telephone

Juma found his long-lost, annoyingly loud play cell phone in the deepest recesses of the Couch Which Engulfs Everything, and had a "conversation" with his cousin, Xander. Juma asked Xander what he was doing, and heard that Xander experienced an earthquake "yesterday" out there in Hawaii, but that he slept through it. (Juma got his cousins mixed up. It was Isaac that slept through it, wasn't it?)

Funny thing is, Juma can remember he has a cousin named Xander who lives in Hawaii, but I bet he wouldn't recognize him if he saw him. It's been a couple years since we saw him. Neither Juma or Xander were talking then, so I can't imagine they've ever had an actual conversation.

Juma also had a conversation with his friend, Eden, who moved away this summer. When it was dinner time, I asked Juma to tell Eden we're eating now. "Oh, Eden? We're eating now, so I'll just set the phone down next to my dinner. Okay, bye."

playing in the leaves

We went out one evening to teach Juma how to play in the fall leaves.

fall finally fell

The cold, crisp, windy fall weather finally hit New Haven in mid-October. The maple leaves are the first to change to fantastic oranges and reds. Whenever I pass a maple at this time of year, I stop to stare at its fleeting beauty, and peak through the bright, warm colors to the cool brilliance of the blue sky behind. I think how wonderfully beautiful our world can be. It always reminds me of my dad, whose favorite season is fall, and who once told me his favorite color is the blue of the sky when peaking through the fall leaves in Connecticut in October. And I think about how amazing my dad is. Only he would think to have such a cool favorite color.

(Click on pictures to see larger versions.)

TV

We're not much into TV, and generally avoid watching any dramas that would pull us in week after week. You know the type: Lost, Alias, etc.

But on a tip from the Valenzuelas, I picked up the first DVD of the show Prison Break. It sat there on top of our TV for days, and finally the day before it was due, we pulled it out. And watched all 4 episodes in one sitting. Stayed up until 1am. The next day, I took the DVD back, and picked up the next two DVDs. We watched 4 episodes each over the next two nights. And there are still 10 episodes to go. Guess I won't be getting much sleep over the weekend either.

Thanks a lot, Valenzuelas. Some friends you are. ;-)

in anticipation

I checked Juma out of school to take him to the doctor for a follow-up visit. When I announced he'd need to get some "needle shots," he freaked out. The prospect of skipping nap time and hanging out with Mom all afternoon was ruined by the fear of the immunizations. I tried to explain what shots are for (he already knows about germs, killer T-cells and white blood cells), but a health science lesson doesn't really help when you know a nurse is going to stick you with needles.

He calmed down in the doctor's office, and we happily read a story until the nurse came in with 3 syringes (flu, DTaP, polio). Juma started bawling in anticipation. He's hated the doctor since he was tiny, crying as soon as he recognizes a white coat or a doctor's office. I held his wrist in the shot arm, and he asked to squeeze my hand to deal with the pain.

As he cried and struggled, the nurse poked the first one in.

And Juma started laughing. It was one of those strange laugh-cries, where I couldn't tell which it was. By the time the nurse poked him with the third one, he was definitely laughing.

He thought it was so hilarious that he was so worried about the shots hurting, but then they barely hurt at all. All the build up of fear was for just 3 tiny little pricks, and he laughed all the way out of the door.

craft time

Justin and Juma pulled out the little bottles of German window paints to paint a picture. One of the bottles was clogged so Justin squeezed and squeezed really hard to to get the paint out. But he squeezed so hard that the top popped off.

From the other room, I heard Juma start to bawl, so I ran in to see what was going on. He was splattered with generous amounts of paint all over his face, shirt, arms, and pants. It was also splattered on Justin, the floor, the chair, and the table.

Although Juma was crying, it was a funny site. I would have loved to take a picture, but I thought my duty as his mother would be to help clean him off, rather than embarrass him with the camera. So now we won't have the visual memorial of his little accident, but we also won't have him teasing-complaining to me for years to come, "Mom, you remember that time I was covered in paint, and all you did was take a picture? What kind of Mom are you anyway?"

