I can’t think of everything we did this week (along with a regular work-week for me), but here are some random photos…

The 14th was Adlani’s birthday, and we had breakfast for dinner with the Taggarts.  Finding the cupcake store, ordering the cupcakes, and carrying them home on a tray without a box or cover was an adventure in itself.

One of Adlani’s favorite gifts, from the Taggarts:

We found a cat in front of the cupcake shop:

Norah had a wiggly tooth, but suddenly the tooth next to that one (which was not wiggly) fell out, and then it took about an hour of drama to finally get the wiggly one out.  El Ratoncito Perez brought her 200 pesos, which she promptly spent (plus another 50) on a new bathing suit.

We’ve had several BIG rainstorms (usually at night) plus a storm with some hail.  When it rains, the street at the end of our block becomes a river which leads down to the storm drain that Andrew’s phone fell into.

We found some cool shops, including this one where Aliya fell in love with an elephant which she is desperate to have as her “only birthday present.”  She is my kid.

I have not bought anything in this pottery store yet, but it will happen before we leave Mexico.  I love it.

We met a new friend in Parque Juarez and the kids tried out the Mexican elliptical machines.

I took a day off and we spent the day at Xote, a hot spring / water park outside of town.

More fun with the Taggarts before they headed home…

The only time they get along…

I finished writing an article today and was feeling pretty accomplished so we headed to Geek & Coffee with most of the Taggart family. I had Annie, and Aliya and I were leading the pack about a block from our house. Norah and Andrew were each carrying beach balls, because I figured those were safe for them to kick around in the yard at Geek & Coffee. The sidewalks are narrow here, so we were walking more or less single file.

Suddenly, I heard Don yell, “ANDREW!” which is not an uncommon occurrence but I still turned around to make sure he wasn’t doing something that would get us kicked out of town. I saw him running after a beach ball, in the street, with cars approaching. Then he was in the middle of the big storm drain grate yelling, “MY FOOT IS STUCK!” as the ball carried on down the street. While trying to extract himself from the grate before getting run over, I saw his iPhone fly out of the pocket of his sweatshirt and into the storm drain.

We attract our share of attention under normal circumstances…5 kids, a dog, beach balls, Don, and me, but now we had a kid stuck in the middle of the road, and Don holding his head and yelling, “OH MY GOD! THIS IS TERRIBLE!!” multiple times. Andrew freed himself but by then the neighbors were starting to peek out of their doors to see what was so terrible.

The kids attempted to open the giant grate and Adlani had the brilliant idea of opening the smaller grate and crawling through the pipe that led to the area under the large grate, but the grates wouldn’t budge. We thought about going home to get a broom and a roll of duct tape, but before we had a chance, a workman came off of a nearby roof where he must have been watching the whole scene unfold.

He had a piece of wire about the thickness of a light-weight wire hanger, and he bent it into a long handle with a rectangular section at 90 degrees, and fished the phone out of the storm drain within minutes, while cars drove past him lying on the road. 200 pesos later (he tried to refuse but Don insisted), we were on our way again.

