Where Have I Been?!

Readers, please excuse my absence!  I can't believe it has taken me this long to actually find the time to sit down and write.  I have missed blogging in these past weeks.  I have missed having an outlet for all of my crazy stories and thoughts.  But, I'm BACK, BABY!

As you may have remembered me posting a while back, we moved the first weekend in March.  It was insanity.  Mauricio had packed up the whole house and everything was in order to go, but he kept running into obstacle after obstacle.  First, it was raining.  Who moves in the rain?  We do, apparently.  Secondly, once he got to the new house with a full truck, there was no key.  The handyman was supposed to leave us the key, but he didn't.  Then when he tried calling the management company, he got a run around until somehow, someone brought him a key.  And last problem was that he had no man power.  Thankfully, some of his friends called to be sure he had help, and upon hearing he didn't, they offered their services!  YAY!

So, we moved... but then this new house was a huge mess.  Taking things up 3 floors is no picnic.  Everything was such a scattered and disorganized mess that we literally were completely overwhelmed.  We just didn't know where to begin.  Thankfully, my dad and brother came to visit that week and both worked very hard trying to help us get things in order.  Desks were built, cribs were put together, crazy heavy furniture was hauled upstairs, and little by little things began to take shape.  But then we were hit... Mauricio and I got sick.  Again.

Isn't that always the way things happen?  You're really busy, have dozens of plans, and then some sickness comes along and kicks you right in the butt!  We had had plans to go to Orlando that weekend for my best friend Jennifer's wedding.  We had plans to visit all of our Orlando peeps and spend time enjoying everyone's company after 2 years!  All of our plans were wasted.  Instead, we spent the weekend wishing someone would come take care of our kids and taking nap shifts... Mau takes care of kids while I nap, then I take care of them while he naps.  We were so dead tired and sick, that all organization was put on hold.

Mostly I have been unable to post because of our internet situation.  Although we have internet, it is connected to the wall... and I've just become too spoiled with WIFI, that I can not be sanctioned to just one chair... I need to have my options.  But alas, I will sit in that one chair and get my internet and blog fix until we get our WIFI up and running.

So now, we've been living here for 3 weeks and things are STILL not in order.  It's getting there... slowly.  As soon as our house does not resemble a farm animals den, I will post pictures.

So that's where I've been.  Did ya miss me?

Man, I Feel Like a Woman

The life of a stay-at-home mom is not too glamorous.  It consists of sweat pants, nursing tanks, ponytails and no make-up.  Truthfully, sometimes thats the best you can do with a toddler hanging on your legs and a baby crying in the crib.

But sometimes, it feels soooo nice to get dressed up and go out on a date with your man.  That's just what we did this weekend.  Even though it wasn't spontaneous, it was still nice.  This Saturday was Mauricio's company Christmas party, and I made it my excuse to get just a little spoiled.

Last week, when my in-laws were in town, we went shopping for a dress.  Since having my 2 babies, I've lost so much weight that not one of my dresses fits me.  Yes, you can hate me now.  So, buying a dress was a must.  Unfortunately, I HATE shopping.  Like seriously, it stresses me out and I give up easily.  But, thankfully I had my professional shoppers with me... my mother-in-law, Rosana and sister-in-law, Mirella.  Those two LOVE to shop!  I pretty much stayed in the dressing room while Mirella ran around finding me dresses, in different sizes, bras, and jewelry.  It was pretty awesome.  So I was able to get my dress, a new bra and an adorable headband with a feather in it!  I was almost ready to rock.

I had been meaning to cut my hair for some time now.  Having a new baby with long hair is difficult.  I was finding spit up in my hair several times a day, not to mention the poor baby having hair in his face while he ate, burped, loved on me.  I had been wearing my hair in a ponytail way too much, so I decided to cut it... drastically.  And I'm so glad I did.  Mauricio is dreadfully afraid of the "mom-cut", so I was kinda nervous the whole time I was getting it cut... and man, was there a lot of hair on the floor!  But I love the end result and although Mau was shocked at first, he later said he liked it a lot!

This was the first night we've been out solo since Jonas was born.  Luckily for us, my mom was in town so she took care of the kids for us.  It was comforting to know my babies were asleep in their beds and being cared for by someone I trust... especially with Jonas.  I was worried she'd call me to come home, but he was fine the whole time!  And, I forewarned her... "Don't call me- I'm not going to call you".  Done.

The party was at the Hyatt and was small and intimate.  Mauricio works with mainly men- there are only 2 women in his office- so this party can start to feel like "the parade of wives".  There's a lot of introducing and a LOT of awkward silences.  As you must know, engineers are not known for being party animals.  But the dinner was nice and it was great being amongst adults only... and looking good too.

