Sardonic

RWOTP
I have noticed I'm getting dumber by the day. It seems like I can't learn a new word to save my life. For example, my favorite author of the moment, Sharon Kay Penman, often uses the word sardonic in her writing. I admittedly should know the definition of the word, but it eludes me every time I come upon it. I dutifully look up the definition on my Kindle (one of the best features of an eReader, tyvm), then I immediately forget it and have to look it up when I come upon it in the next chapter.

So, in the interest of not getting dumber, I present what very well may be a single installment here on CdT since you never know what I'm going to stick with and what I'm not ... the random word of the post!

"The word shall be defined, then forced awkwardly and inarticulately into the other topics," she said sardonically, revealing her true feelings about the content of her blog. (First attempt - what think ye?)

sardonic \sar-DON-ik\ , adjective: Scornful, mocking; disdainfully humorous.

Feel free to comment, on this post or other RWOTP posts that may happen in the future, if you think my use of the word is wrong. The last thing I want to do is hammer the wrong definition into my head. Onward! Oh, and bonus points to the any commenters who use my RWOTP in any comments going forward.

Last Day
Today's our last full day here. Since the departing flight is now so late in the afternoon, we'll be able to take care of packing everything tomorrow.

Avery and Henry and Christie have been playing with Legos for the past hour or two. I tried to play a bit, but Legos aren't my thing. Avery seems to like them, but I'm not sure she'd sit down and play with them by herself. It's highly unlikely that she would since there are very few activities she likes to do alone.

D and I have grand plans to look in all the stores along the paseo. Other than that, there are no plans for the day. Avery is still somewhat under the weather, though she's through the worst of it I think. She seems to really need a nap in the afternoons, so I expect that will be true today, too.

Turns out there's not a lot to say about it being our last day. "What did you think, Megan? That you'd miraculously come up with something interesting to say on the last day?" I'm thinking sardonically to myself.

It's now 9:45 pm. We had a fabulous day hunting "hermie" crabs (as Avery calls them). It was a lot of fun and I hope we can do it again tomorrow. Mom, if you're reading this, you would LOVE walking in this area with Avery. It's awesome. And I think you'd love a visit here more this time of year than in May, which is the the time of year you came last time, I think.

It'll relieve everyone to know that not only do my sand socks rock when I walk in dry sand, but also when I get them completely soaking wet. The tide was out when we were walking back, so we walked in the water a bit. I just threw caution to the wind and walked with my sand socks on. I assumed that sand would make it's way into the socks since they were completely submerged. However, when I took them off when we got home, my feet were wet, but completely sand free! How awesome is that? Almost as awesome as hermie crab hunting with your 4yo (and I say that without a trace of sardonic speech).

Blending

Mexico, sweet Mexico
The days here blend into each other. I never quite know what day it is. It's a nice change of pace. Another stark difference between Portland life and Mexico life is the calendar. I have nothing scheduled, so there's no need to look at it when I'm down here. In Portland, I am constantly looking at my calendar. I don't mind being tethered to my calendar in Portland, but it's also a nice change to be free of it down here.

This morning D got up with A while I slept in a bit. When I woke up, they'd already left for a morning trip to the beach for sea shell hunting. I made myself some tea and breakfast, then started what is sure to be my last day reading my current book. It's the last of the trilogy I'm reading. I have about 20% left to read, so I am quite sure I'll get through that today. I find myself looking for things to do other than read because I so dislike the feeling of finishing a good book. And since this is the end of the trilogy, it's a double whammy. But, that means a blog update for all of you, so it's not all bad.

Felipe came for the last time last night. Of the four meals, this was the least impressive, but still very good overall. When we said we're coming back in May, he said they'll be on vacation. In Panama. We'll have to cook for ourselves?! I think, though, that their vacation might be in the beginning of May. Ours is in the end. I know that everyone's thoughts are with us as we try to brave this time at the thought of having to cook for ourselves.

This afternoon, we all walked down to the store to get a treat. Avery and Henry both wore their "Faster, Stronger, Awesomer" t-shirts and both got exceedingly messy eating their chocolate ice cream bars (Avery edged Henry in this competition). Following that, Christie & I did took a quick walk with the kids over to the Agua Viva section of the community. Avery rode her bike and Henry ran. That community is looked very nice in some spots. We had to turn around a bit earlier than I wanted since Avery said she was tired and wanted to take a nap. So, now she's upstairs taking a nap and I'm about to finish my book. Since I wrote this post out of order, this is my last sentence.

Living Room
Our GC sent a picture of our living room cabinetry in progress. When I first looked at the picture, I wondered if it was our house. D had the same reaction. Upon first glance, it completely transforms the space. After looking at it for a while, it seems less shocking. And I should note it was all good shocking. I love it. I am so looking forward to putting it to use. So much. So much. So excited!

