Lights out!

Electricity here in the Dominican Republic is a luxury, not a right. It has been by far the most frustrating part of our whole trip, with mosquito attacks coming in at second place. For whatever reason, the electicity cuts out at random times throughout the day and night. There is no warning and the amount of time it is out is unknown. My absolute only complaint about my entire adventure is that I was not made aware that the condo that I would be renting had a schedule for the generator. Meaning that whenever town power went out the generator would only kick on during certain times. From 10am to 6pm if there is no town electricity, there is also no condo electricity. Electricity also powers the water pump, so no power also means no water. After several rounds with the condo administrator and talks with local folks that ‘that is just the way it is’, I accepted the 10-6 schedule. However I was real annoyed that I was never told that this amazing condo with all its splendor only supplied power during certain hours. This morning the administrator made the big mistake of turning the generator off at 9am. My laundry was in the middle of its cycle and I had yet to take a shower. One thing I have learned here is that you have to raise hell before anyone will listen to you. That means you have to yell loud and say the same thing over and over. Being passive will get you nowhere and people will only take advantage of you. Up until this morning, I have been more than patient and tolerant and the maintenance folks and administrator know that and have taken advantage of that. I have also had a huge language barrier to express my point so I have just accepted the B.S. But this morning, I had had enough. In my best Spanish, I went outside and starting yelling as loud as I could that it was not time for them to cut the power. Rather shocked at my tone, the administrator tried to tell me that the generator had been running for a long time and that it needed to rest. I went on to say that I did not care and that it was not time. I was shaking and on the verge of tears as I had not felt that much anger in a long time, since life for us has been so relaxing. Imagine my surprise when my fit of anger actually worked. He walked back to the machine and turned it back on. I was so proud of myself. I did it! I yelled at a grown man in Spanish and he complied! I think I like this yelling is Spanish to get my way. I only wish I had started my yelling sooner.

The Moto

I finally have gotten tired of walking and decided that I was going to try out the Moto transportation system here. Motorcycles are the transportation of choice here, but they seemed so dangerous to me when I first arrived, but after wearing out my sandals from all the walking I decided to give it a try. My first ride was intense. I think I probably left marks on the shoulder of the driver from holding on so tight. They go so fast and traffic is a nightmare that you really just have to have faith that the driver is paying attention. After several more trips on a Moto, I was ready to add some kids to the mix. I am proud to say that we are all professional Moto passengers and I can’t believe I waited so long to utilize them. I guess if anything, I got some great exercise but my walking days are over. I can get to where I want to go so fast. I’m hooked on Moto!

Mr. B brings the flu

I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. I am actually surprised it took so long. We all got sick. Mr. B came out for a visit. We were all so excited and had big plans when he arrived for his weeklong stay. Now I am not sure if he brought the bug or if it was just coincidence but he arrived on a Saturday and by Monday the entire house was showing signs of illness. Going to the hospital is no easy task and takes just about the entire day to accomplish. It requires 2 buses to a different town, and very long waits with no A/C while the mosquitoes feast on you. The good news is that it is very cheap to see a doctor here. It cost 100 pesos, which is about $3 bucks. Even the cost of medication is low. By Tuesday we made our first trip to the hospital with Miss M, on Wednesday we took Miss P and Miss O On Thursday Mr. B himself was lifeless in bed and on Friday Senora X and myself went down. On his last day here Senora A was also on her way down. She was the last one to get sick. The only survivor of the nasty bug that spoiled an entire week intended for fun in the sun was Baby R. Breast milk rocks! Mr. B has left already and the girls were pretty bummed that they never got to go on the boat with him, but I guess there is always next time.

The Wrap

The wrap that I carry Baby R in has been quite the talk of the country. Not a single day has gone by where someone has not made a comment about it. I get stared at like I have a green alien sitting on my head. The wrap has been amazing on this trip. With so many kids and with so much movement that we do on a daily basis, it has been a life saver. It allows me to move freely and use both hands. Baby R absolutely loves it and is most content strapped to me. It would be fair to say that he stays in the wrap just about the entire day, even through his naps. I see the wrap as a wonderful thing, however, here it seems to be looked upon as a torture device. I have received only 1 positive comment the entire time that I have been here and that came from the priest at the outdoor church that we attended a few weeks back. At the end of mass, I noticed the entire congregation staring at me once again and then they started clapping. Since I could not follow what he was saying, I had to ask Senora X what the heck was going on. Apparently the priest really liked the idea of baby-wearing and was telling everyone that I should be commended for wearing my baby as it benefits the baby to be so close to the mother. So at the end of the day, when a whole country seems to be against the wrap, I have one priest who loves it and therefore his vote cancels out everyone else.

Eating in Aisle 3

Last week we went on our weekly trip to San Pedro to go to the super market. Usually Baby R stays asleep for the entire journey, but for some reason he decided that he wanted to stay awake the whole time. It was really no problem since he stays in his little wrap and attached to me. After a while he started showing signs that he was getting hungry so I started to scout out where I could go in the super busy grocery store. I have breast fed all of my kiddos and have learned to be pretty discreet when out in public when necessary. I have fed babies on beaches, on subways, on top of the Eiffel tower, at church, but I had yet to nurse in a grocery store. Not able to find a place to go, I had Senora X ask a worker who was sitting on a stool if there was a location that I could go. Without skipping a beat, the woman stood up and slid the stool to me right there in the middle of aisle 3. Hmmm, I was hoping more for a room or quiet place in the store. With a very hungry baby crying at this point, I just sat down and fed him. The worker stood up and waited patiently for her stool. I was quite shocked of how acceptable my actions were since the Dominican woman and men have quite an issue with the wrap that I carry him in and have absolutely no problem telling me so. Anyhow, as people walked up and down the aisle, not a single person took a second look. I wish that breastfeeding in public was as accepted in the U.S. as it is here.

