A Fisher out of Water

There was an attempted break-in at our new house we'll be moving into next week. It was me. They gave us the keys a few days early, and we've been taking a few things over* each time we drive to that side of the lake. The first time I went over there, I couldn't get the keys to open the front door, so I just went in through a side door. Unfortunately, this side door just opens onto a courtyard and not into the actual house. As I stood there trying to open the actual door to the house, I realized that while I hadn't been successful in actually getting into the house, I had managed to trip the alarm. And it was at that moment that I remembered that the alarm code was at home on our kitchen counter--unread.

On Saturday night, I had gone to bed early. At about 10:30, though, Kevin came in and woke me up, whispering, "Hey Chelsea, I'm back!"
As he stood there in the dark, I was racking my brain trying to remember. After several moments, I finally had to ask, "Where did you go?"
"China."
Oh yeah!! So Kevin was in China for a month. He was given the opportunity to go work at the Embassy in Beijing this summer, and so there he was, on the absolute opposite side of the world for four long weeks. We considered the possibility of our going with him for the assignment, but with a newborn baby, Penny starting school, and the ridiculous amount of time it takes to travel to the antipodes (38 hours on the way home), we decided I'd just stay here in Brazil with the kids while he went to Beijing to work.
It wasn't as bad as I anticipated.
Kevin is an elder in our church, and before he left, he gave each of us a Priesthood Blessing, invoking the power of God to bless us as I was on my own for the month and as Penny started kindergarten. I've had a few Priesthood Blessings in the past, but this time I felt the difference more than I ever had in the past.
Usually, by the time Kevin gets home at 5:30 or so, I am done. I toss the kids at him and go work on dinner. Sometimes I just turn in at 7:00 or so and let him take care of bedtime. I'm cranky, exhausted, and just done with kids. But while Kevin was in Beijing, we were happy in the evenings. I'm not kidding! We were happy and having fun, playing games together and generally enjoying being together. This does not usually happen. Ever. But during the whole month Kevin was gone, there were only three evenings where I got angry or lost my patience with the kids as we were getting ready for bed. I had been afraid it would be every single day, so that's a miracle in and of itself.
I focused a lot on keeping everyone fed. I made sure we didn't run out of groceries, and I kept food and snacks available. And I just fed everyone, keeping all of us from getting hangry (you know, hungry + angry). Full tummies prevent a lot of problems.
We hired a housekeeper 2x a week while Kevin was gone. It's always embarrassing to have someone come in and see my house when it's an absolute wreck. But it does amazing things for my sanity to have someone there to be on my side when it comes to the house. Plus, she is amazing. She sings and plays horsie with the kids. Naomi absolutely adores her and follows her around the house chatting and playing pretend with her. This is pretty hilarious, because Naomi speaks only English and Renata only Portuguese. But Naomi doesn't seem to care, and she just goes on and on. Renata cooked meals and snacks, stocking our fridge with healthy and/or delicious Brazilian food for us to eat during the week. She supported me in all my efforts, and I am intensely grateful.
We kept busy. The girls were in day camp for part of the time, then Penny started kindergarten, and we all got out of the house to take her to school every morning. We talked to Kevin on Skype every morning and evening-- the only times our 11-hour time difference overlapped. I started a Portuguese class at the Embassy, and we often went to play with friends in the mornings.
And we made it through! We were all so excited to see him once he returned, and I'm incredibly grateful for all the help he gives me. Now that he's over the worst of the jet lag, we'll start going out and doing fun things as a family again.

Naomi missed her dad but gave him hugs through the computer

So the "giant" we met at the grocery store last night? New embassy family. Lives in our building.

One thing I LOVE about being overseas with small children is that when they make awkward comments about strangers in public, you have a much better chance of that person not understanding what was said. 

I'm really excited to start Portuguese class tomorrow at the Embassy. I've been meaning and hoping to do this for a while now, and now that we have a car, Penny is in kindergarten, and William is a little older, it's actually going to happen. I never saw myself as one of those people who enjoys learning language upon language, but I might be on my way to becoming one.
I studied French in high school for three years. I got pretty good at conjugating verbs on charts, but I never learned to use the language at all. I've avoided that in Portuguese. I don't know how to conjugate anything! Ha ha, sort of joking. But instead of worrying because I can't think of how to conjugate the right way, I just throw in a verb, sometimes infinitive and sometimes in my best guess of a conjugation. It works well enough. People can understand me when I say something wrong-- more than if I say nothing at all!
I'm excited to have a class and a teacher. Maybe she'll manage to teach me past tense.

Penny finished her first week of kindergarten, avoiding all but one major crisis. On her first day, I dropped her off and told her to be sure and take the bus that the Embassy arranged for the American kids. I missed a phone call at about 3-something that afternoon, and then got a phone call at about 4:10. "Penny did not get on the bus this afternoon," explained the bus company. Turns out, there should have been a paper in Penny's school registration packet giving permission for someone besides her parents to pick her up. That includes the bus company. So I rushed over to the school, picked up Penny (who was fine but just a little annoyed that I was so late), and signed the form. The next morning, on our way out the door, she told me, "Mom, try not to pick me up so late today, okay?"
It's a really long school day for her. If I didn't take her in the mornings, it would be a 9-hour day with both commutes. So I drive her in the morning, but she still has to have an hour+ commute on the way home. When she got off the bus this week, a couple times, she ran over to give me a hug and said, "Mom, I missed you!" And on Saturday, she was very excited that she got to stay home with me instead of going to school. She loves kindergarten, but misses being home.
She has violin class that she is VERY excited about. She was also looking forward to "Doctor Class." See, she wants to be a doctor when she grows up, and she figures they should start teaching her about it in kindergarten.

Naomi is a fun little pixie with a lot of independence and personality. For example, when I put her to bed this week, an hour later I hear some singing coming from her room. I open the door to find her singing and jumping from her bed to Penny's bed via a kitchen chair between them.
She likes to dictate her play. This means that whenever she has toys, she is narrating a story the whole time. When Penny plays with her, she also dictates to Penny what she should say and what her toys should do. I don't have much patience for that, so she always gets mad when I won't be the bad guy, say what she tells me to say, or generally let her boss me around.
Naomi has a major whining problem. She throws fits and refuses... just about everything. It's normal. She's three. But I'm finding that every time she's whiny or otherwise horrendous, it's not as much about the drink of water she wants, or the different kind of toothpaste, or the needing help putting shoes on. It's just that she needs a hug. Every time. She might be throwing the biggest temper tantrum in the world, but she'll absolutely melt into my arms when I finally remember to just hug her.

William will get his own post tomorrow. He is absolutely fantastic.

William is a delightful baby. I guess when I married the kindest, happiest, most laid-back man I've ever met, it logically follows that I'd have a child take after him. He is very easy. He doesn't scream and cry for an hour every night like his sisters sometimes did. He doesn't need a bedtime routine.