A Christmas of Contributions

This year's Christmas was a Christmas of asking for help.  Last Thursday, out of no where, my lower back gave out.  As in, I had to call Greg to pick me up from work.  Not believing it was that serious, we still went to a good bye dinner for good friends headed to Hong Kong.  Except then I basically had to ask Greg and a friend at dinner to nearly carry me to our car.  Friday I couldn't move.  Saturday I felt better, so I went grocery shopping and started some cookies, but that was a big mistake, as I spent the rest of the day - and Sunday - and Monday - totally out of commission.

Some presents were not purchased.  Cookies did not get made.  Teachers gifts were not assembled. I pretty much lay in bed, being brought tea and meals, and tried to heal my back.

Thankfully, I have plenty adults around to delegate work to.  My sister and my mom made cookies.  Greg and my mother-in-law made Christmas Eve lunch and Christmas dinner.  My other sister and aunt brought over a Christmas Eve smorgasbord post-service.  (For the record, I finally got drugged up so I could move again to make it to church).  My oldest son and my niece played piano-flute Christmas duet.

My nanny went to a distant cousin's house for the day, and, when her cousin found out how immobile I have been, the cousin sent our nanny home with an entire tray of pancit and other Filipino food so I don't have to cook tomorrow.

So, though Christmas was in my house, it wasn't a Pam-hosted Christmas but a team effort.  It wasn't easy to "let go" and just have things happen, but I did manage to without being too upset.  I think Greg is looking forward to his upcoming three week trip to China in order to recuperate from the extra effort he's put in the last week :)  

What's in a name?

I haven't thought about the meaning of my children's names, well, since we named them.  Wm was named after two great grandfathers.  We chose Patch's name because we had already picked the middle name (Wyand) because he (sort of) shares a birthday with his great-grandmother - and we liked the sound of the two names together.  By the time Ian rolled around, we had an English and Irish name, so we figured Scottish was the way to go.  (And, let me dissuade you from following that logic to think that a son named Llewellyn is on the way.  Three Ponkin boys are plenty.)

The last two weeks have been all about deciphering what Vietnam will mean for our next move.  Always good to talk about moving, is our philosophy, because then it's less jarring when it actually happens.  Wm has a friend at school of Vietnamese heritage, who has told Wm that he should pick a Vietnamese name - and the best way to do that is to figure out the name of your English name, and see how to say that in Vietnamese.  Thus, this week, we determined my children will become:
Mạnh (strong; the word for "protector" was too hard to say)

Cao quý (noble)
Qua tặng (gift; again "gift from God" was a little long)

As I thought about their personalities, it seemed to fit.  Wm is definitely strong-willed and protective of his brothers.  Not sure Patch is "noble" in his jokes (little boys love those potty jokes!), but he is definitely gracious and giving, which surely are "patrician" traits.  And, well, for Ian ... he was an unexpected gift from God for which we're (almost always :) ) happy.

Maybe there's something in a name after all.

Dinner recipe - Chicken & Rice and Roasted Squash

I couldn't resist posting on FB how pretty this dinner looked - and how delicious it was.  Sadly, I didn't save the blog that I copied the chicken casserole from, so I can't give proper attribution.  But, here's my copy:

Toast 1/4 cup pine nuts
Mix together: 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 c. heavy cream, 1/2 c. sour cream
In baking pan, mix: 1 c. uncooked rice, 2 c. chicken stock, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 c. chopped/shredded cooked chicken, 3 c. broccoli
Sprinkle pine nuts on top of chicken-rice mix
Drop cheese mixture on top in spoonfuls
Bake 30-45 minutes at 400

PS - we roast a chicken one week, then use the left overs for something the next week.  I'm always on the hunt for good casserole or yummy left-over-roast-chicken recipes.

Roast Squash, courtesy of Real Simple:

Toss 3lbs kabocha or acorn squash (cut into 1 inch wedges, skin on) with 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp ground coriander, salt and pepper on 2 large rimmed baking sheets.  Bake at 425, turning once, about 25-35 minutes until tender.
Serve over 1 c. plain yogurt.  Top with 1/2 c. pomegranate seeds, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar, and 1 c. fresh cilantro.

Note - the first time I made this, our supermarket didn't have any pomegranate, so I used craisins. Yum.  Trying again this week with pomegranate!  And, I mixed the topping together in a bowl first, before putting on top of the squash.  Finally, I saved some squash plain roasted, for picky little boy eaters who aren't into "fancy" vegetables.  

