Have I ever mentioned the banister? Probably not. We live in a split level house...the bedrooms are on the bottom and the living area and kitchen is at the top. On the second level, we have a railing that overlooks the foyer. There are spindles that are definitely not 4" apart and the baby can literally walk right through them...not a good realization for a paranoid mother. So after one too many scares, I took the matter into my own hands. Working with what I had around the house, I've secured the railing and "babyproofed" it. I don't know if saran wrap is deemed safe in the U.S. but it makes me sleep better at night here in Honduras.
Things are so different here. Not bad or wrong, just different. Leche is an issue. Our children consume a lot of milk and the leche here is just not the same, unless you spring for the $6 a gallon American Whole Milk that expires tomorrow. So we've been experimenting with new milk. Joseph has discovered that he LOVES almond milk, especially the vanilla flavored one. Well that is great except for the fact that Eli HATES it. Eli likes the avena (oatmeal) flavored leche so I add a little of that to his milk and he's happy. This is all fine except for the fact that Joseph (our child who is very sensitive to all things that cause allergies) discovered a full body rash all over him and now we have to determine if it was the milk or maybe something in the detergent that we are using. Yes, laid back, but not uneventful...
Our house that we live in is set on a hillside that overlooks the south side of the island. At this point I will say that it is absolutely beautiful, but very difficult to get to and especially, to leave. Our driveway is on a very steep incline. In fact, you may have noticed that we purchased a car. We did this largely in part due to the extremely high rates for rental cars but also because we had problems getting people to rent a car to us because of the house we are living in. At first, we thought it was because they wanted us to rent a house from them, but now that we have witnessed three (yes that is 3) towings on our road we have begun to think otherwise. So, that brings me to the ice skating incident...kind of.
We have met amazing people here on the island. In fact, we spend lots of time with a couple of families that we don't know what we'd do without. Quiz nights, family dinners, and karoake have become events that we look forward to weekly. This island has done so many amazing things for our family, some on a large family scale and others at a more individual level. Anyway, the weather has been rainy...which is expected, being that we are in the middle of the "rainy season." Our steep hills coupled with days filled with steady rain do not make for excellent driving conditions, or parking conditions for that matter.
When arriving home one evening, one of our friends drove too far down the driveway and was unable to back up to leave. Needless to say, it called the attention of our neighbors, their dogs, birds and monkey. Also, as the car is slowly sliding down the hill on the algae that grows on the concrete during the rainy season, my friend and I are below it trying to get out of the way. It's difficult to explain, but too bad the guy in the truck was too busy laughing instead of video taping because from what we hear, it was definitely an event to witness. Imagine two synchronized swimmers...you get the picture. Anyway, we gave up on the car and I sent them home in mine. The next day we left the towing to the experts, islanders with a garden hose for a rope, bleach and water. Long story made short, busted elbow, hip and left leg later....I will no longer be going out in the rain.
The craftsmanship here is beautiful...I can't not mention the front doors that I'm able to walk through everyday. I pray that my dad is getting the hang of this "internet thing" so that he can take a look at how beautiful they are. We managed to find a television here on the island and we set up a "den" in our very spacious living room. Now we just need to find a HDMI cable...shouldn't be too hard, right?
Okay, enough for now...so much to say but sometimes I feel like I'm just rambling. So until next time...hope you are enjoying our adventures and please feel free to comment and pass along.
The Llewellyns
