The First Four Days

Good God I have never showered so much in my entire life these past four days! I always said I prefer humid weather over dry and in theory I still stand by that, but my body seems to disagree. With my hair and face greasier than a diner stove top and sand that lurks in all my creases, I've been forced to rinse and re-rinse several times a day in addition to watering down the children as many times too. They are experts in performing Down Dog in the shower to get all the sand out. Deets and Margo keep figuring out the hard way that when they sit in the surf and their swim suits fill up with heavy sand, chafing their cracks.  But of course it has not stopped any of us from taking multiple daily swim trips to the ocean or the pool. They love it. Even Jim-dog loves the beach and he hates water.

As for me, I love that they love it. Never having been a beach-person, I am learning what not to do. For example: don't bring a water bottle that your daughter will inevitably bury in the sand. Don't bring a bag for towels and snacks; they are useless and actually encourage more sand.  Don't try to hide cash in your bikini top, especially coins (where DO I put it?!) But the good news is the vendors will still take it, even if it is mashed against your personal parts. We've already teamed up with a couple of gregarious beach vendors to use their chairs and umbrellas in exchange for purchasing drinks.  Turns out coconut water served really cold isn't half bad. That is, until your daughter drops it in the sand and you end up drinking the beach. 

Let's talk about the weather really quick: yes many of you saw on FB the gorgeous sunny day picture of Recife when we arrived on the first day. Traditionally, that's how it is here. A piece of humid (80-90%) paradise 6 degrees south of the equator with a coastal breeze that keeps the temperatures steady between 72-75F at night and 84-89F during the day. Starting "last night," (sunset is around 5:30pm) the wind and rain started. It hasn't really stopped, and resulted in our family looking like drowned rats when we took the dog out during a break in the storm.  According to weather.com, the wind speed only clocks at 15 mph as I write this, but from our apartment the roar of the waves and wind blasting through the windows make it sound far more violent. I could've sworn I saw the Wicked Witch flash past our balcony. 

Despite the rain, Deets still begs to go swimming. When he's not also begging to watch movies, we are playing on the playground and walking the dog. I don't know how Deets even has energy these days because he's not eating much with exception to yogurt. Since Margo does whatever Deets does, my children have pretty much boycotted all food when normally, the kids voraciously eat anything we put on their plates.  It makes for interesting diaper changes and bathroom breaks. I am sure it's just a phase, and I am not trying to sweat it too much. But we all know that's easier said than done. 

Yesterday we walked to the store to pick up some groceries, and Deets demanded we buy him a kiwi. That's right: urgently demanded- as if it was a matter of life and death. Because it was his favorite.  I bought it even though I knew for a fact he'd refuse to eat it later. So we made a deal: he would eat three pieces with dinner and if he did, he could watch Cars in Portuguese. Poor kid gagged and it took him 30 minutes eat the kiwi, but he did it. And now he knows not to ever demand for things when we are at the store. I wonder how many times Margo will need that lesson when it's her turn? On another positive note, Deets did try a piece of papaya without any solicitation before spitting it out... can't say I disagree with him, I think this fruit might be better in a blended and very boozy cocktail. 

At any rate, between these ventures we have been spoiled rotten by Mark's work sponsor/neighbor and her family. Not only did they have our apartment set up with dishes, sheets, groceries and flowers, they helped setup Internet! (My friend Dina in Kiev wrote a post about how happy she was to have immediate Internet access over having a place to sit upon their arrival and I couldn't agree with her more. Yes, I am a slave to staying connected with friends and family. It's the motor that keeps me going with this chosen lifestyle.) Besides all this they've fed and watered us, they put together a newbie Happy Hour over the weekend which was chock full of similar aged children running around. It was a joy. They've taken us shopping and sightseeing some personal favorite spots already. They even call just to check up on us! Mark and I are so grateful for their company and they are making the adjustment quite pleasant. 

Tomorrow I will wrangle the kids and check out their potential school. I also plan to buy the following: vegetable peeler, cheese grater and trash bags. Watch out world. 

