Trouble...

Lots of hatch-battening going on east of us. I was surprised to see us in the pink zone. GDL is a mile high city, so you'd think that would help. Hopefully we'll see a bunch of rain and nothing more.

Quotes

The girls have been watching old school Scooby Doo shows (thanks for the DVD, K+C!) during their TV time after school. During one episode about a spooky fortune teller:

Birdie: "Mommy, there is a boy named Crystal Ball in my class."

Me: "Really?! Are you trying to trick me?"

Birdie: "No! I'm serious! But he pronounces it 'Chris-toh-bol'."

Sure enough when I checked the class roster, there is a "Cristóbal". :)

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Birdie: "Mommy, do you know how to say "burning" in Spanish?"

Me: "No."

Birdie: "Quema."

Then...

Birdie: "Mommy, maybe you should go to Special Spanish with me."

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Our friend Kristen was visiting. Kristen is taking Spanish classes at a local college, the first time she's studying this language.

Kristen (looking at Birdie's Spanish homework): "You're probably learning a lot, huh? Like I bet you know what "tarea" means."

Birdie: "It means homework. And you pronounce it tah-reh-a." (Kristen's American accent was apparently lacking by Birdie's standards.)

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I got so, so terribly lost yesterday while driving home from the school with all three kids. Yes, while driving home from a place I go to ALL. THE. TIME. What can I say? I spaced for a second and suddenly found myself on an UNESCAPABLE Mexican highway! Oh it was terrible. And stressful. Birdie kept whining from the back, saying things like, "I wish we weren't with you right now, Mommy!!" Gee, thanks! N thankfully was home and was able to locate us through our combined calculating (I had the Gudalajara street map with me, which was a blessing since our powerless GPS (malfunctioning chord will not allow charging) was useless), and walk me through the streets over my cell. When we finally got home:

N: "Hey, at least this wasn't Mexico's fault. I mean, you do that kind of thing all the time in the States too."

Ah, the sweet, sympathetic words of spousal support.

Weekend

We went to Parque Metropolitano yesterday, which is like a 5 minute drive from home. Score! What a great place. Bike paths, trampolines for hire, zip wires for Birdie, Deevie and N to try out, dogs for Cubby to say "Wuff! Wuff!" to, food stalls with fish tacos and fresh ice cream with chunks of fruit, and perfect Guadalajara weather. Aaahh, the weather. It really is superb. Someone told me that planning an outdoor wedding here from October through December is a no-brainer because it's always outdoor-wedding perfect.

Trampolines. We didn't do it this time because of the 20 minute wait.

Brave Birdie Zipping solo!

Deevie clinging to Daddy for dear life. All sorts of dogs were having crazy fun splashing in the pond below.

Blue skies, sun, food.

Braids

For Deevie's b'day present, our neighbor took the girls to get their hair braided. They were prrrrretty excited about their 'dos:

They got them Saturday morning and kept them until Monday night. I think they could have stretched it another day or two. The things are practically bullet proof.

HHE! (aka. Our Stuff!)

The HHE--aka, the big shipment--arrived yesterday. I wasn't looking forward to it, to be honest. It actually arrived last week, but we decided to hold off until after Deevie's birthday. There were just a few key things I was looking forward to--piano, TV, the printer--but it turns out, getting all your stuff is fun! Being surrounded by familiar things marks a return to normalcy. It puts you at ease... makes your situation feel permanent...  makes toy clean-up take three times as long. Normalcy.

I stayed by the door checking off box numbers and telling the guys where to take things. Narra was upstairs unpacking and making sure they took stuff to the right places. We have a spare room since the girls share a room, and that's where I had them take anything I couldn't identify, thought we wouldn't need soon, or wished we hadn't brought. At this point, the whole house is feeling fairly put together-- except for that room.

Stuff!

 

Black Widow

We saw our first black widow spider tonight - crawling in the runner of the glass sliding door to the backyard. Yes, black widow spiders are apparently quite prevalent in these parts. (My sentiment exactly.)

As N's co-worker at the Consulate said, "If you're going to worry about safety in Mexico, worry about black widow spiders." How's that for reassurance?

Anyway, it was very freaky to see an actual, unmistakeable black widow spider, IN OUR HOUSE. My first reaction: "But I thought they weren't supposed to be where people are! I thought they were scared of us!" Even as I whimpered this, I know our neighbors found four in their front yard a few weeks ago.

N got the ant spray, gave the spider a few squirts from a distance, and then smacked it hard with his slipper. We did some internet research afterwards, and found that we completely followed the recommended way to deal with this situation. You're never supposed to just whack at a black widow because you could misjudge it's speed or position, and it could bite you. You're first supposed to weigh it down with any liquid spray you have near by. N was pretty proud, saying things like, "My instincts kicked in. That's right. Go tell your spider friends!"

But please, if you talk to your spider friends, just tell them to stay away. Ack.

I'm SO glad the girls weren't awake to see any of this!

Happy Birthday Deevie!

Lots to write about today, but right now N and I have to plan for the small neighborhood party we'll be having for Deevie tomorrow. I took cupcakes and goody bags to the school today (an entire adventure all on its own), and tried my best to live up to the crazy expectations I pretty much set for myself after hearing so many stories about Mexican birthdays. The room moms could not be nicer though, and the kids all loved the cupcakes the lovely, wonderful, God-send K came over and made with me and Deevie on Tuesday. Thank you so much K!

Deevie's class bought her a really cool "Ezy Roller" scooter thing, in PINK. I know, right?! But each mom will be assigned one kid to buy a gift for, with around a $100 limit. When in Mexico... It really is so nice though, and Deevie loves it.

N just said I choose the strangest times to blog. He is right of course. Off to plan for the fiesta.

We love you Deevie! Happy Birthday!