I have escaped my home to have a great breakfast with Ed and KK and to teach a lesson to Ed and Bonnie. It feels so good to be sitting in the studio and hear the silence around me.
Doug is feeling awful with his cold funk and Drew is recovering from his, Mariah is learning to use her crutches and is still helpless in many ways.
It is time to gather the information for Mariah's yearly report to the Ukrainian Embassy that should include all of the years development, I plan to do this soon and get it sent before I travel back to the DR. I can hardly believe that she has been with us for almost 4 years wow how the time goes.
I am crossing my fingers that Doug feels better soon, so that we can have a date.
I leave for the Country Western World Competition on Dec 31.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!
We wish you a very Merry Christmas.
I am sending many blessing to all, where to start, we have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and there is so much to write about. Last evening we enjoyed dinner with Dougs mom and brother and the kids had a blast opening presents and baking cookies for Santa.
Drew and Mariah have a tradition of sleeping together every Christmas Eve and the cast did not stop this tradition. They were early to bed and I was beginning to wonder if Santa would make it to our house but he did indeed show up and left a pink corvette for Mariah to cruise around in and many games and technology things Drew was pleased to get.
The kids spent the day playing with their toys and we were invited to our friends Jan and Norm for dinner, we had a wonderful time and the kids played great, its so cool to have great friends.
I am wondering why the time is going so quickly this month but we are already at the end of 07 and 08 is knocking on our door.
Mariah will have a doctors appointment tomorrow and she should get a new cast, I hope this is true because the current one looks like she has had it for years and the toe is broken, so much for this injury slowing her down, she has been hell on wheels since Sunday afternoon and definitely does not show any signs of pain or discomfort from the break. She is sleeping well and gets around by crawling on her knees, sliding on her stomach and hopping on one foot. I plan to go find smaller crutches tomorrow, the ones the hospital gave us are to big so go figure.
Drew is in need of a doctors appointment for the cough he has and we hope to get him seen this week.
I am going to close now, its late and I feel exhausted.
Peace, Love and Happiness to all,
The Daffron's
I am sending many blessing to all, where to start, we have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and there is so much to write about. Last evening we enjoyed dinner with Dougs mom and brother and the kids had a blast opening presents and baking cookies for Santa.
Drew and Mariah have a tradition of sleeping together every Christmas Eve and the cast did not stop this tradition. They were early to bed and I was beginning to wonder if Santa would make it to our house but he did indeed show up and left a pink corvette for Mariah to cruise around in and many games and technology things Drew was pleased to get.
The kids spent the day playing with their toys and we were invited to our friends Jan and Norm for dinner, we had a wonderful time and the kids played great, its so cool to have great friends.
I am wondering why the time is going so quickly this month but we are already at the end of 07 and 08 is knocking on our door.
Mariah will have a doctors appointment tomorrow and she should get a new cast, I hope this is true because the current one looks like she has had it for years and the toe is broken, so much for this injury slowing her down, she has been hell on wheels since Sunday afternoon and definitely does not show any signs of pain or discomfort from the break. She is sleeping well and gets around by crawling on her knees, sliding on her stomach and hopping on one foot. I plan to go find smaller crutches tomorrow, the ones the hospital gave us are to big so go figure.
Drew is in need of a doctors appointment for the cough he has and we hope to get him seen this week.
I am going to close now, its late and I feel exhausted.
Peace, Love and Happiness to all,
The Daffron's
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Sweet Home Carolina !!
We have arrived to the cold weather of Durham North Carolina. The kids are laid up, Drew with a nasty cold and Mariah with a broken foot. What can I say never a dull moment in the life of the Daffrons.
We have had a wonderful time spending time with friends and family. We have been getting into the holiday spirit and have enjoyed spending time in church and relaxing.
Doug and I hit the road on last Monday for Charlotte, Tue Doug headed to Virginia Beach to train and spend time, I taught lessons at the studio and prepared the tree with the kids.
Doug returned from Virgina Beach on Thur and we enjoyed a night out shopping and dinner.
Friday was a busy day with lots of kids in and out of the house, Drew planned a party with friends and Mariah was having fun with her favorite neighbors when she was doing flips on the trampoline and broke her ankle. We spent the evening from 11pm until 4am in the Duke ER and came home with a cast. I guess you can say this has been an early Christmas present. I did not ask Santa for this gift but will find the positive in all of this and tell you that as I carry my 5 year old bundle of joy my arms are getting stronger and I am using muscles in my back that I did not know I had. We have done some great art projects and have enjoyed spending time together.
I will post some photos of Mariah and her new dance partner "the cast" soon.
Hugs to all,
Missy
We have had a wonderful time spending time with friends and family. We have been getting into the holiday spirit and have enjoyed spending time in church and relaxing.
