Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Pumpkins, Weddings and Stomach Flu

I took part in these three things over the weekend. The first two were voluntary; the latter, not so much. Over the weekend, Isa, James and I were in San Diego to celebrate the wedding of some dear friends.

It started out all right. Some pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, a visit to a Fall Festival on my old college campus. Then on Saturday it hit.

24-hour stomach flu. The nastiest case of it I had ever seen. It started with Isa who came down with it on Friday while we were out with my mom. Then, I came down with it on Saturday before the wedding... yeah, really bad timing.

Next it was James later that night, then my mom, my uncle, my cousin's daughter, a friend I had hung out with on Saturday, my mother-in-law, my Aunt, then my cousin.

I'm not joking. It was crazy.

It was a real-life contagion.

James and I were so sick Saturday night that on Sunday morning when we were supposed to catch a flight back to D.F., we knew there was no way it was going to happen. We called the airline and rescheduled it for Monday instead and decided it was best.... although being out an extra $400 to make the change was definitely not best for our pocket books.

We have since recovered and are getting back into the swing of things here in lovely Mexico City.

When all was said and done, we were still thankful we went and thankful to have seen loved ones.

We miss San Diego. We miss the weather, the beauty; but mostly we miss the people.

People are what counts, and we have some good ones there.

The kind you want to keep around forever.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.... before the flu.... hence the smiles.

Our Little Pumpkin

The Happy Couple, Andy and Tyra

My Handsome Man

Monday, October 10, 2011

Who Wins?

I try to do a lot.

Not only do I do a lot, I attempt to do it all well.

Teaching, motherhood, being a wife, a friend.

Here's the thing.

It's impossible to do it all and do it all well.

Something's got to give.

That's a hard pill to swallow for me.

As a first year teacher, I want to put 100% into the job.

As the mother of an ever growing, ever developing 16 month old, I want to put 100% into loving and nurturing her; fostering her development.

As the wife of the most incredible man, I want to put 100% into supporting and loving him.

I could go on, but I'm already up to 300% and I'm pretty sure that puts me 200% over the limit (I'm a teacher, so I know these things).

So what do I do? Well, as my incredible husband said to me the other day, what's most important?

It's a no-brainer.

Their names rhyme with Shmeesabela and Lames. They win. Every time. Hands down. No contest.

So what does that mean for the job? It means I might not be a great teacher this year, but I will be a  good one.

I'd rather be a great mother and a great wife.

For me, for them.

They win.

My loves

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

I Live in Mexico?

I live in Mexico City.

In 15 days I will have lived in Mexico City for three years.

I still remember the day I jumped into the "shuttle" which was really just an old van, on the US side of the Mexican border and took it to the Tijuana Airport to board a flight to Distrito Federal.

James and I had our backpacking bags packed with what clothes we could fit and that was it.

No set jobs.

A few thousand dollars to our name.

Married only three weeks.

And no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

Almost three years later we have a house, a baby, good jobs with full benefits and a solid marriage.

How it happened is all a bit of a blur, but I know there was some blood sweat and tears in there somewhere.

*************

In thinking about this blog of mine today, I tried to pinpoint what exactly it was focused on. It's called Life en Espanol, which would lead one to believe it was about life in Mexico, but now, after three years here I realize it's just about life.

No "in Mexico" needed.

I'm at the point with living here where it is not new anymore, it is not strange or different or unique that I live in a foreign country; because that country is no longer foreign to me.

It just is.

This is just life.

It is my day to day and it is what I know.

*************

I couldn't tell you exactly when that shift happened for me, but whenever it did, I am thankful for it.

A glimpse back into our first month in Mexico:

New to the city and our first time trying a Cubano and Michelada... so delicious.

Happy Travelers




Monday, October 3, 2011

Fall la la Fashion

As the air gets colder here in Mexico City and the wind picks up, I find myself daydreaming of slipping into some of these beautiful fall looks, all courtesy of my beloved anthropologie.

A lovely dress perfect for a San Diego fall wedding... which I will be attending in a matter of weeks.

Great teacher outfit.

And one more, just for fun.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Caught in the Waves


When I was little I had this book that was filled with these black, white and grey drawings. Along with the drawings were a few sentences on each page. They were intended as story prompts for children, with the intention of encouraging them to write.

I remember one with a little girl opening a box that had something inside of it that illuminated her and the room around her with a sentence on the adjoining page that read something like, "and so it happened that on her 12th birthday it had found her..."

There was one with a man holding a chair above his head about to stomp something under his carpet that was mysteriously traveling through the living room; and another with a woman lying in bed asleep with a book open next to her. Inside the book was what looked like a vine growing around her; and other drawings involving mysterious or exciting events.

But there was one that always interested me more than the rest.

It was a drawing of a little girl sitting inside a small wooden wagon with a sail attached to it. It was being pushed by a little boy. They were going fast, headed down a pier of some sort; but it was a pier which dead ended into an ocean.

I forget what the story prompt read, but the image of that boy and girl is so engraved in my mind. That one drew me in. It caught me; held me captive.

I've always longed for an adventure. I even remember praying for one as a little girl. I wanted to explore a new place, a new land. I wanted to meet all kinds of people, things, animals, and I wanted to meet a boy who would accompany me for the ride.

Looking at my life now, I feel as though so much of those longings have become a reality. I am that girl, sitting in the wagon with my fearless adventurer pushing me from behind. We are exploring a new land, meeting new people, seeing new things.

But now we've reached the end of the pier and we're in the water. We're floating along, secure in our boat and sail, but the waves are starting to pick up. We're both holding on and trying to keep steady, but I can't seem to get a good grip.

I'm scared, overwhelmed by the task in front of us.

I'm trying to grab an oar to help steer, but can't seem to gather enough strength to make an impact.

The waves all seem too big.

In this moment, my fellow adventurer is yelling to me, reassuring me, "it's all right," he says. "you're going to make it."

"We're going to figure this out."

Life seems to have surrounded me in this moment. Working as a first year teacher, motherhood, wife, friend. They are all things that I hold dear. They are my adventure. But adventure never comes without some rough currents.

I feel the pull of those currents right now.

As these waves push me around I am thankful for the voice of that boy and his presence in my boat. I am reminded that I am not caught in these waves alone; rather with the most incredible partner I could ever have imagined and with a power greater than those waves watching over me; holding me steady.

****After writing this I decided to try and find this book online. It's called The Mysteries of Harris Burdock and you can find it here.


TV Shmeevee

We've always tried to keep TV to a minimum in our house. Having a 19 in TV screen helps with this.

Since moving to Mexico, James and I have found that we just don't have the time to sit down and watch a show, nor do we seem to want to much anymore.

Since having Isa, this has just been a norm. We never have the TV on. She's usually more interested in running around the house anyway, or reading a book, that we're too busy keeping up with her to get engrossed in an episode of House.

But, then it happened.

As I was perusing youtube, I stumbled across a video from Sesame Street featuring Feist as the special guest, singing about the number 4.

One word... Awesome.

Isa loved it. Since then I have found other great short Sesame Street videos featuring an array of musical guests like Will I Am, Jason Mraz, India Arie, and many more.

I forgot how much Sesame Street rocks. Seriously, it's smart, it's witty and from a teacher's perspective, it uses engaging strategies to get kids excited to learn.

I heart it.

I do.

Just to prove it, here's one of Isa (and my) favorites as of late.