New Mamá in Spain

My New Blog

2010-08-12T02:05:00.005+02:00

As most of you know, I've become just a wee bit obsessed with photography (guilty as charged!) So, to honor my mania, I have started a new blog dedicated to my progression from total amateur to the future me - a total frakin' photo goddess who makes you weep with her amazing images.

Here is the link Birth of a Photographer

I hope to see you over there. I promise to share what I'm learning, although so far I haven't had enough time. But I will. Soon.

THE LIGHT WORKSHOP

2010-08-01T18:13:00.002+02:00

Ok, I have been dreaming of participating in this photography workshop and I've been given the GO AHEAD!!! Creative Light workshop It looks absolutely amazing, and I'm hoping to learn so much that I'll be pushed to the next level (whatever that is!). If you look at the gallery on her website, you can see why so many people want to get into her workshop! I hope I can!!! WISH ME LUCK!!!!!

Clickin Moms Scavenger Hunt

2010-07-15T00:54:00.006+02:00

The month of July has been deemed Scavenger Hunt month! We are right in the middle of the coolest scavenger hunt on www.clickinmoms.com, the photography website I'm a member of. Jenny, Marty, Alex, and I have been obsessed with crossing things off the ENORMOUS list. We already have about 130, but there are already some people with over 200!!! Tomorrow we are going to try to go to the center to get pictures of a garden gnome, a sno cone (we'll probably have to make this) the Main Street sign (I'm hoping they will count "calle alta" since it's the translation, and maybe, a lacrosse stick, if we're lucky!
These are some of my favorites.

A woman wearing a hard hat

A triple scoop ice cream cone

Two people eating spaghetti like on Lady and the Tramp

Here's a child splashing in a puddle (in Barcelona)

These are some of my favorites. The photos don't necessarily have to be GOOD. It's all about quantity with this contest. It's really been a blast for me, though. You all know how much I love games!

One Negative Post

2010-05-24T16:25:00.012+02:00

Bear with me. I need to vent. I posted as my Facebook status that I feel like the universe is conspiring against us and I just want to get out of here. I feel like Dorthy stuck in Oz. Where the heck are my ruby slippers?!

Anyway, here's the sitch: About a month ago we went to Madrid so Alex could apply for his immigrant visa to the US. We were feeling like the end was near - or rather, new beginnings were on the horizon. All we had to do was sell the café, complete the paperwork, and Voilá! Home again, home again jiggety jig!

Unfortunately things aren't turning out as we'd hoped. As most of you have heard, Spain's economic condition is dreary. Our café isn't doing well. None of the businesses in our area are doing well. Now to make matter's worse, there's an association of neighbors, (we'll call them the Neighbor's Association, just to be creative), has begun to cause problems for all of the bars and restaurants in our area.

Let me back up a bit here...

The Bohemian, our café, is smack dab in the middle of the university district. With the economic crisis, however, students can't afford to drink in bars, and they still live with their parents (yes, it's common to live with your parents until wedding bells ring), so house parties are out. What do they do instead? They drink in parks and parking lots. They're loud and messy and piss off a lot of people - especially the neighbors who live in poorly insulated apartment buildings of the 1970s. So now the Neighbor's Association has complained to the city hall who, in turn, have unleashed the police on us. Hey! What a great opportunity for the local police, whose funding has been cut, to earn some money! Fines fines and more fines!! We've already received two - one for closing a half an hour late (and really, who closes on time in Spain besides banks and public offices?!) and the other for playing music in our café (our license doesn't allow us to play music, but it's fine to sell loads of alcohol). And if that weren't enough to scare the hell our of us - two of the businesses on our street have been closed down.
It's also come out in the paper that the Neighbor's Association wants to shut down any business that is operating under a false license. We have a license for an ice cream parlor. We do sell milkshakes, ice cream sodas, coke floats and specialty coffees with ice cream, but we don't consider the café to be an ice cream parlor. If the local government decides to be sticklers, they can ruin us and a lot of other businesses in our area. Plus they're talking about changing the zoning laws. How can we sell the café if they decide to change the zoning laws and makes us close earlier? We make most of our money on the weekends between midnight and two. If we have to close at 12:30, what then?? We don't know what we're going to do. We're petrified.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know what's going on. Oh yeah. I also did a voice audition for a guide bus recording in Gandia. I didn't get it. I lost it to a girl with a slight speech impediment. I'm not feeling the love right now.

This experience has been an eye opener. No matter what anyone tells you, believe me, success is not achieved solely by working hard. This is a fallacy. I'm not being negative, just realistic. Of course this happens to some people in some cases, but we can't discount the element of pure luck. Alex has worked his butt off for the past four years trying to make this café successful, and it was. It was going exceptionally well. But then the world economy took a nose dive and this whole craziness with the neighbors ensued... it is out of our control. It's made me think about how quickly life can change and about the highs and lows and especially about how we need to refrain from judging those more or less "fortunate" than ourselves because those things can be so temporary.

Luck plays an enormously large part in success and failure in this world, so let's not beat ourselves up when we do fail. We just have to remember not to let it make us bitter or afraid to try again.

I apologize for this negative post. Things have been hitting us hard lately, but I am trying to stay positive about what lies ahead. Until then, I'll keep repeating "there's no place like home. There's no place like home...!"

Squeaker

2010-05-20T22:39:00.014+02:00

After my last post my dad pointed out that I seemed to have posted bazillions of pictures of Bella, and only a handful of Julietta. Touché, Papa. You are correct. Am I playing favorites? Moi? Certainly not I. But, I did come up with some very good excuses like: "She's an infant who's always sleeping", and - "She's partial to one position - horizontal - so all the shots of this two month stage are going to look exactly the same" (Remember I'm obsessed with photography at the moment). And when the truth finally came out: "how the heck am I supposed to chase Bella around and work on my photography while she's awake?" Well, I thought about the dilemma and turned it into a game(WAHOOO!), or a challenge if you will. I decided I'd better get my act together and start taking some cool pictures of Julietta too. We played make believe. I pretended to be a professional photographer and she was my model and we set up mock "shoots" - some on her changing table, some at the park, and some on our couch... Fun stuff. I know I made technical errors in quite a few of these, but I'm learning, little by little.

So, here is my little squeaker. I call her "Squeaker" because instead of the grunts that Bella used to make, she makes small squeaky sounds. She talks and coos and says things like "goo". She's become quite sociable lately which Bella absolutely adores because that means she has more time to read her books and lay her toys on top of her and Julietta just smiles at her big sister.

Now, remember, although she was my "model" she didn't pose for ANY of these shots. Seriously, I got absolutely NO help from her. I swear it looks like I did, though, doesn't it? Isn't she just the cutest?!

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I had to slip one in. She doesn't model either. I'm lucky if I can get her to look at the camera.
Alex was sleeping here. Otherwise he's the model in the family. I have another post with all the shots Alex posed for. He's a natural.
I know it looks like she's wearing lip gloss in this one. In a way she kind of was. It's called "drool" - nature's lip gloss.
So there you go. I hope I've done her justice. Who do you think she looks like? I'm not really sure. All I know is that she's beautiful inside and out.

A Month and a Half in Photos

2010-05-08T18:31:00.030+02:00

Hi, Friends. It's been a while since I last wrote. You wanna know why? Because being a mommy of two is tough stuff!! Bella is going through the prime tantrum-throwing stage. She's two and really good at it. Add that to Julietta's occasional incessant crying and that makes for an exhausted mommy who would rather veg out and stare at walls than think about writing and wrestling with technology. Luckily we all sleep pretty well at night.

I have been making sure to dedicate some time to my personal interests, otherwise I'm sure Alex would find me vegged out, rocking back and forth and babbling to myself in the corner somewhere. I've spent the past month completely obsessed with learning about photography, so I decided to do this post heavy on the visual and a lot lighter on the yammer (if I can contain myself, of course).

On March 31st Sweet Bella Lu (Squirty) turned two!!!! I was in denial and put only one candle on her cupcake.
/Bella%27s-2nd-Birthday-cupcake350.jpg">During a holiday here in Spain, we went to visit Alex's sister, Irene, in her monastery. This is when I started becoming more interest in learning more about photography. The pictures practically take themselves, it's such a beautiful atmosphere.

I thought this one looked almost biblical. In reality, Bella was throwing a tantrum and Irene was trying to console her.

We went on walks. LOOOONG walks with Alex's parents. Anything to get out of our house and let Bella run around!
We went to Viveros, one of my favorite parks in Valencia. I loved this shot so much in black and white, I entered it into a contest on the Clickin Moms website, and it came in second!!! (This is an awesome forum site for anyone interested in learning more about photography. THANKS, LEAH!!) I'm still glowing about that! We went to the park to blow bubbles. I have some hilarious shots of Bella throwing a fit because she wanted to blow the bubbles herself. She ended up with an empty container and a soapy mustache.
But she did have fun!
We played.
We found a new home for our cats, Ari and Gaia at Alex's friends house near Teruel. How perfect is this place for two cats on the prowl? Now, hopefully, our neighbors won't hate us so much.We walked around the surrounding towns, Mora de Rubielos AND Rubielos de Mora. Who can keep those straight??
We went to the park (yet again) to feed the ducks. Bella was a stinker, though, and ended up eating most of the bread.
One overly aggressive duck, didn't like that one bit and got a little too close for comfort.
We held, comforted and loved Julietta as much as we could.
Bella began learning how to push the stroller around by herself. Now we have to struggle with her every time we go out because she wants to do it BY HERSELF.Bella also has been taking care of her sister. She likes to undress her, poke her in the face, hold her hands and call her "Jayta", "Letta" and "Letita". It's cute, but I've got keep both eyes on her at all times. She just loves her so much.
Last weekend we went to Albacete, Paquita's family's hometown, for their annual festival. Unfortunately, it started pouring rain and we spent the rest of the day listening to Paquita give marital advice to her cousin's husband. Can you say "akward"?.
I managed to get a couple cute pictures of Bella while we were waiting for Jesus to open the car for us.
We also spent lots of time staring at cute little Ju Ju. She's starting to "talk" and it's the sweetest thing.
Most recently, we spent a day and a half in Madrid filing paperwork so Alex could get his visa. So far so good. We're on our way! The trip was extremely tiring for a little toddler. She was amazingly well-behaved while we waited and waited in the embassy.

But there were many moments like this:
We did manage to take a little break and have a gin and tonic at Parque Retiro amidst explosive poopy diapers and incessant crying. We were more than overjoyed to be back home on Wednesday night all snug in our beds enamored with the silence.

Mommy of Two

2010-03-23T00:24:00.017+01:00

Julietta in her bunny hat I made - 3 days old.

I haven't had much time to attend to my blog (or my emails or even Facebook!), but I know that you'd probably all like to see some picture of our new addition, so here you go.

Julietta is very different from Bella. She likes to be held ALL THE TIME. She eats constantly (when she's not sleeping). She cries a lot more as well, but I think that might have to do with her gassy tummy. Poor kid. We are tying some different remedies at the moment. It kills me when I see her little face all scrunched up in pain. She also sleeps pretty well at night, so luckily, I haven't been sleep deprived.

Julietta and her sister's hand about to poke her.

Trying to juggle both of my girls is pretty challenging, especially while Bella is going through this hypersensitive adjustment period where every little thing sets her off. A few nights ago I was talking to Jenny on Skype when Bella woke up. I had to bring Julietta up to Bella's room with me because she was awake and wouldn't let me put her down. As soon as Bella was nearly asleep, Julietta started crying which woke Bella up. Bella flipped out, ran into our bedroom and started screaming and crying. She didn't want to be near Julietta. When I finally got Julietta calmed down, I went into our bedroom to calm Bella. All was well. Bella was almost asleep in our big bed when Julietta started crying again. Again Bella freaked out, got up and ran into her room and started yelling "mama! No nos no nos!" (no nos is sleep in Valenciano). I couldn't get up and leave Julietta there because she would start crying, but I couldn't leave Bella on her own crying. See the dilemma? I fianlly decided to take both girls downstairs to call Alex and see if he would be able to come home early. He was busy, so that was out, but luckily Julietta fell asleep again, which meant I could take both of them up to bed quickly and try to get Bella back to sleep. I was surprisingly throughout the entire situation, but I guess that shows I'm learning how to deal little by little.

Bella at Fallas

Bella being her adorable self

Yesterday we took Julietta in for her 15 day check up. Since I didn't post her stats from birth, I'll post them all here.

Julietta's Stats:

Weight at birth: 3.1 kilos (6 pounds 13 ounces)
Weight yesterday: 3.6 kilos (7 pounds 14 ounces)

Length at birth: not completely clear. Apparently the measurement was wrong because she was SHORTER yesterday and we checked it twice...
I'll go with what the midwives measured her at: 51.5 centimeters (20.3 inches)
Length yesterday: (20.5 inches)

Julietta a few days ago

Oh yeah! And I haven't announced the winners of the birthday prediction post. No one guessed the date correctly, but I think the closest was Leah, who guessed March 3rd.

Here is the other info:
Birth Date: March 4th (Leah wins)
Time of Birth: 9:40 am (Hailey wins. She guessed 10:42 am)
Hours of Labor: 3am -9:40am 6 hours 40 minutes (Joyce wins. She guessed 7 hours)
Weight: 6 lbs, 13 oz (Jenny wins. She guessed 6 lbs, 11 oz)
Length: 20.3 inches (a lot of people win)
Hair? (Color and amount) a little bit of dark hair (Tammy and I win)
Dimples? no
Decibel Level when born (screaming, whimpering, crying, quiet...): quiet (Ayssa and Joyce win)

Alex and his girls

So, that's about it. We are trying to get back into a daily rhythm. I'm actually trying to make a schedule for Bella. I'm also back to meal planning (thanks for the inspiration, Michele!) We have big plans for Bella's first birthday which is next week. I will try to post as soon as possible with some cute pics that I'm destined to take.

Me and my sweet girls

Besides that, we are just trying to get used to being a family of four. I'm thinking I wouldn't mind being a family of six... I sure wish we had a housekeeper and cook right about now!!

Julietta yesterday

Julietta Skye

2010-03-07T22:27:00.030+01:00

One week ago, March 4th, my baby girl was born. I can't believe it's been a week. I can't believe the anticipation is over. I can't believe I made it through labor and I actually enjoyed the experience like I thought I would. Here is my story. It's long so take it slowly. Read it in bits if you need to. I wrote this for you, Julietta, so you will know how much I love you, and I wrote this for me, so I will never forget how strong I was on that day, and so I will always remember the small details of that incredible experience.

Last Pregnancy pic. 40 weeks to the day.

3 am Thursday morning I woke up with slight contractions. The second they started I knew that they were different from what had been experiencing before. They were more painful and lasted longer, and I immediately knew that it was the real thing. Bella had just climbed into bed with me and Alex had just got home, so I waited in bed while Bella fell back asleep and then made my way downstairs to make the announcement to Alex. I was feeling pretty wired and excited, but this wasn't the first time I had thought that I might be in labor so Alex was remarkably calm when he started timing my contractions while I tidyied up, put the champagne in the fridge to chill, took out the frozen cookie dough and put out the candles. Turns out the contractions were coming steadily - about every three to four minutes, but they weren't lasting more than 25 seconds. We decided to just pay attention and see if they progressed and I continued about my business, making the room comfy and calming, just in case.

Peaceful ambiance and an ENORMOUS pool.

Around 5am, the contractions started to get more painful and were consistently lasting around 30 seconds, so I called my midwife, Teresa, to let her know she would have to be calling in sick to work. I took this opportunity to send out a few text messages and to call my parents to let them know Baby Gouda was on her way.

By six o'clock Teresa and Sandra arrived together. It was obvious - I was definitely in labor. I was getting to the point of having to hum and make noise through the contractions. Teresa checked me and I was 3 centimeters dilated. "Only three centimeters?!" I said in disbelief. I found the most comfortable position for me was either to get on my hands and knees and lay my head against something, or lay up against the birthing ball. I had read a lot about getting through contractions and I knew that the more tense I got, the more painful the contractions would be. I tried to keep my body from clenching up and I knew that keeping my mouth relaxed was extremely important. The first contraction I had after Teresa and Sandra arrived was an indication for me of how this whole thing was going to go. One of them (I had my eyes closed) came up and, without saying a word, started massaging my back while I hummed my way through the pain. It was comfortable and soothing and I knew I had made the right choice being at home.

Teresa massaging my back

Labor is a pretty amusing situation. There are moments of excruciating pain - moments you don't know if you'll be able to make it through, and then, the pain goes away and you feel completely fine. It's so weird! One moment I was doubled over, making up chants and humming myself silly, the next minute I was up talking about what kind of juice I'd like to drink. In a pain-free moment, I felt the desire to go up and check on Bella. Of course, three minutes later, I was back on the birthing ball humming. At 6:30, though, she woke up and Alex brought her down all dressed and ready to go play with the Ya Yos. She was so excited. I'm sure she thought there a party going on. I was worried how she'd react to my next contraction (especially with all the noises I was making), but she was so calm! She even scratched my back and gave me kisses.My sweet girl talking me through the contractions

Soon after the Ya Yos came to get Bella, I started feeling nauseas. Now, I HATE throwing up, so I really tried to ignore the feeling and hoped it would just go away. No such luck. Minutes later there I was with my head deep inside the toilet, puking my guts out. Yuck! It was too stuffy inside for me after that, so we decided to get out of the house and take a little walk before all the neighbors woke up. Alex and I walked around the block and he held me and hugged me through the contractions. It was around 7:30. The sun was out. It was a beautiful day for our daughter to be born.

