And then there were 5.........

Well hello there friends!
How is your day/week? Did I ever tell you how much I love the weather in the Caribbean? It is absolutely spectacular every single day.....sunny and +27-30 most days now (getting warmer as we move towards "summer"...isn't is summer all the time here?) We have even had to turn on our air conditioning once or twice in the last few weeks due to the heat.....it is glorious....every morning when I wander out onto my deck and the sun is shining......I feel extremely blessed to be in this climate.....the Canadian climate is going to be a bitter pill to swallow when the time comes!
So I must apologize for my absence.....it has been a few weeks and I have been thinking about you all. The kids were on Easter break (spring break for 10 days) so my computer time was limited so I didn't really have much opportunity to write......anyway we had a wonderful time....we were swimming, snorkelling, hanging with friends, having sleepovers (my personal favorite...not) The beach is back now so we spent alot of time there! What I mean by the beach is back is that there is really only one beach here called Wells Bay and it is called a "wandering beach".....I will try to explain as it is a bit odd so difficult to wrap your head around sometimes....depending on how the wind is blowing, waves are rolling etc.....the sea brings sand in to the "beach area" and deposits it there on top of the millions of rocks that are normally there....then there is a beach to sit on/play on/build sand castles....but just as quickly as the sea brings the sand in, it can take it all back out again and the beach could disappear for months....leaving only rocks behind (which are not nearly as fun to walk on or sit on!) also when it is just rocks it is usually because the sea is too rough to play in, so beaching is not an everyday occurance here in Saba.....so the beach came back last week and we spent almost every day there! Nothing like packing a cooler full of snacks and heading down for a day in the sun! It was lots of fun, but also a little bit scary.....the ocean here can be pretty rough and unpredictable so you really have to be careful...it can be calm and flat one minute and then 3 or 4 huge (and I mean 3-4 foot waves can just roll in from nowhere....well from the open ocean I guess! So then these waves can be ridden with a boogie board all the way to shore, where you are thrown onto the beach and exfoliated (well that is what I call it....really it is a bunch of sand grinding into you very quickly....you should look inside my suit when I get home....i bring home half the sand with me....hmmm...maybe that is where the sand goes, it isn't the ocean it is the people taking the sand with them in all the crevices and folds of their body....ok ok I can hear Beth saying "Dawn you are way too detailed" and I can see Mike turning red so I better stop) So I have been getting better at the timing of boogie boarding and man it is super fun (when you time it right, not as much when you don't) I wear my life jacket just to be safe as those big waves lift you up quite high sometimes and it makes me a little nervous...Christian wears his too, just in case you are wondering......Monty on the other hand does not.....he is part sea creature I think and he loves the big waves.....our friend Rapha taught him the fine art of wave diving....this is where you dive into an oncoming wave and basically go under it! Monty thinks that this is awesome....he also loves the boogie board! So this week Monty got to go out snorkeling with our friends a few times and he had such an awesome time....I can't believe that I let him go....way out in the ocean in over 40 feet of water....the friends assured me they would look after him....i told them if something happened they should opt to not return to the shore....it wouldn't be pretty.....they laughed of course thinking that I was joking.....I told them about mama bears in Canada.....I think they got it and they took very good care of him! Anyway, Monty came into shore after snorkelling the other day and yelled "mom guess what I saw"? I of course said what dear? He said "SHARKS.....I SAW SHARKS.....2 SHARKS......Not what you want to hear from your 10 year old son after he has been snorkelling in the open ocean (remember that Saba has an "abundant" shark population!) So I try not to over react and he is so excited he c an barely talk....he then proceeds to tell me that they were young nurse sharks....phew I was relieved...they were only like 2-3 feet long...no biggie....better than the 18 foot great white I was envisioning....(I could hear the theme to Jaws in the background!) It turns out he also saw 3 sea turtles and they swam along with them for a few minutes as well......he had a wonderful time! We have also been swimming up at Willards of Saba....an awesome hotel with an amazing view (you could google it if you don't believe me!) So we had a lovely vacation......well the kids and I did....poor Joe basically studied and sweated about his final exams......he was quite stressed but you know what??? He kicked ass!!! He got 87 on his anatomy final and he was so worried about it....i was so proud of him....way to go Joey!!!! So semester 1 down and 4 to go.....Joe is now officially on break (now that the kids have returned to school!) so we have all decided that next week we are going to st maarten for 5 days for some family time .....the kids will get to miss some more school and we are planning to go over and do some normal things that you people take for granted (at least I did!) like movies!! and shopping!! and fast food!!! we are really looking forward to our trip together......we are going to go the real beaches in St Maarten and just spend some quality time together as the last few months have been pretty hectic.....we can't wait!!
