martes, el 31 de julio de 2012

120 volts? Nobody told me it was 120 volts!!

Buenos noches mis amigos.

After much discussion, and the clarica of “a passage of time”, click HERE to read up on why we say “an hour” vs “a hour”.

  

Yup, that’s what we do around here once the lil’guy is asleep. Ja ja ja

So how are we all doing? Max is great, loving life and seeming to learn new things every day.

Madre? Tired and her back is still sore, but loving the lil’hombre and always amazed at how beautiful he is. She has a trickle of work coming in and is currently working on some greeting cards for one client, some character design and an animation for another, and some misc work for existing clients.

Bubba? Another long sleep and felt pretty good all day. Still fighting whatever this bug is that I have, and will hit the doctor’s oficina if I am not better in 2 days.

Which doctor? I will probably hit up the local’s doctor first. $30 pesos and it is attached to Similar Farmacia. All the local’s I talk to, don’t have the $$ to go to the private doctors, and swear by these guys. We have been there twice before and both times Bex got better…and did not lose any toes!! Ja ja ja

Today Max and I shimmied into the otra recamara at 5am’ish and let madre get her zzzz’s. We had some CN time and at 7am we were up and at ‘em.

A good morning rutina and at 915am we went down for siesta #1. Now, with such a good sleep last night, I am thinking it will be a 30 minute siesta.

Ahhh…no. It was an hour and that made me tarde for my 10am con Roman. No crisis as the meeting was next door and I don’t think I have been late for ANY meets and they on time!! Ja ja ja

Good review of electrical and some more brain storming and “ah-ha’s” such as a few submarine lights on posts to light up the deck around the alberca.

And NO plugs hidden behind beds…or installed at the same heights as the bed frames, meaning they cannot be used.

Let’s not forget that we are dealing with concrete buildings…no corrections once the bricks are laid. So getting everything correct now, is critical.

We will see the electrical plans once they are cleaned up, and will give them a final approval. It should be ready in 2 weeks…stay tuned.

835pm UPDATE

After falling asleep on the jug, Max…not me, he lost his soother and after plugging his pie hole, he circled the bed and finally found a nice spot to lay his head, and raise his bum.

Back to the day.

After the meet con Roman, it was time for the gym. Tough session, but it was overcast so at least it was not scorching hot.

No centro walk…pooped. So home it was and I puttered around until madre y Max returned from a quick shopping trip. Some bollo for padre’s cena and a new water pitcher for the fridge as I dropped and broke the other one today…doph.

Hello to siesta #3 for Max and I eagerly volunteered for this one. I could use the cat nap and it was a good 30 minutes. The batteries were juiced up and off to the alberca we went.

Max still enjoys the water, but is bored easily now, so crawling on the sidewalk around the pool has become more of his thing.

But he still enjoys a few minutes of splashing, floating, the chair and now taking a pool shower. He does not keep his mouth closed so he puts his head under the shower and smiles and giggles, and then starts waving his hands like he is about to fly, when he needs to get out. Hilarious to watch.

A good night rutina and we are managing to eat earlier (hello Manwich Sloppy Jose’s) and thus get Max into bed earlier.

Fotos.

The boys started the pruning early...730am as the sun was rising. 

It took all day for Hector y Marciano to prune 3 palm trees...tough and dangerous job. But there were a lot of free cocos around the complex today.


WFSITBOTT?

Cabinets...lots of cabinets.

Tortillas...lots of tortillas.

Amy y Victor and caminoneta #2.

The boys dropped off our water today, came in for some quick chit chat and a glass of cold agua. Then they went about exploring Max's juguetes...toys.


We spent some time explaining a sock monkey and neither of them had seen a Jack in the Box before.


Throw in a few Quatchi's from the Whistler Olympics, and these Mexican hombres think we are nuts.

Talking about Olympicos...the Mexicans love watching the games. 

Is $1.56 Cdn/kilo a good price for grapes?

Nicely displayed...I had to take a foto.

Not quite a lemonade stand, but close.

Not sure what kind of juices they are selling, but the middle on is probably coco. The honeycomb jars are very popular and you see them used by vendors all around town.

Madre?

Time to reconfigure the cart.

Mañana? No sé…but I bet you I am up by 7am...with this character!! 

