Damn Doctors!

Okay, anyone that knows me realizes that I absolutely HATE going to doctors.  When I say hate, I really mean it, like with a passion!!  It takes a whole lot of sickness for me to take myself or Liliana to the doctor.  I've never taken Liliana in for "routine" check-ups or vaccinations

or anything like that.  Hell there wasn't even a doctor present at her birth or anywhere near her for the first year of her life.

Our first visit to a doctor was when Liliana was just over a year I believe.  My mom thought it would be a good idea to see a doctor and one of her clients was someone she recommended that wouldn't give me a hard time about our home birth and choosing not to vaccinate.  She was very concerned about Liliana's weight at the time and basically pressured me into going.  I didn't enjoy it and when they suggested stopping breastfeeding and giving her more food instead, I decided then and there I wouldn't go back.

In El Salvador we had a scare of Liliana breaking her arm so we took her to the emergency room not that long ago.  Everything turned out fine, but the doctors were super weird.  We were asked about vaccinations and lied and said she had them just so we wouldn't have to hear the whole lecture about it.

Yesterday when Liliana woke up throwing up again I knew it was time to go to the doctor.  After 5 days, this couldn't go on any longer.  I'm glad we did go because she has a really bad ear infection causing all her discomfort according to the doctor, but the doctor himself was a complete ass!  I tried to go to the doctor we saw when Liliana was younger, but we couldn't go there.  Last time I was in Indy we applied for Medicaid for Liliana for emergency situations like this and we got approved.  I never named who I wanted as our physician so we were appointed this guy up the road.

When asked about vaccinations I lied and said we got a few in El Salvador, but she wasn't up-to-date.  I know I should just be honest, but it wasn't worth the fight yesterday.  Liliana was crying and screaming just being in the room.  I was told we would need to come back ASAP for the vaccinations and I was just like "whatever".  Then he saw Liliana teeth and asked where we got our dental work done.  I told him we got it done in El Salvador because we did and he then went on to disrespect that and say how he spent time oversees and noone in the world does dental work like the US and that we MUST take Liliana to see someone in the States because the care she is getting is not adequate.  Then he talked about ther weight.  She has always been underweight, that's not a secret or surprise.  But he was very concerned about her weight of 20.8 lbs at 26 months.  He ordered us a script to go to the hospital and have some blood work done.  He wants to make sure there is nothing more going on causing her to be so small.

So that's where we are at.  Liliana is on day 2 of some antibiotics and we are dosing her up with lots of probiotics as well to balance it out.  I have been debating about the blood test.  I think that it would be a good idea for piece of mind, but the thought of sticking a needle in my baby's arm is too much to think about.  She's never had a needle in her before.  I know people do it all the time, but that doesn't help how I feel about it.  Plus I just don't know what it is they mind find and that is comforting and scary at the same time.  I think we will go ahead a do it to get everyone off our backs, but I hate that it's the main reason we are going to do it.  I hate that people are pressuring us and not trusting our judgment.  I will take her tomorrow and take her for ice cream or something afterward :)  (More on my annoyances with other people's opinions later)

The worst part is that when I do the blood work, then that means we HAVE to go back to the doctor for the results and have to put up with that guy again.  And a friend reminded me that I will have to be prepared for whatever he says.  Hopefully it's all good as I trust it will be and we can get this nightmare over with.

On a positive note, Liliana is feeling MUCH better today.  She even went to the park.  We actually slept the WHOLE night last night with Liliana waking up at all.  It was heavenly.  Hopefully her good spirits continue as they usually do.

Torn Between Two Worlds

This seems to be a theme in my life ever since I can remember.  It started as being torn between my mother and father when they divorced when I was 7.  It continued through high school as I desperately searched to find which "group" it was I belonged with.  After high school I went to college for a year because I felt that was my best option, only to drop out after a year and run off to North Carolina to join a meditation retreat.  

Even during my 7 years involved with a close-knit meditation community (or cult you could say), I struggled between my life on the road and wanting to settle down.  I loved being involved with such a small group of people that were my family at the time.  I didn't need to worry about all the "worldly" responsibilities.  I had God and that's all I needed at the time.  But then things changed.  I've always loved traveling and experiencing new places and people, but through all my years of traveling the one thing I always seemed to want was a "normal" life and a sense of stability.  I couldn't help but wonder what it was like out there in the world on my own.  

