A Mexican Girl Who Only Speaks English

So here we are in an internet café in Manzanillo, listening so some crazy loud music coming from the alley way. My sisinlaw Tia and I are out on the town this afternoon. That should scare you because of the fact that I am the driver. Driving in Missoula is challenging enough for me- I get in near death experiences there all the time, and I even know all of the traffic rules. We have nearly died at least three times today. We are only alive due to the fact that the people here have been kind and allowed us to live. That is not to say that we have not been honked at and screamed at in Spanish. I, however, choose to believe that they are screaming encouragement, as in "Please, my dear beautiful gringa, be careful!!! You have so much to live for."
The house we are staying in is AWESOME. It is right on the beach. It is so close to the beach that we here waves lapping against the shore at night while we are in our beds. There is a housekeeper.She does LAUNDRY.I think I love her. There is a little swimming pool between the house and the beach, so when the kids aren..t playing in the sand and ocean, they are jumping in the pool over and over and …. Over.We are MAKING Derrin get out and actually drink and eat today. He didn..t drink anything yesterday, and by last night he was so dehydrated he looked like he had two black eyes.

Last night Kloe put on her little orange dress I bought her in Mexico last year.She was dancing around the pool singing,"I am a Mexican girl!! Mexicaaaaannnn Guuurrrrrrllll".She stopped in front of her uncle David and said ,"I am a Mexican girl.Am I pretty?"Too which he agreed, she is indeed a pretty Mexican girl. So she asked him to teach her SpanishSo he first told her how to say "Good Morning". Buenos Dias. She mastered it easily. She was indeed a Mexican girl. So he proceed on to "See you later. Hasta Luego. Turns out not so easy. She started,"asta lugo...esta legoand then stopped, looked up at David and said,"I am a Mexican girl. A Mexican girl who only speaks English".All I can say to that is AMEN and ME TOO.

red crayons and pickles

So, here I am, sitting in my robe (it's already 11:30 and I'm still not even dressed, although I am showered), and there is a gigantic, disgusting mess waiting to be cleaned up on the kitchen floor, and a daughter in the bathtub. I will tell you more about that later.

Packing for any vacation is always a dreaded chore for me. I was never good at doing it for myself (all that planning! oh dread...), but add to that the chaos of trying to get ready for anything with and for kids, and you might as well just shoot me now. Everything is a struggle. Nothing goes right.

Last night, just trying to get through the laundry was impossible. My last load of jeans was in the dryer, and I was feeling triumphant because as soon as that was folded I would be more securely in the "packing zone". The thing is, jeans are sometimes a suprise affair for me. I always forget to check the pockets before I start washing, and it has bit me in the behind many times. Yesterday, it was a red crayon. It melted on every single stinking pair of pants I washed, and they were all the good ones I wanted for our trip!!! AAHH!!! It took me over an hour to scrub every little melted scrap out. Thankfully they all came clean, but the incident has set a mood for the whole packing experience (that and my already bad attitude. I know I am a whiner. Sue me.)

So far this morning I have gathered my bathroom stuff together to be packed tomorrow morning, and I have packed my jewlery I plan on using. That is as far as I have gotten because of the pickles. Let me tell you about the pickles.

Kloe woke up this morning in the mood for apple juice and milk. I have neither on hand because I have resisted getting groceries since we are leaving town in the morning. She was not in the mood for oatmeal, toast, cereal, or any of the other items I have on hand. So I went in to take a shower while she decided what she wanted. While I am in the shower, a jar of pickles comes creeping through the shower curtain. Turns out pickles are exactly what she wants for breakfast. I say OK. Pickles are a vegetable right? Very healthy for your average five year old (she turned five yesterday!). So I open the jar for her and send her on her way with strict instructions not to spill the pickles on the carpet.

When I came out of the bathroom, Kloe was sitting on the couch, holding her stomach, saying "I don't feel so good. I feel busy (she meant dizzy)". I look around for the jar of pickles. They are ALL GONE. And most of the juice is too. Oops. Forgot to tell her about the dangers of drinking pickle juice. I know the temptation all to well.

"Do you want some oatmeal honey", I ask, very concerned at this point. "Sure Mommy", she says back, thinking mommy knows what will make her feel better.

Turns out, not such a great idea. As soon as she smelled the oatmeal she started hurling gallons of little chewed up peices of pickles (and egg? How did that get in there?) all over my kitchen floor. Where it remains until I finish this blog (I could either deal with it by writing it down, or just start drinking early. The blog barely won). I could not face it just yet.... but....

