Happy Girl's Day from DC!,
Sorry for the radio silence lately. Maria and I have been nose to the grindstone with work and raising our fabulous children.
Hinanigyo Set from Mom and Papa
Thank you both for the amazing Hinaningyo set! I always admired ours growing up, but never really expected I would have my own. We've been feeling a need to really tie Maile and Kaiea back to their Japanese roots, so I'm proud to have the set on display in our Dining room, and am looking forward to putting up the warrior armor on boy's day for Kai.
I've posted an album of photos of Maile posing near the Ningyo. I have a terrible problem of not being able to edit digital photos, so be warned "there are many repetative shots" you can pic your favorites. If you comment on your favorite photos (at kodakgallery.com) it'll help me learn to edit. Here is the album!
Maile's Eczema
She's clearing up! For the past several months (since Thanksgiving) Maile has been developing a terrible case of eczema all over her body. Maria and I tried everything from elimination diets, lubricants and creams, and everything we could glean from websites on eczema care and we were losing the battle. Last month, poor Maile was at her worst, with splotchy red patches all up and down her legs, arms, back face and scalp. At her check up, he doctor prescribed a healthy dose of hydracortizone at maximum strength to help get it under control -- and after we beat it back into submission Maile is looking amazing! Soft, pale, smooth skin... it's such a relief! We've cut out the hydracortizone and we're using a mixture called Acid Mantle, to maintain her trouble spots. She's still looking great! Hopefully we can keep it from ever coming back as bad as it was!
3) Taking the Au Pair Plunge
Maria and I have decided that the life we live (far from family, with the need to earn dual income to stay ahead) necesitates more child care than we currently have. The situation today is that we have a nanny come 3 days a week. Kaiea attends school on the altenate (2) week days, and gymnastics on Friday mornings. Our nanny is having a hard time keeping up caring for both children and has started to leave places in out house messy after play sessions (making more after work chores for me and Maria, on top of meals, bath and bedtime).
We've decided that we're willing to take in an Au Pair. We're using a program called Au Pair in America that brings young girls looking to spend time with host families in the US while providing 45hrs/wk of child care. We interviewed a girl who has been in the program for 1 year looking after a family in Philly and who would like to extend her stay (through the program) for one more year before heading back home to Thailand. She's 26 and has spent a good deal of time with children Kai and Maile's age. Her current host family vouches for her and speaks highly of her attentiveness and ease to get along with, which will be important after she moves in.
Aoy will start with us at the end of April. We're really looking forward to the help.
After doing all of the math... the Au Pair in a America progam will cost us the equivilant of our current nanny situation and cover us for more hours. I can't express how much this will mean to me and Maria's ability to pull off raising our kids (at this early age).
-Love Jon
Sorry for the radio silence lately. Maria and I have been nose to the grindstone with work and raising our fabulous children.
Hinanigyo Set from Mom and Papa
Thank you both for the amazing Hinaningyo set! I always admired ours growing up, but never really expected I would have my own. We've been feeling a need to really tie Maile and Kaiea back to their Japanese roots, so I'm proud to have the set on display in our Dining room, and am looking forward to putting up the warrior armor on boy's day for Kai.
I've posted an album of photos of Maile posing near the Ningyo. I have a terrible problem of not being able to edit digital photos, so be warned "there are many repetative shots" you can pic your favorites. If you comment on your favorite photos (at kodakgallery.com) it'll help me learn to edit. Here is the album!
Maile's Eczema
She's clearing up! For the past several months (since Thanksgiving) Maile has been developing a terrible case of eczema all over her body. Maria and I tried everything from elimination diets, lubricants and creams, and everything we could glean from websites on eczema care and we were losing the battle. Last month, poor Maile was at her worst, with splotchy red patches all up and down her legs, arms, back face and scalp. At her check up, he doctor prescribed a healthy dose of hydracortizone at maximum strength to help get it under control -- and after we beat it back into submission Maile is looking amazing! Soft, pale, smooth skin... it's such a relief! We've cut out the hydracortizone and we're using a mixture called Acid Mantle, to maintain her trouble spots. She's still looking great! Hopefully we can keep it from ever coming back as bad as it was!
3) Taking the Au Pair Plunge
Maria and I have decided that the life we live (far from family, with the need to earn dual income to stay ahead) necesitates more child care than we currently have. The situation today is that we have a nanny come 3 days a week. Kaiea attends school on the altenate (2) week days, and gymnastics on Friday mornings. Our nanny is having a hard time keeping up caring for both children and has started to leave places in out house messy after play sessions (making more after work chores for me and Maria, on top of meals, bath and bedtime).
We've decided that we're willing to take in an Au Pair. We're using a program called Au Pair in America that brings young girls looking to spend time with host families in the US while providing 45hrs/wk of child care. We interviewed a girl who has been in the program for 1 year looking after a family in Philly and who would like to extend her stay (through the program) for one more year before heading back home to Thailand. She's 26 and has spent a good deal of time with children Kai and Maile's age. Her current host family vouches for her and speaks highly of her attentiveness and ease to get along with, which will be important after she moves in.
Aoy will start with us at the end of April. We're really looking forward to the help.
After doing all of the math... the Au Pair in a America progam will cost us the equivilant of our current nanny situation and cover us for more hours. I can't express how much this will mean to me and Maria's ability to pull off raising our kids (at this early age).
-Love Jon
Comments
The Au Pair deal sounds good! Looking forward to hearing more about Aoy and welcoming her into the family!! :)
xoxonorie and hiro