birthday girl*

Please take a cupcake—they are fresh!Hello lovelies, would you like to help wish maggie a happy birthday? Here’s the thing...she’s sleeping now and when she wakes up it will be her 23^rd birthday weekend and you, yes YOU, her wonderfully kind faithful friends will already have been busy little elves sending wishes from around the world all the way to Nepal, right here, on this little blog! How sweet is that? I think it will be an absolutely gorgeous way for the birthday girl to start the day (that is after she makes her 27 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and walks the kids to school). Yes, even birthday gals need to make lunch. I know she adores every single message you send, so please let’s have some fun! Will you leave maggie a birthday wish?                 A poem? A special quote? A rad song? A note from your sweet heart to her sweet heart? You are the gift. And you are beautiful! Thank you! xxxo, lil’ birdie  

P.S. Won't you please spread the word and keep the love soaring!

Let's get this party started with some music! *It takes a few secs to load...enjoy!

Happy Halloween

Maya and her teeth

We don't celebrate Halloween here in Nepal but I thought this picture from a few months back would be fitting.

In one of my many attempts to discipline Maya I decided to try the reward technique.  I came up with a plan and decided that if she could go 5 days without cursing, spitting or biting I'd take her to the shop up the road and let her choose ANYTHING she wanted.

At the end of every day we'd talk about her behavior.  I also checked in with the teacher at school at the end of each day when I went to pick her up.  After a few failed attempts she was able to tally up 5 days.  A very happy Maya and I held hands and walked up our little dirt road to the shop at the end of the street.

Picture this... a little shop filled with an array of any kind of colorful candy you can imagine, bubble gum, chocolate bars, cookies, toy cars, EVEN ice-pops.

Maya walked up to the counter and looked around, carefully skimming all the different treats and toys.  Suddenly she pointed to something in the far left corner of the shop.

"Teeth!" she exclaimed.  

"Teeth?"  I asked, clearly having no idea what she was talking about.  I don't even know how she spotted them.

"I want those teeth over there," she said with her impish smile pointing to a jar filled with vampire teeth.

The shop keeper and other people standing around all laughed.  "She could have anything, anything she wanted, and she's choosing teeth?  You don't want chocolate or candy or an ice-pop?"

"Teeth," was all she answered. 

We all laughed.

Her reward for not biting, and she chose vampire teeth!  Just a little bit ironic. 

She always keeps me on my toes this little one.

Happy Halloween.

*To those of you in the Deerfield neighborhood... be sure to stop by my parent's house to trick-or-treat!  Halloween is one of my dad's favorite holidays... Not sure what he has planned for this year but he always goes all out and has the BEST candy.    

Update on Friday, October 30, 2009 at 12:33PM by maggie doyne

Maya just last week, sans fake teethA helpful NYT piece, "When you're child is a biter" sent to me by my very sweet friend Megan who always seems to know the right thing to say/send.  I liked the comments.  Maya is still a biter but she's getting better!

Siblings Reunite

Nisha and Madan Rana- brother and sister (in case you couldn't tell)

A few months back I came to know about Small Nisha's, little brother, 7 year old Madan.  It's common for siblings to be separated after the death of parents. I've known about him for a few months but with Juntara's passing and all of the travel I was doing with the application for Do Something, I decided it was safe to keep him where he was until I could be sure that his transition to come and live here could be as smooth as possible.  He was also undergoing treatment for tuberculosis and I needed to be sure it was clear out of his system so that it would be safe to have him here with the other children.  I checked in on him often, but still, knowing that one of my children's only known relatives was sleeping under another roof was constantly in the back of my mind.  In a way I guess I didn't feel like our family was complete without him. 

On a quiet day, just before the brother sister holiday a few weeks ago, I woke up and knew it was time.  I'll never forget the day that Nisha and I went to go pick him up (he's been staying/working in a hotel near the bus station, paperwork already cleared) and it was like the easiest most simple moment in the existence of siblings and man kind.   

"Are you ready to come and live with us?" I asked.  

He didn't blink or take a breath or hesitate for even a milisecond.  "Yes," he answered almost before I had finished my sentence. 

"When do you want to come?" 

"Can I come today?" he asked.  

And he came, just like that, in his bright blue t-shirt and torn pants hanging off his hips with not a single possession to his name.  

And Nisha held his hand and we walked over to the scooter on the side of the busy bus station and a tear rolled down my cheek.  We took him home.

He fit so perfectly in with the rest of the children so instantly that it was almost as though he'd been here all along and maybe that's why it's taken me so long to write this little entry talking about his arrival... because it felt so right.  Like nothing had ever changed.  Everything is as it should be with him here.  

Welcome Madan.

To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts.  We live outside the touch of time.

          Clara Ortega

The tree of hands

the hand/butterfly tree

The children all said their goodbyes and Jordyn left yesterday right after the kids went to school.  She's been teaching them art and there are pieces of her scattered everywhere throughout the house.  In her final project she taught the kids how to make their own picture frames and printed pictures to put in them.  There is a tree made of colorful painted hands in our reading room.  Butterflies, tigers, homemade masks, play dough beads, and papermache bowls adorn our home.

When I went to pick the kids up at school they looked disappointed.  "Where's Jordyn?  She left?  She's really gone?"  I think they were all secretly hoping that her flight had gotten cancelled or she'd magically decided to stay.  On the entire walk home we talked about her.  The older girls were the most upset.  Santosh exclaimed out of the blue, "Jordyn really taught us the best art ever!" Maya asked if she was coming back next year.  I said I wasn't sure. 

"But what if we go to Bardia again?  She'll come to Bardia won't she?

It can be sad when our friends go but we really do remember them forever.  Our thanks to Jordyn for everything she taught us.

Also I haven't mentioned here yet that I'm going to be attending the European Summit for Global Transformation in a few weeks in Rotterdam.  The people who are organizing it are generously flying me out for a few days and it looks like it's going to be a really incredible event– merging of minds, ideas, and inspiration!  I've heard they have a few spaces left, so if you're interested check it out!

Hope your week is going swell.  We're just about to kick off our Wednesday morning here.  I'm off to my cup of chai tea and 27* children. (more later)  Bless!

xo Maggie

Kopila Kitty

Krishna, Sagar, Bhukta, Arjuna
Small Nisha, Arjuna

I stopped on the side of the main highway that runs through Surkhet the other day to talk to one of the land owners who we're currently negotiating with.  (Land is still in the works... will update you all later on what's going on with it.)  As I was talking I noticed a kitten trying to cross the road about to get squashed by a tractor.  She made it across and came to hide right underneath my scooter.  And that was that.  I asked around and everyone assured me that she was a stray kitty and told me I could take her.  So I did.  One- because I think she will be good at keeping mice away (she already caught a baby mouse.)  Two because I believe that animals are good for children and the healing process.  I've given the main responsibility of caretaker to Bindu who is in need of some extra love and attention right now.   Three- She was too cute to resist!   

The children named her Arjuna (the arch goddess) which also means bright and shining.  

I also like to think she is the reincarnation of Shroeder, the childhood cat that Kate, Libby and I grew up with on Collins Avenue with Regina.

And I have recently come to know that Jordyn of Do Something is also a cat whisper-er.  She knows every thing there is too know about raising cats.  I've been calling her the cat lady.  She just keeps whipping cat facts out of nowhere.  Good to have her here.  It's her last day with us!!  Will miss her dearly.

Not sure whether I'd rather be; with Maya or back on the side of that highway.