Okay. Here I go. I'm rolling up the sleeves to my robe. Maybe sometime today I will actually get to pack.

My Heart

Kloe has been in her room for about the last hour. She is supposed to be cleaning it, but I am pretty much certain that very little is getting done. I get lots of hugs from her when it is time to clean her room. She calls them hug breaks.

She just came out a second ago and told me she should not have to clean her room. I shook my head, rolling my eyes and asked her,"Kloe, why in the world should you not have to clean your own room?"

With the conviction that she has on most things, she emphatically said,"Mommy, my heart is just telling me I don't WANT to!"

Ok. Very Funny Girl.
But she still has to clean her room.

She comes out 10 minutes later with a peice of paper in her hand.

"WHAT are you doing Kloe?" I ask her again, I admit impatiently.

"Well, I have to get my list finished in the kitchen", she says a little sheepishly.

"WHAT LIST???" I say in my usual voice, which always denotes how astounded I am at the lengths she will go through to not clean her room. After all, the girl can not read. Or write. Which makes a list somewhat unnecessary.

"Um... this is my pretend list that tells me what I need to be cleaning in my room."

Okay. She made me laugh again.

But she still has to clean her room.

Bad Mommy!

Last night, while I was reading my book , listening to Clifford the Big Red Dog in the background, I slowly became aware that one of my kids was making a half-crying, half choking noise, while the other one was partly trying to reassure while at the same time unsuccessfully trying not to laugh. Confused and worried, I dropped the book and ran into the kitchen.

Now for a little background info- my scientist/artist Kloe has been into experimenting with foods, and drinks, mixing her candy with her water, trying to make things change color, and also experimenting with what happens when water is put in the freezer. It's awesome how excited she gets when she can change colors or liquidity of water and food. She keeps a bottle of water in the freezer that she will put water in (and sometimes ingrediants to "color" it), and when she remembers she has a frozen treat in there, she is all impressed with her forethought of freezing it. However, it never occurred to me to explain to her some of the dynamics of frozen water.

When I went into the kitchen, Kloes tongue was several inches longer than I had ever known it to be. And stretched out thin enough to be attached to the shrunken ice in the bottle. Of course my heart went out to her! Who would have thunk it? I knew of course that warm water was the antidote. As I went to get a towel and a glass of warm water, I tried SO HARD not to smile. Unfortunately, it was impossible. I tried to hide my face from my poor crying child, but I couldn't hide that I was laughing uncontollably. You would have too I tell you!!! I could her her gasp indignantly into the bottle as I tried to calm down and take a deep cleansing breath before I turned to disconnect the thing from her. Her eyes flared and she bellowed, "Thop Lathing Ath Meh!" Oh my gosh. I am so sorry, I hope I did not scar her forever, but it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

The story has a happy ending. The warm water worked it's magic and I earned her forgiveness by cuddling for 30 minutes while we watched more Clifford. But I am pretty sure I still might earn the bad mommy award for that one.

Since I am telling stories on Kloe, I need to add one that happened a couple weeks ago. We were driving home, and had just stopped at Wendy's to grab a bite to eat. Both of the kids had frosties for later, and I had them hold them on the way home. Derrick and I were talking to eachother when suddenly I became aware that there was an impending fight in the backseat. I could hear Kloe sniff and say in an extremely choked up and disgruntled, and accusatory voice,"Derrin, it just really hurts me that yours says YOU are special, and mine doesn't", and then she just dissolved into a heart-rending bout of weeping.

What had said that Derrin was special and not said that she was special? The culprit was.... Wendy's! Rottin Sons Of.... Apparantly Derrin's Frosty Cup said that it was the best frosty for him because he is so special. My son can read now, AND he has the perfect understanding of his sister's fragile feelings that only an older brother can have. All he had to do was point out the cups obvious understanding of how very special he is (and how her cup obviously did not feel the same way about her), and then he just sat back and watched the show.

After much talking and reasoning, I think we convinced her that whatever the cup thought about her, she is still a very special little girl.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.



Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.



Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.



Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.



Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.



You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.



Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.



With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

Bonds of Love

Bonds of Love

This year was a crazy year- at least when it came to people close to our family (or part of our family) getting married. By my count we went to five weddings, and Derrick was either an usher or a groomsman in everyone. First was Dustin and Jasa last January in Mexico. Then Kevin and Alta, Zac and Shawna, and Shon and Alysa all got married this summer. And December 8th my sweet *little* nephew Brandon married his sweetheart Lyndsay in Yucaipa California. It was a beautiful wedding. And what I loved about the whole experience was that almost my whole family flew over there (most of us on the same flight). We had a great time together! So, since I put my blogs in a scrapbook with my pictures (and your comments too!), here is an itinerary to help remember what all happened while we were there.

