Tonight, I used the last of my shaving gel. I know, it's not news worthy. But it got me to thinking about 2 Kings, chapter 4; the story of Elisha and "the" widow. The children's version goes something like this: Elisha wanted to help a poor widow. He asked what she had in her house. She said "Nothing, except a little oil." Elisha told her to borrow as many jars as she could and to fill each one with oil. She did as he said. When all the jars were full the oil stopped flowing. She went back to Elisha who said, "Sell the oil and pay what you owe. Then you and your sons can live on the money left over."
The bottom line is that God provided for their family, exactly enough for what they needed. God used what they had and stretched it to make it work.
God has done just that for us here in Paraguay.
You see, there are a few things that we stock-pile from Target and bring with us to Paraguay, all for a variety of reasons. Some thing (like taco seasoning and index cards) just can't be found here. Others (like contact solution and makeup) are a lot more expensive. Still others (like deodorant and face wash) are a matter of preference.
And a few weeks back, we started pulling out the last bottles from our supply box.
God has been faithful to stretch our resources and has made things last much longer than usual. Case in point: my contact solution. Back in California, I'm certain that I bought a new bottle monthly and it made it - barely - through those 30/31 days. Here, I wear my contacts just as often, but the bottles have lasted much longer, upwards of six weeks each.
As we pack up and get ready to come back for Christmas, I am overwhelmed with God's faithfulness in the simple things. Thank you, Lord, for your provision. Thank you for your care.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
A Day in the Park
First things, first: Bailey's dropped her morning nap! Last Thursday (Mommy's first day off work) we dropped it cold-turkey and she seems to be adjusting well. There were, of course, fits of whining those first few mornings, but we saved up errands that needed to be ran, added a morning snack, and just kept her moving!
Now that she's going five hours between wake-up and nap time, I know it's unreasonable to expect her to be content to just stay around the house all morning. We'd both go crazy trying to stay entertained for that long. So today, we packed up and headed to Parque de la Salud, a "local" park (2.5 miles away) to spend our morning there.
One great thing about the walk to the park is that it takes us right past Daddy's school. And, since Daddy's in the middle of finals (and elective teachers don't give finals during finals week), we were able to stop by, say hi, refill our water bottles and get a dose of AC before finishing the walk to the park.
Once at the park, it was snack time! Peach slices, raisins and a few crackers later, Bailey was ready to play.
Oddly enough, she was anti-slide at the park today. I'm not quite sure what that was all about, but after I coaxed her up the steps and down the slide once, she stated "no" firmly each time I asked her about going down the slide again.
Before making the walk home, we stopped by school again for lunch with Daddy and more water! By this time, it was nearly 1:00 - her new nap time - and she started dozing off about halfway back to the house. Before falling asleep though, she starting pointing and saying "shoe, shoe." I wasn't quite sure what that was all about, but I answered "yes, Bailey, you have your shoes." "SHOE! SHOE!" she yelled louder, pointing and waving her arm, squirming in her stroller. I glanced down at her feel and realized that one of them was missing! (And for Bailey, the loss of a shoe would be tragic, especially one of her crocs). Thankfully it was on the sidewalk half a block back down the road; Bailey began giggling as soon as she located it on the ground. Once the shoe was securely back on her foot, she relaxed enough to fall asleep despite the uneven sidewalks and cobble-stone streets.
By the way, anyone else wonder why a trip to the park that started at 9 and ended at 1 only got Bailey 45 minutes of actual play time at the park?! Oh well, it's the journey, not the destination, right?!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
2 for 1
Today the school board hosted a end-of-the-semester/merry Christmas brunch for the teachers AND the teachers threw a baby shower for Sindy (our school secretary, due in February) and me!
First, the brunch. The board prepared a wonderful American-style breakfast for us, complete with pancakes, SYRUP!!!, eggs, lil' smokies, fruit, juice and coffee. It was absolutely delicious and it was a nice ending to the semester. My room was all clean, grades were submitted, check-out sheet complete . . . *sigh* . . . time to relax.
Each table had been decorated in the theme of a different Christmas carol. As a table, we had to "guess" the carol and lead the rest of the staff in singing through the song. At the end, our attention was directed to the food table - with letters spelling out "we wish you a merry Christmas" running it's length - and we serenaded each other to bring the brunch to a close.
