Just popping on to say hello before I leave for dinner tonight. This has been another typically full week at the house. On Monday we went to a terrific Hash walk through the Lilongwe Wildlife Sanctuary. Milo was enraptured by the huge hyena pacing back and forth behind the fence, taunting it by yelling "doggie! doggie!" The hyena did not seem amused. We also got a close-up view of Bella, the stunted and half-blind lion, rescued from an Armenian circus.

Yesterday my wonderful husband took me on a death march around our neighborhood for an hour and a half. That's what I get for enlisting him in trying to help me get out and moving. Then it was off to choir practice.

Tonight it's off to dinner for a friend's birthday, tomorrow we are hosting a going-away party for our dear friend Lillian, Friday we have tickets for a St. Patrick's Day concert of traditional Irish music, then Saturday we are planning to head off for a lake weekend. Whew!

But by far the most exciting thing about this week is that one of our favorite people, Cassandra, arrives tomorrow for a 10-day visit! HOORAY! I can't wait for the girl talk to start...

Milo is getting so verbal lately. When Jorge picked me up from work Milo just yelled "Hello mama!" Like a real person! He also tried to pee in his potty today, that was pretty exciting. He missed of course. Then 30 minutes crawled into my lap so he could pee all over my legs. Sigh.

Well, that's the news from Lilongwe.

Happy birthday to me!

It's my birthday! Yay for me being born! Thank God my parents weren't so fastidious with the birth control, ya know what I mean? (My mom, bless her heart for thinking I'd actually be concerned about this sort of thing, once told me: "You weren't an accident, honey. You were a pleasant surprise")

So what are the plans, you ask? Well, a few days ago I realized that my birthday was coming up, and fast, and I had a bit of a meltdown. For one thing, Jorge and Milo are still away, and I have spent every birthday with my husband for the last 7 years. But even worse, I suddenly realized I have almost no friend left here.

This has been the year of the friend diaspora. They're dropping like flies. First Cassandra - that was a blow - then Ann, Christine, Alisha, Emily...Each departure takes a little bit out of me. Then last week I got the news that Amy is leaving soon, too, and I just about lost it. While it's cool to have 'couple friends' and all that, I really need my girlfriends - people who know me as me, on my own, not as a mom or half of a married couple.

I was a bit lost - I sure didn't want to spend my birthday alone, but I didn't exaclty wan tto have to throw myself a party. That seems laml. And wouldn't you know it - my girls pulled through for me, with dinner, drinks, and hopefully dancing (there's a Michael Jackson tribute party tonight). And we've decided to suck in a few ladies that I don't know all that well, but who seem cool. The plan is to start rebuilding the ranks. So tonight is ladies night, people, and I plan to live it up. Hope you all have a fun weekend as well.

Has it really been two weeks?

My, how the time flies in America. How do you people ever get your heads above water? It seems like there is never enough time to do the things you need to do here. I have a strong suspicion it is because you Yanks have to do your own laundry.

Needless to say, we have been busy. Last week we traveled to New York, where Jorge was Best Man at his friend Daniel's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding. They had cigar rollers. Jorge says this was over the top - after all, they're Colombians, not Cubans, so he says it would have been a more authentic experience if the guests were sprinkled with cocaine. (Thankfully, we were not). They also had terrific food, including a dessert bar. Unfortunately, I was not able to eat much, because I unwisely wore a beautiful taffeta dress that doubled as a gastric bypass. I literally could not fit the food in my stomach. Next wedding, I'm going with an elastic waistband, fashion be damned.

From New York we took the bus up to Boston, where neither of us have been before. Once in Boston, we two poor souls - who do not even own winter coats - were subjected to what felt like sub-zero temperatures and rain every day. Hasn't New England heard of summertime? We had a great time nonetheless, and I got to catch up with two treasured friends, Suzanne and Jennifer.

Then I had 3 last days in New Orleans of shopping, cleaning up the mess I made of my brother-in-law's house, and packing. As usual, I have twice as much stuff as I thought I had, and am worried about being over the weight limit.