After those many years of wonderful and not so great experiences, I decided to give this "normal" life a chance.  I divorced my first husband whom I'd met in the cult, got a regular job, got my very own apartment and tried to get back the years I felt I had lost during my years of seclusion.  It was a great time of self-discovery, of really being on my own.  

During that time I met my dear Eduardo.  We dated, got married, had a baby, a house.  All the "normal" things that people do.  And it was great!  I never felt so much stability and security in my life.  Having a family was the greatest gift, the one thing I seemed to be missing in my life.  

Well then life changed again.  We decided to go through the immigration process.  In the end, our process took us to El Salvador.  My "stability and security" was uprooted once again.  I found myself torn between the "normal" life and a life on the road, in a different country and culture.  

Now that I've adapted to life in El Salvador, Eduardo and I have conversations about how much we actually do enjoy our life there.  We talk about ways we can have the best of both worlds, how to live in both countries simultaneously and make it work.  There are things I enjoy and dislike about both countries.  But thinking that way leads me back to having the life I've always lived as compared to this life I seem to think I am supposed to have.  

The past couple months I have been researching a type of schooling called "Unschooling".  I've always known I would homeschool Liliana, but this take homeschooling to a whole new level.  It's something I am really resonating with the more I read and research on the topic.  It just seems to "fit" with our life.  It's a more relaxed approach to "schooling" that I will address at a different time.  But the point is that I can make it fit into our lives so easily no matter how our life will look.  

I read other blogs about families that travel and the fun and neat experiences they have and I yearn for that, I love that idea.  But then why is there the part of me that dreams of a house that I can decorate and have a "special" room for Liliana.  A life where Eduardo has a job that provides us with everything we need.  That "normal" kind of life.  That sense of security.  

I feel like there must be a balance out there somewhere.  That maybe when the battle inside of myself dies down, maybe the battle on the outside will too.  Maybe we can have everything we want if we just let go of what we think our lives are supposed to look like.  When I look at what it is I have now, it is a lot of what I've always wanted.  It may not look exactly how I would like it to right now, but I have faith that it will in time.  I have to believe that I can have it all, that I don't have to be torn between different worlds.  Maybe I'm creating my own world and it's the best one!

The Best Laid Plans

"We can't plan life. All we can do is be available for it."

-Lauryn Hill

I was so excited about what I would accomplish on this trip to the States this time.  The last two visits did not go as expected and I felt as though I didn't accomplish as much as I had hoped for.  This time I was determined to do everything I was planning for and more.  I even made a calendar and sent it to my mom and my friend that we are staying with.  Somewhere inside I must have thought that by making the calendar with our schedule, I was somehow telling the universe that my plans must come into fruition.  I was so determined to stick to "the plan", but inside I was fighting with myself because I really knew something would happen.  And it did...

I will make the long story short.  On Thursday Liliana got sick.  Within 18 hours she had thrown up about 25 times.  Add a case of diarrhea to that and you have the makings for one sick toddler.  It was definitely the most sick she has ever been.  She ended up with a fever the 2nd day that came and went.  She is still recovering now and it's Saturday night.  If she doesn't stop throwing up by Monday morning, I will take her to the doctor.  It's the weekend and I don't have the money to take her to an emergency clinic.  

Well once Liliana got sick, I knew my friend wouldn't want us in her house.  She has 2 small children herself and one that was sick for the first 3 days we were there and had already missed 2 days of school.  Sara couldn't afford to have her kids sick again and I completely understood that.  So I called my mom.  I would have called Mario, my BIL, but he has small children too and that would also have been a disaster.  My mom had no problem with us coming to her house, I just wasn't too happy with how my "plan" was about to fall apart.   

4 days later now and it's so hard not to question why I am even here!  I would much rather be in the heat and sun of El Salvador than in someone else's house with an extremely sick child.  I've already missed 2 days of veggie making and who knows how many more there will be.  

I've always liked to believe that things happen for a reason and for most of my life I can look back and see how the sequence of events have happened in order for the good to come.  But when you're in the midst of it all, that can sometimes be hard to see.  I should have known when I made that calendar that I was setting myself up for disaster!  

It's not really as bad as I am making it out to be I suppose, but it all has got me thinking so much.  These plans of ours just don't seem to be working out.  I think it's really time to re-evaluate and see what is best for us and if coming to Indianapolis every 3 months is really a valuable piece to our puzzle.  Right now I'm leaning towards "no".  I think it's time for a new plan.

