Emily’s Musings

I had an ultrasound today, because my very pregnant belly is obviously not proof enough that I am indeed pregnant. The medical school acquired a machine not to long ago and it is the only machine on the island. This particular ultrasound machine didn’t have the appropriate probe to peek in on little babies sleeping in their mommy’s bellies, so the picture wasn’t as easy to understand. However, we saw our little guy one yawn (or swallow, you know, it was kind of hard to tell) and this little one does have hands, feet, arms, legs, a head, heart, ribs, and vertebrae. That was nice to know. I mean, it really looks like an alien still, but I’m sure it will come out just as cute as Hannah. I am now 20 weeks pregnant (HOORAY!!! I’M 1/2 WAY DONE!), and in three weeks David and I (and Hannah Bear of course) will fly to Sint Maarten to have a “real ultrasound” with a “real OB” to find out the sex, and other stuff, you know.

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Kids seem notice details we adults just skim over. Like the fact that everyone wears shoes at the grocery store. Or a piece of garbage on on the soccer field is in the shape of a moon. Or just the mere fact that other people have noses, hair, feet and knees. These are not things I normally take note of, (unless they are missing of course) and Hannah takes the time to point them out to me.

At the grocery store the other day, she was pointing out where the light fixtures and fan were on the ceiling. Of course, this is a detail I had never taken note of, so I thanked her for pointing them out. Then, she repeatedly said, “STAR!, STAR!, STAR!” and even grabbed my face with both hands to show me where the “STAR!” was. I actually had no idea what she was pointing at, until I took a very close look.

This photo was taken on Sint Maarten, and as you can see, they are equally proud of this beer. They turned an airplane into a restaurant! Look closely, and you will the “star” Hannah loves to talk about.

You see, Sabans are addicted to Heineken beer. It is sad, but water is more expensive to buy than beer. Saba has the highest consumption of Heineken per capita in the world. A little fact Sabans are actually proud of. Needless to say, Heineken beer is everywhere . . . and the logo is too. Every restaurant and grocery store sports the logo on the outside and inside of buildings.

I love how innocent little minds are. She certainly found something redeeming to look at in that logo that is ever present.

Heineken paraphernalia is everywhere. Last summer, I almost talked Lydia into buying this bag!

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Just because we live in the Caribbean doesn’t mean we go to the beach everyday. We don’t go to the spa or even go shopping on a daily basis. That is because we LIVE here. We aren’t on vacation here. Unfortunately, I am that special someone who magically cleans my house and makes my bed every morning. I do the laundry, cook, clean, and shop for groceries. The mere fact that I think about what I’m going to make for dinner every night qualifies me as a local . . . not a tourist. This means I don’t go to the beach as much as I probably should and I am almost embarrassed to say this, but I’m going to tell the truth . . . Hannah and I have not been in our bathing suits for five months. Yes, it is embarrassingly true. However, it has been TOO DANG COLD to get into a pool. That’s right, 80 degree weather is not as warm to those of us closer to the equator as it is to you cold folk up North. The ocean is warm, but Hannah isn’t very interested in water that moves back and forth, and she certainly doesn’t like the feel of sand at all because even she knows it’s messy.

However, this week the temperature has been around 90 degrees and that qualifies as warm enough to get both of us into bathing suits. I pulled out her brand spanking new bathing suit (tags attached and all) from the closet. One look and I knew it was not going to fit. Still, I put her in it, and because it is stretchy . . . it sort of fit. Too bad all the polka dots were distorted over her very round belly and the straps were cutting into the skin on her shoulders . . .

Now, I’m not a big fan of baby bikinis. Mostly because it is means more skin to lather with sunblock, but a friend of mine gave her a really cute one as a gift and it is the ONLY bathing suit that fits her. So thankfully, she didn’t have to go to the beach topless.

After getting over the shock of touching the messy sand that sicks to you, Hannah was able to sit and play in it. This is HUGE. This is a child who points out messes to me and puts her toys back in her toy box because the floor is a “mess!” She even points out to her friends (who eat like normal 18 month olds . . . sort of messy) that they are a “MESS!” and she gives them a look of sheer disgust. I keep a package of baby wipes on hand when she eats because heaven forbid her hands get a little bit of food on them. She can’t think, let alone eat! I have created a very, very, very, clean problem.

I had to photograph Hannah actually sitting in the sand and playing with it for David. I knew he would need photographic proof to believe me, because lets face it, he knows how our child feels about sand. With only eight weeks left on this island of paradise, I’m sure we will be hitting the beach a lot more and hopefully, Hannah will get over her fear of the sand.

