Feliz Navidad

Christmas Day 2009
Eve - 7, Cole ~ 13, Soleil - 3 1/2, Emerson - 9 1/2

My Christmas Birthday Girl

Did you know Evie was born on Christmas Eve? Seven years ago, today? Indeed she was, and that's how she got her pretty name


So this year, to celebrate her day, we had a beach side birthday party complete with pinata and pina coladas. That was on the 23rd and today (I guess technically it was yesterday since it's currently way past midnight- merry christmas) she opened presents under her birthday tree, we went out to breakfast at "Rollie's" and then, per her request, she and I went horseback riding on the beach - just the two of us. She is such a delight and I am so thankful to be her mama. I love you, Sissy. Here are some highlights:

"A bunny? A begging poodle? A...Idunno. What? Oh, duh. A reindeer."

Those two could almost be twins.

My best Christmas present ever.

With Edgar.

I love this one.

Sissy - you get more beautiful inside and out every year. I am so lucky to be your mama. I love you so much. Happy Birthday.

P.S. I just checked NORAD - Santa's in Greenland. I'm off to bed before he gets to my house. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to Me

Internet's back! And I take back everything bad I ever said about the Telmex guy. He did show up "manana" as promised and was able to track the problema. He's my new BFF. (You don't think it's weird that I saved his number in my cell phone, do you?)

Anyway, just wanted to say "hi" because I can. And here's a fun pick for your viewing enjoyment.

"gonna take it right into the danger zone...right intoooooo the Danger Zone"

All he needs are his aviators.

Manana

Internet's down at our casa. And, in true Mexico form, the Telmex guy is coming to fix it "manana". We've been waiting for...a while.

Here's an uber fast update while we wait for the check at breakfast:

*Dave & Em are fully recovered from Dengue. Yeah. (And I am becoming quite skilled at mosquito hunting.)

*The kids are doing great in school...learning all the bad words Senora Hernandez never taught me in high school. Who knew.

*Dave is surfing his heart out whenever possible and his abs are delicious proof of his new favorite sport.

*Our casita (did I tell you we were building a little casita on our lot?) is coming along nicely. Lots of decisions to be made. Lots of trips to the Home Depot in Puerto Vallarta. (Apparently, there's no escaping the H.D. no matter where you live.)

*Me -- I'm trying to find my groove. Sometimes I feel like my entire existence is devoted to making sure everyone else is taken care of. And, currently, everyone is fairing rather well, and I'm feeling rather...well...like I lost my compass. Ya know? (And I'm embarrassed to admit that having no internet makes me cranky.) I think I need some Mama time. Maybe I'll try yogalates (but I'm scared). Retail therapy is always helpful...and more coffee (yeah, yeah yogalates is a far healthier choice...whatever.)

Anyway, thanks for checking in and Feliz Navidad!!

I'll leave you with this image that we used for our Christmas card this year. Click to make bigger -- check out Soli's face.

And, since some of you have already seen that one and I still have a good signal, here's a few more...

Cocos helados by the river.

The river that's also a road...

The view of Monkey Mountain at sunset from the master of the casita.

Tribulations of the Tropics continued...

Dave and Emerson have Dengue Fever. The good news is that at this point it does not appear to be life threatening. That's a bonus. In fact, it seems that in these parts (and many other tropical areas) it runs rather rampant. Apparently, it is caused by a virus (actually one of four viruses) which is transmitted by mosquitoes. Lovely. Whose idea was this? Anyway, they've been sick for about five days and their symptoms are bad headaches, eye pain, and Emerson has had a fever, althouth they both seem better today. I became suspicious when no one else in the fam came down with the "flu". Then when I told another mom at school this morning what their symptoms were she said, "Dengue". Ohhh. It almost sounded like a swear word.

So we went to the clinic here in town, and the doctor said that it did appear to be Dengue. Luckily, neither of them are currently showing any signs of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever which affects a smaller number of people and can cause serious internal bleeding and all kinds of other bad problems (that we don't need to get into, right?). So, I think that as long as it doesn't evolve into Hemorrhagic Fever then it's just a matter of time (10-14 days) while treating the symptoms, resting and drinking lots of fluids. So Emerson's out of school for the rest of the week and Dave has to try to take it easy, too. The doctor gave us two boxes of paracetamol (which I believe is a form of acetaminophen) to treat the symptoms as needed. (Did you know that public health care in Mexico is free? I wanted to kiss the floor - but I refrained.) Send healing thoughts our way if you're so inclined.

