Big City Update

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I last posted. Time flies!

It's been a good week here for us. Here are the highlights:

Driving

I love driving. Driving gives me a sense of independence like nothing else does. Always has, since I kicked my dad out of his car minutes after getting my license the day I turned 16.

So, I am happy to announce that I have ventured out and am driving the streets of Big City. That is no small feat, let me tell you. Driving is CRAZY here, but I love it.

Maid Service

Monday our new maid started. Having a maid isn't my favorite thing in the world, but I hate cleaning and I'm pregnant, so it was kind of inevitable.

She cooks. She loves to cook. You all have been listening to me whine for the last month about how I can't eat, can't cook, can't shop, etc. Tonight, I ate so much of what she made that I couldn't take another bite. My stomach is still distended. It was that good.

And, she loves to do hair. So, poor Margarita whom on most days looks like she doesn't have a mom, (despite Steph's great post on hair-dos which can be located in her May archives) got a new do tonight. I was expecting some little pony tails or something. She came upstairs looking like a veritable princess.

So, I think we'll keep her (the maid, not Margarita. I always knew I'd keep Margarita).

Church

Just pretend you can hear me give a long, happy sigh in this category.

Don't get me wrong, church in Small Town was very educational and I loved the people. But, it was a dang lot of work. We have entered into a ward full of "alpha-Mormons" as aptly put by one member. Four mission presidents, two G.A.'s and a handful of "retired" bishops. All English. All the time.

Best of all, I was called to be the Relief Society secretary. Can it get any more cush than that???

Juan Carlos's Future as a Linguist

And finally, I found a cute little Montessori school for Juan Carlos (3 yrs) where they will let him attend just 3 mornings a week instead of 5. Here he will learn not only Spanish and English, but also French. And have chess classes every week. To that I say "Good luck!" He's just now starting to grasp Candyland.

And two sad things:

1) My car is in the shop. Its transmission was not doing so hot. It was only supposed to be gone for 7 days and now it's looking like it will be longer than 2 weeks. :( I miss my car.

2) My screen of my new laptop that Guapo got me for my birthday died this week. All of a sudden it just went white. Now we have to get it to the States somehow to get a new screen. Who knows how long it will be before I can blog from the comfort of my own bed. :(

All in all a very good week.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Poor Margarita (8 yrs) doesn't get much blog time. She just doesn't give me any problems, and who wants to read a blog wherein I just sit and brag about how great my kid is?

But, this time I have to write about her because sometimes she is so sweet I don't know where she came from.

School started this week. Although I would love to post a pic of Margarita and Julio (5 yrs old) in there super-sharp uniforms, we are really trying to avoid the whole "Man on Fire" scenario. No, I haven't actually seen the movie, but everyone this summer, upon finding out we were moving to Big City, was kind enough to fill me in on all of the horrific details. So, sorry, their uniforms would give away their school, so, no pic.

I think it was the first day of school and Margarita came home and told me one of her classmate's moms was bringing cupcakes the following day to celebrate her birthday. "That's nice," I said, never offering to buy a gift because, hello, I don't want to set a precedent this early in the year of buying each kid a gift on their birthday.

So that was that.

This morning the mom of the birthday girl called me to tell me how sweet Margarita was for bringing her daughter a gift and that she would return my tupperware to me soon.

"Huh?"

Margarita collected "Littlest Pet Shop" animals all summer. She was up to 10. I think she got one as a gift, I purchased one for her, and my mom got her one. The others she spent her own, hard-earned money on.
She took 6 of her 10 animals and boxed them up in a tupperware container and took them to school without my knowledge (I am sure she knew I wouldn't have let her give away more than half of her collection!) to give as a birthday present to a girl she hardly knows.

*Tears in my eyes*

Sometimes my kids really amaze me.

(BTW: just to show you how not nice I am, I have to mention that now the birthday girl has 40 little animals and Margarita has 4 and this doesn't seem to bother her AT ALL.)

Any Vegetarians Out There?