While on our walk it crossed my mind that I didn't know how much longer this pain was going to go on. There was a moment there when a slight wave of panic came over me and I imagined wonderful painkillers and numbing epidurals. It dawned on me how powerful fear can be during labor. If I didn't let the pain control me, it was manageable, but the moment I started thinking that I wouldn't be able to bear it, the moment I started worrying about two or four hours into the future and all the what ifs, I started to doubt myself and my determination began to wane. I decided then and there that I was going to take the pain, one contraction at a time.

From here on out, things get a bit fuzzy. I felt drugged, completely peaceful and "in a zone" between the pain. When they talk about labor being a natural high, I guess this is what they mean. Once at home again, I labored for a while on my birthing ball and then eventually, apparently around 8:30, I made a b-line for the pool. Teresa checked me again and I was at 6 centimeters. This is when I finally understood about the notorious "pain of labor". Ouch!Sandra taking care of me in the birthing pool

At this point the contractions became extremely strong. I was lucky to have someone there holding my hand or pouring warm water over me. I especially remember Alex there, holding me and letting me squeeze his hand or gnaw at his shoulder to get through the contractions. There were still spaces between the contractions and I remember thinking that I still had a long way to go until I hit transition. I didn't think I'd be able to make it, the pain was especially intense and I couldn't help but push toward the end of each contraction. This scared me because I knew I couldn't possibly be completely dilated if the contractions weren't one ontop of the other.

Getting through the pain

All of a sudden, though, I was hit with a mixture of uncomfortable pain and the undeniable urge to push. I started moving around wildly in the pool, and moaning... and wondering if the neighbors could hear me. I was LOUD! When Teresa and Sandra hurried over, I calmed down. They were completely relaxed and never once told me what to do. They trusted that I already knew, so I just did what was natural and began pushing. I think I pushed through about two contractions when Teresa told me reach down and feel the baby's head. What a surreal moment! It gave me the motivation I needed to push her the rest of the way out, which I did in about two more pushes. And then the most incredible feeling in the world - freedom from pain and an instant rush of love that swept over me. This was the moment I has missed with my last labor and delivery. This was the moment that made all the pain worth it - that affirmed I could do anything. This was my moment. I looked down and saw this tiny white body in the water, and then she was in my arms. Julietta Skye was here and I loved her instantly.

My incredible moment

All I could do was kiss her and say "is she ok?" over and over and over. She didn't cry. She just held me and looked around a bit. Teresa kept saying "she's PERFECT!".

Alex and I amazed

When I got out of the pool so Teresa could deliver the placenta, she checked me and saw that I hadn't torn at all. No stitches needed. After birth pains were seriously painful, though!

We love her so much

After marveling over our sweet baby for about an hour, Alex, Julietta and I made our way upstairs to rest in bed. Julietta had started breastfeeding without any problems and now it was time for all of us to sleep. I slept for maybe an hour and then had to alert the rest of the world about the arrival of our little miracle. We called Paquita and Jesus and told them to bring Arabella to meet her sister.

Beautiful Julietta Skye

I had made her a Big Sis crown that she was wearing when she walked in the door. She walked right up to her little sister and said "upa mama" which meant she wanted to hold her. I put her in her lap and she looked at her in awe. It was amazing to see. She knew exactly how to hold her and how to touch her gently.

Bella holding Julietta. What a lucky girl to have such an amazing big sister.

While I was pregnant we read the book "We have a Baby!" over and over. It goes like this: "We have a baby... a baby to hold, a baby to kiss, a baby to take care of, a baby to love..." and then the very last line is "a baby who loves us". While Bella was holding her little sister, she looked up at me and said, "US". I nearly burst into tears.

My sweet girl in her Big Sis crown

And now we are a family of four. So far it has been easy since Alex was off for a week and so was Paquita. We're getting initiated into reality now, though, and I'm a bit nervous to tell you the truth... but I'm still on a high. I'm still so happy to be the proud mommy of two beautiful, amazing girls who I love fiercely. God, I love my family. I feel so blessed.

Waiting

2010-02-28T13:44:00.014+01:00

I was so positive that this baby was coming early. I thought that she would DEFINITELY be here by the 21st. I had contractions during the 36th week, and was worried I wouldn't even make it to 37 (which would mean NO HOMEBIRTH). Well, week 37 came and went without any signs of labor. Once we got to 38, I was absolutely sure she would be here any day. I even insisted that we set up the enormous inflatable jacuzzi in our living room that we had borrowed, thinking it was a birthing pool, and fill it up. That didn't work out as planned. As I was filling it up, I went over to check on it and found water all over the parquet floor, inching dangerously close to our wedding album and Alex's guitar. That was a chaotic moment of me racing around like a maniac, trying to figure out where the water was leaking from, jumping up to turn off the hose that was filling up the pool, and trying to save all the other stuff that was left on the floor.

After the excitement, we left it a few days, took a little dip in it, and then realized that the filter was leaking, which lead us to the realization that there was water underneath the pool and it was warping the floor (despite the fact that we had laid plastic underneath it to prevent precisely this type of disaster). This left us no choice but to drain it, clean it, and leave it propped on it's side to allow the floors to dry. In the meantime, the cats peed on the rug and we broke one of our lamps while trying to re-inflate the pool. It would have cost a lot less if we had just bought a birthing pool!

On top of all the pool drama, I was an emotional wreck last week. I kept pleading with Baby Gouda to come before my midwife,Teresa, left for a midwifery convention in the Canary Islands. Every little twitch I felt, I hoped was the onset of labor. The very fact that I was an emotional wreck made me think I was close! At the beginning of the week I was confident she would be here before Teresa left on the 25th. By Wednesday, though, I started worrying. I took walks, ate pineapple, ate spicy food, drank hot chocolate, even ate a bunch of dried apricots thinking that would "move things along" but all to no avail. I kept hoping I'd wake up with contractions or my water would break, but nope. Nothing. Nothing at all. This just added to my overly-emotional state. When I awoke on Thursday morning, though, I was calm once again. Teresa was gone and there was nothing I could do, so there was nothing left to worry about.

Now with the full moon, I'm just hoping that she holds out until tomorrow after 10pm when Teresa gets back. I do have another midwife, and a substitute for Teresa in case I go into labor before she gets back, but I just LOVE this woman! She comes over to do reflexology on my feet, and give me massages and check the baby's heart rate and check my blood pressure. Sometimes she comes over just to chat. She even called me from the Canary Islands just to see how I'm doing. She just HAS to be there for this baby's birth!!!

Here are some of the pictures we took this past week on some of our walks. Of course they are mostly of Bella, playing and riding her tricycle. While waiting, I've been focusing on the last few days that Bella will be an only child and giving her lots of extra squeezes and kisses. We talk a lot about her being a big sister, and I think she's ready. When we talk about her, she calls her by name, she calls her "bebe" and "mana" (hermana) and she knows that when her sister's born, we will eat cookies to celebrate her birthday. She's so eager for those cookies, the first words out of her mouth this morning were "cookies bon mana" (cookies born sister).

The last two weeks have been extremely challenging for me, but I've made it through, and now find it hard to believe that at some point, this annoying false labor that I've been having the past few nights will lead to the REAL thing! I'm not good at waiting. I've never been good at it. Perhaps my new daughter is already teaching me a thing or two about life.

Pregnancy Pics

2010-02-13T19:55:00.011+01:00

I've been harping on Alex throughout this entire pregnancy to take pictures of me and my belly or else Baby Gouda is going to feel completely unloved. I finally convinced him to go to the riverbed that runs through Valencia with me last weekend and take some pictures. Here they are. Enjoy!

Ok, this one isn't of me, but she's so darn cute, I had to put it in!

The Things We've Handed Down

2010-02-11T21:36:00.005+01:00

I first heard this song while I was in high school, waiting for a ferry. I fell in love with it the moment I listened to the lyrics. I think it beautifully describes that longing all parents feel to meet these little souls that we wait nine months for.

The Things We've Handed Down

By Marc Cohn

Don't know much about you
Don't know who you are
We've been doing fine without you
But, we could only go so far
Don't know why you chose us
Were you watching from above
Is there someone there that knows us
Said we'd give you all our love

Will you laugh just like your mother
Will you sigh like your old man
Will some things skip a generation
Like I've heard they often can
Are you a poet or a dancer
A devil or a clown
Or a strange new combination of
The things we've handed down

I wonder who you'll look like
Will your hair fall down in curls
Will you be a mama's boy
Or daddy's little girl
Will you be a sad reminder
Of what's been lost along the way
Maybe you can help me find her
In the things you do and say

And these things that we have given you
They are not so easily found
But you can thank us later
For the things we've handed down

You may not always be so grateful
For the way that you were made
Some feature of your father's
That you'd gladly sell or trade
And one day you may look at us
And say that you were cursed
But over time that line has been
Extremely well rehearsed
By our fathers, and their fathers
In some old and distant town
From places no one here remembers
Come the things we've handed down

A Beautiful, Bitter-Sweet Birth Story

2010-02-07T12:56:00.004+01:00

I read this last night and found it truly moving. It will probably make you cry, but not in a depressing sort of way. It's sad in a way that we can all relate to... when our expectations are not met with a corresponding reality. Check it out. It's worth it.

http://enjoyingthesmallthings.blogspot.com/2010/01/nella-cordelia-birth-story.html

Birthday Predictions

2010-01-31T19:52:00.005+01:00

When I was pregnant with Bella, my vbff in the www (not the world wide web), Hailey, knew I wasn't going to get any pre-baby attention with a baby shower here, so being the amazing person she is, she made me the coolest web-shower in the universe, complete with fun games. I absolutely loved it. This time around I'd like to use one of those games and play it on my blog, if you're all up for it. It was the birthday prediction game, and it was so much fun. What you need to do is copy and paste the list below and fill it out in the comment section. Hailey made all the webshower activities into this really cool book so I can look at it any time I want, and I'd like to do something special for this baby too. I'd feel really bad if she were born, and we didn't celebrate her in any way beforehand.

Will you play with me? If you win, you get to be The WINNER! Joyce was the winner last time. I came in second, guessing that she'd be born on April 1st (she was born March 31st). I wonder if my intuition will be right this time...

OH! I'm due on March 4th (THANKS RORY, I completely forgot that important bit of info!) . And just fyi... Last time I was due on April 15th. Bella came two weeks early.

Predictions
Birth Date:
Time of Birth:
Hours of Labor:
Weight:
Length:
Hair? (Color and amount)
Dimples?
Decibel Level when born (screaming, whimpering, crying, quiet...):

Giving Birth

2010-01-22T23:50:00.007+01:00

Giving birth is probably the most amazing experience we undergo as women. How much cooler does it get than bringing another human being into this world? I've thought about my ideal birthing experience countless times since I got pregnant the first time, and although it was incredible seeing my daughter for the very first time, I would not categorize my first labor and delivery experience as "ideal". It may have been for the harsh lecture we got from the midwife upon arrival to the hospital which turned things sour. Or perhaps it was the way that, even though I wanted a natural birth, I ended up with every intervention imaginable, from the pitocin drip to being hooked up to the fetal monitor to the midwife breaking my water, to the epidural that had to be administered twice that made it less than perfect. Granted, I had already decided to surrender myself to the interventions so that the day would go smoothly and Bella would be born into a calm and peaceful environment, but that idea quickly went to pot when the midwife woudn't stop interrogating us about why we had taken so long to arrive. The icing on the cake was when the midwife sent Alex to collect the crib and eat some breakfast, then 10 minutes later told me the baby was coming RIGHT THEN and that we needed to call him YA!. Um... Yeah... Remembering phone numbers and speaking Spanish were the last thing on my mind. Since we couldn't contact Alex, the midwife took to criticizing him. She couldn't imagine where he could possibly be. So then, instead of focusing on what was happening (I was minutes away from giving birth!), all I could think was, "Alex, you're going to miss this!" and "Shut up you old hag!" Luckily he came just in time, and beautiful, conehead Bella was born. All the arguments and unpleasantness melted away as we watched the delivery team wash her and weigh her and test her. They didn't really let me hold her until we were back in our room and even then the nurse tried to make me wait for another half an hour while her body heated up with the help of a hot water bottle. (The second the nurse left, we grabbed her and held her close, and hardly ever put her back in her crib again!)

This time around, I have decided not to leave myself to the mercy of the doctors. I've wanted a natural birth since I first got pregnant, and darnit! that's what I'm going to get. Unfortunately, it's not easy to get that here. The only birthing center is about an hour away and it's ridiculously expensive if your private insurance doesn't cover it (which mine didn't). Hospitals are just learning the protocols on how to let women birth naturally, so most of the time you'll end up sitting hooked up to a fetal monitor with midwives and nurses walking in and out of your room constantly. So, we've opted for a homebirth, which, by the way, is not something you talk about freely here. Most young to middle aged people have no idea about birthing and think that it is an illness - something that needs to be medically monitored or else all hell breaks loose. I've done massive research on the subject and know that's not true, and that, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Journal in September 2009, homebirths are just as safe, if not safer than hospital births. This isn't the only study you'll find that supports this statement. If you start looking into it, you'll be overwhelmed with all the information you can find. I am so facinated by the entire subject, and think that if I were to choose a new career for myself, I'd be a midwife (but I'd probably only work in birthing centers, just for the stability of it all).Of course there are always those freak incidences where all hell does break loose, which is why I'm happy to have found two highly trained midwives, Teresa and Sandra, who will be attending the birth, and we, of course, have our back-up emergency plan. These two women are AMAZING! It was the first time I had sat down and talked to two professionals about birthing and felt completely understood and supported and most importantly - relaxed. It was such a different feeling than with my OBGYN who told me I had to quit breastfeeding to get pregnant and then two months later when I was still breastfeeding and pregnant didn't believe me and actually said something to the effect of, "well, WE'LL SEE if this baby makes it" (like breastfeeding was putting my baby at risk). AAAARGH!!!

I am ecstatic that I'm going to get the birthing experience that I've been hoping for. I am reading "Hypnobirthing" at the moment and trying to remember all the advice I got from watching "The Business of Being Born" and from reading the amazing Ina May Gaskin who is basically the guru of birthing, in my opinion. I'm down to 4-6 weeks left before this little baby makes her appearance. I'm still freakin' out , but I'm also so anxious to meet her! Think good thoughts for us. I have no doubt that things will go well, but receiving a little extra love never hurt anyone! ;-)

Fears of Being a Mommy of Two

2010-01-05T00:49:00.008+01:00

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I can't believe we're already in January. Time is flying. I'm nearly 32 weeks pregnant. Bella was born two weeks early, which means this baby could be here in a little over six weeks if things are at all similar to my last pregnancy. Can you say "SCARY"?!!

With the last pregnancy, I wasn't nervous at all about the prospect of having a baby. I was thrilled. I was prepared, and when Bella was born, it just felt like a natural transition. This time, though, I'm petrified. Trying to get both babies to sleep on my own, being by myself most of the time with two little ones, not having a car and being stuck outside of the city... These are all daunting challenges that lie ahead. What's really been on my mind, however, is how is my little Baby Bella going to handle all of this and will I be as good of a mom to Baby #2 as I am to Bella? I spend most of my time with my little girl. She is my world. She is my life. How will she take it when I have to divide my attention between her and another little person? Will she feel betrayed? Will it hurt her little heart? Will she throw more fits? Will she withdraw, or maybe she'll just want to be my little helper and fall in love with her sister at first glance (I hope I hope I hope). Then I worry about Baby #2. I know I won't be able to give her nearly as much attention as I have given Bella, and I know she will be fine, but what really boggles my mind is how am I going to love anything as much as I love Bella? How is that humanely possible? I know it is. I know parents love all of their children equally (or at least, that's what I've been lead to believe, even though I know I'm my mom's favorite ;-)), but it's just unimaginable for me.So, for those of you that have already been gone through this situation, how did you get through it and do you have any tips for making the transition easier on the first born and on a really sensitive mommy? I know we'll get through this, but I have to admit that the entire thing is a big mystery to me - one that will only make sense after it all transpires.

Christmas Presents

2009-12-23T23:32:00.013+01:00

This Christmas I couldn't think of anything Bella really needed toy-wise. Since we are moving soon, and she has tons of blocks, a couple dolls and lots of other odds and ends, I decided to buy some wool felt and MAKE her Christmas presents. We bought her the books "Where the Wild Things are" and "Fancy Nancy Spendiferous Christmas", and Alex and I made her everything else (of course I had to buy the wool felt which is quite expensive).

Here's what I came up with:

Felt Fruit. I had to buy a pattern for the oranges and banana. It was a lot more complicated than it looked! Anyway, I thought Bella would get a kick out of these.
A warm winter hat. 100% merino wool, oh so soft! I'm also making an itty bitty one for Gouda.
Felted wool balls and a pom pom chick, made with love, by Alex.

And, lastly, my very favorite...
Mr. Potato Head!!!, made of 100% wool felt, and stuffed with wool.And we have the female version.

And here it is bare naked. All of the pieces can be attached with Velcro, and when they aren't being used, they can be stored in this handy dandy little pouch in back:
Sadly, I can't take credit for this idea. I found it on this amazing website.
Now, this girl has some talent. I start drooling when I look at all of her ingenious projects.

