Pretty sure she thinks we live here now

We were at the hotel in Guanajuato, Quinta Las Acacias, and it was nice and is very well designed.

While C was taking a bath she asked for her towel. Her new way of telling me she's done. And I brought over one of their luxe white towels to the jacuzzi where C was. She insisted no, she wanted her blue towel. My surfeit have blue towels in the bathroom we use at the house. "Nooo. Blue! Tau-wul, bluuuu" No, there's only white towels here. Bluuuuuu.

Eventually she got out and we used the white towel.

Then she started to ask for Abuela. Then David. Then Papa and Abuelo. Abuela and Papa a few times. Is was taking photos outside and we were at the hotel. Not Celaya.

I'm not sure if these little trips are a good idea or not. Or if it matters either way. But there's something about the way she's adapted that makes me think she believes we live here now.

I think she's going to be bored and sad when we first go home. Or maybe she will love her bed and be ok. I've no idea. It'll be interesting.

If I had pursued and taken that college job in Korea, she would have adapted to being a little Korean kid pretty quickly. Faster than us, I can tell. Maybe we should have done that.

I'm reading The Help and it's very good. Thanks, Jee, for the recommendation.

That's not a California roll, that's not even seen a picture of California!

Yesterday we had "sushi" at a family party. I was excited at this prospect until I remembered where we are. The "Bajio" of Mexico doesn't know sushi and, apparently, thinks California Rolls have cream cheese as an intrinsic ingredient. The rice is always standard rice, not shortgrain sushi rice --and cold. And often missing lovely, crispy seaweed on the rolls.

Anyway, it was mostly fun day. Carolina very much enjoyed the pool, a late nap, and then a water table game when she decided the game should be to soak herself instead of moving the little boat around the "pool table". No matter, there were more clean clothes to change into.

So first week we are back, I'm getting some halfway decent sushi to make up for the cream cheese roll with avocado, fake crab and a TON of rice. :) Snob? Me? Never!

Eating better, feeling better

So I've only time for a short post. Little Miss C is doing better. She will finish her antibiotics run on Monday and it's already proving to be worthwhile. It's an absolute "friega" to prepare and dispense. Why on earth they give it to you dry powder to boil water and prepare, and then the dispenser dropper is an absolute pain (actually hurts to use it unless you're wicked strong). But, and this is a huge but, she's not had any side effects like the last time she had two different antibiotics at home.

It may be that last time she was given penicillin first and we now know she's allergic. And she's older, bigger and heavier. Not sure. This one, klaricid, isn't available stateside. Ah well...

We are going to "the ranch" this afternoon, after naptime, to meet up with Ismael's college friends. Tomorrow is the same location for a Perez family meal. Then some other family meal on friday at the house. Then something family on Saturday at the house or his grandmothers, then Easter Sunday somewhere with the orozco families.

I don't have enough dressy clothes to wear something different each day for me nor carolina, but we will make do.


PS I'm still reading this and I HIGHLY recommend it: Water for Elephants

Still sick and an attempt at a day out

Yesterday the family decided to go to Cañada de la Virgen just outside of San Miguel de Allende. It's about an hour away by car. Carolina had been up most of the night starting about 1.30/2am. Three bottles of milk and finally asleep about 5am, we get up at 8.30am.

I mention I'm exhausted and could we not go today. I'll stay home with Carolina so we can nap. Well ismael really wanted to go, so I changed my mind. Bad idea.

We get there at about 11.30. For those of you playing at home, her usual nap time is 12pm. Park. Find out we have to take a minibus the last 8km and then walk 1km to get to the archeology site. I look at ismael and say this is a bad idea. He says it'll be fine.

They buy the bus tickets, we get on line and my little super whiner started wailing. Tired, clearly, but completely inconsolable. So loud in fact, she made it nearly impossible for the bus passengers to hear the guide. We got off the bus. We went home.

She didn't fall asleep in the car and, like the last 5 days, refused to eat much of anything.

She and I slept for 2.5 hours once home. After another bottle. God that was luscious sleep.
Ismael swam 1km in the pool. Clearly he's better on little sleep than me or a baby.

Speaking of whining, and I know she's on antibiotics so not herself, but the Terrible Twos are here. NO is her second favorite word after OK. I'm sure NO will be #1 soon enough. And man is she picky with food. I'm still holding out hope it gets a little better after the infection goes away. But I don't fight her. Much. Which means she's not been eating much and I refuse to increase the number of bottles a day to compensate. Yesterday was a fluke.

And she doesn't seem to be starving either. I've kept formula in lieu of milk since it doesn't give her a bad tummy or gas AND it has more vitamins and minerals than milk alone.

But I'm getting sick of making her a bottle. She's old enough to kick the habit. Once these last 3-4 molars come in, I'm done.

