A Thanksgiving like no other!

For our Thanksgiving we did the same thing we do every day. We were woken up by Jeremy around 6:15 am, Shane got up to eat breakfast while I made him a lunch to take to campus. Then Shane left for campus while I stayed home and hung out with Jeremy. This is the story of my life. We did have "big plans" to go to the University pool but that fell through since it rained ALL DAY. So we went and got an ice cream sundae with some friends instead. The night ended with Shane coming home just in time for dinner, which was actually breakfast (Thursday night is breakfast night)! The night ended with a bang! AKA Shane studying in the bedroom while I watch an episode of Dawson's Creek online, good times!

But really the next night was the party! Our friends/neighbors decided to do a Thanksgiving meal on Friday night. It was bring your own meat (since a turkey costs an arm and a leg) and a side to share. The food was delicious! For us, the menu included smoked turkey (the lunch meat), stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, cheesy broccoli casserole, two pies, a blackberry cheesecake, and Jeremy's favorite the red jello. We contributed the stuffing and cheesecake, which were both delicious if I do say so myself :) It was a great night of food and friends that ended in seeing which kid could do the most push-ups! Now that's a party! I am so glad we were able to celebrate with our family away from home!

Thanksgiving Family Photo. Sorry, we didn't get any other pictures of the dinner!

On Saturday we had the Significant Other's Closing Social. It was a blast! Shane and I paid about 10 US dollars at the beginning of the term so that we didn't have to pay for each event individually. It was so worth it because the food at the closing social was easily 50$ a plate! It was held at a hotel restaurant/pool. It's so cool because all the restaurants here are outdoor restaurants with pools right next to them and beach access right next to the pools. Talk about F-U-N! They also had two Grenadians giving tube rides on the ocean so Shane and I left Jeremy with Kensi (if you don't know who this is by now, you just should) and went out and rode on a tube together! It was so much fun! Shane and I were laughing the whole time because the boat drivers were crazy! Needless to say, I had the taste of salt in my mouth for awhile and could barely keep my eyes open! Jeremy loved it too! Even without a nap he was a trooper! He loves the water so much!

Jeremy with his Daddy! This hot tub looking kid pool was just his size!

Sorry it's so blurry! The amazing food/husband!

All in all it was a great Thanksgiving! Being here really has helped me appreciate the little things!
P.S. Did I tell you that when Jeremy and I met Shane on campus for lunch Jeremy opened this locker and got inside? I told Shane this is not good. You know it's a bad sign when he's shoving himself into a locker!

November what?

This morning I decided I wanted to know the date. In Grenada, the days all just sort of blend together and there really is no concept of time. So, I looked at my calendar and was shocked to find that it is already November 23rd! I can't believe it! This month has flown by! Shane's last day of class is one week from tomorrow and then finals the following week. The semester has gone so fast and yet I feel like I haven't done anything. Shane, on the otherhand, has learned so much and crammed so much information into that head of his. I don't know how he does it.
A couple of weeks ago, we went to a Fall Festival at our church. It was a lot of fun and it helped to make it feel like there is such a season as autumn here! Thee was dart throwing, bean bag tossing, fishing for toys, bobbing for apples, a cake walk, and other games and food! All in all we had a fun time and Jeremy learned what a Crunch bar tastes like. Shane let him chew on a miniature Crunch bar with the wrapper on and little did he know that Jeremy used his four tiny (but efficient) teeth to break it open and eat the entire thing. At least we know he's not allergic to chocolate!

Bobbing for apples

Cake Walk

More cake walk

Jeremy fishing for some treats!

Jeremy hasn't been feeling too well lately. For a few days he was throwing up his solids and that went away. Now his teeth are really bothering him. I swear they look like they will come in any second! Teeth and Jeremy don't get along! He has been EXTRA clingy and always wants to be held. He cries the second I put him down! I figure even though I want him to play by himself and be happy and not want to be held all the time I shouldn't take this time for granted. He is my first baby and will probably be the only baby to get this much attention and time (sadly). So I should love it when he wants to snuggle up and be held! It does get tiring hold him all day though, and it is very hard to get anything done. I think that's why I feel like I haven't done anything this month, because I really haven't! We do go on a lot of walks though! Every time we get to our destination (usually LAE beach right down the road) I would swear he fell asleep because is never moves and is so quiet. Then I peek around the stroller and this is what he is doing!

