ME vs. the Mosquitoes

My biggest challenge so far is how to deal with the monster mosquitoes. They are constantly attacking me and my girls. A is covered in them and E was rubbing a bite on her wrist that then turned into a blister/boil so large that my neighbor was concerned enough to convince another neighbor to send a picture of it to her husband, a doctor. Great. At one point E, only 7 months old, had 9 bites literally from head to toe. I stopped counting A’s bites at 15 and never tried to count my own. Needless to say we were suffering.

This problem required a multi-faceted approach with troops fighting on many fronts. We went old school with the mosquito nets at night and found a bug replant that wasn’t toxic. I have to reapply it like 4 times a day but it was either that or cover the girls in something that was “hazardous to humans.”

I find myself wearing long dresses and pants the spraying Off on my ankles and feet.

Then there is the poison. I’ve only used the spray once on the plants (the owner recommended it) and we burn the coil outside on the covered terrace. E isn’t crawling yet and A doesn’t mess with the plants, but using the spray was a sort of last resort. The coil is great for short periods of time… I try not to think about what we are breathing in. Lately I have also been forgoing my cool tropical breeze (especially in the morning) and keeping the windows and doors closed.

I’m not sure what works and what doesn’t but there is a BIG difference in the amount of bites we’re getting from the first week to today :) I’ll try to find a less toxic way to deal with them when we move into our house, but for now I’m just glad not to see the girls covered in welts.

Pineapple Juice

Don’t you hate when you buy a pineapple and have to cut away half the fruit to get to the sweet part. My hubby has a great way to use those pineapple skins to make juice.

Make sure you wash the outside of the pineapple before you cut it.

Cut the pineapple the way you normally would setting aside all the cuttings.

Boil 4 quarts of water. Add pineapple skins to the boiling water and remove from the heat, letting them seep for 30 mins.

When the skins are finished seeping add them to the blender and blend until a pulp has formed.

Strain the skins into a container and repeat until all the skins are done.

Grate a piece of ginger 1 inch long.

Sweeten with sugar to taste.

Waste nothing….

Shopping in a Time Warp

I walk into the grocery store and (this has happened at a couple of different places) it’s like stepping into 1995. Back when nothing was bad for you and the more complex the scent the better - You know, before organic and natural foods/items became popular. The food selection is not what I left in North Carolina. I never realized how fortunate I was to be able to choose what brand of whole wheat bread I wanted to buy. Here there are 15 different varieties of white bread and maybe 2 of wheat bread – and only one whole wheat bread. Organic dairy? Forget about it. Unscented wipes? I don’t think so. Why wouldn’t you want your baby to smell like a fresh spring morning?

There are a few “organic/green” health stores in town, but they are more like health convenience stores – a little bit of everything, but no good variety of anything. I was able to pick up a bottle of mosquito replant that didn’t have the warning “hazardous to humans” listed on the back. We won’t talk about how much it cost.

Tropical fruit on the other hand is in abundance! Yay for mangos, bananas, pineapples, star fruit and papayas!!! These are not purchased in the grocery store, but directly from farmers along the side of the road. We’ve also driven by a free range grass fed cattle pasture and are determined to find out where those cows end up… hopefully in my freezer ;)

Welcome Home

So here we are in paradise. My family has officially relocated to Puerto Rico, which is still (technically) in the US but also not really. Hubby grew up on an island and this is about as close to home as he’s going to get right now. I on the other hand am a mainland princess and have some adjusting to do…

I was looking online for an AA mom expat blog and couldn’t find one… so I guess that is what this will develop into. There are so many things to discuss… hmmmm where to start?

It’s been a couple of weeks and I still kinda feel like I’m on vacation. Our belongings have not reached and we are staying in a furnished home on the beach  It’s a little rough juggling the girls without my supplies but we are making due. Poor E is sooo sick of her car seat/ high chair/ bouncer and A has all but given up on her “room”. It’s now just the place we store their clothes.

Oops. Nap time is over, I hear someone crying…