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.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Blessed
I have been so thankful lately for everything in my life. My home and my family are so much more than I could have ever dreamed I would have. Right now I'm sitting in a well sun lit room with a gentle cool breeze flowing through my house, while my girls finish their nap. I'm so at peace with where I am and what my future holds for me. I'm not sure why I just decided to write this post but it just felt write to express this. Maybe because sometimes it just doesn't feel like enough to tell God how pleased I am with what he has given me. I want to tell the world, I want to shout it from the mountains, I want to sing it in song. Luckily for my neighbors I'm well aware of my singing voice so Ill keep a wrap on that one and just express my happiness in my blog. I had recently been feeling a slight discontent or restlessness creeping into my soul, and with no real root or cause. When this happens to me I do my best to focus on all the things I have to be thankful for. Sometimes and with this last week the discontent and restlessness dont just go away, as a matter of fact it may get a little stronger. But I also know from the past that if I continue to pray through this and continue to count my blessings God will see me through. And usually on the other side is a peace and a purpose to my life that I didn't see or have before. To be honest I'm still not sure of the purpose this time around but today I am receiving the peace. Sitting here and looking back to yesterday I see that yesterday was the peak of my restless heart and the break through of Christ in my soul. Its always nice to be reminded who can and always will restore my peace and take away any restlessness that I feel. I read something today that Id like to share. Its funny that I didn't read it until after I felt my break through, but I think its because the restlessness I was feeling was not because I was expecting something from my husband and that's what this centers on. But you can read anything into the pieces where I put parenthesis. To be honest I still cant place where my discontent was coming from and sometimes that's just how it is. The evil one comes to destroy and his purpose is only that, even when he has no foothold he finds a way. But God is always there and will win. Here is the piece I read today. I added words in the parenthesis to make it more relevant to how I was feeling.
In our quest for relational intimacy (for peace, for quietness, for love, for what ever you are looking for), remember there is Someone we can whisper our hearts´ desires to and get our boosts from who will strengthen our integrity, not jeopardize it.
If you are thinking, No way will talking to God ever excite me like talking to a man (person, like watching a show, like reading a book. etc.), then you haven´t allowed yourself to be courted by our Creator. The same God whose words possessed the power to form the entire universe longs to whisper into your hungry heart words that have the power to thrill you, heal you, and draw you into a deeper love relationship than you ever imagined possible. A guy (person or friend) may say that you look fine, but God´s Word says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3). Even your husband (or loved one) may tell you"I´m committed to you until death," but God says, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).
Make time to retreat to a quiet place with the Lover of your soul. Speak whatever is on your heart, and then listen as God speaks straight from His heart directly to yours.
(I got this from a book titled Every Women Every Day by Shannon Ethridge but she actually got it from a book titled Every Woman´s Battle)
Not only has God provided me with more than I could have ever imagined in my marriage and my family but he also is the Lover of my soul. This is what I have, and this is real and I just felt the need to share and let you know you can have it to. There is no specifics to it other than just talking to Him and opening up. That is all he wants anything else will come natural.
Its funny because I started this post out to be about me taking walks.... Ill save any of that for another post and let you know in that post how I veered off in this direction. ;)
In our quest for relational intimacy (for peace, for quietness, for love, for what ever you are looking for), remember there is Someone we can whisper our hearts´ desires to and get our boosts from who will strengthen our integrity, not jeopardize it.
If you are thinking, No way will talking to God ever excite me like talking to a man (person, like watching a show, like reading a book. etc.), then you haven´t allowed yourself to be courted by our Creator. The same God whose words possessed the power to form the entire universe longs to whisper into your hungry heart words that have the power to thrill you, heal you, and draw you into a deeper love relationship than you ever imagined possible. A guy (person or friend) may say that you look fine, but God´s Word says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3). Even your husband (or loved one) may tell you"I´m committed to you until death," but God says, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).
Make time to retreat to a quiet place with the Lover of your soul. Speak whatever is on your heart, and then listen as God speaks straight from His heart directly to yours.
(I got this from a book titled Every Women Every Day by Shannon Ethridge but she actually got it from a book titled Every Woman´s Battle)
Not only has God provided me with more than I could have ever imagined in my marriage and my family but he also is the Lover of my soul. This is what I have, and this is real and I just felt the need to share and let you know you can have it to. There is no specifics to it other than just talking to Him and opening up. That is all he wants anything else will come natural.
Its funny because I started this post out to be about me taking walks.... Ill save any of that for another post and let you know in that post how I veered off in this direction. ;)
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
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. ;)
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. ;)
Monday, August 2, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Finishing projects
So I have recently gotten a few projects done and I thought Id share.
