Morocco

Atlas mountains

We drove from Fez to Marrakesh for 8hrs. On the way the scenery changed to beautiful mountains covered in snow.

Marrakesh Souk


Spice vendor



Walking in the Medina of Fez.

This was just too random to miss.

Maya is saying, "Bonjour!" It's one of the words she picked up on the trip.

The streets are narrow. Cars are not allowed.

Maya shares with Hisham, our guide.

I bought a scarf from a vendor and used it as a sling carrier.
Much more convenient than lugging around a carrier or stroller.

Maya slept A LOT. She really enjoyed being in the Deuter II carrier.

Cola delivery

Entrance to a school
The walls of the Medina are flat and simple. Once you pass through the doors you experience an overwhelming sense of beauty and craftsmanship.

Inside

She is making dough for pastilla. The black thing in the foreground is her clay orb where she cooks the dough after rolling it into a thin circle. She made the orb from clay and heats it on top of a propane tank. Her hands are in olive oil all day long. They must be very soft!

Tannery

Views from the top of a synagogue

Around the city of Fez

This Fez studio is controlled by the government
to ensure the pottery is non-toxic and safe for food prep.

This man is hand cutting each tile.
The picture below this one shows what is done with these tiny hand cut tiles.
A palace decorated with tiny hand cut tiles. This is seen all over Morocco.
Fez sunrise


Rabat

Casablanca

Hassan II Mosque--One of the largest mosques in the world

It was the night before...

and Maya was already enjoying one of her presents. Tonight she opened her bath time pirate friends package before bath time. We originally thought we would bathe her every other night out of convenience, and because in the winter at 15 months old she doesn't really get all that dirty. But Maya threw a fit when Grandma told her that it was straight to bedtime stories and no bath. Maya came into the kitchen in a fussy mood to get our attention. Ido decided to challenger her to see if she was really sophisticated enough to know what she was missing. He asked her what she wanted. She walked into her bathroom, pointing her finger the whole way, and when the bathtub was the target of her pointed finger, she said "bath". We all a laughed. And Maya took her bath.

Snow! Snow! Snow!

Several more inches of snow fell today and I have been loving the idea that Ido might get to take another snow day from work. He spends the day working from home, but it's nice to see him and drag him away from his desk for important adventures...



Greenlake was bustling with families sledding and skiing. Maya, Ido and I took the opportunity to refine our snowflake eating.

Greenlake is frozen!

Also, today marks the first day of Hanukah. Ido sang a song and set the candles ablaze.

Our celebratory feast was pinto beans (seasoned with bacon) cornbread and peppered pork tenderloin. Not so traditional as far as Jewish meals go, but it was delicious!

Maya makes the cornbread

Seattle took a few snow days and we have been making the most of it. One thing about living in Greenlake that I love is the abundance of life around. This life is especially present on the days when school is out! Kids and parents were everywhere-- lined up on any available downhill slope taking turns sledding down the streets.

We decided to stay close to home and enjoy the luxury of not having anything pressing to take care of.

We visited the snowman,

made chicken succotash soup,

and made pumpkin bread with raisins and toasted pecans. Maya enjoys helping in the kitchen. It usually means the task takes twice as long, but it also means that it's twice as much fun.

Split down the middle and packaged to deliver to John and Scarlett down the street.

House pics :)

From the street

Living

Dining

Kitchen

There's not business like snow business.

Three inches of snow fell on us this past weekend. My mom (who has been staying at our house to help with Maya and making my life so much better!) squealed and ran down the stairs as soon as it started falling. In Woodinville we got snow every year. I was hoping the city wouldn't dampen the winter spirit and leave me without my snow. It would be quite an adjustment for me to be without that quiet calm that snow brings to a neighborhood. And, of course, the snow ball fights!

View from the master bedroom deck

Maya was having the best time riding around in her cart with Grandma. They rode all the way down to visit John (two blocks away) and up and down the sidewalk in front of the house several times. Maya didn't want to come inside, but I insisted after her lips and hands turned an eggplant shade of purple!

Maya and Grandma going for a ride

To keep us warm and well fed, I made one of my favorite comfort foods: Moroccan Tagine with Chicken and couscous.

Moroccan spiced chicken with raisins, honey, and almonds. Very warm and tasty!

The Travel Bug bites again!

In anticipation of our January trip to Morocco, I feel it is time to post about our trip to Israel
earlier in this year when Maya was in her ultra portable five month state.

