Momma came and momma left.

I had the most wonderful time with my momma and poppa Neal.   I was so excited about their trip.  Even with  all of the ups and downs that Ruben and  I have been through both individually and as a couple through the years and there is never any judgement.  That is, I am coming to find, a rarer thing that I had expected to find in my adulthood. 

From the moment that they arrived I felt better.  I had not even seen them yet and I was already in a better mood just because they were in my country.  There were some really crazy storms the day they go there and for the next several days.  That was perfect because my momma's favorite weather and thunder is her  favorite sound.  Picking them up was so easy because they had only brought a few things in a carry on.  The weather was pretty crazy so we stopped at a great place in PLaya del Carmen right on there on 307.  It was fantastic.  It was a great way to have them land.  We spent the rest of the evening at my house and the kids smothered their grandparents. 

The next day we went to breakfast at Don caffettos in pueblo.  We all had to commit to eating the marinaded veggies that are on the table.  These veggies are amazing. Onions, carrots, peppers, garlic, vinegar, oil, cinnamon... YUMMY!!!!!  IT was great.  We then got them checked into their room at Cabanas La Luna.  It was great.  They were in the garden room and it was perfect.  It was nice not being in the beach front room during some of those stormier nights  andthe garden room had this great little deck and "hot tub" that was obviously  not hot- thank goodness. 

We went to eat lunch at El Tabano.  This is one of my all time favorite places on the beach. The food here is to die for.  They have wide menu of great food.  We shared the pear and brie appetizer and had a few shrimp dishes and some great pork loin dishes.  The whole place is beautiful and I recommend this place to everyone. 

That night I had arranged a birthday party at Zamas.  My friend's band was playing at this is a great spot right on the beach.  Poppa Neal had called me a few days before and had said that he really wanted to do something special for my mom since it was going to be her birthday when she was here and he thought it would be great to have a party with all of my friends.  It was raining like crazy but no one minded.  It was great. 

The food was great, the drinks were great and all of my friends loved mom and Neal.  It was a prefect night. Zamas had prepared a very great cake.  It was a collection of their small chocolate cakes with ice cream and momma took the tradition of Mordeda.  This is when after the candles are blown the person must take a bite of the cake with no hands and some loving member of your family gently (in some cases not so much) shoves your face into the cake.  It was so much fun.   The whole night was perfect.

The next morning I had arranged massages for both of them on their deck with the amazing Margo in Mexico.  Pretty much everyone around here knows Margo's massages.  Other then the truck coming up to empty the septic tank - Poppa Neals was great.  Ruben tried to get the truck to stop but they are not able to once they start.  But you know... Neal had the right attitude-- You can't change it- just fine the music in the sound, It is all you can do.

Later that afternoon the kids and I just spent the day with them right there in their room.  For dinner we had dinner in the new Las Estrellas restaurant.  This has been newly designed and beautifully decorated by one of the areas most talented artists and the food we were about to eat was going to be incredible.  We already knew this.  I love this place when Jacob is cooking.  He is an incredible chef. 



The dinner was an amazing 5 course meal.  We started with a beautiful mushroom bruschetta followed by a nice green salad with green beans and celery.  It was great.  The fish course was a risotto cooked with a fresh fish stock Jacob had ben working on and was topped with a little grouper.  Then it was time for the Arrachera.  This steak was beautifully cooked and tasted amazing.  And that has not been a common experience for me in Mexico.  We finished with a homemade chocolate moose.  I was drinking red wine so all of the food went perfectly. 

Saturday we went up to Akumal's Yal- Kl Laggoon.  It was great except that mom is not much of a water person and the weather had already started to turn a bit.  We went to La Cuva in Akumal for dinner.  It was really good.  I had one of my favorite dishes- Camerones Diablo. Neal had a great sshrimpish with garlic and curry and a bit of coconut milk.  When we mixed the 2 it was amazing.  I cannot wait to play some more in the kitchen with chipotle and curry.  UUnfortunatelyy momma got really sick after eating her lobster.  This is common here and really unfortuante.  I do not think it says anything about the resturant it is just the luck of the draw. 

The next day Momma was feeling okay- not great but okay.  We all headed out to the jungle to spend the day at Crystal's house for Dreyken's 7th birthday.  It was a fun day.  We left and went to eat at another one of my favorite places Nero di Sole.  I love this place.  They had a mussel app which killer and the manager/head chef sent out these 2 HUGE platters of all of his best!!!! Fried oysters, several types of bruscetta, cheeses and meats, and fried eggplant. It was amazing.  I wish momma felt better but she held together beautifully.

The next day the weather was a lot brighter and hotter.  Momma could not get out of bed and spent her time in bed.  I wish she felt better but I know that it is just a reality of here.  I spent the day with Neal and the kids on the beach. It was really nice.  I do not get to spend a lot of time with Neal and so that was really nice.  We had a fun beach day and I watched as Neal played in the waves with the kids.  The water here is better then most places in the world and is so warm and beautiful.  I am sure many places are but I am partical to my little slice of paradise.  It was really nice to see it in his face that he really got why I live here and why I want to live here.  Things have really formed here for me and I could not imagine going back. 

the next day momma and Neal checkd out of their room and headed to our house to stay their last night with us.  Momma and I went to Playa del Carmen where she spoiled me rotten.  I could see in her face that she wanted to buy me one of everything.   I swear if it would have fit she would have thrown a dryer into that little car.  jajaja It was great fun.  I have dish soap and laundry soap and face soap!! There are so many basic things that I used to have that I do not buy anymore because we do not have the money to spend on it.   Well, I should say that there is not enough surpluss to buy the things and we choose to spend it on other things.  So no more poor me stuff.  BUT now I have mouth wash, face soap, CONDITIONER Y'ALL!!!!!!! I have not conditioned my hair in over 2 years and I have only cut it twice in 2 years so I am looking a little scruffy.   But these next few months I will look wonderful!!!!

