Re:Mommy are you making up these words...

Bebe asked if I was making up some of the Oshiwambo words like: Bed/Ombete, lamp/olamba, telephone/otelefona, cup/ekopi. I said no, then he asked if I was stealing from the English dictionary. I said no LOL, we just borrowed. I laughed so hard.

Enter to win a Swahili / English book for Children!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wanyama/Animals

by Helvi Itenge Wheeler

Giveaway ends at July 20, 2010.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Our Oshiwambo Book and Swahili Book are now on Amazon.com

Learning Oshiwambo is fun! "Iinamwenyo/Animals" is a remarkable bilingual picture book using names of common animals in Oshiwambo and English. Bonus! Learning numbers 1-20 in Oshiwambo and English and interesting facts about animals + 2 fun puzzles. Wanyama/Animals is a remarkable bilingual picture book using names of common animals in Swahili and English. Bonus! Learning numbers 1-20 in Swahili and English and interesting facts about animals + 2 fun puzzles.

Baby tooth is out!

I had to blog on this one. Two weeks ago, my son came to me with excitements, "Mommy my tooth is shaking." I washed my hands quickly and pushed my fingers in his mouth. Immediately I started shaking it back and forth. I was sure it was going to come out within one week. A week past, and was still there. Then I started hearing that I was not supposed to shake it, but let mother nature do her work. I remember when I was a child, my father used to shake our baby teeth, and encouraged us to remove them ourselves so that we don't get other teeth growing from behind the baby teeth. My dad helped me remove my first baby tooth, and the rest I removed myself. I didn't agree about letting it come out by itself, but I decided to reduce my shaking time from twice a day to once a day, I even skipped a day. Four days ago, I noticed that the tooth was no more as shaky as it was on the first day. I talked to my nanny who has a boy the same age as B. Her son lost the first two baby teeth when he was four. She told me that it took her five days to remove her son's teeth from the day she started shaking them. She also said I must shake it otherwise another tooth might grow from behind. When I hear that, I went to see B's tooth, and I saw something that looked almost like a tooth pushing through. I was so scared. I went online, and started reading. Oh my, sometimes the info online can make you even nervious. Some parents adviced that if there is another tooth growing behind there is nothing you can do not even the dentist. Your child have to wear braces to align teeth and their position. I started talking to my self that I must remove it by Saturday because Monday is too far to wait for the nanny to do it for me or to go to the dentist. On the other hand I didn't want the nanny to be the first to do it for me for my first child. But if I was not able to, I was going to let her do it. My nanny also told me that when she removed the son's teeth, she was holding down the root, and pull it out hard. I was not sure if I was brave enough to do that. Today, early in the morning, I woke up at 7:30 this is early for me on Saturdays unless if I have an assignment to do. B was already up playing. I greeted him and asked him to sit. He was ready too because he didn't want another tooth growing from behind. I tried to pull it but he said, "ouch, it hurts." As I stood there with no much hope I started thinking about the better option. A string, I must use a string. I went to get one that we use to sew the clothes. I put it behind the tooth all the way down. Then I pulled. B said, "Ouch" I asked him is it out? he said yes. I looked in the mouth, but it was still there lol. I slightly shaked the tooth with a string, and he was right it was almost out. I just pulled a little, and it was out. Oh motherhood. That was my experience. Below is some info I found online: "A lot of parents hold out hope the baby tooth will fall out on it's own. Some children are very aggressive in wiggling their teeth. Some just let them hanging there. Remember however, that there may be more root on that baby tooth than you think, otherwise it would have come out by now. Most of the time the dentist has to get in there and get the tooth out." Follow their links to learn more You never know you might need it for your child, niece/nephew, friend or neighbor.

The book I read in three days

Last month I went to the Text Book Center looking for a book I can relate to the story I'm writing; I wanted a childhood story. After I searched for about 30 minutes, I was disappointed to learn that there was nothing similar. I was avoiding the biography, but one of the guys in the shop suggested the biography area, finally I went. Most of the books base on childhood were books on betrayal. I decided browse inside the books, maybe I might like one of the writer's style, and pick some good writing tricks. Then I picked: Don't Tell Mummy" by Toni Maguire. I read through, and yes I liked her writing style. I read the first two pages, and put it down to do something. After a week, I came back to it, and read it in three days. I could hardly put this book down because I was always curious about the next thing. This book is about a true story of Toni Maguire sharing a betrayal story. It begins showing us her early life as beautiful, and innocent which was taken away quickly by her father once he returned home for good. Outside their home they were a happy family, but inside they were hiding dark secret. This woman can writer. I would hear his father calling, "Antoniette," and I could smell the mother's baking. I feel like some of the five senses are missing in my book. The five senses are truly important to keep the book alive, and help take the reader back into their your world. I was surprised to find three pages in one chapter that I could relate to. I said to myself, "wow the person she described is my father." I almost cried. In this chapter she talked about the apartheid in South Africa, and explained the sad situation that some families were going through. They were forced to work in the diamond mines. They missed out on seeing their children make the first steps etc and on their return they were frustrated, and tried hard to reconnect with their love ones. This book is a must read, I'm looking forward to reading her next book "When Dad Comes Home." After reading this book, I think I can start reading again.