Packing up...

Most of our bags are packed, the toys are put away and the refrigerator is cleaned out. It's time to go home.

We had a nice last day. Our usual schedule was a little thrown off by a grown man throwing himself a completely over the top carnival birthday party at the pool, but we found other things to keep us busy and enjoyed our last few hours of tropical sunshine (and of course guacamole and a steak taco for lunch).



They must have blown up 100 beach balls for the party, Maggie really liked these giant ones. She kept trying to kick it, but it would only move about an inch.


Gracie loved floating around in this tube today. According to the scale here she weighs 8.4 kg...which I think is about 18.5 lbs...that's a big girl :)


Look mom!


Gracie's seaside siesta....


Gracie's seaside supper....


Tonight after we spent some time at the beach building sand castles and chasing crabs we went to the restaurant for a little strawberry ice cream (another of Maggie's favorite beach foods). She gave Gracie a couple of licks, after that every time Maggie took a bite Gracie would squeal and stick her tongue out.


This is Jorge, but he and Maggie call each other HOLA...it's always screamed in a very happy voice (by both of them). From her first visit here, they've been fast friends. He's very nice, but I don't know what it was about him that she initially adored. Now she loves him because he pays lots of attention to her, plays with her and always brings her her very own bowl of guacamole. Maggie ate her ice cream outside tonight and Jorge was working inside. When we went to leave she said, "Mom, we have to go find HOLA and tell him good-bye, he won't be here in the morning." The people here are awesome.


When we got home Grace was a little fussy, as soon as I took her clothes off, to get her ready for bed, she started laughing and playing. So she spent a little time in her Birthday suit.

It will be sad to leave here tomorrow morning, we've had another great trip. But we're excited to go home too. We're all really missing Arnie (and Reagan) and I can't wait for my mom and dad to get home with Deem. Besides I'm sure we'll be back soon :)

Say a little prayer for easy and on-time travels and for 2 happy little travelers. Nebraska, here we come!


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The right answer?

This is a long one, sorry......
In the last couple of days I've had 2 different conversations with Maggie, on the fly, that I really wish I'd had time to prepare for. BUT when you have a 3 year old I guess you only have so many chances to prepare.

We've been talking about Uncle Vadim a lot, because on Sunday he graduates at Camp in Alabama and gets to head home. Maggie can't wait to see him, she adores him and has really been missing him. The first conversation started something like this....Mom, did Uncle Deem crack-out of your mommy in Russia (apparently she knows he's from Russia) or a different Mommy? I quickly decided the truth was the only way to go with this one...So I told her that Uncle Deem was born with a different Mom, but that she didn't know how to take care of him and she wasn't a nice mom, so she left him at the hospital. She had lots of questions, why wasn't she a nice mom?, where did he live?, was it fun at the orphanage? and my favorite "Mom, I love Uncle Deem, why didn't his mom love him?" From the mouths of babes...I wish I had an answer to give her for that one. We talked about how it was sad that his family in Russia didn't take care of him, but that we were really lucky that now he gets to be a part of our family. In the end, she seemed content with the conversation, I'm sure as she grows there will be lots more questions, it's a hard thing to understand.

The people who work here are amazing, they're truly great to our kids. They cater to us constantly, adore Maggie (and Grace) and we spend so much time around some of them that they just truly feel like our 'community' when we're here. It's often easy to forget that their reality is SO much different then ours. As far as jobs go in this area, they have it good. They're well paid and well taken care of, relative to other locals, but everyone here is poor. There isn't much luxury in their lives and most of them work 6-7 days a week, 10-15 hours a day. The other day, Cecy (the Spanish teacher) commented that the outfit Grace had on was the cutest baby outfit she'd ever seen. I said something like, I wish your daughter was younger, I'd give it to you because Grace is about to pop out of it. She quickly commented that her niece lives in their house and she's only 5 weeks old. The next day Maggie and I took her the outfit. When Maggie gave it to her, she cried. Maggie was really confused. On our drive home we talked about how people here just don't have as many nice things as people at home, and that Cecy was just very appreciative of the gift. Again she had lots of questions, I was concerned about how to answer them, because I wasn't sure what she would repeat. We talked about how fortunate we are and that we have to remember that we have a lot and it's our job to make sure we help to other people, and one way we can do that is give people things they need. Later in the day, she disappeared into the bedroom, I went to find her and she was getting her clothes out of the drawer. I asked what she was doing and she said she was going to give her clothes to Cecy too...I told her how proud I was of her for doing something nice, but that her clothes were going to be way to big for the kids at Cecy's house. Then she asked if we could give her some more of Grace's clothes. Last night we went through all Grace's clothes and pj's and anything that was tight (or will be soon) we put in a bag to take with us today. Cecy was beside herself and Maggie was very proud (and I was very proud of her). As my girls grow, I look forward to teaching them to care about other people and to be compassionate to the needs of people around them. How often do we ignore someone who would cry at the simple gift of a used baby outfit?