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Hannah is a typical 19 month old. Translation: she can turn the TV on and off and she knows how to use the remote control. Well, at least she thinks she does. She usually presses too many buttons, or all the wrong buttons, or the ONE button that will make your remote and TV self destruct. I’m not a big TV fan. Mostly, I’m not a fan of background noise, which is what the TV provides.

Hannah really doesn’t care about the TV that much. It’s only when her bossy little index finger takes over and decides it would be GREAT FUN to IRRITATE the HECK out of her mom by pressing the ON and OFF button, 1000 times. A few Sunday’s ago, (as her finger took over and she lost all ability to hear, think or obey her mom) she discovered a crazy (more like irritate the heck out of you) show called Boohbah. I honestly couldn’t believe that a show like this could actually generate enough ratings to run on TV. Truthfully, I thought aliens were invading our TV.

Here’s the thing, she LOVES Boohbah with all her little heart. She talks about it daily although the show only airs on Sunday at 4:30pm. She has only seen the show twice, but with all the enthusiasm she has for this show, you would think she was the president of the Boohbah fan club. Apparently, David and I enjoy “child TV show torture” because we PLAN to have her watch this show on Sunday. AND, AND, AND, we go to the website almost daily (at her request) and watch as her face lights up and we relive our own carefree childhood moments through her eyes.

This is what Hannah looks like for 30 minutes in front of the TV when watching this show. And now know you know why we have no choice but to allow this indulgence every Sunday.

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David and I went on a hot date last night. It was Valentine’s Day, and with only 10 restaurants on the island, you have to make a reservation weeks in advance if you want to eat somewhere. Dave and I don’t go out that often; okay, sadly it’s like never, but it’s because I have turned into a homebody and I feel like trash all the time (kind of a damper on your energy). Plus, there isn’t much to do on this island when you go out. You have your choice of 10 restaurants, which may or may not be open depending on their mood. David has to study a TON (so we can get THE HECK OFF THIS ROCK and move on to the next phase of Medical School torture) and when you add all this up, we just don’t make it out that often. On the plus side, several people have volunteered to baby sit Hannah because they are in love with her. When we explain that she is in bed and asleep by 6:15 every night and we don’t hear or see her cute face for 12 consecutive hours, they are a little sad to know they would just be house sitting and petting our dogs. So we often have date nights on our patio. We chat, and take in the beautiful ocean view that is ours for another few weeks. However, I was ready to hit the town last night . . .

Since I still mostly feel like trash, I spent most of the day yesterday nursing my headache and trying not to vomit. I actually took a shower, shaved my legs, diffused my hair AND, and this is a REALLY BIG AND, I put makeup on! I know, I actually felt like the old Emily I left behind in the states! Since I usually spend a total of 10 minutes a day on my appearance, this was a huge change for me. I honestly wear make up once every three months and diffuse my hair maybe twice a month down here. This is no not like me, I know. I NEVER would have left the house without wearing makeup or doing my hair and wearing something stylish when we lived in the states. Living in the Caribbean has certainly changed me. Or maybe it’s motherhood? Who has that kind of time everyday to get all fancied up? For what? I’m just going to say it, because I’m just going to say it: I have become LAZY. Phew, it feels good to get that out.

I reserved a babysitter for Hannah three months ago. I like to plan you know? We asked a guy in our branch to watch our precious little bundle and gave him strict instruction to protect her with his life. Hannah LOVES this guy, (which I will not name because I think he would want to stay anonymous for personal reasons) and when she sees him, she runs up to him and talks to him about “shoes”, for like a really long time. He must look like a shoe lover to her. We only hire the best for Hannah and offered to pay him in treats. Our caretaker is a big, bald (shaven), Army dude turned medical student, with a long goatee. He could be a bodyguard for someone famous . . . wait, he was! He took good care of our little celebrity. He wants to remain anonymous . . . He wouldn’t want word to leak out that deep down inside, he is just a delicate flower.

So this is the only photo we have of him that doesn’t blow his cover. The picture shows him with hair, but he shaves it bald and his goatee is at least a few inches longer. Hannah finds him very attractive and fun! We love him too.

David and I had a wonderful time at The Gate House, in Hells Gate. It is a five star French restaurant and the Chef (and restaurant of course) have been featured in Food and Wine magazine. We love the personal service of the place. Lyliane (the wife and waitress) and Michel (the chef) are wonderful and added a nice personal touch to our evening out. The entire restaurant only holds only 12 people. We were one of the lucky 12 to be fed such great food. I know those of you who have come to visit us and have eaten at The Gate House are salivating right now. It was a great Valentine’s Day on Saba!