As the board scurried off to their board meeting, the male teachers ran for the hills while we quickly changed gears from Christmas party to baby shower.
One thing that I have loved about being in Paraguay is experiencing a different culture and how similar events are done somewhat differently (and sometimes "better" in my mind). The shower started off with gifts and while the OCD, I-need-to-write-thank-you-cards-to-each-of-you person inside of me cringed at not having a stenographer keeping track of the gifts and their giver, I enjoyed the Paraguayan twist on the gift giving (and receiving). Each person who had brought a gift hand-delivered the present to Sindy and me, exchanging kisses on each cheek, blessings, and (from us) thanks. It just felt more personal, having more proximity to the gift giver (as opposed to the head-nod across a crowded room and a mouthed "thank you" shot off in their general direction).
And even a Paraguayan baby shower wouldn't be complete without a few games. Three to be exact. The first found us examining and smelling diapers that had been "dirtied" by various types of chocolate candy. Then, a diaper-changing relay that even a few elementary/junior high boys (there with their moms) took part in.
Finally, a Paraguayan classic (or so I've been told). While Sindy and I had been unwrapping the gifts, Tia Vero had been untangling the various bows and ribbons, tying them one after the other to make a long "rope" of colorful ribbons. All of us married women stood in a tight circle, shoulder to shoulder and began to string the ribbon around the circle. And just like wedding shower ribbon breaking holds a prophecy of children to come, this game divines the future, too. Whoever the end of the ribbon reaches will be the next in the group to have a baby. After countless rounds with the ribbon, jokes galore, and women (with high school age children) protesting their presence in the circle, the ribbon strand finally ran out in the hands of Carolina, one of our Spanish teachers. Time will tell!
Once I made it home with my arms full of loot, Bailey was anxious to go through the gifts and check everything out. Her favorites? The handmade blanket from the art teacher, Diane, and a bowl/spoon set; we actually had our first (of many to come) conversations about "you don't grab things from Mommy and scream 'no' at her" when it was time to put the bowl away.
Amongst the variety of clothes, hooded towels, diapers, wipes, teething rings and such, I, too, found a favorite. These darling shoes that I can't wait to put on Babs (her nickname, not her "real" name . . . we're still working on that one).
I am so blessed!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Feliz Navidad
This past Tuesday night, ACA put on a Christmas performance featuring all students grades pre-kinder through 6th singing classic Christmas carols/hymns, student musicians, a live nativity scene (complete with a donkey Mary rode!), and Santa!
Santa (one of my 7th grade boys) explained at the start of the night that Christmas was not about him or the presents, but rather about celebrating the birth of our Savior. He then passed the MC duties along to a high school student who read Luke's version of "the Christmas story", pausing for songs from various grade levels and the entry of Mary and Joseph.
While some of the grade levels sung to pre-recorded music, there were a few that sung while accompanied by a student group of violins, cellos, guitars and a piano. Some of the group members were in SECOND GRADE. I was impressed!
Above, the pre-kinder and kindergarten students belted out the opening number of the night.
Some of the eighth grade girls (also in my class) donned traditional Paraguayan dresses and danced along to a carol sung by the other students.
Bailey was more intrigued with the programs than the music, but was sure to clap at the end of every number; she claps every time she hears someone else doing it - at church, on TV, in a song from a live performance . . .
The performance ended with all of the students joining together to sing Feliz Navidad to to their parents, friends and teachers gathered on the lawn at school.
No night would be complete without some food, right?! Many of the grade levels (and fundraisers for class trips and graduation) hosted snack tables, selling sodas, ice cream, empanadas, Christmas cookies, fruit cocktail, sushi . . . it was quite a smorgasbord. But delicious!
Monday, November 28, 2011
San Bernardino
No, not the San Bernardino in Southern California (sorry). Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, Brandon, Bailey and I joined with some friends from school to drive out to "the lake" for holiday, as Glen would put it (he's English, you'll have to forgive him for that).
The adventure of it all began weeks before as we started thinking about what to do over the break. It was a back-and-forth "are we going?" "are we not?" up until the day we left. A Paraguayan family that we were planning on going with decided they weren't going to go after all. Or maybe they would. They'd let us know. If they went, we could crash at their family house; if they didn't we'd need to find a hotel. Either way, we'd need to rent a car (and try out Brandon's Paraguayan driver's licence for the first time), but if friends from the apartments came, too, we'd need a bigger, SUV type car as opposed to a small four-door something.
