Madisen is back in Texas

I am in Dallas (Arlington to be exact). I got in Tuesday at 2. Guess the suprieses we got.

First of all, We were getting on the flight to heathro. When we are in the air, a guy sitting next to us tells us the plane is going to SYRIA. Yeah. We think we got on the wrong flight, but we didn't. A plane broke down and we had to pick up the crew and some passengers. This took a little while, about an hour. So everyone is late for our flight, including us.

Once we get to Heathro, we get on a flight to Boston Logan. Me and my nana fly on first class. I sleep about 4 hours. The flight attendents stuff us up with food, I thought I ate a little to much.

Once we get to Boston we want to stay at the Hilton, the closest hotel. They don't have any availible rooms, when we waited about 20 mins. for the shuttle to pick us up. A guy owns a box of rooms and he happens to have an open one. We stay in that. It is nice, but guess how much it is. $249. We get up in the morning and want to eat. It is not included with the room. So I have a muffin while nana has coffe.

We fly to Laguardia, in NY. We get on the second flight to Dallas.

That is all about our trip.




Madisen

From Lori: she is now back with Tom and very happy to see him and Daisy. We miss her.

Waterparks and swimming in Armenia

Yerevan is hot. The summer is not as long and intense as in Texas, but hot enough. While it cools down some at night, the days hover in the high 80's-90's and low 100's. We do have a pool at our house, but it has no filtration and has to be drained about every 2 weeks (I would prefer weekly, but it is not up to me). At least there is chlorine. The kids - especially the boys - jump in and out several times a day.

A few weeks' ago we went to Lake Sevan - a huge body of fresh water that covers a significant part of Armenia. It is lovely - surrounded by mountains with ancient monasteries in view. The water is very cold as the elevation is quite high.

We stay at this hotel on the lake that boasts of its own waterpark. The kids were thrilled - 3 whole days of swimming and two water slides! I was thrilled because I could sit by the pool, look up every few minutes and count 3 heads, and return to my book. Now for the reality: it didn't open until noon each day leaving about three hours to kill between breakfast and swimming. And even worse - the slides were for kids at least 10 years old. Madisen had no problem; shy Cole pretended he didn't understand when they asked him how old he was and scooted down just fine; but poor Austin was obviously not even close to 10. Even after I talked/motioned to the lifeguard that Austin could swim, he still couldn't go on. The first full day he watched Madisen and Cole Ryan slide down. The second day, the lifeguard got sick of his sad, pitiful face coming up and down the steps and finally let him go down. Austin was thrilled. And the lifeguards were relieved he could swim.

Now for our Yerevan waterpark experience. We pack up and go with Amy, Sonya, and their adorable new son, Jaden, who is 11 months,to THE waterpark in all of Armenia. Despite the fact that Austin measures exactly 120 cm - the cut off height to use all the slides - the waterpark refuses to give him the correct wrist band and he is stuck in kiddie land. I explain he can swim, I point to the measuring stick. All to no avail...he must stay in the kiddie area, may not go in the wave pool, and can't go on the big waterslides. So two of my kids can go on everything and one can't - a huge logistical headache for mom.

Next problem: glasses. You can't wear them at all. Amy can't see without hers and they are plastic lenses. That didn't matter - they wouldn't even let her stick her legs in the baby pool with them on. I had on cheap plastic sunglasses and had to take those off too.

After about 2 hours in full sun, I make the kids wear their t-shirts in the water. Two different lifeguards told me and the kids to take them off. I said no, pointed to the sky, said in Armenian "big sun", pointed to the kids' skin and said in Russian "red" and refused (I was adamant as the kids had already burned and peeled at Lake Sevan despite repeated sunscreen applications). At one point the lifeguard told me that I couldn't swim with a t-shirt on so I dove into the water and showed him I was quite capable of doing so and said the kids were too. After repeatedly asking why and pointing out other people who were wearing shorts, skirts, and even entire cover ups in the pool, they gave up and just pretended they didn't see us breaking the rules.

Next problem: Kiddie waterslides and Austin. Since he couldn't go down the big slides, the kiddie slides were his only option and not turned on until about 30 minutes before we left. Imagine lots and lots of children rushing to the top of the waiting area that serves 3 different slides with no identifiable line for each one. Now imagine one young lifeguard - obviously childless and just in the job to pick up teen age girls - trying to corral about 20-30 screaming, excited kids all of whom were cutting in front of each other. And then add the parents who were either trying to cut into line for their kids or yelling at the lifeguard for not letting their kid go down next (even when they had obviously cut in line). Now imagine Austin who had been taught at his Montessori school to stand in a proper line and was actually doing it. So Austin can't even get to the slide. I end up having to stand near him telling the kids who are trying to cut "che" or "nyet". He went down exactly three times before we left.

