Goodbye Lunch and the formal recording of me as Annabelle’s
mom |
Here
are the pictures I did get:
Annabelle
did not come with me, but was watched by Maria, the woman who babysits for the apartment people (as opposed to the
cottage people). Little did I know
this was the beginning of a very trying day with Annabelle.
When
I came home at 10:30, Maria told me Annabelle wouldn’t take the bottle she
was supposed to have at 10:00. I
tried to give Annabelle the bottle but she wouldn’t take it from me
either. But then after Maria left
she settled down and was fine. But
then at 1:00 pm again she wouldn’t take the bottle again. I started to
get worried she was sick, although she didn’t feel warm. Maria was coming over again at 1:15 so I
could to a goodbye lunch with Allison, Oleg, Rada,
and Inna. So I left Maria with our
phone number and said call me if she looks like she’s getting sick.
Because
you see, we finally had a reservation at the Armenian restaurant, the land of
mystery, so I wasn’t eager to give up my chance to see this exclusive
Brigadoon-like (in that it’s there but inaccessible) place.
Maria
called us at the restaurant but only to say that Annabelle had fallen asleep
(this was at about 1:30 – her normal nap time is 2:00).
We
had a fun lunch. The Armenian restaurant was, well, when all is said and done, just
a restaurant. It did have a bit more style than some of the other places we
have patronized. It had those banquette tables, the bench seats that wrap
around the table. The food was
fine, or so I’m told since they had no vegetarian offerings except the
so-called “garnishes”.
The garnishes are side dishes.
And here is the complete list of side dishes: Mashed potatoes, french fries, Home style potatoes,
breaded potatoes, potato pancakes, rice, and stewed cabbage. This country really loves its
potatoes! So my meal consisted of an
odd cabbage salad with oil to start, and for my main course, homestyle potatoes and potato pancakes. I skipped the stewed cabbage. I contented myself instead with the drinks.
We drank vodka toasts before the meal and between courses. And beer, of course.
I am not a straight-vodka drinker
and to me it tasted like rubbing alcohol, but it seemed to go down smoother
later in the meal. J
Allison
and I both gave out our gifts. I gave Oleg (in a gift bag with very feminine
fluffy feathers on it no less) two
Allison
and I briefly scuffled (it was the vodka I swear) when she gave Oleg a Boston
Red Sox t-shirt. Oleg said that he now has enough t-shirts to open a restaurant
and decorate it with American t-shirts.
For families to follow, I would suggest getting him a different gift
like a gerber multi-tool or music from the states. I think he’s a little tired of the
constant t-shirts. (At least bring
him long sleeved shirts.)
Anyway,
we stumbled out of the restaurant at about 4pm and when I got home, Annabelle
was awake but still wouldn’t take a bottle. After Maria left, I tried to give her a
bottle but she wouldn’t take it and kept twisting around in my arms as if
to look around the apartment and see who was there. After about 15 minutes of trying to get
her to drink her bottle, I gave up and put her down on the ground, where she
promptly started to cry. Well, I
said to her, I know you are crying because you are hungry but how can I feed
you if you won’t take the bottle?
She didn’t answer me, probably because she knew I was right.
After
another half hour, I decided to try feeding her baby food,
maybe that would work. And it did. She was happy to eat the baby food so
I loaded her up with plums and carrots. Then, after she stopped eating that, I
gave her the bottle and she was happy to take it. And from then on, we were back on track.
So
my theory is that my shy little girl was just discombobulated by Maria’s
presence and my absence. She’s friendly and sweet to everyone but that
doesn’t mean she wants strangers in her space, especially without Mama. Oh, it doesn’t bode well for our
daycare plan. And I have to go back to work right away since I get no paid time
off….. eeck!
I
have no pics of the girlie today so here’s one
from last week.
Well,
tomorrow is my laundry and packing day!
One full day left.
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