So there you have it. I hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I wish I could be there to partake in the festivities, but I'll be there in spirit. I can't wait to hear about all your fun Christmas adventures. Sending you all lots of love and big big hugs!
Love, Sarah

Interactive Christmas Scene

2009-12-22T23:17:00.005+01:00

Sorry for the posting delay. Bella was sick for over a week with a high temperature, lots of snot, an ear infection. It was not fun. Between that and making most of my Christmas presents this year, I haven't had time to mess around with my blog, but fear not! As I'm sure you've all been at the edge of your seats waiting for me to post pictures of my latest craft project, I have taken a few minutes away from Bella's Christmas presents to post. (she's been completely spoiled by all her grandparents and ya-yos, so don't worry. She won't go without! )

Now, my loyal readers, take a deep breath, for the time has come...

This was my very first sewing project. I wanted to make an interactive Christmas decoration for Bella (and Gouda) that we could take out every year. I also find it appealing to act as a reminder of how much my sewing will have progressed. I'll be able to look at it and say, "wow, I've really improved as a seamstress", because really, there is no other way I can go! ;-)
Anyway, I came up with a typical Christmas scene but with removable parts that could be re-attached with velcro.

We have the Christmas tree with the ornaments and the Christmas presents underneath. (Sewing tiny little circles was tough work!)
The fireplace with the fire, the stockings, the wreath, and in front - the rug with the rocking chair and kitty cat (and Santa's arm). Alex used Ari as his kitty cat model.And this is what it looks like when it's all together.

Anyway, I wish I had a picture of Bella playing with it. She loves it. She also loves to take the pieces and hide them in places like the air purifier and her mouth.

Next I'll post some pictures of Bella's Christmas presents... if I can find a minute or two tomorrow!!

Fatten up that Turkey

2009-12-02T22:00:00.013+01:00

Ok, yes I know I'm a bit late. Thanksgiving was a week ago, but we didn't celebrate it until Sunday here, so it's cool. Plus, I've been super busy with my toddler who doesn't stop getting into things unless she's sleeping (Thank god for long naps and bedtime!). My English classes have also been keeping me busy now that I'm working on Saturdays atCHEERS!

Cambride House English School and also doing an intensive course with this fun young couple who are going to Miami for a few months. Then after I put Bella down and eat my dinner, I try to squeeze in a couple hours for my arts and crafts. I made Bella a little Christmas toy/decoration that is beyond cute, but I still have to add the finishing touches and viola! I'll post it here. It was my first attempt at using my sewing machine, and it shows, but I still love it.Thanksgiving was fantastic. Hailey shared the recipe that she was using with me and I made either the best or the second best Turkey I've ever made (I can't remember the first one I made perfectly, so it's a toss up between the two). I also made pumpkin pie from scratch which was a first for me. I've never made any pie before that I can recall, so I was pretty proud about how it came out. MMMMM! I have to confess that I've also done an absurd amount of baking lately, and I'm finally going to admit that those 7 pounds I gained last month, can safely be attributed to all that heavenly, chocolately goodness. Take a look at these amazing brownie-cookies. YUM! A brownie by any other name… | King Arthur Flour - Bakers’ Banter "Whoa! Where did you come from?!"

Other than that, Baby Gouda has been dancing and doing flips constantly. I don't remember Bella being so active. GOD HELP ME. At first I was hoping for an Aquarius, but they seem kind of hyper. Now I think I'd absolutely love a Pisces. They're more laid back and dreamy, apparently! Anyway, Baby Gouda seems to move a lot when Bella sings. Did I mention that Bella sings? She does - she makes up her own lyrics to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", and keeps close to in key. I love this kid.So there you have it - a lot of excuses for not posting more regularly, a few belly pics and a brief summary of our Thanksgiving. Oh yeah, I forgot about my burn... That's sort of healing. I'm afraid I'm going to have a huge scar. I should take a picture of it. I'm sure you'd all love to see it! ;-)

"You're Like a Sunny Day"

2009-11-18T17:12:00.007+01:00

A few days ago I was chatting with an old (completely platonic) friend from college on Facebook. We hadn't spoken in ages, so I was ready for basic chit-chat when out of nowhere he said, "I miss your spirit. You're like a sunny day". I smiled and thanked him for the compliment, but added that I felt a lot of it had been sucked out of me. Truth be told, it often makes me sad when I think about where my free-spirited, happy-go lucky self has gone to. It's actually something I think about quite often these days, and the only thing that usually keeps me afloat is reminding myself that I will be home soon. Anyway, instead of just brushing off this self-depreciating comment, he went on to tell me that my spirit was strong and that in college he had always liked to be around me because he got a bit of "what I was giving off." He even confessed that he had used me as an example in a speech he had given, complete with a picture of me smiling!!! (And my friend, if you read this, I hope you don't mind me sharing it!!!)

As I read his words, tears began welling up in my eyes. Not only was it one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to me, it was completely out of the blue and superfluous. I had no idea I had affected him in this way at all. He could have lived the rest of his life without me ever knowing the impact I had made on him and I never would have been the wiser. But he chose to tell me. One simple little comment, truly made my year and gave me the inspiration I needed to keep going and fighting against the complete suckage of my spirit. He reminded me that somewhere out there people do care about me and I do make a difference in their lives.

In the past few month some of us have brushed elbows with death. It has come creepin' in close to us or into our loved-ones lives. Looking at all of these incidences together, I have begun to feel much more thankful for what I do have in my life, and have tried to stop thinking about all that lacks, especially in a time of such widespread misfortune. It has also been a big reminder for me to take a few moments and share my feelings of love and gratitude with those people who have touched me during my life. I know that you've all heard this quote, but I love it and think it properly sums up the point I'm trying to express:

“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.”
-Brandi Snyder

My friend gave me so much more than I'm sure he even realized with our Facebook chat. He was self-less and giving, and I think we could all stand to be a little more like him - not because we should, it being the holiday season and all, but because we can.

Disciplining My Daughter

2009-11-10T21:17:00.007+01:00

Discipline has always been a hot spot for me. While I was teaching, it was the one thing I constantly tried to tweak and I felt like a miserable failure half the time. I've always found it very confusing, trying to find that middle ground between being too authoritative and being too lenient. I wanted the kids to listen to me and behave, but I also want them to think for themselves, have a healthy self-esteem and make decisions for the intrinsic benefit rather than doing it solely for praise or rewards. Finding a way to do this, though, is NOT an easy task! I have to admit, while I was teaching, I fell back on rewards and excessive praise because it was better than yelling and saying "no" constantly, but in the back of my mind, I knew that I was essentially resorting to bribery for a short-term fix. The kids were not behaving because it was the right thing to do to keep the classroom functioning peacefully. They were doing it because they wanted a prize from the butterfly box!!

Now my own precious daughter has entered the toddler stage of tantrums and fits and I was caught off guard. I thought that started in the twos and threes. Isn't it too early for her to think for herself?! I didn't really know how to react, so of course, I went and bought about five books on the subject. (Ok, I have to admit I am a complete geek when it comes to parenting books. I have a shelf full of them, and I've actually read the majority of them. I was a big self-help nerd before this, so I'm not straying very far here.) Among them, I found my salvation in a book called "Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline" by Becky Bailey. If it were for the title alone, I never would have bought the book. Seven steps??! Could it get any more cliché? It seemed a bit cheesy, and geared toward real problem children, but I found it recommended on the Mothering.com forum website and then was impressed by the rave reviews. And now, every page I turn, impresses me more.
This lady has basically taken all of the discipline techniques I like, but always found incomplete (positive discipline, logical consequences, modeling appropriate behavior, intrinsic instead of extrinsic rewards...etc) and has put them together logically and in a way that actually makes sense. It's taking me some time to adjust, but I'm getting there.

I'd like to share one example that I found really eye-opening with you.

She offers the story of a little boy at his fifth birthday. He has four friends over for the party and his mom comes out with five cupcakes to share between them. The birthday boy immediately goes and grabs the entire plate and havoc, obviously, ensues. His friends get angry, the moms are giving him dirty looks and his own mother comes up, looking disappointed and embarrassed and says, "You don't need all those cupcakes. You have to share them." The boy holds on even tighter, so his mom goes on "In our house we aren't selfish. We share." He looks at her angrily and takes a step back with the plate of cupcakes, so she continues and tells him that he'll have to go to his room at his own birthday party if he can't cooperate... etc. It ends in disaster. He tries to get away from his mom with the cupcakes, they fall to the floor, he is devastated, she sends him to his room. Bad situation all around.

According to the author, the initial problem here was how the mother automatically assumed her son was trying to be selfish and take all the cupcakes for himself. Bailey talks about how most of us typically assume negative intent when our kids (or even strangers) do something wrong. (For example, a guy cuts us off, he's a thoughtless jerk. The cashier at the grocery store hardly even looks at us - she is just a bitch with no social skills. Your daughter pulls the cat's tale, she's cruel and insensitive... etc). We don't KNOW why people do the things they do unless we ask them. Young children are not able to articulate the motivation behind their actions, anyway, so instead of assuming negative intent, why not just assume it was positive? In essence, we're doing the exact same thing. We can't KNOW why, so why not just assume they have the best of all possible intentions?

When this mother approached her son, she could have just as easily said, "You are afraid that there won't be enough cupcakes for everyone and you want to make sure you get one. You want to have the best birthday ever, and I want you to as well, so let's make sure everyone gets a cupcake and has a good time. There's more than enough for all of us." Here she establishes a sense of trust with her child, meaning he doesn't need to react defensively. When we immediately assume the worst, our children have got to fess up to our accusations, even if they are incorrect. In this example, the boy would have had to admit that he was being thoughtless and selfish if he had returned the cupcakes to his mother.

I thought that was ingenious. It was a totally different way of looking at things. It hasn't been an automatic change because I'm used to just saying "No! You can't do that. You have to do this..." etc. But It really gave me something to think about, and I'm already seeing positive results with Bella. She seems much calmer and happier and has had less fits in the past few days. It's much more time-consuming at the moment, but the thought is that it will require less intervention in the future.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who deals with children on a regular basis. It's not an easy fix, but let's face it, easy fixes don't really exist anyway. Her methods aren't only beneficial to your relationship with children, but for all of the relationships you have in your life. Seriously, I could almost call this book "life altering" if I wanted to surrender and let my cheesiness take over.

Being a toddler has got to be difficult. They are establishing a sense of self - becoming separate beings from their parents. They can't express themselves the way we can, and they don't know how to react to situations when they don't get what they want. It's all very frustrating. Being a parent and not knowing how to react is also frustrating. Having some tricks up my sleeve is definitely helping t0 alleviate some of these situations.

Would a Rose by any Other Name Smell as Sweet?

2009-10-19T16:19:00.011+02:00

It's now time to start the name game - the process of finding that perfect name for your little baby, the name you absolutely adore, only to have your husband toss it out like old stinky cheese, simply because he once knew a girl with that same name who, unfortunately, was a filthy tramp. Aaagh! Deflated.

Luckily, "Arabella" isn't a common name that carries a lot of baggage.

Isn't it funny how names are so much more than just a few letters put together to make a pretty sound? They usually come with personalities attached to them, and those personalities are different for each person. Take the name "Stephanie", for example. I could never give my daughter that name because of the little second grade Stephanie with the messy hair who always tucked her skirt into her tights, and went around like that all day long. I don't think she was very nice either, come to think of it. Now on the other hand, Alex might have known the sweetest girl alive named Stephanie, but there's no way in hell he'd ever get that name past me. In my mind, she'll always be that unkept little girl climbing around on chairs showing her underwear to the world.

What happens when parents finally get through all the back and forth of finally settling on a name? Why, you want to tell the world, of course. HOORAY! you've finally found that perfect name for this perfect little person that you will soon meet on that perfect day in the not-so-distant future. So you eagerly tell your mother-in-law only to find her reaction less than enthusiastic. What? There's a girl on a soap opera you watch with that exact same name, and she's overbearing, dishonest and to put it bluntly, a real bitch?! Fantastic. Thinking you'll get a better reaction from someone else, you tell a close friend and you get the telling pause and then "Oh... that's different." or "nice" or, even worse, "huh." - no reaction at all.

What are we looking for when we share the baby's name with our friends and family? We are looking for them to be overjoyed and amazed by the beauty, just like we are. We want them to say things like "Wow! That's the most beautiful name I've ever heard!" or " I LOVE IT!", but of course, as I said before, we all attribute certain qualities to a name, and have no control over our reaction to it. Unfortunately, due to these unsought after reactions, we start doubting the brilliance of the name, and sometimes the name loses it's shiny glow and becomes a cold lump of poo. Undesirable -just like Stephanie.We were lucky that most people adored the name "Arabella", but there were a few people who waited to tell us that they didn't really like it until AFTER she was born.

That is why, my loved ones, despite my overflowing excitement to share this name that we love so much, we are going to wait to surprise you all with this perfect name until our perfect little angel is born. I will give you a few hints, just because I love games so much:

The name is just as beautiful as "Arabella" and just as unusual.
It's Spanish but has its English and French equivalents.
It also ends in 'a'
There's one more clue in this post, but I won't tell you what it is!

So, have fun, and enjoy the wait! I actually love it when couples decided to wait to announce the name because it adds an element of surprise to the birth. We've taken out the gender surprise, so now we have the name surprise! I hope you all feel the same way.

Love, Sarah

Surprise Surprise!

2009-10-15T15:17:00.002+02:00

It's a girl!

I'm still in shock, but ecstatic!! Sisters. This is going to be so much fun!!!

Place Your Bets

2009-10-13T20:48:00.005+02:00

19 weeks with a little bump.

All right folks, so the time has FINALLY come to find out if we're having a boy of a girl. This Thursday at 11:00 am I'll be 20 weeks pregnant and looking at our new little bundle LIVE! For those of you who still keep up with my blog, I thought it would be fun to see what your predictions are, and then we can see who was right and I'll be able to keep this forever and eva!

I'm thinking it's a boy for these reasons:

This time I had morning sickness, and with Bella NADA.
This time my face is breaking out NON-STOP and with Bella it cleared up.
This time my ass is half the size it was with Bella at 20 weeks and I've hardly gained any weight.

I guess that's it. Basically this pregnancy is different, so I just think boy. What are your guesses??

Before I was a Mom

2009-10-10T17:13:00.000+02:00

Looking back at my pre-mommy self, I find some parts hard to recognize. I have done so many things differently than I thought I would. I suppose I was quite ignorant about being a parent before becoming one, at least about all tricky bits like how hard bedtime can be and that teething and colds can turn your sweet little angel child into a relentless terror and that when a child is willful, your way may not always be the ONLY way. I remember looking at some parenting techniques and thinking "Jeez! That's crazy. I'd NEVER do that." I imagined myself stricter and sterner than I'm turning out to be. I imagined I'd be tougher. I imagined my children would all turn out to be little saints. Isn't that a laugh?!

Bella giving me kisses

I remember when I was at Tammy's pre-wedding party, pregnant and chatting with the girls, I said something really negative and snotty about co-sleeping, about how I wouldn't be caught dead with my baby in my bed. Two years later, I can't imagine not sleeping with Bella, and am aching inside at the prospect of moving her into her own bed. It has been such a bonding experience for us. Sometimes in the middle of the night, she wakes up and makes a "mmmmmm" sound and puckers her lips - the cue for me to give her a kiss. She also loves to rub my arms and sometimes she hugs them. When she wakes up she is always so happy, she gets up and brings me my shoes and tries to put them on my feet, which immediately gives me the energy I need to get out of bed.

Bella running around at the airport without pants on (she threw up on her dress and we had packed all her clothes)

It's amazing just how much being a mother has changed me. It's changed the way I look at life. It's certainly changed my emotional breakdown threshold (I seem to cry at everything these days). Most importantly, though, it's changed the way I think. I used to see things in black and white. If I didn't understand something, I'd write it off as "strange" or "crazy" and sometimes even "wrong". Take, for example, my initial judgment of Waldorf education... When I was teaching kindergarten In Pacific Grove, Ca, we shared our campus with a Waldorf school. I thought they were a bunch of wackos who irresponsibly let the children play all day long in an unstructured environment, and wouldn't allow them to read until they were in the second grade. It just seemed wrong and against everything that I'd been taught. It wasn't until I started looking into natural toys as an alternative to all the plastic crap that breaks in two seconds these days, that I came across Waldorf again, and this time I fell in love with certain facets of the philosophy.

In a small village in Mallorca for our anniversary.

Now after changing my opinion about so many aspects of parenting and child rearing, I no longer see things so clearly. I have, however, dedicated myself to learning as much as possible during this lifetime. When I don't understand why someone chooses a certain strategy which seems weird to me, I try to learn more about it. Maybe I won't choose the same things, but at least I will understand the reasoning behind them and I'll be able to accept most things without having to label them as "right" and "wrong".

I think that's what they call "tolerance", isn't it? Boy, I really feel like I'm growing. ;-)

My Little Flamenca

2009-09-03T21:02:00.009+02:00

Recently my in-laws went on a trip to Andalusia and, of course, couldn't leave without picking up a red and white polka dotted flamenco dress for Arabella. When she'll wear it, I have no idea. She looks like a huge cupcake in it, but I have to admit, it's adorable, not to mention traditional.

Anyway, a few days ago, Paquita came over hardly able to contain herself. She had found the matching shoes!!! At first they kind of freaked me out. They look like ruby slippers, only they don't sparkle, and are two sizes two big for her, but they do have heels!! Granted, they are only slight heels, and they're fairly thick - ideal for dancing flamenco - but for a 17 month-old, I don't know, doesn't it just seem weird to put her in heels? What I didn't realize then was that these are magic heels. The second Bella put them on, her feet took off, and she didn't stop stamping around and dancing until we took them off (or more accurately - until we nearly had to pin her down and struggle with her until we could rip them off).