Tomorrow I start the 2-day trek back to Malawi, solo. Jorge and Milo are staying with his family a couple weeks longer, and I am already teary-eyed at the thought of being away from my darling boy for so long. On the bright side, I get to watch movies (and maybe even sleep!) on the airplane this time...

Madge & Co

I feel like I am incredibly lucky have such smart, kind, talented friends around me. Today I thought I would give a couple of them a little blog shout-out.

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. I have a close friend whose son was diagnosed with autism about a year ago. She is really an inspiration to me - not only does she work full time, but she takes care of her two kids with love, humor, and as much grace as she can muster under the trying circumstances.

She is also an amazing writer. She puts me to shame. Check out her blog, Rooster Calls. And if you're inspired, you can learn more about autism at Autism Speaks.

Another good friend of mine, Amy, also has an incredible talent - photography. On Saturday, she and I took a drive out of town, and ended up in a compound of farm-worker's homes. The people there were so welcoming and friendly, and generously allowed us to photograph their lives and children.

You can see some of Amy's photos (including one of me, with Milo in his chitenje) at AmyGottlieb.net. Hers are a heckuva lot better then mine. I guess I will have to keep practicing.

Amy also writes in her blog about the big news item of the week - Madonna is in Malawi again! Thanks Madonna for marginally increasing the percentage of Americans who have ever heard of this little country! You are a credit to your pop-star people. You are the Bono of small-African-nation geography.

Madonna is trying to adopt a little 4-year old girl. Why she would want another baby at her age is a whole 'nother issue, but hey, to each their own. (Rawr.)

There's a bit of controversy, as Malawian law requires foreigners to stay in the country for 18 to 24 months for assessment when adopting a child here. Madonna's wealth and status seem to allow her to circumvent this law. But most Malawians believe that this child would be better off, so there's not much animosity from the people here.

At the moment she's off traveling the country, which is a little incomprehensible in and of itself. Jorge and I have been speculating where on Earth a millionaire would want to spend a few days in Malawi. My guess is Pumulani, the fancy new lakeside resort. Jorge is speculating Mvuu Lodge, the only high-end safari lodge. After that, it's backpacker haunts and business hotels, so if you're Madonna-hunting, those are really your only two options.

It’s been a busy week. Last week we went to three going-away parties, a birthday party, and a wine-and-cheese reception. I also went back to yoga for the first time in months, and went to meditation practice. Jorge and I went to the weekly softball game and hung out with the kids playing duck-duck-goose. It was a nice week.

Yesterday we went back to the Hash after a long absence, the running group we’ve been going to since we first arrived. Milo weighs 22 pounds now, so he’s a bit heavy for me to lug around in a sling or front-carrier. A friend (who recently had triplets!) loaned us a baby backpack, and Milo loooooved it. He giggled and cooed through the whole walk, charming everyone.

So many of our friends are leaving, and it’s very sad. On Saturday I spent the morning at my friend Christine’s house, on her last day. Today I am going to lunch with my friend Ann at the Sanctuary, a new, beautiful restaurant in Lilongwe. Tomorrow Ann flies to Uganda for a new position. (She is the one who has been teaching me to meditate, by the way. Very important skill for a new mother.)

One of the nicest things about living overseas is how quickly you develop meaningful friendships. I lived in New Orleans for almost 6 years, and had very few friends to show for it (it didn’t help that I met Jorge just two months after I arrived, and was quickly co-opted into his life, rather than establishing myself on my own.)

It seems so difficult to make friends in America – everyone already seems to have their social circle, and they don’t tend to have vacancies. Whereas in Africa, there’s a new lonely expat arriving all the time, just waiting to be befriended. And even better – they tend to have the same interests as me. People who can discuss Khadafi, cholera, and community development…and then turn around and talk books or travel or movies. Just the idea of ever moving back to the U.S. makes me lonely.

Today is a holiday in Malawi - Martyr's Day. Jorge and I ditched Milo with the babysitter and are at my office making use of the internet.

