Grammar, my goodness!

This is ridiculous! My last post looks like I haven't ever touched a computer before in my life. I don't know if my computer or blogger changed my words, but I can assure you.... I have good grammer. So forgive me for looking so stupid.

When you are down here it changes everything to Spanish, even my blog has a Mexico ending to the web address. What the heck!

Well, hopefully I can get this figured out soon, or I am going to look el stupido on this blog.

Almost up and running

If there is one thing I have learned in the past week, it Is that things take ALOT longer here in Mexico. In the U.S. you can call and order or internet and cable TV within a day or two you are hooked up. Here .... It takes a couple weeks. So, I have been checking in on my phone. Ryan told me I just have a wireless thingy that can plug into the computer to get internet. Who knew! So, I  fired up my computer and plugged in the thingy and here I am!

Okay ... going off my list from my last post, I will elaborate a bit more. 

We arrived around 8:00 pm last Wednesday and lucky for us, ALL 27 bags made it! The only problem we had was my cocoa powder that lid came off in one bag so everything was covered in cocoa. Which means everything from that bag smells like chocolate! That is such a horrible problem .... NOT! We made it to our hotel around 10:00 pm, and they told us that we reserved the two rooms (one with a king and an adjoining room with 2 queens for the kids) weren't available next to each other. So, we all went into the room with a king bed. The 3 older girls slept in the bed, and Ryan, Abbie and I slept on the floor. WOW, after you have kids, your hips HURT When laying on a hard surface. Needless to say, the next night we all slept in beds. The hotel knew that we were NOT happy about it. But it was so late that first night we did not really care. 

Day 2 we got the keys to our house. It is a beautiful house, with incredible views. We spent most of the day shopping for beds and furniture and things. We decided to spend night 2 back at the hotel, the house was not ready for us. On our way to the hotel, Ryan pulled a u-turn in the middle of the intersection, which is against the law, but everyone else did it before us and after us. I guess we just did not do it quite as smooth as the Mexicans. The police here always have their lights on and they run their sirens for no reason. So, we asked "how will you know when you are getting pulled over here." We were told that we would know. And ... we did! The cop was on a motorcycle, and he pulled up right next to us, honked his horn, banged on the van and told us to pull to the side. Ryan just told him we were lost and we were trying to find our hotel. He told Ryan that he has to get the ticket cleared up first. Ryan paid him 200 pesos which is like $15. He told us where to go to get the hotel, and sent us on our way.

Like I said, our house really is beautiful. Not bragging. I just remember coming down here in November, and I was thinking "there is no such thing as a pretty and nice house in Mexico for a decent price." Well, we scored, big time. Ryan did a great job! It is a 3 bedroom home, HUGE bedrooms. Each bedroom has a nice big walk in closet and it's own bathroom. We have a formal living room, a dining room, a little sitting room next to our bar (which we are actually using this space as an office / school room.) We have an office / study which we are using as a toy / craft room. Hey ... a girls' gotta have her craft room U.S. or Mexico. It has the maids quarters which are actually pretty nice, considering the other maids quarters in other homes we have seen just disgusting. The maids quarters have their own stairs, and my girls think That is just the coolest thing. They are small spiral stairs and they just love them. It's lovely.

Marble floors are BEAUTIFUL! But, a nightmare to clean. There is ALWAYS dirt on them that you can not see, until you look at your kids feet. I LOVE being barefoot in my house. I guess not in Mexico. It is so nasty. I have been told that you you have to mop floors a couple times a day to keep them clean. That is SO annoying. I would rather give my kids a couple wipes at the end of the day to wipe off their feet before they jump in bed. It's been working for us. If I had to mop this house every day, it would take me all day, no lie.

