Time Has Flown!

Well, it has been 3 weeks since I last posted! Wow!! Time has flown!

    Miguel cleaned the pila, but for some reason, we couldn’t get the water to come out of the shower. We have changed the shower head and faucets and nothing. So, we are still “showering” with a bucket and cup! This really Sucks with a capital S!! I love the days that we have running water. I pull the water hose in through the bathroom window and shower with it!! It is not the best, but hey, it is better than a cup!

We will be putting in new plumbing in September and building a bathroom on the inside of the house. I am tired of waking up at 2AM and want to go to the bathroom, but don’t go because I am too scared of all of the little pests outside. I am a chicken as Miguel’s grandmother says!

     

    I have another benefit of living here, I can afford help! I have a house cleaner that comes 4 hours a day 6 days a week and I pay her 100USd every 2 weeks. She cleans, does laundry, and cuts up the meat and vegetables for me to cook. I am very picky about my food so, I cook. This has been a life saver, I work 50-60 hours a week and she makes life easier.

    We are having issues with the electricity. The box is an old fashioned fuse box and has been blowing fuses like crazy! We change fuses 2 or 3 times a week, but I think that has to do with all of the extra electronics we have turned on especially my A/C.

    We will be going to the States on my birthday. I will be staying for around a week or 10 days and the kids will be staying until Thanksgiving. I love their new school. They go to school online through a free online school in the US. The site is called, www.connectionsacademy.com  They received books from the school and other materials, I just have to buy more than I would if they went to a public school, but it more than makes up for it with convienence. They can study here or in the US. Since this year, we will be going to the States about every 3 months, it works out great. Home schooling is very hard once they get in 5^th grade! So, I am thankful for this.

    I have been working my booty off the past 2 weeks, I want to go shopping while in the States so, I have been working 60-70 hours each week.

     On the TTC front, nothing as of yet. I found out that coffee is not good for TTC. I knew it wasn’t good for pregnancy, but not TTC. I found out that it makes the body more acidic therefore killing sperm before they have the chance to reach the ovum. So, if nothing this month, Miguel said he is throwing out the coffee. I agreed. I will buy grapefruit juice. Grapefruit has acid, but it turns alkaline when digested therefore, making the body a more safe place for sperm to travel. 

    We have a lot planned for the next year:

• ·         August: go to the States
• ·         September: Build new bathroom and add new electrical
• ·         October: expand porch and screen it in; build stairs; & build countertops in Kitchen
• ·         November: Go to the States
• ·         December: Christmas!!!
• ·         January: Miguel’s and Jeni’s birthday; Remodel upstairs for kids
• ·         February: Town festival and go to the States
• ·         March: Build our bathroom
• ·         April: Landscape yard; add outdoor patio and outdoor kitchen
• ·         May: Build pool
• ·         June: Finish Pool (Just in time for rainy season LOL)
• ·         July: Vacation and Nando’s Birthday
• ·         August: Go to the States
• ·         September: Finish back yard

        If we finally get pregnant, this will change a little to fit prenatal, labor, and baby stuff into the budget. It may take 2 years to finish all of this, then. I won’t complain though.

A Day In the Life of the New Me!! And a Few Other Things :)

Well, as most of you know from my posts, I am now in the rancho. We are doing much better even with all of the new difficulties we are facing. They are not problems, just things that take sometime to get used to. The rancho has running water that we only get once a week and sometimes even, once every two weeks. The bathroom is outside, they built a full bathroom with toilet, shower, and sink on the other side of the driveway, odd, but ok.  We have to get water out of the pila to wash dishes with and that can be a major pain. I am lazy, I admit it. There is nothing I hate more than to need water and have to walk across the driveway to get a bucket full. The good thing, we can change this. Miguel is going to build a pila on top of the house or we might buy a tinaco, not sure, yet. This will have to wait until we recuperate from the expense of moving.

Last night, I cried. It poured rain and we have to go out in the rain to get to the bathroom. Everytime I get wet by rain, I get a cold for some reason. I had to go the bathroom so, I got wet and I got so mad I cried. I even made a smart ass comment about how a normal house has the bathroom and everything on the inside and not outside and how dumb his dad was to have built the bathroom outside. We sent money to build the bathroom just 3 years ago so, that it would be in the house. I shouldn't have called him dumb, but oh well he has called me worse I am sure.

Ok so, on to my new life:

8AM I get up, go straight to the kitchen to make a smoothie for Miguel's grandma and start coffee.
9AM Fix breakfast
10AM Do laundry or something
11AM Clean bedroom
12Noon Fix lunch
1PM Clean something or take a break depends on what needs to be done
2PM Take shower
3PM Fix dinner to be eaten later
4PM Start getting everything in order for work
5PM-11PM Work
11PM Eat dinner
Midnight Fall into bed

My life is much busier than before, but it is all good. I hope to be able to figure out a schedule that will allow me to have time to workout and time for myself each day.

I am growing to love the rancho. The people are awesome!! They are very nice people who do not judge me just because I am American. I get along great with one of Miguel's cousins. It is kind of funny becasue she is the one that my inlaws can't stand!! LOL Miguel's grandmother is awesome, but has high expectations. She is old fashioned and believes that you shouldn't waste your time on the TV or computer and that women and girls alike should be doing chores all day while the boys are resting and doing what they want. She tried that with the kids and I put a stop to that. I explained to her that in our family, the men do exactly the same thing as the women and we as women do not serve the men. She didn't agree with me, she said that it is our job as women to take care of the men, but said that she would respect my wishes. She still slips up and tries to tell Jeni or me to do something for either Miguel or Nando, but we just ignore it or Miguel will say no Abuela, we can do it or he'll tell Nando that he is to do it for himself.

Miguel is cleaning the bathroom pila so, atleast we will have running water in the bathroom. I love the rancho, but definitely do not like living like it is the 1800's.

I can honestly say, I am happy again!! I want to thank all of my fellow bloggers and readers for all of the support during my tough times while living in the hell hole of my in laws house. You helped keep me sane!! Cyber hugs to all of you!!!


Our To Do List to make the house more like home:

1. Plumbing
2. Screen in the porch to keep the mosquitos out, they seem to love me!! I ook like I have a major case of the chicken pox.
3. Pest proof the house, we need to fill in all of the holes that go to the outside, like around the doors and windows.
4. Get rid of the ants, we have sprayed and powdered a couple of times, but they are not quite gone.
5. Build a bathroom on the inside of the house.
6. Repair the bedrooms upsatairs to be livable so, that the largest room downstairs can be a livingroom.
7. Install the A/Cs, we have 1 onstalled in the room that we all are sleeping in at the moment, but need to insatll the other one in the room that will belong to us when we finsih repairing it.


Abuela gave Jeni a little chick and the little thing started following her around as if she was the mama. We convinced her to let it stay with its mama because we were afraid it would get stepped on. Well,  yesterday, she finally agreed to. Last night it poured rain, we had about 5 inches of rain in the yard and this morning, we found the little chick dead in a puddle of water. Jeni was very upset and blamed herself. She said that if she had kept it in a cage, it would have never drowned. She felt worse becasue yesterday was the first time she let it stay with its mama at night.

We went to Panuco today and bought another chick for her and one for Nando. Jeni's is yellow and nando's is black so, no fighting over whose is whose!! this ended all sadness. We now have a chicken grave yard in our back yard!! She buried the chicken and made a cross for the grave and said the rosary for the little chick. It was sad, but so cute.

I will post some pics later today. Take care everybody!!1