Milo was pretty sick last week, with a fever and bad cough. I had to go out of town for a night for work, so I felt very guilty about leaving him, but his papa is pretty capable. He's doing much better now. Look, he's even happy about being stuck in a laundry basket while we do chores!

Oh, which brings me to something that annoyed me recently. I have this silly book about babies, written by Dr. Sears, who is the famous physician and advocate for "attachment parenting." Anyway, Jorge and I both flipped through the book and were stunned by the sexism. I mean, I know it's not common for the father to be the primary caregiver, but it does happen. The entire book seemed to be based on the assumption that the mother would be the one who really "knows" the child, and that the father would be at work all day, and just popping in every now and again to toss a ball around with the kid. Have we really not come farther than that?

In Milo news, he got his 7th tooth yesterday. That kid is just dying to eat some ribs, I can tell! Jorge claimed that he also took his first steps yesterday, but I am doubtful. After all, it's Jorge's word alone, you know what I mean?

And last week we had our 3rd annual Mardi Gras party. Our parties keep getting smaller, because we're not making friends fast enough to replace the ones that are leaving for new jobs. But here are a few pictures from a very fun night:

Finally, the rest of the news is:

My contract is being extended to the end of May. So we have an end date in sight, and are having to get used to the idea of leaving Malawi.

We've got tickets to Cape town for Easter! Jorge is running the Two Oceans race with a group of friends. It should be a terrific week.

Well, I am back in Malawi, still coughing, but not so bad that it gives me migraines anymore. The flight home was smooth, albeit long. I was a nosy busy-body and interrupted some poor woman on the flight to Malawi because she was talking about MUAC (Mid-Upper Arm Circumference - used to measure malnutrition). I take it as my personal business now whenever someone in Malawi wants to work on nutrition. I mean, the Minsitry of Health has my back on this, but still, I find an uncontrollable need lately for everyone to nkow that I am a big bwana when it comes to malnutrition. The woman, as it turns out, was very excited to meet me and wants to come to my office to see me. Thereby further inflating my big puffy ego.

I really don't have much to say, but I feel a need to keep blogging...

It is starting to be that time of year when friends move on or go back to the States. We've already had to say goodbye to Cassandra, our dearest friend here, and now we're facing the imminent departures of Christine and Ann. This is desperately sad for me. We have known these people for almost 3 years - a long time in the international expat world - and have shared a lot of good times together. And it's not so much that our friends are going away that is hard...it's the knowledge that eventually we're going to have to get out there and make NEW friends! Oh, the horror of small-talk, misunderstood in-jokes and awkward silences...I just want all my friends to stay!

Hmmm. In other news, Jorge is training for another inhumanly long race (50 miles or something similarly ungodly). We went to see an orthopedist a few weeks ago who bamboozled him into getting six shots in his neck (he was expecting one. You should have seen his face when she just kept stabbing him over and over again in the neck with that needle!) She gave him some sort of muscle relaxant that has really been great in relieving his neck pain, so I'm happy for that.

Milo is doing well, and merits his own update sometime soon, once I bring in some recent photos. I promise, I will do that soon!

And the award goes to...

I thought I should mention the things that were good and nice about Christmas this year. So the shining stars of Christmas are:

• My cousin Simon, who invited us over on Christmas Eve even though he was getting married three days later.
• Joan's niece Suzanne, who had us over the night of Christmas for a light dinner
• Joan's sister Mary, and her husband Steve, who had us over for a wonderful dinner on Boxing Day, and who gave Milo three books that he just loves
• My cousing Robert and his wife Jo, who gave Milo his only toy of Christmas
• My Auntie Diana, who invited the family over for lunch the day after Simon's wedding, and who gave Milo a book for Christmas
• Our family friends Peter and Judy, who invited us to stay at their home in Wales for a night, even though Judy just had her hip replaced, and who shared their good Scotch with Jorge
• Our friend Sarah and her husband Matt, who put us up for 6 days in Huddersfield - it's not easy having two Americans, a Colombian, and a baby as houseguests, and they were very generous, kind hosts
• My sister Miriam, who can make anything fun. The best thing about Christmas this year, by far, was getting to spend it with her.

