Our laptop clock is still set on Michigan time and it is 7:15 am, so good morning to you all. It is 1:15 here and I have had a busy day. It started off with a major lack of sleep. Both kids were up through the night, coughing, crying, needing drinks or noses wiped, and on and on. Tyson was so tired last night. He was asking to go to bed at 5, but we held him off til 6:15. Jori stayed up for another hour or so. Jori is actually standing in front of me right now, with sucker dripping down her chin and hair matted with snot. She's not looking so cute. I have taken to calling her my little urchin, like a street urchin. She is just so raggedy looking most of the time. Anyways, she just got up from a nap. Tyson is still sleeping, most likely because he was up most of the night coughing. Poor guy.
So back to my morning. I was awake a little after 6, but we all stayed in bed until a little after 7. Then I got up and made coffee-yes, I have mastered the French Press. I am pretty impressed with myself. Darin fed Tyson and then Jori woke up a little later and he fed her too. A nice break for me considering I was once again going to be home alone with the kids while everyone else traipsed off to “work”. So by 8:30, it's me and the kids. Amos is here already, which is a great diversion most days. Today the kids are both feeling yuck, so they spend a lot of time laying around watching videos. Honestly, I think that's what they did all morning. I was busy doing laundry. Three loads today plus the 5 yesterday and the laundry is done. While I was waiting for the loads to finish washing, I did some dishes, washed 7 pairs of shoes in a big bucket, and started putting more things away that have just been laying around on the bathroom counter since we arrived.
Neither kid wanted lunch. So after managing to feed Tyson half a Clementine orange, and Jori the other half, plus a banana, I put them both down for naps. Then I continued doing laundry and started making lunch. We had made potatoes on the grill last night and I fried up all the leftovers AND stuck a piece of bread in the frying pan and made some toast! Then I fixed a plate for me and one for Amos and we ate our lunch outside. It is nice talking with him and hearing more about the community that we are in. He was also telling me more about Dinokeng and where to see the animals that are already in the area. I finally finished the laundry after lunch. Are you beginning to see that laundry is a process out here? I am not complaining, because I know that having a wash machine is a huge luxury for most of the world's population, but it is just different than at home.
The washer we have is quite compact. I did find out today that it will hold a load of five towels and a couple rags, but that's about it. Each load takes 30 minutes. There are other cycles to choose from, but I don't know what any of them do, so I stick with the one that says “30 minute”. After the clothes are washed, you take them outside to hang on the line. Then you throw in the next load. You take that out to hang, and by then, some of the first load is dry, so you take it down to fold. Then you repeat the whole process. Each time you have to take stuff down from the line so you can fit the new load. It is kind of relaxing in some ways, but my back does not enjoy it so much.
So it is now quarter to 2 and I have done loads of laundry and some other random jobs around the house and I feel like I have done enough to not do anymore work today. I have no car, and I can't drive here anyway. I do have a phone, but I can only make calls in SA, and other than Darin, I don't know who I'd call. I am becoming quite proficient at SMS-ing (sending a text message). Even if I could get out, I wouldn't be able to leave with the two kids being sick. Even if I were in Hudsonville, I would just stay home. So I am eagerly waiting for Darin to get home so I can walk across the street and be online for a while. Maybe someone from home will be online and I can “chat”. That would be fun.
I hope this doesn't sound like I am not having fun or that I don't want to be here. I really am loving it. I love turning on the hot water heater in the bathroom each morning, I love having the wash machine in the kitchen-it's quite convenient, I love that there are hardly any kids things in this house and that my kids don't seem to mind the lack of toys, I love that it is different here than at home. I just wish my kids were feeling better and that I could get out of the house more. At least I have this trusty old laptop so I can write posts that end up rambling on and on and on. It's like the computer is my only friend out here. Does that make me crazy?
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