Sweet Friendship

Maria

A few weeks ago, Miles received a photo of a drawing by his friend from Jordan, Maria. It was a volcano with a skull & crossbones on it. After a year and a half of not seeing each other, Maria had thought about what Miles's interests were and drawn this and sent it to him. This was after I had sent Falastin, her mom and my friend, a message telling her that Miles still considered Maria his girlfriend. In Jordan, at ages 4 & 5, they decided they would get married when they grew up.

So Miles then made this (ballerinas on stage) which we sent to her. She has since made another volcano picture (above). 

 

Settling Back In

Amman at sunset - Iftar

I can't be bothered to blog on the whole August holiday. The blog is mainly for everyone who was there and have all the photos and memories anyway. Suffice to say, the kids were so happy to see everyone, and although they were sad to leave, they didn't linger in that sadness but jumped back into life in Amman as soon as we got here.

Highlights for the kids? Playing with Webster. Playing with cousins. Getting new books and reading them with the grandparents. Playing on the beach. Playing in the mountain creek at the park in Banner Elk. Going to Tweetsie Railroad: our first ever "Family Theme Park." The Chattanooga Aquarium. Playing with friends in the Coolidge Park fountain and swimming at the neighborhood club. And of course, getting loads of loving attention from all the relatives.

We had a week or so and then it was back to school. Miles is in what they call KG2 (that would be kindergarten in the States) which makes him part of the Biggest Kids class at Hill House. Eliza has moved up from the Littlest Kids' class (Nursery), and is now in what they call "Foundation." Most of the kids in their classes are the same as last year, so only the classroom and teachers have changed. And they are riding the bus home which is such a treasure that Eliza cries any time I pick them up instead! There's an adult attendant on their little bus who sits with them. They just wear lap belts (which is more protection than most of the kids in Jordan get), but they are the first stop...just 2 minutes away...so I don't feel too stressed about it.

Today is the last day of Ramadan when many Muslims fast: between sunrise and sunset, no food, water, cigarettes, etc. Nothing! This is especially hard in the summer when the days are hot and long. Most restaurants are only open after sunset, and the restaurants that are open cannot have people eating outside: they keep the blinds down. For a month! I go to work and hide my coffee alongside the desk, sipping surreptitiously. I bring my lunch and eat it on the rooftop. I feel guilty when people see me chewing gum while driving. Anyway...glad that's over! And that we have a week holiday to take some day trips with the kids and our friends.

Eliza riding her bike in the park.


Miles doing homework for the first time.

Triops invading America

Miles wrote Happy Birthday Mommy by himself (D told him the letters). The "Istana" is the largest snake in the world.

Miles' World

Mom, look at Super Strong Thing's muscles! Who do you think is stronger: Super Strong Thing or Inpunchination?

Super Strong Thing

Inpunchination

The Creator

Serious Painting

Here's Miles "creating a board game like chess but about monsters," using his favorite colors: red (the color of lava and rage...he's into the word "enraged" these days which he feels is more accurate than "anger" to describe his feelings of frustration at times) and pink (a color close to red). Both Eliza and Miles are wearing oil cloth aprons I got for them at Christmas via Etsy. I can't find the woman who made these, but there're a lot of cool handmade things at the site. Miles picked out the fabric himself (see, red...and it's got a pink pocket with red strawberries, his favorite fruit next to red apples).

Eliza, the driving force behind getting out the paints, is seriously at work.

What happens when you leave a toddler alone with paint. (She did a very thorough job.)

BTW, Elizabeth, if you're reading this, Eliza loves the black Amsterdam shirt you gave Miles when he was a baby. She pushes aside all the pink and goes for the black any time she's in the mood to dress herself (and it's actually clean and in her drawer).

The Bug Series

Miles has asked that I include his recent Bug Series on the blog. These are three he selected from the book he's assembled. All three have blasting powers.

The first in the series is Explosion Bug which attracts other predators with its explosions.

The second in the series is Dirty Smell Bug which smells yucky because of its "ban" of yucky prey.

The third in the series is Heatblast (inspired by a Ben 10 alien) which is a fire thing that blasts fire out of his hands so everybody can be safe home and no bad guys can ever be seen again.

For Elliott

Since the video camera is kaput, here's Miles's drawing for Elliott in celebration of their matching space pajamas.

In this drawing: Jupiter, Earth, a star "shooting," and the color is fire bursting from the sun "called sunburns".