Lesley’s annual costume party!

The theme this year was Under the Sea so the girls made their own jellyfish costumes and were proud to take home the prize for best costume! They had a blast as always and stayed late playing ring toss with Justin. Toobs chose to stay on her own with the girls while Will and I left to go get dinner ready before UF and she said she had the best time after! She said Justin picked her up and swung her around like a dad would. Sweet little love growing up. Last year she was still a bit shy at the party but this year she was walking up to random grannies and starting conversations. Ugh so proud and just adore her so much. Toobs just be Toobin.

 

Sunday update

The girls have all had their first full week back at school and Toobs completed her 1st spelling test. Guab and Sissy have started at FLVS combined with Outschool and thankfully are both really liking it!

After 3+ weeks everyone is finally healthy! I was able to play Ultimate Frisbee on Thursday and didn’t have any setbacks, plus lifted weights again this week so hallelujah! Today is Sunday so that means Frisbee again!

Dada is currently surfing at Praia do Norte so hopefully he returns w/o any broken bones. The girls went to Tricia’s this week with Lily and did paper mache with the grannies. Meeps has had almost a full week with no balls and is still meeps crazy so I bought a water bottle weapon. He cracked my papaya plant in half🤬 so now I’m experimenting growing 2 from 1. Lulu seems to be tolerating him more but still swats him and hisses. I think she finds him entertaining b/c I noticed her watching him yesterday and sitting in the yard in an unusual spot for her just staring at his weird meep antics.

As I am writing this I just caught him in my hibiscus plant so yes we’re still working on this.

Still no house updates. Still chasing responses from builders.

Sissy finished The Book Thief and said she nearly cried at the end. We’re not allowed to watch the movie until Guab reads it and she gave her a month deadline so we’ll see. Guab is still reading The Pharmacy girl and Toobs and I are reading Sweep. It was one of sissy’s favorite books when she was about 10yrs but so far we are about 1/2 way through and Im not sure Toob’s feels the same.

The girls were counting the weeks to Xmas yesterday. It’s September. Help.

Pic from Tricia of the girls and the grannies.

The virus that never ends

Well I am going on like week 3 of a virus that started with back pain, turned into fever and chills, then just when I thought I was free it decided to whip up a nasty congestion and swell a lymph node in my armpit- thxxxxxx.

Toobs was taken out and had 24hr fever then fine, and now congestion. Sissy and Guab both the whole fever, aches, congestion, and Will is just skipping around in healthy folly. Bit frustrating (not that I wish sickness on him but I mean 3 weeks and he has nothing?!).

The girls and Will played Ultimate frisbee last night and Toobs and I played Uzzle (I whipped her so there’s that).

Summer feels like it is fading too fast and the fall smells are already all around. This weekend we have a party at the neighbor’s house (Lesley) and the girls are dressing up as jellyfish. We’ll attempt to make this costume today. It involved Umbrella hats and lots of ribbons from the Chinese store.

Looking forward to having my normal energy back and not doing restorative yoga and going on walks. I need weights, and run/hikes back in my life. I have an appt with Nancy for a facial today so maybe she’ll massage some of this ick out of me.

Next week we’re officially back in school mode so I have to organize all the classes, activities, etc. It’s time to get my little Muffin pie reading. She’s almost there!

MEEEEEEP- Mew, Meeper, Mews – welcome to the family!

Well, you’ve been with us for about a month now but I’m just getting around to posting about your little fuzzy butt. Dada and I were on a run/hike in Ribereinha when out of the forest we heard – meooowwww. I’m like ummm Dada did you hear that, and he was like ffs! Yes people, my time has come! I finally found a kitten! He didn’t even hesitate and walked right into my arms. I carried him all the way back to the car in my sweet kitten bliss.

We got home and surprised the girls then introduced Meeps to his new house and furry siblings. He kindly introduced fleas, ear mites and parasites. Thankfully I saw them crawling before he infested the whole house and two baths plus a several hours combing him with a lice comb got the fleas under control.