We had a wonderful weekend. It was almost as if we had a life again.

We finally found a babysitter – the next-door neighbor’s housekeeper – and she comes over in the afternoons a couple days a week. It gives Jorge a chance to go off and run errands or check his e-mail without worrying about what to do with Milo.

The great thing is that she will also stay over at night, so that we can now go out on dates again! Before this weekend, my husband and I had only been out on one date since Milo was born. On Friday night the babysitter came over, and Jorge and I went out for a lovely dinner at a romantic little Italian place. After that, we drove over to the international school, which was hosting an art fair – they had assembled works, good and bad, from artists and craftsmen throughout Malawi. I bought this (it looks more muted in person):


Then, not content to go quietly into the night, we went to a friend's birthday party at Kumbali Lodge (where Madonna stays when she's in town. What, namedropping, me?) After that we finally went to bed, and I didn’t even have to get up to feed Milo!

On Saturday morning we went to breakfast at a friend’s house. Jorge normally runs with a group on Saturday mornings, and afterwards they have breakfast. This Saturday, however, there was no run, so we just got to eat instead. Our friend Marcel has an amazing home, complete with a crocodile pen. Jorge couldn’t resist dangling Milo over the enclosure, but I got video, so I can show Jorge’s mom. I can hear her now: “Jorge, Nooooooo!! Noooooo, por Dios!!”

That evening we had dinner at Cassandra’s. Her brother is a professional chef. Tasty.

On Sunday morning, Jorge ran in the annual Lilongwe Half-marathon, and I manned a water station. I was nervous about Jorge running so soon after his accident, and he planned to take it easy, walking some of the way. But once he got going, he just decided to run the whole way. He was a bit slower than usual, and a bit more sore afterward, but I think it was probably good for him, in the end.

After the run, our friend Ann hosted brunch, with homemade bagels. Mmmm.

And last night, I became an official member of the Lilongwe Photo Club, a group of camera geeks that gets together monthly to view photos, provide constructive criticism, and eat. The eating part seems to be taken the most seriously. I was a bit intimidated because everyone else has these cool artsy photos...and I have pictures of my baby. At least he's cute. See?:

Very sad day

We got very bad news last night. Matthew, the son of our housekeeper Godfrey, called and told Jorge that his mother had died. Then the phones cut out.

When we were able to get a hold of Godfrey, we heard the story. His wife had been complaining of headaches and backaches, and suddenly started feeling much worse. They went to the hospital, but apparently were told that it was nothing serious. On their way home from the hospital, she died.

We were able to help him get her taken to the morgue, and he is hoping to transfer her body to their family home in Mulanje, 6 hours south of here, for the funeral. I wish I could go to the funeral, but we still don't have a car, so it doesn't look likely.

I am mourning mostly for her four children. Godfrey has three lovely daughters and a wonderful, bright son. The youngest is 5, and the oldest is 17.

Sometimes I just hate Africa. The life expectancy in Malawi is only 38 years. 38 years! It's so unfair, and so heartbreaking. If you are the praying type, please keep Godfrey, and his children Christina, Matthew, Ethel , and Deborah in your prayers.

Whee, look at me! I'm a regular blogger again!

We're getting settled back into normal life here. Friends have come to visit over the last couple of evenings, tonight I have a birthday party to go to, and tomorrow a friend is throwing us a welcome-back cocktail party at her home. I no longer feel like a disheveled and friendless new mom.

Over the weekend we went out to the Lilongwe Sailing Club. There was no wind, and the hippo was out, so no one sailed. Instead we just barbecued and chatted with friends. Our friend Sonia shared with us a funny story, but first you need some background:

Malawians have a very difficult time differentiating the "L" and "R" sounds. They can't really hear the difference, and frequently interchange the letters in their writing. For example, the newspaper today described a man as being "raid to rest."

So over the summer, during all the political turmoil in Zimbabwe, Sonia got daily updates from the staff, all of whom were following the situation closely.

"The erections are being manipulated," they told her,

and, (my favorite),

"Mugabe is fiddling with the erections."