I live as close to the shopping areas here as we did in South Jordan to the District or Jordan Landing. It is about five minutes away, 10 minutes in bad traffic. SOOOOO happy I am about that. The driving here is NUTS. You do not have to take a driving test or anything to get a license, you just go pay the money and start driving. Which explains a ton! I feel okay-ish driving to the shopping area, but I have my hands on 10 & 2 and looking in every mirror all of the time. Anyway, when we went shopping the 1st day here, we went to Costco, Walmart, Home Depot and Bed Bath & Beyond. There really is not a huge difference. Walmart is just the basic needs. It's like if you were to go to Walgreens to get milk, cheese, eggs, corn starch, flour. Yes, Walgreens has those things, but not everything and certainly not a selection. Ryan dropped me off at Walmart to do our basic household shopping. I told him I want to be alone to think and to just soak it all in. I was frustrated when I saw that a crockpot was $60! Can you believe that. That thing better pull the food out of the fridge and make itself for that price. Needless to say, That was on the top of my "Mom, would you bring me" list for when my parents come visit. I could not find any pyrex dishes, cookie sheets or mixing bowls there either. So, that's where Bed Bath & Beyond came in. It looks JUST like the states. I actually said to my girls ... WE ARE HOME! Shopping is not going to be as hard as I thought. It is just REALLY expensive here, and you have to go to several places to  get the things you need.

My brother called me on day 3 and asked how I was doing. He said, "I was worried you were going to have a "FOR THE LOVE' moment in the store. " Which he explained that he just imagined me looking for something, then trying to explain it to someone who does not speak English and me getting frustrated and screaming out loud .. "FOR THE LOVE!" I laughed. That would be totally something I would do. But, we already look like a bunch of crazies with 4 young daughters, as white as can be walking around. We are totally getting stares. It is really funny to me. So, that's why I did not "for the love" in the store. Instead, I drew pictures in a notebook (the wonderful artist that I am not) and I used google translate to ask for the things on my list. 

A man came to my door yesterday, he mentioned the home owners name. So, I used google translate to tell him we are renting the home from her. He said some funky sentence in Spanish into my cell phone Which read, "I am looking for the Pinto." I told him, "I am sorry we are not selling a car." in google translate. He laughed and looked at me very puzzled. So, I got a handyman who was here fixing a few things to talk to him. Apparently he was saying, "I am looking for the painter." Pinto.... Painter, meh. 

Alright, this is getting lengthy so I will stop for now. I need to get stuff ready to start home school. My girls keep asking when we are starting. I guess I need to get going on it. I am sure they won't be asking for school in a few weeks once we get going on it. 

Adios! 

We're here!

We arrived late Wednesday night all safely and with all 27 pieces of luggage.

Several things to blog about but I will have to do it when I get our home internet up and running.

But, just so I remember, here are the "titles".

-First night at the hotel, sleeping on the floor.

-Getting pulled over.

-Seeing our house for the first time.

-Marble floors...ugh, nightmare to clean!

-Wal-Mart, Costco, Home Depot - for the love.

-Best Buy, CR2032.

-American family with 4 kids = lots of stares.

I will elaborate later on all of those. But for now, just wanted to touch base and say.. WE ARE IN MEXICO!

Last America Day

This is our last full day here in America. It is just unfortunate that my brain was ready to start this day at 3AM. Early mornings like this make for LONG days. I guess if it is my last day here, it is okay that it is longer than normal.

We have had so much to get done and so much  to do and so much to pack. HOLY SCHMOLY!

If you had to pack up your family for 18 months, and could only take what fits in your luggage, what would you take? I am telling you... YOU BUY MORE LUGGAGE! That is what you take... you take more luggage!

We decided to buy hockey goalie bags because that is probably the cheaper/more stuff to cram in there route. The problem is, it has to be under 70lbs per bag. I methodically places certain items in each bag and I put blankets or diaper packages around breakable things. I would say I am a "master packer", well that is until my new title becomes shattered because the lightest bag is 95lbs and the heaviest is a whopping 135lbs!!