And all this was up-in-the-air on Thursday, the day before we wanted to leave.
So Brandon and I did something we've never done before. We left home without a plan.
Friday morning I walked to the bank to grab some cash and then headed to the grocery store to pick up snacks. Once I was home, Bailey took her nap while Brandon rented a car and I packed our bags. Packed for what? I dunno?! Who's coming with? *shrug*
Turns out our ACA apartment friends came along and we did indeed end up out at the lake. We took a huge "detour" (a.k.a. got lost) trying to get out of the city due to some ill-marked, name changing roads, but we made it. Eventually. But not without paying off a cop who picked Brandon (and the rental car) out from a crowd of cars, claiming that we ran a red light. How we ran the light without the handfull of cars behind us also running the red light is beyond me, but our Spanish isn't fluent enough to argue with a cop.
We stopped at the first hotel we spotted and checked right in, just in time for another nap (for Bailey and Brandon) and some pool time for the rest of us.
Once the sleepy heads were awake, Brandon took Bailey exploring the grounds of the hotel, which boasted two pools, a playground area, trampoline, volleyball pit, and even a token tucan in the midst of the garden-like patios.
We weren't far from a German village, so we headed down to the lake itself, hoping to snag some quality German food for dinner. But the restaurant is only open on weekends (and Friday's don't count) so we opted for the French food instead.
Bailey was a trooper, sleeping in our room (but in her playpen, not our bed) and woke up as cheerful as ever. Trouble was, there were bugs in our friend's beds, so we decided to check out and wing-in once again.
Before check-out time, though, Bailey braved the pool and loved every minute of it. She was timid at first, but then threw herself in - literally. She was so excited about being in the water (and naturally rather independent) that she wasn't thrilled about Mommy or Daddy having to hold her all the time in the water. She wanted to do it herself.
Once we found our new hotel for night #2, we headed back to the German restaurant, which, ironically, didn't serve German food. The menu was stocked with typical Paraguayan food and Brandon's heart about broke. He's been craving German schnitzel and potato pancakes ever since missing Oktoberfest. Bailey didn't seem to mind, though, as she polished off her very own bowl of raviois while the rest of us filled up on milanesa sandwiches, fries, apple pie and ice cream.
Back at the new hotel, we (again) took to the water and Bailey squealed with delight all afternoon.
That evening, we found another German restaurant (but again, no German food). It was a beautiful location and the parking lot was a grass field that the "kids" got to play on while we waited for our meals to arrive.
After a long weekend of eating, napping, and swimming, we were ready to go home. Another detour later (a bike race through the city that closed off the streets we needed to access to get home), we made it home and geared up for another week.
Thanksgiving
We all "know" that Thanksgiving is more than the food, but it hit me harder than usual this year to be away from family. Not only did the celebration seem wrong with the "wrong" people around, but the food was all wrong, too. Granted, we had all the traditional fixin's...turkey, ham, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, and pies galore, but they weren't right. The stuffing wasn't made with the "family" recipe (or with Dad taste-testing the seasoning before Mom puts it in the oven). The green bean casserole had to be made with frozen green beans instead of the canned, French-cut variety. Mashed potatoes are hard to mess up, but the sweet potato casserole definitely wasn't Aunt Denise's version.
And the ham.
I realized that ham will never be the same at Thanksgiving. Aunt Ruby was always in charge, with her secret blend of honey, brown sugar, and only she knows what else. Now that she's gone, the recipe is lost; I only wish I had paid more attention two years ago when I helped her put it all together. I just didn't know...
* * * * *
This year, we had the chance to celebrate TWO Thanksgivings. One with our church family (well, the English speaking half of our church family, that is) and a second with our friends in the ACA apartments (where we lived last year). I forgot to take pictures when we were at the apartments, but below are a few of Bailey enjoying her time with the rest of the kids on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, when we celebrated with the Schell's, our pastor's family.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Where's Bailey?!
