The Great Bed Ordeal

Brandon and I have a bed . . . 

The new baby has a bed . . .

Tio Ruben has a bed (and Grandma and Papa will have beds when they come in TWO WEEKS!) . . .

And then there's Bailey.  Poor thing has been sleeping in her circa 1980 play pen for the past month.

The crib she has been enjoying was a borrowed from a friend's sister who ended up needing it back right before we left for California in December. BUT, our friend had another sister with a spare crib that we could borrow.  They even would work out the great crib swap while we were gone so that we wouldn't hardly notice a difference.   Perfect!   But when we got back from California, we were met with a pile of crib parts with no screws/hardware. Hummmm . . . 

It's been over three weeks now and we've been unable to track down the original hardware with which to assemble the crib.  Poor Bailey's been stuck in the play pen (in which she touches both ends when laying down flat) and Mommy's heart breaks a little bit every time she puts Bailey to bed.

Obviously at 21 (almost 22) months, Bailey doesn't NEED to be in a crib.  She's old enough to handle a toddler bed.  We just can't make that move right now because "the plan" is to use one of the twin beds, add a railing, and . . . voila! Toddler bed!  But Grandma and Papa will be using those beds until April while they visit and help me adjust to life with two kids. We can't transition Bailey until after they leave.  And it doesn't make sense to buy a toddler bed when we have two twin beds.

I decided on Monday to go out shopping for a crib (I guess nesting has finally set in!).  Bailey could use it for the next six weeks or so, and then baby #2 could use it once I've had enough of her sleeping next to us in the bassinet. It'll get used.

I found two "options" . . . neither of which end up being viable.  The first was an exquisite piece that I fell in love with.  Drop down side, adjustable heights for the mattress, beautiful woodwork . . . and a mere $700 (give or take a bit depending on the exchange rate).  Thanks, but no thanks.  The second was a much simpler crib, priced at around $225.  That's better.  Until I realized that the lowest setting of the mattress wasn't all that low.  I asked the sales lady if we could put the mattress at it's lowest and see if Bailey could get out.  We made the adjustment and, sure enough, with one swing of the leg, Bailey had scaled the side of the crib and was headed for a nose dive.  Not only would it not solve our immediate "problem" with Bailey's sleeping arrangement, the new baby would not be able to use it for quite as long either.

Sigh . . .

In the end, we're back to the crib with no hardware, trying to make it work.  Thankfully we have Tio Ruben around who has agreed to scope out the hardware stores to find some screws, bolts, or whatever to piece it together.  Hopefully in the next few days, all this bed nonsense will be behind us!

Intercolegial

Essentially, an "intercolegial" is a multi-sport tournament involving schools from all over the city.  They send their boys and girls soccer, volleyball, basketball, handball and fut-sol (i.e. indoor soccer) teams to represent the school.  Sounds simple enough, right?  If only . . .

As most things do, the annual ASA intercolegial has morphed into a two-weekend long extravaganza that puts all other school events I've ever attended to shame.

The first thing you'd notice when you stepped on campus was the complete transformation of the school grounds.  And I'm not talking about a balloon "rainbow" arch at the front gate and streamers hanging around the doors of the classrooms.  I'm talking COMPLETE transformation.  The usual entrance to the school was completely covered with a new school sign, event logo, and event sponsor logos.  And yes, that's a Nike swoosh you see. Personal is one of the main cell phone carriers here (think T-Mobile). 

Front entrance by the light of day

All lit up at night!

The walkways were lined with booths from a boatload of various vendors.  From pharmacies to

Maybeline, M & M's to Pulp (South American soda company).  Even Toyota had a station set up in the parking lot with a Yaris on display.  

The P.E. offices were covered up by the M & M's

A cell phone company's booth, complete with bean
bag chairs for lounging

A local ice cream brand brought out Rock Band
(or Guitar Hero?) to lure students to their booth

More chairs for lounging, with the pharmacies logo printed
on all sides (in case you didn't see the giant banners)

More lounging chairs by the Yaris

Every possible space on the campus was covered with an advertisement for something.  And by every space, I include the walls of the women's bathroom which were covered - floor to ceiling - with static-cling decals for pantiliners.  I resisted the urge to take a picture, and, no, I don't know what was done to the boy's restroom.  Probably nothing.

