December News from the Mendez Crew

Hey all. Thought I would share with you a couple of our Christmas card rejects. Yup. Aren't they cute?

This has been a wacky month. First off has been our war against cooties. We've had ongoing colds, Lily had a bad case of bronchitis, Abby got a double ear infection that required a trip to the ER on a Sunday so we could get an antibiotic prescription, then Lily and I came down with a heavy cold again this week. Sigh. I really hate colds.

The other battle in our house has been against the ants. The second it warmed up outside, the ants invaded our house in full force. We keep spraying and had the exterminators out, and have been putting everything in the kitchen in sealed containers and plastic bags. Apparently sugar ants are a common problem here, everyone has them. You all know that I have "issues" with creepy-crawlies, so having ants is just driving me up the wall.

Good news! I think we're on the downhill slope of potty training! We're still having accidents, but now they're real accidents as opposed to before. Oh, funny story - on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we were at this restaurant for lunch for a work thing for Joel. Well, Abby and her little friend Anna (three months older than Abby) found a new favorite game: peeing in a public restroom. Abby thought that the rows of toilets and getting to talk to her friend through the stall was so cool, we spent most of the day - in the bathroom. Oh well. I guess I'm training her in the "girls go to the bathroom in groups" thing a little early.

Thanksgiving ended up being nice, but crazy. We did a small (by my standards) Thanksgiving lunch at our house with one other family joining us, then put Abby down for a nap, and the rest of us went off to Joel's office Thanksgiving dinner in the afternoon. It was all great, but we were soooo stuffed. We put our tree up the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and that Sunday we went to a pool. Yes, bathing suits on November 30th. Something very wrong with being warm enough to get in a pool on Thanksgiving weekend.

Here's a few pictures from Thanksgiving:

Abby and I made a "turkey" using her hand

Our Feast

The KidsLily in her Turkey-Day Outfit

We did get our car this month, woohoo! Except we are still waiting on tags, so any driving we are doing is not exactly legal. So we're not taking it past the grocery store or Abby's school for the time being. And we got our last shipment of stuff from the US, so we're finally 100% moved to Chile. And pretty much unpacked, though not necessarily organized. I got my first "real" client this month and have enjoyed putting her resume together; and I'm starting the testing phase of my resume writer certification. I also started my Spanish classes and though I try, I just can't devote the full amount of time I should to studying. I do what I can though. In good news, I've learned how to say, "I'm going to take a shower."

So that was our November. In December, I'm really trying to focus on just completing stuff on my to-do list one at a time. And we're attempting to slow down just a bit and enjoy the holiday season. There is a Children's party at the Ambassador's residence this month, and a trip to a restaurant that is supposed to be fabulous, and Abby has her Christmas program at school as well. She's going to be a church bell. I spent most of last week making her costume. Abby also gets out of school on December 18th, so after that I will be spending lots of time thinking of ways to keep her entertained until the summer program starts at her school in January. Somewhere in there though I've got to wrap presents.

Talk to all of you soon.

Love,

Julie, Joel, Abby, and Lily

PS. One more picture. Joel and Abby performing. You can't say she gets all of her drama queen antics just from me, LOL.