Monday, October 2, 2006
I am not usually up at 5:20 in the morning, but I stupidly took a Mucinex last night and I've slept only very lightly all night. I looked at the list of ingredients this morning and Pseudoephedrine is a main ingredient and that always makes me sleep badly. I didn't have a stuffed up head, but I couldn't ever fall into a deep sleep. Tonight, I will sleep like the dead, I am sure. I can't believe I did something so dumb.
We had a very full weekend. Lots of errands.
The first big event, at least around here, was getting the daybed out of Alesia's room. When we moved in here, she had the daybed because then when friends spent the night they could sleep on it. Well, her friends sleep in the big bed with her, we have learned. So the daybed was in the way. Once we got it out of there, she now has a lot more room to play. The Barbies are set up in a house, with their adjacent multi-story condo [a/k/a the bookcase.] Alesia was so excited to get that bed out of there.
The second big event came on Saturday afternoon, when my friend Liza came over with her two newly-adopted teenagers from Russia, 16 year old Luda, and 14 year old Vera.
They are cute girls, and were very sweet. They need help with wardrobe selections. They brought some clothes with them out of the orphanage, and they are really inappropriate. Luda wore a micro-mini skirt and top that showed her belly, which was pierced. Vera wore skintight jeans and a too-tight little top that showed her belly. Both had on a lot of makeup. After dinner, the girls watched a movie with Alesia and Mother and I talked to Liza. She said she needs to get them some new clothes, but just hadn't wanted to upset them too much so was waiting until they adjusted better to America. I think the clothes are too tight because the girls are finally getting enough to eat and gaining weight - they are up to 106 and 107 lbs. and are taller than me.
In Russia, all young women dress like hookers, I had to remind Mother. It's a cultural thing. Where they come from, they look perfectly fine.
Alesia tried her best to talk to them in Russian, but her Russian really has degraded. She struggled to remember words. Right at first, I had to tell her a couple of times to speak Russian, not English, as she would lapse into English without thinking.
We had bought the girls some presents, including two Barbies Alesia picked out. They told Alesia they didn't want the barbies and she should keep them - Alesia was happy to do that, but surprised. They said they had played barbies in the orphanage. In Alesia's orphanage they never had any nice dolls.
The girls were afraid of Coco, at first, but quickly warmed up, and by the time they left they were arguing over who got to hold her.
Alesia tried to be friends with the girls, and said she liked them. It was clear they are more mature than she is, though. Hopefully once Alesia matures some, they can really be buddies.
Alesia asked me yesterday when she could drive - at age 16? I said well, you can drive when I decide you are mature enough to get a license. I said "Sweetie, you aren't mature yet." She asked what "mature" means. I said "It's when you think and act like a grownup." She frowned. She wanted specifics - I refused to tell her specifics, because I didn't want her to ape those behaviors and expect to fool me into letting her get a license. She has a long way to go.