He’s now been entertaining us for a month, and annoying Lulu and flower at the same time. He likes to dig in all my plant pots, go to the bathroom in them, scratch my Yucca tree, and chase anything that wiggles. He is a little pain in the butt, but we all absolutely adore him (even Dada). Well Lulu not so much.

Welcome to the family Meep Meep. You are spunky, cuddly, adorable, annoying, and soft as a little bunny. We love you!!

Here is the moment I found you:

And then the moment the girls met you:

And Lulu’s face every time she sees you (when she’s not hissing)

Some snaps of your first couple of weeks at home 🙂

Time for a blog shake up

Ok, so I’ve been struggling with keeping up photos/videos on here b/c well life. I decided that since I organize all the photos and videos into monthly online albums, and make a Christmas book and calendar each year with all our pics that it was prob best to use this platform more as a space to write about our adventures/life than show it. Plus sissy has been asking me to put recipes here and it will help me not lose all of my grammar (I just misspelled the word grammar and was auto corrected- oh the irony).

In the past I had the time to put pictures and then I would write multiple times per week but that time is nowhere to be found these days. It feels like time sped up and the weeks fly by and then I’m 2 months behind (see photos below from June- we are now in September). I guess 3 months behind.

At the moment 3 out of 5 of us are sick/recovering from a super fun virus that instantly made you feel like you got hit by a train. Yay. I think right before that virus decided to attack me I strained a muscle in my back working out. I’ve never tweaked my lower back before so that was new and super convenient b/c 2 days after that I came down with chills and fever. Then I felt better but my back was still weird and I decided to lift heavy weights again- smart. Actually I decided to do two weight lifting workouts back to back- super smart. So the following day I came down with chills/fever again, and my back felt like there was a little man inside just cranking a wheel tightening it. I was laid out for about 2 days and then the fever broke and I was left with this back ache that wouldn’t go away 🥳.

I found myself practicing yoga at 2:30 am in the dark room while Toobs slept to try and loosen up my back. Then I came upstairs around 4am when that failed, did another 45 min yoga for my back and binged physical therapy videos on how to help a tight back. This is when my little paddle ball came into play and saved the day! I laid on my mat and put the rubber ball beneath my lower back and just rolled side to side, up and down. For the first time in 2 weeks I could feel it loosen! So yea for the rest of the day I had 2 different sized balls and a roller and just went to town. My back isn’t tight anymore, but now if I touch the lower part it feels like I have a bruise 🤣.

Happy to be back vertical and even happier is Toobs who announced that she hasn’t had a good breakfast in a month…it was 2 days😂. Poor Toobs cried and asked if I was going to die. Rational. She was very concerned when I was sick and I guess I haven’t been sick since last summer thankfully and can’t really remember the last time I was laid out. Oh wait it was like 2 or 3 years ago b/c Toobs had to sleep in a separate room with Dada and is still traumatized about it. She claims she couldn’t sleep but she slept until like 10am that day 🤔.

Anyway, dada and the girls held down the house and then Sabi was victim #2. Hers hit with the chills, then body ache and of course after that went straight to her nose. She is the congestion queen. Whenever she gets sick it goes there, oh and she pukes. That happened too. Both her and Toobs must puke whenever they’re sick. Thankfully they’ve become vomit experts now and make it to the toilet. We watched some Stranger Things, slept, played Yahtzee, watched Family Feud and basically complained together.

Sissy went out on Sunday with friends and then walked to Ultimate Frisbee. Dada met her there to play at 6pm and by that time she had just started to feel the wrath of this virus. She still played b/c she’s sissy and competitive and also didn’t want to let her team down. She came home with 101 fever and then spent the next 24hrs laid out with the aches. She is into day 3 now and is pretty much back to normal other than lower back ache. Realllllllly hoping Dada and Toobs dodge this b/c well I don’t want them to be sick, but also we leave for Sao Jorge this afternoon so that would be pretty inconvenient.

Toobs is awake and just yelled her usual “I love you and I miss you and I want bubbbaaaa” so off I go to cuddle and read another chapter of Sweep. So the day begins 💪! xoxoxo