Day 1 (Wednesday, December 5)- We arrive in Yucaipa after flying in from Spokane. Sharon and Dale  picked us (Mom, Dad, Renae, Doug, Steph, Casey, Aiyana, Shannon, Derrick, Derrin, Kloe and myself), and our piles of luggage up at the Ontario airport (except for Casey and Steph who rented an awesome blue Mustang convertable while there) and hauled us back to the much smaller town of Yucaipa. I was sick (still). They dropped us off at their place before they headed back to Los Angeles to pick up more family from that airport, and we all went out to eat. After my taco, I promptly crashed, fell asleep and didn't get up for about 3 hours. Then Derrick, Shannon me and the kids packed up our luggage into Lyndsay's brother's jeep (which he let us use the whole time we were there), and we went off to Lyndsay's grandparents house (Jeannie and Les), where we stayed for the first night.

Day 2- Jeanie and Les made us a tremendous breakfast, bright and early! Eggs, ham, pancakes, and coffee. They are adorable. The grandparents everyone wants to have (I love grandparents. I didn't have them while I was growing up, and now I understand their immense appeal). Then we packed up all our stuff again (we were moving to another place to stay that night), and headed into town to meet up with all the younger members of the wedding party to head onward to Knottsbury Farm. It took a couple hours of driving to get there, but it was AWESOME. When we got back, everyone who didn't go wanted to know the little kids liked their time at the farm. Aiyana, Kloe and Derrin did have fun. But I think all of the big kids who went had as much fun! My favorite ride was the Accelerator, a rollercoaster where they shoot you out going 80 miles and hour, immediately going into corkscrews. Loved that ride. We got back to Yucaipa late, went on to the next place we were staying (friends of Lyndsay's parents who were out of town that week and said we could stay at their house), and I crashed. Danny and Nancy got into town that night, and they stayed at the house with us.

Day 3 (Friday)- The day started out with manicures and pedicures. Just in our group, we had ten women. The people doing our nails all did good work, BUT the guy who did mine (his name was Tom), was also the manager, and he was feeling stress over dealing with our group and trying to keep his regulars happy. The result was my manicure was filled with moments of being ignored by the guy sawing away at my feet, having my calves massaged by a tense little man who alternated trying to strip the flesh from bone, and remembering I was there, smiling at me and saying "Feels good, right???". I admit, I lied and said it did. I am not good at standing up for myself in these kind of situations. But the end result was good (he even pained little flowers on my big toenails), so it was all good...

That night included: Decorating the reception hall, wedding rehearsal, and wedding rehearsal dinner. We fell in bed late.

Day 4 (WEDDING DAY!)- Woke up early to get kids washed and ready for the wedding since I wasn't going to be with them for the rest of the day (Shannon, Nancy and Danny watched them for me:). Next stop, hair appointments... then pictures. I need to mention here that there was a horrible weather system working it's way down the coast the whole time we were in California. It was in the 40's by the time we went out for pictures. We were freezing!!!

The wedding itself was beautiful. Doug gave the talk, and he did a great job. There was one moment where he got choked up (the same part he got choked up when he gave the talk at Steph's wedding), but it was a touching moment you only get when a Dad is the one talking. Brandon and Lyndsay were in their own little world, gazing and laughing and so forth. Eww. Na, it was cute.

After much eating and dancing, we drove home. On the way home it SNOWED. In southern California.

Day 5- I have to admit, I was a whiny, wimpy, complainy sort of girl on Sunday. I was really tired because we hadn't stopped even once. I was also still sick, hacking my lungs out attractively every couple minutes. But I got up earlyish anyways and onward we went to the Los Angeles Zoo. It was a pretty fun relaxing day, and no one seemed to care how pastey or contagious I looked.



We kept hoping the weather would be warmer as we got farther down the Mexico penicula, but the system that had been in California the whole time we were there followed us to San Felipe. We still had fun, but not in the same hanging out in our swimsuits sort of way we thought we would.

Days 7 and 8- We collected shells, the guys all went deep sea fishing, we ate tons of seafood, drank gallons of magaritas, played games (lots of hand and foot), went to the market and dickered with the merchants, had a couple campfires, and just relaxed.