Jeremy loves his relax time. Just chillin!

By the way, have I mentioned all the goats in Grenada? So random. They are everywhere and I have never seen them in a herd yet, just all alone tied to some bush on the side of the road...weird. But funny. So in Grenada, all the SO's (significant others) say TIG a lot. It means This is Grenada. I found this website and laughed pretty hard at some of the TIG statements because they are so true. Here are a few:

Today, I saw a scorpion in my shower, a frog in my new head of lettuce, and woke up in the middle of the night to two spiders on my face. TIG.

Today, the lady who goes through our trash can told me to bring out my garbage so she can look through it. TIG.

Today, I saw the lady who owns the fruit stand chasing a person down the road with a machete and swearing. TIG.

Today, I found a bone in my boneless chicken roti. TIG.

Today, I was late to class because a car with a big red "L" on the hood was stopped sideways in the middle of the road. TIG.

Today, I finally figured out why the sauce on all the pizzas in Grenada tastes so sweet. It's ketchup. TIG.

Today, I came home to the cleaning lady cleaning my flat. I always thought she did such a nice job, until I noticed her using the same mop to clean the floor that she uses to clean the toilet...and everything else in the flat. TIG.

Today, a goat chased me down the street while I screamed my life away. TIG.

Today, my air conditioner broke and started flooding my entire dorm room. I called maintenance and all they said was that "the Philippinos don't work on the
weekends.” TIG.

Today, I went to two grocery stores, two pharmacies, and a dentist, and I still can’t find any dental floss. TIG.

Today I ordered a salad from glovers and received chick peas, tomatoes, cheese, and cucumber, but no lettuce. When I asked why there was no lettuce on my salad the woman said it was because I didn't choose it as a topping. TIG.

Today, I found apples from Washington, pasta from England, milk from Colorado, cookies from France, and wine from South Africa at this tropical island's grocery store. They were out of bananas. TIG.

Today, I got a ticket for having an expired piece of paper (a.k.a Island driver's license). When I asked how to get to the court, the officer told me to drive into the city and ask someone on the street. TIG.

Today, an electrician came to our house to check the circuits. It turned out that our whole house had been wired backwards and should have had random electrical fires since it was built 7 years ago. TIG

Today, I saw an empty box of girl scout cookies in the trash can and nearly cried. I'll never be able to get those at IGA. TIG.

Today, I woke up to a cow mooing outside my window. I live on the second floor. TIG.

Today, I went to the Shacks for some nachos...they said that they didn't have anymore food. TIG

Today, I discovered the key to my Suzuki Escudo is also the key to everyone else's Suzuki Escudo. TIG

Time really is flying by and I can't believe we are going home for Christmas in less than three weeks! We are so excited to see everyone and feel the cold wintery weather! We miss it!

The Worst Mom Award

Last week, I was doing laundry while Jeremy was taking a nap. The laundry room isn't in our apartment, it's just downstairs. So if Jeremy is inside sleeping, I always lock the door behind me while I go in and out (there are some sketchy people here). After I went and got the clothes and brought them back up to hang them on the line, I went to open the door to grab the clothespins that sit inside right next to the door on a small table. It was locked. And the keys were inside. And so was my baby, hopefully still sleeping. I felt in my pockets for the keys, which I normally put in my pocket and they were not there. I ran back down to the laundry room to see if I set them down in there and no keys to be found. Shane was at school with the other key so I called the landlady to see if she had a spare. She was in a town about 30 minutes away and said her daughter was at home and could give me the spare key but she didn't have a car to bring it to me. So I had to go get the key from her. But wait, my car keys were locked inside with the house keys and my cell phone. Thanks again to my amazing neighbor and friend Kensi! I don't know how I would survive here without her! She let me borrow her car and "listened" for Jeremy, even though there wasn't anything she could do if she did heard him crying (It was nearing the end of his naptime). So I drove up to her house, maybe a total of 15-20 minutes I was gone. The landlady's daughter was on the phone with the landlady with a whole collection of keys on the table. "Which key is it mom? The one with the blue thing on it?" She handed me the key and I drove off. I was so happy I had the key finally! I went upstairs and it didn't work. Neither did the second key on the ring, nor the third. I wanted to cry. I did not want to go back to her house and try for a second time and have it be the wrong key again! Shane had gotten out of class by then so I called him, luckily my friend Kristen had her husband's number who had my husband's number since I didn't have it memorized yet. Needless to say, Shane walked home from school since there wasn't another bus for 15 minutes and the walk is only about 10 minutes. We opened the door to find our cute little Jeremy in his crib playing. That whole time I was panicking and he didn't even know I was gone! At least he was happy and not screaming! I wonder when he actually woke up? I guess Mom's have done worse things right?