Hasta mañana.

Marco, Bexico y Max

lunes, el 30 de julio de 2012

Buenos días.

The blogger took lunes off and went to bed the same time as his hijo. And at 730am, I am watching him do a cuna dance with the mop.

We are hearing more and more babbling from him, truly attempts at speaking. Very interesting and exciting.

Have a great martes and you will hear and hopefully see from us later tonight.

saludos

domingo, el 29 de julio de 2012

Buenos noches and welcome to post #701 of this blog.

Thank you all for your comments and emails in regards to my illness. 

I am on the mend and one more day and I should be as good as I was pre-gripe and pre-stomach bug. Peeps out there that worry about eating the food in Mexico…don’t worry so much.

In 30 plus vacations, I was ill for 2 days and in our 2 years living here full time, I have now been ill twice, both for just 2 days each time.

Not fun, but no worse then the “bug” I caught eating at a Subway in Van.

So, the day. I slept it off from 8pm until 630am…wow.

Max and I had our morning rutina and that included a hour long nap. Madre was up when we awoke and we said hola, tanqued up and headed out for some exploring.

Not as long a crawl as padre was baja energía and we seemed to have more hormigas around today.

A “what the frig” moment occurred when the flash on the Canon T1i wouldn’t open. Huh? I went on line and there was one possible fix, but it did not work on my camera.

I bet you the closest repair shop is farther then the closest MRI machine…6 hours away in Oaxaca. Doph. That’s ok, how many fotos am I taking in the dark or shadows? Sure reminds you of how small a town we live in though.

Madre took over Max time and the two of them had lots of fun. A few walks, some JJ, a FT with RJ, a nap etc.

Me? One ojo on the race…congrats Jimmy J for your 4^th Indy win, and the other ojo on Mojon plans.

Who ever built this unit in CP, put some plugs on some stupid places. My goal for Mojon is to have enough outlets, but also have them in the proper places.

The oficina needs them higher, the ones behind the TV are at a  certain height etc.

Then throw in locations for ventiladors and wall sconces that are non-light polluting…who wants to ruin the stars at night?

It took some time, but the race lasted 3 hours so all good.

I took charge of siesta #3 and when we awoke, we all hit the alberca for some float time, and then back upstairs for la cena rutina.

Leftover domingo for us and just as well as I am only eating a small portion of the non-spicy variety.

Currently 745pm and I am about to relieve madre and get the lil’guy into slumber mode.

Mañana? Hope to hit el gimnasio and I think I might have a meet with Roman to review the electrical. Also have to check in on Karen Y Randy, see how the trip from Saskatchewan was…and grab the fridge shelf!!

830pm UPDATE

Max fell asleep tonite for the first time without ANY rocking (or mezcal!!). I took an hour, but give him a break…he’s just a lil’guy.

9pm UPDATE

Ok, I spoke too soon. Max awoke sin soother and has had a hard time falling asleep again. Madre took over from the Niño Whisperer...maybe a mother's touch is needed tonite.

Have a great lunes.

Marco, Bexico y Max

sábado, el 28 de julio de 2012

Buenos días!! 715am on domingo and I am on Max patrol...he is VERY awake.

I have been ill...spent most of the day sleeping and then last night 8pm until 630am doing the same thing.

Feeling much better...but there is no real update for ayer. Lo siento.

Max and I did head out in the morning and grab the 6 paquetes of panales!! And we met Alfredo, the niño who took his first foto with my camera and few weeks back.

Madre was a trooper and took Max the whole day!!

Hoping to stay healthy all día...fingers crossed.

saludos

viernes, el 27 de julio de 2012

A little fuzzy…sorry about that. It actually reflects how we felt when the foto was taken. As you can see, Max is not happy and it took me 2 hours to find out why.

What was the issue? He had a tank up at 6am and even though he awoke at 7am…he wanted leche and I didn't catch the signals. Doph. It was a rough 2 hours for both of us but 5 minutes after his 9am fill…he was one VERY happy niño!!

Buenos noches.

We will make this short and sweet. A GREAT night sleep for Max, and of course it is the one night I had trouble falling asleep. Doph.

The day had the morning walk, some pool time, a few chest naps, our new favorite…crawling amongst the hormigas and of course lots of time for Max y madre to spend together.

