So I realize that a lot of the things I post and write about are of things that we do during the break or of fun things that we do every once in a while here on the island. And a few people have asked "What exactly DO you do on the island?" I bet ya a lot of people think I get to go the beach, lounge around, drink several pina coladas, snorkel, and just hang out, all day everyday. Don't lie, you know you do!
And I'll be honest, I do get to do that, but mostly during the break with the hubby and kids and it's only once in a while! And let me tell you, when the kids are there, there is no lounging around in fear that they might float a way into the ocean OR get sunburned, or in Rylan's case, get salt water in his eyes.
When I got here, I thought the way of life for the Spouses were C-R-A-Z-Y. Especially because most families come from the States where we are accustomed to NICE things that are readily available! But now that we've been here for over a year, I've learned to love and embrace the life! It's slow paced, sometimes it takes a lot longer to get things done, sometimes it's just plain HARD, but I am enjoying it! So here it is...a day in the life of an island med school wife!!! (Or whatever it is that I am)
So not every spouse here on the island may not share my views about the life here on the island but here it is from my perspective. :) And please don't judge me if I may sound like a tired, worn out crazy mother of 3 boys. That's because I am!
My alarm is set for 6:30 AM....It's only 6:18 AM he's up and coloring.
And let me tell you, I was dead tired because that night, I had to wake up 2 times. Once because there was a mosquito that got into the tent and another time because Rylan had a bad dream so I went and slept on the boys' bed with them.
Little Spencer, who in the world is so happy at 6:21 in the morning? Not me...but it looks like he is.
Rounding the kids up to brush their teeth. They hate being the first one to brush their teeth. Today was Nenji's turn. He was not happy.
'
My alarm went off 2 minutes ago and already the first tantrum of the day. He was mad that Nenji got to go first. He even tried shoving Nenji off the step stool a few times.
Spencer's turn.
Look at my little man. He thinks he's such a big boy!
Just started making breakfast and this little one is already demanding that I make pizza for lunch.
Not 10 minutes into making breakfast and there's a wrestling match happening already.
First time out of the day.
Not ten minutes later, another wrestling match is happening.
Getting snacks, water bottles, and backpacks ready for school.
Yay! Breakfast is ready.
I told him that his food was SUPER HOT and so he needed to be careful. So he bit into it and spat it out and then yelled at me because "MY FOOD IS TOO HOT!"
Nenji's the first one done with breakfast and so he's putting his shoes on.
I love this cutie pie.
Mr. Rylan....I seriously have to give him 10 minutes to put his shoes on.
Five minutes later he's still trying to put his socks on.
And now as Rylan would say it, "I am trying so HARD to put them on! Why don't they just get on when I lay down like this!!!" Note, he's watching TV and not looking at his feet.
NO!!!!! Spencer spelled his Cheez-it crumbs everywhere!
After nearly 10 minutes, he has his socks on.
Now his shoes....he wasn't happy because I was making him watch me put his shoes on. He said, "Why do you always make me watch you put my shoes on me? Why, why., why?"
And my response was, "So that you can learn to do it yourself."
He wasn't happy with what I said.
FINALLY! Ready to go.
Love my crazy boys.
Out the door we go! Just in time.
3 minutes after the bell rang and Rylan is still swinging. He pretends like he doesn't hear the bell. He'll just keep playing until I go and drag him into his class.
Still ignoring me.
Oh well, Spencer's enjoying swinging!
Spencer's classroom and friends. This is Spencer's FIRST semester in school/day care. I have had this boy attached to my hip since the day he was born! And although he is such a good boy, I felt like he needed to play with other kids and to be honest, I needed a break so I wouldn't go completely insane. I think since we've been on the island Fi Dan and I have been on a date maybe 3 times without the kids. And I've had a mommy day 3 times while Fi Dan so kindly watched the kids. Other than that I am with them 24/7. Except for when they are at school. The first week of Spencer going to school was ROUGH! He cried and it broke my heart. But he is doing such an awesome job now. My favorite is when I give him a kiss good bye and he'll just wave at me. :)
Finally got the kiddos to school and walked down to the gym...and look how bad I am sweating already! That is just GROSS! I haven't even started my workout yet! And let me tell you, I am not a person who sweats. When Fi Dan and I did insanity in the states, I would be going FULL strength and giving my and I would barely break a sweat. But here on the island when it's super hot and humid, I sweat....like a MAN. And even when it's not that hot and I walk from one room to another, I start to sweat.
After the gym (about 1 hour-1 1/2 hours) I need to go fill up water! And YES!!! The fountain is fast today! I don't need to stand there for 10 minutes for it to fill up on 5 liter bottle! That means I can go get my other 6 bottles and come back again later! :)
Our ghetto washer. You have to fill up the left side with water and it washes the clothes, THEN you transfer the clothes over and spin it.
Filling up the bucket with water.
Carrying it to the washer.
I have to do 3 bucket full of water to fill the washer up. Yay, finally! I can start the washer!