Doug and I hit the road on last Monday for Charlotte, Tue Doug headed to Virginia Beach to train and spend time, I taught lessons at the studio and prepared the tree with the kids.
Doug returned from Virgina Beach on Thur and we enjoyed a night out shopping and dinner.
Friday was a busy day with lots of kids in and out of the house, Drew planned a party with friends and Mariah was having fun with her favorite neighbors when she was doing flips on the trampoline and broke her ankle. We spent the evening from 11pm until 4am in the Duke ER and came home with a cast. I guess you can say this has been an early Christmas present. I did not ask Santa for this gift but will find the positive in all of this and tell you that as I carry my 5 year old bundle of joy my arms are getting stronger and I am using muscles in my back that I did not know I had. We have done some great art projects and have enjoyed spending time together.
I will post some photos of Mariah and her new dance partner "the cast" soon.
Hugs to all,
Missy
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Freaky Weather Slams Caribbean
The title is the headline on a news site I just read. This is so true. I have so much to write but am exhausted and my body is so tight. The storm hit us about 12:30 last night and was so strong until about 2 ish I finally fell asleep around 430am. The kids had no school. Most of the area is without power, thankfully we have power and only had to find our lawn chairs and laundry from the line. What can I say it was the worst storm I have ever experienced and the winds were unreal, I kept going out side to look for the screaming girl only to be almost swept off my feet by the wind. I will write more when things calm down. I am typing and the rain is coming down really hard now 6pm our time.
God Bless,
Missy
God Bless,
Missy
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Good or Bad
Hay every one I'm back (it's Drew). So it's good that we are leaving soon but bad that there's another tropical storm is here i hope it leaves soon. if my mom did not tell you then i will when i played soccer on when was it um OH yeah like on Thursday my school had a soccer game and the caption (sense the coach was in the us) promised that i could play because I'm on the team and at half time i asked him "am i going to play". he responded by saying "no not until we are winning if not then you will not get to play". at the half it was tied 0-0 my friend Omar asked the caption (which is the goalie) if he could play goalie he said " no I'm going to play the whole game". my other friend Andy asked if I DREW was going to play goalie he said no also and he said if i was going to play in the game then i would have to play DEFENCE I SUCK AT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!( he does not know that). well i got to go study for a spelling test got to get an A+ and i also have to study for a reading quiz G2G
peace out 2007
"OLGA"
Hey folks! Guess what? We are in the middle of yet another storm. Olga has arrived and she is very interesting. What do I mean by interesting? We are experiencing stop and go rain and wind. The weather will be calm and not rain and all is still and then 20 minutes later the sky will open up and it will pour buckets of rain and the wind seems like the setting is on high of my hair dryer.
The kids went to school but at 10am I received a call from Drew telling me that school was letting out at noon. I hope the storm passes through quickly because the kids go stir crazy in the house.
I thought that Raquel would not come to work today because it is flooding and high water all around town and the local government is telling the people that we are under a red alertand to stay home. Raquel did show up and now we have wet laundry hanging all over our house, I think we have the same clothes on the line out side that she put up Friday and they are still WET.
How does the song go about the rain going away? I need the words so that we can sing it.
We are hoping that school will be in session tomorrow because Mariah has a class party and Drew's class needs to practice there dance for Friday.
We are hoping that school will be in session tomorrow because Mariah has a class party and Drew's class needs to practice there dance for Friday.
The photo above was taken as soon as we got home from school. Take note of how dark it is.
Hope you staying dry in your part of the world.
Missy, Drew and Mariah
Monday, December 10, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
TAKE #1
Mariah and Drew waiting to go to the dance lesson... One of the many rainbows we have seen....
OK I don't want to get 2 excited but it looks like I am making progress. Vesna helped me yesterday and I am very grateful.
More to come,
Missy
Thursday, December 6, 2007
?? CHRISTMAS ??
I finally got the photo going in the right direction.
December 6, 2007
WOW I can hardly believe that we are in December. I have to keep writing and typing it because it just doesn't feel like Christmas. Yes, I see many dusty Christmas trees and a few out door decorations but other wise yuck. We are still counting down until we arrive home in Durham December 15. 9 Sleeps.What’s happening? Dancing more and spending a lot of time at the school with the kids, for this I am happy. School projects on North Carolina, dogs, Michael Vick, Sharks. This has been enough to keep us busy. Did I mention Mariah is learning to read....yeah she is doing quite well and enjoys herself on most days. Doug has been away for a week now and is spending time with his Dad in St.Louis unfortunately Doug arrived on Friday and his Dad was put in the hospital on Monday so the visit has been interesting. We hope he will be going to rehab tomorrow. My mom had surgery late last month and is out of commission for about 6 weeks i.e. no driving, lifting etc so life is not fun for her now. We have some interesting activities coming up in the next few days before we leave for the states. Tomorrow Mariah has a dance at school for kindergarten thru 3rd grade. Christmas party for Mariah's class Wed, Christmas party for Drew’s class Thru, school Christmas bazaar on Thru afternoon, school wide Christmas show and concert on Friday and another party for Drew that evening. Hopefully this is enough to get me in the spirit. I want to smell a Christmas tree and see a fire in my fireplace.Warm greetings to all.
