I have gotten a couple questions over the last few days and I thought I would try and answer some of them.
1. From Liza: I want to hear your version of the story of your close encounter with Dill’s upset stomach.
Since my sis and her family were coming from the cold spot in the states, it seemed only right that they bring some sort of puking virus with them on vacation. As the smallest, Dill was nominated to be the primary carrier of said illness. Luckily, he being a smart boy who likes pools, choose a short lived virus that left you sick for about 12 hours. As the carrier, he also demonstrated the power of said virus and the puke it caused early on into the trip– actually, on his sister’s birthday. He then, kindly, passed it on to his mother the day we were supposed to go to a vineyard. Sadly, we saw no vineyards over the trip, though we did drink a lot of wine. It was then handed off to the sister. By the night I was home alone babysitting, I figured I was home free, no puking on my watch. But, then I heard something. With both children happily tucked into their beds, I thought I heard a noise, something like sniffling. I quietly tiptoed into D’s room to find him sitting up in bed. I asked if he was okay and he said that maybe he didn’t feel so good. I reached out to him (having not turned on the lights first). As soon as I touched his shirt I knew: the puke was back. Somehow this touch also activated more projectile puke and we were off to the bathroom. After changing his clothes, his sheets, his mattress, his comforter and his pillows (all of which were covered), I announced I would sleep in his room and he should tell me if he was sick again. Thankfully, he wasn’t. Still, I think had I not noticed, he might not have told me, opting to wait for mommy to come home to tell her.
2. From Bill and Mary Ann: So how long did your family visit? How did the kids adjust. In 1999 Mary Anne and I took our kids (three at the time) to the Canary Islands for her brother’s wedding. The older two, then 9 and 7 took the trip very well… but Anne-Marie was 4 and did not like it so well… the flying and unfamiliar surroundings were hard on her. It was an incredible adventure though!
The family was here for one week with two weekends and they did love it. On adjusting, I think the food was the funniest. Everything is just a little different (and we did have aforementioned virus flying around), so they were a little picky. The funny thing is that Dill is a fruit child, but hated the fresh juices here. Meanwhile, McK is a milk child, but wouldn’t touch the milk– not even the strawberry flavored milk. Dill, however, loved the milk, one night drinking an entire litter of strawberry milk by himself. McK, on the same note, drank up all fresh juices in sight.
The other cause of major frustration was that people didn’t speak English. This was especially hard at night or when overly tired or hungry. At the wedding, Mck cried through the whole ceremony that she didn’t understand the priest. When I explained to Dillon that people only spoke Spanish he would respond, “I know. But make them talk English!”.