Just a trim....

In case you ever planned to come to the Dominican Republic to get a haircut, let me warn you....A trim here is very different than a trim in the U.S. We were in the city yesterday and we passed a salon. Miss O needed a trim as her ends were a bit dry. She just needed a little bit off the ends. I was holding her from the front while the woman started her 'trim' after a few minutes she asked me to rotate to the side so she could begin on the other side of her head, and that is when I saw her destruction of my poor little baby girls' curls.....Too much had already been taken off and it was too late to fix it. I was sick to my stomach. So much for a trim.

Uncle Louie

A few weeks into our trip, my Uncle Louie joined us. Last year Mr. B encouraged Uncle Louie to get his passport in the event that one day we ever go to the Dominican Republic he could join us. When this trip became a reality, I called him and asked him if he wanted to join us. He wasted no time sending me a check so that I could purchase his ticket. Uncle Louie is retired and lives in the big city of Miami, Arizona so he must have been ready for some new surroundings. He spends most of his days exploring the country. He is able to see more than we are able to as traveling with all of us is kept to a minimum. We enjoy hearing about his adventures at the end of the day. He sleeps on the couch and requires only 2 drawers of space. When he is around, he enjoys smoking, which the girls remind him that it is not healthy and they ask why he does not turn green like Pinocchio does in the movie. He likes to listen to local music outside on the patio and drink his coffee. He has developed several models of a fly swatter with materials he gathers on his adventures and thoroughly enjoys the look on the girls face when he takes his teeth out to eat. It has been nice to have him around as he requires very little and my only complaint is that he never puts the toilet seat down! He has really taken a liking to this town of Juan Dolio and is considering staying after we leave.

Residencia Abdimar

Residencia Abdimar, our new home, is a beautiful condo. It is only 8 months old and so everything is new and clean. It is a 6 floor condo community with about 36 condo units. Almost all of the condos are owned by people who live in the capital, Santo Domingo. When we arrived I only noticed one other person living in the building, however, once the weekend came around the pool and beach was full of people. Residencia Abdimar is a weekend getaway for most of the owners. I have come to love the quiet of the week and having all of the facilities all to ourselves, yet look forward to the commotion of the weekend full of families, loud music, LOTS of Presidente (the local beer) and barbeques.
Besides the one full time resident, the only other people here during the week is the armed guard (often times with no bullets), the building administrator-Elizabeth, and the maintenance crew-Paublo, Flaco, Orlando, and Juanito. The maintenance crew takes care of the grounds and also acts like a concierge service. They will run to the market for you, take your trash, help with unloading the groceries, set up the beach chairs and umbrella on the beach, chase after a certain little someone who likes to run around the pool and most importantly they will store your Presidente in the freezer by the pool and keep your cup full. Everyone is most helpful and friendly.
We settled quickly into our home away from home and tried to learn as much about our surroundings as possible. Across the street is a little market that carries most of the essentials, including the 5 gallon water bottles that we have to use for all of our drinking and cooking needs, as the tap water is not safe for consumption. We did a lot walking up and down the main street just checking out what our new town has to offer. There is a lot of construction with new condo buildings going up and lots of little shops selling artwork, cigars and other type of souvenirs. We do a lot of walking. Senora X and Miss O take a walk each morning while I have school with the girls.
Since Miss M and Miss P would be missing school for a few months, I made sure to meet with their teachers before we left to gather as much educational materials as possible. The teachers set me up with plenty to do with them. Since Baby R sleeps the longest in the morning, we decided that I would hold class each morning. I work with Miss M and Miss P for a few hours. I have discovered that teaching your own children is much more difficult than teaching a classroom of 30. It is hard to keep them focused, but we do manage to get things done after I start telling them that we can’t go swimming until they finish their work. Once finished, we put our suits on and head down to the pool and beach.
After several hours outside, we usually come in for a nap. It doesn’t take long for everyone to fall asleep, including myself and Baby R. After a few hours of shuteye, we either head back to the pool or set off for a walk. Our days are pretty stress free and slow paced with only the occasional temper tantrum and lots of diaper changing. In addition to school and swimming, the girls do a lot of coloring, art projects, sea shell collecting, mosquito killing, eating, buying popsicles and running around the grounds. They also have their DS game system and their cartoons in espanol to enjoy. There is only 1 clock in the house and most of the day I have no idea what time it is, rather I just run through our routine and before I know it, it is time for bed.
Some days we head into the nearest town of San Pedro to eat pastelles (kinda like tamales) and to go to the grocery store called Jumbo. Just getting to San Pedro is always an adventure. It requires us to catch a bus from the main road, go about 15 minutes to the town and then catch another bus to the market. Since there are 7 of us with 4 being children it is not exactly easy when you mix in lots of fast driving cars and motorcycles, heat and humidity, overcrowded transportation, super loud music on the bus and at least one child upset about something. There is certainly never a dull moment on our outings.
I have found 2 churches; one is real close to us and is an outdoor church, the other one is a beautiful cathedral in San Pedro. The outdoor church has a really special mass. There is something pretty awesome about being outside during mass that I really enjoyed, but the heat was just too much for my kids. The cathedral has no AC, but lots of fans that make it comfortable. Since traveling with everyone is quite a job, I usually just take Baby R and 1 of the older girls when I do go to San Pedro for mass.
I am certainly getting the hang of how to get around, and would say that I do a so-so job of communicating with people in Spanish. Most of the places we go and the people we see live in poverty; many of the places are dirty with trash all over. We see lots of children without shoes and young children on the hustle trying to shine your shoes or braid your hair. There are also many old men pushing heavy carts selling fruit and vegetables. By American standards we would be quick to feel sorry for them and think that life must be miserable here, as was my first feelings, but as you start to look deeper into Dominican life you notice that for most people here, they are quite happy. There is a lot of laughter in the children, people are courteous and quick with a smile, the old men are singing as they push their carts and the even older men playing their dominoes under a tree seem the happiest of all. Maybe it is all they know, or maybe they make do with what they have, I am not really sure but what I do know, is that there is something profound to be said that less may actually be more.

