Weekend

I've been absorbed with finding a place for us to spend the holiday weekend for the past 3 days. Everything is coming into place, thanks be to God.

Left: 5 kites flying high. A very popular pasttime here. Most are homemade.

This past weekend we went to the street that runs along the southside of Santo Domingo. You can see in the pictures that Santo Domingo isn't a sandy beach area, but cliff dropoffs.

On Sunday we spent the afternoon with David, Kathrin, Jonathan, & Katie. The picture of the neighborhood is the street thay live on. They just recently moved into their home.

Back Online

After two days of no internet I was very glad to come home this afternoon to find that I didn't have to call the internet company again and fumble my way through a conversation that would have been only one -sided (them talking and me not understanding).
Today was the first day in six days that Darton hasn't had a fever! But it was the day that I had set up an appointmen for the doctor. All in God's timing.
Against the advice of Ana and other Dominican friends, I didn't take Darton to the doctor all week since his temperature never rose above 100F. I assumed there was nothing that could be done by the doctor unless there was an infection. Yesterday he took a turn for the worse. After quite a few failed attempts to get a hold of an English speaking doctor, I was able to get an appointment for today at 12:30p. Darton was bad enough though yesterday that I was going to take him to a Spanish speaking only doctor whom I had seen before. The Lord had a different plan because the battery to the car had died!
Thank you to Denny for your help! Denny called a battery place nearby and brought a man here to install a new battery. The DR is all about service, so the idea of someone coming to your house to do the work on your car only means a couple hundred more pesos ($6US).
This morning there was an expatriot wife's meeting about living in the DR at a nearby hotel. I took Darton with me and Adeline stayed with Ana. I left the meeting in the middle at 11a, came back to the house and we all left at 11:40a to drop Adeline off back at the hotel to stay with friends (Thank you Julie & Anastasia) , and then to drop Ana off at her bus stop. At 12p I was now headed towards the doctor. I arrived at 12:20p for my appointment feeling very good that I was actually early after battling city traffic.
BUT... the doctor was now in a new location!!! Although he only ended up being a block away, I didn't understand all the directions and it took a couple of u-turns and 30 minutes to get to the doctor. There is nothing enjoyable about traffic in a city of 3.5 million people of whom most don't follow traffic laws creating more chaos than normal (i.e. 5 lanes of driving becomes 2 lanes because people are turning left out of 2 or 3 (only one marked for turning) and buses and taxis are in the far right lane stopping and going without any turn signals).
Praise God the doctor wasn't busy and I saw him by 1:15p and out before 2p. This usually NEVER happens in the DR. I don't know if it was the doctor (who spoke English and had an office more like one in the States) or God, or probably a mixture of two.
Darton, as I had suspected, was fine and if I had come in earlier in the week to see the doctor, there was nothing he could have done since there was no infection. So my relaxed mothering approach isn't always so bad :)
After a rough two weeks sickness life is back to normal now and both kids are currently taking naps. Guess I better get one in too.

BK

To get out of the house I thought we'd go somewhere with a playground and icecream. It was a failed outing. The closest playground with icecream to us is Burger King. After being told they were out of icecream, we walked out the door and then I asked Adeline if she'd rather have the playground over icecream. She opted for the playground, so I went back in to order drinks while Ana & Adeline headed for the playground. AFTER I paid for the drinks and Adeline had started playing, we were told we couldn't play b/c the door to the playground from the restaurant was broken. You got to be kidding me! So now I have to sit inside with my 2 1/2yr old and 10mth old and just drink??? We got a cookie and fries to help pacify them. It didn't end up being too bad, just not what I had intended.

Comida Dominicana

With Ana now living with us, we've been experiencing a lot more Dominican food. I'm giong to try to post as much as possible about it.
Green bananas/guineos are very popular here. In fact, it's hard to find a ripe banana that's not too brown. If you wrap the green ones in newspaper they will ripen at your house (I've yet to do this).
You slice them and fry them 2x before eating them. It's almost like a potato taste. Good with ketschup.

Or you can boil them. The water turns dark brown from the banana. It does the same thing when boiling a green plantain/plantano. They take a while to boil, and then you mash them and add butter. I call this dish Domincan mash potatoes. It's extremely similar in taste.
Ana is the second person to make potato salad with this mixture, so I'm guessing it's a common way to make it. Potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, onion, and a touch of mayonaise. Yesterday Ana made lunch. Fried salomi is very popular here. She made the bread on the griddle as well.

I finally figured out how to buy good bread. There's not much if any bread selection on the grocery shelf, and my friend Katharin told me to buy it from the bakery in the grocery store. It's soooo much better. Hopefully in the next four years I'll be able to order bread from the baker, but for now we'll just stick to what's already made and available in the bakery. The price is about $2US. It's funny how you just start paying more for things without giving it a second thought. In the States I wouldn't buy bread for more than $1.25. It doesn't take long to get out of the hold habits...especially when you're forced.

