Monster Bugs

     Costa Rica is an amazing and beautiful country.  I am constantly in awe at the diversity surrounding us.   Living in Costa Rica, we have the most breathtaking scenery.  We have endless rivers to frolic in.  The evenings are full of music from all the life surrounding us.  Oh, and these...

     Monday, while doing yard work, we ran across this snake worm.  He was actually longer than this, but unfortunately he was chopped while digging a ditch.

Now, that's what I call an earth worm.  Dinner anyone?

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Thank goodness for the neighborhood kids who helped him out the door.

Sure little dude, you can just hang out with us...

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I think he is from Panama, with the camouflage and all.

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We actually had a pet beetle a little bigger than this.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture before she became one with the earth again.

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Instead of "Duck Crossing" signs, we have "Tarantula Crossing".

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And this is actually a fairy.  If you don't believe me, watch Pan's Labyrinth.

Has It Really Been a Month Already?

The beginning of August officially marked one month we have been in Costa Rica.  Time flies when you're having fun!!!  I wish I could say we are fully adjusted and feel at home, but we aren't quite there... yet.

I know it has only been one month, but I can honestly say, I do not miss Florida at all.  However, I greatly miss my family and friends, and I especially miss my older kiddos who felt they were too cool to come with us (insert winky face).  On occasion, I will see a picture of the beaches posted online and I'll feel nostalgic, but let's be realistic... bathing suit days are gone for this gal.

Also, I am still trying to get used to not having the varieties of EVERYTHING within an arm's reach.  I hated Walmart and every other corporate chain whatever; but I won't lie, I'm having corporate chain withdraws.  I do not doubt that I will get through this (I have no choice) and carry a more simplistic life with me when I return to the U.S., but some whining will take place before reaching that point.

I am amazed at the reduction in waste we go through here.  In Florida, we had a huge green trashcan to fill up, and it was emptied twice a week.  We didn't necessarily fill that thing up all the time, though apparently, our society has so much waste the trucks have to come through twice a week... I suppose, just in case.

Here we have a metal box that we share with neighbors, and it is emptied once a week.  Even with sharing, we never have that thing full.

Can you guess which one is from back home?

Most houses just have the basket like the one seen here.

I know, why am I writing about our garbage?!!! I guess I am just realizing how wasteful our society is.  Hopefully, that is a thing of the past for me as well.

While we are still adjusting to our new lives, we will just continue to bask in the beauty that surrounds us.

 

Lovely scenery on a clear day!

A Trip To Some Waterfalls

Not too far up the mountain is a little piece of Heaven, and we were able to touch it this week. Hopefully, not for the only time.  We drove up the mountain, and then climbed down the trail to the first waterfall.  The trail was cut and there were "steps" for us, but it had rained a lot the day before so the ground was very slippery.  I was just a little bit nervous of sliding off the edge and tumbling onto the rocks below.  Thankfully, we "city gals" had a helping hand when we felt we needed it.  Next time, I am determined to make the descent on my own, even if I must get on my butt and scoot down.

My rock climbing skills are pretty much a thing of the past, so the girls and I stuck to walking along the edges to the waterfall.  However, I was quite envious of our friends as they went up and down the rocks with such ease.

 The waterfall was so peaceful.  I did brave sitting on the rocks and sticking my head into the water as it poured from above.  My ears stung a bit, but that was one of the most amazing massages I have ever had.

Yep, that's me with my head in the water... I may look the fool, but it was amazing!

Kayla would get close, but refused to put her head in.

Poor Tony had to wear Donato the entire time and just watch us enjoy his piece of paradise.  Hopefully, our happiness and amazement brought him joy... YEAH RIGHT!!!

After spending some time at the waterfall, we followed the path of the cows (and carefully watched our steps) down the river to a spot where we could sit and let Donato play.  After failing in his attempts to rearrange the large rocks, he finally settled on throwing pebbles down the river and dunking his head in the water.  And yes, that is his wool cover that Mama allowed him to get wet and dirty... without having a anxiety attack.

There was another waterfall, but I stayed behind with Donato so Tony could go with everyone to enjoy.  Sadly, one of our friends got stung on the foot by an African bee (not sure what he was doing in Costa Rica), and I think that made the remainder of the time painful for her.

