June will be a big travel month for our family. It just so happens to be one of the two cherished "off" weeks Fernando is allowed for the year. It comes at a perfect time since Fernando's brother will be returning from his Portugal mission a few weeks earlier.
The most common mode of travel we choose for our family is airplanes, but with the hike in prices and 4 seats to purchase, driving has become our only option for a such a short trip. It is the cheaper, but longer option with a whole 24 hours between us and destination vacation. I have thought of various options including using the military's famous Space-A program.
Space-A is a funny little privilege that military members have to hop aboard military flights when they aren't filled to capacity. Kind of the same idea as stand by in the normal world, except you are flying kind of commando style in the gut of a plane from my understanding. There are no guarantees and you easily can be stuck somewhere in route to your destination because you were outranked or the planes were full. I thought it was worth a try finding out if we could make it from San Antonio to Edwards AFB a mere 30 mins from Fernando's parents' home.
Well, we can hop from here to Edwards in a round about way. How it would work is we would get a pretty much guaranteed trip to Travis in Northern California and stay the night. Then we would hop over to Hickam AFB and stay at least half a day or overnight. And finally to Edwards AFB in Southern California. Sounded way crazy to me, but I was still curious about this Hickam place since I had never heard of it. Hickam happens to be in Honolulu Hawaii. I think we'll keep that idea for a rainy day. I would love to fly free to Hawaii. Oh the little perks for being your nation's medical help.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
FHE Indoor Fun
When Fernando was a little boy, he was given the choice to play soccer or baseball. In the 80's soccer hadn't become as popular as it is today so Fernando picked baseball. There have been a few times when he had wished that he listened to his dad's attempts to sway him to the soccer side of things, but learned some good skills with baseball. This came in handy last FHE when we decided to have a make shift batting practice in our living room. With a cardboard tube a some baby ball we had tons of fun.
Funny how Tiago hit all the pitches I threw, but couldn't get any of Fernando's.
Funny how Tiago hit all the pitches I threw, but couldn't get any of Fernando's.
Medical Miracle brought to you by a Blessing
Yesterday brought a whole new appreciation for wellness and a better understanding why some elderly and sick people can be kind of grumpy. When your body becomes so compromised with sickness and pain, it's hard to have a party personality all the time. I still am blown away by how quick I plummeted into this particular sickness.
Monday, I was super woman (ok not compared to other women, but for my usual daily choices, I felt super). I weeded as Talia and Tiago anxiously waited for the recycling truck. Oh, to be a kid again and get such simple thrills. Weeding was actually enjoyable since it was overcast and the ground was moist. I made some serious progress on the never ending weed task. Then while Talia napped, I worked out and Tiago rode his bike in circles around the garage. I put on some Backyardigans tunes and enjoyed watching Tiago freelance bike dance. I actually showered and did my makeup and hair before we went to music class that we were on time for.
We ate a healthy snack and then I actually played with Tiago. Well, not right away. I was talking on the phone with my sister and looking on the internet when Tiago tried to get my attention by waking up Talia to play with her. I was kind of grateful for the wake up call and had quite a fun time building race cars that shot red fire out as they raced around in a deflating balloon pattern (as illustrated by Tiago's hands).
The rest of Monday was spent doing fun family things. It was after the kids were in bed that my throat seemed a little scratchy.
Tuesday I felt really deflated and my throat was on fire. Fernando gave me a blessing which made the throat pain disappear long enough to drink some water. Water never tasted so good. Yesterday however, the throat pain came back with a vengeance. Swallowing was impossible. I have never spit so many times in my life. I had a sneaky suspicion that Talia and possibly Tiago were experiencing similar problems. Tiago didn't complain of any real discomfort, but his neck appeared to be holding a bone with how big his lymph nodes were looking.
5 hours later, most of which was spent waiting either in the Peds clinic or for meds, I was exhausted and embarrassed. I totally started crying out of sheer pain and frustration after a little coughing episode. I thought I could have a few minutes to compose myself since we already had been waiting for almost 30 minutes for a nurse to squirt saline up Talia's nose to check for flu. Unfortunately that is just when the nurse came and originally thought I was crying because of the wait. As soon as I opened my mouth and she heard my raspy voice, she understood. Also, I would randomly fall asleep while waiting. My kids, who acted awesome especially considering the circumstances. Luckily, Fernando was able to pull way from his Viper rotation to meet me at the specimen clinic. That is where the torture small children by sticking them with needles to draw blood. A necessary evil when they suspect your son has mono. My question is who has Tiago been kissing?