On the school front, I will tell you that the Honeymoon appears to be over. In other words, the novelty of a new school has worn off. Dave coined the following stages of adjusting to a new school: fear, excitement, resistance, acceptance. Towards the end of last week we started to see some of the "resistance stage". We heard the classic, "I don't have to go if I don't want to" and my favorite, "I'll homeschool myself." Cole had an especially hard time on Friday morning (they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Mexico, of course, so the kids had school all week) so Dave sat in on a few of his classes which I think made Cole feel understood. I think it was helpful for him to see Dave communicating succesfully with limited Spanish. I think he had been disengaging in class because he was timid to try and communicate. He gained some confidence by watching Dave and seeing that even though he didn't speak perfectly he was able to communicate and no one made fun of him. And Dave was able to gain some insight into Cole's struggles and gave some suggestions on how he could be more successful in his classes. Yeah for dads. Already today we're starting to see signs of acceptance: "I don't really want to go to school today, but I'm going to." That's the attitude. And he had a successful day.

Emerson had a tough go at the beginning of the week because a "ginormous fifth grader" stole his collection of pogs right out of his hand while he was playing with some friends (the big kid also stole the friends' pogs). So he was pretty distraught (and I was peeved), but it gave us the opportunity to talk with him (Emerson's a rather docile fellow) about standing up for himself and not allowing himself to be bullied, using his BIG voice, etc. The other good to come of it was when Cole heard what happened he wanted to go to bat for his brother. He asked me if he could take Em to school the next day so he could "get it sorted". Nothing like a bully to unite brothers. As it turned out, the principal had made a new rule that pogs were no longer allowed at school and this boy had appointed himself pog sherriff and had "confiscated" the boys' pogs to turn them in to the principal. Brown noser.

Evie is adjusting very well. She has several little "best friends" in her class and she loves to take some pesos to school to buy little snacks and popsicles and aguas. On one of her first days she tried to buy an "agua" - one of the few words she knew - or thought she did. The lady gave her a juice because in Mexico an "agua" is a fruit flavored water - or a juice. She came home from school and said, "Mom, I asked for a water and she gave me a juice." We had a good laugh and now she knows. I went to school with her on Wednesday morning for an hour to see how she was getting by. Of course she loved having me in her class, and I was impressed to see how well she's getting along. She just does what the other kids do and copies into her notebook anything the teacher writes on the whiteboard.

And little Miss Soleil is totally flying under the radar. Being that she doesn't have school and she doesn't have Dengue the poor girl is just not gettin' any airtime. I might look into a little preschool after the Navidad, but the truth is, right this minute, I feel tapped out. I'm not prepared to handle the needs of another child adjusting to a new program. You know? Right now she is very happy hangin' with Mama and Daddy and we are just as happy to have her company. The other day I said to the gang as we were heading out the door, "Come on, Kiddies" and Soli said, "Yeah, come on Doggies." She cracks us up.

Thanks for checking in. H

A Great Day (except for that scorpion in the kitchen)

So yesterday was Cole's first day at the middle school. Here in Mexico, elementary school (primaria) goes through sixth grade and middle school (secondaria) is 7th grade - 9th grade. Cole was bummed to find out that he would be in the youngest grade (again). We had picked up his uniform the day before, and it looks very much like his boy scout uniform - khaki pants and button up shirt with pink tassle on the shoulders to indicate his grade. The boys have to wear their shirts tucked in, but, apparently, leaving the shirt unbuttoned to display a stylin' t-shirt underneath is all the rage. We had learned this on our visit so Cole had prepared by cutting off the arms of his coolest T and laying it out the night before. Honestly.

Anyway, the middle school goes from 7AM-1:30PM. So yesterday morning I checked him in with the principal and then a nice looking boy, also with pink tassles, took him to the "Primer A" classroom. They distinguish between grades by calling 7th grade "first", 8th grade "second", and 9th grade "third". So the principal put Cole into the "First A" class (there are two 7th grade classes) which has another gringo. Yeah. The kids stay in the same classroom, and the teachers move from class to class. There really are no educational supplies or decor in any of the classrooms so any subject can be taught in any room. Very good. Anyway, when I dropped him off I told him I would meet him in front of the school at 1:30. So you can imagine my shock when he walked through the door of our house at 12:30. My first thought was he had hated it so much that he had jumped the fence and made a run for it. But when I asked him what happened he said that his last two period teachers were absent and since they don't have substitutes the kids had all walked home early. Oh my. It was like a 45 minute walk (up hill, in the snow...) and he was dripping in sweat. But, at least he looked cool with his cut-off, sleeveless t-shirt! So then I asked how his day went, fearing the worst, and he said, "It was soooo much fun." Oh yeah!! That was music to my ears, let me tell you. I have spent many a sleepless night over the last few months fretting about the potential negative impact of putting our kids in a total immersion situation. And the kids have been worried (of course) about going to a school where they understand nothing. Needless to say, I was delighted that he had had a good day. Phew!

