Love letter to my girls

So an old friend of the family created this really cute site for moms. I haven't had as much time as Id like to read on it but what I have had time for I have loved. I felt so  privileged when she asked me to write a love letter to my girls for her to post during her Feb postings. So here is the link. I think that lots of  my mommy readers will really enjoy this encouraging page.

http://bestlife4moms.weebly.com/3/post/2012/02/love-letters-from-mom-amanda-s-mexico-feb-23-2012.html?

My baby is ONE

I have to tell you I am so glad my baby days are over. Lily is so freaking cute that people just melt when they see her. She actually bats her eyes at people at just the right moment. Even as mommy its hard for me to not fall apart when she does it. On the day of her birthday we went with some really good friends of ours to the park and just hung out. It was so much fun.  I'm going to post a couple pics. Then later in the week we had her party at school.  I wanted to put a video on that showed the cake but I cant get it to work. Dang it!!!! It was a cute butterfly cake that I made.  We had a lot of fun at the party. I had the kids make coffee filter butterflies, we broke a butterfly piñata and ate a butterfly cake and butterfly topped cupcakes. Thanks to a care package I received ages ago I was able to throw the cupcake toppers together in no time and thanks to a different care package I was able to make cupcake holders out of parchment paper. Let me just tell you really quick how easy this was. All you have to do is cut 4inch x4 inch squares from the paper, Then find a jar or bottle that fits just right into your 1/4 cup measuring cup. IF you want better looking cups you need to round the corners off your squares. Center one or a few of the papers, (this depends on how much room you have, the bottle I used fit pretty tight and I could only do one at a time)  over the top of your measuring cup. Make sure when you push the bottle into the cup that it is going to be very tight. If the bottle you have is a bit loose in the measuring cup use a lot of pieces of paper. And whoa-la you have cup cake holders. As for making a butterfly cake all you have to do is make a round cake and cut it in four pieces then rotate the pieces until it looks like a butterfly. I used a cupcake for the head and put a pipe cleaner for the antennae.  I had also made really cute butterfly invitations.

Thanksgiving 2011

Well I have to tell you that I love pictures. In the past I havent been good about putting them on my blog because it was a pain and I couldnt comment after each one easily. Thankfully Blogger has updated and now I can. So this is a picture post. 

Sorry I had to delete the pics off my blog, I have decided to keep my blog public no matter how many hateful comments I get. If I made my blog private it would defeat the purpose so instead I will just delete the pictures and refrain from using names in attempt to keep things safe for us. 

Me and the girls made Pumkin cheese cake from real pumpkins. They are to young to carve pumpkins at Halloween so I let them help me clean this one. 

Lily climbed up on her sisters chair all by herself. TODAY IS HER FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Every year at Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas decorations. Papi always helps put up the tree and I do the ornaments with them. 

Alana took this. Im making Deviled Eggs. Not sure why Im making the turtle neck. lol

Alana wanted to take a picture of our Thanksgiving decorations. lol

Papi was off on Thursday and I wasnt so he did the Turkey. He did a great job. 

Only one of the five or six people we invited showed up but we still had a lot to be Thankful for

This year it was Joslins turn for the Angel. 

Yum!!! We had mashed sweat potatoes, green bean caserol, rolls, gravy, deviled eggs , the turkey and the cheese cake. 

Lily started walking with the assist of her toy the day before her birthday!

THE WISH BONE. Here I am explaining it to them. 

Joslin ended up winning. The bone was a little wet I guess because they had to practically wrestle over it to get it to break. 

There you go folks yet another normal part of my life in Mexico. We missed having more family around but all together it was another great Thanksgiving.

¿The Normal Life?

The other night I was talking to my husband and I said, "I actually have time to blog now and I feel like I don't have anything to write about."
He says, "Amanda you have tons to write about you live in Mexico."
"Yes but everything seems so normal to me now." I responded.
He looks at me, almost exacerbated,"Then write about that." (somewhere in here I'm thinking oh gee how boring), he continues, "I remember when you first started reading blogs and when you saw that Leslie from Motherhood in Mexico said something to that effect, it gave you hope. That is why you write is to give those other people hope about their life here. I think you need to write about how you feel that your life is normal."

So here is that post.

I'm a mother of three beautiful girls, who every morning wake up at 630. I get them dressed, brush their hair, make a quick breakfast they can eat in the truck and rush them out the door. When I drop them off at school their is almost always something I forgot to put in a book bag, and if not at least one aviso (message) for me to give to a teacher or caregiver. I then zoom off (well not really my truck is a bit broken and I cant go over 30mph) to the hospital. I park and chat with the garage attendant if I have time then run inside to work. On the way in I say buenos dias to everyone I pass even if they are in the middle of a conversation (I guess Im still getting use to that part). After finding out where I'm working for the day I go and care for patients. At the end of my day I'm watching the clock because I'm anxious to get my girls and go home with them. As soon as I can I run out to my truck, of course saying adios to everyone I pass and from time to time stopping to chat. Their is no real running in and out of places here. I pick up my girls, the older two are always running to me for hugs and the baby loves her teacher so much I have to pry her from her arms. I listen to any report from the teachers and we are off. I talk to the older girls about their day on the way home and when I get home I read their report books and check for home work. They do their homework while the baby plays. Then I have Alana do an English website while Joslin watches and repeats. At aruond 530 the baby takes small nap with her milk while I cook dinner. By the time dinner is ready papi is home, and is welcomed by lots of hugs and kisses all around. We eat dinner around 6pm and then the girls get to play and talk with papi about their day. Bath time at 730 and off to bed for the girls. My husband and I then either spend some time alone doing our own thing or doing something together. Traffic and driving here in the city feels a lot like St. Louis, I have Wal Mart (which I cant stand anymore) Sams (which I love) close by and fresh fruits, veggies, and meat on every corner. We have a doctor that we really like. He only costs us 30p a visit, and he is wonderful with my girls. I have figured out how to keep the bugs out of my house. And I actually like the idea of black widows better than brown recluse. (black widows stay home and are usually in a place out of reach for my kids, brown recluse hide in your close and bed).

On days off my girls wake up and crawl in bed with us for a little snuggle time then want to eat. After eating we clean the house, let them do crafts, maybe walk to the park, or play games. We go to church from 11-130 I help in the nursery and my husband helps with translation. We have friends who come over for Sat night collage football, and my girls are happy and healthy. To me this all seems like what I would have been doing in the states. Although I must say Im ALOT more laid back than I would have been if we stayed their. My digestive system is healthier because Im less stressed, and I am able to brush off things much easier than before. Some of this my have come with age (no Im not old) but I know it came a lot faster because of Mexico.

I barely notice anymore that when I'm a pedestrian I don't have the right away, and that I have to teach my kids to run across the street instead of walk. I barely notice that my tissue goes in the trash can and I have to empty that can every day if not twice a day. And what were the other things that were different living here than in the states. I just read a blog this morning that talked about them all and seriously I cant repeat it if I wanted to.

