The Pochemushka

When you learn a foreign language, there are words that are just better than others - that capture things do ingeniously that you can't forget them.  And so it was that when our babysitter dumbed Saphira a pochemushka (почемушка), we were delighted - at least with the title if not fully with the actuality of the fact.  Почему  - pochemu - in Russian means "Why" and ushka is a diminutive, feminine ending (like in Babushka) and so the best translation of the term would be "the little why girl".  Not quite the same ring. While stories could be written about a pochemushka, the little why girl becomes an abstract entity.
And so we have a pochemushka.  So many "whys".  I think the problem is my strategy has always been to answer them to the best of my ability.  This defeated my Russian early on and my English is also giving under the barrage.  Last week, I was ready to wave my white flag by 10am.
I think this is where having other people around you who are also parents of young children is at its most valuable, (and is something that is harder for us to replicate as we interact with our Ukrainian friends mostly on the playground and so don't always see how some situations play out) because it can give you other ideas of how to deal with the issue at hand.  I had tried asking her to repeat my answers to her whys and soоo realized that for the most part, she wasn't listening.  The whys flow in an empty babble of sound that start before a full answer can even be given.
It was only when were were out with some friends and they turned the flurry of whys around on her . . . now why do you think that a cow couldn't take care of a person? The stream of whys stopped - not so much because she had an answer but because the start of thinking through the whys was actually presented before her.
But old habits are so hard to break and I often find myself explaining why this and that until I'm exhausted and frustrated.  I forget that I need to wait, and to ask back, to encourage her to look and observe and deduce.  That a wrong deduction isn't a set back, but is rather one variant closer to a right answer later.
I'm so thankful for the tools I get to steal from other parents, if only I could remember to use them more.

Shoe giveaways and little bit of luck

Well, 1 year post surgery and we are trying to figure out what to do with Saphira's footwear.  My sister gave us some winter boots last year, and they seemed to be wide enough, then we had some boots that crossed over from fall to spring that were Soft Star and then we  bought some cheap canvas shoes and sandals in the rinok for summer.  The Sandals are great - with three velcro straps they are completely adjustable and so are always wide enough.  The canvas shoes however - beside the fact that she ran them into the ground - she is now in tears if we try to slip them on.  Either she isn't used to how they feel after the sandal or the length/width ratio no longer works with her foot - though length wise it "feels" like there is room.  It is hard to figure out if something hurts or what the problem is with a 3 yr old.

And then there is Thaddaeus, a friend who has a boy Saphira's age gave us ALL his old clothes, including a lot of shoes. As Thaddaeus has normal feet - everything fits, but the interesting thing is that I noticed he walked/ran best in the Soft Star shoes that we had from Saphira (despite the fact that they were a bit big owing to being very wide and he has a narrow foot).  Now that I actually have "proof", I feel completely on-board about the barefoot shoes philosophy and foot development in children.  Though as active as Thaddaeus is, buying shoes that help him run faster might not be the best idea . . . .

Though I love the product,  I do cringe about the cost of the shoe (any shoe, not just soft stars) that may only last 3 to 6 months.  Also the fact that by the time I realize we've outgrown a shoe and we need it NOW - it's a bit hard to figure out a secure and timely way to get it over here.  Even with the help of the super friendly and accommodating elves, I always find ordering a bit stressful as I worry about if it will make it and how it will fit (and how long) as we can't return anything (Normal USA people can - but really pretty impossible from 5,000 miles away.)  Now we are facing the need for fall shoes for both the kids and I'm waffeling - do I do Soft Star?  Do we try to find something in the UK for Saphira's 1 year appointment??  What to do?

In the mean time,  if an opportunity comes up to save some pennies in in our budget - I say, go for it - and work out sizing and shipping when you come to it.  Currently, Inspired by Savannah is giving away a $25 gift certificate for Soft Star Shoes.  A mom to two girls, (age 3 and 2 - where does she find the time??) Robin reviews and gives away products that are aimed at children and their parents.

So here's hoping for a little bit of luck and a discounted future order from Soft Star!