Weekend in Puncak

We were able to rent out the house the embassy owns up in the mountains about an 1 1/2 away and have a little family getaway for the weekend. The only problem was that Tanner and I were so engrossed in conversation on our way out of town that we got on the wrong toll road and went straight east instead of south. We didn't realize our mistake until about an hour into it. It seems ridiculous that we wouldn't recognize our error sooner, but in Indonesia, it's easier than you think. We only realized our mistake when I looked around and said “Tan, where’re the mountains?” Awesome. We then decided to take the 'scenic route' rather than back track practically all the way to Jakarta, but we probably ended up being in the car an extra two hours because of it. BUT, Tanner and I can now say we have seen the mountain towns of Indonesia. Our car barely made it, and I was sure we were either going to drop off the side of a cliff or our car was going to get stuck in one of the million potholes we had to drive through (not exaggerating...worst roads I have EVER been on hands down). But it was an experience, and one that we will always remember. But we made it, and Clark just kept saying he didn't want to go home because it was going to take FOREVER because it took FOREVER to get there! When we told him it wouldn't take as long to get home because we would not get lost going home, he asked if mommy could drive next time so we don't get lost. :-) Love that kid.

The next morning, we relaxed around the house and went outside and sat by the pool enjoying the clean, fresh mountain air.

These boys were THAT excited to see green space. I think given no other option they would have been happy running around in circles on the lawn. no joke.

The pool was FRIGID…so they had fun getting soaked…just not getting IN the pool.

We also played some games on the big lawn with the boys, and somehow I managed to completely ruin the game of baseball for Clark. I was trying to show him how to catch a small ball and I then proceeded to smack his own hands into his face (not on purpose). Tanner just shook his head (disapprovingly). Tanner also schooled me numerous times in ping pong, which is actually a reversal from the last time we were up here at Christmas when I was the one doing the schooling. Hmmm...he must be practicing on the sly.

She started walking this week…and don’t even get in her way when she is pushing that hippo around…she will run you right over! No Mercy!

One of the things the boys were most excited about going back to "the mountain house" was to watch Mr. Bean again. The kids loved it the last time, and I had a great time watching the same episodes I saw when I was 9 years old living in England. But, when we got there, they had cleared out all of the VHS movies and removed the VCR. I never thought I would be sad to NOT have a VCR ever again in my life, but never say never! We decided to head into town to see if we could find some dvds to buy, and sure enough, before we could leave, one of the guards came and told us we had a flat tire. The previous night's escapades had caught up to us. Luckily, things like a flat tire in Indonesia can get taken care of in a fraction of the time it takes in the U.S. and for a fraction of the cost. The night ended with success...tire fixed, Mr. Bean dvd bought and watched.

FHE: Lehi's Dream

Refrigerator Magnets

My Refrigerator Magnets

(Audrey-11 months)

(Clark-9 months)

I know Andrew did the same, but he's so sneaky I probably was never able to actually catch him with the camera.

Just When....

we went one whole week with no one being sick, I started feeling crummy on Saturday night. I woke up on Sunday morning feeling pretty yuck, but I just thought I needed to make it through church because we are super short staffed in primary. As I was sitting in sacrament, I started to feel really achy and weak. At one point I didn't even have the energy to lift Audrey up from the floor. It was kinda scary. I got up to go and get some water downstairs and my heart was racing by the time I walked down only about 15 steps. By the end of sacrament I told Tanner I needed a blessing and after we did that, we decided to go to the emergency room.

They ran all kinds of tests, and tested for Dengue Fever since I was exhibiting all the symptoms of it, but luckily (if you like just not knowing what nasty virus you actually have) those came back negative as well. I was running a fever of 104 at one point. Thankfully, friends took the kids home from church for us so Tanner could drive me and stay with me. Honestly, I think he got the raw end of the deal since he had to sit in a hard chair the whole time, and I at least had a bed. Anyway, after they pumped me full of IV fluids and Panadol, I finally felt okay enough to go home to rest. The next morning I had to go into the embassy and have them run all the same tests again because they want to make sure all the tests were done correctly. I rested all day Sunday and Monday (thank goodness for Siti who cleaned my house and watched the kids). I finally began to feel better on Tuesday and that afternoon Clark came home from school with a fever of 103. Awwwwesome. Then, Andrew started in with explosive diarrhea that has lasted the WHOLE week. Not awesome. It goes on and on. From what I can tell, this has been a beast of a year for most everyone in regard to sicknesses no matter where it seems you live, so I guess I can't blame it on Indonesia.