Shortly thereafter, we turned around to head back the same way in which we came.  Fortunately, climbing steep hills and paths is much easier than descending them; although, I'm not sure my muscles would agree.  And, of course, our excursion would not have been complete without a snake.  Fret not Mom, someone found it before us and cut his head off so this is just his body.

Yes, that is Tony wayyyyy up the hill.  Now we know where Donato gets his climbing skill from

We were told this snake wasn't venomous. 

Learning Spanish... oh wait, Better Get English Down First

       A part of being in our new land is that I am going to homeschool the girls.  For the past year, I have anticipated this, mostly due to fear that I will not be a proper teacher for them.  Well, those fears were confirmed the other night.

     We had some friends come over so that I could help with their English test coming up.  Speaking English is one thing.  Having to further explain the rules of our complicated language is quite another.  All I have to say is thank goodness for the internet and Google.

     I suppose that another way to look at the experience is that it gave me a heads up that I clearly need to freshen up on some things before the school year begins for the girls.  But how emabarrassing ... or rather, humbling ... was that.

     So far, I know that one of them passed their test.  Hopefully, I will know the results of the other soon.

     While I do not think I helped in the least, it is a tiny bit comforting to know that I did not confuse them so much that they bombed the test ... well, at least one, but I have confidence the other will do just as well.

     Soon, our Spanish lessons will begin.  Hopefully, I prove to be a better student than I was the teacher.

Ants... Spiders... and Wasps... OH MY!!!!

     I am not ready to say that I  "dig" yard work just yet, but it was nice to be productive outside today.  I know it doesn't look like much, but there were a ton of weeds... and I still have a bit to go.  We want to get the beds cleared out so we can plant some vegetables.

     This little area took forever to clear, and I only ran into two ant beds and one wasp nest... or maybe it was one ant bed and two wasp nests since one of the types of ants were as big as the wasps!  Fortunately, I only got bitten by the smaller ants.

     I'm still amazed by all the different colored insects around here.  I mean, doesn't that make them easier for the birds to see so they can eat them more?!!!!  Surprisingly, I didn't see any snakes, but the afternoon rain cut it short, so I suppose there is always tomorrow.

     Oh, and that's Azula in the picture too.  I'm pretty sure she's upset that I am tearing down her nap bed.

Catching the bus... FAIL!

This was the first time to ride the bus on our own.  We were going to Sereno to have lunch with Tony and do some shopping in Panama, but we failed miserably at catching the bus... it drove right past us.

I know there are places in the U.S. that have great public transportation, but this isn't the case in my neck of the woods.  So, when Tony told me to wait at the end of the street for the bus, I didn't know I had to flag the bus down as well.  Needless to say, we were passed by.  (Where we were isn't one of the designated bus stops, but I wasn't aware of this at the time.)

Thank goodness for taxis.  Although, the bus still made it there before we did since there was a lot of back and forth with Tony and the taxi driver... given we don't know Spanish, YET.

Heading back to Sabalito on the bus was much easier.  The stop is right beside the restaurant, so no "waving down" necessary. 

Tip for riding the buses on the unpaved roads in Central America... do NOT ride in the section behind the back tires.  Your spine will be so misaligned from all the jumping and bouncing in your seat, you'll be begging for a chiropractor.  Ha! Ha!

We did make it in time for lunch with Tony and some shopping in Panama, so the only failure of the day was the initial form of transportation... all the rest... complete success!

Trip Time

            In order to get it all down while still fairly fresh on the brain, I am going to write about our trip.  I will explain other things in different posts later down the road.

            I did not go to sleep at all the night of July 1^st until about 4:00 a.m.  I had so many last minute things to finish, and I still didn’t get them all accomplished.  It wasn’t as big of a deal that I couldn’t sleep since my parents were the ones who were driving us to Orlando July 2 to catch our evening flight.

            It rained and rained the whole way there, and when we arrived, after a 6+ hour drive, I was told there was a flight delay.  In order to make our connect flight in Ft. Lauderdale, we would have to take a bus.  Ugh… more driving in more rain with a toddler and tons of luggages.  

            We made it to Ft. Lauderdale about 11:00 p.m. EST.  That flight was scheduled to depart about 11:30 p.m., but obviously was delayed while waiting for some of us to get there.  I believe we boarded about 12:30 a.m.  After sitting on the plane for a bit, they tell us it was time to take off… finally!  Suddenly, there was a strange noise on the right side of the plane.  It sounded like when a car battery is dying.  The flight attendant comes back on saying they were having mechanical issues, but the mechanics were working on it so we’d take off shortly.  I won’t lie, I was praying the entire time I was awake. 