Time to move on to our next stop

Once back to the city we still had 6 more days until we could check into our condo on the beach. It did not take long for the lack of AC, mosquito attacks and that dang spider that I could never catch to take its toll on us all. The nights were so hot and miserable that baby R cried way too much. His crying episodes sent all the women in the house into a frenzy. Each one had an opinion as to why he was crying. Maybe he was hot (duh), maybe he was tired, maybe he did not like his sling, maybe he was starving, maybe he was bit by a mosquito, maybe his diaper was wet, maybe he needed water, maybe my breasts were not making enough milk, maybe I was holding him too tight….At 10pm, after over 2 hours of baby Rio crying, I couldn’t take it anymore. Not even caring what time it was, I called the cell of the woman who handled the rental. She said that the condo was not yet professionally cleaned. I told her I did not care and begged to allow us to check in the very next morning without it being cleaned. She could have told me that the daily rate was 3 million dollars and that I needed to give up a body part, and I would have figured out a way to come up with it just to get to AC.
I was very grateful to our host family, don’t get me wrong. They were wonderful and very accommodating to the party of 7 that took over their house. If it had just been me, I could have stuck it out, but I could not handle my kids’ discomfort. It was just too much. That very next morning, the taxi was called up for his final drive with us.
It took about an hour to get there. I was very nervous because I had found the condo online and really only had 5 pictures of the place and what the lady on the phone told me. I had also paid in full for the 2 months, against the advice of Mr. B. When paying for the 2 months, the lady asked me to make the deposit directly into her account and since I was traveling so close to the reservation date, it needed to be paid in full. Of course, that sent up red flags, but what the heck was I to do. I needed a place and since I had never been there before, I just had to hope and pray that the place was not a scam and that it was a decent place. So the entire time we were driving I was in prayer overload hoping that I do not have to hear the words-I told you so- come out of Mr. B’s mouth.
We pulled up to the gate and were met by a guard and another man. Senora X told them that we were renting there and the other man told us that he had no idea about the arrangements. My stomach turned. To make a long story short, I had to call back to the woman who made the arrangements and she explained to the guard that her husband was going to meet us there to give us the key to the condo. The guard opened the big iron gate and let us in. OH MY GOODNESS! I could not believe what my eyes were seeing. My family and I had just pulled into a slice of heaven. It was so beautiful. I could not have even dreamed up a more amazing place.
The cleaning lady had just started to clean and I wasted no time telling the girls to put on their swimsuits. In less than 5 minutes of arrival I was in the swimming pool with all my kids. Refreshing was an understatement. There was no doubt that the next 2 months were going to be just what the doctor ordered!

Monte Cristi and Santiago

With 2 day trips down with minimal drama, we decided it was time for our first overnight trip. It required a 4 hour air conditioned bus trip with several stops along the way. Monte Cristi was our destination. It is the home town of Mr. B’s father. It is where Mr. B spent many summers as a child up in the mango trees. Mr. B owns a home there. Our purpose was to check on the house and collect the rent for the last year. We also visited friends of the family. The town of Monte Cristi is small and resembles my birth town of Miami, Arizona. Some streets were paved, many were not. Old homes and people walking the streets and high sidewalks. We were picked up from the bus station by a friend Mr. Nicola that drove a little pickup truck. There was no time to be picky about our transportation and no time to fuss about safety, so in the 2 passenger pickup we went. 4 in the bed of the truck and 4 in the front. Mr. Nicola is an older man with a quiet personality. He sells seafood out of the back of his house- crab, fish, octopus and lambi (not sure what it is, but that is what they called it). There house was small yet cozy. Just like in the city there were no windows. They had chickens running around in the back yard that the girls enjoyed chasing. The humidity and heat did not take long to start wearing us all down and after we could not take it anymore, we checked ourselves into the only hotel we could find with air conditioning. The hotel also happened to be on the beach which was so refreshing. Monte Cristi is in the upper north west of the country and from our hotel room you could see the island of Cuba. We spent the rest of the day at the beach. That night was the first night that I can actually say that I was cold. The air conditioning worked a little too good, but how dare I complain! The next morning we packed up and went back to the bus station for our trip back to the city. On the way back we stopped in the town of Santiago. Santiago is where Senora A’s 99 year old sister lives. Without much time to waste in order to make it back to the city before dark, we only spent about 1 hour at her sister’s house. It was so awesome to meet her and her family. There were more than welcoming, as everyone has been along the way. Also like all the other homes we have visited, the moment we walk in the door, food and coffee starts coming out of the kitchen. You are not allowed to say ‘no’ to either one. Avocados are served like chips and salsa are served in AZ. I love avocados and can’t get enough of them here. There must have been over 20 people in the house that we were in and the whole house was about the size of my front room. There is not much in the home, but they have what they need. A table, a few chairs and beds. The floors and walls are concrete and once again, no windows. I was fascinated to see the only photo on their wall. It was a picture of Senora A’s father. I have the same exact photo hanging in my living room. For the first time in my Dominican travels there was a man, not a woman, doing all of the cooking and serving. He was most attentive and I wanted to scoop him up and put him in my pocket and bring him home. Hehe! Anyhow, I had a wonderful visit and really wished we had more time to stay, but we really needed to get going.
The break in the long bus trip was welcomed by all. The idea of only 2 more hours was much more bearable. For the most part my kiddos did well. There was more room on the bus going back allowing us to spread out a bit more, but I would have been foolish to think we could make it back without incident. Of course it was about the last hour that things went down hill. First there was a woman who started having contractions on the bus. She was traveling alone and was being helped by different people on the bus. She was clearly in a lot of pain and while pacing the narrow aisle she would stop to allow the contraction to pass. I started to get real nervous since I knew we had a while to go before the city. Since I consider myself an expert on the subject of child birth, I started to mentally prepare for what could happen and if I could be of assistance. After playing the game ”what would you do?” in my head for a few minutes and assessing all the assistance she was already receiving, I came to the conclusion that since I did not speak enough Spanish, I would be better off praying for a safe delivery and letting the other people help her. An ambulance was called to meet us at the next stop and I got my camcorder ready just in case the show started. Thankfully, we made it for her to get off and head to the hospital. Let’s just say the bus was mighty quiet during that whole time. With that excitement over my kids took their cue and started their show. With one screaming for more candy, another one needed to use the bathroom. As I shifted all of my belongings on my lap, she proceeded to tell me that she just pooped in her underwear (name withheld to prevent future embarrassment). Oh my gosh, what do I do now? We still had about 15 more minutes. With nowhere to go, she had no choice but to lean over on the seat, butt up until we got there. I felt so bad for her. With the beautiful aroma filling the air, I just sat there rubbing her back, telling her it was okay. She was so sad about it. Finally we arrived. We addressed the stinky situation and made our way back to our quarters in the city. We survived another outing!