So, we bought more luggage. As we were transferring my perfectly packed items from this bag to the newest addition of the Thomas luggage family, I saw my cute husband roll his eyes, shake his head and smile. He is such a great guy. His tongue must be bruised from all that biting on it he does. He certainly speaks his mind, and I typically know where I stand. But sometimes, it is the silence and just the body language that speaks volumes.

What would you pack for 18 months?? The kids entire wardrobe today plus the age they will be in a year. Why haul clothes twice, right? Legos... you need an ENTIRE suitcase of legos. The girls think that is so funny because they say, "Would if someone stole that suitcase thinking it was full of money, and then the person will open it thinking they have all this money, and really it is just legos." And I am thinking... GUESS WHAT.. it is a suitcase full of money... little plastic money with dots on top, money in the shape of pink legos. But hey.. the hours of entertainment and the thinking that goes into building something... that has to be educational and worth it, right??

Well, for our last day here we have so many fun things planned. Like, the DMV to get a license renewed, our 2nd boost of immunizations for Ryan and I, pay off all utilities and other bills. Return the 30 boxes we didn't use. You know, fun memorable things. There are a few things that my girls wanted to do before we left. I so wanted to do them. I regret not doing them. One of those, "gosh, I am a bad parent, how can I fit it in" moments. I hate those. Maybe we will have to try and squeeze a couple things in.

It all seems so surreal to me, like it isn't really happening. You would think after selling my beloved van, packing up my house, having my husband living in Mexico for a month, pulling my kids out of a school they love, living at my parents out of suitcases.... like lots and lots of suitcases that I would realize that I am leaving all of this. But, I will say, when the guy in Mexico says, "Welcome to Meh-he-co" is probably when I will realize... OH CRAP, this is for real. Please pray for me. Please pray that I will be able to keep "it" together. I think after all of this go-go-go and then when we get there it will be even more go-go-go. But in a couple weeks at some point when all of my dishes are purchased and put in the cupboards, our clothes are in their closets my life is going to slow down, like WAY down. And it will be at that moment  that I will realize that I am not in Kansas, err... Utah anymore. It will be then that I will need your prayers the most. I am sure at that point, this blog will have the shortest post ever. It will read, "okay, now I need those extra prayers" and you will know at that point that it hit me. That my life is different, my home is different, my extended family isn't around me, my friends aren't right there with me, but the best part is... my little family will be RIGHT THERE WITH ME, and that is the best blessing of them all. That is why we are doing this.

Many of you have been praying for us, THANK YOU! Thank you. We love you and will miss you like crazy. Our home number will stay the same and will be a local Utah call. You can call us anytime. You can email us, or Skype. Until we meet again... or at least until we have internet up and running and I can get on Facebook and this blog.

Love to all of you. I will type you in Meh-he-co.

Oh, how I miss you!!!

It has been FOUR whopping days and there are a few things I already miss:

-My bed. Oh, sleep number bed, how I long for you. I miss you, until we meet again.

-My thermostat. There is power with having your own thermostat. You control the warmth/cool in your house, you also control your power bill. I don't care much about the bill, but I do care about my poor toes not being cold. Conserve energy.... pffff. The guy who invented that whole "conserve energy turn down your thermostat" didn't grow up in Utah.

I miss my house. I love my house. I even spoke to my house as I was doing the "final walk-through". I told her that I will miss her and that I am sorry to leave her, but we will be together again soon.