Juma's 3 things...

Juma's "3 things that..." (with help from Mom and Dad)

3 smells that I love:
-banana bread
-jambas
-hot chocolate

3 smells that I hate:
-bathrooms
-BO
-dirty clothes

3 jobs that I have had in my life:
-kid
-line leader in preschool
-cleaner-up after myself

3 shows that I could watch over and over:
-Blues Clues
-Lazy Town
-Dora the Explorer

3 fond memories:
-flying on airplanes
-being picked up from school early
-playing soccer in Stone Town

3 jobs I would love to have:
-race car driver
-astronaut
-athlete

3 places I have lived:
-Zanzibar
-Utah
-Connecticut

3 things I like to do:
-play outside
-watch TV
-play with Mom or Dad

3 of my favorite foods:
-heart shaped pb & j sandwiches
-pizza
-sweet and sour chicken

3 places I would like to be right now:
-outside playing
-sports store
-athletic event

3 websites I have visited:
-Sesame Street games
-Blues Clues games
-National Geographic kids

3 things that make me cry:
-bathtime
-having to play alone
-not getting a treat before breakfast

3 friends that I am tagging (to post (or email) their “3 things that…”):
-Xander W
-Ammon K
-Eden V

3 things...

I've seen this kind of thing floating around the internet, so I thought I'd try it.

Sarah's "3 things that..."

3 smells that I love:
-mom’s freshly baked bread
-the air after a rain
-Zanzibari spices (cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, cloves mixed)

3 smells that I hate:
-body odor
-latrines
-silly putty

3 jobs that I have had in my life:
-Zuka Juice (now Jamba Juice) “team member”
-teaching assistant
-research assistant

3 movies that I could watch over and over:
-While You Were Sleeping
-Maverick
-Three Amigos

3 fond memories:
-my wedding
-taking two hours to say family prayer because we’re all just enjoying each other’s company
-arriving back in Zanzibar

3 jobs I would love to have:
-travel writer
-director of HIV/AIDS prevention/education organization in Africa
-food critic (just so I could eat all that great food for free)

3 places I have lived:
-Zanzibar
-Utah
-Connecticut

3 things I like to do:
-read
-explore downtowns of cities
-scuba dive

3 of my favorite foods:
-fresh fruits
-steak
-good European bread with good European cheese

3 places I would like to be right now:
-beach
-mountains
-snuggled up with Juma and Justin, “telling about our day” talking about random things and laughing

3 websites I visit daily:
-this blog
-my email accounts
-google

3 things that make me cry:
-movies that address the hardest aspects of life
-thinking about making my mom cry
-seeing Juma having a hard time

3 friends that I am tagging (to post their “3 things that…”):
-Natalie V
-Laura F
-Andria B

it's thursday

and we haven't posted since Monday, and yet I can't think of a thing to post. I'm at school trying to get work done, but it's not happening because of this amazing thing called the Internet. I still have a cold, and can't breathe through my nose, which is practically the worst state my body can be in because I hate-hate-hate breathing through my mouth.

But, yes, malaria and childbirth and lots of things are worse.

Thankfully, Juma and Justin have been spared the virus (so far).

My laptop had been out of commission since we got home from Zanzibar, but Justin ordered a new part and installed it himself, and now I have my cute, light, silver little laptop back and I'm so happy that we don't have to take turns on the other computer. Thanks, Justin.

wow

Once in a while the little squirt says something that makes all four years of sacrifice completely worth it:

"Goodnight, bud, have a good sleep. I love you." [kiss on the cheek]

[giving me a huge hug and a wet smacker]

"I love you too, Dad--so much that it fills the whole Earth."

slacker mom

I just took a online quiz called "Are you a slacker mom?" (designed after the hilarious book Confessions of a Slacker Mom ?) and my results:

Smarty Pants Mom

I really was hoping for Slacker Mom, because the author of the book makes it sound so great. I guess I got smarty pants because I listed I have a Master's degree (there was no option for pursing MA) and I like to read to de-stress. And eat chocolate. And eat yummy food. And do yoga. And spend way too much time online when I'm supposed to be writing a midterm paper but I feel terrible because I have a nasty cold and when will it all end?