After dinner we went to a coffee bar and had some hot chocolate.  My legs and toes were freeeezing... what women do for beauty.

Here are some pics of the lovely couple... yes, that would be me and my sexy hubby!

And now, today I'm back to my life of glamour.... sporting my spit-up-shirt with my snot-and-booger-sweatpants. It's very attractive.  But at least for one night, I was One Hott Mama! 

It Takes a Village

Certain people tell us that because we live so far away, we have "no support".  They say that living at a great distance from our family will cause severe relational problems in the future.  They say that they are missing out on the lives of their grandchildren.  It makes me sad to think about these things.  The truth is, we do not want to live so far from our family, and we have absolutely no intention of keeping Greenville as our permanent residence.  For right now, this is where we are, and we have to make due.
But, as for the "no support"... I can not disagree more.  Throughout the last month and a half, throughout my hospitalization, birth, NICU runs, and even now that our baby is home I have been astonished by the amount of support given to us by family, friends, students and neighbors.
As soon as I was hospitalized, my mom booked a flight and was in town the very next day to help take care of Marco.  It was important to me that his daily life was not interrupted or too out of whack because I was missing.  She was here for 17 days and did an amazing job holding down the fort and keeping my son happy.
Once my mom left, my mother-in-law arrived to take over.  She also became Marco's buddy... taking him to the park, to bouncing babies and wherever else he could release some energy.  Throughout her time here, she made sure all I had to worry about was going to the NICU.  She made meals for us everyday and enough to freeze for later meals.  It was delish!
And this week that just passed, my father and step-mom came into town.  They kept Marco entertained so that I could devote more time to Jonas.  They took Jonas from me and forced me to nap!  Vivian cooked and cleaned and did laundry and even took me on a shopping spree!  I was totally spoiled!
Well, that was all family, and although their time here was invaluable to me, it was also sorta expected.  I expect to be able to lean on and rely on my family during my time of need... and boy was this a time of need!  I am grateful they were all able to take days off of work, book flights and come up to be my slave for a few days.
There were 2 weeks in between family visits where we were on our own.  Jonas was still in the NICU, so in order to be able to see him during the day, I had to find a sitter for Marco.  And in order for Mau and I to be able to visit with him in the evenings, again I had to find a sitter.   So, 2 babysitters PER day! I was amazed at how many people offered and where able to take time out of their lives to watch my little boy.  During the day, I had Carol, Brooke, Anne (Carol's mom), and Kim stay with him.  Anne even took the day off of work!  At night, we had Stefania and Leo, my student Anna, and Kim (with baby Sloane).  I was so touched that people came over after being busy all day to sit at our house while we went to the NICU.
Although I appreciate everyone, My MVP babysitter was Kim.  I've only known Kim a few short months, after meeting at the community pool.  We quickly became friends and see each other at bouncing babies, and around the community while she walks her dog.  When she offered to help me, I don't know if she thought I'd really take her up on it.  She came over with her little 9 month old daughter, Sloane, and spent several evenings sitting on my couch while we went to the NICU.  She rearranged her "night time" schedule, to help me.  (Moms, be honest... that "night time schedule" is sacred... would you have rearranged it?  I don't know if I would have.)  When we'd return at 10:30pm, she'd wrap up her sleeping baby and walk back to her apartment.  Then, on the day we were bringing Jonas home, we asked her to watch Marco from 12:30-4... which turned into 12:30-8.  She was super patient and was not even phased by the fact that we were 4 hours late... I, on the other hand, was about to have a nervous breakdown.  Thank you, Kim!  Thank you for teaching me what it is to put others before yourself and for being so kind and generous with your time.
Other kinds of support have been shown to me as well.  For example, my pump rental had run out, and my friend Hannah had read my post about how I was a slave to the pump and had to pump at home because of the size of it.  Well, Hannah, out of the kindness of her heart, offered to lend me her amazingly effective, amazingly small, and amazingly expensive ($400) pump!  The Medela Free Style.  It rocks!
We also received some yummy support.  This is such a southern thing too... it just doesn't happen in Florida.  I have a baby, and everyone wants to bring me food?  Uhh, ok.  I had never realized what a difference having a meal that I didn't have to consider, plan or create made.  Truth be told, I'm not the chef in my house anyway... but still!  Ok, so Mauricio didn't have to worry about cooking... still great!  The ladies from my MOPS group signed up to bring us meals for nearly two weeks while we were still coming and going from the NICU.  It made our lives so much less stressful... just one less thing to worry about.  Cathy brought us some amazing meatball subs, Lynette brought us hibachi grill meals, Rachael brought us two strombolli's, Cindi brought us some homemade pasta, and Jennifer also brought us some delish pasta.  I was so amazed by the generosity of these women!  These are women with families of their own to feed, and children of their own to care for, and here they were preparing and DELIVERING meals to my family!  And they did not skimp!  Each meal was prepared with thoughtfulness and love... they included extras like bread, salad and even dessert!  I mean, seriously!  It was a full service.  I was so humbled by the servitude of these women... that they would spend their precious money, time and energy to help out a family they barely know.  In reality, although these women are in my MOPS group, I do not know any of them.  They all signed up for this, not because they were my friends and felt obligated, but because they are all Christian women who know what it means to serve.
Throughout all of this I have learned a million lessons.  I have learned that we are not alone and that people are always eager to offer their support.  I have learned that our routines can not be as important as other people's needs.  I have learned that a little sacrifice on my end can make the world of a difference on someone elses end.  I am so blessed to have been on the receiving end of this deal.  I pray that I remember the lessons I've learned through other peoples humility, servitude, generosity and kindness.  I hope that I can one day be on the giving end and pass the blessings on to other people who are in need.

