Nothing Prolific

On the way to work, I saw a man leading a cow on a leash.  In the middle of town. On a sidewalk.  A cow... on a leash... in the middle of town... on the sidewalk.  I laughed in disbelief.  I may have played a scenario through my head of them going to the ATM, but more seriously, they AT LEAST walked by the ATM.  They were in the middle of town.  Not nearing the edge of town.  No.  That would be normal.  This, well, was odd.  However, no one else really seemed to mind or pay notice on the streets.  Interesting... is this a daily walk with a pet?  Not too far of a stretch.  I also may have imagined what the guy would do if the cow decided to run or got scared.  All too many amazing scenarios to think about.  I could probably continue to entertain all of you with just pet cow scenarios.  But... I won't.

Have I mentioned that Mr. F left to go back to America?  I am sure I have, probably immediately after he left and the waterworks began.  I miss this guy.  We miss this guy.  The kids and I are feeling his absence.  Apparently, Chad thinks he is the fun one.  Win for Mr. F, fail for mom.  I miss his cooking, his face, his help raising our kids, his face, his laugh and banter, and his face.

Soon enough.  I began planning our Christmas trip today and I have officially booked part of it...  I may cause many of you pain, but the stories of where and what we did will come to the blog in it's own time.  I am giddy with excitement!

This weekend was busy.  I actually had a "long" weekend, as Claire woke up with conjunctitivis in her eye on Thursday.  Luckily, I was planned and prepared coming from The States with pink eye meds (whew).  I was in denial and went to work... that was a BAD idea.  Her eye was gooping, she was rubbing and screaming... ugh.  So I arranged a ride home, made sure Chad had someone to bring him home and Claire and I drove home with Mohammed.  We started her meds right away and just rested at the apartment.  On Friday, I was up and at it... ready for work.  Claire woke up with conjunctivitus in her other eye.  Genius mom didn't think to put drops in BOTH eyes... argh!  I sent Chad to school with a cake and goodies to celebrate with his classmates and Claire and I braved the doctor.

My thought while walking to the doctor went something like this: "You don't HAVE to go.  Why don't you want to go?  Well, you DO NOT know the language enough to communicate medical needs, or what your appointment desire is for... But if Joe was here, he wouldn't think twice.  He'd go.  If Joe was here, I'd go... aka safety net. Oh, Lex, stop.  Be a good mom, be brave and GO!"

So off we strolled, down the street, across from Poly du Sud the private hospital to the Pediatrition Naiama.  I walked in.  Told them she had goopy eyes (insert eye gesture here).  Then the lady said "ummmhmmmm."  Then, we had a stand off.  An awkward stand off.  I stood holding Happs, confused.  The lady stared like I was CRAZY.  She then told me to sit.  Oh.  It is that simple?  No registration?  No forms?  Nothing? 

So we sat, for an hour.  Finally people just started getting up in the order they came in and walking back when someone walked out.  Oh, dang.  They don't call us?  I missed our first opportunity and was ready for the second.  We walked in and I tried to communicate with the nurse, we did ok.  At least got the job done.  Then, I was able to communicate about her eyes and that she needed the Hep A booster... WHEW!  The appointment was a success, with a Hep A vaccination, conjunctivitis and an ear infection diagnosed we paid our very small bill, got our insurance papers stamped and were on our way to the pharmacy. 

On my way to the pharmacy, I did the math of the total cost of the entire doctor visit.  Our insurance reimburses at 90%, so I had to pay the bill in FULL.  I paid roughly $30 for the appointment, $30 for the vaccination and was about to discover I would be paying $9 for two prescriptions.  That is a total of about $70 USD all said and done... and I will get 90% of that $70 back after the insurance receives my claim.  Holy affordable health care... unfortunately, not true for a lot of Moroccans. 

After the doctor, Anna and I decorated Chad's cakes for his party that evening.  We had tea and played with frosting.  It was rather enjoyable. 

Shortly after, we FaceTimed with Joe so Chad could open his birthday gifts.  We opened a new scooter (69dhs scooter from August is falling apart), new shoes and a door basketball hoop from Happy. 

At 530p people started arriving for Chad's party.  The community here is amazing.  The house filled up with familiar faces and children's screams, the snack disappeared and we then sang Chaddy Happy Birthday nice and loud.  We all enjoyed the tasty cake and each other's company. Cheers to 6 years old!

On Saturday, we had our ASM expat community Thanksgiving Dinner.  I perfected my quiche for an appetizer and marinated some olives to add to the spread of dishes.  I decided on the elevator, that I must be near 30 if I am baking quiches and marinating olives.  These are two things I would have never done in my 20s...

We at appetizers at Bridgette's, moved down to Aisha's for dinner and up to Diego and Kate's for dessert.  The people, food and company was absolutely amazing.  It was worth the wait and was a fantastic filler for missing family and friends at home.  Not a replacement... a filler:)  The holidays, especially this one without Mr. F, was hard.  I had fun.  The kids had fun.  But there was definitely an incomplete feeling... 

On Sunday, my children painted and we put together our homemade Christmas tree... we have officially warmed our apartment with decorations and the spirit of Christmas.  Christmas movies are playing in our house and music is blaring at any moment we have. 

This week has a lot in store... such as more workouts like these:

As well as field trips, report cards and professional development.  On the more exciting side... another birthday party and a possible day trip to the mountains! 

Much love to all of you back at home.

xo

Lex