This morning was lovely.  The kids opened their gifts, enjoyed them, played with them (gigantic points to Aunties Christina and Michelle for providing the Legos) and then began their diet of candy.  Why Jamie decided to purchase boxes and bags of candy for the kids I really don’t know.  It isn’t like they’ve never seen candy before or have no access to candy, but they all got at least 4-5 bags of candy (this, after having Christmas Eve dinner of sausages and moonmallows on the beach).  I’m pretty sure that by 10pm tonight, there will be no candy left.   So no-one ate any of the Christmas breakfast and when Jamie announced his tummy was funny I decided I wasn’t going to make dinner that no-one would eat and headed to the beach.  The kids had already deserted us, figuring the palapa elves would clean up their morning and afternoon messes, wash their laundry, do their dishes and make all happy and gay when they decided to return.  Meh.  So I spent the afternoon on the beach, alone, reading a book and I imagine any other mother would have given her left arm for that kind of day.  Me, I missed my family.

One of my most hoped-for gifts was a $25 KIVA gift certificate but none of the kids even showed the minimal interest.  Sigh.

I think I’m moving to Australia.

We were supposed to be in Merida yesterday but our flight got delayed and then delayed again, putting us in Cancun at midnight.  After going to bed at 2am and getting up at 4am, I wasn’t about to drive to Merida (4 hours) with so little sleep, so I emailed our real estate agent in Merida that we needed to reschedule.  Well, I actually emailed my NEIGHBOR, not the RE agent, who was frantic with worry after finding we’d never arrived at our hotel nor contacted her.  So we were able to reschedule the closing Yet Again and planned to leave today for Merida.  Last night when Ellen went to bed she was complaining about her stomach and at 3am we found out why.  She and I were up all night with vomitus and I dragged my ass out of bed at 9am to start the washing of the vomitus-covered bedding.  At this point I’m wondering if we should even continue to attempt our pilgrimage to Merida and it looks like I might just go alone and take the bus.

We were shocked at how easy it was coming home – after the red light and baggage search of last year I was certain we’d get another red light (when you come through Mexican customs, you press a button to determine your revision status.  If you get red, your bags are searched; green and you sail through).  We had 12 checked bags, 4 computer bags with 6 laptops, 2 backpacks, 1 carry-on and various and sundry small carry-on bags.  Thankfully, American charged us nothing (international flight) for baggage but I had a feeling Mexican customs wouldn’t be as lenient.  I had my receipts gathered and figured I’d just draw out the process, trying to find the correct receipt for whatever item Aduana might question us about, thinking the delay might just alert them to the fact that no mordida was likely and to pass us along.  Luckily, Pike picked again this year and we got the GREEN!  No baggage revision and we were deposited into the warm, humid air of Mexico.

I have to say that I really wasn’t all that happy to be home until last night.  I was over tired, we’d been sitting all day at the airport, we were hepped up on too much processed food, the kids were DEAD tired and everyone was closing in on almost 24 hours with 2 hours sleep.  Our van felt incredibly sloppy and dilapidated after the spanking new rental we’d been driving for 3 weeks and when we got home everything inside smelled of mold and mildew.

But last night, finally, it felt good to be home, roaches and bugs and piles of laundry included (well, not really the roaches) and we had fresh whole food for dinner and our marvelous neighbors waited hour after hour to pick us up at the airport and then provided breakfast the next morning and really, who cares if the van works or if the A/C grows mushrooms.

We had high hopes of not only organizing the storage unit (well, *I* did) but maybe even EMPTYING it.  So far I have been very focused on buying out the stock of 2 Thrifttowns and 1/2 of Ebay and 1/2 of Amazon.com.  I’m so sick of buying stuff I have to MAKE myself go online and shop!  Most of the online stuff is books and I think I finished with the last one today.  Some of the “iffy” books I really needed to see in person before I decided to purchase so I couldn’t line them up awaiting our arrival.  I sniped my last auction yesterday and I’m SO GLAD to have it over.  Actually, there is one more, but I think I can get it at Amazon (and honestly, I’m so DONE I don’t really care).