399 stairs too many

With one successful sightseeing day down, we went for another. We piled into the small car again the next day for a tour of Tres Ojos. Tres Ojos is an underground cave with 3 lakes inside. We realized after about 5 stairs that Senora X and my chubby Miss O were not going to make it, and up they went to wait for the rest of us. With Baby R strapped tight, Miss M, Miss P and Senora A made our way down the 200 stairs to the bottom. It was not as cool as I had hoped and the bats that were flying around were freaking the girls out. Senora A’s vision is not too good and the guide had to help her most of the way since it was rather dark. Once again the girls really did awesome and we made it to the bottom. We caught a little boat that took us across one of the lakes and looked around the other side. This time I wished I had paid more attention in science as the guide told us about stalagmites and stalag-something else. I guess like with most caves, there is only one way in and one way out. So back up another 200 stairs to get out we went. I was starting to get flashbacks of my high school Grand Canyon trip where I almost did not make it out of the Canyon. I had to resort to my military mind frame, suck it up and focus on getting up the stairs with Baby Rio starting to get beyond sweaty. Slowly but surely we all made it, and that is one cave I will not be back to visit.

Spiders and mosquitoes

The first day that we arrived, we placed our luggage in a closet. Miss M jumped back and said that she saw a spider. I looked and looked and did not find anything and told her to quit joking about those kind of things. (She is quite a jokester) Spiders were the last thing I wanted to worry about as the mosquitoes were plenty bothersome. That night, I went in the room to grab a diaper and right there on the closet was the biggest spider ever. She really had seen one. I bent over to get my shoe off to kill it and when I stood back up, it was gone. Oh My! I did not ever tell Miss M that I had saw it, instead I spent most of the nights praying that it did not crawl on my face or the kids. I never saw it again. Thank God!
What I did see plenty of were mosquitoes. It is absolutely incredible how such a small little thing can cause so much grief. They love all of us except Senora A and Baby R. The poor girls scratch the bites until they bleed. We have tried so many different types of sprays and creams. We have yet to find anything that keeps them away, instead we have only found a great cream for the aftermath.

Getting adjusted

After a couple days just reenergizing and getting adjusted to the 3 hour time difference, it was time to head into town for our first sightseeing trip. A personal taxi driver was called up and all 7 of us loaded into the little car. I have yet to see a child in a seatbelt and since finding a minivan that would hold us all was pretty much impossible, I had no choice but to join the masses and cram all 4 kiddos, myself and Senora X in the back seat. Senora A was in the front with the driver. We turned a 5 passenger car into an 8.
Driving in the D.R. is kinda like NASCAR mixed with the old game Frogger. The object of the game here is to drive as fast as you can, while barely missing the hundreds of MotoConcho (motorcycle taxis). There really is no specific lane for traffic, just however you can get to where you are going is the lane you go in. I find myself holding my breath a lot, but the taxi driver noted that you rarely see accidents. He is right, I have not seen one yet, but just the idea that all my little ones are without seatbelts still freaks me out.
Our first stop was downtown Santo Domingo (the capitol). Like most town centers that I have come across in my world travels, this one had many of the same components. A large church, lots of people sitting around on benches, big statues, and tons of pigeons. How do pigeons know that they are supposed to crowd the town center around the world and poop all over the place? Spain, Italy, Bosnia and now D.R.-pigeons. I personally do not like them. Ok, enough about the birds and back to the real amazing sight- Christopher Columbus’s first and second house. It is fascinating to imagine how old the houses are and wish that I had paid more attention to my history teachers. Our guide did a great job of giving lots of info and dates, and after paying him, all that I can really remember is that there were a lot of really old buildings and a great history in that area. The buildings are big, and the walls that protect them are high. The girls were such troopers walking all over the place and baby R is happy as can be as long as he is wrapped tightly to my body. After a long day of walking and sweating, we picked up some Domino’s Pizza and went back to the house.

