Insurance Fun

One thing I love about the Foreign Service...Insurance.

Now, if you're Jen you'll completely disagree. But I've had nothing but good experiences from the Foreign Service Benefit Plan.

I love the system of paying upfront and then sending in receipts to get reimbursed. I love not having medical bills to worry about. I wish I could do this in the States as well, but health care in the States is so expensive, I don't think it would work.

Health care costs in Costa Rica:

Pediatric Visit: $80
Physical Therapy Appointment (for baby): $34
Complete blood count (nurse friends help me here: Why is it called complete and then they need to order other things? It doesn't seem so complete to me.) and extra labs for pediatric neurologist: $87
Prenatal Exam: $70
Prenatal Ultrasound $50

Being able to call the Dr's on their cell phones at any time: free (and priceless)

I have to say, I really am going to miss the private health care system in Costa Rica.

Yard Sale and other random stuff

Off and on since I quit my job (I ended working on the 29th. It was a great day to have as the last day of work.), I've been organizing our place for the yard sale that's coming up. I gave away all of the maternity clothes already, and to the same person a bag full of baby stuff. But then there's the rest of the baby stuff, the clothes that I've grown out of/shrunk out of, the lotions that haven't been and never will be used, the bracelets and necklaces I've had since I was 15 and need to get rid of, and so...so much more. And this is just in the attic, my closet, bedroom, and bathroom. 

Every time I walk into Malachi's room and look at the toy closet and the toys all over the floor I walk right back out. That room scares me. 

On the school front: school this semester is hard! I'm enjoying the English class, but it's really challenging me. I am learning quite a bit from it and am happy to be doing so. 

Coen is waving, it's really cute. This morning, as soon as I walked in the door, he started waving at me. I love it. 

Malachi's been doing Tae Kwon Do in school, he loves it. If you see him this summer, be sure to ask to see some moves.

Simon is talking up a storm! Prepare yourselves family...

We leave Costa Rica in less than seven weeks. This is both good and bad. I'm excited for our journey in Manila, but I love my life here so much that I don't want to go. I'm so glad I feel this way, rather than the opposite. I fear the days when I hate where I live. 

I think I'll go check out the kitchen and see if there's anything to sell there. 

It's a Small World

The theme for the roundup this time around is things that are liked about Post. 


Today we went to the home of a couple that used to live in our Condominio (gated community). They are Baha'i and were celebrating a holiday. I made my way into the kitchen to see if I could be of any help and lo and behold: Malachi's teacher was there helping! She's Baha'i and was over to celebrate the holiday as well. It was such a treat and we really got to understand that in Costa Rica...it's a small world after all. 

Simon, the two year old

Simon turned two years old recently. 

This is unbelievable since I think it was just a bit ago that he was born a few days after the last of three blizzards that happened with-in 10 days. 

Simon is amazing John and I every day. He's talking up a storm. Sometimes he chooses Spanish (he can almost count to 10 in Spanish and gets to 2 in English), sometimes he chooses English. If he doesn't get the desired result in the first language he tried, then he might try the other. 

He has tantrums unlike any I've ever seen. Simon knows what he wants, and will not tolerate not getting what he wants. Unfortunately for him, I don't always care about what he wants, only what's best for him. He doesn't get that yet. He also doesn't get that tantrums usually tend to have the opposite affect in this household. 

Simon walks, runs, and sort of jumps now. He can go down stairs all by himself, but he usually prefers to hold a hand. He LOVES to shower with his brother, and if we even say the word "shower" he goes into a frenzy. 

He's a bit of a pick eater. He likes rice (who didn't expect that?!), pasta, homemade cheeseburgers (but not McDonald's ones - how did we luck out so much there?), juice, milk, water (with ice please), toast, eggs (that's new) and a few other things. He wants more syrup or honey on his bread product after about every bite - we tend to fake it for him. 

He really wants to be like his big brother. He would probably love it if we sent him to school with his own backpack on his own bus. However, he and his brothers often fight. This is usually resolved with one of them screaming and one of us breaking it up. I have a feeling this is my foreseeable future.

I can't tell who his favorite family member is. I think it used to be me, but now I think it changes with his mood, and who can/will get him what he wants at that moment. 

He's a bit shy until he knows you, but then he's very sweet and will even call you with a parent's cell phone and chat you up. He'll also text my mechanic 11 times with nothing to say...he's not allowed to use my phone anymore.

He's handsome, charming, sweet, loving, protective, amazing, and so much  more. 

Happy Birthday buddy. Mommy loves you so much and no matter who you are now or will be later, I'm always going to.   

Physical Therapy Update

It's been a while since I updated y'all on Coen.

Last week on the way to Simon's birthday party at the mall, Coen and I stopped at CIMA for his physical therapy appointment and I showed the therapist Coen's latest achievement: Coen crawling. She was so excited for him, so excited that she deemed him done with therapy unless the Dr. requested more. She and I agreed that he probably wouldn't be doing that.

Not only is he crawling, but he can move from a crawl to a sit (which he couldn't do last Wednesday), and he's working on pulling himself up. I have a feeling that we'll soon be moving his crib mattress down.  Another thing I think he's accomplished..talking. In one morning about two weeks ago he said "da da" three times after seeing John. Three times! After the third, I called it as his first word. Today he was using the ma ma sounds quite frequently while playing with me. I might be dreaming, but I'm calling that one as well. :)

Musings

Traveling alone is easy. Maybe too easy - there's no challenge in it. I went through airport security in less than five minutes. I ate my airplane snack in peace. I did a large chunk of History homework before landing. I went through immigration and customs amazingly fast. I went to a friend's house for dinner and ate in peace - without feeding a child. I woke up to the sounds of Latin America instead of a child poking me or talking to my husband. I didn't prepare a school snack, or force anyone into a school uniform, or send anyone off to the school bus. Instead I've been taking  my time with email and facebook. I've been chatting with an old friend (tangent: I've never met this person in real life, but would consider her a friend thanks to WoW and fb, amazing how things work these days), and my "sister-in-law" and lazying around. I will get to homework...eventually.

So thanks to John (who is doing all of the aforementioned work) I've been relaxing since I got through security at the airport in San Jose. It's a little hard to do though.

Why do moms have this "curse." Why is it so hard to take time for us? I don't mean a couple of hours for some time at the salon, but I mean four days in another country to hang loose and relax. It's not like our husbands are incapable, shoot, mine is more capable than me! The world will not end if I'm not there to help! The kids will not be damaged by me being gone for four days! Why oh why then do I feel a bit guilty (just a bit really) for indulging in some me time? Moms? Can you answer that?

new look

I wanted something that reflected how happy I've been lately. I think this template does exactly that.