Colorado #1 = Casual
In other wonderful news, the attire during Colorado trip #1 - which is a long weekend in Beaver Creek with D's peers at his company - is all casual. For all dinners and all events. AWESOME. I have never been a fan of dressing up, but it's getting worse as I get older. Why would anyone want to be less comfortable than absolutely possible? Again, I'm all about function over form.

Colorado #2 = Quickly Approaching
I have a week at home between my two Colorado trips. The only anxiety I'm feeling at the moment stems from concern for Avery. She didn't seem to have any problems being apart from me while I was in Mexico before her. But the #2 week comes after I've only been back a week after being gone for almost 4 days.

I know having the primary caregiver gone so much in such a short time period is expecting a lot of any kid. I fully expect that my return from Colorado #2 will have a bit of a price for me to pay. Hopefully I'll have patience with paying that price.

Fever

Avery's sick
Avery has had a fever for the past two nights. We bought some infant Tylenol at the pharmacy in town yesterday, but failed to buy a thermometer (doh!) I'm pretty sure it's a low grade fever.  She's not throwing up and is drinking enough water. Plus, I keep giving her popsicles. I don't want her dehydrated. I know the hospital here in town is good and has English speaking doctors, so I'm not worried about being out of the country. If we need to take her to the doctor, we can. I'm just frustrated that we didn't buy a thermometer yesterday.

I've implemented sick rules this morning, so she's glued to the TV at the moment.

Henry & Avery
The great news for this trip is that Henry and Avery are getting along fantastic! There hasn't been a single big argument between them. Even small ones have gone like this:

Henry: "Avery, get in and I'll push please."
Avery: "No, thank you."

Seriously. They're so damn polite with each other it cracks me up. Henry is very good at honoring Avery's "No, thank you!"s.  I'm very impressed. He doesn't quite understand why Avery doesn't want to do something, but he's good at honoring it and either just continuing to asking without forcing her, or moving on to asking someone else. Yesterday, at the pool, Henry wanted to push Avery around in the floaty chair. Avery said, "No, thank you." So Henry decided to get Damian - who was swimming with his iPod - to get in the chair. First Henry starts to drag the lounger chair on the cement. Christie said something to him about that not being good, he asked Avery to help, Avery said "no thank you", I told Avery it's nice to do teamwork when people ask for help, she grabbed the other end and helped him carry it over to the edge by a deeper part of the pool. Christie and I didn't know what they were doing, so we just watched. Henry then pushes the chair into the pool. They both stand there watching it. After about five seconds, Avery says, "Uh oh." It cracked Christie and me up since it was such a delayed reaction to the obvious. Then Henry reveals his plan by yelling at the top of his lungs to Damian, "WANT TO GET IN THE CHAIR? I'LL PUSH YOU!" Damian, of course, couldn't hear, though I'm  quite sure everyone else at the pool did. But it was still hilarious. I'm not relaying this story very well. But trust me, it was funny.

Last night the two of them had a broccoli eating context (Henry won hands-down,  but Avery did not shame me).  They also had a milk drinking contest, with Avery entering the competition well behind Henry's start and coming in for the tie.

Casa Updates
Our new locks were installed yesterday. This means we won't use the key cards anymore. I am surprised at how much of a relief that is. Not having to remember the dang card is nice! The locks do have keys, but they also have a code you can punch in to unlock the door. That'll be what we use.

We bought some additional decor to get some color into our very neutral living room. I can't find my phone at the moment, so I'm going to post this without pictures, but I'll take pictures before we leave. We bought a new piece of art for a wall in the living room, a vase with paper flowers to go in it, and some watermelon "sculptures" to go on the top shelf of our new shelves.

Community Updates
Things are chugging along in the community with many steps forward and a few steps back. Within walking distance, forward steps include:

• fresh produce available at one store; milk, bread, baking products, etc at another
• two coffee shops 
• one wine bar
• three places for lunch, not including the wine bar or coffee shops which may have food (?)
• two places for dinner
• exterior modifications being done on the two large structures that are unfinished near us. They'll remain empty, at least that's my understanding, but the company that bought the common areas of our community at least agreed to plaster and paint the buildings so it looks better. I'm happy enough with that.
• rental facility for bicycles, four wheelers; it's also a place to book boating activities, etc. That's nice to see. D rented a bike. We're bringing our bikes down next time. Times I've used my bike since we moved to Portland: 0, so I'm not too worried about where it'll get the most use

Steps back:

• This isn't so much a step back as it is a bummer. An understandable bummer, but a bummer nonetheless. The hotel has finally started to charge the homeowners for the use of their facilities. That's fair enough, but who likes to pay money to use things that used to be free? It's now $5 a person to use the pool, the palapas or loungers on the beach, or the gym. I don't have a problem with the fee, but I do wish it could be applied toward a food/beverage credit as long as you spend maybe $25 at the pool or bar. Something like that. But, like I said, it's fair. 
• The restaurant that opened by the pool (not the pool restaurant, but another) seems to have closed. It's always tough to tell these things because they're not well signed when they are open. Maybe they just pulled the tables for some reason, but it looked closed to me. That's no big loss for me since they had pizza and pasta. The salad I ordered was so small I couldn't even make it through the meal without getting hungry again, so it wasn't truly an option for me. 