Fernando then slipped me into a room to give my the standard strep throat swab down and then had some meds put in for me. One set of wonder pills to make the swelling go down and a set of horse pills for the strep throat. The wonder pills were tiny and still hard to swallow, but because of them I was actually able to eat something yesterday. I could barely get 1/8th a cup of water down without bursting into tears. This is not a hyperbole. It literally felt like a cat was using my throat as a claw sharpener every time I moved a muscle in my mouth or throat. I was starving, but eating seemed to be unbearable. After those wonder woos, I was able to not only eat, but also start my huge antibiotic pills. I even had enough energy to do my nasty dishes that have piled up for two days and do some laundry. My aches are gone and instead of feeling freezing cold all the time due to fevers, I was actually hot and sweaty. It was the first time I was grateful for sweating.
Today, I can talk normal, swallow (yeah, I can eat and drink) with only a little discomfort, and yet am still highly contagious. The doctor called this morning to let me know that Tiago and Talia both have it too. Tiago was given some amoxil yesterday, but I was so out of it that I forgot to refrigerate it. Now I have to head back into the hospital to get a replacement and get Talia's medication. Hopefully it will be a lot faster, but even if it isn't, I feel like I have the energy and ability to function at a fairly normal level.
Monday, I was super woman (ok not compared to other women, but for my usual daily choices, I felt super). I weeded as Talia and Tiago anxiously waited for the recycling truck. Oh, to be a kid again and get such simple thrills. Weeding was actually enjoyable since it was overcast and the ground was moist. I made some serious progress on the never ending weed task. Then while Talia napped, I worked out and Tiago rode his bike in circles around the garage. I put on some Backyardigans tunes and enjoyed watching Tiago freelance bike dance. I actually showered and did my makeup and hair before we went to music class that we were on time for.
We ate a healthy snack and then I actually played with Tiago. Well, not right away. I was talking on the phone with my sister and looking on the internet when Tiago tried to get my attention by waking up Talia to play with her. I was kind of grateful for the wake up call and had quite a fun time building race cars that shot red fire out as they raced around in a deflating balloon pattern (as illustrated by Tiago's hands).
The rest of Monday was spent doing fun family things. It was after the kids were in bed that my throat seemed a little scratchy.
Tuesday I felt really deflated and my throat was on fire. Fernando gave me a blessing which made the throat pain disappear long enough to drink some water. Water never tasted so good. Yesterday however, the throat pain came back with a vengeance. Swallowing was impossible. I have never spit so many times in my life. I had a sneaky suspicion that Talia and possibly Tiago were experiencing similar problems. Tiago didn't complain of any real discomfort, but his neck appeared to be holding a bone with how big his lymph nodes were looking.
5 hours later, most of which was spent waiting either in the Peds clinic or for meds, I was exhausted and embarrassed. I totally started crying out of sheer pain and frustration after a little coughing episode. I thought I could have a few minutes to compose myself since we already had been waiting for almost 30 minutes for a nurse to squirt saline up Talia's nose to check for flu. Unfortunately that is just when the nurse came and originally thought I was crying because of the wait. As soon as I opened my mouth and she heard my raspy voice, she understood. Also, I would randomly fall asleep while waiting. My kids, who acted awesome especially considering the circumstances. Luckily, Fernando was able to pull way from his Viper rotation to meet me at the specimen clinic. That is where the torture small children by sticking them with needles to draw blood. A necessary evil when they suspect your son has mono. My question is who has Tiago been kissing?
