it only got worse....

Thursday:

I am about a 45 minute drive away from where we live, school, etc... at my favorite flower market when I get the call....

Nurse: This is the nurse, your son fainted in his classroom.  He is here with me now and is fine, but I think you should come to the school.

Me: Ok, I am a little far away.  I will be there as soon as possible.

 2 minutes later.....

Nurse: I just talked with his teacher that he was with, and he said he kinda had a convulsion after he fainted.  You should also call his doctor.

Me: Ok, I am on my way.

my thoughts then trail to.....what is "kinda" had a convulsion.  either he did or he didn't!~

So, I finally get to school almost an hour later.  I went to talk with his teacher first to find out all the information before I actually went to get him.

He said that he was talking with him, correcting one of his papers, when my son said he felt dizzy, a little sick to his stomach and very hot.  Mr. Dean, (the teacher) thought he was trying to get out of the assignment or something like that. 

Mean while, may I interject here that that sort of behavior is TOTALLY not my son.  He does get nervous when he does something wrong or not so good, but not to that extreme of fainting and convulsing!

So, he said then my son said he thought he should go to the nurse and then fainted!  My son started to shake on the floor.  Mr. Dean held his head, his eyes were open, and he called his name and said what's wrong, what's wrong.  At that point, my son snapped out of it and stood up.

The school was very funny in that they had the teacher and the psychologist there explaining all this to me.  She seemed to think that he was nervous about what Mr. Dean was saying and maybe I should bring him to talk to her... BLAH BLAH BLAH..

I say to both them, incredulously, I understand that he maybe felt under pressure, and that I would tell the doctor what they were trying to explain, BUT, none of us are qualified to say what the problem was!  

At that point I went to see him.  He was his usual self.  We talked a lot about the incident and then went to see a neurologist.  

I really like my general pediatrician here.  She is very proactive.  She knew that nothing she could do would be what he needed checked for, so she made an appointment right away with a child neurologist.

We went and he passed all the visual and physical tests that he gave him.  He sent us to have an EEG.  I have not heard back from directly (it is Saturday, and I assume not so serious).  The technician that gave me the results said that everything was normal.

I will still wait to hear those words from the neurologist, but for now I am calm again.  He explained that it could have been a drop in blood pressure, which his father is prone to get also.  

We can only pray that's all that it is....

one heck of half the week

Monday:

Fairly calm and normal

Tuesday:

Bee sting to daughter's finger.  Inflamed, red and itchy :( 

one child in her class knows that it is "the" finger, though none of the others knows what that means. He says but Ms. Mara (the teacher) it is her middle one and she looks like she is doing you know what.  Good thing only Ms. Mara and I know what he is talking about!

Wednesday:

Daughter still very swollen and red.

Son hit in face, right under the eye, almost needed a stitch, by flying book....

slightly provoked by lightly saying "haha" when classmate is called on to answer first.  The other child calls him tonight to apologize again.  Here is how the conversation goes: (or at least what I hear of it)

Son: hey man, it's ok. I mean we all have trouble sometimes controlling our emotions.  

Other child:?????

Son: man, don't worry.  I am ok.

Other child:????

Son: man, it's ok.  I'll see you tomorrow.

Ok, first, where is the "man" coming from?  He is growing up WAY too quickly!  That should be reserved for the teen crowd, right?!

and second, "we all have trouble controlling our emotions"..... once again, my ever so mature 9 year old never ceases to amaze me :)

Please let Thursday and Friday be more like Monday 

Beach Bums

Sunday was beautiful 82 degrees, sunny.....a perfect day for the beach.  So, we went out our front door and found "our spot".  The waves were a little rough so the kids were safely in the shallows.  My husband and I were sitting there enjoying our day, talking, eating our "queijo coalho" :

This is a picture of the cheese which is on a stick. They grill it in their little coal ovens that they carry.....with toppings of garlic sauce, pepper, oregano....yummy!

There are many other delicacies.....corn on the cob, shrimp on a stick, pop and other drinks, snacks....

