So sad to say goodbye!

Well I had to say good bye to my treasured flip flops! (Side note: I always called them thongs growing up until the all so popular underwear took over the name and people looked at you weird when you yelled across Payless Shoes "Look at these cute thongs!" I begrudgingly changed my verbage.) Anyways I bought these on clearance at Wallgreens as I was running out after picking up a perscription over a year ago. If I remember correctly they cost me $1.50. Wow what a treasure I had found only didn´t realize it at the time. I just wanted some cheap shoes to throw on when getting kids from the bus or running to Taco Bell. Oh how great they have been! I can´t count the miles that I have walked through Tenerife in them. I even bought some better looking flip flops, but nothing was as good. Why is it that we can shop and shop for hours for something, but it is never quite as good as the wonderful items that we find on clearance at Walmart, Target, or even Goodwill! (Another side note: One time Diego found a Willow Tree at Goodwill for a dollar...he was so proud!) I know that these flip flops are so disguistingly dirty, but that never bothered me. If you look closely you can see where Lauryn stuck a sticker on them and then I couldn´t get it off so the adhesive just collected dirt...nasty. Anyways you can judge me like all the other fasionable ladies here do or you can feel sorry for me and tell me to go buy some knew shoes either way my feet are in mourning! I wish that I had taken a side shot before I threw them away so that all could see how worn down they were. Oh what a sad day!

Ryan´s Musical Debut / El debut musical de Ryan

Before playing the video, make sure you stop or pause the playlist at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

Antes de ver el video, asegúrense de parar o pausar la lista de canciones que está al final de la página, porque si no escucharán dos canciones al mismo tiempo. ¡Qué lo disfruten!

Book Worms / ¡Suelta ese libro!

Our kids love to read!! They usually ask to go to bed about a half an hour early so that they have time to read their favorite books. Sometimes they are upset when we are out too late and we have to tell them to turn the lights out before they have a chance to read. When we got to Spain we didn´t really think about not having English books for them to read. They got through the ones we brought very quickly. We checked out as many English books from the local library as we could but you can guess the English section wasn´t that big! Finally, when Melany´s mom came to visit in July, she brought a whole suitcase full of books from Michelle and as gifts for the kids. Well, we are just about done with all of those, they´d better learn Spanish faster so they can read El Quijote, and One Hundred Years of Solitude before we get back!

Harry Potter is still Jacob´s favorite but he has now read many classics he has really enjoyed. Currently, he is venturing into the Lord of the Rings. We are not sure if it will be too much for him. It doesn´t look like he´s enjoying The Hobbit very much, does it?

Ryan is really starting to enjoy books, especially anything with a dog in it. Right now, every animal makes the same barking noise! "Woof, woof."

Aitana loves to be read to (especially by her sister Lauryn) and look at picture books. Hopefully she will pick up reading as quickly as the older two. We are sure once she does she will love reading as much as the others.

Lauryn LOOOOVES the Junie B. Jones series. All the ones that she owns she has read 4 to 5 times each. She doesn´t just read one at a time, she usually has 3 to 4 going at the same time. That would confuse me but she always knows exactly what happens in every book and quotes Junie quite often. Last night we had to take them away from her for an evening after her aunt Pily asked her what was wrong with Aitana and she replied that it wasn´t any of her "beeswax."

Blogging

"I´m Melany and I´m a blogaholic!" I just had to laugh as I was reading my friends blog about her crazy day. We all talk about how crazy it gets and how we don´t have enough time to get things done....then we blog about it. That takes some time, but I would rather do that than dishes! I love it!! I am addicted to blogging and reading others blogs. The other day Diego asked me what I did and I said, "Um wasted my time on the computer!" But then again it isn´t a waste to me. I feel like I am friends again with my old friends and back in touch with my cousins and whoever else I find while going from blog to blog to blog. I love to read about peoples lifes. Maybe I´ll make a pact with Diego and tell him that I will stop eavsdropping at restaurants since I spend so much time on blogs. O.K. or maybe I won´t! Thanks Diego for getting us started and thanks Taryn for pushing me!!

Side note - Ryan is talking a little! Ryan has been repeating words here and there. His first was agua. He doesn´t just come out and say things usually, but he does a lot of repeating. Anyways last night we were playing with the camera and he grabbed it and said "say cheese." Diego and I looked at each other and were shocked. He continued to do it as he tried to take my picture. Lauryn and Aitana didn´t talk until they were 2 so I guess that he has a leg up on them!