My dearest of dear friends. I already miss you. I miss you like CRAZY! I have a good handful of amazing friends who have taught me so much. I don't think they realize what they teach me, but THEY TEACH ME! I am such a better person because of these ladies. I have one friend who teaches me how to be a better mom. I am trying to be a good mom, I do have epic fails... especially lately. But, I think of her and how she talks to and treats her kids, and it helps me remember what I always wanted to be when I was young... a mom. I am living that dream and I need to remember that. I have another friend who is my greatest cheerleader, she wrote me a card. I am taking that card to Mexico with me so that I have a little piece of her with me. Anytime I get discouraged I will read that card and I will be able to hear her voice cheering me on.
I have another friend who I laugh with non-stop. When we get together it is dang hilarious. She just lets me be me and I always walk away laughing. She has also taught me to love myself. I was told that when you hit your 30's you will begin to truly know who you are and feel comfy in your own skin. I am so grateful she is in my life, because she has taught me this. I have a friend who has taught me just how to think. I come to her with questions and she has the answer. It is usually not an answer I had even thought of. She is one who can put me in my place in the kindest of ways. She has taught me how to grow from being a lady into a woman. She teaches me something every single time I am around her. Another friend of mine has stuck with me during some of my hardest life lessons. She was there for me during the loss of my daughter, during personal friend challenges, and just anytime I needed a chat. She has a dear place in my heart and will always. She keeps me grounded and we certainly have shared a ton of laughs. I have a friend who shows me what the true meaning of service is. She is always serving. She teaches me how to be more Christ-like. She is by far one of the most empathetic people and I can always whine and complain to her and she is there to show me the positive. She is amazing.

They are ALL amazing and I consider each of these ladies a blessing. "Count Your Blessings", again comes to my mind. Although it might sound a little goofy in church if I sang each of their names during the chorus. I am thinking that song will be my theme song for the next few months.

I am currently in my parents home, but already I miss them. I am going to miss them it hurts my heart. My Mom and I are the best of friends and it will be such a challenge for me to not be able to call her up and say, "let's go to the fabric store" or "want to meet up for lunch". She has been retired for a bit now and it has been so much fun having her home. She is one of my greatest blessings. She is amazing and she is a true example of Christ-like love. I am going to miss her so much and my kids are going to miss their Grandma terribly.

This is all going to be tough. But, I am tough. I can handle it. Well, I think I can.

Signed and Delivered!!!!

Okay, maybe not delivered... but signed! Ryan signed on the house that we wanted. YIPPEEE!!!! I am so excited. Down there it is like a BIG deal to rent a house. Here, you can sign in 15 minutes and be in the house the next day. There... NO WAY. But, HE SIGNED!

However, I had a dream last night that he was walking me up to the house, and we couldn't go through the front door, we had to go around the back and go up the back stairs to a door there. The house had olive green carpet and gold velvet wallpaper. I was trying to be nice and sweet... until I asked him what all the noise was downstairs and he told me it was a market right below. That the house that we wanted wasn't an option and this was the next best thing. SAY WHAT!?!?!?

Well, rest assured... no olive green carpet just beautiful marble floors. Which I have no clue how to clean. Guess I better do a little Googling.

Now, we are just going crazy trying to get our house ready for the new tenants. I packed up all of my essential craft room things this morning. How do you choose which fabric to take. That was a REALLY rough decision. The good news is, the two quilt shops that are recommended down there are only a half hour away from my house. PHEW! I may survive. If only Costco sold fabric. Hmmmm

My cutie Lauryn was packing up here "essential" sewing things as well and she got really emotional. She said, "this is hard because we won't be in this room for a very long time". I didn't get emotional, but I really wanted to. That is the one room in this house that gives me stress-relief. Why I am not in it right now is beyond me... oh wait... because all of my stuff is packed up and I would just be sitting there watching the wall.

You know.... I have had SEVERAL people offer to help me pack, help move boxes, help with my kids, help me clean, run errands for me. I am SOOOOOO grateful. It has helped a tremendous amount. I had the Priests in our ward move boxes and furniture. I have had my kids watched any time I asked. I have had meals and treats brought in. I have been invited to homes for FHE and other nights just so that I am not lonely. I wish I had all the money in the world to send them a huge bouquet of flowers and a hefty gift card to their favorite restaurant (or craft store). For now... I can give you a sincere THANK YOU!! Thank you for everything you have done for me. It has been an INCREDIBLY trying month for me. Hard emotionally, physically, good-motherally (adj: to struggle to be a good mom). I could not have done it without you.

Doctrine & Covenants 84:88 "...and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."

Thank you my angels, you know who you are.