One of the cutest things that happened in all of this was that Tanner knew I wasn't feeling well during sacrament and Andrew kept wanting to climb on me. Tanner whispered to Andrew that Mommy wasn't feeling well so he needed to stay with him. Andrew then proceeded to sit on Tanner's lap quietly and rub my head and back. It was adorable. Love that kid.

Tuesday Newsday

So I was reading in the paper about how businesses in Indonesia are not really doing a very good job at providing insurance or implementing and enforcing Indonesia's labor laws within the workplace. Only 20 of 200,000 companies in Indonesia's formal sector provide for women's reproductive rights as stipulated by law. I would say that's more than not a very good job, that's down right crappy. But then I read some of what is entailed in the labor law and found that employers "must give leave to women on the first and second day of their menstrual cycles and 45 days of both pre- and post-delivery leave".

So the girl in me is thinking that it would be pretty sweet to get those first two days off of work, but the business woman in me (if she exists) thinks that's a lot of hours not worked every month by my female employees.

The girl in me starts to give a silent shout out to whoever in the Health Ministry pushed for this until I remember that this is a mostly Muslim country and they think women are unclean during that time period, so maybe it's not that they care about the fact that many women feel like garbage during that time, but more so that they don't want a bunch of unclean women around the workplace. Either way, it's not like it matters, since only .01% of businesses are actually implementing the law. So I guess the Indonesian Government gets an A for effort in "idealistic law making" and an F for achievement in "idealistic law enforcement".

Durian

I was just checking the news the other day when I saw there was an article about the worst foods in the world. I started cracking up laughing when I saw that the picture they chose to go with the article was Durian.

Durian is disgusting, and it reeks up the entire grocery store. Some grocery stores won't even carry it because it smells so bad. In fact, I was shopping at a store that has two levels, and the ground floor had Durian in the produce section and I had to leave because it smelled so bad, and then when I went upstairs to shop in the sporting goods area, I could still smell it one level up, that's how potently bad it is. Can you believe they make Durian flavored ice cream? The thought of it just makes me never want to eat ANY ice cream again. The stuff is nast.

Tuesday Newsday!

Every morning when I take Clark to school, I try to read the newspaper on the way home. When I first started reading the Jakarta Post (english version), I was interested in what was happening politically in Indonesia, but now I read it for the entertainment it provides! As a result, I am going to try (and please try not to roll your eyes SO obviously) and do a weekly post that has some of the fun/interesting/downright crazy tidbits I find in the newspaper or as I go about my daily routine.

The first installment comes from an article in the Jakarta Post on February 28, 2011 by Irawaty Wardany. The article is about a new company that recently began called Go-jek.com. Seriously check out the website, it's actually really well done. I especially liked the picture showing a grocery kart attached to an Ojek by a rope, which would just be cute if not for the fact that I could ACTUALLY envision an Ojek going down the streets of Jakarta with a grocery kart attached to it by a rope! Instead, the first thought I had when I saw the graphic was "there is no way those groceries are going to stay in that cart if that is how they plan to transport them." Yeah, I'm not sure what the previous line says about me, my thought processes, and what living in Jakarta has done to me, but it can't be good under any circumstances.

By way of background, an Ojek is in effect a motorcycle taxi, and they are everywhere. Like there are bajillions of them in Jakarta. A motorcycle is the easiest and fastest way to get around the city, and when you get stuck in traffic for 2 hours when you only got in the car to go 5 miles away, an Ojek starts looking pretty great. I have yet to use one, but Tanner has, and he gave it two thumbs up! Oh, and you and the driver negotiate the price based on your destination before you get on the bike. So just like so much else here, it is organized chaos at its finest. Okay, so back to the article in the newspaper entitled:

New 'ojek' service does away with smelly drivers, haggling

When I saw that title, I knew it was a 'must-read'. My comments are in parentheses below.

"Those not inclined to use the service of the ubiquitous motorcycle taxi (ojek) riders because of the smell of their helmets or leather jackets will certainly have cause for celebration with the launch of Go-Jek, a new ojek service with an edge (yeah man, those stanky leather jackets make it hard to breathe). Go-Jek riders are not only scent-free, the service allows users to call and negotiate a price on the phone -- a convenience that frees customers from having to haggle for a low fare for a short-distance ride. (so, even though I am going to die from the noxious gases coming from the 30 year old bus in front of us, at least my Ojek driver is "scent-free" Phew!)

