Emily’s Musings

I know I already posted a picture similar to this when we announced the sex of our baby.  But, when I was looking through all the pictures we took while trying to get Hannah to sit still for a a millisecond, I thought the pictures that didn’t turn out told a very interesting story.

Hannah REALLY does NOT like sand.  BECAUSE IT IS MESSY.  I TOTALLY AGREE.  However, since I am trying my darnedest to raise a healthy, normal, child that preferably doesn’t have OCD, I PRETEND that playing with sand is cool.  I encourage her to let the grimy stuff stick to her fingers, and I tell her IT IS FUN while I turn my face away from her and cringe and die a thousand deaths that I am ACTUALLY ALLOWING MYSELF TO PLAY IN THIS MESSY, DIRTY, STUFF.  Because deep down, I really believe that playing in dirt should be fun.

Hannah is VERY antsy to GET OFF THE SAND because like I mentioned before, SHE HATES THE WAY IT FEELS.  Notice how she is maneuvering to stand up WITHOUT USING HER HANDS.

She is almost there.  This kid has great balance.

She has successfully stood up WITHOUT THE HELP OF HER HANDS, and she is now on her way to the ocean to wash the “MESS!” off her hands and body.  Going to the beach is a love/hate relationship for her.  She LOVES the water, but she HATES having to walk on all the sand that leads up to the water.

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Apparently, I’m a celebrity on Sint Maarten. Well, at least I think I know how a celebrity must feel when people know their name, things they like, their kid’s name, food preferences, you know, personal stuff. David and I LOVE eating breakfast at this French Bakery which ironically is on the Dutch side of Sint Maarten. When we walked in, the clerk welcomed us, asked us how things were on Saba, and wanted to know how old Hannah was. I looked at David (who was studying the menu) and asked him, “Do we know her?”

David and I must have looked deep in thought while we looked over the menu in pursuit of ordering the perfect breakfast item when she looked over to us and pointed out the crepe we like to order. The restaurant was bustling with a lot of hungry customers and I thought, “Seriously, we must know her.”

So maybe we have eaten there one too many times, or maybe we ALWAYS order the same thing. Or maybe, JUST MAYBE, she remembered us from when I was in labor with Hannah and my last dying wish (hoping I survived the labor and delivery) was to eat a fruit crepe from this particular French Bakery. Maybe women in labor look different from the average tourist. Maybe it was the look of DEATH on my face that made our family so memorable. And, maybe it’s because we ALWAYS eat there. MAYBE.

We stayed at Mary’s Boon. We really like this hotel because it is beautiful, has great beach access, and has a nice pool. We have stayed there probably as many times as we have eaten at the French Bakery. All I’m saying is I can’t remember how many times. It’s just a lot. When we arrived, the maintenance guy welcomed us like you would welcome an old friend staying at your house. He was surprised at how much Hannah had grown and he remembered which room we stayed in when Hannah was born. IS THAT WEIRD? Because I kind of thought it was. I mean, I certainly remember the room we stayed in, but not the room number! So I was thinking about why the maintenance guy remembers us. Is it because we are high maintenance? Do I make a lot of demands? Does it bother me if the A/C isn’t working correctly or the TV has problems? YES. We are memorable indeed.

Moving on to the hospital. The hospital is more like a walk-in clinic where no one has an appointment. It is on a first come, first serve basis. Except for me. I like to make an appointment. I think it is the American blood in me that likes to be special, you know, waltz in and see the Doctor. I called the Doctor on his cell phone four weeks ago to make an appointment. Then, I confirmed our appointment the day before. You know, so I wouldn’t have to waste HALF THE DAY sitting in a non air conditioned hospital hallway waiting for an ultrasound.

When I arrived, I checked in with the nurse who I ACTUALLY REMEMBER from when I was pregnant with Hannah for her less than helpful, positive attitude. I was about to sign in when she looked up at me and said, “NO! I KNOW YOU HERE! MISS LESTER!”

YIKES. Miss Lesher, Miss Lester, whatever. Word must have traveled fast that I was there and I DID NOT WANT TO WAIT. I had to wait for almost an hour, but that is practically seeing the doctor right away in Caribbean time. The good news is that I LOVE the O.B. that delivered Hannah. I wish I could package him up and take him back to the states and hire him to deliver this kid. This is probably the high maintenance side of me thinking, but it is nice to know that somewhere, deep down inside, I still have certain standards.