Yesterday we shopped for food for Thanksgiving and for the babys birthday. Lily is turning one this coming weekend. I still have to finish her whole scrap book and baby book and make all the decorations and invitations. This should be a pretty fun week.

This post is for all of you out their who may be struggling with the idea of raising your family here, or who have just moved and need some hope. It took me three years to get to this point. Dont push it, take things one day at a time or how people love to say here poco a poco. Adopt that phrase and do your best to live it. You can do it and you can be happy here. One thing is for sure though you need a supportive spouse who loves you enough to love on you when its hard and encourage you when you get frustrated. Believe me my hubby is far from perfect and has screwed up pretty badly in the past but this is one thing that he has done so well.

I think thats it for now.

Dia del niños

This is one of the things I love about Mexico. And this year since Alana is in school I´m finally experiencing the full extent of it. This Friday the kids are putting on a circus show for the parents. This is kind of a culmination of last day before spring break and the start of Dia Del Niños celebration. I'm really excited about it and for sure pictures to come. Today Alana came home with a coloring book titled Estos son mis derechos. These are my rights. And here they are:

Si tenemos alguna discapacidad es uestro derecho recibir atención adecuada a nuestras necesidades
If I have a disability it is my right to receive attention according to my necessities.
Todas las niñas y los niños tenemos derecho a ser tratados con amor y respeto.
All boys and girls have the right to be treated with love and respect.
Es derecho de todas las niñas y los niños el tener una familia.
It is a right for all boys and girls to have a family.
Todas las niñas y los niños tenemos derecho a jugar
All boys and girls have a right to play.
Niñas y niños tenemos derecho a alimentarnos sanamente.
Boys and girls have the right to healthy food or meals.
Tenemos derecho a expresarnos libremente y a que se nos tome a cuenta.
We have the right to express ourselves and be heard.
Es nuestro derecho recibir educación gratuita.
Its our right to receive free education.
Tenemos derecho a ser tratados con igualdad.
We have the right to be treated equally. (this one has a picture of kids from all nationalities and one kid holding a globe, I love it)
Niñas y niños tenemos drecho a la salud.
Girls and boys have a right to good health.
Tenemos derecho a profesar la religion que nos inculquen nuestros padres.
We have the right to profess the religion that our parents instill in us. (And here in Mexico this even goes for Christianity in schools. There is not a big uproar when the name of Christ is mentioned)
niñas y niños tenemos derecho a un medio abiente saludable.
Girls and boys have the right to a healthy environment.
Tenemos derecho a reunirnos libremente y a participar en lo que nos interese.
We have the right to get together freely and to participate in what interests us.
Todas las niñas y los niños tenemos drecho a un nombre y una nacionalidad.
All boys and girls have the right to a name and nationality.

The coloring booklet was given out by the CEDHJ the Comision Estatal de derchos humanos Jalisco. And if your spanish is good or your just interested here is their web site. http://www.cedhj.org.mx/

Friends at the Embassy

We finished Lilys papers the other day for the US. Instead of putting a list of what all we had to have I am just going to post the link and tell you how our day went.
http://guadalajara.usconsulate.gov/service/passports-and-citizen-services/consular-reports-of-birth-abroad.html
If you go to this site and read through it well you shouldn't have to much trouble getting the papers done.
There were a few glitches in the system and I will tell you how to get around them. First of all the link that is on the site for the Consular Birth Abroad application doesn't work. After many tries and two phone calls I was advised to google it. When I did I came up with this site and the form. First off this is what I googled (CRBA Application Form DS-2029) and it came up like forth on the list.
http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#sclient=psy&hl=en&safe=off&site=webhp&source=hp&q=CRBA+Application+Form+DS-2029&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=7b425d6fdff6411c

The other problem we came across was trying to actually book the appointment. I checked at least three or four times a week for a few weeks and finally gave up and called about it. This is the site you go to make your appointment and thankfully they have a phone number right at the top of the page. The good thing is that this phone number goes directly to a person and not a machine.
https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.asp?postcode=GDL&appcode=1

What they told me is that you actually need to check it almost twice a day. Basically the officers that do the interview go in at random times and add their availabilities. I did this for a couple days and finally got my appointment. That was a bit of a pain but really it could have been worse.

Our appointment was set for 8am and we got down there around 720. The line outside was already half a block long so Issac dropped me at the door and went to park with the girls. We had to bring the two older ones because we didn't have a sitter and didn't know till the day before that we wouldn't have one. By the time Issac made it to me they were already letting people in. He dropped the older girls off with me and went with the baby to get her pictures taken. They actually turned out so cute. He got back just in time, I almost got called to the door but the officer changed his mind. A few minutes after Issacs return we were called into the little room where they check you. We have done this before so we came prepared... or should I say unprepared? Because your basically not allowed to bring anything in with you. Since IM nursing the baby this really is no big deal. The little room felt a lot like what you go through at the air port and the officers were really nice to us and the girls. Then you leave that room and enter the office itself.
Issac instantly went sour and claimed he hated this place. I knew from last time the reason is because it looks exactly like the office in Juarez where he was so badly treated. He did his best to keep his head up but I could tell he was antzy and bothered the whole time we were there. When we went in we got a letter and waited to be called. This didn't take but ten minutes or so and this was when we turned in all our paperwork. The only thing that I didn't have was our marriage lice which I was thinking I didn't need. I explained my reasoning and the accepted my papers. The told me I would be called by the cashier to pay. Again this only took about ten minutes and at this point I only paid for the CRBA. I had to wait till it was approved before I could pay for the passport. The next waiting was the longest maybe an hour and a half or so. When we got called up we were happy because although they had a toy corner for the kids my girls were getting restless. As we approached the window we were greeted warmly which was a relief because I think this is the moment when Issac most remembers what he went through before.

Then came the surprise and the reason for the name of this post. After a pleasant hello how are you, I was asked, "Do you write a blog."
"yes.." I said a little hesitantly
"About your family and living in Mexico," she said.
"Yes, yes I do." I said a little more confident.
Then she tells me how she has been following my blog since she found out she would be moving down here. I guess to say a friend at the embassy is a bit of a stretch but really all my readers are more than acquaintances seeing as they know my whole story. So then my husband smiles and says, "See honey, your famous."
Hee heee this is obviously a stretch but it was really exciting to meet someone sort of out of the blue, who reads my blog.
Anyway she had us hold up our right hands and swear that all we had said was true to the best of our knowledge. Then she said that it was ok that I didn't have the marriage lic because they still had it on file from the one I did with Jos. That was a relief and we were thankful they did this. Its one thing you wont see the Immigration office down here doing. She then gave me the form to pay for the passport which only took a few minutes.
The only thing left was to pay multipack for delivery service and we were off. Oh I didn't mention that during the wait the multipack worker had given us the forms to fill out so that was already done at this point. Its so great to see some efficient work when you dont see it very often.
So now we wait on the packages. But at least we know they were approved and my Lilpil can go with me if I need to go to the states.

So here is my shout out to my readers whom Iv yet to meet and those of you whom I have, Thanks so much for reading.