Dishes. I cannot believe how many dishes 3 little boys, oh and their daddy, can go through in 1 morning.
Sweep the floor while the boys are away.....just so that they can come back and drop their crumbs all over again...and then I'll do it again when they go to sleep.
Clothes from yesterday. I need to take these down and fold them.
I need a snack. A salad! But oh wait, I can't just eat the lettuce, I need to wash it in vinegar first so that I don't get sick!
An island girl's BEST friend! The Fan! So I know some people are like, "So what, it's humid there". Yeah...but there's no AC. And when the humidity is high and the temperature is high, even a fan can't cool you down...unless you just sit...and don't move for a long time...but having 3 boys, that ain't gonna happen!
Clothes are done washing, now I need to spin them!
LOOK! It's empty! I can see the bottom of my laundry barrel! I have been trying for almost 2 months to get to the bottom! Yay...but this victory is short lived...because by the end of the night, there will be at least 10 pieces of dirty clothing laying in it. And then the vicious cycle of laundry starts again.
Got all the laundry hung up!
NOW, I can sit and eat a snack for about 45 minutes before I have to go pick up the kids.
Picking Spencer up first from school.
Waiting for Nenji to get out at noon.
Walking home.
Going up the stairs.
Finally home!
Lunch Time! Thank goodness I made some homemade bread yesterday so that I didn't have to take forever to make lunch today! Sandwiches and leftover hot dogs in a bun. :)
Everyone's fed and happy now!
I need to go to the bank. Let's strap the kids in the car. Oh wait, we don't have a car! Strap the baby onto my back and go!
Walking down to the bank...in the hot sun...with a 28 lbs baby on my back. No problem.
Yay! Nap time. He usually naps from about 1-3.
Homework time! Nenji usually goes back to school from 1-3 but lately he's been wanting to stay home. If that's the case we'll do some math work and sight words.
Doing homework. Rhyming words!
Ew...dishes. Gotta get them done before I dirty up some more dishes for dinner.
Rylan's turn to do some work.
Yay! He did it!
After Rylan did his ABC's, I attempted to take a nap, but I ended up just waiting for Malcolm's and Steven to come. Our local grocery store has not had chicken breast for a few months now, and the best and cheaper way to ensure that we have chicken is to preorder it and then have it delivered.
Need to pack them up and put them in the freezer. And yes, those are tongs. I hate touching chicken. I used up ALL of Fi Dan's surgical gloves...so I'm left with tongs, which is better than nothing.
After putting the chicken in the freezer and settling Nenji and Rylan down, I can take a nap!!!!!!
Or NOT. As soon as I dozed off, I heard this little one crying. Oh man, it's going to be a LONG afternoon!!!!
SNACK time.
I swear, I don't know what I am going to do when these boys are teenagers! They are only 5, 4, and 1 and they eat SO much already.
I took them to the playground today. Usually we pick Nenji up from school at 3 and then I'll let them play for about 20-30 minutes and then we'll go home and I'll get dinner started. But since he didn't go to school today, they were itching to get out, so I took them to the playground.
A beautiful rainbow! Oh, and it's time to go home to get dinner started!
Yay!!!! I bought some Hillshire Farm Sausages when I went down to Roseau. They use to sell them here at our local grocery store, but they haven't had them in almost a year! And they are super expensive here....I believe about 22ish EC? That is equivalent to $8.25ish US dollars. Oh, the little things in life, right?! My boys were SO happy about dinner.
He's hungry! This boy loves to eat and was getting very impatient with me.
Dinner's READY!
You can tell Daddy's home. He always makes Rylan cry at least once a day.
Oh, his tummy is so full. And if you didn't notice, he dropped about 1/4 of his food on the floor. Yup, I told you I was going to have to sweep again.
Ugh....Dishes, yet again.
Our hard working daddy going back to study! We love him. :)
Playing with this cutie before bath time.
Bath time! After bath time, we usually hang out until about 7:30ish and then we go and get ready for bed.
Story time!!!! Tonight we are reading books. Some nights we just tell stories.
So handsome.
I love the way he reads.
Ah!!! The boys are finally asleep! It was such a long day! Now I get Mommy Time! I usually don't want my Mommy Time to ever end, so I end up staying up until midnight sometimes! I've been a lot better and getting to bed earlier...usually around 11. But I am forcing myself to go to sleep by 10:30 since my kiddos wake up so dang EARLY.
AND just to let you know, even though I went to bed at 10:30 last night, I was still dead tired when I woke up this morning. Ry had a bad dream...again so he came and slept in mine and Fi Dan's bed, and Fi Dan went to sleep with Nenji. (Daddy's so sneaky. He did that so that in the morning I'd have to deal with the two little early birds. Nenji will sleep in if Ry doesn't wake him up). THEN he didn't close the tent very well and I ended up getting bitten on my FOOT (not a good place to get bitten). And then I had to wake up a third time because Spencer was crying....and then it was morning already and I was still dead tired. And then the day started ALL over again! Yup...that's my glamorous "paradise" island life!