We decided not to go back to Merida to close on the house, but it is looking like we might be able to do it afterall.  We just need to get someone in Mexico to get our van to our mechanic, hope he is able to fix whatever is wrong with it and then drive direct from the airport to Merida (4 hours) so we can close early the next morning after we arrive.  Either that or go home and then get up at dawn to drive to Merida and close.

I was, however, able to get the boys their Christmas laptops and they are loving them.  They are loving them so much that Aunt Chrissy decided to get one for herself.  They have the flexview screens so they are able to tilt the screen in any direction and the display stays perfect.  Unfortunately, this means nothing under the tree for them this year and I’m not sure how that will go over.  If nothing else, Santa will have to leave a pathetic little gift as the girls would DEFINITELY notice the lack of a Santa gift for the boys.  So MORE shopping!  YEAH!

We decided to stay as long as we are (20 days) to enjoy family visits and to allow the boys to visit with their best friend, Andrew.  Unfortunately, Andrew recently decided to start school and the boys have few opportunities to get together.  We’re trying though.

I love the library system here – when the girls were down with sickness I was able to get all kinds of animal DVDs from the library and sate them so that the next day they didn’t even want to hear the word “movie”.  My sister and her family have been so amazing to be with though, that it all evens out.  Well, maybe all except the cold.

So, Cliff Notes version: sick, f’ing COLD, sick, consumerism UGH!, sick, family .

After the MRI (and I could read the report results and knew all was good), Jonna totally MANHANDLES (she even LAID HANDS ON ME!) me into the ENT/Neuro and forces me to undergo yet another $500 consultation.  I think that the next time she pulls that stunt, I’ll have her pay the damn consult fee!    (To be perfectly honest, I don’t know what we would have done without our amazing and caring friends.  We have always loved them and enjoyed being around them, but they have really taken friendship to a new level by concerning themselves and making our health issues their priority and Mimi has been an absolute, well, words escape me, she has been indespensible with the kids.  She so GETS them and enjoys them and they absolutely ADORE her.)  So he has a bevvy of more tests he wants done.  Jonna is foiled in her evil plan to make me financially responsible for the 10th floor of Star Medica when the lab tells her I can’t do the tests because I’ve eaten that day.  Mexico LOVES you to fast for every test.  I was told to fast for the (brain) MRI.  I personally checked with Doc Google and he tells me this is SO NOT necessary.  But it did save me from Star Medica’s lab fees.

So yesterday morning Ellen told me to go get the lab work done.  It was her birthday so I did her bidding.  For some reason, however, I’m pretty sure she was coached by someone to say that.  I walked over to the Plaza de Santiago and tried the laboratorio I’d seen there one day.  I don’t think I’ve ever been poked by two older men.  The receptionist told me they couldn’t do one of the tests but that they could do the rest.  Good enough.  I already know my cholesterol.  So she takes me back to a little room (in a beautiful colonial; I can’t tell you how it hurts my heart to see these amazing colonials used as hardware stores, mechanic shops, etc.) and the 98 year old phlebotomist shows me to a divan (!), has me lie down and procedes to 1/2 squat (it wasn’t even a comfortable squat for him) and jabs what must have been the largest needle he owns up the site of the MRI contrast puncture to draw blood.  Yikes!  Today it looks like I had a nest of snakes nibbling on the inside of my arm.  I almost asked him if he needed help getting up, but he creaked his way to a standing position and told me to come back next day, same time, for the results.  ENT/Neuro also has some ear tests he wants done and I’ll probably do those today.

I could tell by the exams the ENT/Neuro was doing that he was looking to diagnose with vertigo but I couldn’t produce the nystagmus he wanted for that diagnosis.  He also performed the head manuvers that should clear the calcium stones in BPPV but they didn’t work either.  So I guess we keep looking.  I, however, am very happy to just stop now, knowing there is nothing major going on upstairs.