Stone Town, Zanzibar

When we arrived in Zanzibar in June, we stayed in a guesthouse in a part of Zanzibar town called Stone Town, or the mji mkongwe, the Old City. Juma reunited with some friends he had met in 2004, and they played in the streets and courtyards of the 200-year old city.

things that go bump in the night

Happy Friday the 13th--in October. Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Is it a full moon too?

Last night the house was full of noises. Before bed time, Juma heard the upstairs neighbor stomp around, and asked "What was that? Was it a ghost?"

Then at 1am, the neighbor started stomping around again, stomp, stomp, stomp!
And I have a cold, so I was going cough, cough, cough!
And Juma had to use the bathroom, so he was going, Mom, Mom, Mom!
And a mouse found its way under the couch, and was going nibble, nibble, nibble.
And a police siren stopped a car on the street, going Wee-ooo, wee-ooo, wee-ooo.

And we couldn't sleep.

clothing

Every few months we find that Juma is growing out of all his clothes, and we head down to a consignment store to buy some used, but nice, clothing for him. Justin and I generally each pick out a few shirts and pants, then switch piles to veto any of the other's picks. (I just couldn't do camouflage pants.) Then we hand the pile to Juma so he can express what he really likes, and he definitely has a personality in clothing preferences.

These are some things he likes best:

Sports! Football jerseys, basketball tank-tops (anything sleeveless, really, which sometimes looks a little white trash), basketball shorts.

More sports! Any non-jersey T-shirt that has a picture of some sport activity on it. Snowboards (which Juma claimed was ice-skating), monster trucks (you can dispute whether this is a sport or not), race cars, basketballs.

Animals. Tree frogs, snakes, geckos. Dinosaurs. Rhinos. Sharks. Anything creepy, crawly.

Favorite color for shirts: orange. But blues and dark reds figure prominently in his wardrobe, because that's what companies make for boys.

Just in case anyone was wondering about his gender identity...

white rapper

do we have a little eminem?


or just a little M&M?

jumaggft7ttyytt 7777 beckham benjamin

richie rich, the dinosaur, and aquaphobia

Juma walked around the house collecting spare change, saying, "I'm getting richer, richer, richer! This kid is rich, rich, rich."
__________________

Juma and his neighborhood friend pretend to be dinosaurs in the last light of the evening.

_________________

I took Juma to his third swimming lesson this morning. Still no kid in the water. But I persuaded somebody else's stubborn 4-year old to get in. The head swim director said, "We've got to get you on the payroll!" Now if only someone actually on the payroll can get Juma to get in.

sunset

I was sitting at the dining table, eating homemade beef and barley soup leftovers for the fifth time this week, reading a homework book, Epic Journeys of Freedom, when Justin tapped on the living room window from outside. "Come see the sunset!" In a flurry, I slipped on some flipflops, even though I had socks on, because shoes would have taken too long; grabbed my favorite Canada jacket Natalie gave me, got one arm in; snatched the camera off the shelf, and ran down the stairs to the courtyard.

Because I hurried, I got these two shots. The views were much better in real life.

Within the time it took to take 2 good shots about about 4 bad ones, the sky had already changed:


It's the world a gorgeous place to be in?

physical

I've had to pull Juma out of school two days this week to go to the doctor for his school physical. The doctors checked out all the normal stuff, how are his gross motor skills, his fine motor skills, can you understand his speech, does he eat well, etc. Check his eyes, mouth, ears (ear tubes still in), nose. Juma was very cooperative and generally happy about the whole thing, except for the part where he had to show first the nurse practitioner-in-training and then the doctor his bottom to see if his eczema is clearing up. He's old enough to be a bit embarrassed about such things.