Here are some cute pics of our little monster!

Jeremy found the toilet paper roll

In his little water float, he loves cruisin around the kiddie pool in that thing!

Oh and did I mention Jeremy is already 9 MONTHS OLD! 9 months and a week actually!
He has the teeth to prove it! 4 to be exact!

Measuring in at about 18 lbs and 28 in...We love this kid!

Two holidays in one week?

That's right, we celebrated Thanksgiving and then Halloween within 7 days of eachother. Obviously not our Thanksgiving. It was Grenadian Thanksgiving on the 25th of October, and then American Halloween on the 31st! They don't celebrate it here but the Significant Others Organization puts on a big party for all the Americans, since a lot of the students here are American.

First let's talk about Thanksgiving. We really didn't celebrate it, since it wasn't ours. Shane did have the day off from classes so we wanted to spend it together! We drove into St. George's since Shane really hasn't spent any time there but of course EVERYTHING was closed. They take this holiday seriously! Even the local store was closed! We drove around the city a little bit and accidentally stumbled upon Fort George. What a place to spend the Grenadian Thanksgiving! Read about Fort George here. Here are some pictures!

Overlooking the harbor, Shane is taking the picture from the inside of the fort.

View of the ocean


Shane was obsessed with the cannons! You'd think I meant Jeremy but no, it was Shane!

Look! Another cannon!

Inside the tunnels at the Fort. It was a fun day spending time with the family!

Now let's talk about Halloween! Grandma Ahlstrom was nice enough to send Jeremy an adorable little pumpkin outfit. We called him Jeremy the Jack-o-lantern. He was the hit of the party! Thanks Grandma!

The party was held on campus and they had a cake walk, treat bag decorating, a runway to show off for the costume contest, cookie decorating, two bounce houses, face painting, and trick or treating. They printed off a map of where on campus the faculty was doing the trick or treating and we went from building to building while the professors and their receptionists handed out candy. It was such a great idea and Jeremy got really into it! By the end he was grabbing candy for himself and putting it in his bag! Shane had a 20 minute break between classes so he was able to run up and be with us for a small part of the party! We are so glad he could come and see Jeremy all dressed up!


Right before the party!

After the costume contest

Jeremy outside the bounce house with his buddy Tytan the Giraffe!

Family photo while Shane was there!

All tuckered out in his carseat after a long day full of Halloween fun! I can't believe it is ALREADY November! Where did this year go?

You know the phrase...

"I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants"? Well have you ever laughed so hard that you literally threw up right in the middle of laughing and then continued laughing like nothing happened? That's what Jeremy did the other day! Our neighbor, cute little Allie, was playing with Jeremy and hitting herself in the face with Jeremy's hat today and I swear I have never seen Jeremy laugh so hard! He was cracking up. Then he got the hiccups and then out of nowhere he just threw up. He paused for a minute and then continued to watch Allie and laugh like I have never seen him laugh before! It was seriously the cutest thing in the world (minus the throw up)! Allie and I would start laughing at his laugh and then he would just laugh even harder! Man he's cute!

Recipe for Disaster

The other night I decided I would make what should have been simple but delicious Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. Everything went smoothly until I had the dough made, which just looked like runny eggs and brown sugar mixed together. I have made cookies a few times since I've been here and for some reason the dough never turns out and the cookies come out really flat. I can usually make a mean cookie so I blame the humidity. This was followed by me adding a ton of flour to thicken up the dough (I ended up more than doubling the flour and still no bueno). I decided to move on.

The next step was to add the chocolate chips. Have you ever had to inspect the chocolate chips as you pour them into the dough? 'Cause I have. Every time since we've been here. Let's just say ants are not my friend and they happen to be the same color as chocolate chips...