The last night we stayed at home and made a nice dinner and watched a beautiful lightning storm.  Momma loves this weather so it was really nice.  We all played Wii and watched Ben10!  It was a perfect last day.
The next morning I felt a bit like I was taking my last walk on Death row.  Knowing that they were leaving nad not going to be here was so hard to face.  

One thing I am so happy about is that this trip was so much less difficult and MUCH less expensive for them so I know that they will come back and visit again soon.  Momma said that she might even come down for a long weekend sometime and just stay with me.  I feel totally re energized by having them here.  that feelin gof total love and acceptance.  Not just of me and who I am and have become- but also of Ruben.  He has fought an uphill battle at times with opinions people have of him- some earned and some not.  But I love that Momma and neal totally love and accept him and think of his as a member of their family.  I know that it means the world to him and that he feels it.  I could not ask for better people to call momma and Poppa Neal.  I am so lucky to have these guys in my life.  And they ended up adopting more kids here as well.  jajajaja

Posted at 4/26/2010 08:04:00 AM | Labels: , , , | 2 Comments  

Tulum Living School Project in full swing

I finally all of the pieces in place to move forward full force with my school project.  I have been putting thing project together for a while now and I am so excited about it.  I have written more on it on my Tulum Living page but have also mentioned it here. 

Having kids in school here in Tulum has been a bit of a love/hate relationship.  I am so thankful for education but know that there are so many things that are missing or lacking.  I know that it is not the same all throughout Mexico.  Some of the problems are but some are also because I chose to live a in a much smaller community. 

I have seen though that the schools here are in desperate need of certain things.  I call it their big "quiero"  Their big "want"  This is the thing that is too big for us parents to ever be able to pay for but too small for the gov't to fix.  I also want to increase the awareness of recycling to the children of the area.  That is where permanent changes will be made.

So here is the project.  This is  a 3 part project involving  Community- The School- and The Kids!!!!    We go to each school and find out what their quiero is.  As a community we work to raise money for the project.  As part of the donation we will also be buying recycling containers.  For their part, the school must commit to regular recycling pickups and recycling education.  The kids must also participate in a street cleaning day - seperating the trash into recyclables and garbage.  The kids will then be rewarded with a cake and ice cream party.

We are so lucky to have a recycling center here in Tulum and it is up and running again.  YEAH!!!!  If you would like to donate, please click the donate button.  All of the money donated (minus the fee that paypal charges) will go towards the project.  Tulum Living will cover all other expenses.  

Most of these project are between 4,000 and 6,000 dollars.  Yes that is a lot of money but it is not an impossible amount to raise. 

our first project: Hurricanes Kinder.   They are in desperate need of a lunch palapa and some picnic style benches.  They also want a smaller palapa over the playground equipment.  Could you imagine going to play at 5 years old in the hot Mexican sun and the playground is scorching metal?  Not fun. 

Please keep track of our progress.  If you are in the area and want to meet up or help, please contact us. 


I am so excited!!!!!

Posted at 4/13/2010 10:26:00 AM | Labels: , , , | 3 Comments  

Oh my gad... Semana Santa

Oh these 2 weeks have been crazy!  Man I am I glad that I had to quit my job because I do not know what I would have done with my kids.  Oh yeah... surprise... your kids have the next 2 weeks off.  I must say, I knew it was coming eventually. I mean, we have the same spring break type deal in the USA.   These past 2 weeks have been great. 

i mean first of all, my mother is coming to visit me soon.  And my mother is like breathing to me.  She is my deep breath.  That one you do when you need to recenter and refocus.  All of my adult meditation has been focused on creating that feeling that my mother naturally evokes in me.  She will be here for 1 week and it is going to be amazing. 

The last time she was here was Christmas.  We had the most amazing but unfortunately very expensive vacation.  We have been here long enough now that we know how to get a great vacation for a lot less so this one is so much better.  For one- I get to pick her up from the airport.  Last year I hated the fact that she was here -in my state, my new country four hours now and I was not with her. I had to force myself to make tamales just so I would not go crazy.
But this time- i pick them up- grab a few supplies then back to my house where they will stay the night.  Let me just tell you the Extreme Makeover that has befallen on my house.  When we moved in - the house was not made correctly and the people before us treated it terribly.  So the house needed some fixing- both to structure and damage but also to look and we have been going FULL FORCE BABY!!!

The bathroom looks so good.  there is still a lot I wish I could have done before my mom got here but - hey- I live in Mexico and live per quincena!!! jajajaj


We went to great Cenote where we finally met an internet friend that we have been dying to meet. Canuck in Cancun has been a great friend to me and it was so nice.  The afternoon was filled with great kisses and fun music.  We headed over to the festival at Pescatores beach and enjoyed live music and all of our favorite Mexican favorite foods.
Anyway.

The past 2 nights.... NO MAMES BABY!!! we had the BEST few nights. Yeah... thins is a whole new post.  Be right back!!!...     

Lena and I worked in a little R n' R too! jajajaja

Posted at 4/11/2010 03:05:00 PM | Labels: , , | 3 Comments  

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