This was a crochet done by my aunt when Issac and I got married. I have been wanting to frame it as to keep it in better condition and not to get torn up. Recently I realized I wont be buying frames anytime soon so I quickly stitched up a pillow to put it on. And luckily it matches my new couches quite well. I have some of the same material left that I plan to use to make two throw pillows for the couches. This will have to wait until I can buy some stuffing though.
I had quite a bit of left over fabric when I made the curtain for the girls room. Here is the pillow case I made for Alana. She loves it as you can tell. I still have a little more fabric left and if I can get it to fit right I might put a little ruffle on the end. The case came up a little short after the hemming so you can see the pillow a little. This may not seem a big deal but I'm sure eventually it will drive me batty and I will find a way to put a ruffle on it. ;)
This one was the biggest of the projects I had lately. We had recently taken Joslin out of her crib because she learned how to climb over and I didn't want her to fall. the problem was that the bed she was sharing with Alana was very tall. At first to remedy this we placed the back of our old couch up against the side of the bed. The problem was the foot of the bed. Being only a year old she still wakes up and moves about quite a bit at night and I was getting little sleep worrying about it. We decided to put our Sofa Cama or futon up stairs for the girls to sleep on. Its a lot lower to the ground and is plenty comfortable for them. One of the springs is popped out toward the bottom but they are short enough that they are not laying in that area. This made them and me more comfortable and Joslin likes that she can climb into her bed on her own. This also helps me reach them better for kisses at night. ;)
So all of that to say that the tall bed got put into the play room/guest room/TV/living room. I decided to see if I could make it a little more like a day bed or a couch so to speak. With the material left over from the downstairs curtains I made a huge pillow. Halfway through making it I realized it would cost me and arm and a leg to stuff it. Around this same time I had decided to clean out and rearrange the closet. I realized that a lot of the disorganization was coming from all of our blankets and sheets. So I left a fairly large opening in the pillow and places some Velcro that I had from before. So that big pillow is full of our blankets. I still had a small piece left of that fabric and did the same thing and filled it with our sheets and pillow cases. We have a blue sheet set and this is what I put on the bed. I then cut some felt leaves to match the pattern on the other material and sewed it onto two of the blue pillow cases. One actually has a pillow in it and the other has a blanket. All in all it turned out to work well and is very comfortable to sit and watch movies. That was kind of a long post but I was pretty happy with the fact that I was able to save money on the stuffing and also clean out my closet. So far its working well, and we figure that when we need all the blankest most likely we will have someone staying in the bed and wont be using it so much like a couch and wont need the big stuffed pillow.
This was a crochet done by my aunt when Issac and I got married. I have been wanting to frame it as to keep it in better condition and not to get torn up. Recently I realized I wont be buying frames anytime soon so I quickly stitched up a pillow to put it on. And luckily it matches my new couches quite well. I have some of the same material left that I plan to use to make two throw pillows for the couches. This will have to wait until I can buy some stuffing though.
I had quite a bit of left over fabric when I made the curtain for the girls room. Here is the pillow case I made for Alana. She loves it as you can tell. I still have a little more fabric left and if I can get it to fit right I might put a little ruffle on the end. The case came up a little short after the hemming so you can see the pillow a little. This may not seem a big deal but I'm sure eventually it will drive me batty and I will find a way to put a ruffle on it. ;)
This one was the biggest of the projects I had lately. We had recently taken Joslin out of her crib because she learned how to climb over and I didn't want her to fall. the problem was that the bed she was sharing with Alana was very tall. At first to remedy this we placed the back of our old couch up against the side of the bed. The problem was the foot of the bed. Being only a year old she still wakes up and moves about quite a bit at night and I was getting little sleep worrying about it. We decided to put our Sofa Cama or futon up stairs for the girls to sleep on. Its a lot lower to the ground and is plenty comfortable for them. One of the springs is popped out toward the bottom but they are short enough that they are not laying in that area. This made them and me more comfortable and Joslin likes that she can climb into her bed on her own. This also helps me reach them better for kisses at night. ;)
So all of that to say that the tall bed got put into the play room/guest room/TV/living room. I decided to see if I could make it a little more like a day bed or a couch so to speak. With the material left over from the downstairs curtains I made a huge pillow. Halfway through making it I realized it would cost me and arm and a leg to stuff it. Around this same time I had decided to clean out and rearrange the closet. I realized that a lot of the disorganization was coming from all of our blankets and sheets. So I left a fairly large opening in the pillow and places some Velcro that I had from before. So that big pillow is full of our blankets. I still had a small piece left of that fabric and did the same thing and filled it with our sheets and pillow cases. We have a blue sheet set and this is what I put on the bed. I then cut some felt leaves to match the pattern on the other material and sewed it onto two of the blue pillow cases. One actually has a pillow in it and the other has a blanket. All in all it turned out to work well and is very comfortable to sit and watch movies. That was kind of a long post but I was pretty happy with the fact that I was able to save money on the stuffing and also clean out my closet. So far its working well, and we figure that when we need all the blankest most likely we will have someone staying in the bed and wont be using it so much like a couch and wont need the big stuffed pillow.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
mango heaven or hell?