And we are off- August 21

The time had come for a much needed break from reality and opportunity poked its head out and I took it. The next thing I knew, I was on a plane with Senora X, Senora A and my crew of 4. During the last hour of the almost 8 hour flight (split with a lay over in Atlanta) it actually hit me that I am officially crazy. My kids could not take it anymore and it was pure madness for every second of the last hour. I guess I should be thankful that the first 7 hours went so well, but it was hard to remember those 7 hours when 3 of the 4 were crying.
As the plane doors opened and I was holding back tears of relief, I was met with a layer of humidity that almost knocked me over. I felt like someone threw a blanket over me. I had no time to dwell too much on the new weather as my only focus was to get the hell off the plane.
A driver had been arranged to pick us up, but unfortunately we did not see the sign and caught a cab. He said he had A/C which was something Senora X asked before we got in. Sure he had A/C, but the van died 3 times before we got to the freeway making it impossible to run it. Each time he jumped out, lifted the hood, wiggled something, came back in the van and revved the engine and went again. By this time, we are all dripping sweat, including my poor baby R who was strapped to me in a sling. What the heck have I done, was running through my mind. Eventually we got going and it was actually cooler to just roll the damn windows down.
We were welcomed to our home for the next week by Senora X’s nina. A simple home in the capitol of Santo Domingo. I could tell by our surroundings that we certainly were not in the worst neighborhood, yet we were also not in the best, but that was the way it was going to be. Each home has plenty of gates to enclose it and obviously to protect it. We went through 3 layers of gates just to get into the home. Each one with a pad lock on it and a different key. Besides the layers of gates, the next thing I noticed was that the home had no windows, but shutters of sorts that acted as windows. It was right about then, that I was greeted by what has become my worst enemy, mosquitoes. Right on the arm, it moved so fast I couldn’t kill it. Mr. Mosquito had only just his quest of torture. We had finally arrived to the Dominican Republic.

Something great about the city is that local vendors come to you. Each morning, you hear the calls of the avocado man, the coconut man, the live chicken man, the vegetable man. They pedal down the street in their vendor carts. You don't even have to leave your front gates. I love that. The other thing that we had to get used to was bathroom policy. There was no hot water so we had to boil water and do an old school shower. Miss O was the only one who loved to bathe this way. The sewer system has different rules as well. Toilet paper does not go in the toilet, it goes in the trash. That was mighty hard for us to get used to. Our host eventually put up a sign to help us remember.

With no windows on the house, the nights were mighty noisy. Cars speeding by, loud music from different homes, people talking (which is done at very high levels) babies crying and dogs barking. Being such a light sleeper, I did not get much sleep that first night.

You did what???

We knew the day would come where Mr. B's car would die. It has been fading slowly. It made lots of noises, the window gets stuck, paint is fading, the acceleration is all weird. It was a good used car that he ran for 5 years, but the time had come. He spent time researching cars and calling dealerships around town. It was obvious that he really wanted a used BMW. He used to have one back in his single days in NYC. Once I saw the first car payment of over $800, I told him he had to sell it. My aunt bought it from him and a piece of his heart has been missing ever since. He had a cut out of a picture of a BMW hanging in our office, like a long lost friend. He found some used BMW's at a dealership in Phoenix so off we went to check them out. He has done so much for our family and although I nag about him quite a bit, he really is amazing. I felt that after driving that junky car for so long and having to drive the MV he really should get something that he enjoyed so I gave my blessing on a used BMW as long as it was less than $15,000. While I sat in the waiting area at the dealership, Mr. B test drove 3 that he liked and then did what he does best....negotiate the bottom line. I hate the back and forth part and just waited for him to figure it out. After over an hour of negotiations, he came over to show me where he got the numbers for 2 of the 3 that he liked. Both very close to what he wanted in price. We went outside and looked at them. One was a black 4 door. Practical, yet nice. The other was a blue convertible. Very nice, but not practical and it had too many previous owners for my liking. The convertible was actually several thousand dollars less that the 4 door because it was an older model. I finally told Mr. B that I was hungry and that since he was so close to the numbers that he wanted to be, that I was going to leave. I told him that it was his decision but that I prefer the black one. I told him to just pick one and drive himself home. With 4 kids we really don't have a lot of days to sit around in car dealerships wheeling and dealing with the sales people so it was now or never for him. I went home and started our 4th of July steaks on the grill and we all anxiously waited for him to surprise us with what he picked. A couple hours later, well after dark, he walked through the front door. "Which one did you get?" , I asked. "Both", he replied. "You did what?" I almost passed out. My legs got weak and my stomach turned. How could he do that? This must be a sick joke! Who buys 2 cars? This is not like buying 2 pairs of shoes, this is 2 CARS! I told him he needed to call the guy and explain that he made a very big mistake and that he would not be taking the convertible. The next morning he called only to be told, too bad so sad. I called my lawyer friend only to be told to read the contract. To make a very long and pitiful story short, we are now the owner of 2 BMW's. What the heck! I will be actively looking for a buyer for the convertible. It is real nice and I'm selling it for $11,500. Anybody interested? I send him to get a car and he brings home 2. That is the last time I do that. How does this stuff happen?