I took this video after watching her for nearly five minutes... Notice how she's still going strong? Needless to say, bedtime was not easy immediately following this performance. Sleep tight tiny dancer.

Ahhhh Ya ya

2009-08-29T23:40:00.005+02:00

I know this is terrible quality, but Bella completely cracks me up in this video. We were on our way home, and Paquita and I were trying to keep Bella awake, so Paquita started headbanging to the music. Since Bella was completely exhausted (midnight sillies), and seeing any grandma heandbang would put a smile on anyone's face, my sweet girl had a good laugh and a very interesting one-way conversation as well. This has become characteristic for her. She talks, but she says no words that any of us understand. It's truly hilarious, and I wish I could capture her in a moment of intense story-telling. She tells some interesting ones (I imagine!)

Going Public

2009-08-21T13:09:00.005+02:00

So everyone knows that Bella turns 2 on the last day of March, but did you know this:

Oh, and please forgive my cheesy grin at the end. It couldn't be helped. ;-)

The Story about Language Part II

2009-07-29T12:39:00.010+02:00

Yesterday I had a conversation with one of my students/friends about reading in another language. I finally finished reading "The Shadow of the Wind" in English, even though it was originally written by a Spanish man named Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and commented that I had attempted to read it in its original form, but found that the beauty of the language was completely lost when I did. Plus, there were expressions and slang that I didn't understand, leaving pockets of blanks throughout the story. He told me that when he reads in English, even though he usually understands what he's reading, he never really feels like he gets "inside" the book. He's just following along from the outside.That conversation warped into a new conversation about living abroad in a country where the native language is different from yours. When I tried to explain how it felt to me, living in Spain, the book reference came back. It's the same feeling I get living here. I understand what's going on, and I follow along from the outside, but that's where I remain. I never really get inside. I always feel like an outsider. I don't know if it's possible that this is a common feeling amongst foreigners. Maybe that's why it's so common for them to band together and start their own little community. I really have no idea. But this is the way it feels for me living here.

Having a Spanish-American daughter who will someday (if all goes well) be bilingual, is a trip in itself. I have read up on living in a bilingual household and I have also been fortunate enough to know quite a few bilingual families. Typically, the first language that tends to emerge is that of the parent who is with the children most of the time.. hence English in our case. I had been waiting and waiting for those English words to come. Paquita, Alex's mother, would often say things like, "She said 'ya esta'!!" and I was always thinking, "yeah sure she did..." Imagine my surprise on my birthday when she said 'hola' as clear as day.Well, she is around her Spanish grandparents all the time, and I always tell her to say 'hola' to everyone we meet on the streets. I guess I just needed to be patient. So I calmly waited for her first English word to come. "Leche", "papá", "mama" "yaya" "agua", "upa"...but only more Spanish words came. Where were the English words?? Then one afternoon, while we were walking down the street, she just blurted it out.

"Woof"!

Yes, she barks in English. Spanish dogs do not say "woof", you see? They say "guau guau". So we finally got a word! Later, we got some more, "doggie", "nana" (banana and Nana) "Bapa"(grandpa), "Ari", "Aia" (Gaia) and "cheese". It seems that because she lives here and is surrounded by Spanish outside of the home, she is picking up that language easier.

When we move back to the US, that is when the true challenge will begin. Will Alex be able to consistently speak in Spanish with the kids? We'll see... Our plan is to speak Spanish at home as well as having Alex regularly speak to them in Spanish. I've seen and heard some crazy stories, though, so I'm not going to be overly optimisic. I recently met an American lady who has been living here for over 30 years. She has always spoken to her two children in English, but she never insisted that they answer her back in English. It's the most incredible thing, she speaks to her, now grown, children in English and they answer her in Spanish. They can speak English, but they speak with a Spanish accent.

I suppose I never fully understood what I was getting myself into when I decided to come to Spain. Romaticism in your mid twenties can make you do spontaneous and outrageous things. Of course I don't regret my decisions. I love my husband and my little pip squeak, and life is positively more colorful, challenging, and amusing than in my monolingual days.

I've attached a video of Bella looking through some books (take a look at the MOUNTAIN of books on the floor!). You will hear her say "woof" (I think she's referring to the little teddy bear in the book) and she also says "hola". At the moment, her favorite word is "agua" and she makes sure to point it out whenever: she sees fountains, the sea, someone drinking from a water bottle, if she gets wet, if it rains, when she hears splashing in the pool... etc.

The Story about Language Part 1

2009-07-03T11:13:00.009+02:00

I had never really thought about language before I moved to Spain. It was a dream of mine to speak another language, but it definitely wasn't something that crossed my mind daily. I had absolutely no concept of the true difficulty involved in learning another language. I remember speaking to my roomate's French friends while I lived in Pacific Grove. I would babble on and on, endlessly, like usual, and then look at them to reply. They'd usually look at me with those typical lost faces that foriegners and tourists make when a cashier in a grocery store asks them a question. gulp! "HELP"One of them finally said to me, "Sarah, you are so hard to understand. You speak so fast." Huh? Me? Really? I hadn't thought about that before. Was it really that hard to comprehend what I was saying. Um... YES.

Now I understand that. I'm so glad I don't have to speak to my past self in another language. It would probably be like speaking to the girl that works in our bar. I have no idea what she does, but I maybe understand her half of the time I talk to her. It's completely frustrating, and now it's me with one of those dumb faces. (Pssst... I'm secretly a pro at pretending I understand everything. It's something you learn pretty quickly when you get tired of looking lost all of the time).

So, now I think of language every day. I don't usually have to think so much to understand, unless I'm speaking about a subject in which I'm lacking serious vocabulary - the names of trees and plants, for example, or specific anatomy or bodily processes... the things you don't speak about on a day to day basis. Constructing sentences isn't difficult either, unless I worry about speaking completely grammatically correct. Speaking grammatically correctly is a bitch.
I obviosuly have to think about language when I teach English. Did you know that when I came to Spain I really learned TWO new languages? I did. English and Spanish.I new how to speak English before, but I knew nothing about it. How many verb tenses do we have in English? I answered that question when I first arrived - "three - present past and future" WRONG. There are three simple tenses, but altogether, English has more like 18. Of course I had to learn all of them and the rules behind them. When do we use 'do' and when do we use 'make'? Care to try to answer that?

Do your homework. Make your bed. I made a cake. I'm making progres. He's made a mistake.

Not so easy to explain, is it? Especially when the word 'hacer' in Spanish is used for both of them.

Oh language, you little devil!

Being married to a man whose native language is different than mine... that's weird sometimes. Even though Alex speaks fluent English, we still sometimes have our difficulties. I've learned to speak much more clearly than when I lived in Pacific Grove, but I still mumble now and then. We also get into heated arguments about speaking Spanish. I want him to speak in Spanish more often. He says it's too difficult to remember since he's used to speaking in English with me. I say, "make an effort". Then he worries about losing some of his English. We finally agree to speak Spanish three days a week. Our first few sentences of the day start in Spanish, but somewhere along the line, one of us slips back into English, and then it's all over. No more Spanish. DEFEATED.

(This is already a long post, so I'm going to leave it with this status: To be CONTINUED)

She's FUNKY!

2009-06-21T18:03:00.006+02:00

Here's Baby Bella's new dress -A FunkyMom Original. It's obviously for winter... and she'd wear a shirt under it, but it came out pretty well. I'm very proud of myself! It was my first attempt at fair isle (two colors on one line knitting), and I'm ready for more!! Next up - a Sunny Sun Hat for Bella Lu.

Splish Splash!

2009-06-14T00:25:00.006+02:00

We pulled out the inflatable pool a few days ago and there was absolutely NO hesitation. Bella climbed in before I could stop her - fully dressed, sandals and all. She absolutely LOVES the water and I couldn't be happier!

Here is a short video of us playing catch in her swimming pool. At one point she starts pointing and talking and we're pretty sure she was telling Yayo to grab the red ball... the red ones are her favorites apparently!

Jadraque and Sigüenza

2009-06-11T00:05:00.016+02:00

View of Jadraque church from our hotel window

A month after we'd moved into our new house we had an outbreak of crazy little winged insects in our living room. They were everywhere! Scary stuff! Turns out, the bottom floor was slowly being eaten away by termites. A month and a half after calling the landlord and having exterminator #1 come and check out the situation, exterminator #4 finally fumigated. We took the opportunity to get out of town for a few days and headed north - to the cooler (or downright freezing cold) weather. We headed up to Guadalajara to a teeny tiny town called JADRAQUE. I couldn't remember the name of the town for the life of me so every time I referred to it, I'd call it something different - Jeringue, Jacarta, Jaqrackers...

Not too much to see in Jadraque... the church was the major tourist attraction. But no one told us about the amazing park with the exercise equipment built in! Can you say "AWESOME"??Swinging for the first time = Lots of shrieks and squeals (and I think Bella may have laughed a few times too)!

The little rural casita we stayed at in JADRAQUE was adorable. It was actually the main determiner in picking a place to go for the weekend. It was quaint and quiet and VERY WELL decorated. Props to the owners for their fabulous taste.

La Carbonera, a rural casa in Jadraque, Spain

On Tuesday we headed a bit east to a medieval town called Sigüenza and spent the majority of our time walking around trying to find the perfect place to have lunch. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. We found exactly what we were looking for complete with an outdoor terrace with an incredible view, yummy grilled goat and Migas Castellanas (a yummy breadcrumb dish that sheperds eat). MMMMM! Plus, a bottle of wine. Perrrrfect!

Sigüenza, Spain

I absolutely LOVED all the cast iron fences made of swirlys!!

Sigüenza cathedral

Best restuarant EVER!

Bella did... well, she did all right considering she's a baby. I suppose I'll let her behavior go this ONE time... BUT THIS TIME ONLY!! ;-) In her defense, long car rides are just no fun for babies. She got sick on both journeys :( It was also difficult to keep her entertained for very long. She's so stinkin curious! She got into EVERYTHING, which is perfectly normal, but much easier at our house where we can keep her occupied and safely contained.

Not happy about being stopped, but I wasn't too concerned after a few glasses of wine!

All in all, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, but rest we did not. I think we need another vacation just to get over this vacation!!!

Getting Old

2009-06-06T01:49:00.007+02:00

Here I am with my newest knitted achievement - The Slouchy Slouchster hat

I have always looked forward to my birthdays. I love them. I like getting pampered for the day and having everyone remember me. It makes me feel special. This year, however, I was dreading my b.day. I was dreading it because, although it was on a Friday, *PARTY!! I, sadly, don't have many friends here. To be brutally honest, I don't have one single friend here that I can call just to talk to or to hang out with and do absolutely nothing. Plus, Alex works his butt off on Friday nights, so no way were we going out on the town... It was just bound to be a big, depressing mess.

My true loves.

Thank god for my adorable, loving husband, and my amazing friends and family (you guys!) who spoiled me with emails, phone calls and Facebook messages. Alex woke up early to make me breakfast - crepes with fruit, whipped cream and chocolate syrup... MMMM! Although he had only slept five and a half hours he got up to make my day special. He also took the afternoon off to spend it with me. We took Bella to the park and then took it easy until my classes started.

WOW! Sliding is so much fun!

Doesn't it seem like we're going to slide forever?

Look how small the slide is in actuality!

Paquita and Jesús surprised me with balloons tied to our front door this morning and a sweet little package waiting just for me! And this afternoon we all went to The Bohemian and they brought a cheese platter, some yummy meats and a birthday cake - triple chocolate suprise.

My day was sensational! Thank you for remembering me and making me feel special today. I really, truly don't know what I'd do without all of you.

Oh, I'm Not Sick.. I'm Just Not Wearing Any Make-up

2009-06-03T22:37:00.004+02:00

Did anyone see that episode of Desperate Housewives where Gabby was forced to promise her daughter, Juanita, she wouldn't wear any make up to a gala she had to go to? The entire night she kept announcing to anyone who crossed paths with her that she wasn't sick.. she just wasn't wearing any make up. It gets to the point where she's explaining the situation to even the cocktail waiters.

No make-up shot (ok, ok, I'm wearing foundation. NO ONE sees me without foundation, for the good of mankind. Oh, and I posted a dorky one for you, Hailey.)

How many of you can relate to that??I, unfortunately, can relate COMPLETELY!!! My mother in-law (bless her heart) never knows why I look so crappy when I'm not wearing make-up, (last time she thought it was the streaks in my hair that were washing me out... either that or I was sick), but she definitely notices that I do!!

For the record, let it be known that I'm extremely jealous of women who can go without make-up and they don't look sick, hung over, tired, ten years older, washed-out or dead.

She's Crafty

2009-05-27T23:24:00.013+02:00

It seems that having a toddler is linked to a definite decrease in "me" time. She just doesn't stop... EVER! When she does, I have to squeeze in doing the laundry, making the food and cleaning the house, not to mention my pitiful excuse for a job, teaching English classes!! I have come to treasure the few hours between 10 and 1 when she sleeps soundly! I remember Merry once telling me that she sent Luke to daycare on Friday mornings even though she had the day off. I finally get that.
I have recently become a complete knitting addict. Now can we all join hands and rejoice? Hallelujah! Let's greet the return of my crafting blood. Can I get an AMEN?!

I've always been a crafter - it may have very well started when my grandma taught me to cross stitch waaaaay back when I was just a little tike,but since then I've partaken in my fair share of craft - like embroidery bracelets... Merry and I had a pattern book and we were hell bent on learning the flame pattern.. she figured it out a lot sooner than I did, but eventually I got there (I think it took me years, though. I remember Tammy and I spending summers reading and making bracelets and that was AT LEAST three years after I bought the book).In college there was the hemp necklace phase with Phoebe. That was fun. We made necklaces for ALL of our guy friends.. and maybe a few of our girl friends. We were on the verge of getting into some serious macrame, but I never caught that particular bug.

Then I got into Batiking and tye dying with Jenny. Oh, what a summer we had! I remember my first project was an entire sheet. I have never been one to start small.Somewhere a long the line, my friend, Jessie, taught me to knit. I knit a red and gray winter hat that turned out looking like a Jewish skull cap. I bet I still have it somewhere... After that, I put my yarn and needles away and I've hardly done any crafting since. Boy oh boy has it taken its toll on my poor soul! I have seriously been aching for some inspiration. Thanks to Alex I tried knitting again. He bought me some knitting supplies for Christmas (I'M LOVING THE BOOK, "I Can't Believe I'm Knitting!" which has got to be one of the cheesiest books I've ever seen). Once I realized that all of the patterns were too dorky for even me to wear, I bought the book, "Stitch n Bitch" by Debbie Stoller, asked Hailey's mom, Claudia, for a few pointers and have been on a knitting roll ever since!

Within this same time period I came across the book, "You are Your Child's First Teacher" by Rahima Baldwin Dancy and it hit me again how integral it is to create...SOMETHING and to have your children see you being creative and doing something worthwhile. I already knew I didn't want Bella to have a load of plastic toys that break easily and end up just sitting in a toy box forgotten (or strewn threw the house), but the book gave me some inspiration to make a few toys on my own. These toys aren't supposed to be intricately detailed. On the contrary - they are supposed to be beautiful, yet plain - leaving the imagination free range to take over.

I now feel that I have so many things that I want to do, there isn't enough time. I LOVE that feeling. It means that things like sitting around watching tv and surfing the web for hours on end are precious moments I'm wasting. I feel productive. I feel alive. I feel so fortunate to feel this way again. I've missed it. Now, even though I don't have any friends here, life is much easier to bear!

Monastery

2009-05-18T20:29:00.012+02:00

Here we are with catch-up post #2. I've already posted some pictures of our visit with Alex's sister, Irene, at her monastery on my Facebook page, but here are a few others. Every time I go there, even though I'm not catholic, I always feel a sense of peace and happiness. I think it's just the idea of getting back to the basics - no computers, tv, recorded music... These nuns live off of the bare essentials. They never leave the monastery. They spend most of the day in solitude, praying. They look you straight in the eye and when they smile, you can't help but smile back. The thing I love the most, though, is that they never try to convert me!!!

Bella with Halel, the head nun and Zoe, the head doll.

Alex didn't want me to post any pics of him because he says he looks like a "mop head". I just think this is such a cute picture, though. I couldn't resist.

Paquita thoroughly enjoying the moment.Playing with Bella's Glockenspiel (a xylaphone in the pentatonic scale)

Peek-a-boo!

Bella explaining something to us... probably why she didn't like sitting in the grass.

"Look!See? There's nothing in there, Mommy!!" (A very rare moment)

"Peek-a-boo!"

Bella's First Birthday and the Big Move

2009-05-15T10:25:00.013+02:00

I know it's been a long long time since I've written. Moving with a toddler is difficult!! Also, we didn't have internet for ages since, apparently, Terramelar is considered to be out "in the country". I don't get it, we are by NO MEANS living in the country, but for some reason, it took weeks to get us connected to the internet.

Anyway, here are pictures of Bella's 1st birthday, March 31st 2009 (we actually celebrated it on the Sunday beforehand and were supposed to do our big move at 7am the next day)

The Belle of the Ball

With her blocks (not a bithday present)

Bubbles!

MMMM! Cupcakes (Mom slaved away ALL DAY LONG on Saturday... they were mediocre)

More Bubbles with YaYo

Moving Day. It rained. We moved the essential stuff by ourselves.

Bella Blew on Mommy's tummy and made her laugh.
Papá Balanced Bella's toys on his face.Bella's REAL birthday. ONE YEAR OLD!!

Chasing Mommy!Stay tuned for some more catch up. I have some monastery pics and some walking pics (yes, she's walking!)