Anyway, besides having deep philosophical conversations, everything is still going great here. Today things were back to normal, Grace was happy and sleepy and Maggie was great. Today was supposed to be Maggie's last day with Cecy, but when I picked her up, Cecy asked if she could have her again tomorrow. I agreed, it will be nice to have a little time to pack, and decide what to take, leave and throw, without Maggie trying to "help." And Maggie was so excited that she was bouncing off the walls.



Maggie took this picture this morning because Grace and Baby Chocolate Milk were "dressed" like twins??


"Come on Mom, Cecy and Elizabeth are probably waiting for me."


Some of those wonderful people who work here that I mentioned above. Elizabeth is on the right side of the picture, Cecy is in the middle, and the "Green Guy" is Edgar. He was singing and dancing to make Maggie laugh. She told him, that if he was her dad, she'd tell him he was embarrassing :)


Grace had a nap with a view today. Some other people had one of the "green guys" set up a pack n' play by the pool, so after they left, we used it too. She had a great nap while Maggie swam.


One of the zillion jumps she did today.


I tried to take some "real" pictures of the girls today, how could both the baby and the 3 year old know to stick out their tongues at the same time! Only my kids!


There were tons of crabs on the beach tonight, I've never seen that many before. Maggie was chasing them all over.


The happy little beach girl.


This is Maggie's "the water is coming" stance. She says, "Mom, make a wide base and get low." It's almost like she spent last week with a basketball coach or something.


Little Miss Gracie is 4 months old today. I can't believe how fast it's gone. I also can't believe how BLUE her eyes look in this picture.

Okay, enough for tonight. One more day of beach bliss and then it's back to reality.

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everybody has a bad day, right?

I have to be the first to admit that I didn't wake up with my A+ Mommy game today. I feel like I usually handle the craziness of both girls and even the stress of being alone with them pretty well. We just kind of role with it and it usually goes ok.

This morning Grace was really crabby, which is VERY uncharacteristic of her. She didn't want to eat or sleep and she didn't seem very comfortable. She's so happy and such a great baby all the time, that I just thought if I went about our day as usual she would snap out of it and become her normal self. I'm probably more worried about her bothering other people then I need to be, but when she's fussy I stress that she's driving other people crazy and that they'll be annoyed by the lady interrupting their vacation, who thinks she can manage both her kids, alone.

Anyway the moral of the story is, I got stressed and probably took it out on Maggie a little more then I should. Bless her heart, she can do some really irritating 3 year old things, and usually I try to be patient. Today, the poor girl bore the brunt of my frustration. By 1pm I felt like I'd done nothing except correct her, put her in time out and argue with her. SO we came home to have lunch and take a rest a little early. Thankfully we all rested, Grace woke up acting much more like herself, Maggie was excited that I agreed to go back to the pool for a pre-dinner swim, and I felt much better.

We had a great time swimming and using the beach slip n' slide together this afternoon. Then tonight we had a wonderful dinner with some new friends we've made here, it's 2 families; one has a 3 year old boy, and the other has a 7 month old girl...so I don't have to feel bad when Grace fusses or Maggie interrupts, they get it...they live it too. It was great to have some adult company and to get to know some really great folks.

So, while I started the day on rocky ground, it ended up being a really great day. I hope tomorrow Grace is feeling better, and I can have more patience and be back to my ol' pirate playing self! I'm a lucky mommy and I thank God for my little miracles every day, I just need to remember to ask him for the patience and energy those miracles require.



Maggie and her new friend Dillion playing soccer. Today when we got to the pool, Dillion looked at his mom and said, "Mom, there are the other people who own a baby too." :) After dinner tonight the waiter gave each of them a flashlight and they ran around the lawn shining their flashlights and laughing hysterically, smart smart waiter!


Always a fashion icon!


