Not much about nothing

The database satellite internet link I’m working on is loading so incredibly slowly, so glacially, with such power to put me to sleep, that two cups of coffee gone, and after exhausting absolutely EVERYTHING I can think to do on the Internet (but isn’t it always the case that when you shutdown you remember something you quite simply HAD to do?) I’m finally forced to admit that there is one thing I can do; update the journal.

So, I’m here under protest. You’ve been warned.

Yesterday I took the kids to the local water park. It is so incredibly local that we can walk to it. They have been wanting to go forever; when Jamie and Sissy still lived with us (do you think they will ever return?) we visited once and they’ve been salivating at the thought ever since. I promised that if I could get 5 hours of work done in the morning that we’d go after Semana Santa (it was too crowded for these spoiled kids) we’d go. They are going to have a very warped view of the world. They experienced Disenewand without any lines and now have the luxury to visit water parks when they are at very low attendance. There were two bus loads of vacationers from the state of Jalisco yesterday so the kids were able to play with other kids. The boys had such a blast it was lovely to be able to spend the funds ($48 for all of us) but Ellen was too scared of almost all slides (save one) to get her money’s worth. She still had a lovely time though; I’m the one stuck on value.

I’ve found, however, that even with more opportunities to play with local kids, they just aren’t comfortable with the language gap. It has taken me long enough, but I think I simply need to speak more Spanish during the day to them. It will be good for me, too, me thinks.

So, they all had a blast at the waterpark, but even with re-applying bloqueador, Pike (not as much) and Jesse (much moreso) got burnt on their faces. Ellen and I wore hats all day and I think that made the difference. So, Bad Mommy points banked and everyone will stay out of the sun today.

Gawds, there quite simply is NOTHING to write about. This afternoon I hope to get most everything ready to roll; tomorrow we’ll head down to Teacapan for a week or so. Our month of rent is up here and I’m itching for a smaller town and new sights.

Overdue

Boy, it has been so difficult to keep any semblance of normal around here, and by extension, that means this journal. So, I’m going to try to hit the highlights and if nothing else, I’ve made the attempt. For the first couple weeks that Jamie and Sissy were gone, it was somewhat easier. It was really easy to keep expenses down and for some reason, it was calmer. I wonder if Sissy adds a LOT of inter-fighting between the kids. She always wants to hang with the boys and many times doesn’t want to play with Ellen (because she wants to tag along with the boys) so that causes the boys to complain that they don’t want her around and Ellen to complain that she WANTS Sissy around and Sissy to complain that she doesn’t want to be with Ellen and that the boys don’t want her around. Things that make you go, “Hmmmm”. In contrast, these past 3 weeks, the boys have played alone A LOT and allowed Ellen to be with them without complaint. Ellen plays alone A LOT and plays with me about the other 50% of the time.

We managed a trip to the municipal market though, and the kids had a blast. It was during Semana Santa (which is actually two weeks, not one, as you’d think from the name) and were surrounded by many vacationing Mexican families. The kids took advantage of the vacationing families on the beach and they made a number of friends. Ellen seems to do the best; she doesn’t care if/how much Spanish she speaks, she simply either ignores (is shy) or rattles on in English while the kid rattles on in Spanish. I do notice, however, that new words will pop up from time to time in her vocabulary.

The chores are an unmitigated disaster. The boys agree with all aspects of the chores and are regretful when they don’t do them, but simply cannot get the hang of actually doing them for more than a handful of days in a row. I wonder if I should simply be grateful that they’re regretful that they don’t contribute? I’m going to take a break from expecting anything from them (and freakishly, they have been doing the chores without issue since I started that) and see what that brings.