I had a mid day siesta, needed it but what a waste of time. Argh. I had a quick workout at el gimnasio and a great score…real leche…at Che. How exciting a día!! Ja ja ja

915pm UPDATE…our lil’hombre passed out cold at 745pm and is still out. Our neighbor’s niña has had her 915pm pre-bed time screams…all is normal in CP!! Ja ja ja

Fotos

Form our morning walk. The panoramic, the wide shot and the regular shot...all of Amy y Victor doing what they do best...eating. Today it was chocolate caliente y tamales para desayunos, served from the comedor manned by the hombre we call Tío.

Amy...nice guy but not the brightest. At 8am I asked for agua...and had to call him at 4pm to remind him. They were there within minutes (small town), and I think we are the only peeps that give the water guys a glass of water on these hot days!!

Day 2 of the new rutina.

No wonder he was so tired tonight...he must have crawled a kilometre!!

Smart kid...he know he needs both hands to crawl.

He might become a drummer...he loves to drum. Or is that pound?

Hector works at CP...free foto for him. Max is about to go for the pluma (pen) behind Hector's ear.

Misc

I thought Isssste was closing their doors as every time I go in there, there is less and less product on the shelves. Today I go in and see a 3 for 2 sale on Max’s panales. I head back to the camioneta for the cc, grab 6 paquetes and hit the cashier. The sale is mañana…doph.

I bought the mermelada naranje, and told the caja hasta mañana.

Mañana…must spend time on the Mojon plans. And I am really hoping we all get a great sleep!!

There was no race fin de semana pasada…but there is one on domingo!!

Last foto...our lil'arboriculturist.

Buen fin de semana.

Marco, Bexico y Max

jueves, el 26 de julio de 2012

Max, more coffee with breakfast?

So…Max is now falling asleep at night waaaay easier then he did before. It is all about letting him roam the bed, a quick rock and then he lays down and is lights out.

The new problem? He has become soother dependent during his night sleep. Two days in a row, whenever he wakes up without the soother in his mouth, he gets antsy and cannot fall asleep again.

We stick the dumb thing in his mouth and he is lights out. So…my back is better because I do not need to rock him so much t get him to initially fall asleep, but now I have to go into the bedroom every hour or so and look for the soother. Doph

So how did that affect last night’s sleep? Maybe the worst one yet for both Bex and I. Max crawled over at midnight and plopped himself onto my chest.

That was kinda nice, but he squirms every 10 minutes so it was not a sound sleep for padre.

I tried to roll him off, but he was waking up and we left him there. The problem came with my snoring and inability to put my breathing mask on with Max on my chest.

So poor madre had to move out and sleep in the otra recamara…where the ventilador is noisy. So in comes the floor fan and that is so-so…and it was a chilly 29,0 grados last night. Yikes. Lo siento madre.

Max slept in and at 715am we were up.

Usual rutina, but today he wasn’t into eating solids during his desayunos o comida…he was a leche monster…go go madre!!

No walk with me today…after our 30 minute siesta (the ONE day I could have used 60 minutes), we went for some grass time. We found some dry grass in the shade, and I let him loose.

Max loves the freedom and to explore and climb. Oh, we are in trouble when he starts to walk!! Ja ja ja

A little crawling in the grass.

Led to some standing under the skull and cross bones sign. Doph.

Madre missed us so much, she came down and joined in and then took over Max time for the rest of the day.

I hit the rack for a quick cat nap, took the truck to el gimnasio and then hit up Che. Hola to some lomo cerdo!! I bought 2 and we are having one mañana con papas puree y gravy…salsa Moreno (brown sauce) as they call it here.

Raced home and cooked up the pasta sauce as I had a 4pm meet with Roman y Sergio and didn’t want to be rushing la cena when I finished up.

A good meeting…all about where lights, fans and the such will be located in the casas. Not exciting stuff, but a drain on the brain. We reviewed everything and I have the plans with me to double check, and need to get them back to the guys over the weekend.

Grabbed some bollo on the way home, heated up la cena and the night rutina started again. While the pasta was cooking, we had Oma y Opa niño sit Max via the FT.

I took the track and field session…the one where you just sit back and watch Max go through his decathlon of events. Hilarious…and then he comes over and let’s you know he is done, but just needs some help because he is only a lil’guy.