TB vaccine Mexico 2011 / Also other healthcare info

I blogged about Lilys vaccines awhile back. Here is a bit of an update. Her TB vaccine was given to her Feb 2. Usually with in 2-3 weeks you get the lump then in another couple weeks you have weeks of gross green pus coming out. We waited and waited and waited and never did Lily get her lump. A month after her vaccine she had a cold and we took her to the doctor. While there we explained about her vaccine. The doctor told us to wait until it had been a month and a half and if still nothing showed we should bring her back to the nurse who gave it to here. Its kind of odd but our "family doctor" is a walk in consult out of one of the pharmacies. We tried a couple different pediatricians here and didn't like any of them. We know this particular doctors hours and she is great with the girls. She doesn't jump to prescribing antibiotics every time we bring them in with a cough or runny nose and the girls like her. I told her about some of the things the other pediatricians told me and she agreed that they were off. So we told her she was now our family doctor and she was great with that. The only thing about this is that at pharmacias they dont keep any type of patient records. So you kind of have to keep them yourself and stay on top of things. Also if we ever need to go to the hospital we wont be visited by her. Our appointments are only 30p each that's a little less than 3usd a visit so its worth it to me to have a competent and cheap doctor. We were planning on taking Lily back next week anyway because she is due now for her four month shots. And low and behold yesterday the lump showed up. Its not in a circle like Joslins was but more of a line and almost a 1/2 inch long. I hope this doesn't mean her scar will be like that. So we have some nastiness to look forward to in a couple weeks. We are still going to go get her four month shots sometime next week also. Ill keep you updated.
For my husbands recent procedure we ended up going through the private system. You see here the seguro or public system actually does this procedure for free. But when we tried to go through them we couldn't get a hold of anyone. We looked into the hospital where I had Lily and my OB suggested a urologist. It cost us about 4,000p total including the doctor appointments and labs beforehand. We still have one or two appointments coming up which will be around 500p each. As with before I still think Mexico's health system is structured way better than the US. I feel like I have a lot more options and I´m not paying an arm and a leg for insurance.

Childhood Immunizations Mexico

Here we go for round two of Mexican Immunization. Let me tell you I'm learning so much right now from the nurses in my class so I will filly you in also. First off ALL BABIES no matter what income get free immunizations. Thank God for this one because we dont have seguro this time around and also dont have the money for the full price ones through the private doctor. I also found out that ANY pregnant women has the right to receive free health care with he seguro.
Speaking of which, as a side note, we are relying on the nurses check ups along with her immunizations now because the private pediatrician was just to expensive. His appointments were 500p a piece which isn't bad in American standards but were not rollen in the money. I'm pretty sure he thought we were though because he at one point prescribed us a cream that was 500p for our babies face. I started putting regular baby lotion on it and that cleared up the problem.
Ok back to Immunizations. Because it is a new place and all my husband brought Lily in for her shots. I was very proud of him for doing it because he really cant handle seeing the girls get stuck. Anyway he went in at 7am and he said everyone was very helpful. The did initially tell him that they dont start immunizations till 830 and that there was no separate place for him to be if he didn't have seguro insurance. All he needed was the babies birth certificate which he had. He saw that there was already someone else there waiting and thought it best to just wait. Its a good thing he did also because by 8am when they actually did start taking people there where at least five people behind him in line. Issac said the nurses were very nice and willing to answer any questions he had. They were either out of the Immunization cards or they just assumed Issac forgot his. He didn't think anything of them putting the information on a piece of paper so he didn't ask. We are to bring her back in on the 17th for another one so we will get the card then. I'm not sure what that one is for because he didn't ask (that's a man for you, lol). Normally here in Mexico at the time of birth they give the tuberculin vaccine and the hepatitis B vaccine. But in the private hospitals they give you the choice, because if your baby gets these vaccines there they will be very pricey. We turned them down in the hospital so at her 2month shots she got the tuberculosis vaccine in her arm, the pentavalent which is a 5 antigen combo putting together our DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and pertussis) with Hib (which causes meningitis and pneumonia) and Hep B in her left leg, and the neumococica (prevent pneumonia), and her Hepatitis B in her right leg. The still get the last two vaccines mentioned with the pentavalent due to the different trains for those infections. I found a cool abstract herehttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12349263 in case you want to read more about the pentavalent being given in Mexico.
So now I have the big nasty pussing wound to look forward to on her arm in a couple weeks. Yuck I hate the TB vaccine so much. I suppose that's all the info I have on this subject for now more to come after the 17th. Maybe Ill go this time so I can have a more detailed description. Actually he did a great job and did come home and give me as much info as he could knowing I wanted to post it all. ;)