It has been getting hotter and hotter and more and more humid and the A/C is on each and every day and at night to sleep. It is pleasant enough in the morning that the kids will go out and play for a good portion of the morning (allowing me to work) before we hit the beach to cool off.
We’ve been really very frugal with the money, and have been averaging less than $40/day which keeps us from doing touristy stuff. So yesterday I splurged on diesel, we filled up the van (almost; I only got $40 worth, but it almost filled 35 gallons) and headed to Teacapan. We had spent last Easter in Teacapan and Jesse has been after me to go back there so he can enjoy ceviche and cold coconuts again (forget the fact that I got the same ceviche here at Soriana and they have been eating coconuts off the trees here; what little monkeys they make, shimmying up the trunks, grabbing a coconut and dropping it to the waiting partner in crime). Absolutely everyone who had spent the week in Mazatlan was headed out on the road back home, but once we passed the cutoff for the autopista (toll road) we had the road to ourselves and select 18wheeler trucks. It has been so long since I’ve driven that I was constantly moving myself back over to the edge of my lane; I wasn’t used to the incredibly narrow lanes of normal Mexican libres.

We found that while the ceviche/coconut stand was not open, the place we stayed last year was still hosting a number of vacationing families, so we decided to join them in the picnicking, ocean dipping and pool dipping. The last time we were here they were in the process of building a restaurant and pool area adjacent to the camping area and boy, have they done an INCREDIBLE job! There is a rectangular pool, two small round pools (on for kids; one a jacuzzi), palapa covered eating areas, an outdoor kitchen, bathrooms, outside showers, and it is right on the beach. Teacapan is a very small fishing town, no supers or anything, but many families come there to vacation. This place, with an RV area set on the side, almost as an afterthought, is some kind of timeshare or club; many families come down from Guadalajara or the interior to spend the weekend. We spent just a few hours there as I wanted to head back before nightfall as the 40km between the libre (MX15) and Teacapan is incredibly agricultural and many cattle use the road at night. On the way out, we passed an enormous family group hitch-hiking. Jamie would not be surprised to note that I stopped and we squeezed about 25 people into the van; there were 3 infants and two moms next to Ellen (in her carseat), an older man squeezed between the boys carseats, a old man in the front seat, and about 15-20 people crushed into the back. Kids, grandmas, everyone. The LOVED the ride and the kids now know what it means when mom says, “hey there’s a family hitchiking; should we pick them up?”.

The boys performed some maintenance surgery on their bears this morning and Ellen managed to find an animal of hers that required some kind of fix. The LOVE sewing and will sometimes rip things apart just to allow the pleasure of sewing it back up again. Course, this only works on their toys, never on items of clothing. They’re now outside torturing cockroaches so I’ll upload to Flickr and try to promise myself to do this again.

We are missing Jamie and Sissy more than I ever imagined.

Evening

When we got back from shopping, the boys were helpful enough to unload the car and as it was so hot, I tried to move a limp, damp, sleeping Ellen to the trailer. I considered putting on the A/C but figured I just wake her closing all the windows. It was moot point as she awoke almost as soon as I lay her in the bed. It was terribly hot in the trailer and I don’t know why I didn’t run the A/C. There was a nice breeze off the ocean, and I guess I kept thinking it will come in the trailer. At any rate, after trying to keep Ellen happy with Go Fish ad nauseum, I threw in the towel and we headed for the beach. For once the boys weren’t interested so we enjoyed the waves on our own. Ellen is getting very used to wave jumping and it doesn’t faze her at all when an unexpected wave hammers her in the face. She is wanting to go further and further out. We headed back quickly to instruct the boys in making rice, then back out again to enjoy sunset and waves.

Dinner was stinky chicken, brown rice, salad and broccoli. Pike, somewhat addicted to Runescape, offered to do my chores so I could put in a last hour of work, leaving the computer free for he and his brother once I finished. After he finished my chores, he entertained Ellen with, what else, Go FISH. We are probably going to play monopoly again tonight or I’ll read to Ellen while the boys play Chess. NO! Runscape.