After adding the ant-free chocolate chips I put the first batch in the oven. Since our oven was made in like the 1700's (did they even have ovens back then?) it takes an abnormally long amount of time to bake cookies. About halfway through baking time, I decided to sneak a peek and see where they were at. Also, since our oven comes away from the wall when you open the door I had to shove the oven back up against the wall. Shortly after this, I noticed the flame had gone out. Since we buy our own gas for the oven and we still hadn't had to go refill our tank yet I thought, Darn we ran out of gas. So I turned off the oven and let the first batch sit in the oven hoping it would stay hot enough to finish baking the first batch. Then I would call it quits.

After telling Shane that I thought our gas just ran out he came in and checked. Apparently when I shoved the oven back up against the wall I pinched the hose where the gas comes out. So really we weren't out of gas. By this time, the cookies smelled like gas, they weren't baked all the way, and I had a bowl full of dough still waiting to be baked.

I decided to turn the oven back on since we weren't out of gas and finish the first batch. By this time almost 2 hours had gone by and it was getting late. Once the first batch finished, I decided to put the dough in the fridge and finish the rest the next day.

So, mix all those ingredients together and you get flat oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Shane seemed to think it was worth the hassle. At least he thought they were good :) Oh Grenada, how I love you...

What Shane does all day!

Usually he doesn't study at home, can you see why? How can one focus with this cute little boy trying to help?

Somehow, even having us as distractions, Shane manages to do rather well in his classes! Such a smartie pants!

Who I get to hang out with all day!

Seriously, this kid is so cute! Last Saturday morning, Shane took Jeremy into the living room so I could sleep a few more minutes! Such a good husband :) I heard Shane laughing and laughing and then some weird thumping noises. I figured everything was okay since Shane was just laughing. A few more minutes of laughing and thumping went by and then Shane came into the bedroom to show me what I will call a "digital flip book" of what Jeremy was doing. I'll just say that the inner-tube started mermaid side up on the ground! I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking!

Is that not entertaining? He's like those dolphins at sea world! I knew my children would be gifted, but this? Wow! He fills my day with stuff like this! I love this kid! Here's a video from last weekend at the beach! Is sand ok for a baby's diet? Haha

And here's a video after going to the beach! I apologize for the brief nudity at the beginning of this video :) I tried to keep him covered!

And yes, he did pee right after this video before we got his diaper on! All over the fresh, clean sheets! Oh well!

It's Friday Friday!

Gotta get down on Friday! Last weekend Shane finished his midterms which meant he had the whole weekend to play with us! It was such a fun weekend! It started off with a trip to Magazine Beach on Friday afternoon. Jeremy loved playing in the sand and it was Shane's first time there. It is such a calm and quiet beach, which we love! The next morning we got up bright and early and headed to Annandale Falls, just past the city of St. George's! This is an easy paved walk down to a beautiful waterfall. Shane and I jumped off a cement pad into the water below and the water was SO refreshing! Since all the water (pools, beaches, showers) are on the warmer side it was nice to jump into much cooler water on such a hot and humid day! On the way back to the car, we just had to stop and pay some guy 3 EC (about $1.25 US) to get a picture with his monkey! Jeremy was so interested in the monkey. The man had to give the monkey a flower to keep him from freaking out and jumping off Shane's shoulder! My three little monkeys!


The Falls! So Pretty!

We buried Jeremy in the sand and he started eating it. Yucky!

Dad and Jeremy just chillin on the beach!

On Friday night, our awesome neighbor Kensi offered to watch Jeremy for us so Shane and I could go out on a date! We went to this place called Rick's Pizza and it was delicious! Then we went to the store and bought ice cream crunch bars for dessert! It was so nice to spend time alone with Shane! No pictures from that...we were too busy having fun! What a great weekend!

Jeremy being Jeremy!

Mom and Jeremy at our friend's birthday party! Jeremy just being cute and smiley!

On a walk to the beach with Jeremy's new stroller! He LOVED it!


Really? Is there a cuter kid out there?

So proper! We adore this cutie!

The Day After...

...our last post, Jeremy started doing THIS! And the next day he was already trying to pull up on things. I love how his whole body shakes when he is up on his knees!

A Little Late

7 Months!

29 inches

17.5 lbs

These are rough numbers since we don't have a pediatrician here nor do we have an accurate way to measure him and weigh him! His monthly "pose" is to the right on the blog!
He's a cute little 7 month old! He loves when we sing to him and he can scoot pretty much everywhere! He loves splashing in the pool and ocean and just started sitting up pretty well on his own. He loves playing in the tub and blowing bubbles with his tongue. He is an excellent eater and can feed himself his little puffs! We love this little guy to death! Who wouldn't?

