A day to celebrate

We didn’t know how to celebrate our anniversary this year.

We have traveled the last few years, but felt like staying close to home this year because we wanted to go to the Marine Ball (scheduled for the night before our anniversary). We had a blast at the ball and are so happy we went. We spent the night at the hotel (such a good idea) and slept in. I took a bath and read in a real bath tub! Johnathan surprised me by hiring our old driver for the day. It was so nice that we didn’t have to worry about driving (and parking).

at the ball

We wanted to do something fun. Dinner and a movie sounded lame. So it was decided that we would combine two activities. One that he would plan (the bag of fun) and one that I would plan (scavenger hunt). The week before our anniversary, I went to Greenbelt mall a couple of times and found different things that I could use: menu item, store signs, specific baby shoes, a dirty expat with a much younger Filipina (which was the easiest and quickest, btw. He read the card looked up, turned, and said “there’s one!”), etc.

We spent three hours at the mall with him figuring out clues and me doing crazy stuff to embarrass myself. The bag of fun included activities like: pretend sword fighting every time he said “en guard,” freezing in place every time he said “freeze,” finding a stranger and posing like a model in a photo with them, going into a store and speaking a language not from earth while buying something, etc.

posing like a model with a stranger

We were tired from walking for almost three hours, but at the end we were so happy. We had so much fun.  He then told me that we had something after that and told me what outfit to bring for it. We went to a older office building in Makati (on a Sunday, so not only is it old…it was practically abandoned), and up to the 8th floor. We walked into a photo studio and I was really touched, John hates (hates!) portraits. I knew that he was really sacrificing for me to do a photo shoot.

I was wrong…he wasn’t sacrificing at all.

He had brought along a huge popcorn bowl, a large bag of popped popcorn and plain white paper cups and straws for them. As we were getting acquainted with the photographer John asked him to show me his work. He makes surreal photos. He takes the person’s (usually just one) photo and photoshops them into the requested scene. He’s done a lot of athletes, but some non-athletes as well. When he’s done with the photo it has a elegant comic book-like look to it.

Here’s what idea they thought of for our photo, in a nut shell: we’re sitting in a movie theater and John is trying to steal my popcorn. After shooting for about 40 minutes with different ideas on how to convey it, we came up with the one that works the best and settled on our favorite shot. He reserved the studio for two hours, so he also took portraits of each of us separately and just some regular ones of us. He also wanted to get in on a few, so he asked the guy from the studio to grab a couple of shots.

We had such a good time. It was a creative idea and I can’t wait to see the final photo. The amount that we paid includes a framed print that he’ll order for us and then we’ll also get all the other shots that haven’t been touched up.

We left there and John told the driver where to go next. Unfortunately where to go next wasn’t open on Sundays. He wanted to take me to a speakeasy we haven’t been to yet. Since that one wasn’t open, we went to the one that we’re regulars at and sat and had a cocktail and shared arancinis.

After our pre-dinner drinks we went to Sala. It’s a fine dining restaurant that we’ve been eying since we got here. I had an amazing steak and John quite enjoyed his pigeon. We had a celebratory glass of champagne with dinner and with the two drinks and our busy day I was practically falling asleep at the table.

After our yummy dinner our driver took us home. And I was happy. Really, really happy. I told John at dinner that it was anniversary #2 for me as far as enjoyment. It was such a fun day. Hm…how are we going to top it next year?!

About 12 year ago

 

I said “I do.” Not I will. I definitely didn’t like the trend of saying I will. I wanted to do the traditional vows and to say, I do. And I did.

And it’s been good, and bad, and great, and horrible. We’ve had our highs and our lows. We’ve thrown around the word divorce a few times but we’ve said we couldn’t live without each other much, much more. We’ve been together for longer than we’ve been alive and we know no other way to live than with each other.

In the past twelve years we have moved six times, lived in Minnesota, Texas, Virginia, Costa Rica, and Philippines. We had three children, each in a different place. We have done school (one of us much more than the other) and started building a career and a half (being a Foreign Service spouse is practically a career).

We’ve survived grandparents passing, and missed a ton of cousin weddings. We’ve watched our friends marry and start their own families (because let’s be honest – not many people are crazy enough to get married at 20). We’ve made friends that we love and we’ve seen marriages disintegrate. We’ve watched life happen together, and that’s how we like it.

We had an amazing anniversary this year (my 2nd favorite). I’ll have to tell you about it…next time.

A Moment

I have a moment, so I'll blog a moments worth.

Malachi's 4th ever swim lesson went really well today. They decided to put him with the beginner beginners. This was a good move. He did really well compared to the rest of the class, and I think that was very encouraging for him. He even jumped into the pool (holding onto the coaches hands) with a lot less reluctance than before. He didn't cry once, and there was very little choking on water. This was a very, very good lesson for him. Hopefully his next lesson will be good. Unfortunately that's not until Thursday the 28th because of the holiday/vacation.