Visiting Hours Are Now Over

We have had quite a busy summer this year.  Thankfully, it's kept me busy and entertained.  We have enjoyed having the company of family and friends, one right after the other, for the entire month of July! It all began after our trips to Miami.

First up were my in-laws... all of them!  We had Vovo' and Vovo, Rosana and Otavio, as well as Titia Mi and Tio Alfredo, come for 3 days during July 4th weekend.  If you know my sister-in-law, you know that she LOVES to keep busy... so we did.  We took Marco to the Greenville Zoo for the first time, and he was both curious and impressed by all the large animals.

Here's Marco with Titia Mi walking through the mist.  He kept getting the shivers every time they'd go through:

Here's Marco with Mau, at a photo opp on the bear:

The next day was July 4th, and there was a festival downtown.  We all went down to Falls Park, and actually walked in the river.  Marco didn't just want to get his feet in though, he wanted to JUMP in, head first if we'd let him.  He got all muddy and dirty, but had a blast.

Here he is testing the water with Mau:

Marco was able to take a little nap in his stroller so that he could stay up to watch the fireworks... at 9:45!  I was worried that he'd be afraid of them because it was very loud, and we were directly below them.  But, my little warrior was not afraid at all!  In fact, he kept pointing to "la luz" and was in awe of them.
Here he is:

We had such a great time, but it couldn't last.  Unfortunately, most of my in-laws could only stay for 3 days, but my Mother-in-law got to stay for TEN WHOLE DAYS!  It was really wonderful having her here.  She spoiled us with some good cookin', helped me take care of Marco, and enjoyed the pool and park with him. She even babysat for us so we could go out for our 3 year wedding anniversary... that was a special treat!

When she left, we only had one day of break before the next visitor arrived.  My bestie, Jen, came to visit for 4 days.  I've been trying to convince her to come for over a year.  It's always either her asking me to go to Orlando, or me begging her to come to boring Greenville.  Finally, she caved!  We had a really nice time hanging out, going downtown, hitting up the pool, and loving on Marco a bit.

Here we are, bravely climbing the rocks at Falls Park:

And here's Jen, sharing some snuggle time with Marco before bed time:

When Jen left, I had a 5 day break before my next visitor arrived.  My little cousin, (who's not so little anymore), came for an entire week.  Mariah was promised a trip to see me this summer if she kept her grades up throughout the second half of last year.  And I'm so happy that she did!  It was awesome getting to hang with her and getting see the woman she's growing into.  Aside from the typical downtown, shopping, pool, bouncing babies dates, we also worked on her college acceptance essay.  It took forever!  Marco started walking while Mariah was here, and of course, she takes all the credit! She also got a really good taste of what it's like to have a baby... and I'm glad she did!  I hope that we can make her visits into a yearly tradition!

Here's Mariah with Marco on the bridge at Falls Park:

On the same day that she left, my brother Migue and his fiance' Alaina came for a visit.  They were doing a drive-by.  They had a wedding to go to the next day about an hour from here, so decided to stop off for the afternoon and spend the night.  It was great having them come and showing them around our little city.  Alaina took Marco off my hands completely, and I could tell he was having a lot of fun with her.

Here we are at the EVER famous Falls Park Bridge (what a surprise!)... Marco's passed out in the stroller!:

For now, visiting hours are over.  We loved having everyone come and stay with us, but we're also ready to get back to our normal lives.  But, not for long... my mom and Cesar (Aba and Abo) will be visiting in just a few weeks!