The story goes on to describe the business plan behind Go-Jek. Then it states:

"And the secret to its stink-free drivers? "We give our drivers deodorants to help them provide a better service, Nadiem, founder of Go-Jek says. All the drivers possess licences (Bonus!) and the ownership deeds to their motorcycles, and are well-versed on Jakarta's back alleys (a good thing, and if nothing else adds that extra needed "is-this-guy-going-to-stop-and-rob-me-while driving-down-said-back-alley" danger element to the ride) and shortcuts. "We require our drivers to have all the necessary documents. On top of that, we look for drivers who already have a family, somebody responsible." he said.

This story highlighted one of the things I like about Indonesia...there is no equal opportunity hiring practices here, because we WILL discriminate based on your amount of B.O., the stinkiness of your leather jacket and helmet, and whether or not you have a family. Wait a minute, I guess they don't discriminate based on B.O....they just give you a truckload of deodorant so you don't make your passengers pass out due to your natural aroma....but no worries, they pass out anyway after you knock both the bike AND your passenger into the side mirror of some stationary vehicle nearby. Yes, it happens all the time, and I'm convinced our side mirrors are only hanging on by a thread...poor dears. Either way, I have no plans to get on a Go-Jek any time soon. Why would I when I have my own personal Ojek waiting for me at home?

Mom, Look What I Made!

So, I asked for a sewing machine for Christmas, and Tanner got me a great one! Thanks to my sister-in-law Steph who sent me some small dress patterns, I decided my first sewing project would be a dress for Audrey. I think it was a little ambitious, but I did learn A LOT! It took me five full evenings to do, and I am really happy with how it turned out. Honestly, I would have been happy as long as Audrey could actually fit in it, but I was able to figure out how to put on a zipper (woohoo!) and actually do the dress with lining! My next project is just going to be a simple skirt for me, but there really is something about creating a piece of wearable clothing from just a piece of fabric that is so fulfilling! When I was working on it one night and my sister called on Skype and saw me on the video sitting in front of the sewing machine, her first words were “What has happened to you?” I’m not really sure, but I do like it!

(My favorite part of the dress…I love the sleeves)

Andrew’s Birthday

Finally Andrew is 3! I don’t know if it is because he is the middle child or what but it seems like Andrew has been two FOREVER! It also seems like he has been around a lot longer than three years, but maybe that is because so much has happened in our lives in the last three years that the poor kid has been through a lot! He is such a cute little kid, and he can melt my heart faster than pretty much anything or anyone else and he also knows how to push my buttons faster than anyone else too. Lately, thanks to some great motherly advice, I have been trying to do more one on one things with him during the day and he really is a lot of fun when attention is being paid to him (imagine that! ;-)).

For his birthday we invited some friends from church to meet us at the indoor play place at the mall nearby and afterward had pizza and cake at our house. He loved all of his gifts from Grammy and Grandpa and Nana and Papa, and we went outside and tried out his teeball set while still dressed in his brand new rain gear. Happy Birthday cute boy!

Day 4: Water Castle and Prambanan

For our final day in Yogyakarta, we began with a quick trip down to the main street where there are a lot of cheap stores selling batik and other handicrafts. We weren’t too impressed, and frankly it seemed there was not a lot of variety so it was difficult to find anything truly unique, and then add in the fact that we are dragging around our three kids, and our shopping trip didn’t last too long. Then we headed to a place near the Sultan Palace called the Water Castle. It was actually pretty interesting. It used to be a bath house where all the potential concubines of the Sultan would bathe and then he would come and choose his next one there. Obviously it is not used any longer and suffice it to say, we didn’t try to explain anything to the kids, but it was somewhat interesting to walk around the buildings.

Then we headed out to our final stop at Prambanan temple. It is a Hindu temple and like Borobudur it was amazing to see.

There were also so super steep steps again and I ended up going down them on my bottom with Audrey on my lap because if I tripped (and I would have) it would not have been pretty.

There were these three muslim girls that couldn’t get enough of our kids, and it was a good opportunity to practice my Bahasa! They also were willing to take a picture of our whole family so it was nice to finally get one on the trip!

Overall, we really liked the trip and while we were exhausted from dragging our kids from place to place, they had a good time and we were glad we took them.