labor and delivery in Mexico

Some asked for more details on how things went down here so here it is. Some of you may not care to read it and that's OK but this way those who want to know can. I went through the private hospital again with this baby. I'm so thankful that God provided for us so that I could. For most of my pregnancy I was gearing up and trying to prepare myself for an epidural free labor and delivery. I wasn't to excited about this but was prepared to do it because well to be honest I didn't have much choice. Then God provided us with new jobs and a move so we decided we could afford the private doctor and hospital. So my last month of pregnancy went something like this.
We found what I feel like is the nicest and best OB in Guadalajara and visited him almost every week. He was so kind and well to be honest my age that we felt like we were visiting a friend who happened to want to ultrasound the baby every time he saw us. Seriously him and Issac would talk about X-box and other things during our visits. Two weeks before my due date he said he could tell that she was ready to come at any time and that if she did it would be ok because she was developed. He also said that if I did not go into labor by the following week visit we would talk about inducing. So as any 8 1/2 mo pregnant lady would do I began walking like crazy and looking up other natural ways to induce my labor. ;) By the next Wednesday when it was time for my visit I was of course still pregnant and having random contractions that were not staying around long (I had been having these for about 2 weeks at this point). My doctor said he would induce me on Sat if I didn't go into labor and until then to rest so that I would be well rested to labor over the weekend. So home I went to prepare for Thanksgiving the next day. I promised to rest except for the cooking that needed to be done. Thanksgiving went well and my contractions continued as they had been. Friday night some of Issacs family showed up (who were invited for Thanksgiving, mind you) and we let them know what was planned for Saturday morning. Saturday at 9am I left a house full of people to go see the doctor. He explained that he didn't believe in a strong induction of labor and would rather just kind of kick start the natural process. We very much agreed with him on this. At this point I was only dilated to 1cm with no thinning. So he gave me a half pill of pitocin by mouth and a half pill vaginally. This is an extremely small dose. The plan was for me to go home and go about my regular day and call in 4hours to check in. He sent me home with more pills to take in 4 hours if nothing was happening. Well I this little nudge is all my body needed. By ten o´clock not even an hour later I could tell the contractions were getting stronger and more regular. By eleven o´clock I was laying down in my bed to see if they were going to go away with rest. By eleven thirty I knew they were not going anywhere and Issac called up the doctor. We were sent out the door with lots of prayer and kisses from the family that was at the house. My doctors office was at the hospital and is where he wanted us to meet him. After talking to me and seeing me go through a couple contractions my doctor was ready to admit me. He called a wheel chair to meet us and off the pushed me to the main desk at the hospital. On the way there I met my anesthesiologist who was a very nice lady also. At the front desk I waited in my wheel chair and hospital gown while Issac talked to them about payment and they picked out a room for me. My doctor obviously knew what he was doing and refused the first room due to construction going on near by and we ended up getting one of the big nice rooms for no extra charge. ;) Have I mentioned how great our doctor was. Then I was wheeled into my room and they turned down my bed. I asked if I could stay out of the bed because the contractions were easier to handle while standing. This was no problem for them and my husband helped me through each one. This was the first time Issac got to be with me during this stage of labor and it was great. Except that he kept making me laugh during contractions and I still want to punch him for it. When the doctor came in to check me he was surprised to see I was dilated to 4 1/2 already and asked if I was ready for the epidural. I said I could wait a bit because I was tolerating the contractions ok at that point. Not even 15 min after he left the room I could tell they were getting stronger very quickly so we asked him to call the anesthesiologist. They then asked me if I would rather walk or have a wheel chair bring me into the delivery room. I wanted to walk because at that moment the thought of sitting down was not a good one. The nurses where all very good with me and stopped and held on to me when I would go into a contraction on the way. At this point Issac was asked to wait outside until they got the epidural placed. The doctor came in and between contractions got the epidural in. At this point my contractions where coming very fast and hard. For some reason the anesthesiologist was under the impression it was my first child and was just not listening to me when I said that it was time for the medication. I was screaming at her to give me the medication. Thankfully my OB was quick to come in and check me and when he noticed I was dilated past seven she quickly gave me the medication and once I calmed down she told me she didn't think I was going to that fast. Of course the medicine didn't kick in before it was time to push but I was feeling it ok when she was crowning. To be honest I felt more with her than I ever did and I would never ever ever want to feel more than I did with her. At one point the anesthesiologist told me to stop yelling during my contractions and to push. I said to her, "Gracias a dios puedo empuje ahora?" She said yes and by golly I got that kid out in like six pushes or so. You women who go all natural have a pain tolerance out of this world because mines pretty high and I would never volunteer to feel all that nature intended. Even though I was screaming at the anesthesiologist at one point she told me I did wonderful and my OB decided I wasn't really American. lol He kept saying you must be Mexican the way you dealt with all that. Lilian was born at 250 only five hours after the pitosin and 4 hours after true labor kicked in. My OB swears I need to have more babies because my body did so well with the labor, delivery, and recover. I keep telling him hes crazy and if its up to us we wont be doing any of that again. God willing Lily is our last. They kept me in the hospital that night and the next night. We headed home around noon the second day after she was born. Here is another picture just because I know how cute she is and want to be sure you all do to. ;)

Getting moms med care

When my mom said she wanted to come but was worried about her medications I began asking around about it. I had many people who live here tell me that it would be no problem. I even went as far as going into a pharm simi to ask a doctor if she would write the scripts if we needed them. Everyone told me it would be no problem and that it would not be difficult to find her medications. Let me tell you they were all so very wrong. Thankfully my mom told us a good two weeks before she was running out of anything and we got started right away. First we had to look up the names of all her medications in Spanish, this turned out to be the easiest part of the process. It was all very confusing and I didn't understand why some pharmacies had what we need and others didn't. In the long run when we asked my OB about the issues we had, he explained that in Mexico the pharmacies are owned by the drug companies. So if a drug you want is from a competitor drug producer that pharmacy will not carry it. Considering my mom was on more than one medication that still had no generic this was a big problem. Also as we were visiting all these different places we found out that three of her medications had to have a written prescription. One that was for anxiety and one that was for sleep we were told by one doctor had to be written by a psych doctor and only a psych doctor. Thankfully this turned out to not be the case. Because I was in my last few weeks of pregnancy and seeing my OB often we brought this whole issue to his attention and he agreed to write the scripts we needed. So we showed him her pill bottles and the names of the drugs in Spanish and he wrote them out. This happened the day he gave me the small dose of pitosin to induce my labor ( he was expecting it to take a while to work). Well I went into labor less than 4 hours later so Issac didn't go to fill moms scripts till the next evening. When he did he found out that all the medications had to be written on their own personal script and not all together the way our doctor wrote them. So my OB was kind enough to rewrite them. And again the next day Issac went to get them filled. This is when they informed us that her pain medication was not to be found here in Mexico. So three days after the baby was born and my first day home Issac brought my mom to a doctor to have them write her something that would help her with her arthritis pain. The doctor at pharm simi was kind enough to write this one and we were able to get it filled and it did end up easing her pain. She ended up needing another script written for her sleeping meds because they didn't give us enough for her entire stay the firs time. But again I was going back for my one week OB appointment and our doctor was kind enough to write it again. In the end we got it all figured out and for sure next time it will be easier but gees what a pain in the butt it was. We spent at least three night going from pharm to pharm, and in the state I was in just before and after the baby it was frustrating to say the least. Really I just wanted to write this post in case any of you have family that will be visiting for a long time you will know what to expect better than I did. It is a better idea for them to explain to their doctor and insurance that they will be on a prolonged stay in Mexico and need extra fill on their meds. If the insurance or doctor will not do this be sure to visit your pharmacies and doctors and be very very clear with them what medications you will be needing and if they will have them. Well that is that... Im trying to get my blogs up to date today so I can spend some time reading others this weekend. :)

Having the baby

Lilian Andrea was born Saturday November 27th, she weighed 3kilos and was 51cm long. I had gone in that morning around 9am and was given a very small dose of patosin and sent home. By noon I was admitted to the hospital and she was born at 245. She came fast and I was so glad and ready for her. To be honest my whole labor and delivery process was so much closer to what I wanted with the other two. Issac was allowed by my side the whole time and every one attended to what I asked for as far as when I was ready for different things. Heres some pics.

My moms first couple weeks

Once again I started this a few weeks ago. So some of it may be a little out dated. Things like that Im no longer pregnant and we have a new member of our family around. Ill post about that on a different blog hopefully tonight. ;)
My mom flew in on the tenth of November. She made it through all the checks well but did get the red light. She said she was ok with it because they had reassured her that her family was on the other side of the next set of doors. As soon as she got through my girls were in her lap in the wheelchair and the attendant pushed them all out to the truck. My mom was only here two days one of which Issac and I both worked before more family showed up. Issacs sister came on that Friday with her husband, son and dog, and his mom came in on Sat. They were all here for about 3 days and although it was fun I was way stressed. Everyone and more are coming back for Thanksgiving but I think Ill do better this time because my mom has had some time to get use to the place. Really his family are the best to have around they cook, buy food, clean and everything its just the constant commotion that got to me.
So far all we have gotten to do is go to an art sale and listen to an orchestra band in the park. My mom loved it and Ill post some pics, shes the gringa redhead in the middle and Issacs mom is sitting next to her. My mom had a great time and regardless of the language barrier she actually made some friends. We will be going back this Sunday because we ordered a painting she wanted to have made for the girls.
We also went to a parade which was lot of fun for all of us.
A few of the things my mom has noticed that I forget about is how everything is built so close to each other. She is now telling me how I need smoke detectors in the house and I'm trying to explain how everything is concrete and fires dont spread like in the states. To be honest she hasn't seen to much except wal-mart because we still needed so much for the house and although we were dealing with it my mom wasn't willing to. Which is great because it was those things that makes life so much easier.
Even no weeks later I haven't been able to get her out much because I had the baby last weekend.
For work now I'm staying home and writing a curriculum for a medical English class. I'm glad I have something I can work on from home and still get paid during my maternity leave.