When I (Stacy) showed up to work on Monday without Bailey in tow, I was bombarded with questions about her whereabouts. The students from my Algebra class were most upset by her absence; they had forgiven her grumpy attitude from the previous Monday and had accepted her as a legitimate member of the class. And our school secretary was curios as to why her "neighbor" wouldn't be joining her for nap time.
My reply?
"She's with a lady Brandon met at La Vienesa (a local bakery/restaurant)."
Jaws dropped, voices shrieked, and everyone begged for further explanation.
Now, I wasn't lying. She was a lady Brandon met at La Vienesa, but that "lady" has quickly become a friend. Kendra, together with her husband Kip and daughter Kira (age 3), moved to Paraguay about six weeks ago when Kip was assigned to the U.S. Embassy for training (something to do with his position in the Army). They've been fervently looking for a house that meets the strict U.S. Embassy requirements for it's employees, but, while awaiting good news from their realtor, have been staying in a hotel just a few blocks from our house. While I was away at junior high camp the first week of October, Brandon met the family at La Vienesa one night he and Bailey went out to eat.
Since then, we have had several dinners with the family - some at our house, others out around town - and a couple of play dates. We even tagged along with them to the U.S. Embassy on Halloween for Bailey to trick-or-treat around the cubicles that had been transformed into Ghoulsville 2011.
I have to admit, though, that I was hit with a twinge of apprehension as I walked away from their hotel on Monday after dropping Bailey off for the morning. The enemy bombarded my mind with fear: "what do you really know about them?" "What if they take Bailey and disappear to who knows where?" "What if . . . ?" Teary-eyed (and blasting Hillsong worship on my iPod) I finished my walk to the bus and claimed God's promise of protection and His sovereignty in all of our lives.
In the end, I can do nothing but thank God for the blessing of this relationship. I was able to go to work baby-free on Monday and Tuesday (and will again on Friday). Bailey has a friend to play with and I have a fellow stay-at-home-mom to share time with. Only God could take a "chance" encounter in a random restaurant and turn it into something more.
Snack time!
Kira hitching a ride as Bailey pushed the merry-go-round
Post trick-or-treating dinner
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Take Your Kid to Work Week
Not an official "event" at school, it was reality for Bailey and I this week as our nanny was recovering from gallstone removal surgery. Each day was an adventure (to say the least) and, while I love that little monster dearly, I'm beyond thankful for the fact that I don't have to teach with her in tow on a regular basis.
Monday: Let the adventure begin!
As with most things baby, I started out with grand plans of seamless transitions and a 100% compliant child. I was hopeful that we could "just" move her schedule up an hour to work around having to get to school early and take a nap during two of my three classes. On paper, it all made sense: if you wake her up an hour early (at 6 instead of 7), she'll be ready for a nap an hour early (8:30 instead of 9:30), and she'll (of course) take her usual 2 hour morning nap. And I should mention that I woke up with a sore throat, cough, "sick breath," and an assortment of other pre-cold symptoms. Perfect.
The early morning wake-up went off smoothly enough; a few whimpers as I had to dress her while she sipped on her milk so we'd be ready for our ride, but nothing extraordinary. She even played nicely in my classroom during first period, rummaging through my desk drawers and dumping/cleaning up a box of paper clips, a deck of cards and some bandaids.
But when that bell rang for second period and my Algebra 1 kids started coming in (all eight of them), Bailey started to freak out. She started to pout, whimper and cry . . . and it didn't stop the entire period. My poor students; they were trying to learn about ratios and unit rates and unit conversions, but Miss Grumpy Pants kept that from happening effectively. I took her up to the main office for her to nap in the empty general director's office next to the secretary (thank you, Sindy!) and I was relieved, thinking I'd be able to teach my next two classes baby-free. But I "spoke" too soon.
Ten minutes before the end of third period (about 40 minutes into her nap IF she fell right to sleep, which she rarely does; she usually talks to herself for at least 20 minutes before drifting off) the academic director stopped by my room to let me know that there was going to be a fire-drill within the next 20 minutes and I needed to get Bailey. You've GOT to be kidding me. Teary eyed (literally, tears streaming down my cheeks) I strode up to the office and barely squeaked out the words "I need to get my child."