Here

Avery & Henry! They're here! They're here!
They made it! They made it! It seemed a bit touch and go for a while, but it only seemed that way. It was never that way.

We all watched as Damian, Avery and Henry got off the plane and onto the tarmac. Stacey and Amber left to go to their gate while Christie and I went to anxiously await DAV. They were among the first off the plane, so we were expecting them to be among the first through customs. We waited and waited. Then waited some more. Then more. Then a little more. Then realized there were very few people still waiting for passengers. Then the security personnel looked at Christie and me and said, "No more people!" And Christie and I were like, um, no our CHILDREN! We thought there was some issue with D getting Henry into the country, being that he's not his parent and it's a bit odd to enter a foreign country with someone else's kid. But that process went just fine. The notarized letter was all that was needed. What did delay his entry was his lack of a receipt for the locks he brought down for our house. I had him bring down four locks from Home Depot. They are about $130 a piece, so just over $500 total. Each person can bring in $300 worth of goods, so with the three of them, they could have $900 worth of goods. Since he didn't have a receipt, they insisted that they'd need to look up the price of the locks, but didn't do that everyone else had gone through the line (fair enough). So our lesson learned: always bring a receipt.

On the drive back to the casa it felt like Avery had aged years instead of just the four days I was away from her. She seemed so grown up. So did Henry. You might be wondering how the flights went for D and the two 4yos. Easy peasy! The kids kept each other entertained for the most part. Henry only has about 30 minutes worth of interest in a movie on the iPad. But fortunately, he managed to entertain himself for 1.5 hours on the flight from LA to Loreto. D used the avoid-all-eye-contact approach and it worked. Avery was, of course, glued to her movie on her iPad. D even got compliments from people on how well behaved the kids were, so that's good.

Cooler
It's a bit cool today, still. But it's only 8:15 AM. Avery and Henry have asked several times for the pool, not grasping that it has to be a bit warmer. Overall, though, they're being very patient.

Avery!

Avery's coming today! AAAAVVVVEEEEERRRYYY!
I'm so excited to see Avery! And Damian, of course. But anyone whose been a parent to a 4yo knows how awesome it is to see them after an absence of even a couple of hours. I can't wait to give her a big, gigantic hug and kiss, and to hear her stories about the past few days, the flights, etc.

We've been able to Face Time (like Skyping via our iPhones for those who don't know what that is) several times. At one point, Amber was FTing with Josie and her Avery while I was FTing D and A. Amber brought her phone in and we showed (my) Avery Amber's phone, which was Josie and (her) Avery. After Amber walked away, (my) Avery asked me, "Where is Cayden?" She is very acutely aware of who Cayden is. I'm not sure the crush is the right word, but considering she's spent very little time with Cayden, we spend an inordinate amount of time talking about him.

Felipe - meal #2
We had meal #2 cooked by Felipe last night. It was delicious, as was the first one. We had paella for the main course. For the first course, it was a dish with mozzarella, artichoke hearts, cucumber and tomatoes drizzled with balsamic vinegar. I would never order if presented with a menu, but I really enjoyed it. The appetizer was sweet peppers stuffed with crab with some sort of sauce drizzled over it, as well as sauteed mushrooms with bacon/ham & maybe peppers? Whatever it was it was good. Dessert was a delicious fruit cup, which sounds a bit lame, but it was not lame in the least.

Meal #1 consisted of an entree of sea bass with grilled potatoes. The first course was zucchini, chayote and corn. It sounds bland, but it was delicious. The appetizer that night was a corn quesadilla with cheese & chorizo - ah.mah.zing. Dessert was a lemon sorbet with pinapple. I didn't have the pinapple since that was drizzled (cooked?) with alcohol, but the sorbet was delicious.

I've asked Felipe to come twice while D and the kids are here. That's a bit tougher because I'm not sure where D is with his elimination diet. Plus, I do find it difficult to say, "Please cook for us, but here's a massive list of ingredients we can't eat ..." And between D and I, that list is adding up. I think I'll feel better about it once the list stabilizes, but this is just going to be something I'll need to get comfortable with since our allergies/sensitivities are not going away.

