"Ask Bayan."

Question: "Why are these books off the shelves and on the couch?"

Answer: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Where is my back-scratcher?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Why is there water on the floor?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Is that water on the floor?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Who broke the vacuum cleaner?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "What are my computer parts doing over there?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Have you seen the remote control?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Who spread hand soap on the toilet seat?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Why is the butter on the bookcase?"

A: "Ask Bayan." Q: "Who tipped the beads out?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Who knows where the remote control is?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Who has seen the cordless phone?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "What is with the decomposing banana peels tucked into the shoes?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Who put these rocks in the washing machine?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Who plugged (jammed) these cords into the computer?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Why are there fresh eggs tucked onto the recliner?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Where did this come from?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Why is there ten tons of kindling tucked into the back of the car?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "Which part of the exercise equipment did this come off of?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q:"What is my computer software doing with the potatoes?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

Q: "WHERE is the remote control?"

A: "Ask Bayan."

He is one busy boy.

Everyday Chaos

Finding balance is not something that comes easily to me. I often feel like a pendulum swinging from one end to the other rarely getting a chance to slow down and enjoy the stages between. This afternoon my meagre attempts at order and organization crumbled quite pitifully. In trying to, you know, do stuff with the kids I thought it would be nice to bake some banana muffins. Well, after arguments about who got to add what and who got to mix what and who got to put which liner in which tin they were finally in the oven and while I started dinner (sans the helpers) and cleaned up the aftermath of our muffin fiasco the girls discovered Bayan busily coloring the treadmill (not ours) in vibrant, magenta, crayon. We managed to scrub most of it off the computerized screen, front panels and drink holders, but unfortunately the walking surface, being somewhat like sandpaper, did not wash well. I am hopeful that if we exercise on it enough it will wear off. Mehran will not be pleased.

After dinner, while trying to finish off homework, we had a brief, merciful, pause to the drama and tears until... Anisa, who had decked herself out in bangles and necklaces and all sorts of beaded jewellery and was looking every bit the tribal bride, was helping Bayan on the toilet when I heard her horrified screams. Expecting to see Bayan lodged in the cistern and slowly being sucked down the hole, I left Ruhi and raced into the bathroom to find Bayan peering into the toilet and a sobbing Anisa hopping back and forth in an agonized dance of despair. One peek into the bowl explained everything. Anisa had attempted to help Bayan and her clanky, silver, bracelets had slid right off her arm and into the murky depths of the toilet. My next moments were spent locating the proper accessories to tackle this situation. After that there was nothing left to do but fish them out and flush it down. With her bangles soaking in disinfectant I returned to help Ruhi with her homework.

While Ruhi was doing research on the 7 Wonders of the Ancient world, Bayan was snipping paper with the (scalloped edged) craft scissors (you should know that he has taken a fancy to wearing as little as possible lately and is often found running about in the nude.) His piercing wails of pain soon took precedence over over The Great Pyramid of Giza. Today he learned, the hard way, that self circumcision is not a wise thing and now confines his cutting to paper based products. Ruhi finished her homework without further interruption or mishap and I am so infinitely grateful for a few moments peace.

Just Because

The term is heating up and I've found myself so busy and so preoccupied with other things I haven't been focusing on the kids as I should. I am very much aware that they need more attention and I need to make more of an effort to do special things for/with them. Time is of a premium, but we still need to eat... So, on that note, we have been creating some special foods. Take, this ginormous sandwich for instance. I hadn't made it in ages and the kids just adore it. Here is Ruhi indicating just how much she, alone, can eat. We also made some gluten free, love heart and star, buttermilk scones. Which the children helped roll out and shape with cookie cutters. They were pretty decent fresh from the oven, but by the next day the delicious factor was significantly decreased, though they still looked good. To round off our creative foods, we baked a fabulous, three layer, black forest cake, frosted with freshly whipped cream, topped with cherries and dusted (smothered) with chocolate shavings...just because.

The Birth of The Bab

The tree didn't come out exactly as I had envisioned, but the children loved it and it worked. It was something different and something special and watching their faces light up as they walked through the door and caught sight of it indicated that they didn't mind the structural flaws or the fact that the chocolates placed around the trunk were looking a little scant and lacking in bigness. They performed beautifully. And I adored Anisa's socks. She is usually so fashion conscious and aware and I loved the fact that she insisted on wearing these unusual, retro, pink cow socks that, let's just say, didn't quite blend with the rest of her attire. Throughout the song, in between taking photos and smiling proudly at my girls, my eyes kept darting back to the socks.

Bayan and his little friend J. got up and danced (not entirely sure that was appropriate) when a Persian musical performance started and everyone enjoyed an evening devoted to remembering the life and accomplishments of The Bab.

The following day we met up with friends in the park. We were running frightfully late, as I had stayed up till the wee hours of the morning to clean the kitchen and upon waking was still feeling lethargic and exhausted. We baked cookies, made sandwiches, and got special bits organized to bring with us. We also got to go back home and change again when one of us wet another in the car with their drink bottle. Either this was terribly tragic, as there were much tears, or I was not the only one who was tired. Though I won, hounds down, for grumpiness, grouchiness and impatience.