The view from the street

Flags also lined the fence of the school, so that if you didn't have a chance to come on campus to be accosted by the advertising, you'd at least know which companies were being represented at the event.  

As Bailey and I rolled up to the front entrance we were stopped in our tracks by a mob of students  from a local school who were waiting to be let onto the campus.  The mob's official title is hinchadas; the link will take you to a youtube video of a hinchada entering a professional futbol stadium and I dare say the students rivaled their passion.  Many had donned matching school tees, covered their faces (and arms, and legs) with their school colors, and were shouting a song to encourage the athletes they were there to support.  If that weren't enough "school spirit," they also discharged flares (in school colors) waving them around without regard to personal space or concern over the cars still trying to drive in the street that they were blocking.  

No, there wasn't a spot on my camera lens; that's smoke
(red and white) from the flares

We managed to squeeze past them, thanks to a few sympathetic drivers who took notice of the pregnant lady pushing a stroller and let me by (gracias!).  Once inside the gates, things were a bit less hectic (the flares and fireworks were definitely kept outside the school gates), but "crowded" is a word that doesn't even begin to describe the scene.  Below is a video of one of the "hinchadas" (from an all girl's school) parading from the entrance to the volleyball/basketball courts.  I have another video of a more passionate hinchada we witnessed during a fut-sol game, but I can't get it to upload...I'll work on it (and maybe get it up on facebook instead, if it'll work there).

The games themselves were relatively "normal" and uneventful as far as high school athletic events go. There were of course yellow and red cards being handed out, teammates holding each other back as threats were exchanged, and unnecessary roughness, but there were also stands filled with enthusiastic fans, high-fives exchanged between games, and the most school spirit I've ever witnessed.

Handball

Soccer

Basketball

Volleyball

Volleyball (moved to a covered court
when rain threatened)

And how did Bailey cope with all of it? She was a trooper.  While she hid her face in my shoulder when a bus load of students were setting off fireworks at the entrance on Saturday night, she didn't seemed phased by the crowds or noise at the games.  There was also a kid play area open in the evenings where she was able to play with rocking animals, blocks, a play kitchen and princess dress up "stuff" . . . an area sponsored by a few preschools (and one party "bounce house" company) looking to scrounge up new recruits.

Checking out our first game: girls handball

Just chillin'

Don't know what the pirate eye is all about...

"Rock? Rock?"

Dancing to the beat of the music pouring from trunk of a car
(advertising a radio station)

Keeping Daddy on schedule! 

Play break for Daddy!

And it's not over!  Nope, we have another weekend ahead of us that will be more of the same. Bring it on!

Denial

I'm having a baby.

I know, I know. We made that announcement quite a while back.  None of you are surprised.

I'm just trying to remind myself.

I'm 36 weeks pregnant.

Three weeks and two days until the due date.

That's 23 days.

C'mon, Stacy. Get it together.

You're having another baby.

I don't know what my problem is this time around.  I just haven't REALLY accepted the fact that we're about to be parents of a second little girl.  When people ask me how I'm feeling, the truthful answer isn't fine or great or even anxious or terrible.  It's "nothing".

I feel nothing.

Granted, this little one thinks my rib cage is a punching bag and my feet get so swollen they're sore, so I feel things physically.  But emotionally is a whole 'nother story.  Emotionally, it's a vacuum of nothingness.

Baby girl doesn't have a place to sleep.

Her clothes are in a box because she doesn't have a dresser.

Her towels, blankets and burp clothes are in an oversized grocery bag because I don't know what else to do with them.

We only have newborn diapers because of the generosity of the staff at ACA who gifted several packs of them before school let out in December.

Last weekend was my deadline for packing a hospital bag for myself and the baby.

It didn't get done.

(In my defense, I don't know what to expect at the hospital. Do I need to take my own diapers, wipes and receiving blankets? Will they have the things that I'm going to need post delivery, or do I need to bring all my own "stuff"?  It's hard to pack when you don't know what you need.)