Ben

Ben
I'm in Mexico on our annual girls' weekend. When I get back to Portland, I will have new cabinetry and a new surround sound system. I'll then get to enjoy a trip to Colorado to ski or spa with D and the other GMs and their spouses. Following that, I get to be home for a couple of weeks, then head back to Colorado to help my mom with final packing details and then drive her out to Oregon for her move there. March 2012 hasn't started and it's shaping up to be a wonderful, albeit busy, month.

All this (anticipated) wonderfulness got a swift kick in the reality gut. My friend's 5yo son died on Wednesday.  He was diagnosed three years ago with a rare form of cancer, PPB. I bawled for a good amount of time upon reading the news: "Ben died today." I wanted to pull Avery into bed with us, but D rightly pointed out that I would just scare her with my state of intensity. Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I think about is that Barb has to wake up every morning and realize all over again that it wasn't a dream, that Ben is actually dead.

Kevin and Rachele are attending services for Ben on Wednesday in Arizona. I went to Barb and Mark's wedding with Kevin and Rachele. I went to a number of weddings with friends around that same time in my life, but that weekend in Chicago was more of a bonding experience than I expected. I want to be at the service, too. What ultimately stops me, though, is not the daunting logistics or high price of flying out of and back into Mexico, but the fact that I'd have to delay seeing Avery for another couple of days. I can't do that to her, or me. I'm also terrible in grieving situations. I don't think anyone says, "I'm so good at it!" but I'm really bad. I'm awkward. I go numb rather than emotional, which then I worry makes me seem callous. Then I get mad at myself for being worried about ME when the situation doesn't have anything to do with ME. Then I end up making jokes, which can be good or bad. It's just bad. So while I would like to be there to show Barb and Mark how much I'm thinking about them and Ben,  there is a part that is relieved that it's just not possible. Barb did reply that it's OK that I can't make it and that I can fly out for a visit in a few months when she's really sad. It makes me so sad to know that the saddest and hardest times are yet to come. That nothing can be done to stop that reality. That she has to wake up every morning to it and to dig through until things get just a little bit better, bit by bit.

Mexico, Sweet Mexico

There's no segue from death to another topic like the weather. The weather during the day is ideal. Not too hot, not cool, perfect. In the mornings and the evenings it's a bit chillier than I'd prefer, but still nothing cold. Just cold enough that I can't wear the same thing I do during the day. We don't need any AC in the house and can leave the doors and windows open without bugs or heat problems. 

Some of the (small) changes we had made in the casa since our last trip make it much more functional. I love me some function. We had shelves installed in a nook in the living room/kitchen area. These are so key because there's always a need to have a place to put sunblock, medications, keys, sunglasses, hats, etc. I love the splash of blue I had them paint behind the shelves. The only problem is that having such a burst of blue does make clear the need to have more bursts of color in the room, but that's a good problem to have, it's a FWP.

We've been talking a lot about our First World Problems. Life is very good when you have FWP. It's like sitting on the tippy top of Maslow's pyramid, and that tippy top is equipped with a nice squishy and comfy seat. As only FWP can be, a lot of my FWP are superficial. Having superficial problems is wonderful. I'm so grateful that I have FWP and not real problems. 

Yesterday was nice and relaxing. We headed into town to get basic groceries. Before leaving for town, Stacey and I walked across the Paseo to the new fresh market opened a few months ago. I was thrilled, giddy, ecstatic with the selection of fruits and veggies, especially since it was not the best day to get food. I think he said the best days are Mondays and Fridays. The best food goes fast. I'm just thrilled I can walk right across the street to get veggies, fruit, and rice. They were out of brown rice, but they do sell it along with chicken bouillon cubes! The other grocery store in the community always has milk and water and snacky things. So much better than a couple of years ago. 

I'm also thrilled that I lugged down the beach cart. It required I bring our largest suitcase. I stuffed that sucker full of stuff to bring down. It weighed exactly 50.0 lb. A tenth of a pound more and we would have had to juggle things around in suitcases to avoid the excess baggage charge. Anyway, the beach cart will be quite useful I think. I was doing a little dance when I put it together. I also brought down a portable sun shade. I set it up on the roof terrace a bit ago for reading. It's easy to put up and take down. I will definitely be taking it to the pool with us on a regular basis. Shade will be mine! That was another reason we needed the beach cart: so it's easy to get the sun shade to the pool and back. 

Yeah, so I'm having a great time. I am anxious for D and Avery to get here. It doesn't feel the same without them. Don't get me wrong, I love having the time to do whatever I want, totally guilt free. That's great. But this house is supposed to have D and Avery in it when I'm here. Plus, I keep thinking about how excited Avery was when I was packing my bag for Mexico. I went downstairs to get something. When I came back, she'd gone into the closet and pulled out her suitcase, then proceeded to pack everything she needed for the trip: her Dora Pillow Pet, her pink & purple cuddly blanket, and her Stella doll. I can't wait to give her a big, gigantic hug!