Wednesday, July 27, 2011

CHILL PILL PLEASE

I´ve talked to Antonio about this before and he claims it´s ¨latin blood¨ and in some cases it drives me insane.

It´s very noticeable when waiting in line for ANYTHING...whether that be some sort of transportation like the bus or metro or just a supermarket line.

I can´t stand the frenzy...the HURRY UP AND GET A SEAT because GOD FORBID we might actually have to STAND UP for a total of five minutes while we make it downtown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This morning we were going downtown and the new metro line has a stop very close to our house. It´s great! It´s also the FIRST stop which means there is ALWAYS going to be a seat for you because it´s pretty empty. You can buy a ticket each time you ride or we have a card that you swipe when you enter that you can continually add money to. I told A I would swipe while he and N took a seat. I had only swiped once and this lady was ALL UP IN MY GRILL (keep in mind there are like five hundred other machines she could have used and there was basically no one else in the freaking metro) I mean, seriously? BACK OFF. She´s like, ¨it worked, the light was green.¨ I was sooooooooooooo mad because I wasn´t done yet.....So I seriously yelled at her...just too close for comfort. I need my space...and seriously, where was the fire??? Damn Latino blood.

Monday, July 25, 2011


Did I mention that I´m madly in love with this girl? We found this lay hanging in a tree..(I´m hoping it was clean?) and Nora loved it!

She is saying a lot more words and this week she started to say ABUELA which is grandma in English. Julia is very excited. It´s kinda weird that my kid says things in spanish like abuela, agua, tito, cruz, etc. ENGLISH child...ENGLISH too! I´m sure she´ll pick up a few more English words once we are Stateside on SUNDAY!

She literally just blows kisses and waves hello and bye bye to everyone we see on the streets. The other day she walked into the front entrance of a jewelry store and started waving hello and blowing kisses. This old man was so taken with her he scooped her up and started kissing her all over (I had to handy wipe her afterwards). I just want to squeeze her face off and then pinch her butt and then hug her and then squeeze her face off some more!

Campo

Yesterday we had so much fun at the campo w a few friends that were able to stop by and use the pool. My friend has an awesome BMW motorcycle and he was able to take me for a quick spin. I´ve been wanting someone to take me on a ride pretty much my whole life. All of my uncles have Harley´s and my dad ¨won´t let me¨ ride. I did remind him that I am thirty and all......So, since my dad was NOT here to stop me I took advantage:) Thanks Maximo..it was awesome!

Nope

We go to this little Asian ladies shop nearly every day to buy a bottled water. Nora loves her and is always blowing her kisses and waving ¨bye bye¨ Yesterday she touched my stomach and said, ¨Another baby?¨ You´d think that within this culture I´d be used to this by now. This isn´t the first time this has happened to me, and I´m pretty sure she just did the same thing like last week. I just smile and say, ¨no¨ but does a woman really get USED to someone doing that? Ever? The answer is NO.

I´m glad I go to the gym five times a week and people are STILL asking me if I´m pregnant. Anorexia gameplan needs to start ASAP. (I´m kidding, I´m kidding).

Friday, July 22, 2011

vom

I am officially not sleeping at nights. In 9 days I will be on an international flight with a 17 month old baby. I kind of puke in my mouth a little bit each time I think about it. I can´t help it. I want to snap my fingers and be there.

Not only is it the journey that I´m worried about it´s the whole changing of the schedule business. I am a schedule-nap nazi. So, flying there and back and changing time zones twice is a bit stressful. Ok, a lot stressful. Veins bulging out of my forehead stressful. Not to mention it´s like 500 degrees in IN. The whole point of us going is to get AWAY from the heat....I hate you mother nature.

My daughter´s day is planned out to the T. What if she doesn´t sleep through the night EVER AGAIN? Will this trip ruin her for life? These are the thoughts that prevent me from sleeping and this is when I want to throw up and die.