Enough about that.

We throughly enjoyed the beach and Hannah was in heaven! Not only was there a beach with lots and lots of water, but there was a pool! Do you want to know what David and I heard all day, every day, multiple times a day? “SWINGING? SWINGING? SWINGING?” Because Hannah only has one thing on her mind. EVER. SWIMMING.

Hannah and her daddy go out to test the water . . . (check out how cute she looks in pig tails!)

Hannah has to watch all the “bubbles” (sea foam) come in and then she has to talk about them for a few minutes before she gets in the water. (check out her thighs! So cute!)

They are ready to test out the water. Check out David’s great tan lines. If you are wondering how you can get a great farmer’s tan like the one he is sporting, MOVE TO THE CARIBBEAN and STUDY all the time. If he had a dark, even tan all over his back and chest, I would SERIOUSLY wonder if he was in medical school.

The water was wonderful (around 83 degrees) and I started to feel a little left out, so I put the camera down joined them.

Hannah needed a breather. “SWINGING!!!” in the ocean is BIG WORK!

Okay, I KNOW this is very daring of me to post a bathing suit picture. But hey, I can’t always hide from the camera. I want Hannah to know that her daddy wasn’t the only one who played with her! Plus, when you’re pregnant, you can’t be responsible for how you look. It’s like “Hey, I’m pregnant. I can’t control this condition that is taking over my body and making me big ALL OVER. I know this kid is only in my belly, but maybe my legs, arms, and butt are pregnant too! I CAN’T CONTROL THIS CONDITION THAT IS TAKING OVER MY BODY.” It’s very invigorating to be able to say that.

I’m sad we won’t be visiting this beautiful island again for a long time. We have such great memories there. These pictures will just have to saciate my desire over the next 20 years until we make it back.

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We made it home a few hours ago. We had front row seats in the plane, so David got some great shots of Saba and the Saba landing. This plane ride is only 12 minutes from Sint Maarten, but it feels like 12 HOURS to someone like me who doesn’t like hot cramped spaces. I blame Brian, my twin, on my claustrophobia issues. This death defying exhilarating plane ride is one you will remember forever. It will haunt you at night. You come so close to death, you actually start to think maybe you had a secret death wish you forgot to tell yourself. For those of you who have never been to Saba, this is what you have to look forward to when you visit. A landing you will always remember:

This is what Saba looks like from the cockpit of the plane.

Okay, so it’s almost impossible to see, but the arrow is indeed pointing to our house. Living on this cliff gives us a great view.

The runway is now in sight. It is surrounded by ocean on three sides . . . there is no room for error. It is about this time I really start to panic. WHAT IF WE CRASH? WHAT IF I AM ON THE FIRST FLIGHT TO SABA EVER TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT? But then, I just have to look at the pilots chillin’ in the cockpit and I know that BOTH of them have a 100% success rate at landing on Saba. If it was anything less than 100%, they would be dead. Always a comforting thought.

Now you can see the strip. This is the SHORTEST COMMERCIAL RUNWAY IN THE WORLD. I am not exaggerating, and I am NOT MAKING THAT UP. I know I have a reputation for “enhancing the truth” when it comes to my personal opinion about stuff, but seriously, this is the TRUTH!

It’s about this time I start to hyperventilate (in my mind only) and my life flashes before me. Did I say my prayers? Are all my affairs in order? Will I live if we actually CRASH? I do all of this while sporting a very serious face for Hannah. I wouldn’t want to make her nervous! She always looks at me like, “Hey, do I need to hold your hand? I’ve done this 30 times in 20 months.” And no, that is not an exaggeration either.

So now that we have touched the ground, I realize I JUST MIGHT IN FACT LIVE. That is always a nice thought. Especially since I want to kiss my little boy’s face off!

We had a very relaxing time and Hannah loved going “swinging” (swimming) every day. Look forward to more pictures soon!

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If a picture says a thousand words . . .

David is BEYOND excited.  He laughed so hard with excitement when he saw our “very confident” boy showing us his anatomy, he practically cried!  Of course David said, “OH MY GOSH!” when we saw the money shot and Hannah repeated “OH GOSH!” to show her excitement too.  She can now say “brover.”