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I have entered the “Please, kill me now” phase of pregnancy. I have suffered three weeks of headaches, and not just any kind of headaches; the pregnancy kind. Yeah, it is YUCK. Needless to say, I have been more lazy than usual, if that is possible. Everyday Hannah is gaining more energy as I lose mine. This is not the best combination. Daily, and I mean every day, she asks to go for a “walk” in an English accent. David and I have no idea where she picked up this accent, since neither one of us ever speak in another accent. Maybe she is watching too much TV? She is so irresistibly cute that we both end up dropping whatever we are doing to grab her outstretched hands to go for a stroll.

The word “walk” has been a buzzword in our house for the last eight years. If you say this word, both our dogs flip out and start running circles around the kitchen table. I’m surprised we don’t have a permanent track on the kitchen floor. Now that Hannah uses this word so frequently and flippantly, we have been committed to taking the whole family on a walk every day. It is actually more like a hike up and down these hills in Hells Gate. We all get a good workout.

We took our camera along the other day on one of our walks. Check out what we saw:

These iguanas were hanging out in some trees at the bottom of our road. I think they must be dating or married because usually iguanas fight for territory and don’t hang out like this. We think the one on the right is a female because she is camouflaged and has shorter spikes than the other dude.

Hannah has to stop and pick up rocks and flick dirt every two feet ( just like her Grandpa Probst). This activity sort of prolongs the walk, but it is a better pregnancy pace for me. Plus, her little padded diaper bum is so cute when she bends!

No words for this photo . . .

Something has piqued her interest while down at the beach . . .

Um . . . seriously, something is pretty cool, just over there . . .

If you don’t look now, YOU ARE TOTALLY GOING TO MISS IT!!!

We have no idea what she was pointing at. She was too cute, we couldn’t look away to see what was so cool. I am aware that our time here in paradise is coming to a close in nine weeks. These walks are numbered, and all the beautiful scenery and weather will be a memory of the past in a few short months. I’m certainly going to miss 80 degree weather in February. And sadly, I know a stark reality check is lurking just around the corner. We will experience WINTER next year. YIKES!

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A new day, a new yacht. Hannah knows boats like other kids know cars. A few days ago, we spotted this yacht out on the ocean headed straight for Saba. We thought it might be “The Octopus” (if you know yachts like we do down here, you would know the Octopus is the largest yacht in the world) which has come to Saba four or five times since we have lived here. Yes, the enormous yacht moors off Saba and Paul Allen is somewhere exploring the “Unspoiled Queen“.

I was very curious to see if it was indeed the Octopus, so I loaded Hannah in the car and away we drove to the other side of the island to Wells Bay (where it was headed) to take some photos and maybe spot a few celebrities. When we arrived at Wells Bay, I could clearly see that although this yacht was big, it was not the monstrosity yacht, the Octopus. Still, I was curious to find out about it so I snapped a few photos. When I got home I was able Google the name of the yacht and to my surprise, it belongs to my previous boss!

The Yacht “Limitless”

The yacht Limitless, (I should have recognized the font on the boat. It is The Limited’s font) is owned by Leslie Wexner, the man who started the retail company “The Limited” back in the 60’s. He is the CEO of the following companies: Bath & Body Works, Victoria’s Secret (I used to manage a VS store in Texas), Henri Bendel, White Barn Candle Company, Express, The Limited (I managed a store in Utah) and others I’m sure. The man practically owns all of Columbus, Ohio.

We didn’t see Les Wexner (or anyone for that matter). They must have been SCUBA diving or something. I did however, see a lot of Saba on my way home. I had the camera with me (something I don’t usually take in the car for a ride) and I took pictures of the drive across the island back to my house. Keep in mind that ALL THE PICTURES were taken from the driver’s seat of my car. I did this for two reasons:

1. I was too lazy to pull over and pry my pregnant butt of the seat, and I wanted to photograph Saba from the car.

2. I wanted to show how beautiful the drive is on Saba.

This is a “Saba Basket Ball Hoop”. I found this in The Bottom.

This is in The Bottom. It is the only “covered” street (by trees of course) on the island.

This is in The Bottom.

This house, which is in The Bottom, is still celebrating Christmas in February.

This is a view of The Bottom (the Capital village) from the village of St. Johns. In the upper left hand side of the photo, you can see “Whale Back Mountain”.

“Whale Back Mountain” as viewed from St. Johns Village.

