New

I wasn't the only one who had a birthday last week. My sister Masha gave birth to a baby girl on Monday!

We're all thankful for her safe arrival.

As I was picturing Masha as a mother, I realized that my sisters and I all have children now: Emily and I each have a boy, and Masha and Nastia each have a girl.

While we might not have always been close growing up because of age or language or adoption, we now have something new in common. There are new "battle-wounds," physical and emotional, along with the joys of motherhood. And I have been feeling this a lot in general with my fellow women. Growing up and entering the workforce or moving away or getting married created some distance, but entering motherhood provides new ground for friendship. Of course this is true with my mom and other female relatives, and friends and classmates too.

And I certainly don't want to exclude that parenthood bond with my brother and his lovely wife, and their ever-growing family! :)

As far as my single friends and those waiting to be parents, I'm always encouraged by the discussions over at Kindred Grace (formerly Young Ladies Christian Fellowship). Lots of lessons to learn and things to think about in the greater community of God's family. I like having those conversations in real life, too.

Birthday time is crazy time

I'm back! I didn't really plan on a blogging hiatus, but I was feeling out of sorts all last week. Birthdays are hard work! Shopping, cooking, lots of interacting... but at the same time it's always sad when it goes by unnoticed... so I'm not sure what the "perfect" birthday would look like. Just glad it's only once a year, LOL!

(I was given a few beautiful bouquets, but didn't take a picture. Imagine a photo in this spot.)

We just have one week left to get ready for our trip to the U.S. In that time we will also celebrate Andrei's birthday (on Sunday) and then David's/Vladimir's in advance (theirs are in July after we leave). Oh yeah, and there's a baby shower on Saturday for someone at church. As I type this I have all these games pulled up on my computer that I'm trying to translate for a Russian audience.

Packing itself isn't such a big deal because we're going into civilization. It takes time, though. And of course there are all the last-minute tasks like cleaning the refrigerator, etc. But at least Nina and Vladimir will be able to check on our apartment while we're gone.

It's amusing scrolling down and seeing the post about how sunny it was a few weeks ago. Last week was rainy and cold! I didn't really mind too much because it's nice to be able to use the oven without giving it a second thought. But apparently I will always find an excuse not to leave the house.

I haven't been able to count on David's naptime a lot lately for performing various tasks. Either he doesn't sleep very long, or we have something going on during that time, like guests coming. So I always have a ton to do in the evening, and stay up too late, and feel drowsy the next day. Vicious cycle...

Old Wives' Tales

I was looking for games for a baby shower for a friend of mine, and I thought it might be fun to look up some old wives' tales about pregnancy and design a trivia challenge.

Myths and legends are fun, right?

Well I was looking at this site expecting it to "debunk" the myths, but instead it offered scientific explanations for why they were TRUE.

And that made me realize that it wouldn't make for a very good game in mixed company. I will share them here for anyone interested, but take a pass if pregnancy is a sensitive topic for you.


Old Wives' Tales Regarding Pregnancy: Worth Taking Note (loosely translated from this article)

Things you shouldn't do:

1) Take up handcrafting (Sewing, Knitting, Embroidery), because it will result in a birthmark on the baby's cheek.

Verdict: TRUE! The birthmark part is hard to say for sure, but this kind of activity done sitting down is bad for the baby because of poor blood flow...


2) Hang laundry

Verdict: TRUE! Not only hanging laundry, but any activity requiring you to lift your arms above your head is quite risky. It could lead to miscarriage...


3) Cross your legs

Verdict: TRUE..blah blah blah (don't feel like translating)


4) Sit in a doorway or climb through a window

Verdict: TRUE! You could catch a cold, and a doorstep is too low to the ground, and window-climbing is too strenuous (well, yeah).


Okay, as I went through these again I realized that they were replacing the more pagan explanations (borders between things are always dangerous) with a more modern twist. So they do sound rather sensible, but I still think there are too many rules. Because as we all know, women in "the family way" are to avoid stress, and scaring them away from each and every activity is not likely to have a calming effect!

I'm sure some more examples have come up in conversation, but I think the weirdest one for me personally was that I was "supposed" to have a C-section because I'm near-sighted and the exertion would rupture my retinas!

Tantrum Terror

David is 23 months old! Such an...interesting...age.

Whatchu lookin at?

Okay, to start with the positive, the language development is fascinating! Just a month ago I observed that David was using more English than Russian, but recently his Russian has really been picking up. Good timing for us to take a trip to the U.S.! He definitely mingles the two languages, and sometimes he repeats the same word in both languages for emphasis.

He works really hard to find words that will express what he wants! For awhile now he has been saying "Syooda, syooda" (here, here) and points to his table or cup for us to give him something. He also says "BOY" to mean that the object is for HIM, or that HE wants some too.

And then the latest is that he figured out to say "need" in Russian, which is "NUZHNO." It is so funny to hear him asking for things (specifically SUGAR), saying that he NEEDS it. Last night he woke up and was calling for us and I heard him saying "Mama nuzhno, Mama nuzhno." Andrei went back in and settled him but then he woke up again and I couldn't deny him a little cuddle session...he'd better not forget anytime soon that he needs me!

He also tries to say "give" because he heard us saying it in Russian, but it sounds funny because he uses the wrong verb form. And in English he says "find," "do it," and "fix it."


Independence

Getting back to need...we're in the land of SAM...no, not the name, the word that means "MYSELF" in Russian (it's actually more of an "ah" sound...sahm).

"Shirt OFF!"

Emotions

We're definitely in tantrum territory and I'm learning firsthand what it's like to be the parent with "that child"....although it usually happens at home as we don't go out too much!

A few articles about "sharing" have been circling the Internet, and I've been thinking about that as well. But in general I would say that having your child throw a tantrum isn't as embarrassing as you might think. Yes, everyone will probably stare and possibly judge you. But when you're in "Mama Bear" mode, you don't really care. He is not hurt or scared, just a little frustrated. He needs to be distracted and/or comforted in the disappointment of not getting his way. Sometimes we use little bribes and sometimes we don't.

I guess it is harder to deal with the tantrums in the way you'd like when you're stuck in a metro car or airplane (gulp). Hence the bribes. But it still isn't the end of the world. Yes, it annoys other people and an apology might be in order, but I'm still not going to be mortified or ashamed that my child is acting his age. Doesn't he have a right to express his needs and wants?

Anyway, I know I probably sound like one of those "child-centric" parents, and I'm definitely not against training/discipline, but I still want to be my child's advocate. He can't quite do that for himself yet!

I'm Russian and I can rock florals AND tights. My mom said so.