This kid is measuring BIG.  This now explains why I thought I might be having twins!  This kid measures at 26 weeks, and I am 24 weeks. My due date according to the sonogram machine was pushed up two weeks beacause of his size.  The doctor predicts a 10 pounder . . .  I’m not sure I signed up for this!

I too am very excited.  I’m very happy that all is going well and the kid is progressing right along.  I just don’t know what to do with a boy in the family!  Paint his toes?  Take him shopping?

Now onto picking a name . . .

We will not be posting that until he makes his debut.

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Did I mention we are going to Sint Maarten this weekend? Because we CAN’T WAIT! David has had three exams over the last seven days and he is READY for a break. Since I am ALWAYS ready to take a break from “vacationing” here, we are more than ready to enjoy the beaches of Sint Maarten.

This is where we are going . . .

This is where we will land . . . (Dave took this picture while fling co-captain when we chartered a private plane when I was in labor. While I was DYING in the back seat, he was throughly enjoying the ride, and view of course.)

This is the one of the beaches we plan to visit . . .

We plan to eat somewhere along this beach, looking at all the beautiful boats . . .

This is the beach attached to our hotel. If you desperately need to find us, we’ll be here.

Oh, did I mention why we are going to Sint Maarten? The REAL reason is to have an ultrasound. Because I HAVE TO KNOW whether or not I’m having a boy or girl. Plus, it would be nice to make sure our kid is intact.  You know, get looked at by a professional that knows what to look for and stuff. It’s a perk to HAVE TO GO TO A PLACE LIKE THIS for medical care. You don’t hear us complaining about the commute to another island! More pictures to come later this week.

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It FINALLY came. I’m going to be honest, I thought the cruise ship that sails dangerously close to Saba during the the months of January through March had forgotten about us. I mean, SOME OF US, and seriously, I’m not going to point my finger here, REALLY LOOK FORWARD to seeing this ship every Friday.

Friday afternoon. That is the magical day when and IF this cruise ships shows it’s face around here. Dave and I almost missed seeing this beauty on Friday when we decided to hike down to to the beach with our dogs and Hannah. This is a serious hike, WHEN YOU’RE NOT PREGNANT. I’m not sure where all this ambition came from. Because truthfully, I am not known for my overly-ambitious-personality in the Caribbean. As we huffed it back up the never ending, winding, sloping road to our house, we were greeted with this lovely view as we tried not to pass out on our patio.

I’m really going to miss this place. When am I ever going to live in a place again where I watch ocean traffic instead of road traffic?

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I’m officially a mom. Not like giving birth didn’t verify this moment for me, but yesterday, I did a “very mom thing.” I took Hannah to an Easter Egg Hunt. That’s what moms do, right? They take their kids to events, to do stuff with other kids. Hannah was VERY excited to see all the people there, because obviously, they were there for her.

The weather was rainy and misty and we were a little chilly. Notice Hannah’s jacket? Yeah, that’s because it’s like 75 degrees outside. We’re pathetic, I know. After the rainfall, all the kids stormed out onto the field to collect eggs. All except Hannah’s group which was age three and under. They had NO IDEA what ALL THE FUSS was about colored eggs.

It took Hannah a few demonstrations of picking up the egg, and putting it in her bag to get the concept. Since Hannah is fastidious about cleaning things and putting things away, she was pretty good at this collect-colored-eggs-business.

It’s just like Caribbean weather to clear up in an instant. It’s hard to believe all these photos were taken within a matter of minutes. We had a wonderful time until Hannah got a bloody lip when her legs decided to run faster than her feet could take her. We had a great time and I’m sure next year she will be a competitive pro!

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Here’s the thing, we are leaving Saba in about a month. This is a very bitter-sweet time for us as we prepare to move on to the next phase of our lives. We can’t help but think about how beautiful this island is, or how much we are going to miss the people, culture, and of course the view from our patio. We have a serious case of “selective memory” because I know I haven’t loved EVERY SECOND on this island, but I seem to have a severe case of pregnancy brain and I can’t recall how HOT it gets in the summer, or how often groceries don’t come in weekly.