:-)

Sad news

On my first day back at work, I learned that a colleague that worked with me here in Malawi died in a car accident Tuesday night, in Sierra Leone.

You worry about all the scary diseases that are out here - malaria, HIV, tuberculosis - and the crime, and the insecurity, but all too often it's just something as mundane as another car that gets you. When I was in Ghana, we had to halt work three times in three months for fatal car accidents that took the lives of nurses that I worked with.

My heart goes out to his wife and their young daughter. Such a tragedy.

Houseguests

In less than two weeks, Jorge and I will be flying back to Malawi. Over the last six months we have had many wonderful visits from friends and family, and several great trips out of town as well. By my reckoning, in Milo's first 5 months of life, we have spent less than two of those just relaxing at home without guests.

So, even though we love spending time with our guests, it has been a bit exhausting. My grandmother used to be fond of saying that houseguests are a bit like fish. After three days, they really start to stink.

But sometimes it's even worse. Sometimes they also punch holes in your bathroom wall.

Our friend Jonathan, who visited in July, generously offered to help my sister with a re-wiring project she had planned for her guest bathroom. Unfortunately, the project turned out to be a bit more complicated than planned. He punched one hole. Miriam left for the evening, reassured that it would be patched up before the night was over. Instead she came home to this:

Apparently he made the mistake of asking Miriam's boyfriend for help. He turns out to have a great enthusiasm for punching holes. When Tampa showed up with a crowbar and a sledgehammer, Jorge had the sense to put on the brakes. Poor Jonathan couldn't enjoy the rest of his vacation until it was fixed, though. He promised to fix the holes. First he patched them:

Then he smoothed the wall over (with help).

Finally, Miriam painted and added a new mirror. Here's the finished product:

So sometimes houseguests aren't so bad after all!

Dude, where's my car?

About 10 years ago, I was staying with my friend Mary in Washington D.C. Her boyfriend came over one night after having a couple drinks with his friends. He'd left something in his car, so I went out with him to get it. After wandering around a bit, I realized who was looking a bit perplexed. "Dude, did you forget where you parked your car?" I asked.

"No, I parked it here...I'm sure...I'm pretty sure..."

"Dude, you are so drunk. I can't believe you lost your car."

Well, as it turned out, in the 15 minutes he had been at Mary's apartment, his car had been stolen. I felt badly for mocking him.

So today, when my sister's boyfriend called and asked why my dad's car, which he generously loaned us for the summer, wasn't parked outside, we chuckled. It must be out there, he must have missed it somehow. We went out to check. No, not there. Not in the garage either...

So of course my sister and I then looked to Jorge. "Dude, seriously, what did you do with the car?" When it finally sunk in that this was not one of Jorge's pranks, we realized that my dad's car was indeed stolen from in front of our house last night. Crap.

This has not improved Jorge's impression of Seattle, naturally.

And the worst part? Tonight is our long-anticipated date night. Argh.

Oh, actually, the really worst part is that my dad was going to give the car to my sister after Jorge and I leave, because her boyfriend Tampa's car isn't working and they need it more than dad. Just three weeks more and she'd be the one getting that insurance payout, not him. Poor Miriam!

No wait, how about this: yesterday Jorge got the oil changed and filled up the tank! And Tampa just got a $35 parking ticket on the car, which he still has to pay...

Oy vey.

Of all the rotten, lousy luck

Remember those opera tickets I was so excited about? Well, the performance was this week. The Seattle Opera, which I used to go to pretty often as a kid, is playing Aida right now, an opera by Verdi (my favorite - he's big on the tragic, murder-suicide endings. Classic.)

I went with Mary, one of my closest friends, who came out for a few days from D.C. to see me and meet the munchkin. I was a bit apprehensive, because I developed a bit of a cough earlier this week.

Well, as it turned out, it was really more like tuberculosis or whooping cough. I made it through the overture and about three minutes of singing, and I was racked by heaving, shuddering coughs. I think the people around me must have thought I was getting a little into the 18th century opera mode, what with having consumption and all.

