Mayan country

We are in the middle of Mayan ruins, which is awesome! We like to head out to a site and explore with our little explorers. We haven't yet ventured to the huge sites (Chichen Itza, Uxmal) because they're a little bit further away and our little explorers get tired after a few hours. But here are a few photos of where we've been:


Dzibilchaltun:
This site is very close to our house and includes a delightful cenote (limestone cave filled with fresh water) which is above ground and has a bonus shallow end for little ones! We all took a dip in our clothes, and I honestly could have stayed in that refreshing pool all day! I loved doing "sea turtle" with Pip (something my dad used to do with us--we'd hang on to his shoulders while he swam under water). So fun!

Pip and Chiqui

 My Cheetah girl

 checking out the li'l fishies that like to nibble your toes

naked baby even took a dip

 Walking to the temple

The boys

Mayapan

Although this city is larger than Chichen Itza, only a very tiny part has been excavated, so the part we explored was small and easy to walk around with our crew. We also used two Ergos instead of one, and Chiqui's little legs were less tired. There was a huge pyramid that we were able to climb (many of the larger sites don't allow visitors to explore the temples and buildings anymore). I loved feeling the burn in my legs the next day. :)

 Look, a slide!

 Squeak and Pip

 Pip, me, Chiqui

 Squeak, me, Chiqui

 D on top of the large temple

 I found these well-preserved etchings to be absolutely curious. I wonder what the rest of it looked like back in its glory.

Wake up! We're in Mexico!

And moving right along--we are now living in Mexico! It's a blur how it all happened. I'm not quite ready to write the "do's and don'ts of this move" yet--some of the wounds are still so fresh...

D finished residency and after considering over half a dozen job offers, he took this one. He works for Michigan State University as an associate professor and director of medical education here in Merida, Mexico. They have an agreement with a local hospital--they send down med students and residents and attending physicians for research and educational opportunities. They are also hoping to get some local residents up to Michigan. D is loving his work and they love him!

We have mostly just been working on getting settled and keeping the chaos under control. (Raise your hand if you think moving is a cakewalk!) Here's a little bit of the fun stuff we've been able to fit in:

Halloween--I love Halloween and felt so sad about barely missing it (we arrived here on Oct. 24).  Although Mexicans generally don't celebrate it, the kids' international school had a party, so it gave us a chance to dress up. The girls were Snow White and the boys were Spiderman (I threw together a Snow Whitish outfit for me and D didn't care about not dressing up). The heat that evening was absolutely stifling. We felt and looked like we were in a sauna! Not quite like the Halloween our Michigan friends experienced.

The Zoo: There are two zoos in town! Even better is that entrance to both is free! I'm quite surprised at the variety of animals--lots of monkeys, birds, big cats, hippos, even zebras and giraffes! We love going, and the kids love watching me talk to the parrots!

 

 

Making bread: After our little Peep came, I gave up on making bread (I pretty much lost all motivation to spend more than a few minutes a day cooking)--something about the combination of new baby, three other little ones, and doing homeschool made me incapaz. And there was a thrift store bakery that sold decent bread for really cheap. Well in Mexico, decent wheat bread is very hard to find and really expensive. So I've started making bread again. Except that now we don't have a mixer so I'm doing it by hand. At least we have an oven though! My little peeps love making their own creations.

We've been to some ruins and to the beach too, but that will have to wait for another post...

Christmas in July!

Back to blogging! We'll see how long this blogging revival lasts! I realize this little note is passé, but here is the 2012 Christmas letter I sent in July (that's all the catch-up I can manage after over a year of inattention to this little blog).

I missed out on emailing a Christmas update for 2012 although I did manage to mail a family photo Christmas card—if I had your mailing address handy, you got one. Maybe I'll have more mailing addresses next Christmas (hint, hint!). For this li'l family update, just pretend it's still December 2012 (family ages and accomplishments are written AS IF we aren't having Christmas in July!). I'm hoping to be more punctual for the Christmas 2013 mass email. No promises though!


D and T started the year 2012 boldly by taking a trip SANS KIDS to T's beloved Dominican Republic. It was awesome to see the people and places that became so dear during the mission. Hopping on guaguas, riding on the back of motoconchos, cramming four or more excursions into one day--this was made possible by Saint Dona (D's mom) who partied with our kids in Detroit while we were gone. Bless her!!