The rest of yesterday was dedicated to Ellen’s birthday and it was packed full.  She has always ADORED animals and when Jonna mentioned the concept of visiting a zoo (I’ve always avoided them with the kids because I won’t support caging animals), Ellen grabbed onto that idea and there was no dissuading her.  Since the birthday child is King/Queen for the day, she dictated a zoo visit.  She really had an amazing time there and was so happy to see all the animals it was almost (but not quite) worth ignoring my values.  After visiting all the animals at least once, she found out that some rides were open (I’m guessing that most of the rides are open only on weekends) and we made sure to donate heavily to the zoo ride fund.  She rode on the back of a minimoto, bumper boats, the train and put away massive quantities of sugar.

When we had visited with Jonna and Mimi earlier, they introduced the kids to the ice rink in the mall next to their RV park (do you notice a recurring theme here?) and Ellen decided this was what she wanted to do next.  We had to buy socks for the kids (yes, my kids have NO socks) and found great clothes deals (Super Bodega in Merida) and picked up 4 shirts and 2 shorts for Sissy, who packed exactly ONE shirt and ONE pair of shorts for a week in Merida.  She reports she has No Clothes.  In reality, her tastes have changed from the skirts, skorts and pretty shirts she used to like to plainer clothes and she gave all her clothes to Ellen who is now swimming in clothes.  Which is actually a good thing, because Ellen changes outfits a minimum of 3 times a day.

So Sissy is now stocked with clothing and Jesse has 2 pairs of shorts.  Ellen, of course, could not be left out, especially when clothing was involved, so she got 2 skorts and 1 new shirt.  Next time I need to get socks, I’ll go alone.  Unfortunately, Ellen did not love the ice.  Jamie and I could not go out on the ice to help her (no socks, so no ice skates and we couldn’t walk in our shoes) so she simply hung onto the rail, cried a little and refused to let anyone help her until the very end when Jesse took one hand and an ice rink attendant took the other and led her to the gate.  I have to say that the attendants at this ice rink were exemplary; anytime one of the kids fell at least two of them would immediately be at their side to help them up.  I think that Ellen has shown herself the superior shopper as she out-shopped Jamie last night.  The man LOVES to shop and window shop, but Ellen dragged him from store to store to store until he thought he might just have to have a coronary to stop.  Fortunately her hunger kicked in and we headed to our favorite taqueria and filled up, except for postre (they were out), so we headed to WalMart to pick up cake, cherries, mandarinas and spend MORE TIME shopping, looking at stuff (toys) and generally wishing we could make time speed up so the damn birthday would be over already and we could stop the insanity of shopping (or die trying).

We got back to the hotel in time to have a cake and kiss her 7th birthday good freaking bye.

Today I have more tests, need to pick up the keys to the car from the mechanic (I somehow left them with the mechanic – did I mention we replaced the starter?), pick up lab results and maybe we’ll see something of this beautiful city other than shopping malls and hospitals.

We went to the doctor on Monday and Jamie was told his ass mass is most likely a lump of fat but that he should get a biopsy to make sure, so Please, stop for a moment and harrass him about that, Ok?  I mean, I’m dizzy (shutUP Dr. Chris!) but he needs serious medical intervention!  The doc told me that I should avoid the tabanos (the yellow flies) and DOH!, I smacked my head with the raw intelligence in this statement, and take a corticosteroid (Celestamine NS = Betamethasone) instead of Benadryl but everything I read says Benadryl.  Since I already have the Benadryl, and it has worked thus far, I’m sticking with it.  The drug he recommended to treat the vertigo/dysequilibrium (It seems to be a combination) is Nimotop and the only use I can find for it is for subarachnoid hemmorages (brain hemmorage) and I don’t like the side effects especially since my blood pressure already runs somewhat low.

So the next couple days both jamie and my and Ellen’s heads exploded with migraines and we forgot the world.  Whenever the weather gets wacky here (as it normally does, especially in these tropical times) Jamie and I get wicked sinus headaches.  I had a “sinus headache” that put me in bed for a day and is still tender 2 days later.  Jamie gets migraines and had an all-day migraine.  So I didn’t do anything about the medicines the doctor prescribed, preferring to dig a deep hole in the sand and fill it with my head.  On a bright note, the kids are LOVING Tuesday Tea Time and Jesse has begun to share stories with us.