So, here are the rules at the only waterpark in the city of Yerevan: you can't wear clothing to protect yourself from the sun, you can't wear glasses to see, you can't wear sunglasses to prevent sun damage, you can't go down big waterslides unless you are more than 120 cm, and you practically have to fight with other children to get onto a kiddie slide.

But amazingly you don't have to know how to swim - and most people don't. Now, for babies and young children who are only permitted in shallow water, this is obviously not an issue. But here is what is amazing.....at every single slide, and at the trapeze bar, we were asked if we could swim. Cole was first asked and then Madisen. I chalked it up to them being kids. But when the lifeguard asked every one of us every single time.... I got the hint. So, when a person says they can't swim, the lifeguard at the top of the ride yells down to the lifeguard in the pool. The pool lifeguard meets the non-swimmer at the end of the slide or after dropping from the trapeze - from 10 ft above into 12 feet of water (!)- and escorts them out on an approved flotation device.

Oh yeah, babies are not required to wear swim diapers.

I think it is just easier - and maybe even cleaner - to swim in our MBG - mosquito breeding ground - that we call a pool.

Cute Armenian Animals

Here are some of the cute animals that we have seen.

Animals of Armenia and my last post

I am coming home in 6 days with my nana(if we get on all the flights)! I was supposed to be the only one coming home, but something happened with the tickets so now Cole may come home with me. I don't want Cole to come home. I will email everyone the pictures.

The dogs of Armenia. There are ALOT of them. First I will tell you about Rex. Rex is a German Shepard. He is owned by our Landlord. He lives in a 6x2 foot cage. He eats bread and water. Rex has NOTHING to play with, so when he gets bored he plays with his water bowl, and sometimes knocks the water out. My grandmother feels so sorry for him. When she came brought some bones up for him, he loved those.

We saw a dog in a church. I don't think he has a name, and I decided to call him Shiloh(After our Guinea pig that died). Shiloh was very cute. We fed him 3 beef jerky strips. He even rolled over so we could rub his belly which mom said later that that ment he trusted us.

We saw turtles on the street there were baby ones. We all held one.

We don't have a picture of this dog, but she was so cute! We saw her at the gas station. She was black and just getting her teeth in. We gave her some bread to chew on, and she loved it. She also rolled over on her back.

The dog with her puppies we saw in Georgia(not the state, the country). Alot of people fed her, I guess because her puppies were so cute. 1 time when we were walking by, she got up and left her puppies. We got to touch them. I went to go look for the mother, and she was sitting behind a homeless woman. I think the woman was very kind to the dog, and looked after her.

We also saw kittens. They were in the garage by our house. They were so cute! I can't really explain them, but their eyes were not opened. Cole is holding it when it is more grown.

We went to the zoo twice. It was small and was your average day zoo, until we came to the lions and tigers. The cages were so close that you could literally reach out and touch them. They did not have very much room, while the horses had alot. There was also a mother with her cubs.

There are alot more animals here, but there are so many I can't explain everything. Here is one more thing.

On the way to school there was a puppy and a dog. The puppy was half way across the street when a car came. The puppy stopped, and then made its way to the other side of the street while the dog crossed the street with the kids who were crossing the street with a crossing guard.

1 more thing. Piglets. We saw some piglets. This is the last picture. Aren't they cute? We saw them nursing but did not take a picture of that.

Madisen

Spa Resort in Jermuk

After hearing from my friend Marci about her long weekend with girlfriends at an Arizona spa, I decided to pack the kids up and go to Jermuk, a small resort town in central southern Armenia that is known for its healing waters and "sanatoriums". Jermuk became famous during Soviet times when people would book 18 day treatments. I booked a hotel that would not only feed and house all of us, but would also provide a doctor who would determine what needed to be fixed, prescribe "treatments", and order time in the healing mineral baths. The sanatoriums can supposedly treat dental diseases, diabetes, gallbladder, gastroenteric, gynaecological, kidney, liver, and nervous system diseases not to mention obesity, rhumatism, and salt deposits, disturbance of metaboloism and skin and allergetic problems. I was hooked although my boss, Sonya, who is from California and knows good spas, warned me not to get my hopes up too high.

We arrive and the hotel is a 2 story huge stone building that is still being constructed. It is new with lovely marble floors and strategically placed stain glass windows. I immediately panicked seeing all the things the kids could break. We go for dinner - lots of fresh salads and fruits, fresh bread, and delicious cherries and apricots. Heaven....