This freaking trip better be worth it!!!!!!!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Marilyn

We walked by an air shaft yesterday and Nora´s dress blew up and I almost wet my pants. I think she enjoyed it almost as much as I did.

Monday, July 18, 2011

17 mths.

My Dear Nora,

Today you turn 17 mths old and are still hovering over the 29-30 lb. range. You are probably about six ft. tall:O)

It seems as though my heart is bursting with love for you more than ever before. Watching you is my favorite past-time these days. I love to watch your face as you are concentrating on something and trying to figure out how it works. You wrinkle your little nose and make fish lips. How can I handle this much cuteness?

I can´t even really express with words the joy that you have brought into our lives and the lives of those around you.

You are so funny and lively and you make everyone smile. Lately you blow kisses and wave bye bye to everyone you see on the street. Today a man was cleaning his shop window and you ran over and blew him a kiss and waved ¨dios¨ (adios).

I love to watch you run. You have total kangaroo arms and you stick your butt out and arch your back. I have no idea how you stay up-right.

You are obsessed with cleaning. It´s hilarious. You are always wanting to clean the walls or any surface with one of your wipes and you get VERY upset if I try to take it away from you. You also love to sweep and pick up things and put them in the trash. Clean on!

Your hair is getting longer and curlier every day and at the moment you have EIGHT teeth coming in..(four eye teeth and four molars) Holy teeth batman! You are doing GREAT with it and I salute you little one.

I love your belly. It´s a little budah belly and I want to just rub it all day long for luck. I´m also in love with your thighs and we have a wedding planned for later this summer.

The other week we went to the beach and you LovED it. You were rolling around like a little crazy lady in the sand and you squealed with delight every time a wave touched you. I can´t even get over your skin. I got burnt at the beach (putting 30 on) and you did not...you are a brown, brown bear!!!

These past few weekends we´ve gone to the campo to use the pool and you LOVE the water. We´ve definitely got a water bug on our hands. I love how you aren´t afraid of anything (yet) and you are SO fearless. You were already wanting to JUMP OFF THE LEDGE into our arms!!

This month we had a hip appointment and the doctor says you are much better. Only one last appointment in Oct. just to make sure. I´m so happy that you are healthy and perfect.

You still love to eat anything and everything in sight and are taking two naps a day. I´m thinking we might transition to one soon. One long one in the afternoon, perhaps?

In two weeks we are going to the USA so you can see all of mommy´s friends and family. I´m sure you will be the entertainment on the airplane. You stop and dance any time you hear music. You still love animals and are obsessed with churches, the Virgin Mary, and the cross. You blow non-stop kisses when you see any of the three. We think you are going to be a nun or a dancer:O)

You went to a wedding with your grandparents last weekend and I think the bride may have been jealous. You were much prettier and more entertaining:O)

I love you so much and I´m so happy you are in our lives.

Happy 17 months monkey.

Love always,
Mama

Sunday, July 17, 2011

2 weeks

The countdown is on. In exactly two weeks we will be on US soil. I am beyond terrified. I´m seriously losing sleep over here. I do not want to travel with a toddler on an airplane and I do NOT want to change time zones. Nap nazi will be in full affect.

Anyone have any advice on travel and time issues???

They say kids deal better with the change than adults. Lets hope so!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

baptism

We met with Antonio´s priest of an uncle to discuss Nora´s baptsim. Our daughter has still not been baptized (and we are not Catholic) so I was just planning on having her dedicated at my church at home this summer. (I don´t know why I didn´t do it last summer. I´m slow, I guess).

That´s not even an option here in Spain. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hopefully we can get all of the details worked out before Nora starts her period and refuses to wear white.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Thirsty Thursday

Yesterday my girlfriends and I went out for a nice long lunch. The majority of us are USA bound pretty soon so it was kind of a ¨see you in Sept¨ lunch ..sans kids. Sometimes it´s just nice to have girlfriend time without Nora screaming ¨MAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!¨ in the background and reaching for me to scoop her up. I´m kinda of freaked out because the way she says Mama it´s totally Spanish..it´s like...Mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...not just cute mama..no it´s mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Anywho, back to Thirsty Thursday. TOO MUCH FUN! Shots at three pm. Need I say more???

appointments.

