Merry Xmas!

Our first Christmas in Belize, and oh oh oh how jolly it is.

It's dark, and has been for awhile. But, since Matt traded the Trooper engine (and body) for a canoe and a rooster, the guys are here now trying to hook up the Trooper to the Land Rover to tow it to it's new home. No, they didn't bring flashlights.

look at those xmas buns!

Of course, this was not the original plan.

The plan was to drive the trooper away. But when they got here at sunset, they determined that it was impossible to drive away. So now, as I type, a motorcycle follows the Trooper, being towed by the Rover as it jerks and clanks up and down our dead end road towards a long night crawl down Honey Camp Road. I don't know who's driving or when they'll be back. At some point, I must back out of the negotiations. For this one, I backed out 3 days ago.

I have plenty of other things to occupy myself with. Tetra is doing great. She has 4 teeth coming through top and center. They are awful cute, and I adore watching her as she proudly chomps a banana.

Work is always there, and something I'm always trying to improve my practice with. As soon as I get a routine figured out, it seems that something goes and mucks it up. Most recently it was the stomach flu (which is not the flu at all, but an evil virus that rips your intestines out for at least a week).

I like it when Matt and TJ can time their naps together. I can get a lot done then.

My big accomplishment for today was saving our "pet" frog that lives in our bathroom. His (or her) name is Charlie. I hadn't seen her most of the day because I was keeping my eye on a green vine snake who snuck her way into our baño. About the 3 or 4th time that I came up to see if she had left yet, I saw her tail poking out of the shower. I opened the shower curtain and was aghast at the site of our sweet frog in the jaws of someone I thought to be harmless.

here, you can see part of the snake. she was really quite long. her body is all curled up behind the toilet.

I was pissed, and so was TJ! I grabbed that snake with my free hand and hurled her 15 feet across the yard. She dropped our sweet frog, who hopped to safety under the RV after regaining her senses. The snake–let's call her Snakey–slithered over to the chicken coop, where I'm sure she's set up camp to calculate her next murder. Lucy watched it all this happen, and considered taking advantage of Charlie in his weakened state... but thankfully, she did not.

It's xmas eve, and today I will try to string some popcorn for just a touch of xmas spirit. I think it would be so cool if the birds (and only the birds) come and eat the popcorn!

Love and Hugs to all our loved ones.

Updates!

Tetra

TJ is doing good. She's overcome her cold, and so there is no longer snot all over my boob, which is a major win. She's standing more. She likes to just pull herself into a standing position and play with whatever is in front of her. She still crawls... particularly to the edge of the concrete
in the palapa. She knows the risk, and she mostly goes only to the South side, where the water is very shallow. She talks, and laughs. What she is saying is still a bit unclear, but she doesn't mind, and neither do we. 

I'm constantly getting told how to bathe her, or dress her, or feed her, etc. It's a blessing and a curse. I try very hard to take the suggestions to heart, and to overcome any feelings of offense. It can be hard when I'm the only one caring for her all day. Then, someone wants to drop in and tell me to put socks on my baby... It's well intended, and often a good suggestion. It's just hard to hear after running solo all day.

And, it's not every day that it's just me. Matt does help a lot when he is around, and so do the other boys. But, when they go to town, I prefer to stay. I get much more work done when I don't have to socialize, even with TJ around. 

She's eating solids, but not as much as I would like. I get drained quite easily on only 3 adult meals a day. But, she'll take rice and beans, eggs, bananas, bread, tortilla or fry jack. Getting soft veggies without spices is kind of a challenge right now. I would have to cook them myself, and I've not quite got that worked into the routine yet.

Routine

There are some pieces of the routine coming together. Before breakfast, I wash and soak her cloth diapers from the day before. After breakfast, I finish with a light wash, a rinse and then hang to dry. I'll mind T for a bit, if Matt needs to do some stuff. Then she goes back to her dad so that I can get 2-3 hours of work in.

By then, it's time for lunch! And, am I ever starving by then. After lunch, I play with T for quite a bit, and do a few more chores. I reconnect with any outstanding work from the morning. I could be at the computer anywhere from .5-2 hours in the afternoon.

Dinner comes quick. We usually hang out for a while after dinner, then I find myself back in the RV with T around 6:30 or 7:00. I nurse her to sleep and work until about 10.

Guests

It's a ball having guests. I love meeting the new people; hearing their stories and sharing our own. They come wanting to be happy, wanting to enjoy their vacation, so they are always chipper. It brings new life and new perspective to our little ranch.

Before we came here, I was worried that T would not get enough socialization out here in the jungle. But, I didn't account for all the guests! We are booked for December, and I can't believe it's nearly half way over. We have guests on both ends of January, but we blocked the rest out for building.

Come February, we will hopefully be in our new home, and perhaps have visitors from WA or IL.