There are the other sellers....jewelry, bathing suits, hats, purses, pareos....

and then there is this...sorry that I don't have a picture, but I will try to explain it as well as I can.  It is not the best place to carry your camera, BUT boy did I need it!

So, my husband is sitting with his back to the water, and I am to his right, with my front to the water to watch the kids.  This lady came and sat practically with her back to my husband's chair.  I am trying to signal my husband (with my ever so expressive eyes) and let him know that something with her is not right.  

Then she moves back again so that her back is just centimeters away from the back of his chair!

Luckily she didn't understand English, so he asked me, since I was making huge "worry eyes" to him, does she have anything in her hands to hurt us?  I said no and then he moved the stick from the queijo coalho more towards me.

Now, if that is not enough....

she moves slightly to the side of his chair!  She is now almost touching him and I am just freaking out!  I said to him....tell her to move!

Luckily she stands up and walks away.  Now, there were quite a few people looking at her then.  It was very obvious that she was not "with" us.  

My husband, being the ever-so-smart man, said he did not want to say anything to her nor even look at her because it may have been what she was looking for...to cause a distraction or to call attention to him so that then she could do something!

Whew....a very strange encounter, but at least nothing happened and we can both giggle about it now!

Honoring those that risk everything

This was sent to me by my Uncle.  I think it is a wonderful and extremely easy way to share our gratitude for a service that is an extreme sacrifice.  Whether or not you agree with the war, these men and women, young and old, have left their families, their homes to serve for our country.  So next time you see a service person remember this small gesture....follow the link

thank you

Appliances

Here's a question...

do you ever think of an appliance in your house as having gender???

Sometimes cars, especially the sporty little red ones, are referred to as "a lady"

then there are "man's tools"....the circular saw, the drill and bits...all this comes to mind...

well, for me, it is my hairdryer.  This has just occurred to me for a reason, not just randomly...so to all those a little worried about me, I can explain....

This is, ok was, my hiardryer for the past..hhmmm, maybe 10 years?  maybe more?

When I lived in Venezuela, which to me, in Maracaibo at least, happens to be the blow-drying capital of the world; I even had the button mechanism replaced.  It was way too expensive to buy a new one, so just like almost everything else, someone there can fix it!

Now, I soon took to going and indulging  in the salon because it was too cheap to not have someone else blow dry my hair. Might I also add, I use the word "salon" loosely.  I usually referred to my place as a hole in the wall!  So, my hairdryer got a rest.  Every once in awhile I wouldn't go out to get it dried by my favorite girl, Linda.  I mean she charged me about $2.50 to blow dry my hair!  Then my hair got a little longer, and times were a little tougher so she upped her price....but with the new exchange rates, it cost even less.

So, why am I asking if it has gender?  Here's the reason:

I had someone in the US buy one, any one, for me and bring it along when they came to visit.  I was worried while the other one was "in the shop" that they wouldn't be able to fix it.  I did need to have one right?

Well, tonight I finally had to let my old girl, which is what I think of her as now, go to her cooling place.  She conked out.  And here, forget about any sort of repairs...probably don't have the part, the know how nor the cheap price of Maracaibo.

I let my girl settle down on the sink, I had just been using her not two seconds before...trying to cool a little so that she would work once again, after she stopped overheating.  No luck, she was on permanent cool.

So, I pull out the big boy.  Now, why is this of male gender?  First look at it.  Besides the little purple splash on the side, it looks masculine.  Gray, big, (translation: hard to hold....)

and it has buttons on it that I don't even know what to do with!  I see the cool button...as Linda explained to me once, you cool your hair as the last bit of the drying process to make it shine.  The 3 choices of strength.  and then the two that elude me:

The turbo button...I don't really notice a difference when it is turned on or off.  Am I not in tune with my new guy?  

and then...

The ceramic button...CERAMIC button?  what the heck is that?  Once again, nothing happens when I turn it on or off.... 

Ah, the carefree days when Linda dried my hair...at least every Saturday and then during the week when I had something to attend....remember $2.50!!

those were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end.....

so...do you ever think of any of your appliances as masculine or feminine?:)

A pair to call my own

Mother's Day was as special as ever.  I woke up to kisses and hugs from my children and all their handmade and bought presents.  