And that was the day.

Rest of the fotos?

While eating desayunos, Max spotted someone trimming an arbol outside our window.

Max has been working hard on figuring out the sock monkey Jack in the Box.

Beating the crap out of it and yelling at it, hasn't yet provided the results he was looking for.

Time to regroup and rethink the situation.

Mañana…sleep in, sleep in, sleep in…but probably up at 5am and then 7am. But we will go crawling in the grass again and forget how tired we really are!!

Have a great viernes.

Marco, Bexico y Max

miercoles, el 25 de julio de 2012

I think we can “see the light”!! Madre’s back is slowly getting better, my gripe is slowly disappearing, and Max is slowly learning how to fall asleep on his own!!

That and he has freed himself from his floatie.

Buenos noches.

A great day, but wow has it been hot lately. The thermo is reading 35,5 grados and with a 65% humido…that equates to 50,0 grados mas o menos. Not hating, just baking!! Ja ja ja

Talk about baking…round 2 on Chef Bex’s pizza was a huge success. Tasted great and once we get pizza pans, all will be good.

The day followed the usual rutina…some leche during the night, some rocking, some chest napping from 515am-630am and then ol’bright eyes telling padre to get his butt out of bed.

So Max and I did what Max and I do and enjoyed all of it. I think he likes his early morning “padre time”…or maybe it is the fact I feed him? Ja ja ja

Due to the early start, it is normally a slow start and that means siesta antes our walk. So we climbed in at 830am (first nap at 830am?) and at 1015am our ojo opened and guess who was there to greet us?

Hola madre!! A tank up for the lil’guzzler and then we slinged up and headed out. It was a quick walk as it was already a scorcher out there, but all good as after we were done walking, madre took the lil’swimmer to the alberca.

Me? I puttered around and then helped get Max in slumber mode for siesta #2 and then hit el gimnasio.

Day #2 was better then ayer, but trying to get back in the rhythm of working out is tough if you have gripe…worse if it is 50,0 grados in the gym!! And where has Jhanhet gone? No good bye? Sham wow.

Hustled home and on the way, I bumped into Amy y Victor for the second time in the día.

And then when I get home, what is this?

Amy is hilarious. He leaves me while I am walking home, makes his route in the camioneta and stops at CP. He comes up to B10 and sees Bex is busy, so he comes on in, drops the water in the bodega, asks where Max is, goes to the recamara and when he returns to the cocina where madre is, he has Max in his arms.

I promised the boys I would join them for pizza sometime soon, and then told them to leave mi hijo alone!!! Ja ja ja

You know what I did for the first time in months? I sat in the sun!! When we would vacation in Mexico, it was all about the 8 hours in the sun and the tan….the trophy to bring back to show all the mates.

Now with Max, we hit the shade as much as possible and I was feeling a little pasty. So 15 minutes in the oven, followed by another 15 in the pool, and I am a little crispy. Doph.

Raced up to help get the lil’guy to sleep for nap #3 and when he wiped the flowing red hair away from those blue eyes and then said to me…”padre, how about a chest nap?”, I could not refuse.

Score!! After the nap, off to the pool for some floating and standing on the chair.

Then it was an early dinner and we had Max into the bedroom shortly after 7pm and after 30 minutes of walking the bed with madre watching on, I came in and had another 20 minutes of the same. The kid has energy!!

But after 20 minutes, he wiped the flowing red hair away from his blues eyes and then said to me…”padre, it is time”. I took the lil’bundle of joy into my arms, rocked him for 3 minutes and he was in slumber mode.

Onto the bed where he circled around like a dog trying to get comfortable, and then lights out!!

Currently 930pm and for 90 minutes I have had his butt in clear view on the monitor and all is good!! Phew. Madre says hola from the oficina and I am updating you all while watching some pretty funny Jimmy Fallon sketches on TV.

Mañana? It is already jueves? Huh? Che and no sé what else. It looks like a possible meet with Roman on viernes. He is also headed 2 hours away, where the city hall that covers Mojon resides, and will pay our taxes. There goes another $600 pesos…$47 Cdn for the year. Ja ja ja

Have a great jueves.

Marco, Bexico y Max