And Evie and Emerson had a great second day and were both smiling ear to ear when we picked them up. Hallelujah! Emerson had discovered pogs (called tossles here). Do you remember pogs?? Anyway, they are all the rage down here with the primaria boys. So Emerson had traded a couple of his little finger flipper skateboards for a sweet little collection. Some of them are so well loved that the pictures on both sides are rubbed clean off. When we picked him up he said, "I love school in Mexico!" Oh yeah. Do you hear the symphony? And Evie can say her alphabet in Spanish. Yippee!

Today was Mexican Independence Day, and the kids had the day off of school (Emerson was so bummed). There was a big parade this morning and then dancing and food booths in the square. The kids were dressed in traditional Mexican folk clothing, and the middle school kids did a reinactment of the war against Spain complete with fire crackers and fake blood. Then they all sang the national anthem and saluted the Mexican flag. Very cool. Viva Mexico!!

So last night I was sweeping the kitchen and I swept a scorpion right out from under the sink. Yikes!! Great. I'm already sharing my house with geckos, now I have to cohabitate with scorpians? Unacceptable. BTW, it's amazing how having children can turn the gentlest of women into ruthless bug killers. I used to spare all varieties of creepy crawlies by getting a paper, coaxing said creepy onto the paper with encouraging words and then nicely setting it free outside. But no more. Setting them free outside does me no good because I have a half inch gap under all of my doors. They come back in! So I have been squishing spiders and centipedes and scorpions for the last four days with ruthless ferocity, for fear that they will crawl into bed with my kiddies. No spankyou! Not on my watch. Give this mommy a shoe! And that is exactly the fate that befell the scorpion in my kitchen. Ruthless, I tell you. And then we gave the kiddos a quick lesson in scorpion safety (always check your shoes before putting them on, don't walk around barefoot in the dark house, you know...the basics). Like we know anything about scorpions! Yikes. But according to our caretaker as long as you get to the clinic within a few hours of a scorpion sting for a shot of...something (what it is? epinephrine? I don't know.) then you should be OK. But, that only made me feel a little better. Maybe one of my Arizona friends can shed some light on the whole scorpion thing. Ladies??

Anyway, aside from the creepy crawlies we're doing great. Glad for the weekend. Thanks for checking in. ~Heather

All Things Considered

Well, I'm happy to report that Evie and Emerson's first day of school was a relative success, all things considered. They looked darling in their uniforms this morning and they were happy enough to be dropped off at their classes. Their classmates were very excited to have new students which I have to say is a testament to the friendly and warm disposition of the people of Mexico. I helped Evie find a seat next to a friendly looking little girl named Jimena who towed her around all day and even bought her a popsicle at lunch (which, btw, happens at 10:30, as they get out at 12:30). Emerson's teacher sat him next to a boy who spoke some English which was very comforting to him. After we dropped the kids at school we were off to Costco (just like any other day in the states, right?) and to pick up Cole's uniform. I had to laugh as I thought about how easily we fall into our old patterns no matter what country we live in.

When we went back to school at 12:30 several of the kids that past us on our way to the classrooms asked if we were looking for Eva and Emerson (pronounced Emehrsone). I was so surprised to see how many kids of all ages seemed to know them. It was pretty cute. They both had a pretty good day. Evie cried a little at recess when she realized that Emerson didn't have recess at the same time. Ahhh. She'd been looking forward to seeing him. And Emerson got a little flustered right at the end of the day as he was feverishly trying to copy down the homework assignment. After school he said, "That was the worst four hours of my life! It was so boring. I didn't understand anything." Oh dear. But after a mini meltdown, we got the homework done, and I was impressed (he even surprised himself) with how much Spanish he had already picked up -- in just four hours.

Cole starts tomorrow and I have a feeling that he'll be in hog heaven - what with all the attention and the pseudo celebrity status. Here's to hoping...