So I made everyone in the row get up to let me out, and I went out to the lobby where I think I literally coughed up a piece of lung. As I settled down to watch the opera on a tiny TV screen, an usher took pity on me and came over to help me out.

"If you think your cough might last a while, I could take you to the quiet room." Oh heck yeah. So I spent the entire 3 and a half hours, minus intermission, hacking away behind a wall of plexiglass, with the opera piped in over a speaker. I bobbed my head up, trying to see over the heads of the audience in front me, then back down to read the translation over the stage, which was blocked by the window frame. Not exactly the experience I paid a small fortune for, but at least now I know how it ends.

Mary headed back to D.C. tonight, so Jorge and I have a couple days free before our trip.

Oh, didn't I mention? We're going to Costa Rica on Wednesday. Never a rest, I swear...

No longer a helper

This is a little story about my friend Amy. Amy is my sister's best friend, and has known me since I was a bump in my mom's belly.

A couple years ago, my sister and Amy cooked a nice big holiday meal for friends and family. My father wrote an e-mail to his family in England, describing the lovely meal that Miriam made, and all the effort she had gone to. When Amy pointed out that her contribution had gone unacknowledged, dad sent a follow-up e-mail, that simply said: "And Amy helped."

Since then, Amy's been jokingly called "the helper" in our family.

Well, she finally graduated. Last week Amy called and invited me to a chili cookoff that her husband's workplace was having. Much to our surprise, Amy's "Drunken Chipotle Chili" won the top honors (and a $200 prize!) So now we have all been forced to admit that Amy is not just a helper anymore, she's a top chef.

AWOL

Yes, I've been gone quite a while. I know I'm beginning to sound like a bit of a broken record, but life as an expectant mom in the U.S. just doesn't inspire me half as much as life as an career gal in Africa. I just feel so pedestrian writing about pregnancy, modern comforts, and daily life around the house.

But I have my public to think of, so I must soldier on and find things to write about.

Today will be a bit of a flashback, then. On the day before we left Malawi, our friend Christine hosted a big barbecue for us at her wonderful, cozy home. It was such a treat to get together with so many of our friends before flying off. I'm not sure if it made it easier or harder to go, though. But I thought it would be nice to share photos of some of the people who have really touched our lives over the last year and a half. I know it's a lot of photos, but I actually had to cut a lot of people out, so apologies to those of you I missed here!

By the way - why is it faster to upload photos to my blog in Africa? That just seems wrong.

There was a ton of food, and we even got gifts! Yay!

Our generous, gracious host Christine, dragging us in front of the crowd for toasts.

Ooh, we're being feted! That doesn't happen to me very often.

With Leslie, who has been a close friend since we first arrived. She even "rented" my husband and mother-in-law for a vacation once.

I'm sure I'm not the one making the witty remarks that made these guys smile. Must have been Jorge.

Our dear friend Cassandra, who I already miss.

Ann, who has an infectious laugh, and an inspiring sense of calm.

Jennifer, who likes to bake as much as I do!

Ali, Jorge's off-roading adventure buddy, who also happens to be a real sweetheart.

Matt, host of many a fun party, and a linchpin of social life in Lilongwe.

The lovely Mariah and Mena.

And the equally lovely (and accomplished chefs) Barbara and Alisha.

Amy and Andy, a couple I am just incredibly fond of. Look at those smiles - how could you not like these people?

Godfrey and his two oldest children. Speaking of terrific smiles...!

Belle of the ball

One of the nicer compliments my sister ever paid me was something along the lines of "Oh, Gwyneth, you're not an airhead...you're more of a...butterfly." Meaning, of course, that I just flit from here to there without always having an evident purpose.

This weekend I definitely felt like a butterfly, but in a good, social, way. The last week was full of activity. It started out with a nice dinner with friends at a very strange new, Chinese-run, restaurant, where every other dish we ordered was met with "oh nooooo....you won't like that one" by the petite little Asian waitress. (We overrided her protestations and were pleasantly surprised with how much we like the food indeed).

