In the Shop

Maya has also been helping her grandpa out in the shop. She's been pounding and painting. With real (kid size) hammers and real nails. She also made a nifty coat rack for her bedroom that we are going to cart back to Egypt with us...

This was also pre-Christmas. I'll post the Christmas Day photos once I upload them from the camera.

Refugees again

Thanks to all who voted for Mike's idea to help refugees, many of them from the Horn of Africa. Mike is in third place in the humanitarian relief category and needs to keep getting more votes to make it into the final round of voting. If you haven't voted yet, please do it now. Thanks again.

Just follow these steps:
1) Join Change.org at https://www.change.org/admin/sign_up
2) Read Mike's proposal and vote on it by going to: http://www.change.org/ideas/view/usa_refugee_corps_-_export_hope_and_revitalize_our_national_moral_standing You should see your vote register and the number of votes go up! If you don't see that happen, try voting again. If you have already voted, then please - please - find some colleagues or friends, and tell them about this idea. Ask them to vote.

Sledding

The snow has now melted, but Maya got in some good pre-Christmas sledding with her dad and grandpa. We made a sled out of the top of her water/sand table that grandma and grandpa got the last time we visited (in the summertime).

You'd think from these pictures that Maya is used to a cold climate, as opposed to living in Cairo. But she doesn't seem to mind the cold that much at all. She loved the snow, and is so sad that it is (mostly) gone.

Decorating the tree

A couple days before Maya's salon visit, we went to a tree farm, picked out a tree, cut it down, and brought it home. Then we decorated it. It was a terrific experience for Maya, although she seemed a bit surprised that the trees at the farm did not already have decorations on it. She seemed to think that her Christmas tree should not just be a regular tree. She wanted it to come decorated.

Salon pics

Here are Maya's post-salon pictures. Aren't they great! I can't believe how long the braids are. Usually when I do these types of braids, the ponytails end up really short. But by blow-drying Maya's hair, it made the braids much longer. I'm not sure whether I really want to start blow-drying her hair at age 3, but it definitely gives her some long braids.

The other thing I realised is that I'm actually not too bad at doing her hair. The braids look great, but really are not so different from when I do them myself. I guess they are a little longer and a little smaller and tighter. But visiting the salon made me realise that I do her hair pretty well myself, too.

Help refugees....

OK. I normally don't post political stuff on this blog. But Mike, who has dedicated his whole career and life to helping refugees, has submitted an "Idea for Change" on www.change.org to persuade the new Obama administration to help refugees who want to reach the US. Many of these refugees are from the Horn of Africa, so we feel especially committed to him continuing his work.

Basically, the idea is that the U.S. should raise its quota of refugees who are allowed to come into the country. Currently, it is easier to get to the U.S. for work than it is to come to escape persecution. Mike wants the government to allow private individuals to sponsor bona fide refugees to enter the United States. Private sponsorships are already allowed in Canada and Australia and would help mainly African refugees stuck in places like Egypt from falling through the cracks. And his idea would also establish a refugee corp to help evaluate those people's claims to streamline the process. We have seen a lot of African refugees get stuck without any hope for the future, and while this wouldn't help all of them, it would allow some to live better lives.

Mike's idea is currently in third place and needs to keep getting more votes to make the next cut. So please vote if you can.

Here is a message from Mike:

Our proposal to revitalize US refugee policy started several weeks later than others in the Ideas for Change program, but it has been moving up. We're in third place now the ranks in the "humanitarian relief" category, and we are just 70 votes out of first place. But in just 10 days, we need to make the cut for the final round of voting.

Many of you have already voted, but some are still waiting. Now is the time. There is an opening to make a change for US foreign policy and for refugees around the world, but it won't last for long.

Just follow these steps:
1) Join Change.org at https://www.change.org/admin/sign_up
2) Vote by going to: http://www.change.org/ideas/view/usa_refugee_corps_-_export_hope_and_revitalize_our_national_moral_standing You should see your vote register and the number of votes go up! If you don't see that happen, try voting again.

If you have already voted, then please - please - find some colleagues or friends, and tell them about this idea. Ask them to vote. 70 votes is not very many. We can win this election, and give ourselves a major boost in the lobbying we will need to do in Washington.

And, finally, make this proposal your own. Add your input on the change.org website (http://www.change.org/ideas/view/usa_refugee_corps_-_export_hope_and_revitalize_our_national_moral_standing). There has already been a good discussion, and a lot of good ideas, and as this proposal is developed over time we will be incorporating them. And the more people discuss and debate it, the stronger this campaign.

Thank you. Mike

First salon visit

Earlier this week, on the third anniversary of the day we met Maya, Mike and I took her to Seattle for Ethiopian food. (We're on home leave visiting my parents for the holidays.) We had planned to take her to an Ethiopian hair salon to get her hair braided. But we had no luck at all finding an Ethiopian salon. The first one had no free slots open at a convenient time, the second said they didn't do braids, and the third was closed and didn't ever answer their phone. Very frustrating.

So today we tried again. This time we made an appointment with an African American salon in Seattle. We had to brave icy roads and put chains on the car to get there. But we had to go downtown anyway for Maya's annual well child checkup. She's doing great, by the way! She got two shots and didn't even cry!! When she saw the second needle she just looked up at the nurse and said: "Not so many, please".

Anyway, after her doctor visit we headed on down to her hair appointment. It was fantastic. They put Maya in a big chair with a booster seat and washed her hair in the sink. They combed it out, then wrapped her hair with a towel. Then they put her in another big chair with another booster seat in front of a full height mirror. Then they lotioned and blowdried her hair. And then they braided.

She chose to have braids, as she describes it, like "K"'s. K is a friend of hers from preschool who always has beautiful cornrows. So I asked for cornrows ending in two side ponytails. It looks super cute. She fell asleep on the way home from the salon, so I don't have any pictures to share just yet. But I was amazed how blowdrying her hair affects the braids. They are SO much longer that way. When I braid her hair, I do it when it is wet, and the braids end out much shorter.

The whole process took about 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Maya took four breaks. A potty break, a bagel break, and two more faux potty breaks. It was hard sitting still toward the end, but for the most part she was loving the pampering and attention, and flirting with everyone in the salon. And everyone in the salon was very welcoming to us and patient with Maya. After the braids were done, she pranced up to the front of the salon, held her hands in the air, and shouted: "I'm finished! Woohoo!!"