So, yeah, I need to go back to the doc and talk about the vertigo/medicines and see what is what.  I’d also much rather not “treat” something unless I know what we’re treating; if he is hoping this SAH medicine will treat the dysequilibrium then that is great but I’d really hate taking meds unless there is a need for them.  I might try to go down this afternoon.  I also need to get dentist appointments lined up.  And Sissy turns NINE soon!

We had an amazing Monday – it is so necessary to take a day off from our routine and that is usually Sunday but something was happening Sunday so we went Monday.  Down to Tulum where the waves were small but the beaches were empty and we picinicked under a coconut tree and swam in the warm sea and stuffed our bellies with roasted chicken.

We call Sundays “Mexican Sunday” because it is about the only time that locals have to enjoy with their families.  And it was doubly lovely to see entire Mexican families, just like we were, busting into the resorts to lie on their loungers, sit under their palapas and enjoy the beaches that are supposed to belong to Mexico (but that the resorts generally prohibit anyone other than a resort-goer to enjoy.  I know we totally stick out from the resort folk as we schlepped all our stuff down the beach (in stark contrast to the resort folk who have a swimsuit (many times, just the bottom as it is Italian and French season now) and a towel and a book.  Pretty much just that.  Oh, sometimes cups of stuff from the resort.  I still can’t believe they don’t just tell us to leave.

But it was a lot of fun, people watching, listening to the Italian and French, looking at all the bare breasts and basking in luxury.  I got the boys up early; we were going to have Sunday teatime on the beach with cinnamon rolls and drinks.  We’ve started reading “Takes of a Korean Grandmother” and so far I’m really enjoying it.  Teatime is supposed to be poems, but we ain’t got no poems.  Maybe after we finish this book.  So, after such an incredibly early start (the boys as it turned out were up until 5am) we got to the beach early enough to get a little sun.  And for some reason, this Sunday was woefully lacking in both English-speaking folk and freakishly white skin burnt to a red crisp.

I FINALLY managed to lose that damn kilo, after bouncing from 83 to 84 all week, the week before, and heading steady at 83 all this past week, this morning I think I’ve made a solid landing at 82.  I’ll probably bounce between 82 and 83 this week, but I’ll take it, just to be done with that damn 84.  At least I’m heading downward again.

I managed to give myself that enormous kick in the rear and have had TWO WHOLE CONSISTENT days of Spanish.  Jesse, very cranky from lack of sleep this morning, begged for English so I relented to speaking first Spanish and then translating for him for the day.  I’ve also concentrated on 2 words each day and even when I’m speaking English, those words are always Spanish.  Today’s words were “rollo de canela” and “tollala”.  (Cinnamon Roll and towel)

The van is F.I.X.E.D. after spending two days with the mechanic.  We’ve been wondering just how good this guy is; he comes highly recommended, but you just never know.  He earned our trust with this past job though and rigged the starter so that it will now actually start without replacing the whole thing.  He had one bad diagnosis, was proven wrong and took that well and then went on to fix the problem.  That isn’t something that happens very often here.  AFter spending $950MN ($92USD) a few months ago for a new solenoid, he charged us $400MN ($41USD) for taking the starter apart, cleaning it and installing an auxillary boost.  We’ll see what happens and might just pick up a new starter when we get to the US.

Tomorrow I head to the clinica to see if I can find out what my vertigo/dysequilibrium issue is and to get GOOD FREAKING CUBANO ROAST coffee.  I’m sick of this acidic, bitter, POS Starburst stuff Jamie got on his last trip to Costco.  It is better than nothing, but now that I’ve had the Cubano Coatepec beans, I don’t thinkit is possible to go back.

And that was our Mexican Sunday.

Oh, and the weird thing today (cause none of the above was weird) was that during Sunday teatime (and “Tales of a Korean Grandmother“) I noticed that the bay at our beach was PERFECT for snorkeling.  We have had wicked windy weather for weeks now and today, when Tropical Storm Fay (checking WU just now to see if she is still TS or Cat 1) is offshore and over Cuba, we have beautifully calm seas.  Of course, by the time we were south of Akumal (and out of the lee from Cozumel?) we had wicked waves and it was a red flag day.