Taking the show on the road

After spending all that time in bed almost dead, I needed to get out of the house. My cousin Mrs. D told me about a great hotel in Phoenix that has a great water park. So we loaded up the familia and took the show the road. It is not often that my in-laws next door and my entire family go somewhere all together. Partly because my mother in law likes to stay home and partly because with the 4th child, we no longer all fit in the MV (mini-van). My sister in law had surgery the week prior to remove a mass that they found in her boob. Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing, but while I was down with my clogged duct, she was down recovering from the surgery. Mr. B really had his hands full caring for so many people during that time. He really came through for everyone. We all needed a little vacation, so we packed everyone up and headed 20 minutes west to the Pointe Hilton. Trying to get 9 people to one place is no easy task and if cameras were following us you would see a lot of yelling in both English and Spanish, crying children, squished abuela in the back row, sweaty Senor M, and Senora X packing up the whole house as though our destination has no water or food. Since we only have an 8 passenger MV, that means someone has to sit on the floor. I know, we are breaking the law and it is very painful for the ever law abiding Mr. B to handle, but what are we to do? I will protect the identity of the person who has to lay on the floor so the cops don't see them while we travel. Just getting there is a challenge. Once there, we had a great time. The girls enjoyed it, I treated my taste buds to a cold beer and everyone seemed to relax for the short time there. Of course, our trip could not end with out some kids of craziness. The last night there, we all went for dinner. Sitting a few tables over was a woman who kept staring at our table. I noticed that she started to breath real heavy and she kept repeating "where is she". She got louder and louder and Senora X and Mr. B also tuned into the woman. She was being restrained by the man and woman at her table. We were finished eating and began to walk back to our hotel room. I heard someone running behind us. I turned around and there was that woman chasing after us. I freaked out and told Mr. B who quickly handed me Miss O. He began to yell at her to stop in his very authoritative voice. Shortly behind the crazy lady was they woman who was at the table with her. The crazy lady was still breathing heavy and was looking straight at Miss P saying "there she is". It was so freaky. The friend of the crazy lady said that she sees fire around my children. I got really upset and started yelling at the crazy lady that my kids were safe, and that there is no fire on my children. Mr. B told us to go to the room while he stayed behind to figure out what the hell was wrong with the lady. Apparently the woman claims to see visions and she told Mr. B that there was going to be a fire in our home and that we needed to keep a close eye on our children. She also told him not to work on the 4th of July and stay close to his children. It was so bizarre and it really made me mad. We were all pretty shook up about it. I'm not into psychics, palm readers or any of that stuff, so I was really pissed how she frightened my children who kept asking what was wrong with that lady. Once back in the room we got everyone settled and ready for bed. Mr. B pulled the sheets back only for a big cockroach to scatter across the bed. What a great way to end the night! Since he was still a little shook from the crazy lady, the poor roach had no chance as he beat the heck out of it with his shoe. By morning, we were all ready to get home as we had all had enough excitement. The hotel gave us one free night for the roach and we were back to the comfort of our home by 10 am. Until next time.

Why don't they tell you this in sex ed class?

Beware, this entry is gross. Not for the easy to be queasy.
As the days after having Rio went on, my body went through some pretty crazy things. The first few days I felt fabulous, possibly from the high of just having a precious baby. Then about the 3rd day when my milk came in things went pretty south...literally. I had aches all over. My back, my legs, my arms....everything hurt. Of course my boobs were about to blow up as well. After 4 days with no bowel movement, Mr. B started drugging me up on fiber drinks. After well over a half an hour on the potty, tears running down my face, beads of sweat gathering on my forehead, and the sound of a crying baby in the other room, I delivered another child. This time out of my butt. OMG, I thought I was going to die right there on the toilet. Why oh why must a woman who is so regular have to have her schedule interrupted simply because she had a baby. Hadn't my body been through enough? To add insult to injury during that whole traumatic experience I thought my uterus had fallen out of my va-j-j. It was just horrible. I had to call the doc and tell her my organs were falling out of my body. She was no where near as alarmed as I was and said she would check it out at my next appointment 2 days later. Why was my body falling apart. I'm only 30! Anyhow, after getting all checked out, I was assured my organs were not falling out, instead it was just some swollen tissue. With everything in my entire body giving up on my, it was only natural for me to get a clogged milk duct just a few days later. Now, clogged milk ducts come with flu like symptoms, fever, chills, aches, and of course excruciatingly painful boobs. The only way to clear a clogged duct is to keep feeding the baby. For 2 days I was lifeless in bed. Mr. B had to carry me to the tub to get my fever down, and bring me the baby long enough to eat while I cried the whole time in pain. My head throbbed like I was being beat with a 2 x 4. I tried everything, Tylenol, Epson salt baths, shower, hot water, cold water, change nursing positions, Vitamin C, water, rest. I even nursed on all 4's to allow gravity to help a bit while Mr. B helped balance me. I was a mess. By the 3rd day it started to clear up and slowly but surely I began to feel better. It has been a week now, and as of this very moment, nothing else in my body has shut down. I really cannot think of any body parts that are left to fail me. So not fair.

The placenta

After the umbilical cord was cut, I was helped out of the birthing tub to deliver the placenta. Since I had a home birth, I was given the option to keep my placenta. Why the hell would you want to keep your placenta, you ask? Well, apparently there a lot of things you can do with it. You can make a soup with it and eat it, you can plant it under a tree for nourishment, you can grill it (haha, that last one was a joke). Anyhow, I decided that I wanted to plant it under the apricot tree so that next season, everyone can share in the "fruit of my labor". I bet they are gonna be the biggest, juiciest, apricots in AZ! Now I am sure that you are beside yourself hoping that you get a chance to have apricots from my tree, so go ahead and email your pre-order. Mr. B was such a nice guy to dig the hole for me. He is the best!