Seizures update: no seizures in a while. I'm reluctant to say that, because every time I say that he has a seizure. However, after some blood work the Dr. increased his dosage of Valpakine to 250 mg 3x/day. We started that on Wednesday night, but even before that he'd been seizure free (partial and tonic clonic). I don't know if I'm comfortable yet, but I'm getting there. The medicine seems to have a very good side effect: he sleeps! He hasn't slept more than 8 or 9 hours a night in a long, long time. Keppra is said to cause light sleeping in children, apparently Valpakine works the other way and is stronger than the Keppra because he's now sleeping about 11 hours a night!

Simon is teething molars. I got a call at work the other day from P who said that Simon had been crying a lot that day and he felt really hot. Turns out he had a temperature of 100.6. His fever was gone later that night, and he seemed to be in a bit of a better mood. I knew he'd been getting ready to cut a molar or two, or four, so I checked and sure enough, he cut his lower left molar. I could tell that the second one was very, very close. He cut that one that night or early the next morning.

Teething with Simon is a bit weird. He's usually fine until the actual day of cutting. That day and for a while afterwards - about four days with a normal tooth, who knows with a molar - he's got the crankiness, lack of appetite, snotty nose, etc. So that's what we've been dealing with this week. Today, it seemed to be the worst for him because he wouldn't take his afternoon nap, so by 5:30 he was stupid tired and stupider hungry because he'd eaten very little. After a very rough dinner time, daddy took him to play in his room, which seemed to make him pretty happy. Once bed time came, he was really mad again. It didn't take long for him to go to sleep though!

John got lettuce plants today at EPA (think: Lowes or Home Depot) and planted them in our gardens. We now have approximately 16 heads of lettuce growing in our garden. Our dill, spinach, and zucchini are going to overtake other plants soon if we don't give a ton away/use it all. In fact...

Today a photographer came over to do some maternity shots. She's a friend from work and has this as a side business. She took pictures of the kids and grandkids on John's side last November and we really liked what came out of that. In fact...Simon's not had one year photos, so we might want to get in on that since he's already over 14 months.

She showed me some of the shots on her camera, and I'm anxiously awaiting some samples from her. I'm trying very hard to not bug her...especially since it's only been 81/2 hours since she left. Speaking of leaving...she left with a gallon size ziplock stuffed full of spinach and a spicy pepper. This might become a tradition, anyone who leaves, leaves with food.

The pregnancy is getting difficult. It's becoming increasingly difficult to do anything. Thank god for my maternity belt, which I'll get good use out of tomorrow at our Easter Egg Hunt. This is a work event, and I've been voluntold for crafts. I hate doing crafts...of all the things I could do that's what I hate the most. However, I like doing crafts at this event because it's the first thing on the schedule. I'll be able to enjoy the rest of the time half working half hanging/out with the kids. Also, this is my first time going to the DCM's (Deputy Cheif of Mission) residence, so that should be fun for me.

John and I are looking forward to our family vacation for Semana Santa (Holy Week). We leave mid-week and get home in time to be visited by the Easter Bunny - yay! This will be Simon's first conscious Easter, it should be fun.

And now my moment is over. John has requested I pick a movie, and so I shall.

Holiday Weekend

This long weekend we made a lot of plans, and so far I've been having a great time.

Friday night John watched Simon while Malachi and I went to Multiplaza (the local mall). There's a place there, full of large bounce house like activities, where you can drop off your child to play while you go shop. OR...you can take your child and watch them play. If they're under 4 you can go play with them. I had to sit outside and watch, but after he had a pretty good time. At first he didn't really know what to do or who to play with, and a little boy then yelled at him, and that certainly didn't help. Finally he watched another little boy do something, to which Malachi copied and then continued doing for 10 minutes, over, and over, and over. He eventually found a little girl to play with and spent the remainder of his time with her.

After about 40 minutes I told him it was time to go eat dinner. He wanted McDonald's, and since I've recently been on a no McDonald's kick I said no. However, I don't know if I picked something that was healthier for us. I took him to Oui Oui Crepes, he had a nutella crepe and I had a banana and chocolate crepe. After he stuffed his mouth full, didn't chew properly, and started chocking he got the hang of eating the crepe and enjoyed it. His came with M&M's which he thought was pretty special. After that we went home and he went to bed.

Last night John and I went out on a date. We were supposed to go to a movie and then dancing with some friends, but our maid told me when she got here that she had to leave early. She wanted to be home by 9:00, she had a good reason but I was pissed. I told her when we scheduled for last night that we were going to be out late. The dancing didn't start until 9:30. I didn't say anything to her about it for a couple of reasons. One, I didn't know if my Spanish was good enough to convey what I was feeling, and two, I didn't want to let my anger rule what I said.

I was determined to not let my anger towards P ruin what I could have with John. We had a good time at the movie, and then headed home. I told P before we left that we already had tickets and that the movie will be done around 9:00, and we'd head straight home. We did just that, and when we got home Malachi was still up...not good. Malachi shouldn't have been up that late! She knows that he goes to bed by no later than 8:00 on the weekends, she's babysat enough to know that. sigh Next time I guess I'll just have to be more thorough in giving her directions for the evening. Or...I could arrange for someone else to babysit.