Andrew’s take-away was that if this had happened in the ‘Ham, nobody would have rushed to help. Is that true? I’m not sure, but I do know there’s a lot more foot traffic here and more people with time to stop and lend a hand.

~~~

As an aside, I think the kids have become a little too comfortable with Don over the last couple of weeks, but occasionally Don wins…

I don’t know why it’s different being here on a weekend (fin de semana) vs. being in the ‘Ham. Maybe it’s the leftover work that I used to feel obliged to tackle, the household projects waiting to be checked off the mile-long list, or the multiple scheduled events on the calendar. Here, we have no scheduled events, no household projects, and although I do have to get my work done, I’m trying to finish the mandatory stuff during the work-week and spend the weekend recharging.

Yesterday we went shopping with the Taggarts at the Organic Market and another arts and crafts market that had sprung up (where I showed amazing restraint and bought only edible items), and then we all came back to our house and ate the quiche and fresh bread that we had just bought, and some chips and guacamole I whipped up. It was SO NICE to just wander around town, on foot, and then sit around and eat until the wine ran out.

A thunderstorm began during my afternoon nap so the kids and I hung out waiting for it to stop so we could take Annie for her evening walk. It hadn’t stopped by 8:30 but the lightning seemed to have passed by, so I made the kids some quesadillas and took Annie out in the rain by myself. I can hear some of you questioning my judgement…walking in Mexico at night by myself (rain aside) but a) I didn’t have a choice because the dog had to pee, and b) I didn’t feel unsafe at any time. I’m not stupid, but I’m not going to live in fear, here or anywhere.

Adlani and Aliya have been having some tummy troubles so yesterday we asked the pharmacist whether they had any fiber gummies and instead she sold us a medicine called Treda. The information online ranges from “Treda is a miracle cure,” to “It’s better to avoid medication altogether and let it flow,” to “Treda can make you deaf.” They’ve each had 2 doses and are feeling much better, and they still seem to be able to hear me except when I tell them to pick up their crap.

Today we all slept late and then got ready for a date with some of the kids from our new school. Adlani was being lazy so he stayed home (all of the kids were girls), and I headed out with Aliya and Norah. About 3 houses down from ours I saw an old man passed out in a car, with the car door open and a dozen roses on his lap. It was a very surreal scene – like from a movie. A female police officer was walking by, so I asked her to check on him and we waited while she tried to rouse him – honestly, I was afraid he was dead. He finally moved – I don’t know if he was drunk, sick, or just got super-sleepy at the exact moment he tried to get out of the car, but from the look of the roses he had been sitting there a while. We gave him a glass of water and left him in the care of la policia.

The owner of our school had given me the email address of one of the moms from school – CC, and we made arrangements to meet at an amazingly wonderful café near our house, called Geek & Coffee. It’s a mix of an internet café and coffee place, with a bit more substantial food than a coffee place would typically have. The “geek” in the name is because there is usually a technology expert on hand to help with any issues you may be having with your laptop, tablet, or smart phone. There is a huge grassy courtyard with wifi throughout. We would have never in a million years found it because it’s off the beaten path behind the parking lot of Fabrica la Aurora, a beautiful art and design center that is a bit out of our budget at the moment.

We sat there chatting for about 3 hours, and it was fantastic! There were lots of dogs running around and we had Annie with us – there is also a resident cat. CC has 2 daughters around Aliya’s age, and one of their friends also joined us, plus a family from Missouri that sold everything and just began a trip that will end when the money runs out or when they find a place they want to stay for a while. They left 12 Rubbermaid bins and a rocking chair in storage, and they each have one bag with them. I’m so excited for them – what an adventure! Aliya and Norah hung out with the girls at CC’s – it’s just a little over ½ mile from our house to theirs. Annie and I walked home to check on Adlani, but not before Annie puked on CC’s floor. CC didn’t even flinch – my kind of friend. 😀

From the first morning when we woke up in San Miguel, I have felt like we moved – we’re not on vacation. There’s no pressure to see all of the sights before it’s time to go. We can buy food and cook at home without worrying that there will be a refrigerator full of leftovers when we leave. On the flip side, things that would be a temporary inconvenience if we were here for a short vacation become things we need to address. Like the little friend we found in the washing machine last night.  On the bright side, the presence of escorpiónes (and unknown other critters) is good motivation for keeping dirty clothes off the floor and shoes put away.  Our property manager said the scorpions here aren’t dangerous, although our friends’ housekeeper said, “Muy peligroso!” when we told her.  We may get some of those sticky mousetraps which I’ve heard can be used for scorpions too.

We spent the first few days settling in…

Saturday was my 48^th birthday, and our big agenda item for the day (other than celebrating) was to take a taxi to the home of a woman I “met” online, who was selling her kids’ bunk beds. Adlani’s room doesn’t currently have a bed, so that was a priority. We also bought another very important item – a Christmas tree stand!

We had my birthday breakfast at Rincon de Don Tomas, where our favorite waiters were still working. One of them – Felix – told the kids they are not allowed to speak to him in English, and he’s helping me with my Spanish too. I swear, I’m already starting to understand a lot (again). While we were having breakfast, one of the many guys selling hats, bracelets, etc., stopped at our table, and it was our pal Carlos. He looked at the kids, then looked at me and said (in English), “I remember!” and broke out into a big grin (unlike the fake smiles below).  We also hit the Organic Market which is held every Saturday.

After shopping for some pantry staples, our friends the Taggarts took us out to dinner at Chopino for my birthday, followed by a lemon meringue tart at their house. Dinner was great – they even had my favorite cocktail – a lemon drop martini! Don told the manager that our family was here for the year, and after chatting with us a bit he said, “Welcome home.” I was very touched by that, and also by the birthday card signed by lots of my friends from the ‘Ham.  So thoughtful!

On Sunday I caught up on some work before heading out for more food shopping. We have had no technology problems (knock on wood) – except that the wifi is so good it has been hard to keep the kids off their screens. Once school starts we’re going to have to set some serious rules for screen time. I’ve been able to do everything I need to do for work, including my monthly call with my boss using the wifi phone. He said I sounded like I was next door.

We had dinner at our house with the Taggarts on Sunday night, so we went to the local grocery store, Bonanza, to stock up (yes, food-shopping is a daily occurrence). We visited our favorite fruit and vegetable lady, Rubina, and when she saw us she said, “Que milagro!” (what a miracle).  After that we walked over to San Antonio (another part of town) to buy rotisserie chickens with onions and peppers that are AMAZING.

Monday was a work day for me, but Aliya went on a run in Parque Juarez with some of the Taggarts, and at noon we went to the kids’ new school which is a very short walk from home. The owner of the school, Victoria Robbins, is originally from the Northeast, and is a super-cool lady who runs a small school with multiple grades per class. She thinks she will put Aliya with the 9^th-grade group because of her maturity, which doesn’t mean she skips a grade – just that she’ll be spending the day with the kids that are most like her. There are 10-12 kids in each group. It’s possible that Norah and Adlani will end up together in the same group, which could be interesting.

We met our housekeeper Adela, who is really friendly and chatty. She seemed to love Annie, and I could hear her talking with Norah while she was cleaning. We’ll meet our property manager, Norma, and our gardener, Fernando, later in the week.

The only issue we’ve had so far (besides the scorpion) is that half of the lights in the house went out along with the washer and dryer. Norma sent Artemio, the electrician, who turned the circuit breaker back on (I didn’t know where it was) and started turning on lights, the dryer, the fountain, etc., until the problem became obvious when one of the outside lights blew up. He fixed the light and the switch, and we were back in business.

If anyone is wondering about the missing cat, Wally, he is still wandering the neighborhood, but Ben caught another cat in the trap. I read that cats and chickens are good at keeping the scorpion population at bay. I’m voting for a chicken.