This is The Bottom as viewed from St. Johns.

This is a house in St. Johns. I have never really noticed it because it is on a tight corner that requires both eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel if you don’t have a death wish. I pulled over to take some photos of Whale Back Mountain and this house directly faces that mountain. What a beautiful view this house has!

This photo was taken while I was driving through St. Johns.

This road leads down to the Elementary, Middle, and High School in St. Johns.

These buildings are the Schools I just mentioned. They are literally located on a cliff that drops into the ocean!

This is “The Saba Road”. If you don’t take this corner in St. Johns carefully, you will find yourself and your car floating off in the Sea.

Entering the Village of Windwarside.

This is a church in Windwardside. Again, this view is from my car on “The Road”.

This is Windwardside in the foreground and The Level is in the background.

These steps will take you to the top of Mount Scenery. It is a serious hike to the top!

I am entering the village of Hells Gate. I live on a cliff like those other crazy houses.

I would have photographed more as I entered Hells Gate, but the batteries in my camera died. Please come visit us, we leave paradise in 90 days!

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Let’s just say that I take my job as a wife and a mother very seriously. Maybe too seriously. I make a lunch for David every morning to take to school, I do ALL the laundry, make all the meals, clean the house daily, (it’s more like a “spring cleaning” I do every day because I am obsessed with a living in a clean house) do the dishes, etc. You get the point. I do everything humanly possible around this house everyday, so my husband doesn’t have to use his brain when he is at home. Medical School uses a lot of brain cells, including the ones that you need for day to day stuff, apparantly.

Last night I made some baked beans. Why? Because I was craving them, and when you CRAVE something, you never, ever, ever, allow your pregnant self to be deprived. Since David does not cook, (well, let’s clarify. He makes cold cereal and he can grill steak and chicken) he is subjected to eating whatever I am craving.

Last night was one of those “fend for yourself for dinner” nights. Usually, on nights like this, you can find David sitting at his computer eating a sleeve of Ritz Crackers, a banana, or anything he can get his hands on that you can pop into your mouth. He noticed the beans on the stove and said, “What are these?” I know he was really “speaking woman” and meant, “I am hungry. I have no idea what this is, but I would like to eat it and I would LOVE it if you would dish some up for me on a pretty plate and hand feed it to me.” I am fluent in understanding woman, so I know this is what he meant.

I explained that they were baked beans and he could eat some. (Meaning, they were not earmarked for another purpose.) He was standing at the stove, hands on his hips, eying his “dinner” and he literally said this to me:

“Now what?”

“NOW WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”

“Now what do I do?”

Trying to wipe the laugh off my face, I told him, “GET A PLATE and DISH some BEANS onto the PLATE. The SALT and PEPPER are in the CUPBOARD next to the CUPBOARD where you can find a PLATE.”

Fortunately, David does know his way around the kitchen, (he does dishes and puts them away when he has time) so I was not required to get up and assist him.

I’m not sure if David found this situation to be as funny as I did. I’m just wondering if doing all this “extra stuff” for him is hindering his ability to think for himself.

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Hannah loves to see the wildlife surrounding us. We don’t have to go far to see much of it. Often times, we enjoy iguanas and geckos on our patio. The goats are usually seen eating our trees and running and jumping on rocks behind our house. A few days ago, our dogs, (who are ALWAYS on animal watch - they are so bossy about “their property” when it comes to wild animals . . .) were barking. YES, THEY BARKED. This most certainly caught my attention because I forgot my dogs knew how to bark. They ran out to the patio and barked at the “thing” they didn’t approve of. Here it is:

Poor Iguana Dude. Not only is he stuck on a wall that is too slick for his pointer claws, but my dogs are telling him off for trespassing. Hannah must have thought the Iguana was fun because she giggled and clapped her hands when she saw him. She was ready to run up and give it a big hug and a kiss because it “was probably friendly, soft and cuddly,” like our dogs. Right?

I informed her that the Iguana was stuck, and the dogs were NOT helping it move any faster by barking at it. I sent the dogs inside the house (the Iguana had been tormented and pressured enough to get his buns moving) and Hannah then informed me, “gecko, STUCK!!!” I had to tell her that this particular strange, scaly, rough, not snuggly thing, was in fact an Iguana. This is a gecko:

See, they really are different. Hannah informed everyone she saw that day that the “guana” was “STUCK!!!” Not only did she use her “outside” voice when saying stuck, (in case you were deaf) she actually signed the word stuck, in case you went deaf in the process of her explaining the Iguana’s problems.

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