Don´t you just love going to any sort of an appointment and waiting at least an hour in the waiting room. This has always baffled me. WHY do you tell me to come at five thirty and then really not even call me in until six thirty..or later? I have other things I could be doing...seriously. I have a toddler. There´s always something to be doing.

So, Thursday A and I went to the dentist. I waited over an hour and was in the chair for a total of (I kid you not) 2 minutes. She looked at my teeth and said, ¨I see absolutely no plack or cavities and I see no need to do a cleaning.¨ Um, okay?
Part of me was soo happy because I just saved eighty euros. The other half was all, ¨What?¨ Are these just Spanish standards or are my teeth really that kick ass? Should I get them cleaned this summer in the USA? I am so confused!

Also, we had Nora´s hip apt. on Thursday. She has been ¨wearing her brace¨ AKA wearing a towel in between her crotch since October. NINE months. I mean, seriously, if she HAD BEEN wearing that brace for NINE months I probably would have killed myself by now. Well, towel crotch must be working because SHE IS FINE! YIPEE! No surgery or anything. The doctor said to ¨try the next three mths without the aparatus¨ and then come back in October. Score! Towel crotch will continue (at night) until October! YIPEE! I secretly think N likes towel crotch...should I be worried?

Monday, July 11, 2011

waterbug

Yesterday we had so much fun in the pool at the campo. The side of the pool was getting fixed so it´s been sans water for the whole freaking summer! It´s not even halfway full but we decided to give it a go. It´s like a giant wading pool:) At first, N wasn´t so sure but eventually she was trying to walk down to the deep end all by herself.

She started out wearing a b. suite. Then a diaper. And then naked.

When she was wearing her b suite for a total of 30 min she already had a tan line! She´s going to be BLACK by the end of the summer. I don´t know where she gets this skin from!


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Sunday, July 10, 2011

Busy Bees

July is just ridiculously hot so we´ve been trying to keep busy around here to pass the time before we head to the USA! I´m already nervous about the trip....but I´m sure everything will be fine.

I´ve been busy working on a medical translation and possibly have a new class to start this coming week. Weird time to start a class in the middle of July!

A and I are headed to the dentist tomorrow and this Thursday Nora has her (hopefully LAST!) hip appointment!!!

Last week I also had my yearly derm revision. It´s hard to believe I had my skin cancer surgery NINE years ago. I NEVER want to go through that again so I´m sure careful about wearing sunscreen and I never even lay out anymore. WEAR PROTECTION! Your skin will thank you later!

We´ve been spending a lot of time in shopping centers lately.
1. Because it´s 100 degrees outside and there is really nothing else to do.
2. It´s sale season! Boy have I gotten a lot of cute things (For Nora of course) I´m seriously jealous of my daughter´s wardrobe! It´s so internationally extensive.

We take a lot of walks...I mean, A LOT and as you know in Europe most cafes have tables outside. Nora literally stops at every table and blows kisses and waves goodbye to the people. How hilarious is that? I love this kid!

Her new favorite word of course is NO and she goes around saying it all day long. Do you love mommy? NO Do you want a new car? NO Do you like the word no? NO Good times!

We are off to the campo to swim. There´s actually water in the pool now!!!!

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Stuck like glue

Holy leach of a daughter, Batman!!!!!!!! I´m not sure what´s going on with N but for the past three weeks since I got back from IN she is officially a leach. She ONLY wants ME to hold her, pretty much 24/7. When we are out she does not want to be in her stroller and she just cries and cries and cries until I pick her up. Right when she wakes up I can hear her say, ¨Mama??¨ I can´t even poop or pee in peace because she pounds on the door screaming MAMA?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please tell me this is just a phase?? She weighs 30 lbs and carrying her around all day is no fun at all. I´m not sure if it´s because she´s teething. She is getting several molars and all of her eye teeth all at once. Eek!!

