One Week Later

It has been one week since we were given temporary custody of DD, aka "gotcha day".  Bedtime has become so much easier than the first few nights, though it is not always quicker.  She is a fish and loves anything to do with water, including bath time.  I am asked multiple times a day for her kapiel (bath).  Unfortunately this love of water also translates to the water in the toilet.  :(  I know now why the bathroom door stayed closed at the foster family's house: as long as the door is closed, it is "out of sight, out of mind".  If the door is open, there is water, and it becomes fair game.  She makes silly faces, has a huge grin, and a michievous streak a mile long.  Sometimes it is amusing, and sometimes....not, and there are good days and difficult days.

We have been reduced back to childhood as one word or two word phrases are heard regularly in Polish and English.  "Walk" is a favorite word because it means that we are going out away from the house.  Don't say that word if you are not planning to follow through with it.  Phrases like "walk through the house" are banned for now. :D "Nie jesc" (not to eat), "goracy" (hot), "wiecej" (more), and "tak" (yes) are also heard often, and I find myself using Google translate all the time right now, trying to remember the correct phrase for what I need to say.   A phrase we hear from her quite a bit is  "daj mi" (sounds like "die me", meaning "give me") which is her way of asking for something (not necessarily in a demanding way).  DD does not have a complete Polish vocabulary, but she understands what is said to her which is extrememly helpful.  No awards will be given out for our heavily accented Polish, but it gets the job done. Communication is probably the top frustration right now, for her and us.

DD was up again before 6 this morning.  The early sunrise - the sky begins to lighten about 4a.m. - combined with some noisy neighbors have contributed to early rising by all of us.  I am not sure what the neighbor is building, but about 6am we heard the sound of an electric saw...again.  This has happended several time since we have been here, and with no AC, the upstairs windows stay open pretty much 24/7, so it sounds like he has camped out in the room with his noisy friend. (Who begins sawing at 6a.m..?!?)  Between the whine of the saw, the slamming of car doors, the motorcyle that is revved early every morning, the train whistle, the barking of dogs, and the carrying voices of neighbors conversing, there seems to always be something going around us.  I miss my quiet neighborhood. <3  There is little we can do about the rest of it, but we put a light blanket over the window to try and keep the sun from shining in so brightly.  Maybe tomorrow we will sleep in until 7!

There is an apple tree in the yard that is full of green apples, and there are as many green globes on the ground as on the tree.  For the first two nights we were here, I heard a muffled banging that sounded like someone was right outside the window.  I got up to look and never did figure out what the noise was, but the next morning while standing outside on the porch, I heard it again.  Every time an apple fell from the tree and landed on the bins or driveway under the tree, it made the noise I heard the night before.  Mystery solved!

It's time to get the kiddos ready for bed.  Good Night!