Lefty Loosey?

So after I spent like 20 minutes today trying to get our water filter off the faucet head of our kitchen sink, I realized I should try twisting the filter the other way (you know, just in case)! So obviously I knew that they drive on the left hand side and that the water swirls the other way when you flush the toilet, but this? Apparently in Grenada it's not righty tighty left loosey. I wonder how they remember?

In other news, I looked like an idiot when I went to get gas for the first time a couple of weeks ago! I wanted to look like I wasn't completely new on the island, like I knew what I was doing. I feel like all the Grenadians can tell you aren't from around here. Maybe it's because I'm white. Anyway, first I almost went in the out (again with the whole opposite thing)! Then I pulled up to the station not even knowing which side of the car my tank was on, since my car is what I call "normal" on the inside (steering wheel on the left). They pump your gas for you in this country, kindof like Oregon only I can't understand what the guy is saying half/most of the time. Then I handed him the Grenadian currency and told him to put 20 EC in, realizing after the fact that this is like asking someone in America to fill your tank with like ONE gallon of gas! How poor are we? I waited for the guy to start pumping my gas and he said, "You need to open the tank." Since I was in a "new" car I got all flustered and couldn't find the lever to open the tank. He proceeded to show me where it was. Needless to say, I got enough gas to make it home...wow. I looked stupid.

One last story. I went into the city with a friend and her baby yesterday and this man, probably in his fifties, came up and said, "You have white babies." We both thought he was going to compliment them or something and then he said, "You need to have black babies." And walked away. My friend and I looked at eachother and started laughing and I thought did that really just happen? You wanna know the weirdest part? He was white!

Anyway, I'm sure there will be more to post soon!

Happy Birthday to Shane?

We celebrated Shane's 25th birthday on Saturday! It wasn't too exciting of a birthday and it didn't end with a bang...but there was some good in his big day! Jeremy and I decorated the room with streamers and a BYU vs. Utah whitboard. I also made Shane a scoreboard poster with a score of what I had hoped for, boy was I wrong :( Anyway, it was a Take Me Out to the Ball Game themed party! Here's Shane and Jeremy with his presents wrapped in grocery bags and his homemade decorations! Take me out to the ball game!
Jeremy wanted to eat Shane's present! Sorry man, you're too little!
Shane opening his presents! The whiteboard behind him has a list of stats about BYU and Utah playing eachother so Shane had to see if he could figure out what they meant!
I even made little tickets to go to the game!
Shane blowing out his candles, with the help of little Jeremy! I think everyone singing scared the little guy, in case you didn't notice he is crying!
Family picture...minus the bazillion kids standing below us!
Shane with his awesome BYU vs Utah cake! I was pretty proud of my handiwork!
Shane again with his presents, tickets, and decorations!

Shane basically spent the day studying so that's no fun! In the afternoon he opened his presents and then we had some friends come over for cake! Then we watched the BYU game...which was depressing! Let's just say that's why Shane's birthday DID NOT end with a bang! Oh well, maybe next year they can freakin beat Utah:( Besides the game, Shane seemed to really like his presents and my games and poster I made up. Oh and he loved the cake too! Jeremy and I thought it was fun to celebrate Shane's quarter-of-a-century mark!

Nicknames

Apparently, once you have a kid, the nicknames you and your spouse have for eachother change slightly. The other day I caught myself saying to Shane as he headed out the door, "Love you bud." And he shut the door. Last night, after Shane gave me a kiss he said, "I love you bubba." I asked him, "what did you just say?" and we both just started laughing. He was embarrassed about it and told me not to put his story as my facebook status, so I put it on the blog instead...how could I not?

Water fun!

Yesterday, Shane had a unified quiz for all his classes to see where he is at and what subjects he needs to study more. So he had the afternoon off! It was so nice! We decided to catch a ride (our car is already in the shop) to the University Pool where Jeremy and I spend two days a week! Shane had never been there before so it was fun to show him what WE do all day! Like I always say, It's a rough life :)

At the pool! With the ocean behind it!

Little Jeremy with his buddy Carter, who lives next door and is only 3 days younger than Jeremy!

Family picture in the water!

What we do 2x a week! Jeremy LOVES the water!

Below is Grande Anse Beach. Named the most beautiful beach in the Caribbean! We were there a few weeks ago!

In the ocean with Daddy!

And with Mommy!