Fernando then slipped me into a room to give my the standard strep throat swab down and then had some meds put in for me. One set of wonder pills to make the swelling go down and a set of horse pills for the strep throat. The wonder pills were tiny and still hard to swallow, but because of them I was actually able to eat something yesterday. I could barely get 1/8th a cup of water down without bursting into tears. This is not a hyperbole. It literally felt like a cat was using my throat as a claw sharpener every time I moved a muscle in my mouth or throat. I was starving, but eating seemed to be unbearable. After those wonder woos, I was able to not only eat, but also start my huge antibiotic pills. I even had enough energy to do my nasty dishes that have piled up for two days and do some laundry. My aches are gone and instead of feeling freezing cold all the time due to fevers, I was actually hot and sweaty. It was the first time I was grateful for sweating.
Today, I can talk normal, swallow (yeah, I can eat and drink) with only a little discomfort, and yet am still highly contagious. The doctor called this morning to let me know that Tiago and Talia both have it too. Tiago was given some amoxil yesterday, but I was so out of it that I forgot to refrigerate it. Now I have to head back into the hospital to get a replacement and get Talia's medication. Hopefully it will be a lot faster, but even if it isn't, I feel like I have the energy and ability to function at a fairly normal level.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Agency in Action
Oh the technology age. What an interesting thing. I must say that it makes transactions quicker and easier in most instances. So last night I acted on a email for the new MagicJack that makes your phone bill "all but disappear". Although it doesn't totally vanish, it turns into one easy payment of $19.95 a year. That's right a year. You just have to have broadband internet connection and order their device and wham! Crystal clear local and long distance calling for $20 a year. Plus, they were doing a free month trial to sweeten the deal.
I impulsively bought after watching their news clips and the next day had some buyer's remorse. I figured I could contact them and cancel the order before it shipped. On the website, the only contact info was for live chats. It's like im'ing a business. I have never been big into instant messaging, but it was my only option. Here is the recorded transaction (that made the live chat all the more appealing so I could show them verbatim the exchange between me and the company if any issues arise.)
Chat Information Please wait for a site operator to respond.
Chat Information You are now chatting with 'Jones'
Jones: Hello, how may I help you?
Rachelle Tovar: I ordered the Magic jack Last night and think that I want to cancel my order before it even ships out.
Jones: Hi Rachelle.
Jones: May I have your sales order number please?
Rachelle Tovar: (I give him the number)
Jones: Thank you.
Jones: May I know the reason why cancel the order please?
Rachelle Tovar: I have heard that there are still a lot of kinks in the system. I think I want to wait until it has been ironed out before I jump on board.
Jones: Okay.
Jones: You have the will to decide.
Jones: So , am I going to cancel it Ma'am?
Rachelle Tovar: Yes, thank you.
Jones: Welcome.
Jones: One moment please...
Jones: 04/28/2009 [N]ew Pending [N]ew Pending Order#:
Jones: 04/28/2009 [C]anceled Order Updated from [N]ew Pending to [C]anceled Order
Jones: Your order has been canceled.
Jones: Please wait for an hour for the e-mail confirmation.
Jones: Is there anything else I may help you with today?
Rachelle Tovar: Thank you for being so quick and polite about it. I appreciate the email confirmation and really thought it was going to be a lot harder then it has been. You have been fantastic to deal with. Thank you and that should be all. I hope to get one later, but like I said I will wait for now.
Jones: Yes. No problem.
Jones: Thank you for stopping by to chat, I hope I did a good job at addressing your concerns. Please take a second to answer a one question survey about the service I provided. Please click the "close" button on the top right of this screen and the survey will appear. Thanks again!
Jones: Have a great day to you!
So that was long, but I highlighted the best part. The Jones character reminded me about my Will and the whole deciding process. I wish I could duplicate this customer service everywhere. It almost made me want to own the product just so I could be called Ma'am.
I impulsively bought after watching their news clips and the next day had some buyer's remorse. I figured I could contact them and cancel the order before it shipped. On the website, the only contact info was for live chats. It's like im'ing a business. I have never been big into instant messaging, but it was my only option. Here is the recorded transaction (that made the live chat all the more appealing so I could show them verbatim the exchange between me and the company if any issues arise.)
Chat Information Please wait for a site operator to respond.
Chat Information You are now chatting with 'Jones'
Jones: Hello, how may I help you?
Rachelle Tovar: I ordered the Magic jack Last night and think that I want to cancel my order before it even ships out.
