Catch Up Time

Life has been hectic. So, here are the top ten things that have kept me from blogging for the last two months.

1. Gusi's birthday. Actually, birthdayS. He had two birthday parties, one at school and one at a park to celebrate with his non-school friends. The park party had a capoeira group, a pi~nata, pizza, appetizers, cake and party favors. The school party had the same thing minus the capoeira. I was bogged down but they both came off without a hitch.

2. My mom's "visit". For Christmas my husband asked me what we should get my mom. I said, a ticket back to Senegal! So we got her a ticket with frequent flyer miles and she was set to come for 10 days right around Gusi's birthday. Well, one week before her departure she was informed that after 15 years at the same company she was being laid off. We told her that she should stay with us as long as she could--she would get some rest and the children would be thrilled. So, she'll be here for a total of three months before going back to the US.

3. Lack of transport. We have one car and Papi has been super busy lately. Plus, my mom is here and she's delved right into Dakarois life. I find myself chauffeuring more than I ever thought possible. Now I get why mom's complain about carpooling.

4. Finding a new school for Gusi. His teacher will be leaving Dakar this summer, so I need to find a school for him. He got into several schools, but after observing some of the classes, I decided that I'm not entirely happy with any of them...not like I have been with his present school. I've put down deposits on two schools and will contemplate which is the best one over the summer.

5. Home search. We are going home for the summer and I've been busy looking for a place to plant our little bodies. Easier said than done. It will be expensive, so expensive that I keep rolling my eyes...the US is almost as expensive as Dakar!!!

6. Soccer. I mean football. Whatever. Gusi is big into his football classes. BIG into them. We go twice a week, but it has taken over our entire household. Cleats thrown in the corner, footballs all over the front porch, whistles being blown as Gusi pretends he's the coach. Football fever.

7. Teething. The baby is now teething. He gets himself all worked up and into a fit and finally calms himself down by knawing on his fingers. I've tried lots of tricks but it's just something he's going to have to get through. And yes, he's bitten me, and yes, it's happened while he was nursing, and yes, I yelled, and yes, I felt horribly guilty afterwards.

8. Papi's travels. I don't know if it's really so, but it feels like he's been traveling more and more lately. Of course, this throws Gusi off and he becomes more clingy and I just try to keep juggling our life.

9. Dinner dates. When our schedules permit, we like to get together with some friends of ours. They are a Kenyan-Swedish couple who love to eat out. The weird thing is that most of our friends don't go out for dinner that much. The ones without kids prefer to go dancing until the wee hours; but most with kids go out only occasionally. It's nice to chat with folks over a nice meal and a glass of wine.

10. Saying good-bye to friends. As is usual for this time of year, lots of folks are getting ready to move on to their next post. So, we're trying to figure out how to say good-bye--yet again. Gusi doesn't understand why one of his classmates is off to Bangladesh and another to Nigeria, but he just shrugs it off and goes with the flow. I suppose I should do the same.