We had a lovely picnic lunch with Martha and V. and their kids D. and A. and also with B. and her husband Z. (who I had not met before) and their gorgeous baby E.

We set up a treasure hunt web that included a prize of bubbles at the end. This would have been much better in another section of the part where they just have monumental trees. As it happened, where we did it, it mostly hampered the children and thwarted the progress of employees on lunch break who took little strolls through this area.

Anisa and Ruhi are getting to be old pros at this. Ruhi did hers unaided. Anisa needed a bit of help and D. managed to get through his despite Bayan's attempts to 'help' him.

After locating their bubbles the kids all raced off to enjoy them on the grassy lawncoming back to feed some ducks who, belatedly, joined our picnic. Bayan even commandeered a bowl to go and collect fallen morsels that the children spilled earlier.
The ducks were deeply appreciative. Later in the afternoon we headed off to explore the historic grounds and to sample some of the fruit from an inconspicuous orchard. We were not gone all that long and I stayed in the shade and used some sun cream and still I got a raging burn. The first of the season and hopefully the last.

More trees

I hadn't intended to have a tree theme happening in my life right now, but it seems that I have one. Big time. While still getting odds and ends organized for the Birth of the Bab tomorrow I have spent most of today in my classroom with Bayan and a few of my year 6 and 7 students finishing off my Spanish 'family tree'.

We are looking at family relationships and how to introduce and identify family members in Spanish. I have a poster that I made my first year teaching Spanish. I hated it then and I hate it now. It works brilliantly, because the students all recognize the members of this high profile, dysfunctional, family and as a result can easily understand what I am saying in Spanish, but I feel wretched using The Simpsons as an example, especially because I believe that the program is actually harmful for kids.

So, with some help, I have created the Trujillo-Gonzalez family tree featuring Maria and Guillermo Trujillo and the families of their three children. The students helped with a few of the faces and have helped me cut out about a gazillion leaves. I made a little hole in the tree trunk where I place clues in Spanish as to the identity of a mystery family member and the student who guesses which person it is referring to gets a special key (reward system) and to come up and read the next clue for their classmates. The kids are loving this and, because of the schedule, will be able to use it for at least half of the term.

Battered and bruised

In the last 24 hours:
Bayan has been hit in the face with a frisbee disk. He sustained bruising, swelling and a cut to the eye lid.

He scratched his arm on the side of the bricks and has two long, bloody, marks to prove it.

While playing at the playground he fell on the concrete, skinned both knees and grazed his palms. A short while later he was punched in the head by another child and to top it all off when we arrived home I accidentally caught his fingers in the car door. Ouch!

In other news Ruhi cut her toe on a broken pool tile while she was swimming with her school, requiring immediate first aid, and Anisa appears to have a long, blue, piece of something lodged in her toe, running the length of her toe nail. We are off to the doctor this afternoon as neither Mehran nor I can remove it. Hope you are doing better than we are.

*#@%$^*!!!

Things our 'new' dishwasher does not do:

1). Fit in the dishwasher provision. It is currently topless and without legs. This is worse than it sounds.

2). Wash dishes. (Yeah. I know!)

3). Accommodate dinner plates. Side dishes are fine, anything larger interferes with the rotating handles and stops them from spinning.

4). Short circuit the entire household...yet. However some primitive intuition tells me there is serious potential here.

Things our 'new' dishwasher does do:

1). Coat all dishes with a gritty layer of grime and speckles.

2). Jam itself on a wide range of cycles. This means that if left to it's own devices it will merrily 'wash' all night long and your dishes will come out looking like you just put them in. Please refer to exhibit A. Exhibit A after 8 hours of 'washing'. Super hygienic, is it not?

3). Flood itself with stagnant, grotty, water. Note exhibit B.

The result: a very messy kitchen or one very tired individual who routinely stays up past 1:30 am to clean them all by hand.

Obsessing

The girls are going on a field trip into the city today. They are off to see the Museum and Art Gallery with the rest of their school and I have that icky, excursion, feeling where I am torn between wanting them to go (and enjoy themselves and learn lots and gain independence skills) and wanting to go with them (something that is very impractical at the moment) just to supervise- you know, to make sure that they get on the bus OK, to make sure that they don't get left behind anywhere, to make sure that they do not encounter any psychos... you know the usual. So, I have let them go, as I usually do. I am sure that they are having a brilliant time, that they are well looked after and that they are learning to be responsible for themselves... all really important things. I just hate not knowing exactly where they are, with the possibility of so may things that could happen.

Later:
All is well. They chatted non-stop on the way home telling Bayan and I all about what they had seen, their favorite parts of the day and some funny things that happened. I love that. And feel relieved that they're home and happy that they had the chance to experience something that they enjoyed but I have no doubt that I'll be back to may paranoid obsessing by the time they are ready for their next field trip. Perhaps I should develop a better hobby.

