Adios Allie

Our Allie just left with Norman (our cab driver) on her way to the airport....we are sad to see her go. It's been a wonderful week with her and it just flew by!! I am really proud of her because she flew here alone and is going home the same way. Her flight is at 8:00 AM this morning and leaving at 5:45 AM with the girls is not easy and would make for a tough rest of the day (my girls do not do well without a lot of sleep) so I asked her how she felt about going alone with Norman. She was good to go with it - I gave Norman all the instructions and she will check in and be sure everything is O.K. before he leaves her at the airport. Hard to say goodbye to our sweet girl.

Our last day with her was a lot of fun - the girls slept in and I did NOT make them run this morning!! ;) We went to see the new Harry Potter movie (excellent) and had a great lunch at one of our favorite places, Esperanza. It's a coffee shop that is really close to where we live - they have pastries and also panini's for lunch - yum!! Our cab driver - who speaks very little English says" I likie panini" ;) We also went to another one of our favorite restaurants for dinner - Mia Luna which is an Italian restaurant that has a view that is amazing!! So we took a lot of pictures and enjoyed the beautiful view and good food.

I thought that yesterday would be a day when I could finally relax...the Consejo met and I have the entire weekend to celebrate but what the reality was, is just the opposite!! I couldn't sleep and kept waking up even though I was so tired. I slept about 4 hours total and felt like a truck had run me over. My nerves were shot and my body ached. I am so surprised by this, I thought, maybe I'm getting sick.

I told my husband about how I was feeling and he said that it makes perfect sense to him. He says I have been full of anticipation (as well as, anxiety) for this day for so long that I didn't realize the toll it was taking on my body. I think he's right. I think it had the same toll on the girls - Gracie was so defiant - not listening well to any of us - Scarlett talked back to me most the day and Lucie cried often for no reason.....urgh!! Isn't is always like that though - when you are having a tough day, every one of your kids decides, "Let's get Mommy" and boy, do they know how!!!

We have also been so busy with Allie - showing her places we love, places she hasn't seen and making the most of all the time we have had with her. So it's been a crazy week - a crazy 10 weeks!!! Saturday was our 70th day in Nicaragua...I don't like counting each day but I have the days numbered every Saturday to give me an idea of how long it has been. No wonder I'm a little tired!! ;)

Sunday's are always my favorite day of the week but today is a little sad...up early to get Allie on her way, exhausted and sad to see our girl go - so we are planning on taking it easy today. A day of long naps, sitting at the pool and just thinking things through.....It really amazes me how your body tells you when it can't do anymore, so I need to listen and rejuvenate.

So this Sunday is our day to relax...a day to remember and talk about all the fun we had with Allie when she was here. We can plan for our week to come and we will know by mid-week when my husband will be back!! I hope you are all having a great weekend - a great summer and I promise to be much more "enthusiastic" on my next blog!!

Love and Blessings....