The next day we had to come back for an eye exam (passed with flying colors!) and to give a blood sample and--gasp!--a urine sample. Juma was pretty weirded out by that whole thing. He was quite brave about the blood sample, until the nurse told us she needed not a finger prick but a full needle-in-the-elbow sample. It took me and two nurses to hold him down and get the blood, the poor thing.

He got sympathetic looks from everyone in the health center as he left, sniffling, and holding his "wounded" arm out at an angle for at least an hour afterward. "If I move it, it will hurt!" He kept his sleeve rolled up and the bandaid on until bathtime, when the bandaid fell off. He was really concerned until he saw the needle poke: "Hey, it's really small!" he said happily, and forgot about the whole thing.

do the voices in my head bother you?

Juma snuggled up in bed with us at 7:30 this morning and announced, "I had a dream!" He then went into a convoluted explanation about "a really deep ocean and a map and we were in Germany and the map showed where New Haven is and Mom you were there! And you jumped into the ocean. It was really deep."

"Really?" I said, "because I had a dream about scuba diving in the ocean. Did I scuba in your dream?"

"No. Just jumped in." He continued, "There was an ocean in my dream. Mom, do you remember my dream?"

"No," I told him, "it was your dream."

"But you were in it!" he exclaimed.

I tried to explain about dreams and memories, and how it's only inside your own head, but he kept insisting, "You were in it. It was real. I'm right. I'm right this time!"

for Malia

This is Juma with his namesake. On the left is Juma's son Ibrahim.


Our happy little Swahili family.

Beckham, footballer

I picked up Juma from school yesterday to have his teacher tell me that they played soccer--"and Juma sure can play!" she said. "He played goalie. And he blocked every single shot!"

Okay, so what boy with the name Beckham can spend months in Africa (or anywhere outside the US, for that matter) and not learn to play soccer?

But he's in preschool for crying out loud, and those poor little 3 and 4 year old classmates of his just wanted to kick the ball and make a goal. And we have our little Beckham there blocking every last one of them. Denied!

He takes sports seriously. A couple weeks ago, his teacher told us he was playing defense in basketball, knocking shots down away from the rim. So maybe he'll be great at sports. But if he has this much of a competitive streak at age 4...

stories from the archive

How about another post about our summer?

The first leg of the journey brought us to Amsterdam, where we spent some time in the city. Since we'd just had an overnight flight over the Atlantic, Justin and I were dead tired, but Juma was ready for adventure, having slept the whole flight. So our number one goal was to find someplace where we could take turns resting and entertaining Juma. We'd already done a canal boat tour in 2004 (with the same Must Sleep imperative), and didn't want to again, but we stopped and took pictures near a canal anyway.

We settled on a park in the city center. It was full of people looking for a little leisure time, picnicking, biking, strolling. Justin cozied down under a tree and fell asleep, and Juma and I walked toward a pond and watched some geese and ducks dunking for bits of bread. Juma, having been anticipating our summer-long trip to Pemba, exclaimed, "This is the best trip ever!"

bad apple

Looking for a snack, Juma pulled an apple out of the refrigerator crisper and declared he wanted "one of these."

"Well, we already have two apples on the counter, I'll just cut a slice from one of those for you. No need to get out a new one when we haven't finished these apples, " I told him.
"But this isn't an apple," he answered, holding up the apple in his hand.
"Yes it is. We picked it just a couple weeks ago, remember?"
"But this is red and green."
"So is this one," I said, holding up one from the counter.
"But this isn't an apple! This is juicier and sweeter!" he explained.
"Oh, honey, that just means it's a good apple," I concluded, wondering if we've fed him nothing but mushy, grainy apples his whole life.

Later, when I recounted the conversation to Justin, Juma grumpily interjected at the end, "It's not an apple! Hmph!"