They just redid the beach slide this morning, so Maggie was the inaugural slider. I'm sorry they didn't have them up last week, Ben and Arnie would have loved it.


Look at those rolls! I'm anxious to get home and weigh her.


MMMMMMM, Sophie the Giraffe tastes good.


I must not have done too much damage today they both went to bed happy girls.



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I didn't eat it...

This morning Maggie discovered that the door in the back of the shower opens and goes to an outside shower. You'd have thought we discovered an amusement park! I think Maggie played in that shower for 45 minutes...when I finally convinced her to come in and dry off, she said, "Mom, there was a bug in the shower out there, it looked just like a raisin, but I didn't eat it." Good choice Mag!

When I dropped Maggie off for Spanish, she opened the door, walked in, turned around and said "check ya later mom!" Maybe we better stay a few more weeks, now that she's comfortable :) I found out today that she's been talking Cici into ice cream every morning. Today when I picked her up, I said, "Is that ice cream on your face?" and Cici said, "iiiiiis that ok?" I told her it was fine, and she said that they've pretty much made a trip out to get it every morning for the last 3 weeks. Maggie knew who the sucker was...the people here are wonderful, but it doesn't seem to dawn on them they could say no to a ridiculous request from a 3 year old. Way to take advantage of being on vacation!

We didn't play any more pirates today, but Maggie was a little confused when I wouldn't let her tie her napkin around her head at lunch.

This evening I tried to take some pictures of the girls (I can't show you, I didn't bring the card reader for that camera), we'll see how those turn out...I don't have a lot of hope. Getting them both to cooperate at the same time seems impossible at times. Maybe we'll try again tomorrow. Then after pictures we went to the movie theater for dinner and a movie.



Maggie was trying to teach Gracie the colors of her rings in Spanish.


If you ever need to put a baby on a golf cart, here's how it works. You can also strap a stroller on the back with bungee cords...I'm pretty sure anyone who sees us coming thinks I'm crazy!


Maggie was difficult at nap time today. She'd finally been quiet for about 30 min, so I stuck my head in to see if she was asleep, and this is what I found. She was standing on her bed "hiding" behind the curtain. I had time to get the camera and take a couple of pictures before she even noticed I'd come in. Then she tried to pretend to be asleep.


Dinner and a movie...hot dog, french fries, popcorn and A Bug's Life.


Looks like we need to make some friends....


Gracie watched a few minutes of the movie, then she was ready for a nap.

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Maggie and the Neverland Pirates...

Tuesday's around here are a little slow, the club is closed, our routine is a little different and there aren't usually other kids to play with. So today we made our own fun. Maggie loves the Disney show, Jake and the Neverland Pirates. It's 3 cute kid pirates who are always outsmarting Captain Hook. We decided today was "Pirate Day" around here. After doing several projects to get ready, we headed down to the beach to play pirates. Maggie kept reminding me that we were good pirates, not mean ones like Captain Hook. On the way to the beach she told several people we passed (mostly construction workers who didn't speak any English) that we were going to play pirates. They probably knew something was up because we all had rags tied on our heads and Maggie was wearing an eye patch.

Here's what we had in our Pirate bag-
-2 shovels (to bury our treasure chest)
-Treasure Chest (a decorated formula can)
-Gold Dabloons, it's what the kids get on the show. Ours were chocolate coins we got at the store the other day
-Head Scarves (cloth napkins, tied with ponytail holders)
-Eye Patches (head bands with construction paper attached)
-A sword (cardboard cut out)
-A telescope (decorated cardboard tube)
-Pirate Flag/treasure map (cut up tshirt of Arnie's, that we colored)



Before we got much done on our flag, she had to call daddy and tell him that I cut up one of his shirts. She kept telling me "daddy's going to be mad."


"Arrrrrgghhhhhh, Matey!"



Hmmmmm....funny thing, I waited until they lost their eye patches to take a picture of the 3 of us. Unfortunately a couple of bored security guards got to witness it first hand.


Burying our treasure chest for the zillionth time. We'd bury it, unbury it, eat a gold coin then repeat the whole thing.


Gracie the Pirate....she was a good sport!! This poor kid might need therapy some day :)


Waving the white flag!



One of the golf holes is right on the beach and has this old boat in the rocks right by it. Maggie must not have ever noticed the boat before, because she thought I put it there just so we had a pirate ship.


She kept saying..."Mommy Pirate, do you see land? I see land!"


