Vomit Stinks

I have spent the last 2 nights with sick children. The first night it was with Edith. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of the night, and she vomited 2 times. First all over the bed, then all over me. Next she had diarhhea 2 times in her sleep and so that made more of a mess on the bed. I spend the entire next day washing sheets and blankets. Everything is done by hand. Fortunately, with Balthezar, he was awake and able to get to the toilet in time. We got a bowl and he vomited a few extra times. I rinsed out the bowl, and he fell asleep with his head in the bowl. Everytime I tried to take it away from him, he woke up and insisted that he needed to have it. He was very afraid of vomiting all over like Edith.

Besides that things are going well, I suppose. I start teaching some english classes today. I hope that it goes well.

I usually have more to say, but I am just not feeling it right now.

Christmas in July

What a week! My bags got here on tuesday, and so did Moises. It was nice to finally put on some clean clothes - although, I dont think they got too dirty, and I was able to buy a couple of pairs of underwear in the meantime, and a pair of sandles. People here are really formal when it comes to going to a party. So, me showing up to the graduation wearing pants and tennis shoes would not have been good. Nobody would have said anything, but of coure to each other they would say - oh my gosh, look at the gabacha (they don´t say gringa) Look at what she is wearing! I read somewhere once that you can tell who is american in Mexico because they will be walking around the city in flip flops, and Mexicans would not do that.

Yesterday we killed a sheep and had barbecue. They do it like the Hawaiians do it. They dig a big whole in the ground and wrap cactus leaves around the animal. When they kill the animal, they save all the blood to make soup, and cut off the head, and take out the intestines and stomach to make a different soup. They boil the head and stomach, then cut it up and add chili and tomatoes. My suegra (mother in law) had Feliciano (my sister in law Delia´s husband) cut open the scull so that she could eat the brain. It is her favorite part. My suegro (father in law) ate the eyeballs. I did my best not to gag. I have tried lots of weird foods, but I don´t think I could get myself to eat eyeballs and brain.

As soon as I get some pictures on a disk, I will post them.

Oh - they christmas part! They always call me Santa Clause because I come with bags of clothes to give them. They probably haven´t bought new clothes in years. It always feels really nice that I can help other people like that. I am beginning to understand why mom likes to buy gifts at Christmas. It does feel really good.

Always pack clean underwear in your carry-on!

Wow, what an interesting couple of weeks. First my accident. Then my mom got MRSA. She was suppossed to come down to mexico with Moises but she got out of the hospital 2 days before he was leaving, and her doctors told her she shouldn´t go. I was excited to show her around. I know she would have enjoyed it. She is doing much better, but it still on medicine.

Then there was my trip down here. The flights went pretty well. The kids slept all the way from San Franscico to Mexico City. We were up at 3:30am to get to the airport, and Balthezar didn´t even go to sleep until 1 am. He was too wound up.

The flight was late arriving by about half an hour, which I wasn´t really concerned about. We went through customs really fast. There was a guy who was taking care of all the families with children, so we got to the front of the line. (for those who have traveled abroad, you know how long that can take) Next we went to pick up our bags - but only 4 of the 6 were there. I had someone looks and look, and then another guy on the phone calling around. Aparently they were still in San Fransciso. Nice!! I hope that they had fun there.

I filled out paperwork so that United could send them to me and then we were off to buy bus tickets to Puebla. We got tickets for the next bus that was leaving in only half an hour, so that was nice. But because we had been so late at the airport, by the time we got to Puebla, all of the connecting bus companies were closed for the night.

I started to freak out a little at this point. A bus station in Mexico is like a bus station in the states. Some travelors, people selling stuff and homeless people. I wouldn´t normally be afraid that some homeless person is going to steal from me, but in Mexico I am. I called Moises and told him what was going on (and found out he had been delayed in El Paso and would have to spend the weekend in Juarez with some cousins to wait for some paperwork to be done - so he is way behind schedule) He called around because he has cousins in Puebla, but they happened to be here with family.

I called my mom and freaked out a little. She helped me calm down, because she called the travel insurance people (wow - first time I ever buy travel insurance and it actually paid off!) and got things rolling on that end. I will be reimbursed a couple hundred dollars for my bags being delayed. We ended up taking a taxi for the 1 hour or so drive here. It was about 60 dollars. Not bad for the states, but really expensive here.

I am currently wearing the same clothes that I have been wearing since early Saturday morning. Nice, huh? My bags should get here today, and I look forward to changing!!

Overlake Clinicals

I just completed my clinicals to become a certified nursing assistant. This is the group I was working with. I am next to Kevin, then John (he will be in the nursing program with me) then Heather and Patricia is our instructor. Below me is Viet, Alicia, Christine, Lisa and Tomo.

The class had ups and down, but it really gave me the confidence to know that I will really enjoy the nursing field. I haven't been sure, but now I feel pretty good about it.

Nursing School Orientation

Today I had my first nursing school orientation. I found out what days I will be going to school, what days I will have clinicals, etc. I start doing clinical working starting on the 5th week, and I will be at the VA hospital in Seattle in the Spinal Cord Unit. Sounds interesting.

I had to shell out a bunch of money for a lab coat, stethescope, and some odds and ends. I am really lucky that I have a little bit of financial aid left over from the quarter. Those things are expensive!!! And I haven't even bought the scrubs yet.