Glossy eyed and utterly confused, poor little Bailey woke up from her short little nap, paraded onto the field with my 8th graders and then returned to class with us; there was no way she was going back to sleep after that. I cuddled her through the whole class and we made it through fourth period - in part because she was so dazed she didn't know what was going on.
A little lunch revived her and she managed not to be a screaming maniac on the bus ride home, but did fall straight to sleep once we got home. We both did. And God proved once again that He answers prayers: she slept for over three hours, letting me get in a nap of my own, and finish the household chores that needed to be done.
Tuesday: Lessons Learned
Knowing that we'd have to get her up early, we had put Bailey to bed early on Monday night (why didn't we think of that Sunday night?!). The day started much the same: she was fine getting up and drinking her milk as I dressed her, eating her cereal during teacher devotions, and playing in the classroom during my first period prep. And, right on cue, she started fussing up a storm once the bell rang for second period. Hoping it was just teething, I gave her a dose of Tylenol and rubbed some clove oil on her lower gums. It seemed to help a little bit.
In anticipation of her mini-melt down, I decided that we'd have class on the floor in the back of the room. I only have eight students, so with a little help from an easel-style white board laid down on it's side, we had class duck-duck-goose style with Bailey stuck in the mush pit. She did much better behavior wise, which meant there was much more learning (and re-teaching from the day before). She still distracted the class a bit, what with her erasing half-done equations off the board and pretending one of the girls' calculators was a cell phone, but it was much more manageable having laughable distractions rather than the hissy-fit variety.
Nap time went off without a hitch, well, aside from the fact that she talked to herself for nearly a half-hour and worried Sindy a bit. It was shorter than usual - only about an hour and a half - but I'll take it. She woke up happy, contentedly ate her lunch in the teacher's lounge, and played solo on the elementary playground.
Laughing all the while, she scaled a ramp to the slide, sailed down, and braved the swinging bridge (grasping Mommy's hand, of course). We even snuck into the kindergarten room and raided their toys while the kids were out at lunch (thank you, Tia Vero!). The "park" and the "new" toys were a welcome relief from the four walls of our ol' house, and the extra exertion was just what Bailey needed to burn off her energy and take her normal afternoon nap.
Wednesday: Getting the Hang of It
Day three of our new routine started off in a flurry of action. My morning ride called to say she was about 30 second away just as I laid Bailey down to changer her oh-so-full overnight diaper. Thankfully our bag was packed already - and Bailey was cooperative - so we made it out the door in record time. Turns out, we were headed over to pick up another teacher from school (my ride, Demetira's, daughter) who was bringing her daughter to work, too. Mel (the little girl) is about a year older than Bailey and they gave each other a tired-eyed stare down the entire ride to school, both situated securely in their respective Mommy's laps.
Prep period and Algebra (once again taught on the floor) went off without a hitch (praise God!) and Bailey seemed to be getting the hang of how things were running. Nap-time drop off went well and I chatted with the secretary during the break, keeping a listening ear on Bailey. She was still laughing and talking with herself when I left for third period, but again, that's her norm and I was confident she'd drift of to la-la land soon enough.
Just to be sure she was okay, I sent an 8th grader to check on her at the start of fourth period (supposedly 50 minutes into nap time). She came back with a report that Bailey had just stopped her self-entertaining shenanigans 10 minutes ago. Oh well; maybe she'll sleep a bit longer, then.
Nope! (Anyone surprised?)
Right as the bell rang to end fourth period, in walked Sindy with Bailey in her arms. She hadn't been crying, Sindy told me (and she's the kind of lady who tells it like it is), Bailey was just talking to herself again and Sindy didn't want it to turn into screaming. One hour morning nap . . . we'll see how the rest of the day goes!
After finishing our lunch in the teacher's lounge, Mel (the little girl from the car ride) came into the lounge with her mom for their lunch, too. Now that both girls were fully awake, the started playing together (well, Bailey started mimicking everything Mel did) and they had loads of fun rummaging through the piles of "resources" (a.k.a. junk) piled in the lounge. You know those piles, teachers, when you clean out your files and don't have the heart to throw it away, just knowing that someone else will treasure the things you haven't used . . . ever. But I digress . . .