Sadly, two of my allowable foods from my list in my last post have been banished. Quesadillas and refried beans. I'll spare you all the details of how it happened but it involved me running through the streets of our neighborhood trying to make it to my own private bathroom. (thank goodness I was successful in not only reaching my goal but also not getting hit by any cars).

Anyway, any ideas on meatless entrees? Or side dishes for that matter. I'm afraid one of these days I'll get sick after eating cereal and be in a world of hurt without a back-up plan. If I could feed myself intravenously right now, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I hate food.

I hate eating.

If I could bottle my absolute loathing of food I could sell it to dieters and make a mint! A mint I tell you!

(After reading this post "posted", I promise you all that my next post will not involve whining or anything about nausea or throwing up. I don't consider myself a whiner, but I'm really coming off that way. Sorry about that.)

A Bit More Luxury and Pregnancy Update

These two things of luxury are pretty much self-explanatory.

We have gone from this:

to this:

And from drinking this:

to this:

I tell you, my life is just getting better and better!

Pregnancy Update

Thanks to all for being concerned with how I'm feeling. Things are for sure getting better. I am still getting sick, but not nearly as often, so it's more manageable. I think I have tried all of your suggestions. I've got gatorade, gingerale, ginger tea, tablets, acupuncture bracelets, peppermint oil, and last but certainly not least, the wonder drug Zofran, purchased her in Big City for a 1/3 of what it costs in the US.

As with all my pregnancies, I don't have cravings, only aversions. This pregnancy I am hating meat. The only meat I've had in the last week is three pieces of hard salami. For those of you who know me, I am nowhere near a vegetarian; I could eat prime rib until someone has to roll me out of the restaurant.

Things I Am Eating To Sustain Life:

Cereals- mostly Fruit Loops and Honey Nut Cheerios
Toast
Quesadillas
Fruit-mostly fresh but also canned peaches
Canned Refried Beans (gross, huh?)
Baked Potatoes drenched in Sour Cream
Spaghetti with meatless sauce

And my poor kids have pretty much joined me in my vegetarian journey because I can't prepare any meat without visiting my bathroom. When Guapo's here, he is so great to make meat for the kids.

Another bad thing? All those new clothes I bought? All make me nauseated for some strange reason. Especially the bronze stuff. Ewwwwwww. Can't even look at it. It's all hidden deep in my closet.

Oh well.

Movin' On Up! Or-The Lap of Luxury- Part One

We're not in Small Town anymore.

Margarita (8 yrs) keeps calling our apartment "The Hotel" and Julio (5 yrs) told me this morning that he feels like he is in the United States.

We love our new place. It is the bomb. (Did I use that right? I'm not too hip these days)

For example, remember our Small Town Shower/Bathtub?

Check out our new shower:

Look at that steady flow. Isn't it beautiful?

And as if that weren't enough, look what's right next to it:

A HUGE jacuzzi tub. Yay!!!

I have much more to show you all, but this will have to do for today. We're heading out to go swimming in our indoor, very heated pool (I hate cold water). See ya later!

And We're Off!

...to Big City Mexico that is. Tomorrow is the big day. I will make my way through airport security, once again as a single mom to my three little ones, without juice boxes, gels, toothpaste, neosporin, make-up, anti-bacterial hand lotion, or anything of the like. I had Floam in their backpacks, but took it out imagining the scene Juan Carlos (3 yrs) would throw watching his Floam get confiscated for its gel-like consistency. Thank goodness we 'll be able to take carry-ons on the plane.

Three kids + 3 1/2 hour flight +one parent with "morning" sickness - toys = Serious Nightmare

Tomorrow we start a new life, again. I have never felt less stress with a move. Not to say I am totally calm, but I think will sleep well tonight. Probably partly because Guapo and my dad already did the actual move part of it. But a move is always more than the physical movement of people and belongings. Tomorrow we begin again to make new friends, start a new school, find grocery stores, doctors, parks, restaurants, learn how to drive in a new place, find our niche in a new ward etc. etc. I have a good feeling about this move and am looking forward to getting settled into our new life.

