First off, earlier this month I posted about a local preschool that several of us are trying to help/ Well, we created a blog about the school and it has a ton of pictures: http://jardininfantilelroble.blogspot.com/. Please feel free to check it out - this was one of my projects this month. Working on this school has been just one more thing to add to my busy schedule, but it's exciting and interesting as well. So, from now on, I'll be posting updates about this project at this website, instead of here on our family blog.
October has been one whirlwind after another. Joel was gone for ten (very long) days at the beginning of the month. He was having fun back in the US for a conference and to see his family in Miami. Me? I was not sleeping. But he's back now, and Abby is starting to sleep better at night. Notice I said Abby, not Lily. From about 2am-6am is often just futile effort to sleep on my part. She wants to eat, she poops, she has gas and needs to burp, which leads to more poop. Which opens up more room to eat some more, and so on, and so on.
We also had our housekeeper start this month. FINALLY. Man, Iris (Spanish pronunciation is Eee-rus) is great. She cleans the entire house every day, and cooks dinner every night. She spoils Abby rotten, and can get Lily to actually go to sleep for a nap. She speaks no English, but with my very very very bad Spanish and occasional calls to Joel for translation help, we manage to communicate. Having her here has allowed me to really put some time in each day on my business and other odds and ends that need doing. Like getting a shower each morning.
Speaking of my business, we're finally up and active and LIVE! Yup, you can check out my website at http://www.jsmcareercoaching.com/. For the past two weeks I've been working on writing a press release and then sending it all over the Foreign Service world. This week I have to write another press release that's not so FS-focused and start sending it out other places. But things are really starting to hop in Career Coaching land. I've got the CLO in Jakarta asking me to host a video conference seminar on volunteerism in resumes, and I'm in talks with another guy about speaking on his podcast. We're still working on topics. And I'm also teaching a teleseminar on business plans for my association in December (Remember me complaining about that business course I took last fall? Well, looks like that course is paying off now!) So yep, I'm keeping as busy as I can be here.
Abby brought home the crud from preschool, and it has been passed around to every member of the family. Sometimes twice. Seriously, Abby's on her third bug now (the first was a cold, which turned into bronchitis, and this weekend she has some kindof "my tummy hurts" thing happening). I swear, if one germ molecule is within 200 feet of Abby, she's going to catch it. I wish I could figure out how to boost up her immune system, beyond the gummy vitamins she already gets. Joel got a nasty cough, and Lily has had the worst congestion as well. But because she's so small, they refuse to give her any real drugs and I'm just supposed to listen to her phlegm-y hacking until it goes away on its own. Hmmph. I personally was doing great, and thought I was going to miss this go-round, but nope. Had to run to the Embassy Dr on Tuesday, and was diagnosed with Strep. The JOYs of having kids in preschool, right? Don't worry, we handed Iris the box of Clorox-wipes, and one of her new tasks is to disinfect every surface in the house each and every day.
In other Abby news: We've started potty training. We've not had a lot of success yet, but have had some conversations that go like this:
Me: "Abby, where does ca-ca go?" (This is poop, just in case you didn't get that.)
Abby: "Not on the floor."
Me: "No, not on the floor."
Abby: "Cause that's gross."
Me: "Yes, that's gross."
Abby: "That's nasty."
Me: "Yes, that's nasty. . . . So, where does ca-ca go?"
Abby: "Not in the bed."
Me: "No, not in the bed."
Abby: "That's gross."
Me: "Yes, that's gross."
Abby: "That's nasty."
And so on and so on. At least where she DOESN'T go has gotten through. (Oh, and she says the word "nasty" with a completely Southern accent. As in "That's Naaasstee." Wonder who she got that from, hee hee.)
Several folks have asked about our stuff and our car. Don't worry, we've been asking too. We're supposed to hear something this week, as in "Your stuff has arrived and will be delivered ___." We're just praying we get our car by Thanksgiving so we can have something extra to feel thankful for.
Halloween was a blast. The girls were "Butterfly Fairies." And everyone at the Embassy Halloween party thought that they were adorable.
.JPG)
Abby is starting to figure out the whole Trick-or-Treating thing. We went around our neighborhood on Friday afternoon. She really liked getting candy put in her bag when she rang the buzzer. (Not that she ate any, Joel and I did that for her after she went to bed.)
This weekend we borrowed a friend's car for the day, and drove to this area called Piedra Roja ("Red Rock"). It's a man-made lake surrounded by mountains, which a cute little shopping center nearby. You can rent boats and kayaks and stuff, which we talked about doing when we don't have the kids with us.
We ate lunch there, and the girls fell asleep in the stroller, so we went and bought groceries, and then drove downtown to this huge mall and did a bit of shopping there. You all will be happy to know that I talked Joel out of getting the remote control car for Abby for Christmas. As in the motorized car that Abby can ride in while Joel drives it with a remote control. I have to admit, it was pretty sweet, but completely over the top.
November should see us getting over the crud and getting our stuff and the car (we hope, anyway), plus me working on a bake sale fundraiser for the preschool (selling cookies at Abby's preschool to raise money for the other preschool that needs the toys), working like crazy on my business, starting Spanish lessons and making Thanksgiving Dinner for Joel's entire office. We are skipping the Marine Ball this year. I don't fit into any of my dresses yet, and Lily is pretty reluctant to take a bottle. I also hope to have time to start scrapbooking again this month, but that might be wishful thinking.
Talk to all of you soon!
Love,
Julie, Joel, Abby, and Lily
No comments:
Post a Comment