We made a quick stop at the playground, once again braving the swinging bridge and slide. And today, Bailey added "stair master" to her resume. Using the hand rail, she was able to scale up and down three stairs without my help; she's growing up so fast! :( After that, we hailed a bus, bought futbol tickets for the Paraguay vs. Equador game Friday night (for Daddy and Tio Ruben) and returned home just in time for a normal afternoon.
I think I'm going to make it.
Thursday: We Got This!
On this morning, Bailey was actually already awake at 6:10 when I went in to get her. She tried to pretend she wasn't - throwing herself down onto the mattress and plunking her thumb into her mouth as I walked in - but when I first opened the door, she had been standing upright in the corner of her crib. Crazy kid.
Prep period was spent pouring out paper clips and pulling out all the boxes of tissues from one of the back cabinets in my room. She also discovered a canister of rulers and a feather duster that kept her entertained long into second period (Algebra 1). Bailey was so self-entertained that I risked not assembling the class in a circle on the floor and opted to let her be. She wound up on the lap of one of my student who was gracious enough to let Bailey color in her notebook and rummage through her bear-shaped pencil pouch.
Bailey nodded off to sleep much more quickly than she had during the previous days, and was still asleep when I went to the office after classes which meant she got (nearly) a full nap. We had lunch, but had to forfeit playing on the playground because of the rain earlier that day which had turned the sand to mud. Bailey wouldn't have minded (I'm sure), but Mommy did, and I also wanted to make sure we got home before/if more rain fell. We stopped by the grocery store for our end-of-the-week milk run and then made it home in time for another lengthy afternoon nap.
Friday: I Love Babywise
Today went as seamlessly as things do for a Babywise baby. (i.e. not perfect, but well within the acceptable range). After four days, Bailey was "re-scheduled". Meals, play time, nap - and her attitude - were all on track and exactly what I've come to expect from her.
After school, there was a "November Fair" held at school which is basically like a huge garage/bake sale. Families (and grade levels) can rent tables, set out their goods, and sell away to whomever walks through the gates. The school's "cancha" was filled with tables sagging underneath the weight of books, dishes, and hand-me-down clothes of all shapes and sizes. Some of the families sold food (I was particularly fond of the vegetable rolls) and others used the event to promote their own businesses, selling new clothes and accessories usually featured in their stores. Quite a hodgepodge.
Rumor had it there was a woman coming with tons of baby things. She had recently miscarried and wanted to get rid of the baby things she had already collected for obvious emotional reasons. I was hopeful that I could snag something for the new baby ("something" being a bassinet, the only thing we really "need" for #2). Trouble was, the sale didn't officially start until 2:30. Bailey's nap usually starts around 2. Now, I could put her down in my classroom for her nap, but that would mean I'd be stuck at school until around 4 when she woke up. And I have a Bible study that meets (at my house) at 4. Decisions, decisions.
Thankfully, people started arriving around 1:00 to set up their tables and were eager to start selling as soon as they saw the cash. I snagged a pair of shoes for Bailey and a few books for myself (plus the above mentioned vegetable roll, YUM!). Bailey and I parked ourselves by the entrance to the cancha so that I could keep an eye out for the lady with the baby loot.
But by 2:00 I gave up hope. There were plenty of people there with baby clothes and toys and such, but nothing that wowed me, and definitely no bassinet. Bailey had hung in there like a champ, but I could tell from her eyes that a melt-down awaited if we hung around much longer. So, we packed up, boarded the bus and, by 3:00, Bailey was securely in her own crib, napping away. She didn't make it quite 2 hours for this nap, but she woke up happy and played clean on through bed time.
Phew! Bailey-Boo . . . WE MADE IT! :)
Monday: Let the adventure begin!
As with most things baby, I started out with grand plans of seamless transitions and a 100% compliant child. I was hopeful that we could "just" move her schedule up an hour to work around having to get to school early and take a nap during two of my three classes. On paper, it all made sense: if you wake her up an hour early (at 6 instead of 7), she'll be ready for a nap an hour early (8:30 instead of 9:30), and she'll (of course) take her usual 2 hour morning nap. And I should mention that I woke up with a sore throat, cough, "sick breath," and an assortment of other pre-cold symptoms. Perfect.
The early morning wake-up went off smoothly enough; a few whimpers as I had to dress her while she sipped on her milk so we'd be ready for our ride, but nothing extraordinary. She even played nicely in my classroom during first period, rummaging through my desk drawers and dumping/cleaning up a box of paper clips, a deck of cards and some bandaids.