So, was it as boring as it seemed?  Now you know why it seems to me that there is never anything to post.  Nothing happens.  Course, it is a huge holiday weekend, the beaches are bursting with festejando Mexican families and as Ellen and I left the beach we found a truck unloading enormous speakers along our beach.  Looks like a Very Loud Party on the schedule for tonight.

Afternoon

The first part should have been “morning in the life” as this is now “afternoon in the life”. So, I dumped black and grey and had a little incident with the black. Either the valve broke (the valve inside the tank allowing or disallowing the contents to escape) or the handle became unscrewed from the valve, but after dumping (thankfully not before) the valve no longer opens or closes. I think it is stuck closed (again, a good thing). So, I emailed Ameri-Camp and duct-taped the toliet lid closed. Luckilly (again) we have bathrooms here to use.

Shepherded the kids to the car to get groceries. For some reason, the boys, in this incredible heat, have decided to wear long pants and long sleeved shirts. They are DYING of the heat but I think they’ve left all their shorts outside in the dirt. Poor babies. We’re staying in the very north of Mazatlan and are at the very edge of new development. This is some of the very last open beach you’ll find. Lots of construction going on though. The road we travel to town is a rare gem; double laned and spacious. Our first stop was the water place where they wash my rafones, fill them, and bring them to the car for me. 7 pesos/20 litres. Then off we head to the grocery store. There is a LOT of traffic today and most all businesses are closed. Gigante is open, however and the water place will close at 3pm and stay closed for the next three days.

Gigante has it’s own panaderia, carniceria and deli section. As with any panaderia, you get your tray (they are ALWAYS round) and your pincers (what are those grabby things called?) and you gets your stuff, wait in line to have it rung up, and then take it to the cashier to pay. For an extra-special treat, I get the kids pan dulce and pizza slices. The pizza slices are 12 pesos each, so this is the first time I’ve done that. The pan dulce ranges from 1.70 pesos for the “miniature” ones (about 2/3 size of normal ones) to 4 pesos. I get Ellen a 3 peso “Sponge Bob” donut and the boys buy their own.
 

The lines were ENORMOUS. The store was The Most Crowded we’ve ever seen it; normally we are almost alone in the store. I was so tired and DONE with shopping that we skipped the mercado municipal and everything else and came home. Passed by the baseball field where two games were going on; I’ve never seen games on any day other than a weekend. Through the gate (this one was taken on the way out) and back home. Now I need to clean up, do dishes, make myself something to eat (the kids had pizza but I’m allergic to cheese), try to figure out how to squeeze in Yoga, 2 hours of work and beach time.  More pictures on Flickr. 

Day in the Life

I thought some people might find a day in the life interesting. I only thought about this after Ellen woke, so you missed me getting up at 6am (first time I wasn’t roached when I did it), stumbling around, making enough noise to wake the dead (and Ellen, some 15 minutes later), bathroom, futz with one contact lens and wonder if I simply shouldn’t throw it out and go with the disposables I got in the US, tell Ellen 1754 times to go back to sleep, get in bed with her at 7am finally so she will go back to sleep and work on the computer the entire time. Wonder WHY the signal strength is “Very Low” on the Wifi adapter, when the router is only some 10feet (or less; the whole trailer is only 30ft long) away and WHY, when I’m Right Smack Dab Next to the damn thing it is only “Low”. Stop working at 8:15 and get Ellen Coconut Lala yogurt (Lala yogurt is hands down, The Best Eatin Yogurt In The Free World). The 0% grasa (fat free) version is as creamy and rich as the whole fat version. I don’t understand it, but I’m LOVING it. Get garlic together for after breakfast treat. Ellen and I have been plagued with tummy trouble, so before a doctor run, we’ll do a week of raw garlic and see if that helps. Long ago, I ran out of pure maple syrup (that we brought from the US) so I got Miel de Zanahoria (carrot honey) at the local super. I put her garlic in the Miel and she swallows it along with water. The kids LOVE the miel de zanahoria but the local Mexican kids I’ve let try it hate it. They are used to much sweeter stuff, but my poor deprived kids think this stuff is quite the sinful treat.