Cherry Blossoms

Somewhere, on the Martha Stewart site, is a gorgeous table decoration featuring a branch with beautiful, shimmering, cherry blossoms. We were looking for something different to do for the children as part of the celebration for the birth of The Bab. One committee had requested that we organize lolly bags for the kids. I explained what I had seen and suggested that maybe we do a stick/ tree + cherry blossom type of thing (my pitch sounded better than that) and hang the little bags from the tree.

M. said he would try to sort out the tree and I said I would keep a look out as well, as I drove through heavily wooded areas each day. In the end, as a last ditch, desperate measure, I wound up returning to a beautiful, park like place, where I inadvertently crashed a wedding (but only slightly) as I scampered through the bush searching for the perfect branch. As it turned out M. had chopped off part of a tree and what he brought worked perfectly... far better than what I found, at least in the woods. In the stores, well, that was another matter entirely. Bayan was my designated shopping buddy, but he was not entirely thrilled with this state of affairs and let everyone know just how wronged he felt whenever we were unable to purchase something he desired. It's a cruel world I tell you...cruel. On the bright side we, after five stores and much howling and tears, finally located some organza bags that-while small-would do the trick. Into these were stuffed a chocolate frog, a balloon, some bubble mixture, a packet of stickers and a sesame snaps.Now all we needed were the cherry blossoms. So while we went over the agenda and began our meeting I demonstrated how to make the blossoms from folded scraps of tissue paper. By the time we finished we were getting some great flowers happening and we had more than enough to place on the tree.

But more on that later...

The Harbour

Ruhi had been asking to take a trip to the harbour for some time now. There is usually a Ferris Wheel set up on the foreshore that she has been wanting to ride and as we didn't go to The Show (similar to the Clam Festival that came to New England each year) I promised that if we headed to the harbour we would go on some rides. The Ferris Wheel was the first order of business. Ruhi, Anisa, Soheila and I went on together while Mehran opted to stay on the ground with Bayan who had spotted a real, live, antique, train in the playground. The girls had a great time and it was very uncrowded so the operator just let us keep going around and around...and around. We were all ready for something else by they time he let us off. So next on the agenda was the bouncy castle. The girls held hands as they sat downand continued to hold onto one another as they plunged down the steep slide.

Meanwhile Bayan had noticed a mini race track with...cars. That he could drive. There was no contest. He would have no part of the bouncy castle, so while the girls were busy climbing up the ladder and sliding down the slides Bayan happily did laps in a shiny red convertible.He even took over the driving entirely when Mehran received a call on his mobile. There would be no fines or traffic infringements today. Just lunch at a restaurant and a leisurely drive home.

But this time with Baba at the wheel.

Capturing the Moments

The day we spent traipsing along the storybook trail was so filled with beauty and wonder that I simply had to share more. Magical moments were everywhere and I had one of the most joyous days in ages watching the children play and experience and explore.

One of my first favorite moments came at the start of the story trail. The girls had just collected their clipboards and were counting the steps through a tunnel hedge when Ruhi realized that she had seen the answer to another question back where they had begun. She took off to write it down and Anisa followed...

They returned moments later, breathless, and with more than one answer to record.

Ruhi got right into while Anisa struggled to locate the question.And then took a peek at what Ruhi was writing.Ever the helpful older sister Ruhi helped Anisa answer her question once she had finished her own.

I loved this so much that I took multiple photos...

and even zoomed in so that you could fully appreciate the charm of this moment. Mission accomplished. They walked back to join Bayan and I where we were waiting at the end of the hedge.
The end of the trail led us back to the mansion and we paused in it's shade to enjoy a picnic lunch on the lawn.Where the girls shared sandwiches, treatsand whispered conversations.After lunch the children strolled along the grounds (note Bayan's highly dignified manner), explored huge hedges and climbed fabulous trees whose branches dipped to the ground.Anisa treated us to an impromptu dance she made up just for the occasion. Ruhi organized running races down the sloping lawns

and Bayan demonstrated his special techniques for rolling down a hill. When they had tired of rolling and running and dancing and climbing they asked if they could revisit the trail. So we did. We walked back down meandering paths dotted with African wildlife and found ourselves beneath an enormous pine. I sat on a rustic bench and watched them play in perfect harmony for over two hours. Bayan set up shop and organized a restaurant complete with pine cone soup and all kinds of 'bush tucker'.
Ruhi was transformed into an elf and had tons of fun playing a woodland nymph.
While Anisa made no end of social calls on her stone phone.

As the day came to an end and we headed towards the car we paused to play on a great sailing ship and my three buccaneers had one final adventure on the high seas.Then, while cutting across a huge meadow to get to the parking lot, we made one more stop so that Ruhi could demonstrate the proper way to catapult rocks from this plant. Bayan was super impressed and plied her with pebbles so that she could continue to amaze us with her impressive skills. I am not sure the plant was quite so thrilled, but Bayan found it fascinating.