DCA->MIA->REC

2:51 am: Move To Recife Day. Call us paranoid, but we weren't up for another Romanian repeat and instead slept with one eye open and rolled out of bed 9 minutes early. It was enough time to load up the porch with 1 dog, 1 kennel, 1 stroller, 2 car seats, 4 carry-ons, and 7 bags before rousing the kids. It was enough time to double check the house, turn off the lights and leave our keys on the kitchen table. It was also enough time to realize our 2nd taxi would not show- necessitating a sweaty game of Tetris to get everything and everyone inside the minivan. Kids in laps, we hightailed it to the airport only five minutes behind schedule. It was at the check in line where I dared to breathe- but a moment too soon because I realized here that my wallet was gone. Now: trying to slyly rummage through your bag that is stuffed with nothing but bribery suckers, diapers, wipes, and dog food to locate a missing wallet with out your husband noticing can't actually happen. Nor can you hide the fear and rising stress from your kids.

I could have sworn it was in my back pocket. But crazy things happen at 3am and I've been known to do silly stuff in the past. I will spare you the details, but my mess-ups usually involve clothes... I rummaged through a few other bags and called the taxi company but to no avail. It was gone. Sheepishly, I sent a friend a 4:30 am text requesting should he have the time to invite himself into our unlocked apartment and see if I managed to put my wallet in the freezer or something. Mark assured me the world wouldn't end today and continued onto Miami.

Our flight was uneventful and we arrived to the bright sunshiny Miami airport where we would shack up all day in MIA's terminal airport to wait for the midnight flight to Recife. Due to pet regulations with American Airlines, we knew we couldn't travel if the temperature would be warmer than 85F. So we decided to split our trip in half. It worked out reasonably well: concierge let us check in early with "free" breakfast and we splurged for a suite order to facilitate naps better. Signs of melt down arrived faster than anticipated as Margo absconded with jelly packets, exploding them all over the table (and us) and took off running with sticky hands grabbing anything in sight. Dang! She's quick and refused to go down easily. Eh. Can't say I blame her.

A few hours later, I received a phone call from my friend who had relieving news: no, my wallet was not in the freezer but the maintenance guys found it! It was laying in the grass just on the other side of the porch. I realized it must have fallen out of my pocket when I heaved my ass over the fence. Because what normal person would use a door? My friend was gracious enough to "pouch it" aka- mail it to the Consulate in Recife. So Tim, if you are reading this please tell me your shoe size! I have a pretty little package to head your way soon!

Too excited to sleep. 

We ate expensive airport food, watched cartoons and took Jim outside to play in to closed off parking lot to pass the time. All the while the temperature reading 86-88 degrees. Deets was too excited to nap all day, so when the time came to head down to check in for the final leg at 9:45pm he jolted Margo awake by shaking her bed and yelling at her to get her "lazy bones out of bed." And the journey continued. My amazing, and burly yet tender husband took one for the team and sat with the kids on the planes (again) whereas I sat alone and hardly made it out of the gate with my eyes open. I feel like we travel enough to warrant the ridiculous neck pillows, but knowing how a) useless it would be since it would guarantee ill behaved children and b) how much Mark would make fun of me,  I just can't go there. So instead I slept with my mouth wide open, head lobbing back and forth in the twilighty half-sleep. Like an ugly crier, I'm also an ugly sleeper. I fear the day someone takes a picture of my drooling double chinned self. And posts it.

Alas, the flight ended and masses of people crowded the aisles, frantic to grab their lampshades and duty-free goodie before anyone else could. Classic to Margo form, I had to change her incredibly dirty diaper in the airport bathroom and this is where I knew I had finally arrived: no soap, no towels, no changing table.  Just like the good old days. And clearly looking like we needed help, the porteiros came to the rescue, offering extra hands and expedited entry through customs since we had the only dog who needed inspection. It was awesome.

Ten minutes after leaving the airport with Mark's work sponsor and locally engaged staff all who were lithe, helpful, and super friendly we arrived at our new home...

Found my yoga spot. Safety nets to keep the kiddos safe...

Sticking the iPhone lens through the netting to get an unhindered view. 

Playground fun.

Deets slightly annoyed that I deprived him of second round of the beach-
on his first day.