Jones: Hi Rachelle.
Jones: May I have your sales order number please?
Rachelle Tovar: (I give him the number)
Jones: Thank you.
Jones: May I know the reason why cancel the order please?
Rachelle Tovar: I have heard that there are still a lot of kinks in the system. I think I want to wait until it has been ironed out before I jump on board.
Jones: Okay.
Jones: You have the will to decide.
Jones: So , am I going to cancel it Ma'am?
Rachelle Tovar: Yes, thank you.
Jones: Welcome.
Jones: One moment please...
Jones: 04/28/2009 [N]ew Pending [N]ew Pending Order#:
Jones: 04/28/2009 [C]anceled Order Updated from [N]ew Pending to [C]anceled Order
Jones: Your order has been canceled.
Jones: Please wait for an hour for the e-mail confirmation.
Jones: Is there anything else I may help you with today?
Rachelle Tovar: Thank you for being so quick and polite about it. I appreciate the email confirmation and really thought it was going to be a lot harder then it has been. You have been fantastic to deal with. Thank you and that should be all. I hope to get one later, but like I said I will wait for now.
Jones: Yes. No problem.
Jones: Thank you for stopping by to chat, I hope I did a good job at addressing your concerns. Please take a second to answer a one question survey about the service I provided. Please click the "close" button on the top right of this screen and the survey will appear. Thanks again!
Jones: Have a great day to you!
So that was long, but I highlighted the best part. The Jones character reminded me about my Will and the whole deciding process. I wish I could duplicate this customer service everywhere. It almost made me want to own the product just so I could be called Ma'am.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Swine Flu
This new crazy soon to be pandemic has more then hit our shores. I must say that I feel bad for Mexico. The country on a whole has never been looked at with admiration to begin with and now this. I mean at least Asia got something regal sounding with the Avian Flu and Africa and its West Nile Virus. I mean change out Virus and that would be a trendy club name (or at least wanna be hit joint somewhere on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls). Poor Mexico gets stuck with Swine for it's flu. One might argue that England and its Mad Cow Disease is much more demoralizing sounding, but again no one ever has weird racist feelings towards someone with a British accent.
As for our family, we are hovering around the reality of Fernando's profession. The hospital has limited access to four doorways. I am still unsure the reason for this precaution. To me it would seem that more people would then be in even closer proximity which I guess is a big no no in flu cases. I am not too worried. What would worrying do anyway? My heart goes out to the country to the South who didn't need another blow like this. The fact of the matter is, disease happens. Our world has shrunk due to easy travel which means spreading of disease. I am grateful that I live in a time that people can recognize the problem and give us a fighting chance and that the fighting chance has nothing to do with leaches.
On Tuesday I spent the day in bed. Well, I spent as much time in bed that I could with a 3 and 1 year old. Tiago got two movies and they were during Talia's and my nap time. I have totally come down with some heinous flu, but what's worse is in the back of my head (right near the stiff neck and throbbing headache) I have been thinking about all the interactions I have had in the past weeks. I am sure it is just the common flu. . . .or so that's what they all thought. Hopefully, this post real life application will not be continued much longer.
As for our family, we are hovering around the reality of Fernando's profession. The hospital has limited access to four doorways. I am still unsure the reason for this precaution. To me it would seem that more people would then be in even closer proximity which I guess is a big no no in flu cases. I am not too worried. What would worrying do anyway? My heart goes out to the country to the South who didn't need another blow like this. The fact of the matter is, disease happens. Our world has shrunk due to easy travel which means spreading of disease. I am grateful that I live in a time that people can recognize the problem and give us a fighting chance and that the fighting chance has nothing to do with leaches.
On Tuesday I spent the day in bed. Well, I spent as much time in bed that I could with a 3 and 1 year old. Tiago got two movies and they were during Talia's and my nap time. I have totally come down with some heinous flu, but what's worse is in the back of my head (right near the stiff neck and throbbing headache) I have been thinking about all the interactions I have had in the past weeks. I am sure it is just the common flu. . . .or so that's what they all thought. Hopefully, this post real life application will not be continued much longer.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Falling for Rapunzel
Things have changed so much since I was in school. There are no more floppy disks and computer time is more then just playing Oregon Trail and coming up with funny things to write on the head stones. Christmas break is now a Winter Holiday and for Halloween, you don't dress up and have a parade. I actually enjoyed not having my kids traumatized by the gory costumes that some people think are appropriate to put on their kids, but was sad that Mia didn't get to have the fun of dressing up.