We may not have Internet for a little while, so I'll post as soon as I can!

The Croc Craze

Guapo's vacation came to an end today. He's off to some meetings and then on to Mexico. The kids and I have about another week. It was sad to see him go, so we really needed a really fun activity.

Shoe shopping is always a happy event, so that's just what we did.

Although I am a Colorado native, I have resisted the Croc fad like the plague. Why you ask? Because they scare me. Why you ask? They scare me because they are so ugly and all I hear about them is how comfortable they are. As I put comfort above all else (I once lived in grey sweats from Old Navy for two years. Oh how Guapo hated those sweats!), my fear is that if I were to own these hideous shoes, they are all that I would wear.

I have also resisted because they cost $30.00 and they are made of plastic. Did you know if you purchase them to big, you can actually cook them down to size? Right in the comfort of your very own kitchen. I have done it in the oven, but *they* say you can even do it in your microwave! I just didn't feel comfortable putting plastic in the microwave and pressing start.

Santa brought Margarita (8 yrs old) a pair of pink Crocs for Christmas last year and darn if she hasn't worn them practically every day since then and they are still living. Ever since her declaration of hating the color pink several months ago (but still being willing to wear the pink ones), she has been angling for blue Crocs.

So, with Guapo out of the picture, I was once again free to shop. Here's what went down:

That's right. I am the proud owner of some very ugly, very comfortable Crocs. Notice that I bought them in tan so that I can wear them with EVERYTHING.

Sorry Fashionista SIL, I know this is hard for you to see.

A Tender Mercy

First off, thanks to all who have given me ideas to deal with my nausea. I am systematically trying each one. I have gotten sick with each of my pregnancies, but never quite this bad. I don't know if it's that I'm older, or trying to deal with it at 10,600 Ft, or what, but it hasn't been fun for me, or for Guapo, or my kids. Hopefully things will be improving as I have read "morning" sickness peaks for most woman at 9 weeks and I have just past that marker.

Anyway, I loved Elder Bednar's talk in the April 2005 General Conference entitled, "The Tender Mercies of the Lord." He talked about the little experiences that we have that offer us support and love from the Lord during difficult times. Speaking of an experience he had he said,

"Some may count this experience as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord's timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them."

So, yesterday in church, after having had to excuse myself twice during Sunday School to throw up, I was sitting in Relief Society. I was feeling, well, still sick and a little depressed and I am sure looking not so attractive. Sitting two seats away from me was a new mom with her very little baby girl who couldn't have been more than 3 weeks old. It was exactly what I needed to see at that moment: the reason I am going through all of this. I couldn't help but feel excited about the future and grateful for the "tender mercy" I was receiving at that moment.

We are so excited about our new little addition; it has just been kind-of a rough road so far, but I have a feeling things will improve soon (I haven't gotten sick today and it's almost 6:00 pm).

Thanks so much for all of your kind words and support!

A Cry (Well, More Like a Moan) for Help

Ok all you moms out there. Any great ideas for relieving nausea? I'll try ANYTHING at this point.

My Excuse for Being Such a Lame Blogger

I really love blogging and lately, well, I've been lucky to get out one a week. I've missed blogging about my elementary school days, my actual anniversary, a cute triathlon that Margarita and Julio participated in on Saturday, and redecorating our little mountain house. Sorry about that blogger friends.

To keep you up to date, we made it back to CO and are staying up in the mountains. Enjoying the cool temps while the rest of the country roasts.

So, on to my excuse. You see, we think Julio (3 yrs old) may have picked up a little case of Giardia in Mexico. We are awaiting the results. Turns out, I picked up a little something of my own in Small Town.

A little something that is making me sicker than a dog.

A little something that is making me want to stay in bed all.day.long.

A little something that there is no medicine for.

A little something that has made my toilet my new best friend.

A little something that I have to let grow and mature for about 7 more months before it finally leaves my system.

A little something that looks like this:



So, blogger friends, please forgive my lack of posts and comments, I am in survival mode. Probably will be for at least a few more weeks until I finish the first-trimester.