            We finally made it to Costa Rica about 2:00-2:30 a.m.  Definitely one of the longest trips I have ever been on. 

            Wednesday morning we woke up and started on our way from San Jose to Sabalito.  At first, I was a little frustrated to be getting back on the road so soon since that is a 6-7 hour trip.  However, after it was all said and done, I was glad we went ahead and got it over with. 

            So, here we are in Costa Rica.  Our journey into our new life begins!

 

                      Eating at Cracker Barrel one last time

       One last picture before boarding the bus for Ft. Lauderdale.  Thank God   for baby carriers!

 

Night Out with Monito

Last night I finally made it out of the house to have some "adult" time with Baby D.  It was to go see my first ballet.  Well, not actually my first since I've seen The Nutcracker performed by our local ballet company, which I saw with Dear Son Dos now that I think about it, but in my opinion, The Nutcracker didn't really have a lot of ballet in it.  Although, it was still a great performance.

Last night we went to see Romeo and Juliet.  It was an amazing performance.  Dear Daughter Tres has shown me some of the hand movements and what exactly they mean so that was fun being able to follow the storyline (although I already know the story of Romeo and Juliet) and know what the dance interpretations were.  I felt so... what's the word... cultured.  LOL!  I would love for my daughter to be able to go all the way in her ballet and one day join the company so I can go watch her perform.  Till then, I'll just enjoy my little nine year old's living room performances.

Since I am still strictly breastfeeding Baby D, he came with me to the ballet.  I wasn't too worried about him fussing because he never refuses the boobs.  I knew worst case scenario I'd have to nurse him the entire time.  Well, he actually had thought of an even worse scenario than that.  For the first act, he did nurse just fine and then feel asleep for a little bit.  Perfect!  He's resting and I still have a second boob to offer after intermission.

Curtains drop, we all get up to use the restroom, grab some wine, smoke a cigar if that's one's preference, etc.  Now Baby D is awake, but happy... good, we're still not having to deal with a fussy baby.  I grab me some water really quick so I can be ready for round two of Romeo and Juliet breastfeeding.

We head back in and get ready for the performance to begin again, and what does Baby D do????  He decides it's time to play and "talk".  I tried to offer the boob in hopes that he would just latch on and nurse again, but no, it's play time!  Well, at least he wasn't crying and fortunately, I didn't have the usher come up to me and ask me to take him out.  Since he's only 3 mos. his play time didn't last too long, and eventually he was quite content with nursing for the rest of the ballet.

I can't wait to go to my next one!  Probably by then, Baby D can be left at home with his brothers and sisters.

Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene

Baby D at his first Ballet

I Never Imagined It Would Be This Hard

My husband does not live in the country with us thanks to the wonderful immigration process we are currently going through.  In January I gave birth to our son, his first child, and while he was able to attend via Skype, unfortunately, he was not able to be with us in person to experience the joy of his son being brought into this world (although, he was just as ecstatic as I'm sure he would have been had he been there physically).  These past few months have proven to be a little more difficult than I had expected. 

For years I was a single mom to five children, so when we found out that he was not going to be able to be here at the beginning of our son's life, I was not afraid.  After all, I had raised five children on my own already.  How difficult could it be this time around?  Little did I know!

I miss my husband greatly... far more than I could ever express in words on a blog.  While I am so thankful for our son being able to have "communication" with his Papi through Skype, it still is not the same as it would be were he here with us.  It breaks my heart every time Baby D does something new and his Papi isn't getting to see it and experience it with us.  I try to keep in mind that this really is such a small fraction of Baby D's life and Papi will be able to make up for it eventually, but there are times, like this week, that thought doesn't give me much comfort.  I want to be with my husband.  I want Baby D to be with his papi.  I want my daughters to have that father figure they have grown to love and trust. 

During these grey periods, all I have to hold on to is my love I have for my husband and my family; and most importantly, the faith that I have in God that somehow, someway this whole situation is going to work out and we are going to be together again.  

Baby On Board!!

I have decided that I really need to get me one of the "Baby On Board signs for my soccer mom minivan.