Handshake Monday

I've spared you the drama of the "middle school dance" antics (as a few FS friends have called it... and as has been taken up by a blog that I can't find right now, but will post a link when I do) of our bid process.  It will all hopefully come to an end on Monday, when we can receive a "handshake" for our next assignment.

Our bid countries ended up being (in alphabetical order): Bangladesh, India, Mozambique, Nepal, the Philippines, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

Since Wm is reading now, at a friend's suggestion, I went to the library to see if I could get some kid books on those countries.  I couldn't find one on India (some school must be doing an India-related thing... every single India book was checked out) and figured I didn't need one on the Philippines for obvious reasons.  I came home with four of the remaining six.  Not too bad for a local library (and, sorry, Africa?  You weren't as well represented on the stacks as Asia.  Indications are that an Africa posting is unlikely anyway.)

 

Wm on Bidding

On Monday night, Wm asked if I knew what countries we might be going to next.  Never being one to shy away from the topic of moving (my thought is if we talk about it, it becomes "normal"), I hesitatingly told him the list.  I hesitated because he is so opinionated ... and I was pretty sure he would decide which place he wanted to move to - which might not end up being the place we actually get assigned - which could lead to disappointment.

After considering the 10 countries or so, he said, "Hmm... I think I'd like to go to Vietnam because it's close to Manila or to India because Patch was born there."  Then he continued brushing his teeth.  A little later, he piped up again: "If you get a choice between India and Vietnam, I think you should choose Vietnam."  His reasoning? "When we lived in India, there was more smog and you said I always had a cough, so maybe Vietnam wouldn't be like that."

Well, kid, we'll see what November 10 has to bring.  Could be India or Vietnam, or somewhere else entirely... 

More on bidding and unpacking

The bid season (August - November, if you're lucky, the year before an assignment ends) is a horrible time in the life of a Foreign Service Officer.  As we've said before ... we *have* a permanent job - why do we have to hunt for one?  The peaks and valleys of hearing something promising (or discouraging!) from post or office can be nerve wracking.  The toll on the personal side is just as worse.

I hear parents chatting about the third grade soccer team - the last year before the boys split between recreational and travel.  I have no idea if Wm will be on his team next year.  And, fourth grade, forget about - way too far off!  I've put off finding anything for Patch (he's variously asked about swimming, soccer and gymnastics), questioning if it is worth it to get started on something he might not be able to follow through on.  I did decide this year, though, that we could probably do piano in the next city, so at least that was one decision I could take.

What about clothing?  Another winter is coming ... and my clothes are horribly out of date.  But, if we go some place warm, I won't wear them for years, and they'll fall out of style.  We could end up somewhere cold (doubtful), and they might not be warm enough.  Or, we could be another two years in DC and I'd be happy I spent the money.  My prediction?  Inertia will win and I won't invest.

I posted before about wanting new furniture for our living room and bedroom, and how knowing we might move, possibly as early as June 2015, has stopped me from taking any action on that front.  Today, I decided I needed to do something to make myself feel settled and focus on the present, since I've been dwelling too much on post-June 2015 scenarios.  Cathartic response?  Emptying two jumbled display cases (we quickly needed breakable things out of boxes and out of reach of little hands) and thoughtfully arranging them.  Results pretty good, but it's still a long way until November and that elusive next assignment.

What is that widget thing?

Wm's school PTA decided to try a new fundraising technique this year.  Rather than sell wrapping paper in the fall and cookie dough in the spring, the PTA is organizing a fun run on October 3 at our neighborhood park.

You can read more about it here and here.

I fully support this for the reasons I think a parent dreamed this up in the first place:
1. I hate asking friends and family to buy wrapping paper and other stuff.  Which is silly, of course, because I often purchased wrapping paper from fundraisers held by nieces, nephews and cousins because, let's face it, you can always use some more wrapping paper.  Especially when living overseas and the stuff is hard to come by.
2. Anything that gets the kids excited about being outside is fantastic (though, not like Wm needs any encouragement.  Honestly, we have a harder time getting him inside to eat and sleep).
3. The kids actually do the work (i.e., running).  Let's face it, it was really the parents doing the other fundraisers.

So, to help support the school raise money through this new mechanism, I've shamelessly added the widget to this blog.  It'll be there for about a month, until the October 3 run.  Wm thought $100 was a good goal after hearing his dad tell a story about how his grandparents pledged $1/lap swam.  Except Greg kept swimming and swimming until, 100 laps later, the organizers told him to stop.  I thought that amount was fair because that's basically what I spent between the other two fundraisers last year, so the school makes out the same (or maybe more, because I'm actually half-soliciting donations this time!).

His Bib #512 ... let's see how he does!