Sorry I had to delete the pics off my blog, I have decided to keep my blog public no matter how many hateful comments I get. If I made my blog private it would defeat the purpose so instead I will just delete the pictures and refrain from using names in attempt to keep things safe for us. 

The Big News

No, we haven't gotten our clarification ultrasound yet so this is not to tell you the sex of our baby. But because of what I'm getting ready to tell you we can now go get the ultrasound. God is so amazing and works in ways that we would never dream up or imagine (and I have a huge imagination).
Ok so do I have your attention yet.... are you curious? lol

Well here is how the story goes...

A little over a week ago I received an e-mail from a friend (who I meet through blogging http://wagamamawonderings.blogspot.com/). It was nice and simple and had a link to a job req on creigs list. She simply stated she thought of me when she saw it (we are convinced now that God put my name in her mind at that moment). Out of curiosity I clicked on the site. It was a job posting for a nurse to work in Guadalajara teaching nurses how to pass the nursing exam that is required in the US. That night I told my husband about it and we decided although we were not exactly looking for a job that since it was sent to us maybe we should check into it, in case it was from God.
Last week I sent in my resume and they quickly responded with an application for me to fill out. I did this, still not thinking much of this because as you all know I have been down this road before and it didn't turn out well. But I got another quick response, they wanted to meet me. It just so happened that the president of the co would be in Guadalajara the following weekend and wanted to meet me. He also would like to do a casual phone interview and see a picture of me before we meet in person. So I sent them my new majic jack phone number (thanks again Rebecca) and a cropped head shot of me. I talked to Issac about all of it and we decided we could head up to Guad on Sat after Issac got off work to meet them if I felt the phone conversation went well. We were a little unsure because just to make this trip we were literally going to use every last penny in our savings to get there. Needless to say the phone conversation went great and this guy was very friendly and open to options. He mentioned at the time that he was also looking to have an English teacher and if I or my husband wanted it that would be more money for us. This sounded great except that being in a new city we would want one of us at home and we planned on mentioning this at our meeting. Thankfully we were able to get Issacs aunt and grandma to come over and sit with the girls that after noon and evening so we were comfortable with where they were and we didn't have to tug them a long with us.

The meeting went better than either of us could have ever dreamed. And thankfully we were better than what they thought they could have found also. My husbands English is close to perfect and to be honest he knows the ends and outs of grammar better than I do. OK I'm sure you believe that you all read my blog. lol Not only am I nurse but I have a lot of experience educating other nurses and my Spanish is good enough to help me convey what I need to to these nurses in both English and Spanish. So there you have it we were both hired and told so that night before we even left. I will be completing all the paper work by mid next week and my start date is the 1st of October. The classes do not start until Jan 1st but the next few months will part time work recruiting nurses who want to enroll in the school. We will be traveling to conventions, hospitals, and schools to get our name out there and get our student enrollment up. Im so excited about all these opportunities. I get to go to Zacatecas with them for my first assignment the 1st of October. This will be a whole new experience for me and Issac because he will be staying with the girls. Speaking of which they were totally ok with being sure that our classes are spaced in a way that we will have plenty of time to switch of with the kids. Seriously we would have never dreamed up a more perfect situation for ourselves. This weekend we will be in Guadalajara looking for a house, bank, school for Alana, etc. etc. So all who pray shoot one up for us. I'm convinced that this is from God so I know he will help us to get all things in order by the right time but extra prayers are always good. ;)

Dios Sabe, verdad!!!!!!

I was telling a friend the other day, I wonder if God will always turn me on my head when I least expect it. Most likely the answer is yes, its called refinement, hes making me into his diamond and I'm loving it. Just seeing what he has done inside of me over the last two years even is amazing. The old Amanda right now would not be sleeping, Id be biting my lips, Id be fretting. But not now.. the what ifs are not coming.. the how will we such and such is not coming. I'm secure in the fact that God will carry us through this. Sure we have to do the leg work and investigation on things, but he will provide all things in the end.

Christmas in August

The longer I live here the less I think about what I miss from the states. The great thing is that even though I dont miss things when they do show up I'm so excited about them. For example Issacs mom sent us a huge jar of Jiff PB. This is sold in the larger cities in Mexico but around here all you can get is some junk called Aladine or sometimes they have a very small container of Jiff that is so over priced its not worth buying. So that was supper exciting we got it about 3 weeks ago and its almost gone. But then about a week ago I received a care package from my sister. I have the best sister in the world, in case I hadn't said that before. She has sent me things and done more running around in the states for me than anyone should ever be expected to do. We decided that she should try out the regular mail service this time around because we seem to have a lot of bumps in the road with the other mail services. Also we found out recently that packages go through the same random red light green light as people do as they cross the boarder. So I'm thinking the smaller and less conspicuous (because I still doubt the randomness of the red light green light) the better. So she got the Medium flat rate box and packed it tight and sent it on it its way. I GOT IT 5 DAYS LATER!!!!!! That is so much faster than any of the mail couriers we have used. She sent me two prego shirts, some magazines, shorts for hubby, fun bath markers and color changing tabs for the girls, happy meal toys for the girls, cars for the new baby and other random things for the girls. We are loving all of it and is so nice to have quality cloths from the states. I do really miss Kohls. Then this weekend we were privileged to have our friends Rebbecca her hubby and their son stay with us at our house. She comes in like Santa and gave my girls all kinds of toys, cloths and shoes and all new stuff. I was so shocked.. when she had asked for sizes I was thinking she was hitting up some yard sales which would have been great also, but these were all new. This is a big deal here, you see cloths cost about the same here as they do their except they are made cheaper and there are fewer sales. I refused to buy cloths unless they are on sale here because they are never even close to worth the original prices. Anyway the girls loved all their stuff and are still playing with the toys and are so excited about the cloths. She also brought me lovely books and magazines. I'm so excited because as usually this came just in time. I am currently reading the last book on my shelf that I hadn't read and its not one I'm liking all that much. One of the best things ever is that she helped me to set up a magic jack. A few months ago I went on a rant about not being able to connect with certain family members the way I wish I could. A lot of you wrote me with different ideas some of which I was already using. A lot of those ideas were just out of our cost range but this one was not thankfully. Thanks to this I have already spoken to a couple friends who haven't had time to sit in front of their computer to skype and I can communicate more frequently with my sister and mom. I cant imagine how much it could have helped and lightened my sisters load if we would have had this two years ago but hey its better now than never. Also because were pretty sure this new baby coming is a boy she brought us some of her sons old cloths. This helps a lot because I have girls and dont have boy anything.
During my walks to and from Alanas school I try to take that time to reflect on God and my relationship with him and so on and so forth. These last couple days of walks have just been full of thanksgiving. God has always put such great people in our lives and has always taken care of us. I'm so thankful for where we are in our lives and things are going so well. I actually love living here now. I love that before 10am I have said good morning and smiled at tons of people most of which I barely know or do not know at all. I love that I am getting to know my neighbors and feel so safe and cared for. Really this could go on for some times so Ill stop now and leave this blog with how thankful I am for the Christmas in August. ;)

Thanks Suegra... Thanks Burkharts.... Thanks Rebbecca and family.

