Friday, February 15, 2008

Of Bananas and Men

Today for breakfast, I quite clearly let Mommy know I didn't want whole bananas, sliced bananas, chopped bananas, or mashed bananas. So she had the "bright" idea to mix the mashed bananas into my oatmeal. Ruined a perfectly good cup of oatmeal, so I didn't get much for breakfast.

Mommy here: Anyone have ideas for getting a toddler to eat from more than the legume and grain groups (veggie meat falling into those categories)? What was good yesterday – mangos, grapes, avocados, cooked green beans, etc. – falls out of favor today, so I'm wondering how to get all those vits and mins in the diet and avoid the obesity epidemic . . .

My baby doll doesn't work right anymore – she doesn't say "mamma" and cry. Either her battery is dead or I broke her when I chucked her out of the crib. Daddy says it's coming out of my allowance either way.

Mommy caught me helping unpack her suitcase this morning and took a photo.

Mommy here: Yes, we still are using our suitcases as dressers. And there is something disconcerting about discovering your underwear and bikini draped around your daughter's neck.

Backtracking to Monday: Mommy and I made a solo trip to Nelspruit again. This time I didn't have any doctors appointments (no shots – yeah!), but Mommy had two. Here are a couple of highlights:

5-Car Pass. Four cars next to each other on a two-lane highway is a fairly common occurrence here – slow cars on the shoulders and passing cars on the main lanes. This was the first time we saw a 5-car pass, though. There were three cars next to each other going one way and one oncoming car up ahead, so Mommy was prudential and slowed down. But the driver behind us decided to pass us and get in the mix. It all went without a hitch, with the oncoming car driving between two vehicles headed the opposite direction. Fastest cars were going well over 120 km/hour. Mommy thinks all the drivers were men. Not too surprising in Mozambique . . .

Border Lines. We had to wait a while at the Mozambican border, with the line well out the door. Mommy got chastised by a fellow linestander for being "rude" when a man told her she didn't need to stand in line because she had a US passport and didn't need to pay. She knew the rules – she did have to pay cuz we have dires (permanent residence) – and she didn't want to have to pay the man for his "help" in getting us through the border fast. But she felt really bad anyways.

Cat Panic. At the first doctor's appointment we were parked in by a trailer. Someone was trying to load a Cat tractor on the trailer, but the Cat tipped back off its front wheels every time it got to the top of the ramp, and we all cringed every time, thinking it was going to topple over. It never did make it on the trailer while we were there. Finally the trailer driver moved so we could get out.

Lunch. I was an angel today – playing nicely at the doctors' offices, chatting to people in the stores, not grabbing stuff off the store shelves (though stuff in the cart was fair game) and minding all my manners at the restaurant. I sat across from Mommy and drank my litchi juice from the straw perfectly and ate sandwich bites off a napkin. I didn't throw food on the ground or anything like that. Mommy thinks we should eat out all the time.

Doctors. Well, Mommy got lots more medicine to deal with now. It makes her owwie and nauseas and everything. Mommy here: one of the side effects of tropical living is frequency and tenacity of (flinch, wince) fungal infections. I've had recurring ear infections that get better with antibiotics, only to come back as soon as the antibiotics are done. Plus there is some sort of skin infection on my feet and hands. We got a first round of meds back in early January, but since things only got worse, we're trying more serious stuff now.

And on that note, I'll bid you all adios until next time!

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