Since when did I become a pooping coach, I found myself asking the other day while encouraging Ella along with her stinky bodily functions. Oh yah, when I became the mother of a three year old… I have never talked so much about pooping in my entire life. Its gross and I can’t wait until she’s figured out that bodily functions aren’t something to necessarily be proud of or discuss as a main topic of conversation. And when she doesn’t need encouragement to do it.

Notes of interest during the last week:

• Our court hearing was postponed until next Tuesday (29^th).  The judge had a conference or something and I got a call about it Tuesday morning – as Prossy, Ella and I were half way to Kampala! Ella and I were in our fancy duds and everything.

• Ella broke out in mysterious bumps all over her arms, some on her legs, and some on her back and between her bellybutton and crotch, Sunday. Strange. Thoughts are that it could be a reaction from one of the following. 1) The new lotion I was putting on her last week 2) The blended onions in the incredibly spicy soup that I’d just shoveled down her little throat (forgot to taste it first! Whoops!) 3) A reaction to a silver bracelet that she’d just put on before her nap and 4) fleas. Thus far I’m thinking it might be a reaction from the bracelet or the onions. The lotion was put on a week before and why would fleas only bite a kid on the arms, lower legs and a band around her torso? But I nor anyone else really has a clue. Maybe it’s not a bad thing that the judge postponed our hearing! Hate to present my kid to her looking like a bumpy little frog.

• Sanyu has started BARKING at people and things, rather than just letting Bridger do it or running and hiding on the porch. This is a big milestone in the life of a little watch/guard dog!!

• Tuesday Bridger almost attacked the security guard who was filling in for Charles, who is our normal one who the dogs really like. The hapless victim made the mistake of taking a swing at little Bridgy with his rifle –not a smart thing to do. Bridger had his teeth bared snarling, his hair up and was really going for the poor guy with his newly barking deputy bravely behind him encouraging him on, while the guy held him off with his gun. I rescued Bridger and the frightened security guard before Bridge got shot or bit the poor guy.

• Got the terrible and rather upsetting news last Friday that my supervisor and his family are leaving for good in June. I really respect and trust these people and he is just the best supervisor a person could ever have. He and his wife are a huge part of the reason that Ella and I are together here still working with this organization and his wife has been SO helpful since I’ve brought Ella home. Work wise that leaves me and Prossy the only ones left in Language Programs here in Uganda (Prossy in Literacy admin and Grace in Translation admin). Frightening thought! This is NOT cool. More work and responsibility for Grace, as well as being forced to work with people in TZ who don’t like her. Prossy will at least be able to keep her supervisor, whose in the US, but still working by email. I don’t mind the extra work but I really don’t care for such a large amount of responsibility.

• I started working at the office again, a couple mornings a week without Ella. I’ve been doing some work at home and going into the office around three or four times a week to answer email work related questions but now it looks like I’ll need to start going in more regularly, two mornings a week. Ella simply did great staying with Sarah Wednesday. I was able to go in and work all morning while she stayed home and “helped” Sarah work. I needed to go in for a few hours in the afternoon, after her nap, and she sat quietly on my lap for an ENTIRE hour while my supervisor and I were finishing up some work together. She wasn’t too distracting and amused herself by kissing me and inspecting all of the bumps on her arms and legs. Hey, what ever works for yah I guess!

• Ella told me that she wanted to drive the car. Isn’t she a little young for that? I mean, she’s only three and it’s starting already??

• Last Friday we went swimming with our friends and I taught Ella how to heckle people. She’s great! We offered lots of loud, obnoxious encouragement to our two 12 and 13 year old friends who were trying to work up the courage to jump off a high dive. Sadly, Ella and I reminded me of my mother at a Fourth of July parade… I was told that Ella was more like me than I thought and that we were almost embarrassing!!

• While in the office talking to Lydia, Ella dropped to all fours and began crawling around, exclaiming that she was Bridger…. Yup. No doubt about who her mother is! It’s almost frightening. I mean, it’s only taken me six weeks to make this child almost as weird as I am! Poor little thing… ;)

• While in Kampala yesterday I found out that my drivers license expires today. Oops. Also found out that my bodas insurance ran out last October. Double oops!

• Thursday visited the Mildmay Centre which is a huge hospital that treats HIV/AIDs patients. I was VERY impressed with the comprehensiveness of the work and the facilities. It is funded mainly by the American and UK governments and it was VERY nice to see American tax dollars actually doing some good somewhere and poor people benefiting from it. The ARV’s and all the medical and counseling services offered are free and very well managed. Services are actually getting to the people that need them!

• Ella likes Ethiopian food but it makes her fart… 

• Ella’s starting to spit out fairly long, grammatically correct sentences. She still does a lot of repeating (which gets really annoying), and will repeat the same thing over and over again (“Bridger is outside? Bridger is outside. Sanyu is sleeping? Sanyu is sleeping. TV on? Uncle Gift at the office?” and on and on) but will also say some really long sentences that come from her head and not from me.

FAVORITE SENTENCE OF THE WEEK: “Don’t eat my underwear, Sanyu. They’re icky!”

Context: We always have a spare pair of Ella underwear in the car so as we were driving home from the airport Ella, the dogs and the underwear were in the backseat together and, um, well, Sanyu will pretty much chew on anything she can!