Seguro: Six month appointment

My appointment yesterday was set up at 330pm so my husband was again unable to go with me. Upon arrival they always give you your next appointment right away, I had to request a later hour and she said she could but that the date may be off a bit. Next month is my 7th month appointment and Issac is suppose to come with me so they can schedule him for his procedure. This was fine it ended up being only a few days earlier than it should have been and is at six in the eve so Issac will have no trouble making it. The girls and I got there about 320 and were not called in till almost five. They were nice enough to come out and tell us that there had been some emergencies and they apologized that they were running late. By the time we got in there though the girls were pretty restless and due to me not getting a nap that day I was pretty tired. I think this was all apparent and the nurse asked one of the student nurses to help with the girls and to get them toothbrushes to play with. There where two nurses in training and the one main nurse. She asked me a few questions and then I got on the table. The one male trainee who measured my stomach is the same one I dealt with last time. He also measured the babies heart rate and before giving it to the main nurse asked me if I had been exercising. I explained that me and the girls take walks every day and other than that running after the girls is exercise. Then he is like, no I mean just now. I thought, seriously!?!?!? Iv been waiting in the waiting area for the last hour and a half with a four year old and a one year old. Thankfully the more experienced nurse was feeling my frustration and asked for the heart rate. It was normal and she told him that. When he explained that my rate was faster than he thought it should be, she was quick to explain that I had been in the waiting room with two active kids. This would not be the first time I was thankful for her. This kid will be a good nurse some day due to his attention to detail but there is a time and a place for everything and being sensitive to where people are is a big part of being a good nurse. He then grabbed the teaching chart and I'm thinking Oh God not again. Normally Im all about the teaching and I like to hear what it is they are telling women. On this day I was just not up for it. He was reviewing what we had gone over the last time. Ok here is a part I didn't divulge last time because it could make some readers uncomfortable but I have to this time it was just to much. He read through a whole thing that was recommending agitating my nipples so they would not be to sore to feed when the baby is born. He also recommended and showed me a picture of a bra that had the nipples cut out of it to give room for swelling. The last time I was just sure I had misunderstood something and that the picture was meaning something else. Surely they dont expect women to cut up their bras. (I also dont agree with the agitating part either but I wont go into all that, I know some people even in the states feel this is a good idea). So when he got to that page he is like have you been doing this, and I lied and said yes. Then he pointed to the cut up bra and asked if I had done that and I said no. He then goes on to tell me to be sure and get an old bra or one I dont like and to be sure and do this. I'm thinking dude this is the worse time in the world for me to be wearing old bras. So not only does it need holes it doesn't matter if its supportive and comfortable. So I just nodded my head so we could move on. The next page was the food guide and he wanted me to repeat back to him what he had told me the last month. Ok like I said I´m normally all for this stuff, but for one I'm tired, two I had already been there an hour longer than expected and was getting hungry and with these two items I could not think clear Spanish. It was only after eating and telling my husband about this next part that I got the giggles about it. So although in the situation I was frustrated please feel free to laugh at this. He apparently wasn't excited about me simply saying that I needed to eat from each of the food groups and was asking me to tell him what foods I should eat with ice (hielo). Not until much confusion and him deciding to list the foods for me did I realize he was saying hierro (iron). As soon as he started with the legumes, spinach, red meats bit I'm like ohhhhhhh hierro. And he looks at me like Im crazy and says yes. I was to tired to explain what I had thought he was saying so I quickly called off a few other foods that had hierro. He then decides to explain to me why this is important and I'm sad to say at this point I cut him off and said I already knew. I haven't told them yet that I'm a nurse and I felt now would be a rude time for it but it was coming close to my lips. Thankfully when he flipped the page and asked if he had talked to me about baby care and I said no the other nurse stopped him. She said that I still have two more visits with them and that he should spread out his teaching. I hope she saw the gratitude on my face, and I explained that the next time would be better anyway because my husband would be there to help clear up any confusions. It was then my turn to ask questions and as always they were patient with my round about way of explaining what I needed to know. I was asking about the labor and delivery process. After talking to a few people I was starting to think I had some confusions about how things would go at the hospital. And I was right thank goodness. The labor room and recovery room are general rooms set up with up to 6 women. But when your actually ready to deliver they take you into a private room for the birth of the baby. So as long as we wait long enough Ill just go right into a private room until after the baby is born. This was a huge relief an I will be praying that God will help us to know the right timing. Let me know if I left anything out or if anything is confusing. I just wrote this in like 4 settings. I want this to help out those of you who may be needing the seguro for treatment in the future or now.

Oh yes and abuot the walks.

