Sunday is Esther's 7th birthday! We are celebrating tonight by taking 6 of her little friends bowling and for pizza and cake. (It's not really a birthday to Ross without cake AND ice cream, but I think the ice cream might melt while we bowl, don't you?) We opted not to take Benaiah for 3 reasons:
1. He can't walk.
2. He can't bowl.
3. Due to his round body and bald head, he might be mistaken for a bowling ball.
Therefore, he is staying with Haybat, our sweet Iraqi babysitter we consider part of the family! This is the first time I have left Benaiah for longer than 3 hours, so I am leaving formula and a bottle just in case we don't make it back and he is squalling. I have never actually given him a bottle before, so...um, hope it goes well, Haybat! I ran out to the grocery last night to buy this little box of formula and it was $15! I did a little mental math (ok, I used a calculator) and figured out that if Benaiah drank formula exclusively, this box would last him about 2 days. So that is about $7.50 a day to feed him. So, if I didn't nurse Benaiah he would cost us about $2,737.50 per year. I have 5 kids. So basically, I have saved us $13,687.50 in the last 10 years by lactating. Wow. I think I'll submit my claim form to Ross later, maybe after they are all out of college.
On another note, today we must go visit the Emniyet. This is where we fill out lots of forms, go to lots of windows, get lots of stamps, answer lots of questions, get lots of questioning looks, pay lots of money, and get our visas to live here. We have a Turkish gal on staff who helps keep us all here legally. She accidentally forgot to submit Benaiah's paperwork, so he is technically here as an illegal alien. I got a call from our grandpa on staff who said he'd been to the post office and seen a picture of Benaiah on a WANTED sign. ha ha! Ross has been singing the Dukes of Hazard theme song to Benaiah, "Just a good ol' boy, never meanin' no harm, been in trouble with the law since the day he was born..." We'll have to pay a small fine UNLESS Benaiah can weasel his way out of it. I dressed him up and took the pictures above of him this morning. Do you think he can do it?
5 comments:
I'm sure he can get out of a fine- he looks adorable!
Way to go on the lactation savings! Maybe I need to turn in some receipts as well!
I don't know but I am beginning to be as tramatized as Benaiah "would be," if he weren't so loved. I don't think I can stand that little fellow "suffering" anything else. :)
On a much better note, these are the best pictures of Benaiah yet - an absolutely gorgeous little fellow. I can see a glimpse of Ross in these pictures of him.
This has been a trama week all over the world it seems, at least for me and Benaiah . . . Is it time for the weekend yet??? :))
Take care and I'll check back with you again soon. I've enjoyed reading this week.
Love,
Melanie
Well, you knew that last post was too short to be the only one . . . I forgot to tell you that because of all these events stemming from our unemployment, it has open wide several doors for me to share J with all kinds of people. People have been fascinated at how David and I have lived for 8 months with no job. I've been able to tell them!! [big smile]
M
OH SARA . . . I almost forgot. You said Sunday was Esther's birthday? Saturday is Kathleen's!! Your sweet Esther will be 7 and our sweet Kathleen will be 22! Can you believe that?
By the way, the sweetness has never changed as my kids have grown into adults. Kathleen is as sweet as ever with a big smile that still lights her face.
Be sure and tell Esther that friends from Mississippi wish her a very happy birthday!
Melanie
P. S. You can't tell I'm real "mush" when it comes to kids, can you? It definitely must be the grandmother age! My grandmother was 37 years old when I was born. Isn't that about your age? :)) See? You could be a grandmother.
Ever considered earning money being a wet nurse?? :)
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