Sunday, July 1, 2012

Starting to begin to think about possibly starting to begin to settle in.

Just to let you know how we're doing now...

The first day home was really rough.  We got in at 1:30 in the morning and got home close to 3:00, I think.  The kids did not go to bed until 3:45 the next afternoon.  We were completely wiped out and they were completely out of control.  My saint of a mother-in-law came and stood guard for a few hours so we could get to sleep, but I'm afraid it was not the best introduction to her new grandchildren.  The jet lag is way too slow in ending for them--the slept 12 hours that first night, which means, yes, they woke up at 3:45 am.  Yesterday they went to sleep at 5:30, then got restless around 2:30 am and got up at 4:30 am.  Today Inesa fell asleep at 6:30 and Sasha at 7:00, so I'm hoping we'll actually get to sleep until dawn tomorrow.  In the meantime, Jon has some sort of vicious stomach thing going on and has been confined to bed the last two days. 

Nonetheless, the past two days have been better than that first.  We've taken walks on the nearby nature trail, and it's clear that once they are more able to follow directions like "Don't get too close to that steep dropoff" and "Don't push your sister into the fire," they will LOVE hiking and camping.  They've met their (same-age) cousin twice and are thrilled with her.  Yesterday we all got together at a playground and had lunch, and today I took the kids to meet their cousin and her dad at Gabriel Park's kid pool.  They practiced their little bits of English, and in the car on the way home asked me a few questions about vocabulary.  We made cookies today, and Inesa said, "Mama, you know how to make soup AND pancakes AND cookies!"  Inesa went to Winco with Jon yesterday, and Sasha went to Fred Meyers with me today.  They both do well in the store, lobbying for items that catch their eye, but not whining or trying to grab things.  We went to the library yesterday, where they were thrilled to check out a stack of books.  They each checked out a pre-school kit, and today realized that Sasha's contains 3 magnifying glasses.  They invented a game where I hid both of their new stuffed dogs (presents from their cousin) in different places in the living room, then led out a series of real and false trails to them, using our stash of corks we keep meaning to recycle.  Then the kids would come in with their magnifying glasses and use them to follow the trail.  Later, they both took their dogs up to Papa, to guard him and keep him company while he was feeling sick.

The lawn is mowed, our dear friend dropped off a stack of freezer meals this evening, and the general level of mess and grime in the house is high, but livable.  The kids fell asleep on the couch, and then Sasha slid off.  I left them their portable nightlights, so when they inevitably wake in the night, they can light their way up to our bed, and clamber in and elbow and kick us, and we will be glad to let them. 

1 comment:

  1. Wow. The jet lag thing sounds really tricky! That would be a hard thing to adjust - so glad things are getting better. Please tell Jon we hope he gets to feeling well soon!

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