so it has been a bittersweet week, some of our dear friends have left Saba as they finished their 5th semester....2 of them, sam and Rapha, who were our church leaders have left and it was so hard to let them go as they had become very dear to us and they both just loved our boys.....the boys miss them already, as do we....we wish them well in their next phase of the journey....Go with God, Sam and Rapha...many blessings upon you both!! This is the odd part of Saba....each semester you meet new friends but lose some old....it is a constant state of preparing to say goodbye (and you know me and goodbye....ick.........)
So do you remember the movie from the 80's...the Gremlins? do you remember what happened when you poured water on them? Yes that is right, they multiplied......so right now I feel like I have gremlin guinea pigs.....why you ask? well it is a rather funny story.....(ok not so funny?) You may recall a few posts ago that Monty purchased a 3rd pig? so we then had 3......well a few days ago , a neighbor behind us decided that she and her partner were leaving the island, she is leaving med school and she has a pig (the same one that Monty brought home a few months ago and we said that he couldn't keep so we gave it to her!) Anyway she gave it back to Monty so he brought it home and in the cage it went......so there were 4 pigs.....and of course he is a boy pig so he is thrilled with his harem.....and this is not good......THEN.....just when I thought that was not good......one of monty's friends from school came over, crying very upset, with a guinea pig in her arms....her mother was making her get rid of her pig adn she had no where to take it....so of course, Monty graciously offered to "help her" out of her difficult situation......and then there were 5!!! 5!!!! What in the world am I going to do with 5 pigs??? I have been trying desperately to find a home for a few...but apparently I am the only sucker on the island....nobody wants anymore guinea pigs!!!! So I have a big frisky boy in a cage with 4 lovely ladies.....can you imagine what is going to happen next?? Oh and by the way.....Joe hasn't looked in the cage lately.....so he isn't quite sure how many are in there? Adn luckily he rarely reads my blog....so I am ok for a few days, until he starts looking and counting now that he is not so engulfed in his studying and has a few days off......it is not going to be a good scene!!! eek! Anyway they are adorable and I don't mind them at all, but we may have gone a little overboard this time.....I have spread the word that I have some pigs to give away....any takers???
Anyway I better run, I have to go get my car to the shop for the brake pads to be replaced! these hills are hard on a persons brakes and last night when i drove it the car sounded a little like Freddy Kruger was following me.....now I am no mechanic but I can guess that is not a good sound when it comes to a car!!!
Have a wonderful week and I will talk to you all again later!
Love and God's blessings to you all.

To nap or not to nap...that is the question....the answer my friend is NAP!

Hello everyone....I know that I am a day late posting this week and I am going to tell you why that is....because I had a nap! Yes that is right....a NAP.....a wonderful, glorious, refreshing NAP! Do you know how long it has been since I had a nap? I would say years.....and I forgot how much I absolutely love naps.....As most of you parents can relate, it is very difficult to get a nap in when you have kids....it is just not something that you can easily do as a parent. So yesterday when they left for school, I had my breakfast and came in to the computer to check email and write my blog....(I sit on my bed to write, there is a table beside the bed that is our "computer table". So while I was checking my emails, I noticed that the bed was still warm and soft and I thought "I am just going to stretch out here for a minute"....well that lead to "I am going to pull up the covers and snuggle with Tigger for a minute (he is ALWAYS sleeping in our bed these days!) Then, as I lay there all snuggly and warm, I started thinking "what if I took a nap?" "what would that be like?" This of course was being challenged by that responsible side of me, which was saying "you don't have time for a nap, there is housework to be done, your blog to write, you have things to do"......as I was arguing with myself, I drifted off to la la land and voila.....I had a nap! 3 hours later (yes 3....maybe that is a sleep, not a nap?) I woke up feeling fantastic, refreshed and wonderful (and just a tad naughty for shirking my duties) It was noon and Christian would be home soon and I was in my pj's, hadn't really gotten up, house was a mess, beds unmade.....so up I got and started in on the days work. So my message to all of you out there who haven't treated yourself to a nap for a while.....go ahead...do it.....it is wonderful and you will thank yourself for it. It is funny you know, how we mothers especially feel that we have to be always "doing" something "worthwhile". I have noticed this in my friends, family members and myself....we don't allow ourselves some of these luxuries (napping, relaxing) very often. I am not sure why, but I am going to do some thinking about it in the coming weeks and I might experiment with that napping thing a few more times just to get myself comfortable with the concept! LOL...