Happy 60th, Mom!!!

2009-04-08T22:36:00.004+02:00

It’s my mom’s birthday today. She’s 60. That’s a lot of years old! My mom likes to tell me that we are polar opposites. In fact, she never misses a chance to remind me of this every time we disagree. She’s right. We are different in many ways, especially when it comes to things like politics and our worldviews. I guess it’s always bothered me a little, though, because, despite our differences, I think I’m a lot like my mom, and more importantly, in the many ways that I’m not, I want to be like her, especially as a mother. I sincerely hope I can be.

As a kid I thought the world of my mom. She was in the realm of superheroes. She was fun and funny. She sang a lot, and smiled all the time and hugged us every chance she got.
As teenagers, my mom knew how to play it cool. She always gave us space to make our own decisions and do our own thing, but the second we needed her, we were her entire world, and nothing else mattered. It all could wait.

As an adult, my mom became more than a mom. She became my friend.

There are many things you realize about yourself once you become a mother, especially the way you treated yours when you were a teenager! (Sorry Mom!) I constantly think of all the things I want to teach Arabella and how I want to instil in her deep moral values, above all kindness to all things, and, of course, an insatiable love of life. I imagine the person she’ll become one day… and then I think about how I turned out. It makes me wonder about all of the things my mom imagined for me. I bet she rocked me and while she touched my little fingers and held my unwavering gaze, she imagined greatness for me. I bet never in a million years she imagined that we’d turn out to be “polar opposites”! It’s something I think of quite often these days that I could never really fathom before. How difficult it must be to love someone so much, it actually hurts your heart just to imagine losing her, and then have her grow up challenging you, disagreeing with you, and doing things completely differently than the way you would do them. What I still don’t understand, and have years to find out, is how you manage to do this with grace and love. When your daughter does something that completely baffles you (which my poor mom has had to endure A LOT of) and what you really want to do is scream and yell, “HOW COULD YOU TURN OUT THIS WAY??!!” you are supportive and helpful and try to be as understanding as possible. If to my horror, Arabella comes home one day, following in her Tia Irene’s footsteps with a habit, a bible and a crucifix, I hope I can be as considerate and gentle as my mom is, and support her despite my reservations. To me, that is true greatness and pure love.

My mom has had to fight for her life more than once to remain a part of ours. Every time something happens in my life, be it glory or defeat, elation or devastation, I call my mom. Even when I know that she will think I’m crazy for the decision I’m about to make I call her. Even when I know I’ll undoubtedly hear the famous, “ well… we are very different, Sarah…” I have to share the news with her. I’m so thankful she fought so hard to be here. It’s funny how you never really stop needing your mom.

Mom, if you are reading this, I want you to know that I wish I could be there to spend this momentous occasion with you. I love you very much and hope you know how amazing I think you are, especially as a mom (I mean, look how incredible I turned out!). Happy 60th Birthday, Mom! You can bet I’ll be asking you for A LOT of advice during those teenage years! YIKES! Here’s to another 60!!!

Home SWEET Home!

2009-03-24T23:14:00.014+01:00

Well, as the song goes, "you don't always get what you want... but if you try sometimes, you just might find . . . you get what you need." And rightly so. No, we aren't making the big move that we were hoping to make, but we are making a much needed smaller move in the meantime. We are getting out of the busy city, away from the constant horn honking and the endless construction projects that seem to take place all around our apartment. We are moving to a beautiful sounding little residential area outside of the city called "Terramelar". Isn't that pretty??

These are some pictures I've taken. I haven't got any of the bedrooms, or any outside pics, but I will soon. I'll also get some with the furniture as soon as we get moved in. We are hiring a moving company to move all our appliances and furniture on Monday so we won't have to haul everything down four flights of stairs.
We are moving away from the seventy-five steps that lead to our current fourth story apartment to the three teeny tiny porch steps that lead to our new three story house - a house with hardwood floors, a good-sized balcony upstairs and a charming little terrace out back that catches the morning and early afternoon sun and that opens up to a little community grassy area complete with pool!! Oh my oh my oh my! I can hardly contain my excitement. (For those of you worrywarts, relax. We are baby-proofing to the MAX)I'm just stoked to be able to have an outdoor area that I don't have to share with the rest of the human race. I can't wait for sitting outside and drinking a glass of wine on a hot Valencia summer night... oh and bbqs! and making our own paella! And letting Bella play outside and start getting used to nature (it kind of freaks her out a bit). This Vashon girl couldn't bear it if her daughter grew up afraid of dirt and bugs and all the rest of nature's goodies.So, Mr. Jagger, I'll have to agree with your affirmation. This time we may not have got EXACTLY what we wanted, but I'd have to say that I'm happy to make do with what we got. Plus, now all of you can come visit us!! I'll keep an extra bottle of wine on hand and a bag of charcoal JUST IN CASE! ;-)

Hallelujah!

2009-03-05T22:06:00.010+01:00

Like many mothers, I have struggled between the two extremes of letting your baby "cry it out" and letting your baby keep you up all night. It has been rough. Those of you who know me well are aware that I would rather wake up every 30 minutes than leave my baby to cry it out by herself. I've read the books, I've researched it, I've tried different strategies, but up until now, Bella woke up almost every two to three hours to nurse. It wasn't very disruptive. She'd wake up, moan a bit and then I'd nurse her and we'd both fall asleep like that. That's the beauty of bed sharing. The problem was, though, that it was killing my back to fall asleep that way!!

Finally one day I stumbled across the book "The Aware Baby" by Aletha J. Solter. She promotes letting your baby cry... just not CRY IT OUT. She claims that crying is a completely natural and useful function; a stress-releasing mechanism. There has even been research done which affirms that tears contain stress-related chemicals. Of course I was a bit leery at first, but she proposes that instead of nursing your baby to sleep every night, which is basically just a crutch, (She thinks nursing is often used to distract from the need to cry. I'm not so sure I agree with all of her claims, but many of them make a lot of sense.) she suggests holding your baby and just letting her cry. Let her cry while you hold her and love her and let her know that you are there for her, and in doing so , you are showing her that crying is ok and allowing her to get out all of that built up frustration and stress.

One night after Bella had eaten but hadn't fallen asleep yet, she went in for a night cap, but I cut her off. She WAS NOT HAPPY. She cried and flailed, and kicked and screamed for almost one hour. I held her and patted her and keep saying, "that's right. Just let it all out. Just let it out." And she did. It was amazing because instead of me feeling the need to get her to be quiet and stop her crying, which usually stresses me out, I was relaxed and able to listen to her cries without feeling like a terrible mother. When she was done with her fit, she fell asleep and slept for a five hour stretch!!! What's more, the next day, Alex tried to put her down (this is something that NEVER happens because she will only nurse to sleep) and she cried for a few minutes, but then fell asleep in his arms!!

Since then she has been sleeping for seven hour stretches, falling asleep without nursing or very much crying, and letting Alex put her down for naps as well. I am completely amazed! Oh, and on top of that, she has been in a much better mood! This book made me think about how relaxed I feel after a good cry, and how sometimes, the only thing I know that will make me feel better is letting it all out threw my tears. When I realized this, it just made sense that babies too need to cry.

If you are interested in her research, I would highly recommend reading the book. I felt she made some very large leaps of logic every now and then and sometimes cited studies that were far from scientific, but for the most part, I believe she is really on to something. She does emphasize that crying is a baby's way of communicating a need, so before just letting your baby cry, you must first figure out if there is another need that is not being met. There are many times, though, that babies cry and we have no idea why. This is when she suggests holding them close and telling them that you love them, and that it is ok to cry.

I was always so jealous of those stories of moms who had found the "miracle cure" to their baby's sleep problems, and I figured I would just have to wait it out. I am so relieved that I am able to be here, typing this and I know that I'm not going to be interrupted over and over again until I finally surrender and take Bella to bed. Yay for Dr. Solter!! Yay for crying!! Yay for a back that isn't killing me anymore!!

God, My Daughter's Cute!

2009-02-26T00:13:00.015+01:00

In February we cleaned up the balcony so Bella could play "outside"

AAAH, city living!

We went to the beach, and Bella made herself right at home.

And she started a few new hobbies - pushing chairs around and digging through the garbage and recycling bins.

This past week she went on a few excursions with The YaYos, started clapping her hands, went to a birthday party ...

Then she got sick and spent three days indoors blowing snot bubbles with her nose (don't worry. I didn't take any pictures of that).

What's that Floating in the Water?

2009-02-19T14:24:00.004+01:00

It's pooh! Yes, that's right. Pooh indeed.

Part of Bella's nighttime routine is taking a bath, usually without soap but with a few dashes of almond oil to prevent her skin from drying out. I light some candles to create a peaceful mood, turn down the other lights in our house and put on some soft, soothing music. It's a great time for both of us to calm down.

A few nights ago, I was undressing Bella for bath time, like usual. Everything was prepared, the lights were off and the heater and candles were the only light in the bathroom. I quickly undressed her, then took off the diaper and quickly folded it over and left it on the floor to put in the bin later without paying much thought to it.

So she's in the bathtub. The lights are low, she's playing with her toys, I'm splashing her with water... We are gleeful. We could be in a damn Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo commercial. And then I notice something floating in the water. It appears to be a chunk of something... toe lint? No, wait. There's a lot more... And then I remember the diaper I so carelessly threw to the floor. Oh my god, I'm bathing my daughter in pooh!

This is when things get a bit fuzzy. I tried to drain the bathwater and use the water to rinse off the diaper in the toilet (all the while holding on to Bella's arm), but with all the extra movement, the drain hose came loose, and poopy water started spraying all over the floor. I went to plug up the drain hole, but couldn't find the plug. Where the heck was it?? Oh, there it is. Bella's chewing on it. Fantastic. I grab it from her, she starts crying. I plug it up, put the hose back in and continue draining the bathwater while I soap her up, which means I'll have to grab the shower head to rinse her. Unfortunately, it takes forever for the water to heat up, so I'm filling her bath with cold water... and remember, I'm doing all of this by candle light!!!

It was a mess. I finally called Alex to help me. He immediately turned the lights on and we put her in our bathtub for her very first shower. She loved it. Not that she thought the poopy bath was that bad, anyway. The most traumatic part of the entire situation for her was when I took the poopy plug away.

Breaking in and Whiplash.

2009-02-18T17:30:00.000+01:00

**I wrote most of this just after the car accident, and after sharing a bottle of wine with Alex. I was going to edit it later, but upon reading it, decided just to let it lay. Why not?

What a month! Earlier this month our car got towed. It was soccer night, and since we live right behind the soccer stadium, there was no place to park. We parked next to the Westin hotel, and, of course, when Alex went to go to work the next day, it was gone.

Then, on Thursday night some freaks broke into The Bohemian Café by crawling into one of our high windows. They didn't steal anything, however. They broke an ashtray, pulled the paper tray out of the fax machine and threw it on the floor, but left the money in the cash register just above the fax machine. The alarm went off, but for some reason, it didn't connect with the main office, or connect with the police office. Wierd.

After talking to a few people in the neighborhood, it seemed as though this was a common theme - breakins without any theft. This was my theory...

Maybe someone was doing a study on bringing excitement into people's lives. He'd break into their places of business, which typically doesn't make a person feel violated in any way, and leave things fairly intact, just to create the notion of disorder and in doing so, bring the inevitable excitement that break-ins incite.... What do you think? Was it really a do-gooder in disguise?

The other theory was that it was a gang initiation and that they may have taken something, but just something small as a souveniour.

Two years ago yesterday, Alex proposed to me in The Bohemian while dancing to the song "Satisfy my Soul".

Yesterday he sent me red roses with a little note that made my eyes water.

So finally, today we were going to go out on a uncommon date to see the movie "The Reader" and afterward to a romantic dinner at the Japanese restaurant, Zen, that we've been wanting to try out for the past three years. Unfortunately it was raining. Rain to Valencia is like Snow to Seattle. People FREAK OUT when they drive. It's like all driving ability gets thrown out and we move back to primitive times, but with automobiles. YEAH...SCARY.
On our way to dinner, we were involved in a three car pile up. The car in front of us stopped suddenly, occupying two lanes (they do that frequently here), so we stopped just in time, but the two cars behind us didn't. We got smashed TWICE from behind and had to go the the emergency room. They are making me wear a neck brace, but Alex got off easy.

We did make it to Zen where we indulged in a bottle of WINE. No valium for me this time. I'm still breastfeeding. I get to cuddle up with my old friend Tylenol if there are any problems. Nice.

Are you Crapping?

2009-02-06T21:37:00.006+01:00

When Bella's face turns bright red and she starts grunting, we all know what's going on, right? Well, a few days ago I overheard Alex making double sure by asking her

"are you crapping?"

I have a sneaking suspicion that he already knew it, but I explained to him anyway that "crapping" is not a word we typically use with kids, and to try using "going potty" instead.

NOTE: Ok, I guess I'd better add that the reason I find this so funny is not necessarily because of the "slip up" Alex made (he SHOULD be speaking in SPANISH with her anyway...) but that he didn't realize that "crapping" wasn't language appropriate for children. I do the same thing in Spanish, by the way. I use the word "joder" all the time, even with some of my younger students. I hear it so often that I figure it's ok, but when I got some snickers from my students the last time I used it, I asked Alex if it was age-appropriate and he said, "absolutely not". I won't tell you what it means, because it's definitely not appropriate here! ;-)

Boycotting Consum

2009-02-04T15:17:00.004+01:00

That's it. I'm boycotting our neighborhood grocery store. I just can't take the rude clerks and their lack of tact. For the past five years I've put up with it. I've tried to say hello to them, they ignore me. I've tried to be friendly despite the complete disregard for my and every other customer's existence. I've tried to frequent CONSUM less and less, but I still seem to give them my business despite the fact that they clearly don't deserve it. Enough is enough.

Today we went to CONSUM after making a stop by the Natural Foods store. After dodging the obstacle courses that the workers had set up to restock during the lunch hour (and feeling as if WE were invading THEIR space and inconveniencing THEM), we made our way to the check out line. We try not to use disposible grocery bags, so we had put the groceries from Ecomercat in my backpack and were pushing it around on the stroller. As we were waiting, we yanked the other resusable shopping bags out of the backpack, in turn, exposing the organic baby food we'd bought at Ecomercat. As the clerk began passing our groceries - packages of chicken, beef and cheese over the scanner, she gave us a suspicious smile and asked, "was that macaronni I saw in your bag?"

Alex kind of laughed and explained that we had stopped by the natural food store beforehand.

"Well you have to show me what's in your bag" she said, a bit too severly. So we did. And then she started going on about how we aren't allowed to bring food into the store, that it's not ok, that it's against the law of Consum... and on and on. When I asked her what we're supposed to do with our bags then, she rolled her eyes and signaled toward the entrance of the store where there was a row of unused lockers.

Now, I understand that it would have been better if we had used one of the lockers up in the front of the store that serve this very purpose. That's fine with me. If it's store policy, it's store policy. I won't argue with that. But, when a shop assistant lacks the tact to introduce her customers to store policy without making them feel like macaronni theives, there is a serious problem. Why the heck would we be stealing macaronni in the first place? I'm going to pay for all the meat and cheese - all the most expensive stuff, and smuggle a 50 cent bag of macarroni out of the store? Oh please.

I am so fed up with the lack of customer service in this city, I just can't bear it anymore. I am tired of feeling angry every time I return from the grocery store, or trying to let the rude behavior roll off my back. Alex has no problem with confrontation and will tell them not to be so rude, but it doesn't change anything. They just get defensive and then an argument ensues. I feel that my only option is to boycott the store, and that is what we will do.

From now on, we'll go to the central market on Mondays, buy the main ingredients for the week, and go to the other grocery store, Mercadona, if we need anything mid-week.

Consum on Calle Amadeo de Saboya,

You're out of my life. I no longer need to put up with your snotty treatment of customers. I no longer need to listen to your gossipy conversations that you have over your customer's heads while you disregard them or accuse them of macaroni theft. I no longer need to feel like I'm inconveniencing you if I ask a question or try to find the watercress while you are trying to stock the spinach.

I'm over it. Se acabó.

Off my Game with a Migraine from Hello Messy Parenting!

2009-01-30T16:39:00.013+01:00

Wednesday night was the first night I have ever felt incompetent to care for Bella. It's an odd feeling. It's humbling. I think, though, as strange as it may sound, it's necessary.

Anyway, Wednesday night, as soon as I told the babysitter to leave early, I felt as if I had spent my day drinking an entire bottle of cheap whiskey, or Southern Comfort. (Yuck! now that would give you a wicked hangover) I was in the midst of the worst (and only) migraine I've had since freshman year of college. Bella was being as sweet as can be, but the only position that I could even bear was to be scrunched up in a ball with my head down on the couch. I was definitely not on top of my mommy game. She'd come up to me and smile or laugh as she patted me, and I'd smile through the pain, but I knew I wouldn't be able to feed her or change her without crying right along with her. I couldn't even go into the kitchen because the smell of the clothes washing made feel as if I would wretch all over the place. I was just sitting there, waiting, watching the minutes tick by, and waiting.

And then... A MIRACLE HAPPENED.....HALLELUJAH!!!!!!! Jesús and his lovely wife showed up to save the day.