Then on Thursday my friend Leslie had her second annual Valentine's Day party. Here is a picture of me posing as Jorge's fallen-from-grace prom date (ooh, and you can see my new haircut as well!):

On Friday we went out again with friends, this time to an Ethiopian restaurant. Mmmm, injera.

Saturday was pretty packed - we drove out to the dam for our last sailing day for a long while. On the way there we rescued a slow-moving chameleon from the road. After crushing Jorge's poor little hopes ("Can we keep it? Pleeease?") we relocated the little guy to the relative luxury of the sailing club, where I learned that Malawians are terrified of chameleons (the poor guide almost turned white). The poor lizard was then taunted for an hour by small children wielding sticks, until he escaped up a tree. I just hope he doesn't have a little lizard wife and kids sitting at home wondering why dad never came home...

That evening there were two parties to attend; yes, yours truly is very much sought-after.

On Sunday we went to church, which was Jorge's idea, so rather surprising, really. He has decided that now we are to become parents, we need to start pretending to be good, moral people, so as to fool the kids for as long as possible. After church we went to brunch at a friend's house, where I think I ate my weight in homemade bagels. Finally, yesterday evening, after Jorge's ultimate frisbee game, a friend threw a little potluck dinner to wish us farewell, which was nice.

Now I am just focusing on getting through one last work-week. I am ready for a break from work!

Got de baby!

My friend Francisca says that in Guinea, when women are pregnant they say "I got de baby."

It's a tradition in Louisiana to have King Cake, a bready, glazed cake, often filled with cream cheese or praline (or both, my favorite). Inside the cake you put a little plastic baby, and whoever gets the piece of cake with the baby in it has to throw the next party.

So we threw our annual Mardi Gras party on Tuesday and had friends over for jambalaya, king cake, and plenty of tasty blended drinks. When it was time to make the King Cake, we realized we had no baby bead. In stepped our friend Christine, whose parents used to live in New Orleans, and who had, unexpectedly, a stock of Mardi Gras paraphenalia at her house. She shoved the baby somewhere in the cake, then poked lots of holes so we wouldn't know which piece had it.

At the end of the night, we brought out the cake, explained the tradition, and my friend Leslie took over cake-cutting responsibility. I thought the cake was a little light on the filling, so I directed Leslie to give me a slice from the more filled side. She refused. I told her it was my house, and my cake, and I'll have whichever slice I like! And she yelled "No! You just want that piece because you know it has the baby!!"

"Ummm. OK. Well, NOW I know it has the baby." ("You doofus", I wanted to add). Christine actually had to step in and tell Leslie I didn't put the baby in the cake. Seriously, I thought Leslie might just hit me for a second there!

So, turns out not only do I "got de baby," I also got the baby. And now have to throw the next Mardi Gras party. Which I was going to do anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving

I had a cute post laid out yesterday, but then realized that I forgot the pictures to attach. So you will just have to wait on that, and read this boring, newsy post instead.

Our entertaining season seems to be in full swing now. Last night we had friends over for gumbo and potato salad (with real andouille sausage brought all the way from LaPlace, Louisiana. Mmmm) followed by bananas foster. The ice cream here is very weird. I guess because of the African heat, they have come up with a way to magically make ice cream that never melts. It just turns into the consistency of whipping cream when you leave it out. Very strange and suspicious. In Ghana, they had chocolate that wouldn't melt. That's just not right either.

Anyway, on Saturday we're having our big turkey day. We learned from last year and bought two turkeys this time. Because having leftovers is one of the best parts of the holiday.

Then, next Monday, we are hosting our first hash. I'll tell you all about the hash next week. Anyway, it just means more work for me!

As for me, I'm heading off to the field again tomorrow. (Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, naturally). I will be in Chikwawa (about 6 hours South and fun to say!) until Saturday, when I have to race back for the Thanksgiving preparations. It will be nice to get out of the office, though.

And baby is still doing well. Likes to kick. I am halfway through the pregnancy now, and I'll be going for an ultrasound in one hour. Maybe then we'll know if it's going to be a Tonka or a Tonkette!