My last post became something entirely different than what I started it to be. So I changed the title and took this little bit out that I'm about to write now. Issac went to a game with some work buddies tonight so I have time to actually post this one now.
One thing I did yesterday regardless of my sinus headache and the feelings I discussed in the last post was to write up a daily schedule.
When we first moved to Mexico Alana and I would go on walks every day. Mainly out of curiosity but also because I was insanely restless due to moving from hectic full time working to doing nothing all day. When I found out I was pregnant we would make sure and walk at least 30 min every day. After having Joslin I got out of the routine and sadly over a year later we have not picked it back up. I realized when we were downtown and my four year old complained the whole time about walking that it was time to pick it back up. Another reason for the schedule was because we had slaked on our reading time. Joslin just was not old enough to sit through story time so I have not been doing a daily reading time with Alana. We still do a class time while Joslin naps in the mornings but reading just for fun got sat aside for running after Joslin. Lately Iv noticed Joslin is getting better about sitting through books and when not listening will at least play close by. So while I watched them play and I nursed my poor head I wrote us up a little schedule to include both and all the other things we do each day. I put it on construction paper and put times on it. I plan to use it to help teach Alana about time and how at certain times of the day you do different things.
About my sinus headache my wonderful husband decided that because I was feeling so bad yesterday he would order pizza instead of me cooking. This was a blessing because Joslin was also being extra chipil and I would have had to put her to cry in the play room while I cooked and did dishes. This would have really split my head. When Issac got home he convinced me to at least do so research on what I could take if I had to take some cold medication. I was never an OB nurse and stayed as far from it as possible so I did need to do a little reading. But after looking it up, and some encouragement from hubby I decided for the well being of me and my girls I would take something. My husband says nurses are the worse patience and I'm sure hes right, it took a lot of convincing but now I'm so glad he did it. I'm only taking like a third of the dose they call for but even that is helping so much with the tea and such helping a little also.
Today thanks to the breakthrough I spoke of in my previous post and the medication helping my headache we followed our schedule. Alana loved looking at the clock and telling me what time it was and then going to the paper to see what we got to do. Even clean up time went a little smother because well its what we were suppose to do at that time.
She was as excited about our walk as I was. We have been randomly walking over the last week or so but not making a habit of it and I was letting Joslin walk also. With Joslin walking there is really no excessive for me and she ends up getting to worn out for us to go to far. Today we put her in the stroller and took off. Its surprising how far you can walk in just 15 min. A couple weeks ago we attempted to walk to a park we had seen but it was to much up and down hill and we were all way to tired on the way home. This time I headed a different direction and kept the walking on mostly flat ground. In Mexico if you walk for a bit (for us it was 15 min) you will usually end up at some kind of a park. Today we ended up at a small park that didn't have to many toys but was very clean. It was next to a church and I assume the church keeps it up. The girls had so much fun finding sticks, playing in the dirt and grass, and climbing on the few toys they had. There was also a basket ball court that they had fun running around on. We played about 20 min and headed home. On the way home we actually saw a garage sale. Can you believe it, those are so rare here and of course everything was way overpriced for a garage sale but it was fun to get to browse. (I use to love going to garage sales, I would set up a whole Sat just to go looking around) After leaving there, just as we are getting going, I hear "Amanda"(said with spanish vowels). At first I just kept walking because I'm just so use to not knowing anyone. Then louder, "Amanda" This time I turn around and I see the daughter of an acquaintance. This person had told me they lived in my area of town and to come by sometime but I never figured Id actually find their house. We ended up visiting with them for a good 45 min before heading home. It was nice to actually have a little visit and feel like you actually know some people. Tomorrow I plan for us to head a slightly different way just to see what we can find. I'm really looking forward to what our walking adventures will bring. After today I see that it will be much different than when I first moved here. So here is three cheers for walking adventures.

Chipil

For this post I decided to do some word research online and this is what I found.
chipil * adj (Méx) sad, gloomy
Chipil Spanish English chipil ADJ MX gloomy ADJ
chipil ADJ MX down-trodden ADJ
chipil ADJ MX sad ADJ
Ya se puso chipil. MX Now he's pouting.
Looking the word up made me a little chipil because its what everyone keeps calling my daughter. But with this word and in our area of Mexico I think it means more than what I found in the dictionaries. Because except when I was pregnant I have never heard someone refer to a grumpy child this way. The impression my husband and I had before I looked it up is more like a child being needy due to the mom being pregnant. They say she can sense my hormones (which I believe) and the upcoming baby. When I was pregnant with Joslin (who is now one) Alana was two, and was only a few times refereed to as chipil. People said she wasn't bad because I was having a sister for her. I didn't really understand the term that time around. This time though I get it. Joslin is being the full extent of the term. Over the last few weeks it have been getting worse and worse, she wants nothing but to be on my lap or me to be carrying her. She asks for her papi all day long and when he shows up she is so happy and gets excited but still wants me only to hold her. I am typing part of this with her on my lap. It gets really bad anytime I try to do something that needs my full attention. For example cleaning or cooking or reading or typing... ok everything. If I just sit on the couch and stare at the wall she will walk off and play but even from the other room its like she can tell I picked up a book and will run in to sit on my lap. Not only does she sit on my lap but she puts her face directly into mine until Im focusing all my attention on her. My main breaks from this is when shes eating (thank goodness right now shes eating) or if I can get her playing outside with her sister but this one doesn't usually last long. The other day I was trying to chat with my sister on skype and my sister was like Oh my now I get it. Joslin was standing on my lap facing me and taking her hands on either side of my face and staring into my face, then she would just wallow me and squirm around like she just wanted to see if I would hang on to her or something. Seriously its crazy and seems to be getting worse. Im not sure what to do about it, I cant just carry her around all day and really I think that is a bad idea anyway considering as soon as the baby comes I wont be able to.
Here is me asking for similar stories or suggestions. ;)

Ultrasound #2, but first with the seguro

We went to day for our appointment at the hospital for my ultrasound. We made this appointment over three months ago. People had told us not to expect a lot and that it would be nothing like the ones we had with the private doctor nor at the ultrasound clinic we went to for the first one. One thing I didn't expect is that we had almost no wait. Considering it took them more than three months to get me an appointment I expected to have to wait like you do for everything else with the seguro. We had only just sat down when my name was called. The nurse actually was very kind (they usually are, props to nurses) and they let my husband and the girls come in also. The ultrasound tech asked his questions so quickly it was hard for me to understand but after thinking on them a min I was able to answer with little interpretation from my husband. He then slathered me with gel and began his work. He was very quick about the whole thing and only stayed on one body part long enough to get his measurements. I mentioned the sex and he did a fast sweep over the buttocks and legs and stated he thought it was a girl. Click... and turned off the screen. We were then quickly ushered out and told to wait outside while he typed up his info for me to bring to the doctor. We were told again that we needed to make a copy before our next doctors appointment and that was that. From the quick glance we got I cant agree with the tech. For those of you who have seen a ultrasound of a baby girl... I saw no line. What I saw was the but and a bump which could easily be interpreted either way. We have decided that we will wait a couple more months then hopefully if we have the money go pay the other clinic to get one done. Since you pay they are more than happy to sit around and wait for the baby to show itself. We have decided to at least think of some girl names. Any ideas.....
When the nurse handed us our paper half turned away and heading off my husband stopped her. And we got some answers about what to expect in 4 months. When we come in we go through the Urgencia (ER) no matter what time of day it is. The labor and delivery room is a general room with up to 5 or 6 other beds. I'm imagining something like a Chemo room or one of the older critical care units before they started having the glass walls and doors. They only give epidural to first timers or for C-section. No one not even a female member of family is allowed in with you. And the baby after being checked is left with the mom in the moms bed. She did say if the baby doesn't latch on in the first hour or so they will take it to the incubator to feed it. That kinda sucks because sometimes newborns are not really even hungry for up to 24 hours.
With all this information in mind my husband is now totally on board with me laboring at home until we are sure its actually time for the baby to come. I figure by that stage of labor most of it will be a blur of pain and such so who care if I have any support. Ok that was slight sarcasm and I think it sucks they wont let females in but hey such is life and I will survive. Thanks to a fellow blogger (sunshine) I have plenty of info to read to be sure all is safe for me and the baby. I'm just glad I now know for sure what to expect and plan for.