Oh and...

I had a big day this past Tuesday that I forgot to write about...I got a ticket for not wearing my seatbelt! I hadn't even had the car for a week! I have a horrible habit of not putting on my seatbelt until I've started driving. Usually I put it on once I get out of a parking spot or the garage, but this time I didn't. Out of all the illegal maneuvers DR drivers do without getting ticketed, I was dumbfounded that I was getting a ticket for this. I tried to play dumb with the cop - no hable espanol - but it didn't work. She told me to pay the ticket at the local bank here. I went two days later and they told me that seatbelt and cell phone tickets had to be paid at the actual transport office. The timing didn't work for me to go that same day to take care of it, which was a God thing. The next morning I called the Barrick offices here in Santo Domingo to ask for directions to the transport office and found out that you have to take a 4 hour course on top of the $1600 pesos fine. Thankfully for only $400 pesos more (about $12) I could pay a man working for Barrick to "take care of the ticket." Thank you God, literally, that I called the offices instead of doing it my own indepent way!

Valentine's Day

Enjoying Valentine cupcakes that our friends Anastasia & Hartleigh made. We were suppose to make them together, but sickness this week kept us from that.

Ana stayed an extra day and a half so that Scott & I could go out for dinner last night and then have a massage this morning. We went back to the same salon that we went to when we first arrived in the DR. It's a nice place, and maybe it's the language barrier, but it's just a frustrating experience. There's a suana, pool, and hot tub that you can relax in before your spa. But we only found this out after being juggled through them and finally saying, "Please just get us to the massage table!" It doesn't sound as bad as it was frustrating.

We all took naps this afternoon together and the unique thing about it was that we were all able to sleep at the same time! Darton and Scott slept together in the recliner and Adeline and I slept in her bed. We then headed out fo the Botanical Gardens around 4p this afternoon and enjoyed our time in the park.

Flying a kite.

Feeding las pilomas.We had dinner tonight with our friends the Konzcals at the most American restuarant that you can find here - Chef Peppers. It's close to a Steak and Shake, but the food it great! I'm afraid Darton is getting sick, he even fell asleep in Scotty's arms at dinner. This is not like our active hijo.

When a flower is this big, it's not such a big deal that you only got one flower for Valentine's day :).

Tonsilitis

We found out today that Adeline has tonsilitis. I'm convinced that my daughter only got sick because I took her to the indoor playground at McD's for the first time while living here. I just said last week to Scotty, "I'm so glad our kids don't get sick like all the other kids around us."
Adeline is a whopping 26lbs and a whole 31 1/2" tall!

Virus

Adeline woke up with a rash/hives that would come and go from one place to the next on her body. the were gone by midday and then returned after her nap along with a fever. so we headed to the allergist taht I saw in the Fall. Traffic was horrendous!! I can't even being to describe what it's like sitting through two traffic lights for thirty minutes! We learned our lesson and know next time to take a different route.
The dr appt took 2 hours and she had to get her blood drawn and pee in a cup. It was a wonderful experience and everyone knew we were there after she had her blood drawn.
She got to eat a scoop of ice cream when we got home and then asked to go to bed! Poor thing. You tend to love on them the most during these times. Scotty came home this evening which was a very nice change.
Darton loves when his daddy comes home!! He can now mimic Adeline when she yells in the parking garage and say a form of "scat" after he sneezes (which is what I say to him). As soon as we open the front door he starts letting out yells to hear his echo. He'll be 10months tomorrow!
We have our first neice, Ella Jean Stevens. She was born last Wednesday. We are very excited for the kids to have a playmate with the family. We'll have another cousin this May and he's a boy!

Past times in Santo Domingo

Last Thursday night the wind started blowing so hard it could knock you over and it just hasn't let up. The rain came with it on Saturday, and has been coming and going ever since. So the weather this weekend kept us from going to the park like we usually do and we were left trying to come up with something else to pass the time and enjoy each other.
After a bday party on Saturday we went to the Acropolis mall for the kids to play on a simple slide. But to our surprise, there was more than a slide! A local milk company was holding a mini carnival and there were men on stilts, music, face painting, and other equipment to play on besides the slide. We were thrilled! Adeline kept talking about the "duck" who we eventually figured out was the man on the stilts who was wearing a beak. She told us she wanted to go see him, but of course completely freaked out when we got near. She's still talking about the "duck" and him eating an apple...we aren't sure where she got this idea from. Scotty treated us to dinner at TGI Friday's before we headed home.
Since the DR is always summer weather I didn't know if the stores would ever have sales, but now is the sale time for them.
Scotty suggested going to McD's to let the kids play on Saturday, but since we went to the mall we went to McD's on Sunday evening. Of course we didn't have the camera for any of these fun times!

Problem Solved

We figured out how to get Adeline to sleep at night without a fight!! Here's the game plan that worked like a charm tonight.