I´m not sure...either way, I suppose I should enjoy the moments that I can hold her and squeeze her because before I know it she´ll be saying, ¨I hate you¨ and giving me the finger (or the ¨hand¨).......

brain mush

Right now i´m translating thirteen pages of THIS:

Tratamiento del TEC
Manejo prehospitalario
En esta fase el objetivo esencial es evitar y tratar la hipoxemia e hipotensión arterial, dado que el encéfalo es muy vulnerable a estas situaciones. Algunos estudios han demostrado, en este periodo, una tasa de hipoxemia (saturación de hemoglobina <90%) entre 45% y 55%, y de hipotensión (presión arterial sistólica <90 torr.) entre el 20%-30%. Estudios clásicos han señalado que la hipoxemia se asocia con una “odd ratio” (OR) de 2,1 a malos resultados y la hipotensión con una OR de 2,7. Por el contrario, estudios más recientes han expuesto que la normalización de la oxigenación (saturación de hemoglobina >92%) y de la presión arterial mejora el resultado. Actualmente, existe un debate sobre la intubación traqueal en esta etapa condicionada por la composición del equipo de emergencia prehospitalario. Así, mientras en los países con paramédicos en los sistemas de emergencia, especialmente si no están adecuadamente entrenados, la intubación se ha asociado con peores resultados, en los países con médicos en dichos sistemas los resultados mejoran con la intubación. En la tabla 6 se exponen final los criterios de intubación traqueal con el objetivo de proteger la vía aérea y mantener una saturación de la hemoglobina> 95%.
El control de la hipotensión arterial consistirá en ocluir quirúrgicamente los focos de hemorragia visibles y restaurar la volemia con coloides y cristaloides. El sodio hipertónico no ha demostrado conseguir mayores beneficios que los sueros isotónicos, mientras que el empleo de albúmina para reanimar a los pacientes podría empeorar el pronóstico. El paciente con TBI debe ser trasladado a un centro útil, que cuente con los requerimientos tecnológicos (CT, MRI, monitoreo de ICP, etc.) y neurocirujano de presencia inmediata. Durante el transporte el paciente se colocará en posición neutra supina, con collar cervical, y sonda nasogástrica conectada a bolsa de vacío. Si la vía aérea está asegurada y la ventilación es eficaz, el empleo de analgésicos (opiáceos) y sedantes (benzodiacepinas) es de gran utilidad.
Emergency room
En este periodo el objetivo es conseguir la estabilización hemodinámica y respiratoria previamente iniciada, y la evaluación diagnóstica de acuerdo a las recomendaciones del Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) del Colegio Norteamericano de Cirujanos expuestas en la tabla 7. Desde el punto de vista neuroquirúrgico, la prioridad es la detección y tratamientos de lesiones masas evacuables. Por todo ello, el manejo del TBI requiere una organización multidisciplinaria, con actuaciones previamente planificadas, que ofrezcan un tratamiento temprano y de calidad. Mientras que existe consenso sobre la necesidad de mantener la saturación de la hemoglobina >92%, no hay estudios que establezcan la cifra óptima de MAP en el TBI. Dado que un porcentaje > 50% de los pacientes con TBI presentarán niveles de ICP superiores a 20 mm Hg el objetivo, mientras no se conozcan los valores de ICP, es aconsejable mantener la PAM > 90 mm Hg a fin de conservar la PPC en valores iguales o superiores a 60 mm Hg. Se canalizarán, para ello, al menos dos vías que permitan la infusión rápida de volumen y se evitará el aporte de líquidos que sean hipotónicos con respecto al plasma, como la glucosa al 5% y el Ringer lactato, ya que inducirían edema osmótico y un aumento de la ICP. Al igual que en la resuscitation prehospitalaria, el empleo de soluciones hipertónicas de sodio al 3% o al 7,5%, solas o en combinación con dextranos de bajo peso molecular no ha mejorado el resultado neurológico. Cuando a pesar de un aporte rápido de volumen, cristaloides y coloides, no se consigue una presión arterial media adecuada o la CPP prosigue en valores inferiores a 60 mm Hg debe considerarse la administración de vasopresores, habitualmente noradrenalina o fenilefrina
Una vez estabilizadas la función respiratoria y hemodinámica, debe procederse al examen neurológico según las pautas ya expuestas. Si durante la exploración clínica neurológica se advierten datos de deterioro neurológico (descenso de la GCS ≤ 2 puntos, signos de herniación cerebral tales como midriasis arreactiva unilateral o bilateral, respuesta motora en pronoextensión, etc.) se debe administrar mannitol al 20% en dosis de 1 gr. / kg de peso, hiperventilar al paciente hasta llevar la PaCO2 a valores de 30 mm Hg y proceder de inmediato, a la realización de la CT y cirugía, si precisa.
Aunque > 50% de los enfermos con TBI presentan lesiones traumáticas asociadas de diferente gravedad, durante esta fase no se debe perder tiempo en una evaluación exhaustiva de todas las posibles lesiones traumáticas acompañantes sino sólo descartar y tratar aquellas que amenazan la vida. Como expusimos, los modernos tomógrafos permiten una rápida y segura exploración por imagen de todas las áreas corporales donde se presuma la existencia de lesiones relevantes, sin olvidar descartar lesiones de la columna cervical, ya que hasta un 15% de los TBI pueden portar una lesión a este nivel.
Una vez obtenida la head CT scan se plantea la decisión de intervención neuroquirúrgica. En otro capítulo de este libro se expone el tratamiento quirúrgico del TBI.
En Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
1. Cerebral monitoring


