After enjoying our day-date on Monday afternoon and stuffing our faces with MEAT, Scott and Kiersten didn't eat pretty much the rest of the day. Around 6:30 they both ate something light (cereal, fruit, yogurt, that sort of thing). They went to bed as they always do and that is where the normal-ness ended.
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| A reminder of some of the food we ate at Paulista Grill. |
At 3:15am Kiersten woke up with itchy, red arms. At first she thought, "Bed bugs," and went down to the couch to finish sleeping. Scott was asleep and she didn't want to wake him and draw attention to itchy bed bugs if he was still asleep. He, however upon learning of her decision, joked, "Ah yes. Resign your husband to the bugs." By 4am she couldn't sleep because the itching was all she could think about. She'd looked up bed bug symptoms and learned they don't usually appear so bed bugs were quickly ruled out. At 4am she took a shower (in the guest bathroom, again to be courteous of a sleeping Scott) in hoped of washing off the offensive itch. She again tried to sleep on the couch but by 5:30 abandoned her sleep for the gym to "sweat it out" whatever "it" was. The itch had now spread down her abdomen and to her thighs while at the gym. It eventually spread to her back and neck and was moving towards her calves, shins and face by the time Scott recommended she visit the health unit at the Embassy.
Off they went with a very red and bumpy Kiersten and got to the health unit by 8am. It was determined she had hives as a result of an allergic reaction to something she ate. We still don't know what. They gave her some allergy medicine which helped the itching and some Benedryl. Oh and while we were there Mackenzie got her 15 month shots on her 16 month mark. Sorry baby. She did not enjoy them.
K&M went home and thank goodness for Annie. Kiersten was able to get about 2 more hours of sleep. She did not make it to the Temple. By the end of the day the red, itchy bumps were diminished to her lower legs and feet, even the soles of her feet which made walking interesting. It felt like she was walking on little, swollen cushions.
Wednesday things returned to almost normal. We got a TON of packages which always feels like Christmas so Kiersten picked those up in the car before her Spanish lesson. Lessons are going well but faster now and sometimes her brain can't keep up. The weather turned very hot, with a heat index of 104℉ so in the afternoon K&M played in the pool for a good long while. It felt great! In the evening, Kiersten noticed some red spots returning to her arms but she ignored the overpowering desire to scratch and it went away.
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| We bought Mackenzie a floaty so she could be more free. She liked it at first but wanted to play on the stairs. |
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| We got Cheezits in our shipment! And Mackenzie is a fan. |
Thursday was a more relaxing day. Kiersten cleaned the entire house from top to bottom and finished earlier than expected. Just then, she got a call from the sister missionaries with a rather odd request. Through a course of unusual events, a large group of missionaries were sent home early and the two sisters that had been serving here when we arrived were reunited because both of their new companions were in this group of home-bound missionaries. They asked if Kiersten could bake them another pumpkin pie because it was so good the last time and they were in desperate need of raised spirits. Happy to help (and bake), Kiersten invited the sisters for dinner that night to which they happily agreed and she set off baking and prepping for dinner.
For dinner that night we had hamburger sliders (Scott's request) and they were deliciously paired with tater tots (pre-made frozen ones this time) and a strawberry-Sprite juice mix with a side salad. The sisters didn't say why all these missionaries went home just that it had been a very difficult 5 weeks with their new companions because they could tell something was off. We so admire these sisters!
Friday the weather turned cooler with clouds and misting rain. Kiersten's outdoor Spanish lesson was glorious but then it got chilly with the wind. Later that day the sun eventually came out but the temperature stayed in the low 60's. We decided to go rug shopping but were unsuccessful yet again. But the evening wasn't a total waste. We went to a mall and let Mackenzie walk around and then we ate at Mostaza in the food court. The traffic had died down when it was time to go home which was lucky and we got Mackenzie straight to bed.
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| Waiting for our yummy food. Chicken nuggets and a ham and cheese panini. |
In the morning, the temperature was in the upper 50's and it had a tantalizingly autumnal feel. There is a fabulous exercise park out by the airport we keep hearing about so we drove off to experience it. It has a paved loop approximately 5K which reminded us much of the W&OD trail back in Virginia. We stayed for about an hour which was longer than Mackenzie had patience for and rushed home to get her to her nap.
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| Perfect Fall weather, am I right?! |
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| Enjoying the nice weather!!! |
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| She was fed up with the stroller. |
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| The boomerang park map. |
We watched the sad BYU football game that afternoon then went to run errands. We again ended up at a mall food court for dinner which resulted in us trying a restaurant we've been keen to try but hadn't because it opens for dinner at 7 but not at the food court! Their burgers were better than we anticipated. Home, home, home we went to get baby to bed and hang out the rest of the night.
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| We ate at Burme'i and yes that is a giant screen of a soccer game. What else? |
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| Another captivating family selfie! |
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| Playing with the Instagram filters waiting for our food. |
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| Two burgers, fries, a salad and Pepsi. |
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| Scott got the Americana burger (it had American sauce AKA BBQ) and Kiersten got the Mexicana with guacamole. |
Sunday was a normal Sunday for us. It has been about 3 weeks since that happened (last week was Stake Conference, before that it was General Conference and before that Scott was sick). The only thing that was different was Kiersten was called and sustained in her new calling this week. Any guesses? Hint: It's NOT specifically a music calling. Ok we'll tell you. She is the second counselor in the Primary Presidency. This Sunday the children were preparing for their program which is next week and Kiersten noticed they were going to be listening with a speaker to the music. She volunteer to play (luckily she knew how to say that in Spanish) and they all agreed that it would be extremely helpful if someone played the piano. Off she hopped to play and found they were singing all the same songs she had been playing and practicing for the Spring Lakes Spanish Ward back in Reston! Truly amazing, right? She was very much prepared for this calling in this regard at least. The first counselor speaks practically perfect English so yes she will do some growing and learning but at least in the beginning she won't be totally lost.
