school day. If it's a non-school day she stays in her pjs a bit longer and then selects either her princess dress, one of her tutus or her Tinkerbell outfit. More often than not she has worn one of these outfits to bed the night before. This makes getting ready easy. If the weather is cold it's then up to me to be creative with suggesting layers to put on over or under her outfit of choice so she won't be freezing all day. This usually involves a discussion about the fact that ballerinas wear stockings and even long sleeves sometimes when they warm up before their performances. They need to keep their muscles warm. Around December (!) she gave up long sleeves completely and it took me a week or two to realize it was because none of the ballerinas she saw in books or on YouTube ever had on long sleeves and princesses usually don't either.
Then Kiera's ready for her daily 30 minutes of boob tube. And she always wants Dora. No other cartoon will do. And she almost always comments about Swiper's purple boat during the intro. "Mom, that boat i' for Swiper!" She repeats this until I acknowledge that I have heard her.
'Min' is to Dora the Explorer as mint juleps are to the Kentucky Derby. 'Min' is the banana-oatmeal-honey-spinach-flaxseed breakfast shake that Kiera loves. It's the only thing she has had for breakfast since she was approximately a year old and could eat honey. I can count on two hands the number of times in the past two years she hasn't had min and it's usually been because we ran out of milk. David and I love that it's quick to make and so packed with nutrition- including an entire banana and a large handful of spinach leaves!
Once Kiera is situated I know it's only a matter of time before Luke starts chatting in his Pack n Play so I usually try to eat, shower, get dressed and make Kiera's lunch for school in about a minute and thirty seconds before he wakes up or right as he's waking up. If I try to take care of all those important things with him up and once Kiera's show is over it will definitely take about thirty times as long.
Luke's usually up around 7:30ish. He still wakes up to eat a couple of times at night but it's remarkable that he sleeps as well as he does. He can sleep through the cats crunching food, scratching in their litter boxes, having huge loud fights (usually because Julio is following Peanut around to get a rise out of her), the cats occasionally using the sides of his Pack n Play as a scratching post, Ella's long toenails clicking on the wood floors and the incredibly loud sound of David's footsteps when he wakes up early to go to work. He tries to be as quiet as possible but I don't think people with size 14 feet can tiptoe. Can you picture him tiptoeing? It makes me laugh ;)
Once Luke starts cooing Kiera's often the first to hear him and she runs in (loud footsteps from her big feet as well) and jumps into his Pack n Play with him. This usually buys me enough time to comb my hair and finish getting ready because they play for a little bit and she talks baby talk to him. ("Good morning wittle guy...Wittle Wukie Pie...") No one's sure where this came from because neither Dave nor I talk baby talk to our babies. It's cute.
Right around when I'm set to go Luke starts to get overwhelmed by the intense showing of emotion and smothering so early in the morning and lets me know he wants to get out and be free.
Then the kids play for a little bit and we eventually get out the door. If it's warm we walk to school with Ella and tie her to the stroller while we walk Kiera to her classroom. She usually runs down the hallway to get to her room, gives us both hugs and kisses (smothering Luke's face just a tad bit) and then doesn't look back.
By this time, little Luke is worn out and ready for his morning nap.
Stay tuned for 'A Typical Afternoon These Days...'
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