The past few weeks have been absolutely beautiful, and waking up to this certainly does not help:

These photos were taken a few mornings ago while we were eating breakfast on our patio. It’s times like these I feel like I’m on vacation. It also doesn’t help that we saw whales the night before! Not just the tale of the whale, which is sometimes common to see, but actual WHALES. As in whales that have to dive up and spew out water before diving back down in to the ocean for another swim. The water spewing out of the whale was AMAZING. HUGE. LIKE A GEYSER. NO BINOCULARS NEEDED. Kind of like Old Faithful, out in the ocean, just off the Saba shoreline. It was incredible, and truly, now I now feel like my Saba island experience is complete.

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I must confess. Sometimes I turn on the TV, for no reason in particular other than to fry perfectly good brain cells. Tonight was just one of those nights. I turned on TLC and a show called “Say Yes to the Dress” was on. I had never heard of it, but as I started watching I became very intrigued. Not only because it was all about a bridal salon selling wedding gowns, but because the store looked vaguely familiar. Then, I noticed the owners of the store. Um, yes, the bridal industry is a small world. I recognized the owners of the shop, therefore telling me where the show was being filmed. Kleinfeld’s in New York. This is by far the largest, most elite bridal salon in the USA.

You see, in my previous life, (when I put on make up, wore great clothing, and went to work) I actually owned a bridal salon in Dallas, Texas. I was involved in every aspect of the business from hiring, training, floor sets, marketing, advertising, and selling, to the designing of wedding gowns. I would see a dress sketched out on paper, and then have that exact dress on my floor ready to sell in nine months. Yes, I secretly was a Jane of all trades in this business. Both David and I experienced SERIOUS BURNOUT in this business. I AM SO GLAD I DON’T HAVE TO WORK WITH BRIDES ANYMORE. Thank goodness for the burnout though. It caused both of us to evaluate our current and future life very seriously. After a good long, hard evaluation, we both felt right about getting out of our business, selling the house, and car (we kept one) to move to a deserted island in the middle of the ocean so David could start Medical School. Yeah, I’m still scratchin’ my head on this one.

As I was watching this show, I desperately wanted to turn it off, but I couldn’t! How could I look away? It was like watching a reality TV show filmed in my old store, except I was missing. From the emotional brides to the flat out CRAZY brides, I have dealt with them all. They also highlighted the alteration department, and truthfully, any alteration department in ANY STORE could hold a reality show on its own. The DRAMA that exists in just that one place is enough to make you go gray early, or possibly loose 15 pounds from stress. (Not recommended for a diet plan)

Needless to say, watching this show CONFIRMED to me why I am SO GLAD we are no longer in that business. What a headache.

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Several of you have asked me to post a belly picture. I haven’t had many photos taken of me or my lovely belly lately. I don’t know, maybe because I don’t look like Angelina Jolie when I’m pregnant. Here’s the deal, I am VERY PREGNANT. Yes, I am huge. This fact has been confirmed to me by several locals and onlookers that have the INSANE desire to comment to me about my belly. AS IF I DIDN’T ALREADY KNOW I WAS PREGNANT. You know what, it is crazy, but when you have a little bun in your oven, it grows and people think you are obese and really, you just have a condition called PREGNANCY. I am currently 23 weeks, and if you do the math, this baby is more than half way baked. I find out the sex of this kid next weekend. David and I (and Hannah of course) are flying to Sint Maarten to have an Ultrasound. I am DYING to know whether I need to stock up on pink or blue items. I’m just that kind of person. Now, I must comment on this picture because some of you may not recognize me as a disheveled-stranded-on-a deserted-island-housewife:

First, my hair is always this messy. I wish I could say I was just having a bad hair day and the wind got the best of me, but that would be lying. And honestly, I’m just trying to keep it real.

Second, I never wear makeup. Because applying it cuts into my precious lounge around time, and really, I don’t have that time to spare.

Third, this is what a 23 week pregnancy belly looks like on me. I was a little smaller with Hannah, but not much. This kid has room to practice acrobatics. Trust me, I think a trapeze is in there for this little one’s exercise enjoyment.

Fourth, this is the 99th pair of sunglasses I have owned in the last 28 months. Thankfully, there are two stores that sell sunglasses. I picked up this pair for $8. I hope they last for another month, or week even.  

Fifth, this shirt has two little stains on it.  You can’t see it in the photo, but let’s be honest, how often do you wear shirts with stains on them?  On a regular basis?  IN PUBLIC?  Yeah, that’s my point.  WHAT HAS SABA DONE TO ME? So there you have it. A belly shot of me, channeling the local Saban style in one outfit. Nice. I know.

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