On tap for today; a trip to the super, another 3 hours of work, beach, dumping black and grey (oh, the fun we’ll have today!) and cleaning fan and A/C filters. We’ve been running the A/C a lot so it is time to clean the filters. I need to go to the mercado municipal for fresh chicken (instead of the crap Bachoco you get at the super) and fresh manteca (lard) instead of the chemical laden and not-fresh stuff you get at the super. I also need to go to another super for cheaper pasta sauce (30 pesos less a can) and good granola. Oh damn. I also need to get Yoga in somewhere.  I’ve only been able to practice that one time (and was sore as hell afterwards so I know I’m way out of practice)…

freakishly hot

I usually get up between 5:30 and 6am. It has taken about a week to get used to this; I’ve never been an early bird, but being out of bed before the sun even rises is really pushing the envelope for me. As long as I’m in bed by 10pm, it is starting to work out and I am not the daily walking dead by 3pm. I detangle myself from Ellen and try my damnedest not to wake her (though the past 2 days have not been successful in this goal) and wake the computer. I will try to work for 2 hours before the kids wake, but sometimes the last hour is spent in bed with Ellen telling her to go back to sleep. The boys are rarely out of bed before 9am, so Ellen and I spend an hour reading books or eating breakfast (and this is when the coffee is brewed) or sometimes she entertains herself and I work more. Once the boys are up, it is breakfast and more, cleaning and straightening and then back to work for me while I multi-task; playing Go Fish with Ellen and working on the computer. The radio is tuned to either NPR (the boys know the intro to “Guy Noir, Private Eye” on PHC and will chime in with the announcer at “This is N P R, National Public Radio”, or Jazz. Sirius has about 10,000 Jazz stations and we’re working our way through them. By 1pm I’m getting the kids channeled towards getting ready for the beach, and somewhere between 2 and 3pm we’re there. We usually are there for sunset and then back to the trailer for dinner. It is a nice routine.

Tonight it is hot and humid enough to warrant the AC so everyone will be able to sleep. Luckilly, most everyone has left the campground (there are 2 other RV’s here) so we have the juice to do so. I took the kids for a rare treat today; the pulmonas (open air taxis) that they are constantly begging me to take them on. We took a truck on the way there and the pulmona pictured above to come home. The kids spent much of the day today playing with a Mazatlan family; 3 kids right around their age range who spoke not one word of English. I sure would like more days like this; we’re here to soak up the culture and language, but sequestered in the RV park, opportunities are hard to come by. Ellen and their 6yo boy hit it off; he would speak Spanish and she English and somehow they understood each other.

Aclimatizing

Today the planets aligned or the Gods were smiling or whatever miracle took place that needed to take place and I got 4 hours of work, a trip to the store (with the kids, natch), Y O G A practice and updating the blog done and it is only 3pm. Ellen protested heartily that I would actually do something for MYSELF and not dedicate my every waking hour to her whims, but Pike offered to help and while she said she was miserable the whole time (I was 5 feet away, outside the trailer while they were inside), I’m going to try to do this every other day and then work up to daily. We’ll see how it goes. Tomorrow I might not be able to work at all. So I guess I need to recognize that attachment to practice isn’t necessarily a good thing. Ah well.

Yesterday the boys and I had a long talk about chores (and their lack of doing them). They’ve never had chores before, but with me working and Jamie having a difficult time picking up the slack, something needed to happen. A couple weeks before he and Sissy left, we instituted chores; everyone agreed with the specific chores and the need for them. For two days they did them. The cooperation then came to a grinding halt. The boys have done nothing since Jamie left and I was getting really frustrated and stressed with the workload, AND getting nothing for myself. So, we’ve decided to somewhat tie allowance to chores. They get a set amount whether or not chores are done (10 pesos) and 1 peso a day when all chores are done. If chores are done each day for a week, they get 3 extra, so they can get 20 pesos/week. We’ll see. They were QUITE motivated today. Next to work on is the incredible entitlement they feel to have pan dulce each time we go to the store.

