Gabi's 9!
Gabi turned 9 last week. This year I decided to forego the huge birthday party production in favor of one of those places you pay to go to for a few hours, but it still ended up being a massive party-filled week.
On Monday (the day before her birthday) I was literally sick to my stomach and could barely get out of bed the whole day. I attempted to go to work around noon just so I could get her a little something to open up on Tuesday morning (her big gift was an iPod which she had already gotten a month before) but I could barely stand up. That night she looked so sad that I was sick and kept asking me "Mom, are you going to be OK tomorrow for my birthday?". She had already said weeks ago she wanted breakfast in bed (pancakes) so damnit if I wasn't going to get better by Tuesday morning so I could make her breakfast in bed (Jose had to help some cause I was weak and woozy but we did it). It took me basically all week to recover my energy and appetite after being sick on Monday but thankfully I am fine now.
On Tuesday (her actual birthday) we just took her to Chili's for dinner (I almost vomited again when she mentioned Chili's but I was able to keep down a bowl of soup). That morning I also sent birthday cupcakes to her school so that the whole classroom could sing Happy Birthday to her during a break.
I had been sad that my Mom wasn't going to be able to be here for her birthday (she usually always spends one month twice a year, once for Sebas' bday in April and once for Gabi's bday in October). This year plane tickets were too expensive for travel BEFORE Gabi's bday so I had to buy them for afterwards. However, she was coming on Friday evening so I was also sad she was going to miss her birthday party too. However, we had another birthday lunch with family planned for her on Saturday so at least she was going to be able to do some celebrating with Gabi. However, because I am so crazy this time of year between work and home stuff, I hadn't realized Mom's plane was actually arriving Thursday evening, thank goodness she called me from MIA because otherwise I wouldn't have gone to pick her up! She would've been stranded at the airport with no one to pick her up. But thankfully she was able to go to the girls' birthday party on Friday afternoon.
So on Friday we went to Princess Factory, a "princess spa" that specializes in girls' birthday parties. Only the girls from Gabi's classroom went but OMG was that exhausting! I thought boys were exhausting but ten 9-year olds running around like chickens with their heads cut off is pretty exhausting too.
Saturday we had a family lunch that was thankfully a bit less work than the party on Friday but still, by 4 pm I think I was ready for bed, and Jose made me go to Expo Vino Vivanda because of a work thing, which meant I had to drink wine the night before attempting to run 16 miles with my running buddy.
So Sunday morning I started running with my friend but between the wines the night before (honestly it wasn't that much at all), the SUN that all of a sudden started beaming upon Lima, the fact that I was still weak from being sick on Monday and all the birthday celebration exhausting I was BEAT. At 12 miles I simply didn't know how I was supposed to keep going. We had to run to my friend's place and grab a bike so I could do the last 4 miles with her running and me on the bike next to her cheering her on. She's attempting to run the NYC marathon this Sunday and I hope she can finish the whole thing!
Now we have a trip to Miami scheduled for Thanksgiving, IF I can get my residence permit extended in time. This is the time of year I really start hating Peru and all its bureaucratic crap. This stuff should't take so long, cause so many headaches, or cost so much money. But alas, hopefully a month from now I will be writing from Miami about a wonderful Thanksgiving trip which I was able to pull off thanks to (hopefully) getting the permit renewed in time. I also JUST realized this afternoon that my US passport needs some more pages so that's another time-consuming appointment at an embassy and a boat load of money I need to shell out last week so that I can travel out. I swear I need to take a month of from work every year this same time just so I can deal with all this crap.
On Monday (the day before her birthday) I was literally sick to my stomach and could barely get out of bed the whole day. I attempted to go to work around noon just so I could get her a little something to open up on Tuesday morning (her big gift was an iPod which she had already gotten a month before) but I could barely stand up. That night she looked so sad that I was sick and kept asking me "Mom, are you going to be OK tomorrow for my birthday?". She had already said weeks ago she wanted breakfast in bed (pancakes) so damnit if I wasn't going to get better by Tuesday morning so I could make her breakfast in bed (Jose had to help some cause I was weak and woozy but we did it). It took me basically all week to recover my energy and appetite after being sick on Monday but thankfully I am fine now.
On Tuesday (her actual birthday) we just took her to Chili's for dinner (I almost vomited again when she mentioned Chili's but I was able to keep down a bowl of soup). That morning I also sent birthday cupcakes to her school so that the whole classroom could sing Happy Birthday to her during a break.
I had been sad that my Mom wasn't going to be able to be here for her birthday (she usually always spends one month twice a year, once for Sebas' bday in April and once for Gabi's bday in October). This year plane tickets were too expensive for travel BEFORE Gabi's bday so I had to buy them for afterwards. However, she was coming on Friday evening so I was also sad she was going to miss her birthday party too. However, we had another birthday lunch with family planned for her on Saturday so at least she was going to be able to do some celebrating with Gabi. However, because I am so crazy this time of year between work and home stuff, I hadn't realized Mom's plane was actually arriving Thursday evening, thank goodness she called me from MIA because otherwise I wouldn't have gone to pick her up! She would've been stranded at the airport with no one to pick her up. But thankfully she was able to go to the girls' birthday party on Friday afternoon.
So on Friday we went to Princess Factory, a "princess spa" that specializes in girls' birthday parties. Only the girls from Gabi's classroom went but OMG was that exhausting! I thought boys were exhausting but ten 9-year olds running around like chickens with their heads cut off is pretty exhausting too.
Saturday we had a family lunch that was thankfully a bit less work than the party on Friday but still, by 4 pm I think I was ready for bed, and Jose made me go to Expo Vino Vivanda because of a work thing, which meant I had to drink wine the night before attempting to run 16 miles with my running buddy.
So Sunday morning I started running with my friend but between the wines the night before (honestly it wasn't that much at all), the SUN that all of a sudden started beaming upon Lima, the fact that I was still weak from being sick on Monday and all the birthday celebration exhausting I was BEAT. At 12 miles I simply didn't know how I was supposed to keep going. We had to run to my friend's place and grab a bike so I could do the last 4 miles with her running and me on the bike next to her cheering her on. She's attempting to run the NYC marathon this Sunday and I hope she can finish the whole thing!
Now we have a trip to Miami scheduled for Thanksgiving, IF I can get my residence permit extended in time. This is the time of year I really start hating Peru and all its bureaucratic crap. This stuff should't take so long, cause so many headaches, or cost so much money. But alas, hopefully a month from now I will be writing from Miami about a wonderful Thanksgiving trip which I was able to pull off thanks to (hopefully) getting the permit renewed in time. I also JUST realized this afternoon that my US passport needs some more pages so that's another time-consuming appointment at an embassy and a boat load of money I need to shell out last week so that I can travel out. I swear I need to take a month of from work every year this same time just so I can deal with all this crap.
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