Let me shed some light on why the parents who have these signs are the ones who drive the craziest... They do not have these signs to simply be cute, nor are they attempting to tell you to be cautious on the road while they are taking their "joyride" with their little bundle of joy.  No, they are telling you to stay out of their way and don't do anything stupid, like cut them off, while they are driving with their little one who has been screaming in their ear since they got in the car and every nerve in their body is about to explode!  

I know this now because Baby "D" absolutely despises his car seat and hates actually riding in the car that much more.  This really stinks since I spend so much time driving all the other kids around.  There are some days I'm in the van at least 3 hours, and that's living in a little town where nothing is more than fifteen minutes away.  

The other day I was just trying to get back to work after spending my entire lunch break driving and listening to him scream so much his voice was cracking, when this lady pulls out in front of me and begins driving at least 5 miles below the speed limit.  I honestly felt like ramming into the back of her car (not that I would actually do that, it was just a thought).  

If I actually had one of these "warnings" it would be more like this:

So, the next time you see a mommy, or daddy, driving with their little sign, see it for what it really is... a warning! 

I Have An Addiction

I had every intention of writing at least one blog a week.  I really need to tune up my writing skills anyways so one post a week wouldn't be all that bad, except the wonderful (yet oh so distracting) blogger giveaways was introduced to me. 

It started as just a fun thing to do here and there, until one day I received the email.  Yep, I actually won one of the giveaways.  I couldn't believe this... I had never won anything before... well, at least not in a really really long time.  This encouraged me to enter more giveaways, and the BAM! another email that I won again!  That was twice I actually was chosen in these giveaways.  Now most people would have then gone and tried their luck at the lotto, but I knew better than to start expecting too much.  So, I just started entering more and more of these things.  I even made an Excel list so I could keep up with them and be sure to go back daily to earn the additional entries.  Needless to say, this began to take up a lot of my time.  I also haven't won anything else.

I finally have reached the place where I can admit I have a problem and that's the first step, right?  I still enter some of the giveaways, but I no longer obsess over it.  If I come across something I wouldn't mind having I will complete the entries and then move on from there.  It would be nice to get that email saying "Congratulations, you have won!" but not at the expense of me sitting in front of a computer all day filling out rafflecopter forms.

Have you ever found yourself with a silly "addiction" that was distracting you from life... and no Pintrest doesn't count.

Back To Work I Went

Unfortunately for me, I had to return to work just two weeks after having Baby D.  Don't get me wrong, I am more than happy that I have a job, and I am extremely thankful that I have been able to bring Baby D with me.  However, I have a tiredness that I haven't experienced in a really really long time.  


It's been nine years since my last baby, and boy have I forgotten what these little ones can do to you.  I keep thinking that one day I'm going to get to sleep enough to feel rested, but that hasn't happened yet.  


Poor little Baby D was also born with his tongue tied.  So unfortunately until I either get some money in my pocket or get him on insurance (which still requires money in my pocket) I can't get it clipped.  This means that he has to work so much harder to eat, therefore, wearing himself out and staying hungry almost all day long.  Trust me, I'd love to be able to do nothing all day but sit in the rocker and nurse him; however, that is not an option.  Thank God for all the little inventions they've come up with since I had my daughter nine years ago though.  I have this little pillow called "My Brest Friend" and I just strap that thing to me and nurse him at work.  When he falls asleep, he just lays on it until either I have to get up for some reason or if he wakes up and is ready to eat again.  I also have the "Moby" wrap so that I can just wear him around the office all day (which I also do at home and absolutely love this thing).  I still haven't been able to figure out how to nurse him in it, but at least it gives both of us the feeling like I'm holding him all the time.  After all, isn't that what we love so much about infants.

Well, he's stirring and probably wanting to eat again.  So, off to feed my little growing monkey boo.  

Just Getting Started

For quite awhile now my husband and I have talked about me starting a blog.  These past two years have entailed so many new adventures, passions, aggravations and so forth, that we thought it would be fun to put it down in writing.  So here it is, about 5 a.m. Sunday morning, I've been awake with my son for two hours so far, and what better time to begin writing a blog.

Given that my brain is not properly functioning at this time of the morning, especially without my coffee, I am just simply posting this first blog to "try it out".  So, nothing special in this posting :)