We have some more fun plans for today and tomorrow.

Super Dasband

On the plane ride home after passing the Oral Assessment

My friend at A Daring Adventure is writing up the next State Blog Roundup and has actually given an assignment on topics to write for the roundup. The topic she assigned is: "When I/we _________, I Wish I'd/We'd Known..."

I have a feeling a lot of complaining is going to come out of that sentence and I didn't want to complain in this post. So I decided to do something a little different. It's not going to be about life in State, it's going to be about me and my husband.

When I was growing up, I wish I'd known how amazing my husband was going to be.

You see (and if you're a Wife - Mommy - Woman reader you probably already know this because I've admitted it before) I'm quite a selfish and lazy person. These are traits I've known about myself for a lot time and they're things I try to work on - but changing who you are is no easy process.

My husband, however, is amazing. He's always taking care of the kids and I. He works hard for us every day and then comes home and spends a couple of hours with us, cooking, reading to Malachi, and hanging out with us unselfishly until the kids go to bed; at which time he gets to play video games, or watch TV, or basically do whatever he wants, unless he wants to do what I want to do. So I kind of feel like he's a Super Hero Dad and Husband rolled into one. He's the new Super Dasband.

And I feel like I can't live up to Dasband. I wish I knew when I was developing my personality that I'd have such an amazing husband. Maybe I would have become someone who could be called Super. Now don't get me wrong. I by no means think I'm a bad mom or wife. He's just better at it all than I am. Because he's Super.

I love you John - I have for over 13 years and I know I will forever. Thank you for being Super Dasband to our kids and me.

Things

The kids are doing really well. Malachi's enjoying school and is learning his letters, numbers, Spanish letters, swimming (on the days it's not raining), playing with play-doh (making numbers), eating snacks (that I pack, and ones from his friends), eating lunch, amongst other things. The last two days he's come home with an amazing amount of energy so I wonder if they've been putting the nap mats and blankets to good use. Either that or he's acclimated to the schedule. Wish I could say the same about myself. He made up a phrase "Holy Scheckmoes" his friends from school think it's really funny. I laugh when he says it.

Simon is also doing well. We had a fairly normal day today. He slept in this morning - we had to wake him at 7 to feed him before we left. He's up on his knees rocking, sometimes up on his hands, sometimes up on his elbows. Sometimes the front of his body isn't up at all. He's sitting really well now. Although grocery carts are still a challenge. He sometimes falls over onto his face. He's not a fan of that.

Johnathan (this is what he goes by at the Embassy, apparently it's becoming natural for me) is still working away. He often comes home with interesting, funny, and heart breaking stories about his interviews. Since we got here we've had a couple of American deaths (John's not dealing with those yet) and near deaths. It's always hard to hear stories like this. I don't envy the Officers doing American Citizen Services. John will do that before he leaves - he'll probably start next year some time. He went and saw Inception the other night with a friend. He says it's amazing. I'll see it some day.

I'm still trying to figure out school. I need to check with DBU (Dallas Baptist University) to figure out how many credits I can transfer in before I start at Ecclessia. If I get my butt moving I can probably start in September - probably not though. I'd have to register for that by the end of next week. Hm. I might be able to pull that off. I also need to fill out FAFSA but have had a hard time with that because I can't find our tax papers and figure out how much I made separately from John. My Spanish classes at the Embassy are going well. We're being taught a ton and I'm not remembering to study at home. I so need to do that.

I'm going out tonight to see a Ryan Reyolds film from 2008 with a friend (she saw Inception with her hubby two weeks ago). Why am I seeing a 2008 film? Because it's playing in the VIP theater (reclining leather seats with drink and food service in the theater - even a little button to call the attendants. It's not quite as awesome as the Love Sac theater in Dallas because there are no blankets. It's really close though.) and my girlfriend and I want to go out. Her hubby's away, and I'm burnt out.

I need to update photos on flickr and facebook. It's been a while, and I have plenty to add. We'll see when I actually get to that. Who knew that sending my child away for close to nine hours a day would actually make me busier than I was this summer. Well...all the school age moms did, but I didn't!

First tooth!!!

He's officially cut his first tooth! It's still barely there, but it's there. I expected to be up all night the night this happened, but I didn't have to get up once last night - woot!!

**long break to feed baby, and make French Toast for Malachi and I**


After thinking about it some more this morning I realized he was probably cutting yesterday. He didn't sleep much in the morning and feeding times were a bit hard in the morning. He was much better by the afternoon though.

I Skyped with John last night - he feels (and looks) a lot better. He was using a friend's computer instead of the one at the resort and he had good internet. Their Friday is winding down (unless it'll be a late night), and mine is just beginning. I was up very late last night doing the State Dept Blog Roundup, so I'm a bit sleepy. I might try to catch some more z's while Malachi is watching TV.

I'm heading into work again today...but I think you already knew that. My brain is close to working on auto-pilot, it'll probably reach this point this weekend when I have NO plans and the minutes until John's arrival S L O W L Y dwindle by.

I considered applying for a full time HR position, but I like my job. I'll stay where I am.