Day 9- We drove back up through Mexico, toward Tijuana. We stopped in Puerto Nuevo for dinner at a place where you get Lobster, and two margaritas for twelve dollars each. Then onward we went to the border, where it took nearly two hours of traffic to actually get through to the other side. We stayed at Brandon and Lyndsay's apartment (they were on their honeymoon in Cancun) for the night (we packed and unpacked, loaded and unloaded eight times this trip). And we crashed.

Day 10- Lyndsay's gramma Patty made us all biscuits and gravy for breakfast with sumptuously strong coffee that morning. It was divine. Then they drove us to the airport, we flew back to Spokane, and we were in real winter again. We drove back to Missoula and it FEELS GOOD TO BE HOME!!!

In conclusion, I have to say, I love weddings (I'm not saying marraige is easy, but I love the family ties it can create and strengthen). When I got married my sister was my matron of honor, and I had Shannon, Steph, my cousin Heidi, and Brandon too. Now I have been in all of their weddings. I have also been in some very good friend's weddings as well. I love how close it makes all of us feel to eachother. It creates a shared memory of a pivotal moment in our lives. Both Brandon and Dustin were the youngest people in my family and our clans to get married. They were the last of the single people. The next single people in our families to get married will be my children. Hopefully that won't be for a very very long time. So even though this was the summer of many weddings, we won't be having a summer like this again for a long time.

A Week In A Warmer Land

Well, I've been meaning to blog about my week in California, so here I go. We (Renae, Steph, Mom and I) started out of Thompson Falls Sunday a couple weeks ago (wow, almost exactly TWO whole weeks ago! Sheesh. Where does time go?) The plan was to stay the night in Spokane so we could park our car at the motel and get shuttled to the airport early the next morning. Somewhere between shopping at Burlington Coat Factory and Sushi World, my mom realised that her driver's lisense was not in her purse. We searched and searched, feeling pretty panicked because for one, you need your driver's lisense at the airport to actually get to FLY, and for two, and more importantly, we needed to go across the border (and mostly BACK from the border) into Tijuana. One of the major reasons for the trip in the first place was to take Mom to see her doctor at the Hoxsey clinic down there.

We called the airport and they said Mom could still fly because she had her birth-certificate and social security card, BUT she would have to be stripped searched (hehe, not really strip searched, but she did get patted down both on the way down and on the way back. Renae took pictures.) So flying didn't present too big of a delimma. However, as Monday was presidents day and Tuesday was the day we were going to Mexico, there was no time to get ahold of any of the goverment agency's that could help us. So we decided to just take our chances.

We stayed at a motel in San Ysidro, a town right on the border of the US and Mexico. We could actually see the fence across the road from our room. It was so warm *sigh* and pretty. We didn't have a car, so we had to walk, take a shuttle or take the bus. Public trasportation rules.

Tuesday morning the shuttle came to pick us up to take across the border. We hoped for the best (both that everything would be okay for Mom AND that we could get back into the US at the end of the day), and we got in. There were eight other people on the shuttle with us, all going to different places in Tijuana to get some sort of medical treatment that either isn't available in the States or that is too expensive in the states. On the drive across the border I listened to the man in the row ahead of us talking to the couple next to him. He reminded me of my pa-in-law with his soft southern accent. The whole way there he was talking about his wife, where they had met, how he had "tricked" her into marrying him. He was so sweet, and so obviously in love with his wife. I hadn't even met him and I liked him so much. When we got to the Hoxsey Clinic, he told us more about his wife, that she has pancreatic cancer in the final stages and he had come to Mexico for her because she was so sick. It was heartbreaking. But we also met a couple from Alaska who had been coming to the Clinic for years because the husband had cancer. With no other treatment except from the Hoxsey clinic, he is still going. They have a huge book there where different ones have come to the clinic with all sorts of cancer, varying stages, and most had done very well. Mom's check-up went very well. She had been tested the month before in the states too, so we knew everything was probably gonna be okay, but it still blows my mind to see how well she is doing. It is not too often a person with Stage 4 colon cancer gets to have this kind of health again. Not to promote it tooo much, but if I ever get cancer, I am going to the Hoxsey Clinic right away. It is an awesome place.

At one point I went with my mom while she had to have some x-rays done. While I was in the waiting room I saw that I was getting a phone call, so I wanted to go outside to take it. I walked to the door and saw that it was a glass door. There were no handles. I stared at it in confusion. The door was not opening and I could see no way to open it! Finally I looked behind me to the patients waiting for their turn and had to ask "How does this work". Turns out I just needed to push it. I swear, technology here is making me stupid! I will be the one to burn in a building because I do not know how to open the door.