The first full day is when I see the doctor. As there is obviously a language barrier, a manager who knows rudimentary English accompanies me - and the kids because where else will they go- to the consultation. We go into a clean room with 2 empty chairs and a examination bed. The doctor sits behind a desk that looks out over the hotel grounds. An ashtray sits on his desk. I take the chair next to the desk. As the kids fight over who will sit in the other chair and Austin wanders around the room jumping on and off the examination table, the doctor asks me - through the barely English proficient manager- why I am there. I tell him that except for the self-imposed stress of taking care of three kids by myself, I am pretty healthy. Then I figure I better tell him something or I won't get treated. Hoping that he will determine that my medical status requires frequent massages and long, peaceful immersions in the famous Jermuk mineral water baths, I tell him my upper back, feet and heels hurt. He takes my blood pressure, pronounces it good, asks if I have any stomache, heart or allergy problems, and determines my course of treatment. So, the only "examination" is a series of questions and a blood pressure reading. He didn't even weigh me. He recorded his findings in a small pocket size book that I carried with me to take to my treatments.

Here's what he prescribed: mineral water bath, paraffin wax foot treatment, shoulder stimulation, and heel rub. I am ready for pampering....

I go for the heel treatment. I lay on my stomach, have to take my watch off (my sense is that if I didn't, I might get electrocuted), and the "nurse" turns on this Soviet looking machine that must be 30 years' old and rubs some kind of ointment on my heels with a warm metal probe. When the timer goes off, she moves to the next heel. For the shoulder treatment....warm pads are applied to my shoulders while I lay on my stomach. A similar looking machine to the heel machine has two pads which are placed on top of the warm pads. The nurse keeps asking when I feel "prickling". I finally feel something, but it is not even remotely helpful or soothing - just weird. The paraffin foot treatment was the best although it only focuses on the top part of my feet ignoring my toes, arches, and heels all of which felt quite neglected. The nurse puts paraffin wax paper on the tops of my feet, covers them in plastic, and then covers the plastic with a wool blanket. As with the heel and shoulder treatments, once the timer goes off, it is time to get up.

The following day was my first medically supervised mineral water immersion bath. After bribing the kids with ice cream, time at the playground, and threats of dire consequences should they misbehave, I go down to the baths with my bathing suit and book dreaming of the privacy, solitide, and hot soothing water. I was greeted by a stern looking 30ish woman who took my treatment book and told me to wait while she started my bath. About 5 minutes later, she motions for me to come into a white tiled room containing a clawfoot tub minus the clawfeet. After feeling the water several times, she pulls out a themomenter that must be 12 inches long to test the temperature of the water. According to the doctor, my condition dictates 36 degree C water. It must be 36 because she lets me get in while it continues to fill. I slide down so the water is over my shoulders, she looks horrified and motions for me to come back up - apparently full immersion is not part of the medical treatment. After about 4 minutes, she shuts off the water, places a sand hourglass in front of me, says "5 minutes then must get out" and leaves. The doctor had only given me 5 minutes in water that was slightly more than than lukewarm and the nurse enforced this with a "5 minute" glass that constantly taunted me that I didn't have much time to relax much less read. At least the kids are gone and it is quiet....After the 5 minutes are up (and I am stressed because I am counting them down by the second), I motion for a towel and she is suprised I didn't bring one. She hands me 3 dishtowels to dry myself off.

The next day, I skipped the treatments and bath and took the kids to the river and waterfall. It was far more relaxing watching them swim and sit in the natural hot springs than stressing over my treatments.

Shiloh, our Guinia Pig, gone for good

Shiloh's Dead. After 2 months with us, Shiloh had to be put to sleep.

We got Shiloh from Erica, mom's friend who returned to the US at the end of June. Shiloh was fun and happy for about 8 weeks. We got him when dad was here; we put him to sleep July 3. Here's the story:

After several really bad injuries at the playground, the rule was that Shiloh could not go outside without mom being present. While mom was searching the internet for cheap vacations to Turkey, Cole Ryan took Shiloh outside. I was sewing and told Cole to ask mom if he could. He didn't ask her. CR walked away while Austin "watched" him. Well, Austin left Shiloh on the stairs while he played in the yard and Shiloh took a tumble resulting in a chipped and bleeding tooth and a twisted back with hind legs that didn't work. I found Shiloh and started crying. We took him to his cage, gave him food, and kept watch.

