Days 10 & 11: Monday & Tuesday, 5/30-31

The days are starting to mush together and island time is having it's way with me. Didn't realize at all that I missed a day of posting! Maybe that's a good thing... a coping mechanism that will help me manage the home sickness and keep me from counting the hours and obsessively checking the tracking number for Grace's visa. Let's see... what have we been up to...

Either I'm experiencing early onset Alzheimers or we did even less on Monday than over the weekend. Our large, 5-gallon water jug was empty so Jeff hiked across the street to fill it at the Do It Best Hardware store. It's a whopping $2 for 5 gallons and I'd highly recommend going that route for any future families. You by the container for about $15 and the pump for the top for around $5 – so much more convenient and environmentally friendly, not to mention inexpensive!

The other big event of the day was another trek down to the RRE to meet the Wilsons for dinner. The Tide Table, the restaurant at the RRE, is pretty good. Everything we've had there has been tasty and safe (no ill effects at this point) and the staff has been very friendly. One of the women who works there loves holding the babies – next time we're all there she said she'd switch off holding each of them while we eat. Restaurants back in the states should really consider a similar baby-sitting service as part of your meal.

After dinner we headed back to the Wilsons' bungalow for more visiting and Grace's fussiness started showing through. I think between the three babies, two of them were fussing or crying at any given time. Grace had been a little fidgety most of the afternoon but Greg finally got to hear her cry and cry and cry... he just sat there with a smile on his face :) Yes, Greg, we told you it was only a matter of time before she caught on to the crying thing – I think Oliver has been teaching her some tricks!

When it was time to put Grace down for the night, she went down pretty easily. She did wake up twice (instead of the normal once): first for a diaper change and then for a change and a bottle. She went down easily both times. I, however, did not sleep very well as every little sound both inside and out kept my mind spinning.

Tuesday was a more active day. Despite my being tired and Jeff's ever worsening headache, we had lots to do. Early on the agenda was our second run at laundry. We piled into the car with the Simmons and headed over to the place by the RRE. I'm sure there's a place closer by but we don't know about it so we went to where we were familiar – and she does a pretty good job. The trailer is tucked back behind some buildings and over some mammoth potholes (you think the ones in MN are bad... no contest!). The car does not like the trip – especially not with 4 not-Marshallese-sized adults, 1 almost first grader and 2 babies in it.

We were told to return at 2:00 to pick up our clean clothes so we decided to check out some of the places in the area. Bought some postcards at the post office and looked through another grocery store for souvenirs. I finally broken down and decided to buy a baby bath tub while we're here. I'm not sure how you parents do it but I just cannot work out the “baby bath in the sink” thing and the big bath tub is no better. I realize taking them into the bath with you is probably the best option but I don't always want a bath... in fact, I'm more of a shower girl so the bath option would require a big shift in my norm. I figure I should save that shifting for things that matter. So, when I can buy a baby bathtub for $9.99 and solve all my bath-time problems, I'm all for it.

The baby bath got me thinking that maybe we could set up something with Claudia where she (the CAA) could hold on to some of the larger things that LSS families purchase while they're here so future families can use them. Her office is very small so I'm not sure how feasible it'll be but I'll ask. LSS has already purchased a cell phone, and the Speers left the pack-n-play. I could contribute the water jug & pump and the baby bath... another good addition would be a bouncy seat (hint for you future families). If there's a way to put together a kit for future families and have Claudia hold on to it, I'll let you know and post about it.

After a quick surprise drop-in visit with the Wilsons, we headed back home. Jeff and I had a date with Emi around 3:00 so we wanted to be close in case the timing was a bit early. Turns out I didn't need to worry... around 4:00 when no one showed up, I called Claudia who apologized profusely for not calling me. She'd had to reschedule with Emi as she had another commitment that afternoon but she'd forgotten to call us. Okay – so we're on for Wednesday instead.

The Wilsons were heading down so Collin and Madi could play on the little beach behind the MIR so I walked down to hang out a bit with them. When I arrived, Heather and Stacy were just leaving to go look through the gift shop in the hotel lobby and since you have to ask them to open it up for you, I decided to join them for a little shopping. The handicrafts the women do here are pretty amazing. Mostly crafted by women on the outer atolls, they are then taken to Majuro and sold through local shops. The items are made out of shells and the fibrous parts of a local tree that they pound, dry and cut to make strips. They then weave them into all sorts of shapes for baskets, wall hangings, floor mats, ornaments, etc. Nearly $100 later I walked out of the store with lots of goodies to bring home. Prices in the shop here are pretty consistent when what we've seen around town... someone said the ornaments at the shop in the airport are cheaper but when you're talking the difference between $2.50 and $2.00 a piece, I think the convenience is well worth it.

Tuesdays mean pasta buffet at the Enra so we headed down for dinner to check it out. Salad = good. Lasagna = okay. Made-to-order pasta = pretty darn good. Grace was fussy again so I fed/rocked/paci'd her while Jeff ate. When my turn to eat came, she was mostly down for the count. Greg and Madi joined us for dinner a little while afterwards so we hung out and chatted. Madi is being such a trooper but you can tell the novelty of the RMI and a new brother are wearing thin on her almost-first-grader tolerance. It's been nice that the Wilsons have their older boy here as they play well together. I really can't imagine what it'd be like to have a second child with you while you're here. Madi and Greg leave on Friday so she'll soon be back in her own space around her family and friends – and the rest of us here will all be jealous. We will miss the stories and her sweet face – good luck in first grade, Madi!