Anyways, with a pretty much clean bill of health (provided she stayed on her diet and tonic), we were back in the shuttle, wizzing through Tijuana to all of the phamicias to get everyones medicine, and then it was off to the border. We all held our breaths. I, for one, was hoping maybe they would just wave us on through. Turns out that didn't happen. They had us all get out of the shuttle bus and walk through customs one by one. Renae, Steph and I all waited in line behind Mom, waiting our turn, thinking maybe a couple extra days in Mexico wouldn't be that bad (?), but hoping we wouldn't find out. Finally the moment of truth arrived. Mom, looking simply pitiful and cute, waved her birth certificate at the Mexican official and told him her story of woe, about how she had lost her driver's lisense and this was all she had! She has skills. I have underestimated her. Unfortunately, the man (who was obviously touched at her delimma), told her that she HAD to have picture ID. So Renae and I put our passports on his table and said "We are her daughters!" and Steph put her passport down and said "I am her granddaughter!!!" It was a grand moment. The man looked at all of us and smiled, waved his hand toward the door and said,"Get out of here!" It was awesome if I have to say so myself!

So, we made it through. I had a horrible headache though, so we all crashed when we got back to our room. When we woke up, we decided to take a bus into San Diego and go to a Seafood Restaurant. The food was only so so, but venturing out into San Diego, just us four Montana girls, was pretty fun.

The next day my nephew Brandon came to pick us up with his girlfriend Lyndsay, her mom Sharon and her brother Dillon. We went to the San Deigo zoo (where I took a gazillion pictures), then we went to the beach for sunset, and then we went onward to Yukipa, where they live. The rest of the week included making sure our bridesmaid dresses fit (they DID!!! I needed a whole size smaller than I though!!! Yeah for me!!! I am mainly so happy about this because I had to get a dress two sizes BIGGER for the last wedding I was in) , getting shoes for the dresses, getting gifts for the bridal shower (which was awesome), cutting thousands of peices of material to make seat covers for the wedding reception (they are getting married December 8th), and just generally hanging out and having a fun time.

One thing I was introduced to over there that you may be interested in is the practice of eyebrow threading. It is awesome. It is practiced in India, and so it was an Indian woman with her giant peice of thread held between her teeth and hands raking it over my eyebrows. She was able to pluck and shape them perfectly in under five minutes, and it lasts longer than waxing!!!

Anyways, there is so much more that I could say, but this has really turned into quite a long blog! I must start some dinner...

The Sugarland is Delicious

So, here I am in Derrick's grandparent's computer room, somewhere in Tennessee (Walland to be exact), sitting in the dark, listening to the family in the living room switch between watching Jeapardy and a country music award show (?). Not my usual ruetine (my spelling is especially bad tonight. I blame it on swelling of my body and brain which is a consequence of being in a different state, time zone, temperature, as well as hormone fluctuations that occur this time every month, AND Grandma Betty's awesome cooking ability and her tendancy to keep her house fully stocked with chocolate.)

We have been exploring the state of Tennessee (at least the part near us) in a strategic and well thought out manner. We drove up the Smokie mountains on Friday to hike up and see the "chimney tops", a mountain where you are supposed to beable to look down the peak into a hole that goes clear to the bottom of the mountain (thus the name "chimney top"). Unfortunately the hole has crumbled sometime in the last twenty years. But the hike was fantastic. Even made me feel less swollen and more like myself. The kids even enjoyed it after initial grumbling that they would rather be at home with their Grandma Betty, her hugs, and her chocolate;)

Saturday we went on another drive with some friends of Derrick (Javier and Ramey- Derrick was a southern boy in his youth and grew up with Javier in a little town in Texas), once again to see all the colors of fall. It is pretty, although everyone here says the colors are not that great this year because of the drought here.

Today we went to Pigeon's Forge to the best site yet- outlet stores. We went to so many! And apparently there are many more we have not seen yet, so we will be venturing into Pigeon's Forge again in the next couple days. Also, we found a pretty good sushi place today, which was definately a contrast to the southern fare we have been enjoying at Grandma's.

Unfortunately, the kids have been sick most of the time we have been here. They have both been running fevers and Derrin has a hacking cough which Kloe is getting right now. Hopefully they will be feeling better when we fly out on Thursday!