Thank god for in-laws! (I bet you thought you'd never hear anyone utter those words!) Because my sweet husband made a pleading phone call on my behalf, Paquita and Jesús came over, fed Bella and got her ready for bed, bought me some saltine crackers and pudding (the only things I could stomach) and gave me some Tylenol so I could try to sleep it off. They even hung up the laundry, tidied up and brought Bella to bed before they left. You can't even imagine how grateful I was.
So why was this a necessary experience, you may wonder. As most of you already know, for many of us, asking for help is not easy. It's humbling and revealing and a big pride-swallowing moment. It's never pretty. I don't think, though,that when it comes to raising children, "pretty" is an option. Neither is doing it alone, for that matter. Sometimes your husband's at work, the baby's stuck a dried ball of cheese up her nose and it's pouring rain and you don't drive in this crazy city. Sometimes you just need that one person who you can call up and count on to help you through those many messy moments in life.

Being here and constantly reminded of the thousands of miles separating me and my "count on me people", I've struggled with trying to do too much on my own. To all of our dismay, Alex spends more hours at the bar than with us, and I rarely see any of the few friends I have left here. It's good to know that I have someone who will be there the next time I feel like I'm reliving the worst hangover of my life, to send me to bed with some saltines and pudding, and make sure my baby gets sent to bed with a warm, comfy diaper and a full belly.

When Time is Short - Show, Don't Tell.

2009-01-26T21:08:00.025+01:00

I know I promised I'd be coming back strong in the new year. All right, all right, all right, so you've caught me. I'm a big, fat liar. I have hardly had time to shower, let alone keep up on my blog, but I thought I'd sidetrack you all with some of my favorite photos of our big trip home 2008. I actually have a bunch of other ones that I wanted to post that have some more of Geoff and a great one of my mom and Roy, but I haven't been able to access them from Alex's laptop...

Anyway, (I have no idea why that whole last paragraph was underlined. I guess it knew it was very important indeed.) Here... oh, here we go again... Here are some of my favorites. It was so so so hard to narrow it down to just these ones!!! I have a butt load of great ones.

New Years Eve 2008... Mike trying to eat Bella's leg. Alex was alarmed.

Jenny and Bella. They were immediate friends.

Putting something in her mouth that she was actually supposed to.

Billings, Montana with the family (well... some of them!)

Mom and Gramma

A very peculiar photo. Hailey caught NOT MAKING A FACE.

"MMMM... I want that"

The best baby shower EVER!

My gorgeous sista.

Bella with Grandpa

The little elf at the end of the night (we're going backwards here in case you haven't noticed yet)

Nobody loves poor Uncle Geoff.

A Polo-Bunch Christmas shot

Night time view outside Mom and Roy's house

Me with my sweet girl

"It's ok Cru Cru, Papá loves you."

Outside my dad and Joyce's house after snowfall number... 3? 4?....

And it just kept coming.

But we sure had fun

And enjoyed the warm, cozy indoors with the beautiful views of cold daddies and pretty snow.

Sleepless in Spain

2009-01-15T23:45:00.002+01:00

Just to let you know - I'm still alive and breathing. I have not been eaten by tarantulas or flying mice (I had a crazy dream about flying mice that terrified me. In the end they only wanted to play with Bella's maracas).

We are getting back into the swing of things here and it's a bit taxing. Jet lag going to the US - no problem. Coming back, however, is another story altogether. What makes it more complicated is throwing a nine month old with a cold into the mix. Needless to say, our sleep schedules are completely out of whack.

I have some blogs to write, half of a filthy apartment to clean, a new babysitter to interview and a weekly recipe schedule to organize apart from the sick baby and tired, hungry husband to take care of.

I will get back to this blog within the week. My new years resolution is next. Stay tuned!

Advice about Advice??

2008-12-04T18:59:00.009+01:00

I know, I know. I've been M.I.A. for the past month. I apologize if I've made you lose faith in my blog-writing predictability. I will promise to make once-a-week blog-writing one of my New Year's Resolutions. I do have good excuses... most of them attributed to our little angel. Bella decided it was time to start waking up numerous times throughout the night - just in time for our trip to The States. Fantastic. We were looking forward to a few nights out, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Oh well. I suppose that's what parenthood is about. We'll make do (and save money too!)
What else has happened this past month??? Hmm... Bella has started pulling herself up and getting in to everything. She doesn't think she needs to hold on with two hands (or even one hand occasionally) and that makes for some pretty nasty bumps on the noggin.

What I've learned this past month

I suppose I mainly spent my month learning a lot about being a mom. The most important thing I've learned is that parenthood can be extremely difficult and sometimes you just need to talk to someone who can listen, and listen well. I found myself completely desperate and in tears after a week of struggling to get her to fall asleep, only to have her wake up 20 minutes later. I'm seriously lacking support here, and it meant a lot to me to have my friends and family back home encouraging me and telling me, "you're doing just fine. Trust yourself. This is temporary. We're here for you."
I think one of the hardest things about being a new parent (besides learning to type with one hand) is the moment when things start going hay-wire and your parenting philosophy is put to the test. Alex and I have decided that we don't want to use the Ferber method of letting your baby "cry it out". I know it's probably the most common thing to do, and I have no problem with other people doing it, but we choose to use other methods instead. Of course, the Ferber method is the easiest thing to do because it gets the job done quickly. But, after reading "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley, we're trying a step-by-step approach that requires an ENORMOUS amount of effort and energy from us at the moment, but in the end, we hope we accomplish a sounder sleep without too much undue stress. I bring this up because I have about a bizzilion friends who are pregnant at the moment with baby #1 and I wanted to share something I've learned:

If you feel strongly about something, stick to your guns. Follow your intuition. There will always be someone, a friend even, who will tell you that what you are doing is "wrong." Hailey said it best when she said, "there is no RIGHT way in parenting. " It's good to be open to helpful ideas and some moms are really good about sharing ideas, but avoiding unsolicited advice. Most people appreciate helpful ideas that start like, "Have you tried.." or, "I did... when Jebediah was just a lad" It's much nicer than hearing, "You need to..." or "Why are you doing that" or, "What THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!!" (Ok, no one has ever used that last remark, but sometimes tone of voice and expression speak louder than words.)I've learned that parenting isn't easy, and instead of judging each other and making snide comments about how So and So is undoubtedly screwing up his kids beyond repair, we should be supporting each other. Even if we don't choose the same techniques or follow the same philosophy, we all need someone who will be there just to listen and say, "you're doing just fine...." or "Have you tried..." That's one helpful idea my friend, Esther, gave me (and she's usually full of good ideas).

The last thing I've learned is that after a terribly long week of failing miserably what you really need is someone to say to you, "Go have some time for yourself. I'll watch the baby for a couple hours." AAAAHHH! Heaven.

Halloween

2008-11-04T00:31:00.007+01:00

Halloween night. Hippies and vampires roam the streets in unity, kids stay up extra late due to excessive sugar intake, adults welcome the excuse to dress up and act silly, black cats and witches come out to play...

and so do new moms of seven month-old baby girls!

I was worried the entire week beforehand because Bella typically wakes up around midnight every night and will only go back to bed with a midnight snack from mommy. If she doesn't get what she wants, she gets ANGRY. All went well, though. Los Ya Yos (The Grandparents) did us a huge favor and came over to stay with Bella while I went out to the biggest party in town: the annual Halloween party at The Bohemian.

Alex, Bella and I spent the day at The Bohemian decorating and preparing for our big night with the help from friend and fellow bartender, Veronica and her boyfriend, Iñaki. It takes AGES, but it's always worth it in the end. We get more and more customers dressed up in costume each year, and this year, they happened to do quite a bit of drinken'.
Alex grew his facial hair for an entire month and a half to be an old western bar man. He looked fantastic and made a killer Sweet Blood cocktail.

I went as a dark angel, complete with black feathered wings, and did some socializing with Amy Winehouse and a scary-looking clown that was really good on the inside.

Veronica went as the Corpse Bride in a costume she and her mother made from scratch. (p.s that's not her real hair)

At around 3 am, I hung up my wings, and picked up my baby girl who had slept peacefully until 2:30 am when Paquita gave her a bottle and changed her. We were happy to see each other, and relieved to know that we can survive a night apart from each other.

Alex and Veronica kept on mixing until around 5am when they put away their Boston shakers and closed the doors on another successful Halloween night at The Bohemian.

Adventures in Body Parts with the Polo Bunches

2008-10-24T22:24:00.011+02:00

My right hand was hurting a few days ago. It was sore from clutching the NEW CAMERA we finally bought after saving for these past few months! It's amazing. I'm, by far, no expert so have enlisted myself in a self-taught crash course in photography 101, which, in a nutshell is me messing with all the manual settings and taking a load of pictures until I eventually get one or two that are decent enough to keep. Alex is much more knowledgeable. He's taken photography courses and knows all about aperture, speed, lighting... blah blah blah. He tries to give me quick mini lessons when he has a free minute, but that doesn't happen too often. I'm loving it, though, despite the hundreds of recycle bin bound shots and the hand and finger pain.

Ari is no longer the only mischevious little rascal. Bella has been promoted.

Besides my snap-happy fingers, other body parts in our family have noteworthy news. Arabella's legs (but mostly arms) have been working full-force this week. She has reached what some may refer to as the "crawling" stage. I see it more as "slithering." She's still not got the strength to be up on her knees, but that hasn't stopped her. She's already all over the place, and it's totally freakin' me out. I got up early this morning and "baby-proofed" the living room. Basically, I just rearranged the furniture so I could place our heater safely behind the liquor cabinet (so if it ever gets too chaotic, I'll have a warm, safe haven to drown out my sorrows. Just kidding!) and moved all the electronics back so she can't get her little fingers on all the buttons. She's obsessed with the computer mouse and seems to be gravitationally drawn to every cable in sight.

Alex's fingers also deserve honorable mention, particularly his ring finger. Last Saturday, after a busy night at The Bohemian, Alex was washing a glass that had been the happy home to the famous "Bohemian Cocktail" when it suddenly shattered in his hand. When he finally got home, several hours and three stitches later, he had a woeful story to tell me and an appointment for a tetanus booster shot. FUN TIMES!

Like a dutiful, snap-happy student, I didn't miss this opportunity

Lastly, this week's bodily adventures would not be complete if we failed to mention Bella's poor little gums. Just this morning I felt the ridges of her first tooth! It must have poked through last night. It's about time. I swear to god, she's been teething for the past four months. There's one more little bump where her next tooth should be pushing through within the next few days (I hope). I'm counting on that, at least, for some well-deserved relief, and maybe, if we're lucky, some longer sleep stretches!

Little Girls Don't Wear Black

2008-10-15T22:59:00.009+02:00

And they apparently get their ears pierced two days after they're born. At least they do here.

God love the pink outfits. They are darling and dainty and delicate and I tend to find myself being drawn to them again, as if I were magically whisked back to my "pink passion" youth, but Heaven FORBID if I want to dress my little rascal up in something less typical. I mean, where's all the black?? It's not like I want to dress her up like a goth queen, or anything, but a little variation would be nice. When do little girls graduate to the full color spectrum in Valencia??

This outfit is A-Ok. She will be blessed with friends galore!

I have been studying Baby Fashion here, and these are my findings:
Pink is the norm. If you dress you're little girl in pink, she will be fully accepted and everyone will know she's a little girl. It's safe.

Sometimes you can find purple, but it's challenging. I've yet to find something in my beloved indigo.

Red is ok, and it even goes well with dark gray, which inches us closer to black. But that's where it ends. Chocolate brown? Nope. That's for boys. We have one pair of brown pants (see above pic) that were bought here, but they're decorated with rhinestones to feminize them.

Oh my! Stripes, dots and The Chili Peppers?? Guess we know who will be playing alone in the sandbox.

Dark blue? Only if it's paired with pink. Otherwise, if you have a little baldy who doesn't have her ears pierced, it'll be assumed she's a boy. (Seriously, many people have asked us if Arabella is a boy and when we say "no", they respond with, "oh well since she doesn't have earrings..." Weird, huh?)

As you all know from previous posts (and from being my friends for ages), I'm not one to follow a trend. I wear what I like whether it's "in" or not. But I have a lot of fun with clothes, and ask anyone who has a daughter, baby girls are so fun to dress up! Pink is feminine and fresh and freakin' ADORABLE but I'm missing the black!

The cute Babylegs that Grandma sent us, help expand Arabella's wardrobe!

Oh Seattle! Home of Grunge and dreary weather, just you wait until we get there!!! There is some heavy duty shopping to be done... homemade black t-shirts with those cool appliqued drawings ... dark blue crushed velvet pants... baby Birkenstocks ;-) ...

How Do You Like THEM Apples?

2008-10-15T00:37:00.006+02:00

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess that she'd say, "NOT SO MUCH."

Happy One Year, Mi Amor!!

2008-10-05T21:27:00.004+02:00

Monday, September 29th, Alex and I celebrated our one-year anniversary! Both of us had planned to do something special for the other, but the week before we decided that with the lack of funds and the stress of all these big changes taking place, we'd just do something simple and relaxing. We spent the day as a family and then after Arabella went to sleep, the two of us made a romantic dinner together. We opened a bottle of wine from our wedding and got drunk off of one glass! We are now officially lightweights.
After dinner we talked about our life and our dreams and then we danced like circus performers to "The Wine Song" by The Cat Empire. For a night completely improvised, it was spectacular!

Gooey Faced Arabella

2008-10-04T01:04:00.008+02:00

Arabella had her first bite of rice cereal this week. She seems to like it, and knows what she's supposed to do, so on we go! Of course, the consistency was nearly liquid, and for the first feeding I used my finger, so it wasn't too hard to figure out! A few days later, I used a silicone spoon and she opened up wide when it came dripping towards her. I think we'll try either apples or bananas next. It's so fun to see the expressions she makes.Sorry, I don't have any of those pictures with the food all over her face. So far, she has proven to be quite the tidy eater.

Long Wait, Quick Ride

2008-09-21T00:42:00.004+02:00

We waited 45 minutes for our bus today. We waited 45 minutes for a journey that takes 15 on foot. I was getting so pissed off because I saw the bus parked at the previous bus-stop. It just sat there for ages. Of course the whole time I was thinking about how many times I could have walked home instead of just standing there, but it was good ol' Murphy's Law that kept us there, "I've already waited this long, and I know that as soon as I start walking, the bus will come."
**Luckily we were surrounded by a beautiful rose garden with fountains and green foliage as far as the eye could see... Just kidding. This picture has nothing to do with the story. ;-)

I was ready to give the driver a piece of my mind: we were cutting into Bella's bedtime and you just don't fool around with a baby's bedtime routine. It's like a science, man! When we finally got on, however, I went to put my bus pass in the machine, and the poor driver had to do it manually. Turns out the machine was down. It took about five minutes for him to give up on the other machine and just punch my pass with a paper hole puncher. Meanwhile, another girl had got on and was also waiting for him to validate her pass... I could just imagine him having to go through this procedure AND try to drive the bus through the whole route, which made me glad our ride was a short one. Talk about dangerous!

Ends up, it was shorter than ever. We made it two stops before the entire bus broke down! Apparently, he'd used up all the battery power on the machine!!! I was watching him pushing all these buttons that kept beeping and flashing and then finally the engine seized. The poor guy, he seemed so desperate. He couldn't even get out of the busdriver's chair because the counter wouldn't open. He had to up jump over. I suppose that's the down-side of electric busses.

In the end, we walked home anyway. There could have been another bus right around the corner, but I didn't want to risk it. Bella missed out on the entire adventure. She said, "to heck with my bedtime routine. I'm pretty comfy pressed up to my mommy in my Ergo!" She went right back to sleep again once we got home.

Arabella Cuteness

2008-09-20T23:27:00.004+02:00

For the grandparents... Here she is again. Laughing her head off!

And here is the link to my Youtube page... You can check out the other videos of her (laughing, mostly ;-) www.youtube.com/user/geminiprincess77

Big Changes on the Horizon

2008-09-17T23:27:00.007+02:00

Things are about to get exceedingly more hectic around here (and no, I'm not pregnant again ;-))

We are investing in our future... Alex is going back to school to get a degree in graphic design, most likely Web Design or 3D Design. He is so thrilled about this. In my opinion, it is what he's always been meant to do. It just fits him. It's like Merry doing interior design. There was no question about it. She was already designing floor plans in the fifth grade. ;-) Alex is similar.

Isn't this exciting news??!!!! It means that Alex will be doing something he absolutely loves and, essentially, it makes our long-term future a bit less shaky. Unfortunately, though, it makes the next three years tumultuous. Alex will have class five days a week from 9am-2pm, then he'll have to work from 7pm to close (between 1 and 2 am usually... around 4am on the weekends). I already feel bad for him. He thinks that he will be able to do it, though, because he'll be inspired by what he's learning. Who knew he was such the optimist?
I will be doing a very important job as well - taking care of Arabella and running the household - but I will also be working at least half time from home. I just started this past week with my classes again, and so far so good. We hired a nanny/babysitter to be with Arabella while I'm teaching. She's a Bulgarian girl who has been living in Valencia for the past nine years. She's very nice. Arabella laughs and plays and seems to have fun with her.

Since Alex will be tied up with his classes, I've offered to put my bossiness to good use at The Bohemian when I can get down there in the afternoons. I'll be participating more with the managerial side of running the bar (the part that Alex hates. I LOVE it. See Geoff and Tammy? My bossiness has served a purpose!)

So our next three years are going to require a lot of work, being very conservative financially (we aren't going to take out a loan, so we will just have to make monthly payments) and even more patience with each other if we want to make it through alive.

The exciting news is that there is the option of doing a fourth year to finish up the degree in England. Alex is already researching the different universities that offer top end design programs, and has found quite a few grants that we might be eligible for. Huh, I may be moving to ANOTHER foreign country. Yikes!