But really, what good are plans anyway?  I suppose it's good to make them, but just be open for the changes that will most likely occur and go with it.  I'm constantly being shown how to be more flexible, that's for sure!

"Most plans are just inaccurate predictions."

- Ben Bayol, television producer and writer

Update

I can't believe it's been almost a week since my last post.  I vowed to never go more than 2 days without posting, but with the earthquake in Japan, the tsunami scare in El Salvador and us leaving for Indianapolis 2 days after, I have been preoccupied to say the least.

We made it to Indy late Sunday night.  I won't go into details now, but it was overall a good experience except for the exhaustion.  It really is amazing how jetlagged one can feel after a day of traveling.  Add traveling with a toddler to that and a 2 hour time difference and it's bound to wear you down eventually.  I don't remember being this tired the last visit, but it's gotten the best of me this time.

I've already managed to make 4 batches of cultured veggies though.  I've been very productive and things have been going pretty smoothly so far.  Liliana is adjusting as I expected...not too bad, but not wonderful either.  She's my little trooper though and I commend her for how well she is doing despite the circumstances.

Being here already has me re-thinking our life though.  Maybe coming to the States so frequently isn't the best idea?  I don't know.  Just random thoughts running through my mind at midnight on this Wednesday evening.  I think I will go to bed and let all this new culture and new ideas run it's course through the night.  I just wanted to check in to my beloved blog.  I will be back on the writing from now on during my trip!

Cockroaches and Fumigation

We have had a SERIOUS cockroach problem the past couple of weeks, but this week especially.  Last week we found a cockroach in our bed in the middle of the night on several occasions.  One time I woke up with a cockroach crawling behind my ear!  Seriously disgusting!  I couldn't sleep for the next couple of nights in fear of more in the bed.  We kill them as we find them, but they had babies and we know they have been spreading.  I even saw one in the refrigerator in the middle of the night a few weeks back.  I immediately threw everything exposed out the next day.  Cockroaches are just so gross.

The tip of the iceberg came about 3 days ago.  Eduardo went in to bed and Liliana was already sleeping.  The sheets were all twisted at the end of the bed so he turned on the light to fix them.  When the light came on he saw a cockroach right on top of Liliana crawling around and it didn't even run away until Eduardo went after it.  A cockroach on my baby girl!!  That was just too much.  Who knows how often they crawl around on us at night without us knowing.  Ewww!  We moved our mattress out into the living room and Eduardo discovered 2 cockroaches had been living in the bottom part of the bed.  Luckily he killed them, but again we knew there would be more.  We slept in the living room the next two nights.  We cleaned the bedroom top to bottom, but still didn't feel comfortable in there.

Well late in the evening last night, we heard the fumigators coming.  They come around every now and then and fumigate for mosquitos, which are everywhere here as well.  Even when they are bad, I've never let them fumigate in our house.  The chemical smell is too much for me to bare just when they are walking down the street.  I'm extremely chemically sensitive.  I don't use chemicals on my skin, to wash my clothes or to clean my house.

Well this time I was out of luck.  Eduardo had run down the street and told the fumigators to come to our house.  He was tired of our battle with the cockroaches and the stuff is supposed to help with all other bugs and mosquitos as well.  I put all the food in the fridge and prepared what I could for the chemicals I knew would be all over the house.  Liliana got super scared of the noise, so we went down to a neighbor's house and hung outside until they were done.  It was a LONG time until the house was ready for us to enter.  We went to the garage first and hung outside in the garden for hours.  The smell was just too much for me to handle.  We opened all the windows and doors and turned on all the fans.  I didn't even want Liliana walking on the floor barefoot because I went to wash her feet in the shower and all this bad smell and oil came off her feet!  I was horrified.  We still had the mattress in the living room and we all eventually laid down and went to bed.

This morning we got up and swept and mopped everywhere and cleaned everything.  Our dead cockroach count was last at 12!  Three were dead just under the dresser.  So even though the chemicals were almost more than I could handle, I am glad we can all sleep a little easier tonight and be back in our own bedroom.  Such is the life living in El Salvador!