Not being a guinea pig owner ever before, mom and I searched the internet for advice. There is a plethora of guinea pig lovers on the web so I posted a query. Here's what was advised: find an exotic animal vet who specializes in guinea pigs and have the vet x-ray Shiloh to determine if he broke his spine or just hurt himself. Now, we live in a developing country where finding a vet is difficult enough; finding one that specializes in guinea pigs, impossible. And finding one with x-ray equipment....well, let's just say that mom's friend Amy's cat had to have x-rays and Amy had to sneak the poor cat into the (human) hospital where the x-ray was taken. We didn't think that would work with a guinea pig.

Because he couldn't use his hind legs, he sat in his poo and pee and had to be bathed twice a day. I bathed him while mom cleaned the cage. I saw a little progress in him. He was moving both legs, and soon was putting weight on one. He started walking for food. I thought he could probably recover, but of course, I got jinxed. I got jinxed because when I got up he had Diahriah. We fed him to many tomatoes the night before I think. I also thought that maybe it was because his body was not working right.

No one wanted to bathe Shiloh but Armine helped......ALOT. He wouldn't eat anything, even grass( his favorite food). I called mom and she asked Armine to call the vet( to put him to sleep). She did, and the vet said it would cost 2000 dram( 6 dollars about). I was fine with the idea, because I knew he wouldn't suffer any more. Also because I knew I would feel horrible if I woke up in the morning to see him dead.

We all went to the vet, including Armine. The vet was very nice. His office was VERY weird. First of all, it was totally outside with a port-a-potty. There were covered tables for the rain, and lots, and lots of plants. There was also a swimming pool. The vet smoked. Before Shiloh died, the vet gave mom some flowers, like a funeral. We said our goodbyes to Shiloh, and then he died with a shot(of course we were not looking).

Madisen

Austin's Escalator Ride...and ER visit

Thursday night, we head to the metro to go to a music festival downtown. The plan is to meet Barbara, the newest liaison, at the next metro stop and then head to Republic Square. I call Barbara and tell her we are at the metro and will be at her stop in about 5 minutes. We never make it.

The Soviets built the metro - it is old, clean, cheap ($.14)and is the usual way we travel downtown so the kids have been on it countless times. The escalators are very fast and very steep. A person - usually a woman - sits in a glass booth at the top and bottom of the escalators and watch people all day long go up and down.

Austin was doing his normal figeting and trying to tell me sometime. As I move closer and about to tell him to move his foot away from the side of the escalator, the heel of his tennis shoe gets caught between the bottom of the step and the side of the wall. He starts whining and trying to get his foot out. I try and when it doesn't budge, I have flashes of the steps crushing his ankle as it flattens and start screaming (in English) STOP! STOP! and waving my arms. When the escalator keeps going, Madisen starts running down the escalator to bang on the glass booths.

It stops. Scores of men start running to us, I point to Austin's foot, and start explaining in English. Luckily, it was pretty obvious what was going on. Austin is crying and scared; Cole Ryan and Madisen are scared, but are quiet and let me try to calm Austin who is feeling his foot being tugged out of the huge steel jaws. The metro men pull out a couple of crow bars, untie his shoe, and then work his foot out. It hurts him, but it is not serious. One man picks Austin up like a baby (a 55-60 pound baby) and starts running up the other escalator and motions for us to follow. Austin is placed in an office, given water, ice, and a fan, and then the questions start. I try to call Armine but the cell phone doesn't work and the phone sitting on the desk apparently doesn't make outside calls. The main guy eventually goes outside. Turns out that the man is afraid that I will file some kind of report against them. By that time, I was so grateful that my son's foot was not crushed and was only bruised, everyone had reacted quickly, that filing a report or a lawsuit was beyond my comprehension. He insists that Austin go to the clinic and we hear sirens in the background.

The next adventure: ambulence ride through Yerevan. Austin is placed on a stretcher and the three of us sit next to him with the nurse at his head. There are no seatbelts, no signs of first aid other than the stretcher that Austin is lying on, the driver is smoking, and the van is dirty. It was a far cry from the ambulence that Cole was in when he bashed his head on the side of the pool last year. After the ambulence almost rammed into a car a couple of times, we arrive at the hospital. They put Austin in a wheelchair and we follow him into a room. A really nice young doctor comes in, speaks some English, and asks Austin if he can walk. Austin gets up and walks awkwardly, but is fine. The doctor tells us to go home.

Austin decides that he doesn't want to go home, but wants to go to the musical festival instead. After a quick jaunt to check out the music - with Austin walking a bit and then getting a piggy back ride from me - we go home - by taxi.

Follow up: we rode the metro 2 days later and Austin is very, very aware of where his feet are on the steps. And he didn't have flashbacks.