Rio John Morel

Weighing the baby

At exactly midnight on June 17th, I was jolted out of bed by a contraction. For several weeks, I had been having on again off again contractions, some as close as 4 minutes a part but none of them compared to the intensity of the one that about threw me out of my own bed. I had been so nervous that I would not know when I was truly in labor and had even made a false alarm call to my doc the week before when they started getting close together. My previous experieces at the hospital all included them breaking my water and labor beginning almost immediately. What if my water did not break on its own? Anyhow, the doc would not even leave her house and told me over the phone that I was not in labor. The same question that I had asked her many times before came out of my mouth again...."how will I know?" Her response, "oh, you'll know." Well, she was right. I got up and walked to the bathroom, where I had another one. Attempted to brush my teeth, another one. Walked to the living room to find my phone, another one. My first call was to Mr. B who was at work, all I could say was "now!" In between bent over contractions, I made the call to the doc and a couple more people. I also managed to get a text out too. Mr. B had called Senora X from next door, who came over and grabbed Miss O and Miss P, both who had coincidentally both woke up at the same time. I had been mentallly preparing for this moment for so long, and I immediately went into action lighting my candles that had been so perfectly placed weeks prior all in between contractions. My mom arrived and then a friend, Ms. D, from church came next. Senora X came back to stay in case Miss M woke up, but she had always made it clear that she was not interested in watching and she stayed in the living room taking care of opening the door. As quickly as I was jolted out of bed, is as quickly as the contractions turned from intense to 'OMG'!!!! Mr. B was still no where to be found and neither was the doc. At 12:35 I could not take it any longer and needed to get into the birthing tub. With the help of Ms. D, I got into the tub. Whoa, what a difference the water made. Immediate change in how the contractions felt. Yes, they were still very, very intense but the water really did help ease them. In all of my preparing for my water birth, I had always pictured myself leaning back against the tub, but when I got in the first position I went into was on all 4's. It just felt like the right position. A few minutes after getting in the tub I began to feel warm water being poured on my back and I knew Mr. B had arrived without even having to open my eyes. At that point, I completely let go of trying to keep the baby in and allowed my body to fully get to work. With absolute silence in the room and small candles lighting the area I had a few more contractions. I used many of the hypnobirthing techniques to focus and really allow my breathing and body take over. There was no screaming or yelling or telling Mr. B that I hate him. The only sounds I made sounded more like exaggerated breathing. In between a few contractions, I would open my eyes and look around to see a few new faces, but still no doctor. I also took the resting period of labor to take in all of the special and sentimental things that I had placed around the room. The room that I chose to have the baby in is also the room where my grandma took her last breath last fall. I felt that it would be a full circle of life to be able to have the baby in there and that also added a very special meaning to the room. I looked to a shadow box that held flowers from my grandma's services and had a very, very real sense of peace and sense that she was there with me at that moment. With the next contractions, I felt the baby's head come out and told Mr. B. Without skipping a beat, he moved into action. I took one extreamly huge, deep breath after that and knew that my next contraction my son would make his debut. At 12:51, just 51 minutes of that first contractions our son arrived. As if he had done 1000 deliveries before, Mr. B brought the baby up from the water. I was helped into a sitting position and the baby was handed to me. There we sat in the water, staring at our little miracle. He was so quiet and calm, that Mr. B thought that he may have not been breathing and kept trying to suction his mouth and nose. I on the other hand, knew he was just fine and did not need it. I just knew that our sons gentle appearance into the world did not allow for him to be startled or fussy. There was no immediate rubbing of the baby, rushed movement in the room, loud sounds, or premature snipping of the umbilical cord, just a room full of love at the sight of a new baby. Finally after several minutes the doc arrived, but most of the work had already been done for her. After the umbilical cord stopped pulsating, she allowed Mr. B to do the honor. Then I was able to get out of the tub and deliver the placenta. Be careful which bowl you eat out of at my house, it may just be the one that held my placenta!! The doc's assistant arrived and all the checking out of mom and baby were conducted in the comfort of the bed. After everyone checked out great, everyone left. Just as quickly as they all arrived, then they were gone. It was just Mr. B, myself and our new addition who still did not have a name at that point. It all happened so fast that we were both just staring at each other, thinking....did this just really happen? Finally, I looked at Mr. B and said Rio John Morel. Without skipping a beat, he shook his head OK! Everything was just perfect and all the months of preparation paid off. It was made even more special by Mr. B delivering his first son.

Still waiting....

This has been the longest pregnancy of my life. I feel like I stopped working years ago. Why does this little boy refuse to come out? One of my most favorite male cousins (most of the time)seems to not blame him for staying in as long as he can. He seems to think life is miserable for the male species in this house. Whatever! It would be one thing for this little boy to be hanging out as long as he has if my on again off again contractions did not exist. For weeks now, my contractions have been as close as 5 minutes apart some nights, but not last longer than an hour or so. All of yesterday and until around 1 in the morning, they were exactly 10 minutes apart and more intense than all the contractions before. It is really wearing me out but I do get plenty of practice with all of my relaxation and breathing techniques. The birthing room has been ready for weeks now and I have had to replenish my fresh flowers in that room 3 times already. I certainly do not want to be looking at wilting flowers while giving birth. I go back to the doc today so she can fish around in there and see if I have dilated any further. Mr. B is off tonight, so it would be nice to not have to hope and pray that he is not in the middle of a call when I actually do go into labor. We will see how today goes.

Waiting for the arrival

I am officially off of bed rest as my goal date of June 1st has passed. Our son has been cooking long enough to avoid any type of risk for a home birth. The birthing room is set up just perfect, the birthing tub was delivered earlier this week, fresh flowers decorate the house and room, and the cameras are ready. Now we wait. It is an exciting time as it is one of the few things in life that I have absolutely no control over when it will happen. Mr. B has been home this last week as my surges have begun, but have developed no pattern. It has been so very nice to have him close to home as he was always so busy with work for the last 3 that he could barely keep his eyes open when the babies finally came. Just the idea of being able to be home has really allowed for a very peaceful and relaxed state for all of us. I practice my hypnobirthing techniques daily. Hypnobirthing is a way to redirect the tension and discomfort felt during child birth into more useful ways, to help your body work with nature instead of against it. Instead of tightening every muscle in your body, which is such a natural response to pain, hypnobirthing teaches you how to do the exact opposite and release all tightening so that the discomfort is reduced and the baby comes into a world that is just a little more peaceful free of screaming, fear, premature pushing and drugs. I also plan to have the baby in the birthing tub, which should also help my body to relax. I know some of you are thinking that I am a little cukoo, and I am certainly not suggesting everyone should deliver this way, but it sure makes sense to me.