Well, there you have it. This all starts in October. Cross your fingers for us and send us lots of positive energy. I'm sure I will be reporting back on our progress from time to time ;-)

Our Hard Headed Girl

2008-09-07T21:34:00.010+02:00

Thursday night I dreamt that Alex had left Arabella on the couch for only a split second, and while he wasn't looking, she reached for Gaia, fell on on her face and scraped and bloodied herself up big time.

The next day I kept teasing Alex to make sure to keep an eye on her, to be careful with her, not to drop her... etc.

I'm sure you can all see where this is going....

Friday night. This is how it all played out:

I was sitting in front of my computer, savoring each sip of the rare glass of wine I allow myself these days, when very faintly in the background I heard cries coming from our baby monitor. I jumped up, grabbed my glass of wine and my glass of water (one can never be too careful with alcohol while breastfeeding), ran them to the kitchen (one can also never be too careful with a cat named Gaia) and took off running to our bedroom.

From her cries, I knew something had happened. I opened the bedroom door to complete and absolute darkness. I had closed the shutters and pulled the blinds earlier that day to keep it cool and couldn't see a damn thing. Of all the days to do that... I didn't need to see her, though, to know she had fallen. Her screams were coming from too far away to be in bed. My heart was pounding so hard. Stumbling and fumbling, I finally found the light switch and ran over to my poor little baby, scared to death on the the TILED floor. She had rolled all the way over to the other side and right off. All I could think was, "Oh my god - my dream. Oh my god - my dream."She stopped crying almost immediately after I picked her up. I, on the other hand, kept shaking for nearly another half an hour.

She's ok; pretty much left unscathed. It must have been pretty terrifying for her in that moment. One last turn and you're flying through the air and then... hello floor. OOOOWWWWWWW!

As for my dream/premonition, I wish I could hone in on the skill and use it to my advantage. Wouldn't we all love to have a little internal warning system? The same thing happened the day my dog, Mia, died. The movie "Pet Cemetery" popped into my head upon waking. "Huh. That was a good movie," I thought. Then, on my way to work, trucks kept cutting me off, one after another. I remember thinking, "There is something about trucks today."

Sure enough, there was. My dog was hit and killed by one that very afternoon.

Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. Unfortunately, I have so many vivid dreams, I can never tell which ones are warnings and which ones are just manifestations of all the pent up craziness I have inside. What to do, what to do... I guess, I must accept the fact that I am a mere human and try to protect the people I love the best way I know how - by paying attention, by being vigilant and careful (and by covering every hard surface with soft, squishy pillows). ;-)

Choosing Cloth Diapers (Updated)

2008-08-30T11:50:00.031+02:00

Entering the world of cloth can be a daunting endeavor. My first week of cloth diaper research left my head spinning with dreams of prefolds and pocket diapers. No kidding. I had nightmares about diapers. Talk about stress!!!

So, here it is - a post to save you a bit of sanity.

Here you will find the differences between the various types of cloth diapers, some of my recommendations, and links to online stores.

Prefolds
Pros:

Trim
CHEAP
Simple
"It's like doing paperwork" in Alex's words.

Cons:

Learning Curve
Not very absorbent (must change frequently)
Need a cover

Where to buy:
www.greenmountaindiapers.com (I've read that these are the best. They apparently fit really well, so you don't have to adjust the rise by folding.)
www.jilliansdrawers.com
www.abbyslane.com
The last two are fantastic websites to buy a great selection of different diapers. I've used them both.

Prefolds are probably what you think of when you think "cloth diapers".

They are nice, thick pieces of absorbent fabric, (traditionally cotton) that you fold and snap on with a Snappi (one of the best inventions EVER!)

Afterward you put on a pretty, colorful cover (can be wool or with PUL liner)

Contours
Pros:

Trim
Cheap
Easier to put on than Prefolds
Great for newborns, at least I thought so.

Cons:

More leaks.
Must wash covers more often.
Not very absorbent

Contours are similar to prefolds, but are already shaped like a diaper, which makes clasping them on a Snap. They do tend to leak, however, so you have to make sure your cover is tight around the legs and high enough up in the back to prevent poo explosions. YUCKY!

Pockets

Pros:

Easy to use

Varying degrees of absorbency
Perfect for outings
Simple for babysitters, grandparents...etc

Cons:

More expensive
Frumpier

I love pockets. You have your diaper (usually with a fleece lining that pulls the moisture away from your baby and keeps them dry longer), and all you have to do is stuff an insert in the pocket. You can change the absorbency by adding doublers or thicker inserts..etc. NO COVER REQUIRED!

Recommendations:

Bumgenius - The #1 selling diaper on the market. These diapers are fantastic and they work well for naps too! I use the 3.0 one-size Bum Genius dipes almost exclusively when we're out and about. SOOO many stores carry them.
Green Acre Designs - Some of you have been eyeing my beautiful plum colored diaper with the words "Sweet Girl"embroidered on the back. Look no further- the most gorgeous, unique pockets EVER!

Fitteds
Pros:

SUPER DUPER CUTE!
Very Trim
Varying degrees of absorbency
Ideal for newborns (if you can find a small enough size)

Cons:

It's a shame that you have to put covers over the cuteness
Can be more expensive since you have to buy "sizes" (although you can also find "one-size fitteds"
Sometimes lots of snaps can be confusing and time consuming

Fitteds are my favorite at the moment. I love all the choices of prints that you can find. Plus, you can also find some very very absorbent dipes out there.

Recommendations:

Kissaluvs fitteds size 0 for newborns. (Jillians Drawers or Abbeyslane both carry them)
Muttaqins 3-step-rise or fitteds. (3-step-rise are one-size diapers. Translation: You have an excuse to pay more for these expensive, but ridiculously CUTE diapers. WARNING! the snaps can be confusing) www.muttaqinbaby.com
Baby Behinds (Abbeyslane carries them) - My favorite nighttime diaper along with
Cricketts Diapers www.crickettsdiapers.com for naps.
Hyena Cart www.hyenacart.com is full of amazing diaper stores owned by Work-at-Home Moms. My favorites are: Bagshot Row Bamboo, Arabesque Baby and The Fanciful Fanny. I have heard that Clothmopolitan's diapers are really well-made, and their prints are to die for!

Flats
Flats are the diapers that our mamas put on us when we were babies. They require some folding, but I've heard good things about them. I don't have any in my diaper stash, but it seems that you can find some super absorbent bamboo or hemp ones with cute prints on Hyena Cart.

All-in-Ones
Pros:

The easiest to use.
Don't need a cover
Don't need ANYTHING ELSE!

Cons:

Take longer to dry.
Bulkier
Frumpier

As the names implies, these are diapers that are ready to go as-is. I don't use them, as I think pockets are pretty damn simple, but many moms love them.

Ok, now you know the difference between the diapers. The next step is deciding on which ones you want to start with. A word to the wise: try a few of each. I bought waaaay too many prefolds and contours to start with and not enough fitteds, which are PERFECT for newborns.

Well, there you have it. I hope this post has helped to alleviate your spinning mind. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

She's got a Ticket to Ride

2008-08-20T20:36:00.008+02:00

It's official; Arabella has dual-citizenship! We just got her Spanish passport today (her American passport arrived a few weeks ago). What a lucky girl! Now she can travel all over the world (including Cuba :-)) and can live and work anywhere in the European Union or The United States. I'm so jealous. Well, wait! I guess I have the same privileges now, except the Cuba part.

I hope she takes advantage of the endless opportunities. I can't even express how much I've learned from living in a foreign country, trying to speak a foreign language. It's been an invaluable experience.

While Arabella will obviously grow up speaking both Spanish and English, I truly hope she learns a third language at some point. How humbling it is to lose your ability to communicate - to try to express yourself using the simplest sentences you can put together, and to know you don't sound nearly as educated as you are. It makes you think twice about how you treat foreigners in your home country. It teaches you patience. It can make you completely uncomfortable and awkward, yet sometimes, if you really work hard, it gives you a feeling of complete satisfaction and accomplishment.

Here is a fun little video I took of me working on my Spanish vowel sounds : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTxudEqUzAg For some reason, Bella thinks it's really funny. I feel better knowing that she thinks it's just as funny when Alex does it! Alex used to give me all kinds of hell because my Spanish vowel sounds were too American-sounding. I hope I'm getting better!

Initiation in Albarracín

2008-08-13T17:45:00.012+02:00

We took a little "mini-vacation" to Albarracín last weekend.

What an amazing place! It is a medieval village hidden in the Universal Mountains and protected by the Guadalaviar River on one side, and a large defensive wall on the other. In 1961 the Spanish government deemed it a national monument and it has remained intact and well-preserved ever since.

This was our first family trip alone. Since Bella was born, we've done our fair share of travelling, eating out, and doing the typical couple things we did pre-baby. She has always behaved so well in restaurants, cafes... etc, so we've just continued living or lives with baby in-tow.

Sunday night we were initiated into the Parenthood Club.

I was worried we were going to have problems at dinner. Remember, the Spanish don't eat until 9pm. Arabella's bedtime is usually around 8:30 or 9. Are you seeing how these two things don't coincide very well? However, without any problems at all, she fell sound asleep in her stroller. We took this as a sign to take advantage of the opportunity and found the most romantic and expensive restaurant in town. Restaurant Tiempo de Ensueño had the most amazing terrace with candles, white linen and a view of the mountains just on the other side of the river. It was convenient, as well, just in case Arabella decided to be difficult.

Since everything appeared to be heavenly - perfect location, romantic music... and our baby was sleeping like, well... like a baby - we decided to treat ourselves and ordered a six course meal with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.

We made it to the second course.

The rest of the evening was spent taking turns rocking, swinging swaying and singing while the the other tried to enjoy the gourmet dinner (complete with the swirled sauce on the plate).

As I sat there watching Alex rocking our baby up in the street above while trying to enjoy my fourth course (I have NO IDEA what I was eating, but it was delicious!), I realized I could get all stressed out that our daughter was interrupting the meal and maybe even annoying the other guests and waiters, or I could let it be what it was: a beautiful moment - the end of couplehood and the real initiation into parenthood. We were now three. No more romantic dinners with a sleeping baby in-tow. From here on out, I realized that Arabella would also express her opinion about what we were doing, and I kind of liked that.

I looked up at my husband still trying to soothe our fussy baby. He caught my gaze and we smiled at each other.

So this was what it was all about.

She's SOOOOO Dangerous!

2008-08-09T23:13:00.008+02:00

Bella's rolling over. You know that already. OLD NEWS. What you don't know is how seriously she is taking this rolling business. She keeps waking me up in the middle of the night with kicks to the face and ribs. She's practicing, you see. It doesn't really matter where she is, or who is in the way. Apparently every flat surface is fair game... she even tried rolling over in her stroller today.

Now we all know that along with rolling over comes rolling OFF. No, she's not done that yet (give me some credit, she's only been rolling over for a WEEK), but she is testing us. Today while changing her diaper in The Bohemian, she tried to roll right off the bench. What a little rascal!

Here is a video of me talking to her right after she tried to roll off the bench.

NOTE: I know, the end noises... DORKUS MALORKUS- But I SWEAR TO GOD she copied me today after I gave her some raspberries on her tummy. Seriously. Can you say "GENIUS baby"?

Pity from a Gypsy

2008-08-05T21:42:00.012+02:00

This afternoon while I was walking Arabella around in her stroller, desperately trying to get her to go to sleep, a beggar approached me. Here the people who beg, dig through the dumpsters and sell what they find at the weekly flea market, (and sometimes pull of pretty ingenious scams) are called "gitanos" or gypsies. Anyway, she came up to me, as friendly as could be, smiling a big toothy grin, and told me that she had a couple babies too and asked if I'd give her some money. She seemed like a nice enough person, but I had left my purse in the café, so I apologized and explained that I didn't have anything on me.

These pictures have nothing to do with the story... They are of our outing this past weekend.

Now you know that's never the end of it, and I knew it wouldn't be, but I was being completely honest. I didn't have anything to give her. She then asked if maybe I could give her a few diapers. I thought this was pretty clever. It also showed that she was being sincere about her little ones at home, but that's not very surprising. I always feel terrible for these little children that are born into a life of begging, scavenging and scamming.

When I told her that I used cloth diapers, she looked at me as if I were a big fat liar. Then she looked at Arabella's bum, just to check it out for herself. She said "cloth diapers? Like the old-fashioned ones??" I nodded. She seemed pretty curious, but at the same time cautious, like I was just trying to get out of giving her the diapers. Then she said, "So what do you do, wash them yourself?" and made the motion like she was washing diapers on a washing board. I smiled at her and told her, yes, that I washed them myself... in the washing machine. "And do you save a lot of money that way?" she asked. I said yes (and if I weren't such a diaper junkie I'd save a lot more!).

Then she looked at me, smiled and walked away. But in that last moment before she left, I swear to god, it was as if there was a sort of kinship between us - as if we were on the same wave-length. I thought I even caught a touch of pity in her eye, like she was thinking "Poor girl's worse off than me if she needs to be using cloth diapers".

New Muttaqins and Wool!

2008-08-05T21:24:00.008+02:00

I just had to post some pictures of Bella in her new wool shorties. Wool is AMAZING as a diaper cover. Instead of having to put on covers with a plastic lining (which is hot and makes you sweat), you can just put on cute wool soakers, shorties or longies. And they're not hot, even though you'd think they would be!
Apparently Arabella has found a pose she finds very becoming while in front of the camera: lifting up her shirt. I just hope she stops this before her teenage years. I really don't want to see her on one of those "Girls Gone Wild" videos.
These are two pictures of her in her Muttaqin diapers. I LOVE them! They are so trim and cute! Sadly, you do have to put covers over them when you're out of the house. But, in 90 degree weather at home without an air conditioner, it's a diaper, and that's about it!

I'm a Steamroller Baby

2008-08-02T23:15:00.009+02:00

She's a rolling fool, my girl! She has finally turned over from back to front. Last night she woke up at 2am to practice for about an hour.

In her custom embroidered Green Acre Designs Diaper

Here is a link to a video of her doing it this morning (the second time on a completely flat surface. The bed doesn't really count). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS9PlTsm-xE It's three minutes long, so may be a bit boring to some. There's also terrible interference toward the end, so I'm going to say it again: "Sorry about the quality". Oh, and you may need to pause it to let it "buffer" (let the faded pink line underneath reach the end). It seemed to take forever when I watched it. (sigh) C'mon, Technology, can't we just get along?

90 Degrees + Little Baby = Goodbye Hair

2008-07-29T22:21:00.006+02:00

I chopped it all off today. I just couldn't stand wearing my hair in ponytails every day. Plus, I'm at the postpartum stage of extreme hair loss. It's ALL falling out.

Anyway, I went in with a picture of this funky haircut that I absolutely LOVED. The ends were all choppy and the do a bit manga-esque. I came out with the same haircut I got while in college! I don't get it. The picture I took in at that time was completely different (and was different from the haircut they gave me then as well). I swear to god, no matter what picture I show them, I end up with the same two haircuts - "The Long One", and "The Short One". I thought it might be the language barrier, so I make sure to use visual aids now. Nope. It has nothing to do with language. My hair only can be cut two ways.

Luckily for me, I quite like the haircut (plus, I'm used to it). Alex's mother, however, apparently does not. She didn't say she didn't like it. She didn't have to. She didn't say ANYTHING. Not one word. Now, this is a dead give-away that you don't like something - when a friend does something drastic and you pretend you don't even notice it. C'mon! At least make a comment like, "Couldn't take the heat, eh?" or "Wow, you cut a lot off!" something! Acknowledge it, for god's sake. Its funny - people's futile attempts to be polite.

So, now I've got a short haircut. Next step: backyard with wading pool and freshly squeezed lemonade. Hey, one can dream, right?

P.S. If you don't like my haircut, you don't have to say anything just to "acknowledge it". I'm onto you. ;-)

Cure for the Big Blahs

2008-07-27T01:41:00.004+02:00

I couldn't resist. This isn't the best quality, but I caught her laughing on film.

¡A la Playa!

2008-07-21T16:24:00.007+02:00

We went to the beach yesterday evening with our friends, Bradford and Bea and their daughters, Julia and Anna. It was the first time Arabella touched sand. She seemed more interested in Anna's toys, though.

Since she's still too young for sunscreen, we were careful to go when the sun's bite wasn't as strong. We call Bella our "vampire child" since the bright sunlight makes her writher and squirm (I think she is truly meant to grow up in Seattle). At 6:30, however, it was still in the low 80's, so we spent our short visit there under a nice big beach umbrella while Julia ran around kicking up sand and causing the men to worry about their nice, clean cars.

After about 30 minutes beach time, we treated outselves to horchatas and made it home in time for a Alex to read a bedtime story.

All in all it was a nice, relaxing Sunday afternoon in Valencia.

What an Onlooker Sees

2008-07-18T22:37:00.022+02:00

I've been waiting all week long for something interesting to happen, which would, in turn, give me a good story to post. Well… Still waiting... When I got to thinking, however, I realized that plenty has happened, just not to me.

