A Day in the Life...

It is 3am here in San Jose and I was hoping I wouldn't have to be up at this hour, but apparently the stomach virus that has plagued most all of our friends down here has now found it's way into our family. Poor Connor just woke up crying, "I threw up, Mommy!" I am just glad it did not happen the day before on his birthday. Now he is here on the couch with some lemon water and a bowl, and I am standing vigil by him for the next few hours until the worst of it passes. Please pray for all of us as this stomach bug is particularly nasty and has made pretty much everyone in each house pretty miserable for 36 hours.
While I am up I thought I would go ahead and give you a typical Saturday for us here, the current situation not withstanding...
5:45am...Cade comes into our bedroom. He and Connor tell me a motorcycle woke them up and so they get into the bed with us.
6:04 am...They are still awake and the sun is shining in, so I give up on sleeping in and get up to make breakfast.
6:36 am...I am unpacking the last of my clothing as the kids eat some cereal. Why did I bring these long sleeve shirts anyway??!!???!!??
7:44 am...We decide to go ahead and go to the Feria (Farmer's Market) for our weekly fresh fruit and vegetables.
8:13 am...We are on our way with a small cart and stroller in tow. Navigating the sidewalks can be tricky as the pavement is cracked and the elevations change frequently between houses. We play a couple quick games of Frogger to get across a few of the busier streets. 15 minutes after leaving the house we are at one of the panaderias in the area getting everyone a doughnut. Total bill for 6 doughnuts is Ç1,300 or about $2.05 total.
8:25 am... Ken is on his way to a nearby park with the kids and I am going by the ATM and then the market. It looks pretty busy as I pass by to get my cash.
9:10 am...After going to my favorite 3 vendors and using my limited Spanish I am now the proud owner of: 1 bunch of cilantro, 1 bunch of oregano, 1 bunch of thyme, 1 bunch of parsley, 1 bunch of basil (all are fresh), celery, 10 tomatoes, 3 cucumbers, 5 huge red peppers, 5 small scotch bonnet peppers (great for salsa), 3 garlic bulbs, 5 large plantains, 1 lb of strawberries, 1 huge bunch of bananas, and 2 fresh fruit drinks for the kids. All this cost be about $8.50. Now we go home to wash and soak our veggies in a little vinegar to get rid of any unwanted parasites.
10:24 am...Our produce is in the fridge and clean. We decide to go ahead and go to the Hipermas (Spanish Walmart), so we go down 3 blocks to the park where the cabs line up and take a taxi there. It is a beautiful day and we notice lots of people in all the parks along the way.
11:02 am...We decided to grab lunch in the food court. The kids wanted McDonalds. Connor and Cade had hamburger Happy Meals. Kayleigh had chicken. They don't have nuggets down here in the Happy Meals, rather they have chicken legs...they call them McTasty chicken. American food here is pretty expensive, but it's a piece of home for the kids. Ken and I eat Mexican which is cheap everywhere you go.
12:22 pm...After filling 1 cart with new pillows and the other with our needed Walmart type items (cleaners, organizing stuff, etc...) we get in line at one of 25 checkouts along with half of San Jose.
12:40 pm...We are still in line and I decide to take the kids for a potty break and get a spare set of keys at the kiosk by the restrooms. We have 5 keys just to get into our house (1 to the first gate, 1 to the carport gate, 1 to the large carport gate that we take the stroller through when we use it, 1 to the front door gate, and 1 to the front door).
12:51 pm...The keys are ready. I check on Ken in line. He has moved up 2 places. I decide to go get a small fan to add to our cart.
1:01 pm...Just 2 more customers to go. I go back through the store and look for a key chain.
1:14 pm...I return to the checkout in time to bag my items. I never could find a key chain. The cashiers do not move fast as they are not given any incentive to. Apparently the extra personnel that would bag the items are in the store peddling their products instead. I spend a lot of time saying ."No hablo español." The Ticos seem to have no problem just ignoring the well dressed ladies as they point out their particular products.
1:24 pm...After waiting in line for a taxi, we are finally on our way back to the house. We give our taxi driver the address to our house..."Parque Bosque...300 metros al oeste y 75 metros al sur, mano durecha la casa blanca con verde cerca la castilla del guarda con portones negros."
2:15 pm...Cade is down for a nap and I am cleaning up and doing some laundry. Ken takes our taxi up to the local "Freds" to return 2 defective fans. He gets back 40 minutes later and tackles the ants in the cupboard for me. I check to make sure all the containers are airtight.
4:55 pm...I begin making chocolate chip cookies for Connor's birthday and some good ole Mac'n'cheese with chicken nuggets.
6:02 pm... We spend some time catching up with Nana and Papaw, then with Grammie. Connor tells them all about his new baseball glove that he got today and played in the park with and plays a few tunes on his new guitar.
7:55 pm...After a quick visit from our friend Brett and his son, we get the kids cleaned up and ready for bed.
8:35 pm...I spend 15 minutes purifying 3 gallons of water to be used for the next 2 days for drinking. I put the kids to bed after Ken gives them their nightly Bible story and hears prayers.
9:48 pm...Once the kids are in bed I sweep and wash the floor I crawl in bed myself. I can hear the local guard making his rounds outside. He blows a whistle as he makes his rounds to let us all know he is doing his job. Supposedly we have a really good guard. He makes rounds every hour at night. He also uses his whistle if he sees anything suspicious. Sometimes when I get up at night I can hear him on his bicycle going down the street and tooting his whistle. I guess we will eventually get used to it.
4:37 am...Connor has now thrown up 3 times. I pray the worst is over for him and give him a cool cloth for his forehead. I hear the guard making his rounds and prepare to go to bed. I think I hear Cade...better check to see if he has gotten sick....please pray!!!