Pregnancy Update, 8 Weeks and Counting / Recuento del embarazo, 8 semanas y contando

Well I went to have an ultrasound yesterday and it was short, sweet, and to the point. I had Diego take a pic of me before we left because I don´t have many pictures of myself pregnant. I would love to have a picture of my mom when she was pregnant with me. Anyways the tech said that things look good. She said that our baby girl is a little small and that my amniotic fluid is O.K., but not great. (I have had low amniotic fluid with just about every pregnancy.) She said that if she continues with this growth that she probably won´t weigh more than 3 kilos, which is about 6.6 pounds. I´m still a little baffled as to why Diego and I have small babies! Looking at us you would think that we would have 10 pounders! Ryan has been our biggest at 8 pounds. She scheduled me to come back in a month to check my fluid so hopefully things get better. She told me that I need to rest...yeah right...I have to walk everywhere and have 4 kids...that´s going to happen. We´ll keep everyone updated. We are very excited to meet our baby girl, but not as excited to rush to get a passport for her so that we can come home. It´s a lot of paperwork and we have to go to another island since there isn´t a US consulate on this one, but it is only a 45 minute ferry ride. Hopefully she comes in enough time!!

Ayer fuimos al tocólogo para que le hicieran una ecografía a Melany. Fue entrar y salir. Diego le hizo una foto a Melany antes de ir porque no tiene muchas fotos del embarazo y además a Melany siempre le habría gustado tener una foto de su madre embarazada de ella. Pues, la enfermera dijo que todo iba bien. También nos informó de que la bebé era un poco pequeña y que aunque el líquido amniótico estaba bien, no había demasiado (Melany ha tenido un nivel bajo de líquido amniótico en todos los embarazos). La enfermera dijo que si la bebé continuaba así no pesaría más de 3 kilos. Todavía nos sorprende el hecho de que tengamos bebés tan pequeños. Mirándonos cualquiera pensaría que nuestros hijos nacen pesando 4 ó 5 kilos. Ryan ha sido el más grande de todos por ahora (3.700). La enfermera nos dio cita para dentro de un mes y así verificar el nivel del líquido amniótico y ver como van las cosas. Le dijo a Melany que necesitaba descansar...sí hombre...con lo que caminamos aquí y 4 hijos, no creo que eso vaya a ocurrir muy pronto. Les mantendremos informados. Estamos muy animados de conocer a nuestra bebé, pero no tanto como de tener que apurarnos para conseguirle el pasaporte americano para volver a casa. Es un montón de burocracia y tenemos que irnos a Gran Canaria ya que en Tenerife no hay ningún consulado americano (pero solo es un viaje en barco de 45 minutos). ¡Esperemos que la niña venga con tiempo suficiente!

Park After Park / Parques y más parques

Santa Cruz of Tenerife (and Spain in general) has a lot of parks. Our children love to go out in the afternoon and spend some time at any of the many parks around the city (which also gives us a chance to let them run free and stretch their legs). We have been taking pictures during the last four months and I believe it is time to let you see some of the places we have visited. I hope you enjoy the slideshow!

Santa Cruz de Tenerife (y España en general) tiene un montón de parques. A nuestros hijos les encanta salir por las tardes y pasar un rato en uno de los muchos parques de la ciudad (lo que también nos ofrece la oportunidad de dejarlos correr y estirar las piernas). Llevamos cuatro meses sacando fotos y creo que ha llegado la hora de mostrarles algunos de los lugares que hemos visitado. ¡Espero que disfruten las diapositivas!

New Music / Música nueva

Well my husband finally put some music on our blog. Um do you like the song choice about not wanting to go to rehab by Amy Winehouse. Maybe I can go to rehab if it means a few days of silence by myself!! Maybe a while in solitary confinement and detox would do me good!! :) No I don´t mean to make a joke out of it and it is a catchy song, but not quite sure if it fits our family!! What do ya think??

Por fin mi esposo le puso música a nuestro blog. ¿Qué les parece la canción sobre no querer ir a rehabilitación que canta Amy Winehouse? ¡¡Quizás yo necesito ir a rehabilitación si eso significa que puedo disfrutar un par de días de silencio!! Tal vez un poco de confinamiento en solitario y desintoxicación me harían bien. :) Con esto no intento burlarme de nadie (al fin y al cabo es una canción pegadiza, aunque no estoy seguro de que vaya con nuestra familia). A ustedes, ¿qué les parece?