Being Positive

One thing is for sure; being positive is A LOT easier when things are going your way!  When things seem to be going against you, it's hard to stay positive.  Recently we had a couple weeks that were definitely the bottom of the barrel.  It really seemed as if things couldn't get any worse.  Through it all we tried to stay as positive as we could and we knew our time was coming for a good change.  Well out of nowhere that changed occured.  A series of events led our lives in a positive direction.  Now in the past 2 weeks we seem to be moving forward for the first time in a LONG time.  Business opportunities have arised and that certainly helps.  Being able to feed our family certainly makes things a lot less stressful.  But it's our attitudes that is the biggest change that I see.  For the first time since being in El Salvador I see my husband feeling hopeful.  We seem to have accepted our fate here in this country and are more free because of it.  We are just living life and moving on to see what else is in store for us.  I've never been one to lead a "normal" life and I've never really wanted anything "normal" so I don't know what it is I think we are missing out on by being in another country.  Things are looking up, I can feel it.  Even my attitude about our upcoming trip has turned from gloom to excitement.  I know it will have it's challenges, but I always run into challenges and that's never stopped me or my family before.

So hopefully I'm not speaking too soon here with all the positivity, but I'm praying we are on the road we are meant to be on now and that the rough patch can finally be over with.  It won't be too long from now that we will reach our 1 year mark of living in El Salvador and I hope to feel positive about this year when the time comes.  I want to be able to look back and see the growth in our family and all the wonderful things we never would have known or experienced had we not come here.  And I'm praying that Eduardo finds his way through all this and sees what an amazing person he is.

Flying Internationally with a Toddler

I have now done the flight back and forth from Indy to El Salvador 4 times.  The first was when she was just 5 months old and the others have been in the past year.  I have to admit that flying with a baby/toddler is something I do not look forward to.  I guess the motto "expect the worst, hope for the best" is a great way to describe how I feel about the upcoming trip in less than a week.

When Liliana was still a baby, I flew with her and my mom to El Salvador for a vacation to see Eduardo's family.  I didn't expect the trip to be too bad and it was WAY worse than I expected.  Liliana screamed and cried the WHOLE way there and back.  She couldn't sleep and her ears bothered her.  It was exhausting to say the least.

The flight from Indy to San Salvador isn't quite as bad as the trip back.  It's about a 12 hour day of traveling.  Delta has one flight that always leaves and arrives at the same time.  It takes about 2 hours to get to the airport from our house, then you have to be an hour and a half early to the airport and wait and go through all the annoying checkpoints where they search everything twice.  After that we wait to board the plane, which we get to do early because I'm "traveling with a young child and need additional time."  So we get settled and then again we wait for everyone else to board and then there's usually some delay that keeps us from departing on time, god forbid.  Once in the air it's a game of Liliana falling asleep, waking up, keeping her entertained, taking her to the bathroom and calming her down when she is crying from discomfort, especially on the way down.

The flight from San Salvador to Atlanta is about 3 hours.  Once we are in Atlanta, we have to go through Customs.  We get off the plane and head down to pick up all our bags.  There are carts waiting and you have to take all your suitcases off the conveyer belt by yourself.  Doing this with a baby is near impossible alone, but with a toddler is slightly easier.  Sometimes you will get a nice gentleman eager to help in the struggle.  Once you have all your bags you have to try and stear the cart full of 8 bags and hold the baby/toddler at the same time.  Not an easy task either!  You get in line for customs. They look at you, your customs form and your bags and tell you to pass or you get pulled over.  Luckily for me, we've always been told to move on.  Then you maneuver your cart to the area for unloading.  Some big guy usually unloads them and you are sent on your way.  Then we wait in line for the x-ray machines and have to undress, take off shoes, all that fun stuff.  Then we have to get to the next line to wait for our turn with an Immigration official.  We show them our passports and the customs form we filled out on the plane.  Sometimes they ask questions and sometimes they don't.  I've gotten asked things like "what does your husband do?", "where do you work?", "How long were you gone?", that sort of thing.  An any case, we answer the questions and move on.  We then have to make a made dash to the opposite side of the HUGE Atlanta International Airport and pray we make it on time to the flight.  We barely do and board again.  We get situated and the game of keeping Liliana entertained, fed and sleeping continues.  She's been a trooper!  We take our 2 hour flight to Indianapolis from Atlanta and arrive about 10:30pm.  It's been a long day.  I barely can walk to the exit of the airport at this point.  My arms are sore from carrying a toddler and 3-4 carry-on bags.  We greet whoever is waiting for us and proceed to get our luggage.  We walk out to the carry and lay back for the 30-minute drive to the house.