I think we’re starting to fall into a groove and the heat is coming on. March was a very mild month in Mexico but April is starting to show the heat that it should. I sure hope we’re out of Mazatlan by May; we need to be in the midwest by July, so it is looking like Oaxaca will be a very short time if at all.

Yesterday afternoon we had a lovely walk down the beach and spent an enormous amount (70 pesos) on two raspados (see Pike and Ellen in the recent photos) and two ceviche ala sierras. It was one of the ‘fast food’ stands you see all over Mexico and the snow cones were made by shaving ice off a huge covered block. Sure hope it was agua purificada. Will we EVER learn??? I’ve uploaded a tonne of photos to Flickr and am forever grateful to Dad for dumping the contents of my “bad” harddrive so nothing was lost afterall. Nothing like having a computer-savvy Daddy.

colors of Mexico

I joined a new group at Flickr and have been concentrating on color. So, check out the photos in Flickr and let me know what you think.

We’re getting used to the absence of Jamie and Sissy, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. Last night Ellen told me, “sometimes I think of Daddy and I cry”. Sob. My father managed to get all my spreadsheets off my “bad” hard drive and I’m dancing with happiness. He also managed to get the thousands of pictures I never uploaded to said Flickr and, well, basically saved my sanity. I’ve updated our expenses and am happy that even with the outlay we’ve made to get M down here so far, our expenses haven’t taken a huge hit. Course, the fact that the kids and I are averaging $25/day in expenses down here doesn’t hurt. We’ve really been frugal and it is making a huge difference. I’m sure I had something to say, but either it has escaped me or I simply wanted to point to the pretty pictures…

the mind of Ellen

So we’re making sand castles or forts as we do daily, and Ellen, feeling not so hot, remarks that they probably won’t last 100,000 years. “No”, I agree, “they won’t”. “How about our family?” “No, we won’t last 100,000 years either.” “Even this city?” “Well, probably not.” “Not even this world, or this universe?” “Hmm…not sure; maybe not.” “Not even CANADA???”

Apparently, Canada ranks pretty high with this 4 year old.

The other day she asked me who would die first. Papa, Tata, her or our family. Golly, what a hard question. She really wanted an answer too; she wouldn’t be swayed with what I’d like or anything. Sorry, Mom. I went with age. 

I’ll try to post more frequently, even if it is nothing, but regularly update Flickr even when I don’t post.

Stuck in Margaritaville

Jamie and Sissy safely arrived in Reno, spent at least one night in Crazytown, picked up M and his stuff and are now safely surrounded by my family in the Bay Area. It is looking to be a long trip. He took my computer to CompUSA and they reported the hard drive is bad. It left here with a very functional hard drive; simply a broken display and CD/DVD drive. It never occurred to me to copy my data to the Internet (I tried to copy to a CD/DVD but couldn’t) as I had no problems with the hard drive. It now appears all my data is gone as CompUSA has removed the drive. Ugh, argh and sigh. All my budget spreadsheets, financial information and pictures are gone. I’m trying not to think about it.

The kids are doing fine; it is actually somewhat easier to take care of 3 kids instead of 4+Jamie. I’ve been getting up at 6 each morning to work and every morning I find I’m getting less and less work done before Ellen awakes and demands attention. I might have to start getting up at 5.
Really, there is absolutely NOTHING going on other than laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, working, taking kids to the beach. I rarely get a chance to email or update as I promise the boys that if I can get 5 hours of work in before I put Ellen to bed, they get the computer to play Runescape. Everyone is so sluggish (until we’re at the beach) and I’ve found it is taking them 2 hours to get ready to go to the beach. I can’t imagine where I can fit Yoga in and haven’t had an opportunity to practice since we left Celestino.

So here is the nothing update; nothing happening and nothing worth noting. Sigh.