Back online

Well, it was good to catch up on some reading during the month without my computer (The Secret Life of Houdini, Superfreakonomics, Tattoo Machine, Habibi, Fun Home, The Last Lecture, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Better), but it’s also nice to have protracted debates with my brother-in-law on Facebook.  Today the kids watched a little Thomas while eating some fresh-baked cookies from their awesome dad.
 
Alice has started to try out the fork method of eating.
 
We stopped at the market yesterday, on our way to Indian food!
 
  
Gryphon would eat this whole thing if we let him, but we don’t want any papayarrhea.
 
Loading Alice into the car afterward, I found that her overloaded diaper had spurted poo out the leg hole, which I then unknowingly smeared up her back, under her arms, on my shirt, and all over the car seat (it was dark out).  We did some late night bathing and laundry.

Bacteria

Yesterday we took a field trip to the hospital after lunch. We found the L&D unit to be empty except for Cheri and nurse Jin.
 
Cheri gave a tour of the delivery rooms, teaching Gryphon to locate the blood splatters that the cleaners miss.
 

 
Today I was excited to find my laptop in the mail, complete with a new hard drive after the old one fried in December.  Gryphon and Alice were equally excited to find seed pods outside that they could crack open.
 
 
 
Cheri decided to take a nap with Gryphon in preparation for the night shift tonight.

Animal pancakes

 
Having filled up on endangered species, Gryphon and I ventured out to the library and Saturday market.  Gryphon noticed that someone had built sand castles all down the beach.  That “someone” was the coconut crabs.
   
I bought a couple of computer monitors from Midwife Nikki’s husband, Lee.  They were still in a crate from when he moved here.  Gryphon and Alice thought the packing paper was the best part.
 
 

And then there were three

Alice has been showing more interest in the board books lately. 
 
The other day Gryphon made a kite and the three of us headed up to the top of the hill by the pool to try it out. I brought my kite too, but there wasn’t enough wind to keep it in the air.  We had two short runs.
 
Cheri’s been fighting the powers-that-be at work because they want her to work all night shifts yet they claim to have no money to pay her. Here’s how she relaxes.
 
On Tuesday Gryphon had his teeth cleaned.  He did an excellent job and was rewarded with a pinwheel.
 
I took the kids to the street market on Thursday.  It ended up being another excuse to eat Thai House food from our buddy Felix.
 

Yesterday we made a quick stop at the clinic to pick up an inhaler for me (about once a month my lungs decide to close up as I’m going to sleep, making the task more difficult).  Alice was shown to all the nurses.
 
Midwife Nikki is fed up with Saipan and moving to Gallup, NM to take a job with the Indian Health Service. The midwives had breakfast at the ritzy Hyatt hotel yesterday morning to bid her farewell. Then Midwife Jewel (in the blue) convinced Cheri to get a massage. Ninety minutes for $25 – Saipan does have its perks!
  
 
As Alice finished her nap, Gryphon and I deliberated on whether to visit American Memorial Park for some Ultimate Frisbee. 

We eventually decided to go for it.  He and Alice played in the beach shelter.