It may be more expensive now to have to pay for a seat for Liliana since she turned 2 in December, but it's worth it!  Even though she still sits in my lap most of the ride, we at least have the extra room to eat, play and sleep when we want to.  And it's more privacy for nursing!  I'm hoping for the best on Sunday and will be thinking about some special surprises and treats I can take for Liliana for those "intense" moments.  I will let you all know how it goes.  Wish us luck!!

For more on traveling to El Salvador from the States and those visa and passport requirements, check out my ES Visa Requirements.

My Bilingual Baby

I have to say that one of the greatest things about marrying into another culture is that my daughter and I get to experience another language.  This has proved to be way harder for me than it has for Liliana.  At 26 months, she is fully bilingual.  We knew right away that we wanted to bring her up bilingual.  We didn't want it to be a choice when she is older because babies and children are able to absorb so much when they are young.  My little one is a prime example of that.

Last week I would have told you how Liliana is saying atleast 2-3 new words every day.  But this week she seems to have bumped it up and repeats nearly everything we say now and remembers it!  I am constantly blown away at how much she can remember and repeat.  Those little minds are incredible.

Since we live in El Salvador most of the time, Liliana's vocabulary mostly consists of Spanish words.  But she understands everything in both English and Spanish.  I still speak with her in English most of the time, but find myself using all the Spanish words I know with her.  I've been making a point lately of showing her how to say things more in English because I know she is picking up on all the Spanish around her.  She knows the English and Spanish versions of a lot of words, including her numbers.  We've been doing a lot of number counting in both languages lately and she knows both perfectly.  She will even switch back and forth between the different languages on her own.  One sentence she will say "moon" and the next sentence she says "luna."  It's incredible she knows that both words mean the same thing.

Going back to the States may be a little tricky this trip next week because my mom and friends don't understand Spanish at all.  I've been thinking I will make a cheat sheet for my mom of words that Liliana frequently uses.  I have no doubt in my mind though that Liliana will be able to get across what she is trying to say.  Once she is submersed in the English language fully again, I know she will pick up whatever she is hearing and being taught.

If only I could be learning Spanish as quickly as she is!!  Yesterday I found she was saying a word that I didn't even understand.  Liliana spends a great deal of time with her abuela (grandma) and learns so much from her.  I had to ask Eduardo what the word meant.  It's actually really cool because she and I are learning Spanish right along side each other.

I find that Liliana learns from other kids really fast, especially when she first started talking.  I still remember when she learned the word "no" from her good friend Pearl ;)  Here in El Salvador she learns a lot from her brother and sister and loves to repeat everything they say.

When people here find out that Liliana is bilingual, they get as excited as I do.  I think that speaking two languages has so many benefits and again her learning so young is perfect.  Spanish is already spoken so many places and I feel she will have such a broader range of relationships because their won't be the language barriers in place for her.

I've always planned on homeschooling Liliana and I think that in homeschooling we will be able to explore the two languages and cultures more than she would ever get to in public school.  I'm really excited about it and already love any chance we get to learn and play together.  My little one already is the one I look up to and I truly believe she is one-of-a-kind and completely incredible.  I will keep you updated with how the language learning progresses!

If you are looking for any bilingual learning tools/toys, check out my Amazon Store!  It has a vast variety of toys, books, DVD's, dolls and more...

Preparing for our Upcoming Trip

So Liliana and I are headed back to the States in 2 weeks.  Now that it's reached the 2 week mark, I'm starting to get nervous AND excited.  We will be staying with one of my best friends, Sara, and her 2 children.  She has a daughter that is a few months older than Liliana and a 4-year old.  I am so grateful Sara is letting us stay with them and most of my excitement about this trip now is because we are staying with them and Sara and I will get to see each other so much.  It will be great.

I planning on making my Cultured Veggies for Cleansing Waters the first week or so.  It's going to be crazy, but I'm determined to make it work this time.  I need to make about 10 batches, which is roughly 120-140 pint and quart size jars.  I'm creating my list of flavors and ingredients I will need to buy.  I wish I had the money to pre-order the jars because they are hard to come by in Indy and it's a lot of driving around and searching for them.  But I don't, so I will deal with it.

My mom has given me her dates of when she is not working so she will spend those days with Liliana.  It's much easier for me to make the Veggies without having to entertain a toddler as well.  Though I will have days when Liliana will be "helping" me and I must say the age she is at right now is a good one because she likes to "help" me with everything, especially cooking.