A home birth

I have always wanted to have my children at home. In my heart, I have always felt there was a more peaceful and less invasive way to have a baby. Unfortunately, a home birth with a mid-wife is not covered by our insurance and it is hard to justify a home birth when I could do it at the hospital for free. Well, with all my new found free time I started to spend more time day dreaming of my perfect birth experience. There just had to be a way. With the encouragement of an amazing women, who also happens to be my prenatal yoga teacher and hypno birthing teacher (more about hypno birthing later) she referred me to a naturopathic doctor who does home births. Since she is a doctor and not a midwife, our insurance will actually cover the home birth!! Mr. B has never been excited about the idea, but after meeting her and discussing all of his concerns, he FINALLY gave me his support. So 30 weeks into my 4th and final pregnancy I dropped my OB/GYN and changed doctors. I am so excited to be able to be home and not have to fuss with the hospital. My girls are excited too.

I am being evaluated

So now I am home and have catching up on deep cleaning, paper work that needs to be dealt with, service calls that are long over due for our alarm system, reading more to the girls and holding my little Ms. O while she naps instead of putting her down. Am I really going to have another baby, when Ms. O is still so little. Really! Anyways, Mr. B started a very interesting conversation the other day that he started like this....." Depending on how well you do at being at home will determine how long before you have to go back to work." I was caught a little off guard at his statement and wanted him to clarify what the hell he was talking about and asked him to explain further. In his police officer/military tone he went on to say "Well, I am evaluating how you are doing around the home and the better you do, the longer you can stay home." OMG, is he serious??? Since he wasn't laughing I thought I would let him continue to dig his grave and went on to ask him exactly what I was being evaluated on. "Well, cleanliness of the house, frequency of cooked meals, variation of cooked meals, frequency of love making......." And on he went, digging, digging, digging. When he was all finished, I paused, letting him think that I was really considering his evaluation plan. I smiled very sweetly at him like it was the greatest thing I have ever heard and then I spoke. First, I had some very choice words about this evaluation process, told him to kiss my...... and said some more colorful words and told him to kiss my....again and left the room. So much for passing my evaluation. Bummer.

Bed Rest

Towards the end of every pregnancy my body starts doing all kinds of weird things. Most of them I will just keep to myself, but mainly I start pre-term labor way too early. A couple of weeks ago I was feeling soooo much tightening in my stomach and loads of pressure in that whole area. I remember showing a house and having a feeling that if I sneezed the baby was going to fall out. I went to the doc only for her to tell me what I already knew....time to stop working and get my feet up. It probably didn't help that during that week I was working real hard at getting my garden going which involved digging, shoveling and on my hands and knees trying to make those neat little hills that you see on farms. With out wasting any time after leaving to doc's office, I called my real estate friend and handed over all my files to her and put my feet up. Now my bed rest is the kind where I just have to take it easy and not spend so much time on my feet. I have absolutely enjoyed every second of it and it has been so nice to be home with the girls. I guess it is one of those things that when you are home all the time, you sometimes day dream about working and when you are working all the time, you wish you could be home. The never ending battle of being a mommy.

Busy, busy, busy!

Seems like just yesterday that I was blogging about those crazy 2 weeks, I don't know if the older you get the faster time flies or if the more kids you have the faster time flies??

Anyhow, the months of March and April have been non-stop. Finally purchased a membership to the zoo and have enjoyed using it. Don't know why I waited so long. Now when I need Mr. B and the little ones out, I have a place to send them.

My grandma on my moms side turned 80 and she threw herself a fabulous party in the big city of Miami, AZ. Hundreds of folks came out to celebrate, most of them my immediate family. The pictures show all my girls cousins and our children, and the other one is all my boy cousins. Last count I had over 40 first cousins. Much love to my grandma who had 12 children. Watching her surrounded by all of her children almost had me wishing for that large of a family, almost.

Then there was the exciting day when Ms. M declared that she was ready to take her training wheels off. It was so amazing to watch my little girl have so much determination to ride her bike all on her own. In the video, you can hear her say "I can do it this time!" Oh, she is so awesome. It took her a few days of trying and now she is all over the front and back yard.

After 8 years, Mr. B finally fulfilled his military obligation. We had a nice party where he was surrounded by family, friends and his Army buddies. The kids put camo on their face and the adults played pin the grenade on the tank. Now there are no more worries that he will be sent anywhere. When his retention SGT emailed him about reenlisting, I took it upon myself to respond and let him know that under no circumstances will Mr. B reenlist and that if he has a problem with that he could speak to me directly. Mr. B was not too happy that I did that. Something about being embarrassed that his wife was laying down the law. Whatever, mission accomplished...no reenlisting.

Easter was at our house again this year. I just love Easter. We had 3 egg hunts this year. One for the little ones, one for the tweens, and one for the adults (thanks for the idea T). Ms. D and I hid the eggs for the little ones while Tia T, T, and Ms. A played Easter Bunny for the tweens. The day was filled with food, games, eggs, Golden eggs, and the money egg! Now, I may be pregnant and moving slow, but guess who found the money egg??? ME!! 60 bucks was all mine. I can't wait until next year.