Estado onde?

"Where have you been?" (in toddler Portuguese) is one of the first things I heard when I walked into the Baby House this morning. You have probably been wondering the same thing. Little Luis came up to me during breakfast and wanted to know just why I haven't been around. He clung to my leg as he asked if I was going to stay with them today and play. Very cute!
So what has been keeping me away from the Baby House (for the last almost 7 days)...a few things but we'll focus here on the major perpetrator...PAINTING! I decided awhile ago that I would tackle painting the ceiling of my new room (Erin's old room) while Wilder was here and could help me. The task has turned into much more than I could have EVER imagined...as most things do here in Moz. Bright WHITE paint was bought to cover up the mold/dirty/grime/nastiness that was my ceiling...just take a look...So we first took to scrubbing and then painting. It has been a VERY long process that would be no where near finished if Wilder hadn't spent countless hours working (not to mention the amazing help Emily has pitched in as well!!!!). Thanks so very much! We first tried scrubbing with bleach water and brushes...sponges were determined to be the better option quickly. So if you ever need to scrub a corrugated ceiling that is growing mold use sponges...I know, I know...a useful life lesson!
But, just take a look at that amazing WHITE ceiling!!!Next came my brilliant idea to paint the walls as well! I headed off with Wendy (another missionary) to buy paint leaving Wilder scrubbing the ceiling in the biggest of 3 rooms...yes, he is amazing! While in the paint store Wendy and I noticed a man working IN the ceiling. We commented on how we hoped he was careful and didn't fall out. Not 10 minutes later as we waited to pay for our paint there was a crash. Not just a small someone knocked something over crash...this was a crash that ended in 3/4 of the ceiling being on the floor and a man hanging from a beam with wires dangling around him. The absolutely Mozambican part about it all was that no one screamed, no one seemed startled...instead after waiting what seemed like forever someone finally walked over and gave the man hanging from rafters a ladder to get down. INSANITY I tell you...I live in insanity!
After that we headed to one other store to pick up some other paint...can you guess what happened next. There were 2 guys, wiring, and a ladder involved! Yep...you guessed it...they were working in the ceiling. Wendy and I spent the next 20 minutes laughing at this country while we picked out the best shade of VERY light blue for my walls! I absolutely love it! I walked into the room tonight just to admire it and dream of what it will look like when it is actually complete and I live there. I know you can't really see the shade of blue...I'll work on that in a final picture but you can tell just how different it is...and just imagine when that ceiling is white. I cannot wait!!!For now I still have painting to do. Because this same day when ceilings were caving in and people were working in ceilings...Wilder took a little spill as well. I got home to, do you want the good or bad news first. I sad bad as all smart people do...the good second always makes the bad not so upsetting.
***a little back story...that morning I had spent about an hour painting on a makeshift ladder. It was a stack of plastic chairs on top of a wooden table. It was sturdy...not good quality ladder sturdy but better than the rickety old about to fall apart ladder we have here.***
Ok...so the bad news was the Wilder had fallen off my makeshift ladder. Apparently I forgot to tell him the edge of the table was sloped...oops. The good news was he wasn't too hurt (at least only bruises and stiffness) and the paint thinner we had cleans the floor really well. The other part of the bad news was that we didn't have enough paint left to actually complete the ceiling (because of course during the fall there was a bit of spillage). At this point we just switched to the walls and they are completed other than a bit of high edging...now if I can just get the energy up to scrub the rest of the ceiling and paint it I'll be ready to move in!
And for the record if you EVER choose bright turquoise and dark tan as wall colors think twice (you know I love you Erin!) because they take 3 coats to cover. :(
Tomorrow it's back to painting (as well as working in the Baby House for 7 of the next 8 days...back to the normal busyness of my life)...wish me luck!