A week into the trip we decided to explore the ethnic culture in Israel. We sat for tea and coffee with a Bedouin man while he told us about how the Bedouin live. The traditional Bedouin are nomadic. They live in one tent made from hand spun goat hair and wool. Handmade blankets hanging on the inside of the tent partition off sleeping and living areas.
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If the host pours half a cup of tea or coffee for you, this means you are welcome. If he fills your cup, he is asking you to finish and leave. The men drink first, then the women. The green coffee beans are roasted over an open fire, then crushed in a special wooden or metal bowl in a musical fashion:
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We visited a village of land workers known as Falahem who used to lived in caves as recently as the sixties. A local family prepared a feast for us in the salon area of their cave. The interior was surprisingly roomy and comfortable. The temperature outside was sweltering, yet the interior of the cave maintained a comfortable 60-70. Our host poured coffee from a feenjan and we feasted on Arabic vegetable salads and roasted chicken.
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This day with the Bedouins was just enough to wet the appetites of Jean-Claude and Ido, so we left Maya with Safta Ella and the three of us set off to Jordan, where the Bedouin still live the traditional nomadic lifestyle. We drove with our Bedouin guide for an hour past the Jordan-Israel border. Most of the drive was off-road into the mountains.
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We visited around six families. Every tent we visited had a similar process- the Bedouine woman sees a vehicle approaching, quickly gathers up the children, and runs out of sight into the sleeping area of the tent. The man invites us in for tea and conversation, smokes tobacco he grew himself, and we say goodbye. They are very poor, very dirty, and very friendly. Most of what they sustain themselves on is what they can provide for themselves in the wild.
The Bedouine woman is not allowed to speak to or be seen with a man other than her husband. I was the only one allowed to speak with and photograph the women and children.
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As you can expect from a trip to Israel, we ate very well. Mimi and Batia filled our bellies with delicious Mediterranean and Moroccan food. Most of the trip was spent with family. The first few days were all about showing off Maya. She was having so much fun with all the smiling faces and people speaking to her in Hebrew. And she enjoyed something she had never experienced in Seattle-- warm weather! Maya played in the backyard and spent time relaxing in the shade with only a single layer of clothing on. She would have been perfectly happy to stroll naked through the streets of Israel.

Moving on...

In 2004 Ido and I bought a nice little 2200sqft house in Woodinville on a 16,000sqft lot. The location was perfection. The house overlooked a 250 acre nature preserve complete with duck pond and coyotes. I've posted pics of the house on the blog in the past. We put a lot of time and love into remodeling it to be just right for us.

Then along came Maya. We suddenly realized that being in the remote area of Woodinville, in a neighborhood that doesn't allow us more than a mile of walking without having to walk along the shoulder of a main road to get to new scenery, was not an ideal situation.

We sold the house to my mother.

Ido fell in love with a place called Greenlake. It's a suburb in Seattle that has everything a person needs within walking distance. It also has a magical lake and playground. After I gave up on my dream (temporarily!) of having a huge piece of land with farm animals and a creek running through it, I accepted that Greenlake will be the best choice. Shortly after that acceptance, I fell utterly and completely in love with Greenlake.

And so I bring you ***queue trumpets*** our new house:

It's two blocks off of Greenlake. Built in 1904 and remodeled in 1994, it is almost 2800sqft on two floors and a finished basement, 4br 3baths and includes a detached 650sqft studio with a kitchen and bath and heated concrete floors. The neighbors are very sweet. The property, the very small 6000sqft city lot, has five mature fruit trees and a small view of the lake. We are hoping to move in this weekend. More pics after we move our junk in.

I. Can't. Wait.

It's time

I'm trying to get the swing of this again. Patience please!

Sarah made pumpkin butter last week. I never thought it would be something Maya would be interested in, but it turns out that she is crazy about pumpkin butter. I don't blame her, it's really tasty. And I feel a little guilty when I eat some for myself, because I know how much she loves it, but it's really good so she will learn to share!

...now where was I?

I never posted about the events leading up to and after Maya's birth. And If I didn't thank you enough for being there for us (Oh, you know who you are) then a thousand times thank you.

She was a fussy thing even while still inside me. She would get the hickups daily (which I was told was a good sign) and wiggled every moment she was awake. Every time I went for a walk or exercised in the slightest I got the feeling that I was disturbing her sleep in that grumpy dog lying in the sun for an afternoon nap doesn't want to be bothered kind of way. I think in many ways she was ready to be out and be independent.