They both had made me cards....

my daughter thought of me and my obsession with animals, namely the dalmation dog that I had wanted to buy, (see post almost crazy enough) and made me this picture....

my son made me a treasure hunt.  I had to follow each clue until I found my present....his kisses at the end....

and my husband bought me my first pair of Havianas....(thank you for your post Gabriela!)

It was a beautiful day for me :)

Mother's

This is from another's blog:  cielo  check her site out, it is really pretty!

I would like to say a special thank you to my Mom...

Your concern, your words, your comfort, your whole self

has been a guiding light in my life.

I love you Mom!

Here was what was in my horoscope today and also rings true in my heart.  I remember my Grandmother always telling me to "think positive":

Hope is the word to hold on to today -- no matter how unlikely success might seem from where you are standing now, amazing things can happen. You must think positively, because you know in your heart that positive things can happen. People can show up from out of the blue. Mother Nature can sweep in and change everything. Money can be found in the pocket of a coat forgotten in the back of the closet. The answer to your problem is out there -- open your mind to it.

Driver situations

So, here we go again...more funny driver situations.  If you are new to my blog and haven't seen the previous one, check out embarrassing situations

Today's latest was when we (me and my 6 and 9 year old) went downstairs to go to school.  We got into the car and I noticed that my driver was wearing a really nice burnt orange colored shirt.  I really liked the color, and thought, hey, why not compliment him on it.  Here is how the conversation followed:

Me: Good morning Jeferson.  I like your shirt.  It is a very nice color.

Jef: Good morning, thank you.

9 year old: Yea, I bet you wore it to attract all the girls right?

Ok, my 9 year old is mature, but I couldn't help but laugh at this one!!  Needless to say, Jeferson was embarrassed and laughing also.

Remember the old tv show with Bill Crosby, where all the kids said exactly what was on their mind?  Well, today my son was featured in our car :)

Future Artist

I just wanted to boast a little and share my daughter's art work that was displayed at her school.  She takes art lessons with an artist here and she loves it.  

Randomness

This foto reminded me of a blog on a fellow bloggers website: Ann wrote about how she saw little ducklings and their mom crossing the road...

It also reminds me of a story that I always used to read to my kids:               "Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey.

Enjoy your day :)

Meme

I have been tagged for a meme by Marina.  Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six-word memoir.

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.

3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.

4. Tag five more blogs with links.

5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Here are my 6:

1. I am a scuba diver, and love to dive.  Every chance my husband and I can escape to dive, we try to take it!

2. I love to dance!  I used to be a professional ballet dancer, but now that I have retired I still love to dance.  I love to merengue and salsa especially!

3. My kids bring me so much joy and I love watching them grow, even if it does go by too fast!

4. My husband is the best in the world, and we are still so in love after 12 years!

5. I love animals. ( see previous post: almost crazy enough !)

6. I have an addictive/obsessive personality. (just for good things though, nothing like drugs or alcohol than goodness!)

that said...there is much more to me than I can fit into six descriptions :)

So, I am new to blogging and hope this link works!  Person I would like to see do this:  Gabriela, ...ok, so I do not have many blogger friends....can't come up with any others and I don't really want to pick someone out of the blue to tag.  At least I should probably get to know some others first.  

The other two people that I "know" have already done this.

Angra Dos Reis

Recently for a long weekend we went to a beach area close enough to home.  It is called Angra dos Reis.  It was very pretty and a great 5 days together as a family, despite all of the rain that came for the weekend.  

We rode horses to a private river area, 

rented a boat to take us to Ilha Grande and got to the see the "7th most beautiful beach in the world" according to our boat captain!

Lopes Mendes is a beach on the open ocean side of Ilha Grande.  It really was amazingly beautiful, whether or not it is on any list.  It is horse-shoe shaped and has some of the prettiest colors of blue and green of any ocean that I have seen.

We had a great time and it was a much needed escape from the daily grind of life...no matter where you live :)