But when that bell rang for second period and my Algebra 1 kids started coming in (all eight of them), Bailey started to freak out. She started to pout, whimper and cry . . . and it didn't stop the entire period. My poor students; they were trying to learn about ratios and unit rates and unit conversions, but Miss Grumpy Pants kept that from happening effectively. I took her up to the main office for her to nap in the empty general director's office next to the secretary (thank you, Sindy!) and I was relieved, thinking I'd be able to teach my next two classes baby-free. But I "spoke" too soon.
Ten minutes before the end of third period (about 40 minutes into her nap IF she fell right to sleep, which she rarely does; she usually talks to herself for at least 20 minutes before drifting off) the academic director stopped by my room to let me know that there was going to be a fire-drill within the next 20 minutes and I needed to get Bailey. You've GOT to be kidding me. Teary eyed (literally, tears streaming down my cheeks) I strode up to the office and barely squeaked out the words "I need to get my child."
Glossy eyed and utterly confused, poor little Bailey woke up from her short little nap, paraded onto the field with my 8th graders and then returned to class with us; there was no way she was going back to sleep after that. I cuddled her through the whole class and we made it through fourth period - in part because she was so dazed she didn't know what was going on.
A little lunch revived her and she managed not to be a screaming maniac on the bus ride home, but did fall straight to sleep once we got home. We both did. And God proved once again that He answers prayers: she slept for over three hours, letting me get in a nap of my own, and finish the household chores that needed to be done.
Tuesday: Lessons Learned
Knowing that we'd have to get her up early, we had put Bailey to bed early on Monday night (why didn't we think of that Sunday night?!). The day started much the same: she was fine getting up and drinking her milk as I dressed her, eating her cereal during teacher devotions, and playing in the classroom during my first period prep. And, right on cue, she started fussing up a storm once the bell rang for second period. Hoping it was just teething, I gave her a dose of Tylenol and rubbed some clove oil on her lower gums. It seemed to help a little bit.
In anticipation of her mini-melt down, I decided that we'd have class on the floor in the back of the room. I only have eight students, so with a little help from an easel-style white board laid down on it's side, we had class duck-duck-goose style with Bailey stuck in the mush pit. She did much better behavior wise, which meant there was much more learning (and re-teaching from the day before). She still distracted the class a bit, what with her erasing half-done equations off the board and pretending one of the girls' calculators was a cell phone, but it was much more manageable having laughable distractions rather than the hissy-fit variety.
Nap time went off without a hitch, well, aside from the fact that she talked to herself for nearly a half-hour and worried Sindy a bit. It was shorter than usual - only about an hour and a half - but I'll take it. She woke up happy, contentedly ate her lunch in the teacher's lounge, and played solo on the elementary playground.
Laughing all the while, she scaled a ramp to the slide, sailed down, and braved the swinging bridge (grasping Mommy's hand, of course). We even snuck into the kindergarten room and raided their toys while the kids were out at lunch (thank you, Tia Vero!). The "park" and the "new" toys were a welcome relief from the four walls of our ol' house, and the extra exertion was just what Bailey needed to burn off her energy and take her normal afternoon nap.
Wednesday: Getting the Hang of It
Day three of our new routine started off in a flurry of action. My morning ride called to say she was about 30 second away just as I laid Bailey down to changer her oh-so-full overnight diaper. Thankfully our bag was packed already - and Bailey was cooperative - so we made it out the door in record time. Turns out, we were headed over to pick up another teacher from school (my ride, Demetira's, daughter) who was bringing her daughter to work, too. Mel (the little girl) is about a year older than Bailey and they gave each other a tired-eyed stare down the entire ride to school, both situated securely in their respective Mommy's laps.
Prep period and Algebra (once again taught on the floor) went off without a hitch (praise God!) and Bailey seemed to be getting the hang of how things were running. Nap-time drop off went well and I chatted with the secretary during the break, keeping a listening ear on Bailey. She was still laughing and talking with herself when I left for third period, but again, that's her norm and I was confident she'd drift of to la-la land soon enough.
