A Crazy Day, Followed By a "Normal" One (whatever that is!)

Yesterday was Natalie's birthday, and it was a crazy day! 

It started with Carlos waking up just before 7:00 a.m. and excitedly jumping into our bed saying "It's pancake day!"  He loves pancakes, they're one of his favorite foods, so he always looks forward to Sundays here. :)

After breakfast several families all went to the market together.  We realized it would be too difficult to all try and stay together, so we decided to meet for lunch at Crepes and Waffles around noon.  I wanted to take Natalie there since they have such delicious food and amazing desserts.  So Natalie and the kids and I walked around the market and we had a really good time.  We found some great things. 

We got to the restaurant at noon and our friends had gotten there a bit earlier as their kids were hungry.  We totally understood, but when we joined them at their table they were almost done eating.  The wait staff completely ignored that we joined their table even though they kept glancing ovr at us.  Then our waitress came over finally and I asked for the menu.  She brought us the brunch menu, not the lunch menu which is much larger.  So I asked her when she came back and she not too pleasantly told me that we can't order from it until 12:30.  I told her we would wait, but that I wanted to order for the kids now.  She was clearly annoyed with me, took the order for the kids, and then walked away.  (This was all in Spanish.  I was doing my best!) 

So at 12:45 she took our order, and I made sure to ask for mine "sin queso" (without cheese).  A half hour later when our food came out, my crepe was covered in this cheesy, milky looking sauce.  (For those who don't know, I have IBS and can't eat dairy.)  I apologized to the waitress who brought it but said that I can't eat it because I have an allergy to milk and cheese.  She looked really confused and I tried to explain again, but then she took my plate and left.  I thought that they would just bring out a new one without the sauce, but Natalie wasn't convinced that they understood.  So ten minutes later our waitress came out with my plate and glared at me and said "Que paso?"  I apologized to her and told her that I ordered it without cheese because I can't eat cheese or milk, that I have an allergy.  She was so angry and fired off at me in really fast and angry Spanish and the gist was quite clear to Natalie and I: that it said on the menu that there was a cream sauce and that I have to pay for this because they made it for me.  I told her that I didn't see it on the menu, I'm really sorry, but I can't eat this.  She said that I had to pay for it and then glared at me some more!  So I asked her to please wait a minute and I got out my Spanish/English dictionary.  (Natalie told me that she was rolling her eyes at this point.)  I looked up the word for "manager" and then pointed to it as I asked to see the manager.  She said OK and then walked away.  Ten minutes later the manager came by and asked me what happened.  She spoke English which made it much easier for me to explain.  She was nice and understanding and explained that all of their crepes have this sauce on it.  She told me that I should order a pita and then handed me an English menu and said if I have any questions I can ask her.  Ten minutes after that (it's now getting close to 2:00 p.m.!) the waitress took my order.  About ten or so minutes after that my food came.  I was so hungry, almost weak at that point.  The food tasted really good! 

The kids did great during all of this, they really did.  What a gift.  And the food was delicious.  Carlos had an icecream and loved it, but Natalie ended up not ordering any dessert because we didn't want to be there any longer.  I felt bad.  I took her to this restaurant specifically for the delicious food and desserts, and it ended up being a terrible experience!  Despite all of this, I don't want to paint a bad picture of the restuarant.  It's normally wonderful.  I relate this experience only because of what else happened yesterday as well, so that you can get the full picture of what a crazy day this was! 

So after we left we walked back through the market.  There were still parts that we hadn't gone through.  All of a sudden Natalie didn't feel well and needed to find a bathroom.  I knew there was a bathroom in the Santa Barbara mall at the end of the market, so we hurried there.  There is also a playground there so we thought it would be good to let the kids run around and play for awhile after we made our pit stop.  We were at the playground not even five minutes when I turned around and Carlos was standing right next to me with his face covered in dirt and blood!  He had fallen off the swing onto his face!  It happened so fast, I didn't even see it.  I was helping Maria climb the ladder and cross the bridge.  I felt so bad!  It really hurt.  So I scooped up both kids and we sat with Natalie in the shade as I cleaned him up.  (As a side note, Maria normally starts to cry if I am not within arms reach of her at all times.  When I gave her to Natalie she started to fuss, but after a minute or two it's like she understood that Carlos really needed me and she sat quietly and contentedly on Tia's lap watching.) 

Carlos was in no mood to walk the mile back to the hotel, and wanted to be carried, so I put him in the Ergo carrier on my back, put the backpack on my front, and Natalie carried Maria and our purses.  We started off for the hotel but had to pass a few more booths of the market to get to the street we needed to cross.  We had to stop for a moment for something and when I looked over at the booth across from us they were selling, among other things, a wrap to carry little ones in.  We bought one without hesitation, for Natalie to carry Maria in! 

I wrapped Maria to her Tia, and off we went.  We got about a quarter of a mile when Natalie suddenly felt very ill again.  Her stomach hurt, she felt hot, she had to stop and take Maria off.  It was too much.  We rested for a few minutes but she really wanted to get back to the hotel.  So I carried Maria on my front, with Carlos still on my back, and Nat took the backpack.  About five minutes later she needed to stop again.  At this point I knew we couldn't make it.  So I walked up to the road and hailed the first taxi that went by.  It stopped.  (My first hailing was a success!  Thank you God!) 

We made it back to the hotel just in time. 

She slept for about an hour and a half or so.  Dinner was just rice, potatoes, and chicken, so that was just right for her to handle.  Poor thing though - she couldn't have a beer or a coffee or dessert on her birthday!

After dinner I wanted to take my Sprite with me upstairs.  Natalie and I were talking in the hallway as we're herding the kids upstairs and somehow my glass slipped out of my hand and smashed all over the floor!  Ahh!  What a fitting end to a crazy day!

Here is a photo of Carlos's nose last night before going to bed:

Today was much better, although I went to bed with a sore throat last night that I woke up with as well.  I felt run down.  We actually got to sleep in though as both kids slept until 8:00 a.m.!  We started our day off slowly but then decided to walk leisurely to the mall, to buy some Colombian music, some groceries at Exito (one of the anchor stores), and Black Costume Spider Man that Carlos has been working towards earning over the past two weeks.  Here are some photos from our walk to the mall:

I call this one boy on a bench with a stick.

Tia Natalie and Maria

Carlos with Tia Natalie

We took a taxi back to the hotel and lunch was waiting for us.  After lunch we just hung out in the room all afternoon as it was raining.  Here is Maria entertaining herself with the CDs that we got:

Carlos entertaining himself for a while in his "boat": the baby bathtub that he filled with pillows, a blanket, and some essential toys. He said he was sailing to New York.

We bought a chocolate cake at Exito to celebrate Natalie's birthday tonight.  After dinner, Juanita cranked up some music and came dancing out into the dining room with the candle-lit cake!  We were all clapping and laughing and I realized I should have a camera.  I dashed upstairs to get it and while I was en route I heard much lounder peels of laughter.  I ran down the stairs and into the dining room just in time to miss the dancing!  Juanita had grabbed Steve (the only guy here right now as the rest of our husbands are back home working) and made him dance with her.  I guess then she grabbed Natalie and made them dance together for a minute before Steve grabbed Juanita again and the three of them danced.  All this in the minute and a half I was gone!  I did get Juanita to pose for a picture with Natalie though:

Every day is a new adventure in Colombia!