Looks fun, doesn´t it??

Downtown

You never know what you´ll find. This morn we found these guys:

Nora never ceases to amaze me! She is SO fearless and I just can´t get over it! She was giving them high fives, blowing them kisses and then she waved goodbye. How can you not love this girl?!

Monday, July 04, 2011

age

I just got done working out. At what age is it unacceptable for lil boys to enter a womens locker room? I'm pretty sure this kid was like, 9. Hope he enjoyed his fourth of july firework show hahahaha.

happy fourth!

No plans here. Just an ordinary day. Last year I was at home w Nora and my grandma. Last time I saw her. Miss her SOOOOOOOOOOOO much.

Light a sparkler for me up there, grandma. Love you always.

Saturday, July 02, 2011

OLD

Let me just start out by saying I am thirty years old and after tonight I feel sixty. I can´t even believe what teen girls are wearing these days. These ¨show me your who ha¨ skirts are just outrageous. I was staring and I couldn´t even help myself because I literally thought this girls butt cheek was going to just pop right out of her skirt at any given moment...and I wouldn´t want to miss out on that!

A)How do their parents even let them leave the house like that?
B) I don´t EVER remember wearing anything like that or even WANTING to at that age (or ever, really). My friends and I wore jeans and plaid shirts to the bowling alley.

Here the teen culture is soooooooooooo different. They go out around 11 and get home early in the AM. Nora is never leaving the house........

It´s not common to invite friends over and sleepovers are non existent. It´s kinda sad really..everything is done OUTSIDE of the home. I´m sure they probably don´t even know what a sleeping bag is!

We just went to a flamenco concert in the Real Alcazar gardens and the concert started at ten thirty. We left at eleven thirty because I´m sixty and A´s parents were watching N. It was also 90 something degrees at midnight. So freaking ridiculous! Did I mention I HATE SUMMER..I want to stab it in between the eyes and then drop kick it in the balls. I hate you stupid summer. You make me sweat and have B.O. all day every single day. Stupid Stupid summer. I´ll take a fall day any day!

Anywho, it was nearly twelve when we arrived home and I lost count of all of the BABIES and KIDS I saw out and about..at midnight...I live in the twilight zone...this stuff just freaks. me. out.