Luckily, for Fiesta week, they let the kids dress up as their favorite character in a book. This was more difficult then I had thought. Mia wanted to wear the Rainbow Brite costume that used to be mine when I was younger, but we couldn't find a book. Then she thought she would be Lucy from Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Upon closer inspection of the book, Lucy doesn't get to wear a pretty princess looking dress. In fact, in our addition, she is still wearing her frumpy school uniform.
Right before we had to go to school, we stumbled upon the solution that we happened to grab from the library earlier the previous week. Falling for Rapunzel is a funny take on the traditional story. The Prince hears Rapunzel in distress and attempts to rescue her. Instead of being trapped in the tower waiting for the prince to rescue her, Rapunzel is merely bothered at her unruly hair. The Prince yells up various wordings of the same idea of "letting down her hair". They made it more kid friendly in this adaptation, but the humor is a bit risque. For example, the hair is mistaken for underwear which is promptly thrown down. Just a warning, but it is a funny read.
Here was our take of Mia looking like someone from the story.
I tried to do a french braid crown around Mia's head and ended up a little avant-garde. My mom used to do it in my hair all the time. Just one more thing that I can add to my "My mom is amazing" list.
Luckily, for Fiesta week, they let the kids dress up as their favorite character in a book. This was more difficult then I had thought. Mia wanted to wear the Rainbow Brite costume that used to be mine when I was younger, but we couldn't find a book. Then she thought she would be Lucy from Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Upon closer inspection of the book, Lucy doesn't get to wear a pretty princess looking dress. In fact, in our addition, she is still wearing her frumpy school uniform.
Right before we had to go to school, we stumbled upon the solution that we happened to grab from the library earlier the previous week. Falling for Rapunzel is a funny take on the traditional story. The Prince hears Rapunzel in distress and attempts to rescue her. Instead of being trapped in the tower waiting for the prince to rescue her, Rapunzel is merely bothered at her unruly hair. The Prince yells up various wordings of the same idea of "letting down her hair". They made it more kid friendly in this adaptation, but the humor is a bit risque. For example, the hair is mistaken for underwear which is promptly thrown down. Just a warning, but it is a funny read.
Here was our take of Mia looking like someone from the story.
I tried to do a french braid crown around Mia's head and ended up a little avant-garde. My mom used to do it in my hair all the time. Just one more thing that I can add to my "My mom is amazing" list.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Fiesta means Party
One of the fun things about living in Texas is celebrating various holidays such Fiesta. Fiesta is a two week long party that is still a kind of mystery to me. There are fun events everywhere and the schools even get in the spirit. Thursday was the big finale to a week of fiesta themed activities. From mural painting and hat making and stories and dress up, most kids in Mia's class were claiming that it was the best week of their life.
On Thursday, the pre-k and kinder classes had a float parade. I kind of felt bad for Mia since it didn't turn out as snazzy as all of the other floats. Too bad the weather wasn't in cooperation. The wind blew several floats over and brought many a tears and near strangulations from sombrero neck ties. Mia was festively dressed in a beautiful dress from Mexico. Fernando's family brought it back some authentic dresses for the kids as per my request. I thought it would be nice for them to have something from the Mother land. Anyway, his parents brought me back a beautifully embroidered dress as well. I decided that it was the perfect day to wear it. Unfortunately, the wind that wreaked havoc on the floats made my Mu Mu looking number a bit more of a show then anyone was hoping for. (By the way, I kind of felt all special wearing these one of a kind numbers to the parade. this special feeling was dashed to pieces when we stopped by Walmart after the parade to find rows and rows of the exact same giddy ups. Too bad that they didn't get their traditional dresses hand picked for them.)