I'm not sure it's 3 or 4 since when I try to put my finger in there to check, she bites down like the dickens and I can't feel anything but screaming pain in my finger.

A throat infection

Yup she's sick. Brought her to the dr here and she's got a bacterial infection in her throat.

She's been not eating much, waking up early, being whiny and crying a lot. But still trying to be pleasant, really. Thank god for nap time!

It's some Dolores day thing here so we are about to go to the great-grandmothers house to eat "paletas" (ice cream pops) and something about visiting religious altars at people's homes. Yea Spain and Catholicism!!

Up all night? It's a cold.

Putting together very obvious clues, slowly, made me wonder how I got this far as a mother. It was all so obvious and yet I was confused until this morning that Carolina has a cold.

She's felt warm to me for two days and was REALLY whiny yesterday. But it wasn't until she didn't sleep most of the night and banged her head against the crib mattress that I knew something was up. She sounded like she was having trouble breathing but not too badly. Finally this morning I took her temperature and it was shy of 102 degrees. Not a fever exactly but not well either.

Her nose has been very runny today and her appetite has decreased. I know it's teeth. This "cold" I've seen before.

Her last front, bottom canine tooth broke through two days ago and this might be the result of the last set of molars. She has the bottom two threatening to break through but still haven't.

I was at least prepared with her thermometer, vicks vapor rub, Tylenol and nose aspirator thingy.

We are going to Tia Gaby's for lunch after her nap. Ah, her nap that started with intense screaming when I put her in the bath to wash out the sand. I've no idea why she did but ismael could hear it three floors down and across the pool. Even with the ocean being "loud" today. Yup.

Still, though, she had a fun morning on the beach.

Tomorrow we leave the beach very early and head back. 8 hours in the car. Yup yup yup.

For the most part

She's been sleeping well through the nights, napping regularly and having a hell of a good time with her cousin. Yesterday was a red letter afternoon with an hour in the kids' pool with Papa, Angela and about 20 other children. 

As I said before, a new set of phrases has become the all-telling sign that Carolina is done with whatever is happening and ready to either leave or move on. We get, now, the extended, "Okaaay. Aw-wight. Les Gooo. Come ooon."

It's me, well, my words, but smaller and with a higher-pitched voice. I've rarely felt so completely self-conscious of what I say. The last time was grad school when we were doing presentations in front of nearly every class. I'm sure this feeling will either become heightened as she learns more or less as I get used to it and don't care. 

Sorry for the delay on posting. We've not had the Internet for two days. Something about the router not working well enough. More in a few days!

Early mornings

Waking up at 5am in LA was just barely enough time to get ready and on a 7.20am flight to Mexico. Good that there was virtually no one at the airport. 

I now understand why the Aeromexico flights were so cheap, they weren't even half full. Good for us. Carolina got her own seat and breakfast and napped for a bit before we landed at Mexico around midday. The connecting flight was fine. 

The flight into DF was illuminating:

Me: What's that black stuff in the clouds?
Is: smog
Me: Nooo...
Is: yes, smog
Me (for the remainder of the landing): Really? No. Wow. Oh my god. No.  Really? How do people live here?
Is: that's why I don't want to live here. 
Me: me either. 

Once we landed at Leon, Miss C took a much needed second nap and slept until we arrived at Abuelos' house. 

Up this morning at 6, and did it all over again. Trading two flights for an 8-hour car ride. 

4 hours into ride to Vallarta and Carolina starts to yell out, clearly, "Okaaay. Aw-wight! Leh-go!" she was ready to get out of the car. Ok, Alright, Let's go!


Arrived shortly after 4pm. Everyone went to the potty and then had a nice lunch. She actually ate lunch!!

Disneyland, varied naps and another plane

So far Miss C has enjoyed her travels in LA, while her Aunt has been estatic to have us here. Disneyland was met with lots of happy smiles, gleeful squeals and a serious lack of a nap that also meant lots of crying and whining. There was an "emergency nap" taken for about 30 minutes just before 6pm.

It was actually funny since we just got on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, our last of the day. Carolina was between us and the ride is dark, cool and not very loud. We held her as the ride went down the water and did the roller coaster down part. She seemed to be a little afraid as she muzzled her head into Ismael's arm. BUT in fact she had fallen asleep. Slept the entire ride and then I carried her to the tram and then parking lot. It was cute. It was also unfortunate it wasn't 4 hours earlier. So we had an early night.

We get to wake up at 5am for a 7.30 flight to Mexico. I'm still wishing I had known we needed to go to Vallarta first. A much cheaper ticket and only 2.5 hours direct instead of the PITA flight to Guanajuato and then the 8+ hour car ride the next morning to Vallarta. Wish us all luck getting through that.