September 30th I got out of bed (at noon) and went to the bathroom. On the way there I noticed a trickle of blood following me on the floor. Then a rush of blood started running down my legs and pooled at my feet. My cell phone was dead. Ido was at Steve's house playing Dungeons and Dragons. (dork) I was panicked. I started talking to my unnamed belly saying it was going to be ok; we would be at the hospital soon.

They admitted me right away. They attached a baby monitor and did an ultrasound that revealed a partially abrupted placenta. I was so confused that I called John's cell and told him to tell Ido to come to the hospital when he finished his DnD game. I was a bit insane.

After five long days in the hospital, Dr. Partida, Ido and I decided it was time to meet this little girl. I had a positive amnio and was prepped for a Cesarean section. One hour later, at 8:31pm October 5th 2007, our beautiful screaming girl was born.

In her first 24 hours I held her whenever possible. I couldn't stand to have her more than a few feet away from me. She slept in my arms when she wasn't in Ido's. We had so many visitors and friends in the hospital. The room was filled with hope and love and things to welcome Maya. Around 40hrs after Maya's birth the resident pediatrician came by to give her an exam. He asked about her passing her meconium plug and we told him that she hadn't passed anything other than urine. A few xrays later he decided she had enough symptoms of hirschsprung's disease that he felt she should transfer to Children's hospital in Seattle. They took her away to prep her for transport. The next two hours were a blur of pain and tears. Ido and I sat on the bed crying without speaking. I was unable to focus on anything other than wanting to go back to before when we were all three in this room together celebrating Maya's new life.

We called Sarah. And as great friends always do, she knew exactly how to help. She cleaned out our belongings from our hospital room and made sure that everything else was taken care of at home and with contacting people that needed to know what was happening.

I rode with Maya in the ambulance while Ido followed behind us in our car. Maya stayed in the hospital in Seattle for two nights. She had a colon biopsy and several different invasive tests to determine whether or not she had the disease. After a lifetime of waiting (three days and two nights) they concluded that she did not have hirschsprung's, but that the problem was either constipation, or she had an even more frightening disease--Cystic Fibrosis. She was transferred back to Evergreen in Kirkland for monitoring until she could regulate her temperature, eat a meal without a tube, and test for Cystic Fibrosis.



Cystic Fibrosis was ruled out after Dr. Partida gave me my records indicating I am negative. Except for rare cases, both parents must be positive for the offspring to be positive. I am negative!

After 11 days in the hospital Maya was released and Ido and I were free to endure the natural panic that goes along with being new parents. We were elated, exhausted, relieved, frightened, grateful, happy. She is a happy, healthy bundle of independence. She is the love of our lives.

Eat, Drink, Be Married with children

Being a parent has consumed most of what I used to confuse as my life. The luxury of luxury time has long passed. Gone are the days of absurd marital formalities. Those niceties where bathroom adventures and unshaven legs existed as monsters in the night. A seasoned father (Brian, yes I mean you) once told me that you give up everything you once loved when when you have a child. At the time I took this to mean that my life was soon coming to an end. That I needed to hurry up and exploit my freedom to the hilt.

Au contraire...

My life was marked by firm purpose the day Maya and her chubby legs arrived. In the beginning, before Maya started sleeping from 9pm to 7am, I would go days without a shower, have time to eat only one meal a day, and sleep less than two hours a night. The world was spinning twice as fast as it should have been and I couldn't get a grasp on what was day, what was night, and why Maya had on two diapers at once. I wanted that to come to an end. I needed sleep. I needed to eat. And I needed not to feel like I had squirrels nesting in my hair.

Now that Maya is sleeping through the night in her own room, I find myself lying in bed awake listening to her subtle grunts and coos while staring at the baby monitor screen hoping to see her smile or hear her giggle in her sleep. I watch her wiggle around in her crib. I long for her to be next to me in the bed where she used to reach out her delicate hands searching for me in sleep. Upon locating me she would rest her open palm on cheek and all would be right with our worlds. Every morning when she wakes I'm bursting with anticipation because I know I get to feed her and snuggle with her after a long torturous night of being away.

I now understand what the he meant about giving up everything you once loved. There isn't a fraction of my being that would rather be doing anything other than anything Maya.

A toast to Butters

John and Scarlett got a new Corgi puppy named Butters. He is a feisty; sweet boy. I made him a pillow in the shape of a piece of toast.