Current mood:

dirty

So very dirty
One of the Straus ladies is doing very well today, another not so much. Asella went to sleep promptly at 9 pm last night and somehow slept all the way until after 7 am. That’s good stuff. Sarah unfortunately is feverish and weak and achy and generally a mess. She’s been napping all day (more than Asella) so hopefully with some catch-up sleep she’ll feel better. Meanwhile, dad here is running the show, and doing a pretty good job, I think. I just got her down for her afternoon nap, though it really involved no effort on my part. She was sitting on my knees facing me, holding a toy and just nodded right off. Made it easy on me. She is getting better and better, and we’re also getting better about seeing the tired signals and getting into a little go to sleep routine. I think my lullaby last night went something like this:

“Lullaby, and goodnight. Go to sleep dear Asella. Because you’re tired and if you don’t, I’ll spend your college fund on me. I’ll buy me some hats, and a fancy new car, so if you want an education close your eyes and sleep tight.” (Sing it, go on, it’s pretty good, I think.)

The usual routine today. It’s raining but still warm, and with Sarah out of commission, we’re a bit cooped up. Still no hot water, and the word is that it’s not coming back until after we’re gone. Everything is centralized, so half the city is without it too. I can’t just scream at the landlord or get a refund on rent. There’s a little water heater in our bathroom that I’ve been playing with all day trying to get to work, and I think I just figured it out – so hopefully there will be enough for Sarah to take a bath and help her feel better. We’re making due otherwise, cleaning dishes camping style (pot of hot water on the stove) and just generally smelling up the place with b.o. Fun. We cannot wait to get home, or even to an Almaty hotel to take a shower.

Asella is one noisy kid. You’d never have guessed from the first month or so we spent with her. So quiet and calm. But this kid belts it out now. When she’s happy, she screams and trills her r’s. When she’s upset she screams bloody murder. (Thankfully this has not been happening as frequently as when we first got her here.) And in between she chatters to herself in the mirror. Her cell phone bill is going to be awful when she’s fourteen.

As promised, the top 10 things I won’t miss about Kostanai:

10. NOT having my own car
9. Only two types of cuisine – Regular and sorta-italian
8. Occasionally brown water
7. Being stared and/or laughed at whenever we go outdoors (it makes both lists)
6. Random attacks by camels (okay, this didn’t happen, but I wouldn’t miss it if it had)
5. 245 channels and nothing on
4. Mayonnaise on everything
3. The lack of seriously good ice cream or other chocolate desserts
2. Every restaurant has the same 6 songs on continuous loop
1. WATER OUTAGES!

It’s now evening and she’s down. 9:16 pm. Yay me. We had a reasonably okay afternoon and evening. Sarah is still feeling crummy, but I got the hot water thing working well enough for her to wash her hair, so she’s feeling better about that. Asella was a bit surly this afternoon because she cut her naps short all day. Hopefully that means another restful night. I took my little lady for a stroll around the neighborhood after dinner and we sat on the swing and absorbed the nice night. Weather is still beautiful and she seemed to enjoy being out in it. I think a member of the babushka mafia was keeping heavy tabs on me, moseying over and sitting on a rail right by us. Probably checking to see that I wasn’t thoroughly messing up the job of parent. I guess I passed the test because she was quiet. (If they don’t like something, they let you know.)

You’ll notice no pictures today. Yesterday was the 50th day since we met Asella for the first time, and after almost 1,500 pictures, the kid said enough was enough. “Please let me go one day without the paparazzi all up in my face, ai-ight?” I’m paraphrasing of course, but that was the gist. Plus, Daddy was too busy to get the camera out. She looks a lot like she did yesterday, only 1 day older. You can paint a mental picture if you like.

One more from Kostanai to go… how, will, it, end??? Stay tuned.