I have been meaning to update forfreakingever but honestly, there is really nothing to say.  Nothing new to report; the boys are still sleeping all day (Jesse had a new record yesterday when he went to bed an hour after i had goten up (7:30am)), I am still wading through curriculum and choices, a new Waldorfy school opened up and luckilly, their tuition keeps me from even considering the place (minimum of $400/month/kid), sky is still brilliantly blue, water still impossibly tourquise and clouds still heavenly white.  The weather has been kind; no storms or hurricanes but we’re now at the part of the season that it really gets started.  So we keep watching and waiting.

Jamie and I have had some medical stuff going on and I had hoped to have had some answers before I even posted but it is taking forever for us to get to a clinic or a doctor.  And that is just so incredibly sad considering the bounty of opportunity we have here.  We can have a well-respected and recommended doctor make a housecall for $500 pesos (around $50USD and rising due to the dollar jumping off skyscrapers), we can hit a decent enough clinic (on Constituentes just off the carretera if anyone is interested; something with “Rosa” or “Ana” in the name) for $300MN/consultation, we can make an appointment at Hospiten (European and uber-expensive hospital in town) for $600MN/consult and I’m sure there are more options, but these are the ones we’ve tried and have been very satisfied with so far.  We will both probably need an MRI though, and we’re wondering why pay for a consult when we’ll need to pay again after the MRIs…  We had firm plans to hit Hospiten (for information and to make an appointment) this morning, then to the coffee lady (I’ve been a month on non-Coatepec beans and am DYING for my Cuban roast) and then to the Clinica but Ellen isn’t feeling well so Jamie begged off.  He really doesn’t like to go alone without his trusty translator.  I have been very dizzy for a good couple weeks now (thus the lack of updates) and kept thinking it would just go away.  That, combined with remembering that my eyesight is getting wonky (after an exam this Spring) makes me think an MRI might be in order.  Or a CT scan.  Jamie has an ass lump that we’re thinking is muscle related but Google makes us want an MRI of that too.  So between his ass and my head we’re really overdue.

What could a 6yo be saying when she wants you to tell her how to spell “completely boots”?

The kids decided a while ago, before the constant stomach issues (and as an aside, do you think it is possible they stem from a dirty water dispenser?  Jamie found crud in the water dispenser.  ugh) that they would rotate Sunday excursions between themselves by age.  The last excursion was Sissy’s turn and she wanted to go to the local (pay) cenote.  After seeing the crocs along our walk I have no desire to swim in our local (wild) cenotes.  Unfortunately, the cenotes are not free so she reconsidered and decided she’d rather go to our local beach.

Jamie and I have noticed during our exercise walks over the last week that a yellow rope had been strung across the road leading to the beach on our neighboring property (which we have always had permission to use) and wondered why.  Today we found out.  This beach is always deserted when we go and many of us go naked, but today, Mexican Sunday, we expected it to be crowded and took our suits.  To our surprise, the beach was empty but for one family and we couldn’t figure out how one little yellow rope would keep any self-respecting Mexican from simply lfiting the rope (as we did) and heading down the road.  A rope or even rocks blocking a road are no deterrent in Mexico.  The girls and i stripped down but Jamie (wisely as it turned out) kept his suit on.  It was absolutely lovely, the beach was calm (we’ve had an unusually windy summer this year) and we saw a GIGANTIC fish (long and skinny and, did I mention about a meter long?) and we could see forever.  I noticed that the family up the beach from us had left and thought it rather odd, to leave so early, but kept to the sea.  Soon afterward a security guard came up and yelled something from the beach.  I was certainly NOT going to head out and talk to him so I sent Jamie out.  He REALLY hates speaking Spanish and seemed a little put out that I didn’t take care of the situation.  The guy yelled something and I said, “OK” and Jamie finally went out to talk to him.  Turns out they’re discouaging people from using the beach.  Well, unless you live in PaaMul.  This guy is new but recognized some of the names of guards we know and Jamie told him our palapa number (well, the wrong one, but whatever) and I’m sure the guy has a great tale to tell the other guards about the naked family.  If this guy sticks around for winter he’ll get more than an eyefull of naked PaaMulians. 

Jamie’s family is dealing with some medical issues, so if you can keep them in your thoughts I’m sure they’ll really appreciate that.

