Rateros!

As I wrote in the previous post, our apartment was recently visited by unwelcomed visitors, rats. Well, things seem to be getting worse rather than better. After the second visiting rat was killed, we didn’t get any more visits or at least none that we noticed, but we decided to switch to a different apartment on the second floor anyway. On Monday, June 25th (which happened to be my half birthday—a not very happy one, let me tell you), I moved all day long from our lower level apartment to this new, more private apartment on the second level. Jaime was out all day, editing photos to turn in half of a photo job. Meanwhile, I was moving, stuff up and down the stairs and trying to keep an eye on Oliver at the sametime. In the midst of it all, a very large rat managed to sneak into our new place and steal Jaime’s new digital camera! I say rat, because in Spanish they refer to theives as rateros, since they sneak right in without one noticing.

It was my fault, of course, for not locking the door after each load of stuff, which I’m extremely regretful about now. And to be honest we’ve had doubts about the safety of this place from the very beginning.

But enough about rateros. I do have some good news too. The visa process seems to finally be coming along. We just got the last major batch of paperwork and official documents sent in, which means that all that’s left is an official medical examination and the interview. Who knows exactly how long each of those steps will take but, hopefully not too long! After the interview, which takes place conveniently in Ciudad Juarez--all the way up at the border, Jaime should be either granted or denied a visa. I hope it’s the former.

neighborhood friends

Up until the last week, our new apartment has been working out really well. For one thing, Oliver loves the grassy lawn, the neighbors' dogs and parakeets, and the empty pool that we refer to as Oliver's giant playpen in which does laps on his "beep beep" (the name of his car). He also has a favorite hole that he loves to throw rocks into and take them out again. Last week a Venezuelan neighbor moved in next door. She has a Venezuelan friend with an 11 month who comes to visit so often that at first I thought all three of them lived there. Kellen, the 11 month month old, has surpassed all the other cool aspects of our new apartment for Oliver at the moment. Whenever Kellen is around Oliver runs around in circles chanting "niño bebé," baby boy. The neighbors asked me if Oliver is hyperactive! And I can see why the ask, seeing as Oliver practically goes wild everytime Kellen comes to visit.

The old bad part about our new apartment are a few unwelcome visitors as of lately. That is RATS! Over the past week, I saw a rat on two occasions in our house. The first time Jaime scared it out. And the second time, I reached into the cabinet below the sink to grab some cleaning liquid and without knowing it scared a rat out! The second time, I told the grounds keeper right away about the rat. He told me to keep the door closed or it will keep sneaking into our apartment. So I closed the door and continued to clean when low and behold I saw the rat, a little one at that, eating right in front of our apartment in broad daylight. So I opened the door shoed the rat away with my broom and then yelled for Alfredo, the grounds keeper. He came running over and stepped on the rat till it was dead!

I'm still not happy about the fact that I think the rats our living under the stairs in a storage shed right outside of our apartment. Alfredo is supposed to throw in a poisoned tortilla in there for them to snack on, so hopefully that will be the end of them. If not, we're willing to move to the second floor. I'll keep you posted on the rat situation. For the moment, I'm just trying not to think about them too much. I tend to get a bit too carried away, you know, one thought leads to another and pretty soon I'm sitting around worrying about the Bubonic plague, rats nibbling on our toes, etc.

on a translation high

Yesterday I came home on a major high after finishing the final touches on Jaime's Spanish documents that I've been translating to send with a bundle of official documents and forms to the National Visa Center this week. I've never done official translations before and I as I said to Jaime, I'm so proud of myself! I had some other translations to use as a guide which was a big help since translation work is very detailed work. It was also challenging because most of the documents, the police reports in particular, were full of official police jargon. Well, let's see what the US government thinks about my job.

Back on the topic of Oliver's health, I'm happy to say that he's eating well and everyone is remarking that he looks plumper. Maybe they're just being nice! Who knows? Even though he know says "yeah-yeah" for "leche," milk in Spanish, he mostly want even take a sip of his new formula. And if I trick him to take one, he puts his finger in his mouth like an eighties valley girl, and makes a barfing noise as if to say, "Barf out, mom! Don't give me anymore of that stuff!" But don't think I've given up! Now I've gotten tricky. Since he won't drink it, I put it in his food. One day in oatmeal, another in macaroni and cheese, this morning in healthy oat-wheat pancakes. Yep, he's getting his milk.

doctor appointment

On Monday we took Oliver to the pediatrician because he's had a snotty nose for awhile and started coughing last Thursday. The doctor did a thorough exam, gave us a prescription for some medicine, and told us that Oliver's height is normal but he's underweight for his age. He also prescribed us some medicine for parasites since I recently found out that I have amoebas. For Oliver's low weight he recommended that we give him formula in the morning and at night.

I've always been of the idea that breastmilk plus a balanced, healthy diet is all that babies need, but Oliver's case may be different. He's slowly starting to accept the formula, so hopefully it helps to fatten him up! The doc also said that he should eat three substantial meals a day, which he does although he tends to eat mini portions and likes to snack between meals. Now I'm also working on giving him more substantial and healthy snacks so that he eats enough too. So that's all that's new for now.

new apartment

Just about a week ago we moved into a new apartment. It's closer to Oliver's daycare, my job and just about everything. It's much more central. It's also a lot more peaceful. No more squash quart nextdoor or late night club music or cars zooming by as if our street was a freeway. Peace, alas!

The only bad part is that the place has virtually no storage space. There's only one cabinet below the sink in the kitchen, for example, and one tiny closet that doesn't even hold enough hangers for Oliver clothes. It is furnished, however, which is absolutely wonderful after living for months without a couch or any comfortable chairs. But the best part is a big area with grass and a pool area with a big tree. The neighborhood, unlike our prior newly developed suburban neighborhood, is older, has much more character, and many more trees.

All in all, we're very happy there. And the good thing is that we can leave whenever Jaime's visa is issued since rent is on a month by month basis. More on the visa process later...