Later that day I helped serve nachos and raspas (a fancy name for snow cones) to the kinder kids. This really was silly since there were too many moms with too little to do. I just ended up talking with Mia and leaving early. Which was fine with everyone and gave me more time to finish up the few things I had left to do for Mia's friend party happening later on that afternoon. Like decorate this cake that looked far better in my head then actually completed on the pan.
Some might argue that it would still taste good whether or not it looked all that great, but they would be wrong again. I tried to make this version of cream cheese frosting for the carrot cake, but added pudding to help it frost more smooth. The frosting was a sugar overload. The kids didn't seem to mind.
We made foam animals, played on our swing set, ate Pizza Mia from Pizza Hut (which is nasty, but has her name), ate cake and ice cream, opened presents, and watched part of a movie. We were going to watch more, but I wasn't really loving the movie and its sarcasm so I turned it off and made the kids play outside for the rest of the time.
It was the lamest party I have ever thrown. Not that my parties are fantastic, but this was really bad. Oh well, at least the kids didn't riot. The only part that was really kind of fun and something I think I will do again was the twister hopscotch birthday present situation. Papa Juan, Mama Clara, and Aunt Tirsa sent Mia this fun game for her birthday. I had the kids set it up. Then one kid spun the wheel o' fun (just like a normal twister wheel, but modified) and it told them the action they had to do in order to get off the hopscotch and give Mia the present. The four options were singing, wiggling, dancing, and clapping. It was cute to watch them concentrate on the hopping while holding the present and thinking about the end result.
I think I will go back to the idea that we will do friend parties every other year. This way, important b-day's like turning 8 and twelve can have a better emphasis. We'll see. Happy Birthday Mia.
On Thursday, the pre-k and kinder classes had a float parade. I kind of felt bad for Mia since it didn't turn out as snazzy as all of the other floats. Too bad the weather wasn't in cooperation. The wind blew several floats over and brought many a tears and near strangulations from sombrero neck ties. Mia was festively dressed in a beautiful dress from Mexico. Fernando's family brought it back some authentic dresses for the kids as per my request. I thought it would be nice for them to have something from the Mother land. Anyway, his parents brought me back a beautifully embroidered dress as well. I decided that it was the perfect day to wear it. Unfortunately, the wind that wreaked havoc on the floats made my Mu Mu looking number a bit more of a show then anyone was hoping for. (By the way, I kind of felt all special wearing these one of a kind numbers to the parade. this special feeling was dashed to pieces when we stopped by Walmart after the parade to find rows and rows of the exact same giddy ups. Too bad that they didn't get their traditional dresses hand picked for them.)
Later that day I helped serve nachos and raspas (a fancy name for snow cones) to the kinder kids. This really was silly since there were too many moms with too little to do. I just ended up talking with Mia and leaving early. Which was fine with everyone and gave me more time to finish up the few things I had left to do for Mia's friend party happening later on that afternoon. Like decorate this cake that looked far better in my head then actually completed on the pan.
Some might argue that it would still taste good whether or not it looked all that great, but they would be wrong again. I tried to make this version of cream cheese frosting for the carrot cake, but added pudding to help it frost more smooth. The frosting was a sugar overload. The kids didn't seem to mind.
We made foam animals, played on our swing set, ate Pizza Mia from Pizza Hut (which is nasty, but has her name), ate cake and ice cream, opened presents, and watched part of a movie. We were going to watch more, but I wasn't really loving the movie and its sarcasm so I turned it off and made the kids play outside for the rest of the time.
It was the lamest party I have ever thrown. Not that my parties are fantastic, but this was really bad. Oh well, at least the kids didn't riot. The only part that was really kind of fun and something I think I will do again was the twister hopscotch birthday present situation. Papa Juan, Mama Clara, and Aunt Tirsa sent Mia this fun game for her birthday. I had the kids set it up. Then one kid spun the wheel o' fun (just like a normal twister wheel, but modified) and it told them the action they had to do in order to get off the hopscotch and give Mia the present. The four options were singing, wiggling, dancing, and clapping. It was cute to watch them concentrate on the hopping while holding the present and thinking about the end result.
I think I will go back to the idea that we will do friend parties every other year. This way, important b-day's like turning 8 and twelve can have a better emphasis. We'll see. Happy Birthday Mia.
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