buggen out

Oh yes its time for some bug stories. Thanks to the rainy season I have a few for you. This year is a little different for us as far as the bugs go. For one reason we are in a house and not in an apartment above a tienda, also we have a cat. The first means that roaches are not our biggest culprits this year. And the second means we have a different way of dealing with any other bug that comes in. When we moved into the house the kitchen cabinets did have a major roach infestation but thanks to a friend we found this miracle paste that got rid of them in just a few days. I did see one roach the other day but it looked like it came in through the door and wonder cat ate him. But just in case its about time to buy the paste again and put it out to be sure we keep them away.
A few weeks ago I was awaken in the night to the lovely singing of a cricket in my room. As you know crickets songs are far from lovely in the middle of the night and in your bedroom. I tried my best to go back to sleep and ignore it (my husband was sleeping like a baby). We have high ceilings and the way our room is it was just so loud I couldn't sleep. I sat up and looked around to where I thought the sound was coming from. I soon saw a large black spot on the wall very near the ceiling. My groggy mind didn't register the fact that most likely a cricket large enough to make this noise would not be just sitting on the wall. So I proceed to grab anything that wouldn't break and started to throw it at the spot. After about try number five or six (in between which the cricket would shut up a min then start back its melody) my husband rolls over and says, "what are you doing."
"Trying to kill that cricket." I say.
"How do you know its a cricket?" he asks. At this point I am just pissed that he seriously hadn't heard it and was sleeping soundly this whole time, so I throw one more item then sit down to let the bugger start up again.
While we wait my husband looks at the dark spot and says it doesn't look like a cricket. I wear glasses but my sight is not that bad and I can tell there is something up there. Im to mad to reply and I continue to wait on the sound. Finally he starts back up and my husband says, "huh, must be a cricket." He of course since we are both awake now decides to turn on the light. The dark spot after all was not a cricket but a whole in the wall. At first we mistake this whole to be where someone must have put a rod for cloths hanging, although I was confused as to why there was not another whole directly across it. From up on the bed and shoving items into the whole to kill the cricket my husband realizes it goes all the way to the outside. I want to cry at this point because how do you kill or get a cricket to go away who can safely run away and then back to the whole when he is ready to hear his legs resonate again. Thankfully hubby wasn't as exhausted with the situation as I was and thought about the bug spray. He filled the whole and thankfully we have not heard another vocalist or legist (jajaja) in our room. (Ok that prob wasn't that funny but I liked it)
Also a few weeks ago I was standing around in the front area of Soriana watching Alana play with the toys, Joslin sit in the cart and eat crackers, and waiting for my husband to get off work. I looked over at a pallet that was on the floor for mattresses that looked welcoming to sit on. I was tired so anything but the floor would have looked nice. Something made me decide not to go sit there and not even a few min later I was so happy. A huge wood spider that had a body about and inch and a half long came crawling out of the same spot I had just been looking at. He of course saw me and my fear and walked right over to where I was and stood under my cart. I like to kill things that scare me but when they are that big I dont like to use any body part that will fill it like my foot. So I start trying to run over it with the cart. I was not successful and I'm sure anyone who saw me thought I was nutz. Eventually he ran back under his pallet, it was like he came out just to let me know that was his spot and I shouldn't have been looking at it like I wanted to use it.
Today was much worse than that though. My one year old is fascinated by bugs. She will point and squat for a better look and shout "bu.. bu.. bu" and so on until she decided it would be a good idea to step on it and see what happens. This was really cute until she tried to do it to a bee. I quickly explained to her that bees could hurt you. Now when she sees a bug she will say, "bee?" and look at me if I say no then she will go on with the other ritual. Any time she says either my four year old also runs over to make sure if its harmful and then goes to get the cat. The four year old hates bugs. Today while I was cleaning I hear Joslin say, "bee?" and the four year old says, "no its a dead fly." and she proceeds to get some tissue and throw it away. I thank her and go about my cleaning. Then I hear Joslin (the one year old) practically screaming "Bee?!?!?!?!" and Alana scream as if shes going to die. "dont touch it its a spider." I turn fairly slowly because just last night Alana was in tears in the bathroom over a spider that couldn't have eaten a fly if it wanted to. Then I about puck and scream "Joslin come here." This thing was no wood spider, or maybe it was but not one I have seen before. Im pretty sure it was a small tarantula from what I have seen in pictures. Ok shivers are going through me again. For a tarantula it was small I guess but the body alone was about an inch long and very fat with fat fuzzy legs. I look for Ke Ke and realize that she is the one that ran the thing into the house. Shes at the door trying to get in. Ke ke is no more than 5 months old and although I have seen her eat many bugs I wondered if this one was to big and dangerous for her. So I threw a shoe at the spider and wounded it. I then let ke ke in and was surprised to see her, nose on the floor, go the direct way the spider had (she looked like a blood hound). This has been very interesting to me because any cat I had before seemed to be afraid of bugs or just liked to play with them. I'm so glad that ke ke finds them to be a good part of her diet. She gobbled it up and I wanted to puke but let her while I had to hold Jolsin back. She wanted to see what Ke ke was doing to the bee. Then I noticed ke ke kept biting at her paw and I got worried. What if the spider bit her or something. I make her let me check out the paw and there is a horn nosed black beetle stuck to it. So she was chasing this spider with a beetle stuck to her paw. I pull it off and she proceeds to try and eat it. Some how this little guy managed to evade her and get back out to the patio. I was fine with that because I was sure ke ke would win out later. I'm still getting willies about the large spider but I am glad the way Joslin asked before she touched and that she listened when I told her to get away from it. Also whoo hoo for having a bug eating cat. Shes an inside/outside(closed patio) cat so I'm hoping she will keep us safe from the biggies as she gets bigger. I still dont know she may have been able to track and tackle this spider with out my help but I didn't want it running around in my house.
That is it for my bug stories for now, things like these come with the territory around here.

confident in Gods care

This morning I woke up to a minor irritation. I hate to admit it but I usually check my e-mail and such before I do my bible study in the mornings. And today it was a good thing. Anyway it helped and touched me so much today I thought Id share it on my blog. Truly this reading has helped me also because I am often scared about the birth of this baby. And to be honest its not so much the pain of not having the epidural as knowing I will not have any loved ones in the room with me. Often prayer is what gets me from thinking on it to much. I'm thankful that my God is a comforter and that he can give me the confidence that I could never have on my own. If I let myself take control I am weak and fearful, but; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me John 3:16. I have come to rely so deeply on him I'm not sure how I would take my next breath without him. Here is the reading I had for today.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles Psalm 34:17
When faith seems difficult, we struggle to understand its privileges. Trials conceal the truth concerning the benefits that come with being God´s child.
Unbelief obscures the tender care he has for his children. After all, nonbelievers would find it hard to believe that God cared much for their greatest problems, much less the intimate details of their day. Only with faith comes the certainty of love.
As God´s children, you can be confident He cares for every trouble, even the small, irritating ones that still ruin a day in seconds.
Face the loss of a loved one or a minor argument with the same confidence: God cares for you r troubles. Cry out softly or shout it from the roof tops, and He will hear.

Lord, You have shown Your love in so many ways, yet we still miss the point. Thank You for the privilege of coming to You with even our small irritation.

From God´s word for Couples devotions for growing together.