Just to be sure she was okay, I sent an 8th grader to check on her at the start of fourth period (supposedly 50 minutes into nap time). She came back with a report that Bailey had just stopped her self-entertaining shenanigans 10 minutes ago. Oh well; maybe she'll sleep a bit longer, then.
Nope! (Anyone surprised?)
Right as the bell rang to end fourth period, in walked Sindy with Bailey in her arms. She hadn't been crying, Sindy told me (and she's the kind of lady who tells it like it is), Bailey was just talking to herself again and Sindy didn't want it to turn into screaming. One hour morning nap . . . we'll see how the rest of the day goes!
After finishing our lunch in the teacher's lounge, Mel (the little girl from the car ride) came into the lounge with her mom for their lunch, too. Now that both girls were fully awake, the started playing together (well, Bailey started mimicking everything Mel did) and they had loads of fun rummaging through the piles of "resources" (a.k.a. junk) piled in the lounge. You know those piles, teachers, when you clean out your files and don't have the heart to throw it away, just knowing that someone else will treasure the things you haven't used . . . ever. But I digress . . .
We made a quick stop at the playground, once again braving the swinging bridge and slide. And today, Bailey added "stair master" to her resume. Using the hand rail, she was able to scale up and down three stairs without my help; she's growing up so fast! :( After that, we hailed a bus, bought futbol tickets for the Paraguay vs. Equador game Friday night (for Daddy and Tio Ruben) and returned home just in time for a normal afternoon.
I think I'm going to make it.
Thursday: We Got This!
On this morning, Bailey was actually already awake at 6:10 when I went in to get her. She tried to pretend she wasn't - throwing herself down onto the mattress and plunking her thumb into her mouth as I walked in - but when I first opened the door, she had been standing upright in the corner of her crib. Crazy kid.
Prep period was spent pouring out paper clips and pulling out all the boxes of tissues from one of the back cabinets in my room. She also discovered a canister of rulers and a feather duster that kept her entertained long into second period (Algebra 1). Bailey was so self-entertained that I risked not assembling the class in a circle on the floor and opted to let her be. She wound up on the lap of one of my student who was gracious enough to let Bailey color in her notebook and rummage through her bear-shaped pencil pouch.
Bailey nodded off to sleep much more quickly than she had during the previous days, and was still asleep when I went to the office after classes which meant she got (nearly) a full nap. We had lunch, but had to forfeit playing on the playground because of the rain earlier that day which had turned the sand to mud. Bailey wouldn't have minded (I'm sure), but Mommy did, and I also wanted to make sure we got home before/if more rain fell. We stopped by the grocery store for our end-of-the-week milk run and then made it home in time for another lengthy afternoon nap.
Friday: I Love Babywise
Today went as seamlessly as things do for a Babywise baby. (i.e. not perfect, but well within the acceptable range). After four days, Bailey was "re-scheduled". Meals, play time, nap - and her attitude - were all on track and exactly what I've come to expect from her.
After school, there was a "November Fair" held at school which is basically like a huge garage/bake sale. Families (and grade levels) can rent tables, set out their goods, and sell away to whomever walks through the gates. The school's "cancha" was filled with tables sagging underneath the weight of books, dishes, and hand-me-down clothes of all shapes and sizes. Some of the families sold food (I was particularly fond of the vegetable rolls) and others used the event to promote their own businesses, selling new clothes and accessories usually featured in their stores. Quite a hodgepodge.
Rumor had it there was a woman coming with tons of baby things. She had recently miscarried and wanted to get rid of the baby things she had already collected for obvious emotional reasons. I was hopeful that I could snag something for the new baby ("something" being a bassinet, the only thing we really "need" for #2). Trouble was, the sale didn't officially start until 2:30. Bailey's nap usually starts around 2. Now, I could put her down in my classroom for her nap, but that would mean I'd be stuck at school until around 4 when she woke up. And I have a Bible study that meets (at my house) at 4. Decisions, decisions.
Thankfully, people started arriving around 1:00 to set up their tables and were eager to start selling as soon as they saw the cash. I snagged a pair of shoes for Bailey and a few books for myself (plus the above mentioned vegetable roll, YUM!). Bailey and I parked ourselves by the entrance to the cancha so that I could keep an eye out for the lady with the baby loot.
Phew! Bailey-Boo . . . WE MADE IT! :)
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