The kids are very rowdy and rambunctious, something we've noticed from the first week here and the practice was no different. Since Kiersten has limited Spanish and was playing the piano there wasn't much she felt she could do but there will be a time when she'll need to step up and do something. The kids rehearsed songs for an hour then went up to the Primary room for a snack before finishing. Their snack was chocolate milk, cake and chipa. Perfect! It was a little better than the first hour but there were still kids climbing all over the stand and being loud. Lord, give her patience....
After church we broke our fast with our traditional Fast Sunday breakfast. We had waffles and bacon. Delish. When Mackenzie woke up we were finally able to talk with Scott's parents who just made the big move to London on Wednesday. They gave us a tour of their quaint yet modern apartment. They were very happy to see us all as were we. Technology!! After our chat we went on a little walk around the neighborhood. We'd like to keep this tradition up as long as the weather isn't too terrible.
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| We found more mango trees on our walk! |
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| Not yet ripe but it's the perfect size for lil' M. |
Which brings us to today, Monday. The weather this week is looking to be hot, hot, HOT. Finally looking like Spring for us here. No holiday today so Scott was back in the office as usual. The girls were at home and Kiersten finally organized the pantry. Doesn't sound like a big deal but it was to her. Today also marked Scott and Kiersten's attempt at not eating sugar for the next three weeks. Wish us luck!
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| Mackenzie was a great helper with the chores today. |
That was our week! Now for our highlight sections.
The Craft Corner:
- After finishing Scott's stocking, Kiersten wanted to do something quick and fun as well as festive before diving head first into Mackenzie's stocking. She completed this cute Halloween embroidery in the last three weeks and is ready to move on!
Happy Halloween, y'all!
Misadventures in Baking:
- Oh the pumpkin pie. Since it was her second time making this pie she knew it would taste fine but wanted to give it some more pizzazz so Kiersten opted to try a more decorative crust. She tried a braided crust which looked beautiful before going into the oven but she knew it wouldn't last so was sure to take a before shot. It was about the ugliest pie she's ever served but in the end taste won out as it should.
Pretty! Oooh! Aww!
Ugly. Boo. Hiss. - Kiersten made an easy, gluten-free Huevos Rancheros breakfast Saturday morning. She finally got the perfect runny eggs!
Here's how it's gluten-free: No tortilla! Because we didn't have any. - We made some more Cheerio Muddy Buddies during the BYU football game. They totally work.
Quirks of Paraguay:
- Cars. We have seen almost every make and model here. Chevy, Toyota, Audi, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda (trucks mostly which we didn't know existed), Mercedes, and on Saturday we saw our first two Corvettes. We are no longer worried about being able to get our Mazda fixed if an issue should arise.
- Fruit seasons. Yes this is a thing everywhere but in America it's not as important because we can get whatever we want because we're America! We haven't seen strawberries in the stores for weeks now and we were warned to stock up. On Monday Kiersten saw a bunch of blueberries at the store so began stocking up. 12 boxes averaging 0.145kg (~5 oz). It cost her 216.347 PGY ($38.41) for 1.708kg (60 oz or 3.75 lbs). Totally worth it!
Washing the blueberries for immediate use and for the freezer.
They filled this entire bowl! - Height. It seems that all Paraguayans are rather short. At 5' 6.5" Kiersten feels like a giant when standing next to the women in the Ward. Maybe that's why they all love those platform shoes.
The Mackenzie Update:
- Mackenzie has enjoyed bubbles for a few weeks now and is really getting the hang of why they are fun. She gets excited, tries to pop them with her hands and anxiously awaits you to blow more. This week, she blew her own bubbles from the bubble wand! She has been getting really good at blowing (she will blow almost any food we put in front of her before she eats it regardless of temperature) so we put the wand in front of her lips as she blew and bubbles came out! It was very exciting for all of us.
So good at blowing. - Twirling. Mackenzie is a twirler. She'll spin when seated or when standing. Such a silly little girl!
- She is learning so much Spanish! She can now point to many different parts of her body when asked in Spanish (nariz = nose; cabeza = head; pecho = chest; pies = feet). It's very exciting to have an almost bilingual baby!
- Speaking of language, we finally had a break through. Mackenzie said DADA!! Then she quickly reverted back to 'mama'. A few times she has said, "Da-mama" as if realizing what she was about to say then reverted to her old ways. Grr.
- In church the last few weeks, the Bishop's youngest daughter (age 3) has been sharing toys and food with Mackenzie to which Mackenzie slightly reciprocated. This week Mackenzie voluntarily handed the girl some of her Goldfish crackers. It makes all those hard parenting moments worth it.
"Do you want one, Da-mama?"
We love you all and thank you so much for reading each week. Who knows what adventures await us this upcoming week! Tune in next week to found out.
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