Gracie had enough of her pirate costume and just decided to lay on the beach and relax for awhile.

We ended our game of pirates rather suddenly when we heard several loud claps of thunder. I was pretty sure the storm was already past us, but Maggie didn't want to get caught out in it, so we headed home for showers and to make dinner.



After dinner, Maggie and Gracie had a tea party. Gracie loves watching everything that Maggie does. Maggie was getting irritated because Grace kept "spilling" her tea cup.



I'm hoping when we wake up tomorrow maybe Pirate Day will be over....but I'm guessing she won't forget that easily. I hope there aren't more cloth napkins and eye patches in my near future, but I think that's probably wishful thinking. I guess I'll take it, I'm so grateful to have the time to make these memories with my kids.

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"Like a good tummy...."

This morning we were on our way to Maggie's Spanish lesson and I was headed for the gym. Maggie said "Mom, why do you go exercise?" I gave her some answer about needing to get in shape. Then she said, "Mommy, your tummy went back to normal after Gracie was born, just like a good tummy should." Thanks Mag, you're a doll!

I knew sooner or later we would turn a corner and today we did...Maggie didn't cry when I dropped her off with Cici (she's been doing better) but she did cry when I came to pick her up! I'd way rather have that, any day.

There are a couple other families with kids here now, I'm so glad to see them. Maggie was playing cars with 2 little boys in the pool, to any outsider it would have looked like 3 kids who'd known each other forever playing together...the truth was that the boys only spoke Spanish. Kids are amazing though, somehow between words, gestures and examples they were all in complete agreement about what was happening.


Gracie had a little more guacamole today. She LOVES it. Also, a tip if you make guacamole at home, put a little cream in it. I asked what was in it, because I wanted to be sure I wasn't feeding her something she shouldn't have and they told me it's just avocado and cream...they use the cream because it keeps the dip green a lot longer.


Poor Gracie. Maggie wanted to hold her for a picture, I see lots of headlocks in her future!


The little swimmer...Today Maggie decided she was ready for dive sticks. The pool is about 5 feet deep, I threw them out and she swam down and got them, all by herself...over and over and over. Then she decided the dive sticks weren't challenging enough so we moved on to a golf ball. Same thing, I threw it, she swam down, grabbed it and brought it back. I can't believe how much she has improved. I make her wear her life jacket when I'm not in the pool with her and she gets really annoyed with me and lectures me about how she doesn't need "that thing" anymore....too bad kiddo!


We took Gracie's new found Bumbo to the pool today. I have to thank John for the recommendation. I never would have thought of it, but I remembered him telling me that he uses Ellie's in the bathtub sometimes. It was perfect. She sat on the step and splashed for a long time. She liked it MUCH better then her floaty thing.


Arnie said she looks like an old man in this picture.


sun kissed...I've always gotten freckles on my nose in the summer. Today I noticed Maggie is getting them too. I told her she had the Westerfield's to thank for those freckles. So several times this afternoon she could be heard saying..."Take a picture and send it to the Westerfield's Mom. They gave me my nose spots."


And what would a post be without a picture of Gracie sleeping someplace...so here she is...don't worry the treadmill was out of order, she wasn't going anywhere.

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Bye Bye Daddy....

Arnie had to head home today. We will all miss him, but it was really hard on Maggie to see him go. When we left him at the airport she was screaming, then a little ways down the road she saw a woman with an umbrella, immediately stopped crying and said "mom, why does that lady have an umbrella, it's not raining, I want an umbrella." Thank God for the lady with the umbrella or I might of had to listen to the screaming all the way home.

The weather today was PERFECT. It's been pretty warm and sticky, but today there was no humidity and a pretty good breeze.




Maggie the dare devil found a new place to do "crazy jumps" from today...





The little fish is becoming such a great swimmer. It's taken some work to break her of holding her nose while she swims, but she's working on it.


What a surprise, Gracie took a nap by the pool :) Today it was cool enough she could sleep under a towel, and not be all sweaty!


Tonight we went to the beach for awhile. Maggie loves building sand castles, she got upset with me because I couldn't figure out how to put a roof on the 4 sand walls she'd built....where is an engineer when you need one?


Today we found a Bumbo chair we could borrow for the next week, Grace was so happy to have it. She loves sitting up and watching what's going on and it's the perfect thing to use in the sand.








Gracie even liked having her toes in the sand. We buried her feet and she just giggled.





My Beach Babes....

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