I actually know quite a few people in the program from taking classes here on campus. It is interesting to see how I know some who are straight A students who got it, and then others who barely made the grades for the cut-off. The lottery program that they do here is being discontinued though. They found that the number of people who failed has gone up quite a bit since they made minimum requirements and a random drawing. There was a woman in several of my classes fall quarter who I really disliked who wasn't there, so I am happy and hope that she just wasn't absent. I just really didn't want to spend the next 2 years in school with her.

I am doing alright with things on the accident front, I guess. I called Farmers insurance on Friday and was assigned a guy named Travis, and was told that he would call by the end of the day on Monday. Well, monday evening when I still hadn't heard from him, I called and left a message. He called me back today and left a message saying that I needed to call back with a claim number because without it he couldn't help me. I called him back and got a hold of him, and told him that I wasn't given a claim number when I called the other day. He put me on hold and then asked me my name and found my file. He told me what my claim number is and told me that he isn't my adjuster, or whatever they are called. He gave me the name of a guy named Koby, and transfered me. Koby wasn't at his desk so I left a message. Hopefully I will hear back today.

I trying really hard not to get stressed out over the whole situation, but it is almost impossible. This is finals week and the added stress of my body aching, an almost constant headache since the accident, no car, and worry about what is going to happen it hard to deal with. My neck isn't hurting as much as it was over the weekend, but now my back is really bothering me. I am going to call my doctor and try to get a referal for physical therapy or something. Not only is it hurting, but it is pretty still. I am not able to lean over well without being in pain, which has never been an issue for me. I am one of the most flexible people that I know.

I am trying to concentrate on my Chemistry final for tomorrow, but my mind keeps wandering back to the accident and my car, and how I will get to my clinical tomorrow - I work from 2:30 to 10:30, so I might be able to take the bus without too much of a problem. I will go research that right now.

Car Accidents Suck!

In my entire career as a driving person, I have never gotten into a car accident - until this past thursday. I was driving home from Overlake Hospital where I am doing my nursing assistant clinicals. I was going south bound on 405 at about 11 pm. There are 4 lanes there - an HOV lane, fast lane, slow lane, and an exit lane for I-90. Well I was in the slow lane, and all of a sudden out of nowhere, a care swirved from the fast lane right into me. The car hit my front left bumper and sent me spinning. I spun into the exit lane and hit the guard rail. The impact from that made me spin more and I spun back through all the lanes of traffic on 405, and ended up facing south bound in the HOV lane.

When I hit the barrier and was sent back spinning through traffic, all I could think was that I was going to be hit and die. The whole accident has been going through my head over and over again since then.

I called 911, and told them that I had just been hit. They said that reports had already come in about 5 or ten minutes earlier about the accident. I told them that my accident just happened. I was confused, because I knew that I hit my head, but I didn't think I had passed out. Right then on the phone a state trooper came and asked me if I was okay. I said yes - while shaking and crying! I was told to stay in my vehicle.

From what I understand, there was an earlier accident involving a drunk driver. The car that hit me was trying to avoid driving over the debris from the earlier accident, but either didn't look, or didn't see me in his blind spot. They swirved into my lane and clipped me.

My car is totalled, I think. I saw the front bumper next to the barrier. I had to move it off to the side of the road, and it wouldn't start. I did get it to start and a state trooper had to help pull the steering wheel to get it to move, because the power stearing is gone. I got a ride home from the tow truck guy, Dick took a bunch of pictures, and now it is up at eastside towing. The towing guy told me that since I was hit, that I needed to call the insurance company of the guy that hit me, and that they would send an adjuster to come and look at my car. He said that by the looks of it, and because it is a 1996 car, it will be a total loss. The roof is buckled a little, the front is all smooshed, and the who frame is off - the doors on the opposite side kind of stick out a little even though they are shut.

I am feeling really lucky to be alive - although I have felt really out of it since then. I decided to go to the doctor on friday because of the headache that I had since the accident, and my neck and back aching. He said that I looked alright, but that I needed to take care of my neck and back by icing it for a day, and then using ice and heat the next day. He told me to call him back if I was still feeling bad after to weekend. He said that he would help me to arrange some physical therapy to get me back to normal.

It is Saturday night, and I still have the headache, and my neck seems to only feel worse. Now it is actually hurting all the way down my neck, through my arm. I am really ticked about it, because I have never really had any back or neck issues! Not even when I was pregnant. I just had my yearly physical a couple of weeks ago, and everything was great. Now I am in pain, and can't sleep because every time I close my eyes, I see a car swerving into me and see myself spinning through traffic. I have cried a lot too.

Mom was going to lend me her car so that I could go to school on friday, but I was (am?) too afraid to drive. The whole thing just makes me sick to my stomach.

I am most worried about getting back to normal, but not being able to pay for a chiropractor or physical therapy, or massage or whatever will help me feel better. I know that the person who hit me, his insurance should have to pay for it, but I feel like with my luck, something will happen, and they will not take care of me the way they should.

I would appreciate good healing thoughts and prayers sent my way.

I am a soccer mom too! (minus the minivan)

Balthezar and Edith are both on a soccer team this year for the first time. They really love it. One of the coaches took a bunch of pictures from a game. Enjoy!