So we had a pretty good weekend. Friday night I attended a parents' workshop on the psychological needs of children put on by a psychologist from St Maarten. She was excellent and I quite enjoyed the presentation. Although it wasn't really new info to me, it was a good reminder of all the things that we forget sometimes when we are parenting. Then on Saturday, the SOS (significant others of saba) teamed up with another students association to have a big easter egg hunt at the park for the island children and it was a huge success! Hundreds of people showed up, the kids went on an egg hunt (we hid 500 eggs) then there was games and face painting and food, food, food.....it was a great time. On sunday we had potbless (potluck) at church and so again a wonderful time with food and friends.....we also took the kids swimming at the pool as the weather is getting hotter here....you can feel the season changing and the sun getting stronger...noon to 3 or so is quite warm, you wouldn't want to be too active out in it, unless of course you are swimming. So all in all a pretty good weekend.
The boys are very excited as tomorrow is the last day of school and then they are on their Easter Break which is 10 days (Saba version of March Break) They are so excited that they can hardly stand it...they haven't had much down time here so they are looking forward to sleeping in, lounging around, going swimming, playing etc...I am not entirely sure how I will keep them entertained for those days but I will have to try to figure out something! And then of course, Easter is coming this weekend...I still haven't quite figured out how I am going to pull that one off! There isn't tons of shopping around here so I am trying to find some Easter treats! This weekend, our church is putting on an Easter Cafe, so Joe and I will be busy with that on Friday afternoon....we had coffee brought down from the US (Starbucks) and we will be having a bunch of baked goods for students......there will be video clips that discuss Easter and its significance to us as Christians, live music and fellowship....we are hoping to feed about 200! So we are looking forward to this event.
Joe is studying, studying, studying.....his finals are coming up and he is somewhat stressed about it.....I can't believe that the semester is over already....it is crazy how quick it has gone. The amount of information that he has to know is unbelievable...I would have thrown the towel in after the first week....but Joe just keeps on going, studying, absorbing as much as he can. So he will have a 3 week break coming up...unfortunately it is after the kids break is over (poor timing....you would think the med school and school could work together??) We are planning to go over to st Maarten for 3-4 days to hang out and spend some time together so the kids will have to miss a few days of school. We are going to hang out at the beach (because remember Saba doesnt have a beach) and try some water sports, go to the butterfly farm, zoo and some shopping for supplies at Cost-u-less.....we are excited to go.
As for me, I am so glad that I am not working, I really need this time to just decompress from the business of life. Also there is much to do to keep the house running and I was finding myself way too busy. And Monty is still having some challenges so I find it is a good thing that I am home to help him. I am sure that before long I will have to work at something, but for the month of Aprill I have promised myself a reprieve (sort of my deferred salary without the salary! ha ha) We will see from there what I may or may not do. There are opportunities in the restaurants here to waitress and there may be social work opportunities on the horizon. I haven't decided what I will be doing, but I do know that it will be part time (maybe 3 mornings a week?) I really want to take this time to be here for Joe and the kids....medical school is tough and Joe needs me more than ever to be taking care of things on the home front...some of the other spouses are finding the same thing, that being a support system to a med student is a full time job.....so that is my job for right now and in between naps I will be taking it very seriously! Tee hee......
Anyway, take care all of you and have a blessed week.....
Signing off for now,
Dawn