So, you see?  Really, nothing but nothing is going on.  Hot, sultry dog days of summer.

I had a long talk with the boys about the academia we are starting to delve into, having never had any formal schooling, and they are enjoying the ride.  Well, the ride so far has been incredibly easy and we only do that which they have chosen and decided they want to do.  Pike is interested in honing his mad speling skilz, math, writing, reading and art.  Jesse is not loving the idea of writing (which to me is so ironic because I think he has a real gift waiting to be discovered), but enjoys math, reading and Spanish.  He has decided to try the Art stuff I bought but will probably bow out.  So, we’re heading off to curriculm land where Sonlight will still rule the base of our daily flow.  I’m sticking with 1+2 for the girls and will go with Core 6 for the boys.  Jesse says he likes learning about new math concepts but (this is where he really shows his healthy self-esteem) it doesn’t do anything for a sense of self-achievement or satisfaction.  Pike says he gets a real feeling of achievement from the math and writing.  Since all we’re doing right now is math, writing (once a week) and me reading to them nightly, it hasn’t been a huge change in routine.  As per usual though, Runescape is providing their best education.  Jesse says he is really noticing punctuation and asked today if quotes could indicate sarcasm and can really see the unimaginable concept of a million (since he has something like 6.5 million GP).  So, if you’d like to personally come down and collect my unschooling membership card, can you bring some curriculum with you?

We have a backyard that backs up to a jungle so why am I surprised to find a family of snakes living in the bushes?  Jamie, the boys and I watched them the other day and then employed Dr. Google to figure out what they were.  Other than the fact that they were trying to get INTO the recamera (the doors are now duct-taped shut) we’re ok with them.  They seem to tunnel down though and one was trying to dig a tunnel (snakes dig a tunnel with their heads) right next to the door.  Little creepy.

Jody requested a budget post, so here is my attempt.  When we first started traveling i looked around the blogoshere and found a couple who had planned on spending $40 a day average to stay on budget.  I figured out that $100 a day for our famiy would be about what we were already spending in a stick home and we strove for that.  i kept track of expenses in Notepad and kept a running average.  As long as we were under $100 for the average, I was fine.

When we decided we wanted to stay out on the road longer than a year, I decided I’d need something better than Notepad and stole acquired Excel.  I just found out I have Office 2003 around and should upgrade poor little Excel 97 which won’t even install anymore.  Spreadsheets made it easier to track and now I had a year of data I could use to create a budget.  We weren’t really strict with the budget (as you can tell from some months) but generally came even on a yearly basis.  This year I really wanted to get serious with the budget and even cut $5000 from our operating expenses.  That has made it more dirricult but I still think the numbers are achievable.  Jamie would probably disagree.  He HATES the idea of limiting spending.

For me, the first step is determining what is a need and what is a want.  For example, we must have some means to obtain purified water.  We cannot drink from the tap.  So a dispenser of some kind is a necessity.  it could be a 3 peso pump thingie but we soon found, by the limitations of all designs, that it would leak and we would waste water.  It was also very difficult to use and the kids would dump water.  So a cheap solution but not effective.  At the other end of the scale, most people here in PaaMul have fancy water dispensers that dispense hot and cold water.  I can’t think of anything more lovely than a cold glass of water on a typical day down here.  They are pricey though, at $2000+ pesos.  I figured that we could buy a sack of ice at the restaurant (local) each and every day, and it would take us 3 YEARS to come to 1/2 the cost of the dispenser and by that time the dispenser would have rusted and need to be replaced.  We found some $70 peso dispensers which can sit on the counter, not leak, dispense water and buy ice if we want cold water.

It is easier for me to stick to a budget because I don’t see it as a deprivation.  I’m very conscious of conspicious consumption (thanks to my Dad!) and we’ve never been terribly materialistic.  When I decide I don’t want to spend money on something and can do without or do with lesser, I see it as a positive – we’re able to spend money somewhere else or save money towards something (debt, treat, emergency fund, etc.) so there is no deprivation involved.

I’ll proofread and maybe add more tomorrow, but if I don’t get this out tonight (well it is 12:37am) it may leak out my brain and be lost forever.