1. make sure she gets up by 6:30am

2. no nap

3. feed her dinner at her bedtime 8pm

Country Drive

Wednesday pool time on the balcony.

The white 4door truck in the background is Scott work truck. The blue garage is where we bought the Prado from.

We bought the car today!! A Toyota SVU is definately one of my dream vehicles, so I was all smiles today! Adeline has been in the habit of coming into our room to sleep at night...it hasn't been a fun battle with her to say the least. She decided to come into our room right before the alarm, so I thought my early morning drive alone with my hubby had come to an end. But to our suprise Adeline wanted to stay with Ana! You know you've been blessed with someone special when your children don't want to go with you (maybe that's just b/c Ana let's her jump on her bed when she is suppose to be taking a nap and eat candy when mommy isn't looking). We left our 2 1/2 year old daughter eating a bowl of oatmeal and watching Wallace & Gromit with Ana & Darton still asleep at 6:45am. I'm pretty sure that our little Darton won't be able to be left like that.

We looked at 3 houses while in Bonao, and one was do-able although there wasn't any yard to play on. We're still trying to decide if it's the right move for the family to live closer to the mine. For those looking for ways to pray for us, we'd covet your prayers in this area.

I drove the hour drive back home by myself with a coffee para llevar (to go) in hand. It was such a wonderful moment...I'm sure some of you mom's can relate. A drive alone with a coffee is one of the luxuries in life for me. Although is was raining, which it seems to do a lot of in the countryside, the drive was nice with lush, green mountains on either side of me. The highlight of the trip was driving through the orange groves. The rain on the orange farms produced a refreshing smell of a newly peeled orange. The scenery of the multiple men using the restroom on the side of the road beside their car (and NOT the ditch side) was the less desirable moments of the drive. But on my few times through the country of the DR I've learned to expect this :).

The kids, Ana, and I took the car for a drive this afternoon for some shopping, which is so much better with 4 hands to deal with the kids instead of 2! While I right this all I can think about is Skye, Lisa, Kimberly, & Jenny. Moms, I look up to you!

Sema

The kids, Ana, and I met Kathrin and her 2 kids at Sema this morning for a couple of hours. For those of you that are used to meeting girlfriends at a mall and going shopping, this was about the closest we'll get to it here. Well, we have malls, but Sema is what you could call a stand-alone department store. Without Ana this whole trip would have been disastoureous! I watech the tow bigger siblings, while Ana kept Darton and Kathrin with Katie. It worked out well, especially since Kathrin and her husband are speaking English to their kids. Shopping just isn't the same when you have little ones...just makes the trip so much fun ;). Shopping at Sema reminds me of shopping at Penny's in Elko, but there is a lot more. Sema has kitchen supplies, baby supplies, electronics, clothes, fabric, cosmetics, etc. I compare the two only because they are a stand-alone store.
Just another price compare to the States...I bought an eyeliner at Sema for almost $10. It's the same one that I can get for under $3 at good ole Wallyworld.

Reading & Vendors

The novelty of listening to music while falling asleep has worn off for Adeline, so I'm now reading to her for nap time and before bedtime. I didn't want to read short children's books mainly becuase it would take at least 10 of them to put her to sleep, so I started the Chronicles of Narnia with her. I figure it's like classical music at this age. She can't truly appreciate or understand it, but exposure to it can only be a good thing.

I started the first of the CofN series (which I haven't read myself) last week. We made it through the first book in only a week since it takes her about 20-30minutes to fall asleep every time. After a day or two I switched to Everyday Graces: A Child's Book of Good Manners. I LOVE this book! But Adeline wasn't so keen on it and wanted CofN back after a day of Good Manners :)

More about Everday Graces....I highly recommend it. It has all kinds of literature in it (poetry, classical lit, bible verses, etc). The first section is about obeying your parents. The author gives examples through literature of children who didn't obey their parents and the consequences. For example, she retells the Greek myth of Icarus and His Father. It's very fun and helps spark conversation about obedience throughout the day with "remember the story...". For those of you who lean on Scripture for instruction to your little ones, it includes it and maybe it's at the heart of this book as well, but the author doesn't wave it in your face on every page. Thanks Mom for this book!


Dominican Life - I stopped at my first fruit street vendor today to buy guinoes (bananas) and lechoza (papaya). Ana told me once I got home that I was charged double for the slice of papaya (I paid 40 pesos instead of 10-20pesos). That's exactly why it has taken me so long to buy from a vendor! Oh well, lesson learned. I also stepped out on a limb and bought flowers from a street vender today. I paid 150 pesos (aobut $4) for a bouquet of sunflowers. Ana said that was more or less what she expected it would cost. I'm grateful that I have Ana to show me the ropes.


Darton is pretty sure that he is a big boy now!





I never have been much of a flower girl. Mainly b/c I feel that they cost so much and then they die! But, I think that I've changed my mind....sorry Scotty.