Tiger "Zoo"

This baby tiger was quite strong with sharp claws.  Jonathan and the girls had a towel on their laps to not get scratched.

We decided to try out our new GPS and take a day trip this weekend to a tiger "zoo." More like animal circus, but the girls loved it. We saw a crocodile show, tiger show and elephant show. They had pig races and a "scorpion queen"--a lady with scorpions all over her. It was a hot day but a fun diversion.

Homemade Pita

oven balloons

My mom made homemade pita in preparation for a wheat class she taught, and so I gave it a try, too. So easy and fun to watch poof in the oven. They were also quite tasty.

Whole Wheat Pita Pockets

8 whole pita pockets (or 16 halves)

1 1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/3 cup vital wheat gluten

1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Add the gluten and 1 cup of the flour, along with the yeast, and stir to mix. Add remaining flour and knead to make a soft dough. (Add additional flour if necessary during kneading.)

Put your dough into a bowl, lightly oil the top, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise, until almost double (about an hour).

Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6- or 7-inch circle.

As you roll the rounds, set them aside on a lightly floured countertop or table, and cover loosely with a towel. Let rise for about 25-35 minutes, until slightly puffy.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place 2 rounds, side-by-side, onto a wire rack, such as is used for cooling things. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 4-5 minutes, until puffy and just slightly browned. (If bread is too browned, it will be dry and not pliable.) I preheated my pizza stone and baked them on it instead of using the wire racks.

Remove rack from oven and immediately wrap/layer pita breads in a damp towel, to soften. Continue baking the remaining breads, layering them between damp towels as soon as they're baked. Allow breads to completely cool.

Cut pita breads in half, or split the top edge, and fill as desired.

Store pitas in a plastic zipper bag in the fridge for a few days, or place in the freezer for longer storage. To re-warm pitas, wrap them in a damp towel and then wrap in foil. Place in a warm (200-250 degree) oven for about 20 minutes.

So big!

Paul seems so big to me compared to my girls. I came across some pictures of Sylvie and Claire at the same age, so I thought I’d put a little comparison together.

Housewarming Party

Phad Krapaw Pork

A few weeks ago, we hosted our first party. It was originally scheduled for J's birthday in May, but that was the weekend of the crackdown on the protestors, so we had to postpone due to the curfew. It was a success, the highlight being the food, prepared by a couple we know from church. Here was the menu: rice wraps, chicken satay, gyoza, fruit, green curry, phad krapaw pork, phad Thai, and sticky rice with mango. Another friend even made a German chocolate birthday cake. All of J's favorites--yum!

Rainy Season is Here

Here is a picture of the weather forecast for the week. This was the first morning that it was raining on the way to school. So far, most of the storms have been at night--some really spectacular ones. It wasn't too heavy this morning, but Claire and I were hoping to take a taxi to school, which I then planned to take onward to the embassy for my Thai language class. No luck--all the taxis were full. We tried walking to a busier corner, but just that short walk with cars splashing through puddles near us and not being able to squeeze through narrow parts of the sidewalk with the umbrella convinced me that I really need to learn to drive here, at least from our house to the school. Finally, a car stopped and the window rolled down. It was a family taking their daughter to the same school, and they recognized us (we stand out). They offered to drive us. What a relief.

Yesterday, I took Sylvie with me to pick Claire up from school so we could go to a friend's house afterward. Again, we weren't having luck finding empty taxis (Claire's school is at the end of a smallish road), so we kept walking. We got to the point where I thought that surely, our friend's house was just around the corner (we were coming from a different direction than usual), so I had the girls continue to walk. They started to melt down (almost literally in this heat!) and then Sylvie refused to walk altogether. I picked her up, and she immediately fell asleep on my shoulder. I was about to give up and try to find a taxi to take us home when I saw our friend's place. Yes, I really need to be brave and take the car. J said we could do some dry runs this weekend.

Trip to Chiangmai

Maesa Elephant Camp in Chiangmai

Memorial Day weekend, we had a Thai holiday on Friday and the American one on Monday, so we decided to take a break from the big city and let the girls finally see the Thailand elephants we've been talking about for two years. Since J did his immersion language study in Chiang Mai and knows the city, we went there. We won't call it a "vacation" (three little ones in a hotel room--yikes!), but it was definitely a fun experience. The highlights were the Maesa Elephant Camp where the girls got to feed and ride and watch elephants perform, the delicious, cheap food (mango season!!) and the empty boutique hotel for $40 a night.

Thai Preschool

Claire's first day of school

We decided to start Claire in a local Thai preschool, mostly because the international schools here are so expensive. Some friends recommended a school near our house, so after checking it out, we signed her up. I was amazed by the size of the school and the breadth of offerings for a preschool. These first couple weeks have definitely been an adjustment for Claire (I hear plenty of complaints when I wake her up in the morning) but by the end of the day when I pick her up, she seems to have enjoyed the activities. We signed her up for ballet, music and tae kwon do (all offered during the school day), and that has seemed to break up her long day of listening to all Thai being spoken. The most interesting thing for me has been the variety of uniforms that they issued her: "sports" (pictured above and worn on Mondays), regular (3 shirt/skirt type dresses worn T-Th), 2 pajamas (for nap time), a swimsuit and cap, 2 aprons, outfits for ballet and tae kwon do, as well as a soap dish, toothbrush, talcum powder and comb. She is learning a lot of Thai customs like greeting elders with a bow, using the fork to scoop your food onto the spoon, methods for brushing teeth, using the bathroom, etc. She now tells us, "That's not the way we do it at school." We're hoping she makes friends and learns some Thai, but either way, we'll probably start her at an international school for kindergarten (once the tuition benefit kicks in).

Urban Jungle

view from our temporary housing

After our 24-hour international flight turned into 72 hours, we arrived in Bangkok on April 10. We lived in temporary housing for several weeks while our permanent apartment was being prepared. The first place had great views, but wasn't in the best neighborhood (Sukhumvit Soi 3, if you know Bangkok). Our new place (Soi 31) is a few more skytrain stops out from the Embassy but that turned out to be a good thing when some of the fighting in Bangkok was taking place because we didn't have to be relocated to a hotel like some of our friends. Really, the protests here didn't affect us much. Increased police presence, a delayed start of school for Claire, some weekend work for J, and a rescheduled party was all. Now everything seems to be back to normal, and they are trying to rebuild the burned out mall and other buildings quickly.

So far, Bangkok is everything we hoped it would be. We love our apartment. We're finding our place socially (at work, at church, with other moms). And, we even have someone to cook and clean for us, so life with three little ones is not only manageable but fun. We are hoping to get lots of visitors because we have the space and the time to host. If Thailand interests you at all, start looking for deals on flights! Tourism is down because of the disturbances here but that shouldn't deter you. The protests were never directed at foreigners anyway and hopefully won't flare up again.