I have now decided its heaven but I was skeptical. A friend of ours just got back from vacation at his home town in San Luis Potosi, and he brought us mangoes. Not just a couple but he brought us a huge bag that when I put them in my fridge last night it filled my entire lower shelf. A fellow blogger once wrote how she ate mangoes every day for a month and I mentioned how I could never do that because I hate to prepare them. But hey beggars cant be choosers and Ill take free food any day. Especially something my family loves so much including myself. Yesterday evening I pealed and cut three of the small ones for us to eat with biscuits for breakfast. That actually worked really well this morning and as I ate them I contemplated on what else I would make with them today.
Issac had the idea last night for me to puree some and freeze it for us to eat as freezies. This was simple enough and I cut up about six of the smaller smushier ones for this project and actually decided not to add any sugar because they were pretty sweet. We dont add sugar to a lot of things actually. My brother in-law thinks Im cruel because I will feed my girls corn flakes with out sugar. Funny thing is they love it and especially with some bananas thrown in. For the freezies I used some small plastic cups that I had left over from a party. Im hoping they do ok in the freezer once the mango expands.
Of course I had to make some agua de mango which did get some sugar added and this took about three or four of the smaller mangoes. This is so much yummier than Zuco. ;) Between both girls and myself I think we ate at least four or five of the small ones just cut up fresh today. I then remembered I had mixed up some Bisquick mix the other day and decided to make a cake with mango in it. I used brown sugar instead of white just to add a little kick and so far it smells yummy. Its cooling on the stove top right now and calling my name.
Then once I started to get to the bottom of the bag I noticed there were larger ones there also. These were not quite as ripe and smushy as the smaller ones so as for now I cut only one up that looked pretty ripe.
Now I still have six large mangoes in my bottom drawer of my fridge waiting a bit to get ripe. Any ideas on what else I should make would be nice. I'm sure Ill use at least two of them for aqua but they are pretty big so now I still have four. Ok I'm sure my girls will at at least one or two fresh. Gee so I only have two or three left.
For sure this was heaven and it didn't take as long as I thought it would to figure out what to do with it all. I may look into what it would take to make some jam considering I still have some Bisquick mix and biscuits are the easiest and quickest thing to make with it.
Issac had the idea last night for me to puree some and freeze it for us to eat as freezies. This was simple enough and I cut up about six of the smaller smushier ones for this project and actually decided not to add any sugar because they were pretty sweet. We dont add sugar to a lot of things actually. My brother in-law thinks Im cruel because I will feed my girls corn flakes with out sugar. Funny thing is they love it and especially with some bananas thrown in. For the freezies I used some small plastic cups that I had left over from a party. Im hoping they do ok in the freezer once the mango expands.
Of course I had to make some agua de mango which did get some sugar added and this took about three or four of the smaller mangoes. This is so much yummier than Zuco. ;) Between both girls and myself I think we ate at least four or five of the small ones just cut up fresh today. I then remembered I had mixed up some Bisquick mix the other day and decided to make a cake with mango in it. I used brown sugar instead of white just to add a little kick and so far it smells yummy. Its cooling on the stove top right now and calling my name.
Then once I started to get to the bottom of the bag I noticed there were larger ones there also. These were not quite as ripe and smushy as the smaller ones so as for now I cut only one up that looked pretty ripe.
Now I still have six large mangoes in my bottom drawer of my fridge waiting a bit to get ripe. Any ideas on what else I should make would be nice. I'm sure Ill use at least two of them for aqua but they are pretty big so now I still have four. Ok I'm sure my girls will at at least one or two fresh. Gee so I only have two or three left.
For sure this was heaven and it didn't take as long as I thought it would to figure out what to do with it all. I may look into what it would take to make some jam considering I still have some Bisquick mix and biscuits are the easiest and quickest thing to make with it.
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