I will be putting up a display of Esperanza Imports items at Cleansing Waters for the weeks that I am there as well.  Hopefully with the traffic my mom gets in her office, they can sell a bunch of stuff for me.  That would be a godsend!  I'm trying to stay very positive about everything.  I will have to sort through and put labels on everything the first day I get there as well as shopping for the jars and veggies, but I don't want to think about all that or I will get totally overwhelmed!

I also recently found out that the Binford Farmers Market indoor market will start on April 2nd and I am planning to be able to stay until then and not pass up the opportunity to take my Esperanza Imports stuff there.  I have done several markets there last summer and winter and they have said they would welcome me back anytime, so I'm going to do it and sell, sell, sell.

For now I will do what I can from here.  Any organizing and list making I can do, I am attempting to do now.  I've already started packing bags and am taking back anything we aren't necessarily using here as well.  Since all my Import stuff is already back in the States, I don't have to take much.  I know whenever we end up leaving El Salvador there will be a lot to go back, so if we are not using it now, it's going this time.  I'm also planning to take back my food processor.  It's a larger one than my mom has and I just plain like it a lot more.  The Veggies seem to go a lot faster with mine.  It's really heavy and I will have to cusion it a lot, but I'm sure I can do it.

I'm staying positive about this trip and am trying to only send out positive vibes to the Universe.  We certainly don't need the negative energy that has been around us the last 2 visits.  It's just not fun!  So we want to be happy and have fun.  And let's not forget our purpose, which is to make MONEY!  I was going to say I really need money to put food on the table.  It's been a pretty sad state of affairs here the past few weeks.  But I don't want to limit myself.  I would love to make enough money to be able to take the kids somewhere fun, do fun things.  We are in El Salvador for goodness sake!  I want to experience more of the beauty this country has to offer.  Unfortunately no matter where you live, things require money.  So I'm opening myself up to receiving all the bounty that the Universe has to offer!

Our New Business

Yes, that's right!  We have started another new business.  Eduardo and I seem to have become quite the entrepreneurs.  We opened a tienda, or store, on our property a several and it's doing fairly well for the size.  We hope to get more money to invest in making it bigger, hence making more money.  But while we are waiting for that to happen, we have been racking our brains about other businesses we could start.  I swear if Eduardo and I could get paid for all our brilliant ideas we would be filthy rich!  Ha!  While I daydream about all the ways I can make money in the States, Eduardo daydreams about how to make money in El Salvador.

Well we went to Sonsonate, the closest city to us, last week and our new business presented itself to us.  We had seen there was a new store going up the weeks prior, but we weren't sure what it was going to be. Well we happened to drive by and stop the day it was opening.  It's basically a used clothing, bedding, toys, shoes outlet.  The prices range, but there are some AMAZING deals.  It was EXACTLY what we were looking for and had actually talked about doing in the past.  We loaded up on bags of clothes and have been back 3 more times already.  We are buying and selling used clothing!  And the funniest part is that it ALL comes from the States.  I'm talking good brands too and at prices that are just insane for the quality.  Of course as a gringa I'm the only one who realizes the quality and the good deals and that gives me an edge ;)

We started by taking the clothes out to el monte, where a lot of Eduardo's family lives.  They bought some of it.  Then we have been selling to our neighbors.  Today my MIL and I both had the same idea at separate times and told Eduardo.  Great minds think alike!  We opened up the garage doors and put a couple tables and some boxes outside for all the foot traffic we get on our street.  We've talked about taking the stuff to the Mercado, but it seems like other people have caught on and are also doing that.  There's many options of how to sell anything here, but this one for now seems great.

Eduardo is sitting outside in the garage right now.  He can watch the tienda and sell the clothes at the same time.  It's perfect.  We've already made all our money back and have TONS more to sell, so it looks like this could be a great investment.

The door on the right is to the tienda.  

Going to the store for the buying can be exhausting because it's basically just HUGE piles of clothes you have to dig through, but it's fun at the same time.  Liliana likes to go and look at all the toys of course, but then I can't look at the clothes.  So we're trying to schedule our trips around when she is sleeping or out with my MIL.  They also have clowns there, which is very common around here and she is super scared of clowns.  I never encouraged that, she just naturally doesn't like them, so it's best if we just go and bring her back a present and of course she LOVES that :)

So we now have the Tienda, our clothes selling business, Esperanza Imports and Kelsey's Cultured Foods.  What will be next??