I haven't taken a belly shot since week 25.  And even that pic was only the fourth (as opposed to the weekly shots I took with Bailey).

I haven't added a picture to the facebook "Baby #2" album in over 3 months.

I don't have a baby book ready and waiting for this little one's entry into the world.

All these things added together should be forcing my Prozac-deprived self into a frenzy of anxiety, or at least a melt-down.  SOMETHING!

But no.  Still nothing.

And I don't know why.

But I'm pregnant.

Due March 16th.

I'm having another baby.

Second Half

Not that any of you have been waiting on baited breath for this post, but I realized that I posted pics of Bailey over the first few weeks of our time in California, but have neglected to do the same for the end of the trip.  The whole trip was overflowing with events and time with family and outings with friends.  We all had a blast, though it was nice to sit down and just veg once we got back to Paraguay.  It had been a while since any of us had a lazy day!  Anyway, here are pictures from the last weeks of January and the first of February (not necessarily in chronological order).

Playing with Grandpa Trevino and Uncle Ben.

Trying out the trike (obviously her legs were a bit too short for her to pedal herself around).

Dance off Wii style with cousin Isabelle.

Football Sundays with Lily.

Disneyland with the Trevino family.

More time at the library! :)

"Helping" Grandma move dirt around once Papa Dave and Daddy had relocated some of the rose bushes.

L.A. Zoo! 

First ice cream cone (well, the first one she got to eat all on her own, that is). 

Trying out the new potty!

Disneyland with Brooklyn . . . they LOVED spinning on the tea cups!

Playdough time at Grandmas.

L.A. Arboretum with Abue.

First tea party over at Omas.

Learning to share (still a work in progress).

NO!

I never thought Jesus' parable about two sons would apply to parenting a toddler . . . 


Matthew 21:28-32


“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’


“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.


“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.


“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.


I knew kids learned the word "no" early and love to use it often, I just didn't realize that there would be such a disconnect between saying no and meaning no.  At least not at 21 months.


Needless to say, Bailey's favorite word lately is no.  It comes in varying decibels and with degrees of insistency. It sometimes is accompanied with a laugh, sometimes with a cry, sometimes with a shriek.  And - perhaps most frustrating - doesn't always mean no. 


I first noticed that she didn't always mean no when she said no when visiting my old school, Carnelian, while back in California. We crashed the 1st and 2nd grade lunch and Bailey was working on some blueberries while I visited with friends.  She started by putting a few blueberries on the couch next to us.  I picked them up and told her that she needed to put them on the table if she was going to take them out of the bag, placing the confiscated blueberries on the table to show her how.  Her reply?  A calm "no".  She reached back into the Ziplock bag and I braced myself for having to discipline my child in front of friends.  But then she did exactly as I asked her, placing the berries in the designated spot on the table. 


Hum...


I started watching her a little closer and realized that there were many occasions when she said no, but did what I asked.  


"Bailey, come here and let Mommy check your diaper." "No" and then she walked over and turned her bum toward me so I could check.


"Bailey, time to say night night." "No" and then she made her rounds, giving hugs and kisses  to everyone.


"Bailey, when you color, you have to stay on the paper, you can't color the tiles." "No" but then her markers didn't stray from the edges of the paper. 


And just today she was eating a granola bar when she got up from her nap.  She dropped a few crumbs on the floor and was helping me clean up.  We put the pieces in her hands and I told her they went in the trash.  "No" . . . but she walked right over to the trash can.  And it was the same story with the wrapper.  She said no to throwing it away, but - without hesitation - walked it to the trash can.  


As a mom, I don't know what to do.  She's acting in obedience, but that darn word NO!


As a believer, I'm reminded how often I do the same to God.  Except that I'm usually the other son.  The one that says yes, but doesn't follow through.  The one who fronts with obedience, but it ends up being an empty promise.  And while neither son was completely in the right (by my measure, anyway), I'd much rather act in obedience, than spout words that don't match my actions.  


I don't know what this means for us in training up Bailey, except that I've learned to react more slowly when she does tell me no.  I wait to see if she's going to act in obedience despite her words and I gauge my reaction by her actions, not her words, all the while reminding her "the word you're looking for is 'YES!' "