I'm just going to give you a quick recap of the week through the eyes of an onlooker....Geoffy and some of his friends started a web series! It's called "Casanovas" and it's HILARIOUS! You can view it by following this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyPeptZd38w For those of you who don't know, my brother is a producer/director/writer/actor... I suppose a little bit of all down in Los Angeles. He and his buddies come up with some pretty funny stuff. Check it out. (p.s. I hope it's ok, Geoff, that I posted this pic here without permission) Arabella has entered into the "Try to Fit EVERYTHING in My Mouth" stage. She's also drooling non-stop. Guess those teeth are starting to push up. She made a new friend this week too (courtesy of Aunt Tammy)! Her name is Penélope and she's a bunny. The poor thing now constantly has wet ears.
On a sad note, one of my friends suffered a miscarriage this past week. This is now the THIRD friend of mine who’s suffered a miscarriage in the past six months. I too went through the same experience before I got pregnant with Arabella, and I know how difficult it can be. If one of your friends goes through this, make sure to give her plenty of extra squeezes, and just be there if she needs you. Even if she says she's fine - be there. It's a lot harder to go through than it seems.

Lastly, staying true to the onlooker I've been, I secretly (and very poorly, I might add) videotaped Arabella listening to Alex singing his version of "Boom Boom Ain't it Great to be Crazy": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj9OeP_I6jI. She LOVES this song (the original AND Alex's version). “AT LAST! MWUAH HA HA! BEHOLD the key to smiling for the camera and cranky moments!!!” It's true that we probably are a real sight as we walk down the street bobbing our heads and making overly animated faces as we sing. Whatever. Gotta abide by to the song.

Diaper Madness!

2008-07-11T00:45:00.010+02:00

Hello, my names is Sarah and I'm officially a cloth-diaper junkie. "A what?!" you may ask. "Booze, I understand, it can have it's highs, but diapers?? Diapers stink. They hold pooh. They are yuc -ky!"

I bet you never even thought that one could LIKE diapers, did ya? Well one can. And I'm not the only one. There's an entire underground world here of families that use and LOVE cloth diapers, and I mean LOVE them (well, come to think of it, we may be teetering on the edge of an addiction) Yesterday, while Arabella was taking a nap, I "stumbled" upon the Goodmama diaper site http://www.thegoodmama.com/ whose owner just "happened" to be stocking her supply. I was in good company. At one point, just before this work-at-home mom posted her fluffy goodness, there were over 700 people "stalking" her site - 700 other cloth-diapering moms, hoping to score one of the most coveted diapers on the market. These are the Holy Grail of diapers. They sell out the second they are stocked. Women wait all day long hoping to score a beautifully decorated, extra absorbent, all natural, super squishy gem. After pressing "Refresh" like mad while the site is down, the games begin. It almost feels like that show, "Supermarket Sweep", but a virtual version. You just try to find any diaper that you fancy, and then starting hitting the "Check Out" button as fast as you can.

Once the chaos subsided, and I could, once again, feel my fingertips, I found myself with an empty cart. I didn't get the diaper I wanted (above), or any other diaper, for that matter, because the website crashed about a million times, and when I eventually got to the final stage of checking out, the "OUT OF STOCK" button appeared. GRRRR. Luckily, at that very moment, the Muttaqin site, http://www.muttaqinbaby.com/, home of Goodmama’s rival, and the other most desired diaper, stocked, and I was able to score three!

I know how crazy this sounds. Six months ago, I would have thought that these women are out of their minds. Well, maybe we are, but we’re sure having fun!

If you're interested in cloth diapering, check out the site: www.twoweekwait.com/preg/community/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=55

From Monterey to Valencia

2008-07-08T23:25:00.007+02:00

So, my mom left last Tuesday, but instead of mourning her departure by sitting around eating the two tons of jellybellies she brought me, I was jolted out of my potential stupor with a rush of visits all in one week! It's funny how things happen that way. I can go months without a real social engagement to plan around and then, BOOM! I can hardly fit everything in. Love it!

First we were graced with the company of beautiful Autumn and her husband, Jaimeson, who are on their honeymoon, travelling the world. I do mean "the world" they've been on the go since January. They were here with us for a couple days and we spent the time strolling around through the city (with Arabella in tow, of course) and just doing some good old fashion hanging out. Phoebe will be happy to know that they also did their fair share of tooting Portland's horn.

Two days later, a bunch of fellow ISMers showed up here in Valencia eager to meet the new little Polo Bunch. Two of my very first kindergarten students, Suraya and Izzie, along with their moms, Marie and Melinda, and Izzie's big sis, Jacque, landed in Valencia for a quick visit and some super speedy catch-up time. Has it really been five years? My, oh my how quickly time goes by. We were also spoiled with some beautiful baby gifts, and Marie was even able to bring me the soul and spirit of two other crazy partners in crime from good ol' Monterey, Taylor and Esther. Thanks again for the wonderful goodies!

What a week! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of anyone! Can you believe that?? I was so busy, I forgot to pack the camera. GRRR! Of course I can post a picture of Arabella, though. We all know that she's the real reason anyone ever reads this blog anyway!

"I'm Learning so Much from You!"

2008-07-02T23:54:00.002+02:00

My mom left yesterday and we are all sad around here. We spent a fantastic three weeks together singing silly songs, making faces, and getting down on the floor to do some tummy time.

Arabella learned many new things from her like the song, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". She also did her fair share of teaching as well. She went over the complexities of how to stick BOTH hands in your mouth at the same time, how to do the robot dance and she taught her the basics of back crawling. My mom was constantly amazed by these complicated maneuvers.

Now we’re back to “lo normal” once again, so I have to start getting used to doing all the chores that my mom took over while she was here. DOH! I’m not looking forward to changing that damn cat box.

Thanks, Mom, for such a great visit! We love you!

Simply Divine

2008-07-02T21:38:00.001+02:00

Two weekends ago we all packed up the cars and went to visit a monastery in Sigena, Spain where Alex's sister, Irene, is a nun. It was Irene's first encounter with Arabella and it was divine. My mom loved meeting Irene and was very interested in how the sisters live, what they do, etc. Their way of life is very different from the nuns that most of us imagine: singing, wearing black and white and helping unfortunate souls. These sisters do sing and believe that they help unfortunate souls, but more through prayer than action. Their days are mostly spent in solitude. They work silently, eat silently and silently pray. They are more like monks than nuns, hence the term "monastery" rather than "convent".

Alex's mother is a devout catholic and, although she is obviously proud to have a daughter as a nun, it is also quite clear that she misses her daughter madly. Visiting her is always bitter sweet, and now with her new little niece, it was a very emotional time.

It was nice to get out of the city and be around the bugs, birds and stars for a few days. Arabella, of course, was a little angel. The habit scared the bejesus out of her at the beginning, I think, but she bonded with her Tia Irene before the weekend was up.

It was, what I would call, a "religious experience".

Grandma's Here!

2008-06-19T23:51:00.000+02:00

I think Arabella recognized her after seeing her on Skype so often! I try to show Bella pictures of all of my close friends and family as often as possible, as well. I guess it helps, because she was all smiles. Their first reunion was joy-filled - tears, hugs, kisses - the whole nine yards. Arabella was still groggy from her vaccines earlier that week, so her mommy was extremely proud of her for waiting so patiently at the airport and being the ideal little baby that everyone wants to meet. She was cute and sweet and giving Grandma big huge smiles. “See how great she is, Mom??!!” I bragged. Ten minutes later, when we put her in her car seat, she started screaming and didn't stop the entire ride home. "Nice to meet ya, Gramma!"

My mom and I have been working on numerous organizational projects around the house since she's been here. We have gone out to buy some shelving and storage boxes, and other random miracle makers that make life a breeze. We've hit some roadblocks, though. Every time we start a project, we end up running into some unforeseen detour. The shelves don't fit right, the tiles are too scary for us to drill holes in, and we bought a refrigerator that is too big. Oops! I guess it's time to think creatively! Bella helps us keep our cool. Every time we get frustrated, we just have to stop and take a little break and make her smile. Baby smiles could work well in therapy sessions. They are the purest high.

Making Bella smile is pretty easy to do now. Her favorite thing to do is play "Roly-Poly Naked Time". I was explaining this to Alex over the phone (I make up dopey names for all these games and when I tell Alex, he gets really confused). I said, "I put her on the floor when she's naked and then I roll her around on a blanket." He said "who?"

I didn’t feel the question warranted a response.

Geminis Like to Party!

2008-06-08T00:36:00.000+02:00

Alex threw me a "surprise" birthday party last Saturday. I use quotations when I say "surprise" because Alex has a difficult time hiding anything from me. This is a great quality most of the time, especially when we play poker, so I don't complain that I can see through his excuses to make secret squirrel phone calls and side conversations when he thinks I'm not paying attention. It's adorable, more than anything. And I love it that he's so thoughtful. I love it that he even goes to the trouble to do something special for me on my big day.

This year we went to El Palmar, home of Paella, and enjoyed a nice outdoor lunch with some of our friends and our cute little garbanzo bean. She is definitely Spanish. She understands l0ng lunches, and doesn't fuss. She'll sit in her stroller and stare for a while and interact with everyone, then she's quite content to be passed around a bit. I can't believe how lucky we are to have such a laid-back baby! (I knock on wood every time I say this)

After lunch we went on a little walk and ended the day with drinks at the Bohemian. I nursed a beer for about three hours so I could nurse her later, and actually ended up feeling a bit buzzed so "had to" make myself a mocha milkshake. It was sublime!

I loved my birthday. I love my husband and daughter and my friends and family who made it special by calling and sending emails to wish me a happy birthday! Thanks everyone!

"Vaccines?? Maybe Some Other Day, Mom."

2008-06-05T00:04:00.000+02:00

Last weekend we celebrated Paquita's 57th birthday along with Arabella's two month birthday. I can't believe she's already TWO months old! I know it doesn't seem very old, but I just keep thinking about how quickly the past ten years have gone by, and I want to hold on to every single minute of life with our daughter. Naturally, I find myself excited for all of the new experiences she'll have and all the brand new achievements I'll want to brag about (she now smiles up a storm when you take off her diaper and pushes herself backward as if she's trench-crawling, but on her back. Obviously she's a gifted exhibitionist!). At the same time, though, I feel like I'm on a vacation that I want to last forever, but the days just keep zipping by.

Anyway, along with a white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake I made to celebrate the birthdays, two months comes with a very unpleasant present: 2 month vaccines. Poor kid. And this isn't just one quick shot. There are like SEVEN of them! So, we made sure we were prepared (more for ourselves than for her).

Tuesday morning we got Arabella all ready to go. I gave her a pep talk and told her that we could do anything she wanted afterward (as if this is different than any other day). When we got to the health clinic, though, I felt her head and it seemed hot to me (this is also an on-going occurrence. I ALWAYS think she feels warm). Now, being a new mother, I constantly feel like I'm between over-reacting about every little cough, sneeze or strange noise that she makes, and not acting fast enough when she's seriously ill. Am I paranoid or negligent? Such a dilemma. I decided to act on the side of precaution because I know that it can be dangerous to give vaccines with a fever, and told one of the pediatricians about my concern. Of course she acted as if I was just another over-protective mother. "No creo que tenga fiebre, eh" (I don't think she has a fever), she said with a look of exasperation, but they gave me a thermometer to check, "just in case". I babbled on about how they probably know better than me, but that I'm a new mom and that I'm a bit over-cautious about fevers... blah blah blah... more self-depreciating nonsense... And what do you know? She had a low-grade fever. Both of the pediatricians thought it was nothing. Glad I went with my instinct.

We took Arabella to her pediatrician and all checked out just fine. She thinks she has a virus. She should be better within the next few days. Honestly, Bella seems fine to me - a bit more crying than usual, but oddly enough, she hasn't had a fever since that morning in the clinic. Alex thinks Arabella may very well have a super power that would be the envy of all school kids - the ability to raise her body temperature on demand.

You see? Parents brag. "Oh, you'll never guess what Arabella can do..."

What's with the Animal Waste?

2008-05-28T21:40:00.000+02:00

No, I'm not writing an opinion piece on the apparent custom here of letting your dog relieve himself anywhere he'd like and then leaving it to the mercy of the soles of others to side-step (though that does play a pivotal role in my story). It’s just that excrement seems to be playing the starring role, and I don't know why.

While I was cleaning the cat box this afternoon, I found that there was a hole in the bottom of the box. What a pleasant surprise. This meant, of course, that all the urine that this box was supposedly housing for the past few days had been leaking out all over our floor. Upon realizing what was going on (the pee on my hand helped make it a whole sensory experience), I somehow managed to drop my cell phone right into the center of the pee puddle.

I was at a loss as to how you're supposed to wash piss off your phone (how do you even wash a cell phone without ruining it? I don’t think it’s a common problem- cat pee smell on a phone. I’ve never seen that in the FAQ section) so I sprayed kitchen cleaner on a rag and tried to scrub it clean. Unfortunately, I think the cleaner may have had ammonia in it though. Doh! Need I say more?

Later while changing Bella's diaper I kept smelling a foul, stinky boy smell. At first I thought it was me (remnants of the cat box debacle), but I couldn't find the source. I went on a smelling quest, sniffing every single thing in sight, but I couldn't find anything. After walking into nearly every room in the house, then retracing my steps without any luck, I finally settled down, defeated, on the living room rug, (the one I'm always trying to protect from Gaia). I glanced down at my shoes and, in that moment, I realized that those dogs had not taken mercy on my sole.

Needless to say, tomorrow's a cleaning day.

The Bunches do Spain

2008-05-25T20:48:00.000+02:00

Two weeks ago my dad and step-mom, Joyce came to visit me in Spain for the very first time. It was also their first encounter with their granddaughter, Arabella.

One of the main reasons I want to move back to The US is because I can get so frustratingly lonely here and miss my friends and family MADLY. I was in heaven while my parents were here. We wandered around the city and into some of the parks and gardens (my dad is an avid gardener), ate paella, saw some of the beautiful architecture, ate tapas, took a three day trip to Granada to see the Alhambra, ate some more... I think that's what we spent most of our time and money doing - eating. It's easy to do here, especially with the menu del dia. You just can't beat three courses for under 10€.

There were also the awkward moments with the in-laws, trying to translate and getting completely lost or just downright fed up and exhausted. Alex has more ability in that area, yet less awareness. He quickly finds himself wrapped up in conversation while the other party waits, hopelessly, for some sort of insight into what the hell is being said. In the end, it all worked out just fine with a bit of patience and some mad interpretation skills on the part of both sides.

All in all we had an amazing two weeks and I was sad to see them go. Though it sounds silly, the thing I miss most about having them here is getting up and sitting around in our pajamas while we chatted over coffee and oohed and aaahed over Arabella. It was easy and so natural and it felt like home.

Can I be a blogger too?

2008-05-25T16:19:00.000+02:00

It seems as though the entire world either reads or writes blogs. I rarely do either, but because I am living so far away from my family and my closest friends in the world I thought, "What the hell. I'll give it a try."

For those of you who have lost track of what's going on in my life, here's a quick recap:

Five years ago I left Monterey, California to travel around Europe for a year. I ended up in Valencia, Spain with a terrible bladder infection, a wicked cold and the intention of staying for four months and miraculously learning perfect Spanish.

Well, suffice it to say, I realized that it takes a bit longer than four months to learn Spanish that's even tolerable to the native speakers let alone "perfect". Five years later, I'm still making agonizingly pitiful mistakes at least once a day (sometimes once per sentence, which would increase that figure by... well, let's not even go there). On the bright side, I'm never without an amusing story to tell.

Anyway, I digress. After a year of living like a college student again; sharing apartments with other foreigners, going out nearly every night and trying to survive off of the 15-20 hour week English teacher's salary, my life again changed. I started dating my exceptionally gorgeous future husband (who was also living like a college student, yet in his very own bachelor's pad). We hooked up in Madrid during spring break (You see, I wasn't exaggerating when I said we were living like college kids), and moved in together about a month later. Shortly after, I began the slow, painful process of turning his flat into a presentable couple’s home.

One year later, after the failed attempt as a real estate agent left Alex feeling rather empty and both of us motivated to try something new, we bought our very own café/cocktail bar, The Bohemian Café. Now, how many times have you heard someone say, "My dream is to one day own a café in... (insert wildly exotic location here)? I too, was one of those people. I think it's a popular dream because it sounds so picture perfect when you're not doing it. I had NO IDEA the work that goes into running your own business, especially when your job is to serve others, which I hate, by the way. For the first four months we worked from 8:00 am to midnight every day except Sunday. It was pure hell. The café had been called "The Chaplin" before we took it over and it already had its own clientele - old people. We were trying to change its image, but not without resistance. The university professors, always in a hurry and rarely without criticism, never missed the morning rush, the precise moment to find us running around like chickens with our heads cut off. That period of time was probably the most difficult in the past five years. We hardly had any free time. Our downtime was for sleeping and lying around, zombie-like and zoning out on the TV. We survived off of kebabs, drank too much beer and lived like slobs. Thank god that is over now!

On the following Valentine’s Day, almost a year later, Alex proposed to me right there in our café. He got down on one knee and proposed three times (once in Spanish, once in English, and once more because, like a dope, I gave him the wrong hand). We were married on September 29th, 2007 in El Huerto de Santa María. It rocked. I was so lucky to have my mom and brother and some of my closest friends there as guests. We are still planning on having a ceremony/raging party in The States someday in the future. Who knows when though.

Two months ago we were blessed with the cutest, sweetest, coolest baby ever - Arabella Lucía. She is a dream. Alex calls her "Cru Cru" I call her "Sweet Girl". Our lives are consumed with her at the moment, but we can't complain. She is highly entertaining to watch and not a very difficult baby. We are extremely lucky. I love being a mom. I feel like it is what I was always meant to do.

Well folks, that's about the gist of it. I wasn't planning on writing such an epic novel, but now that everyone's all caught up, I plan on making my future blogs much shorter, yet just as enjoyable. Stay tuned...