D began to really branch out with his leisure-time (i.e. time-away-from-being-a-resident) this year. He helped to re-roof the house (a big and expensive job!), led the sag wagon for an important race, revamped the bathroom sink and garage door, worked as a doula, and taught himself to play the accordian in two weeks! He also contracted pneumonia, fought the sickness and won after three rounds of antibiotics. He took T to a Red Wings hockey game—fun! The whole family enjoys hearing (if we behave ourselves) his nightly piano serenades. D also discovered something thrilling--he can earn more than the residents' salary of $7/hour when he works extra shifts at the local urgent care offices—yay!


T continues to be awestruck that everything tends to move toward entropy. All she has to do is sit here and eventually everything's a disaster—how is it done?! She worked as an incubator for the first half of the year (doing a bit of running and yoga on the side) and lactated for the second half. This occupation earned her the title of Miss Universe (in the eyes of the smallest Malouf at least) and she is constantly in the spotlight. She was also honored to win first place in the exclusive "Tera Half-Marathon" in the fall. Speaking of winning, she tied for first place in the Witches Cackle Contest for Halloween--who knew she was so talented? T enjoyed teaching more HypnoBirthing classes and of course sharing one more amazing birth with her favorite doula.


Nena/Squeak (6) is boisterous and happy, just like her mama--perhaps there's some cheerleading in her future? She taught herself to ride a bike in two days, loves her baby brother to pieces, and is a superstar reader. She is the smartest, tallest, loudest, and most outgoing girl in her class. Of course, she's also the shortest, quietest and most shy girl too--that's the fame you get when you do homeschool! She doesn't want to miss a thing—she'd like to be in every room, every conversation, and involved in every activity at the same time (T also has this desire)--it's a shame there are only 24 hours in a day and 365 days a year.

Pip (almost 5) continues to be a tender hearted charmer. He is still in love with balls, sticks, cars/trucks/trains, his Mo, and his big wheel. He is an amazing worker--always offering to help his mama (she is so grateful and is planning to put him in charge of the kitchen duties!). He helped Squeak with the tomato crop over the summer (they literally did all the watering and harvesting while Mami breastfed all day) and we had a wonderful time eating the fruits of their labors. Pip is so delighted to have a baby brother!

Chiquitita/Squirt (3) is still "la bebe" which works fine because our youngest is "el bebe"--thank goodness for Spanish! She LOVES cheetahs so we all do too--she wears cheetah print every chance she gets. She also gave up diapers thanks to our family's favorite comfort food—cheetos! She is giggly and sweet, loves to swim, dance, ride her tricycle, and snuggle her “Mo” and her mama. She is great at taking care of her babies and is a marvelous big sister. Chiqui is truly “merry”--we love watching her sit at the piano with a songbook open, singing the very song on that page (she isn't reading yet, but she has memorized the pictures on each page).

Peep (6 months) is pure delight. He's our first baby to arrive on time--I know he was excited to get here because he is in love with all of us. He is the perfect fourth child—with things in a constant state of chaos, all we can really offer him is a joyful, “Welcome to the party!” and his cheerful response is, “Hey, guys, I'm here, and I love parties!” He is so happy to go with the flow. Peep also started out as our best sleeper and our biggest babe. As his siblings before him, he wants to be a marsupial and has an extreme dislike of the carseat and diaper changes. I'm so grateful for my snugly baby, his constant hugs and smiles, and the ring sling and Ergo that have kept us close. He spent a good amount of time practicing the plank position before he became a champion crawler, and now he's everywhere!

We love Detroit and feel very blessed to live where we do—we love our house! Last year I wrote about how awesome our city is; this year I'm going to talk about our awesome house—we wish we could take it with us everywhere we go, and here's why:

We are all cozy on one floor—no worries about losing my kids inside
Finished basement that has room for storage, laundry, and a play area
A laundry chute—truly the best thing since sliced bread!
Gorgeous tile work (put in by a previous owner) in the bathrooms and kitchen
Fabulous neighbors
Awesome fenced backyard that is just the right size for our little ones
Pretty brickwork outside in the front and back (also done by a previous owner)
CVS is right around the corner
Small enough to clean in a few hours
Location is optimal—so close to many fun activities


If I ramble on much longer, this little note won't get sent until Christmas (a year late!). We send our love and hugs to you all. Hope you are enjoying a wonderful Christmas in July!