Love
The Daffrons
WOW I can hardly believe that we are in December. I have to keep writing and typing it because it just doesn't feel like Christmas. Yes, I see many dusty Christmas trees and a few out door decorations but other wise yuck. We are still counting down until we arrive home in Durham December 15. 9 Sleeps.What’s happening? Dancing more and spending a lot of time at the school with the kids, for this I am happy. School projects on North Carolina, dogs, Michael Vick, Sharks. This has been enough to keep us busy. Did I mention Mariah is learning to read....yeah she is doing quite well and enjoys herself on most days. Doug has been away for a week now and is spending time with his Dad in St.Louis unfortunately Doug arrived on Friday and his Dad was put in the hospital on Monday so the visit has been interesting. We hope he will be going to rehab tomorrow. My mom had surgery late last month and is out of commission for about 6 weeks i.e. no driving, lifting etc so life is not fun for her now. We have some interesting activities coming up in the next few days before we leave for the states. Tomorrow Mariah has a dance at school for kindergarten thru 3rd grade. Christmas party for Mariah's class Wed, Christmas party for Drew’s class Thru, school Christmas bazaar on Thru afternoon, school wide Christmas show and concert on Friday and another party for Drew that evening. Hopefully this is enough to get me in the spirit. I want to smell a Christmas tree and see a fire in my fireplace.Warm greetings to all.
Love
The Daffrons
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
I WANT PHOTOS
I am really frustrated. I want to post photos and I can't figure it out. No I am not asking my husband, sorry he would be sweet about it but I want to figure it out on my own. Plan B is to get Mariah's teacher to help me tomorrow.
Stay tuned,
Missy
PS Problem #2 when I do spell check its all yellow because I can't turn off the spanish.
Stay tuned,
Missy
PS Problem #2 when I do spell check its all yellow because I can't turn off the spanish.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Happy belated Thanksgiving!!
Where to begin? I first must ask forgiveness for leaving all the folks that so faithfully read our post high and dry. I have not good excuse but will fill you in on what has been happening in our life. I left the island on November 10 and arrived in Raleigh-Durham to cold weather and a chill that I was not prepared for. I must say thanks to our dear friend Jan who came out late in the evening to fetch me from the airport and transport me home. I did not remember that I needed a ride until I was about the board the flight in Atlanta and boy was I thankful that Jan saved the day.I was able to spend Monday, Veterans Day in Durham and Doug arrived from the competition in Greenville SC. Doug said the comp was great and he was so happy to connect with all our Fred Astaire family.I left for the Ohio Star Ball on Tues November 13 in Columbus Ohio and if I thought the weather was cold in Durham I was only put in shock when exiting the plane in Ohio. What can I say about the WORLDS LARGEST PRO-AM DANCE COMPETITION. I honestly worked from 8 in the morning until past midnight every day and when Sunday arrived I was crossed eyes and ready to run away. I did just this and departed Ohio Sunday afternoon, arrived in Durham Sunday evening and left again Monday morning for the island.Arriving home almost lifeless I literally crashed for 2 days and pulled myself together so that we could go away Thursday for a long Thanksgiving weekend. We had a super time and the weather was nice.Since November 19 I have read 4 yes 4 books the most I have read in this amount of time ever, you ask why I don't know just the urge for reading and the comfort that it has brought me, it just feels right.Thanksgiving with no turkey and trimmings was different, it just didn't feel like Thanksgiving, the kids had school, we worked with Drew’s class to chorograph a dance for the Christmas program December 14 and pack to go away not the typical day with all our extended international family coming to enjoy the day, searching the sales paper and going for a late movie. I truly missed the annual tradition and am waiting to hear how the celebration worked out.Our kids, what can I say they are super if I do say so myself. Drew and Mariah both received awards for academic excellence, perfect attendance and citizenship. I will post the video clip link so you can see for yourself soon.So what is in store for the Daffrons from now to the end of the year? Doug leaves for RDU Wed and St Louis on Friday. We will arrive in Durham on Sat Dec 15 and just for the record folks that is 19 sleeps, Drew and Mariah are counting the days.So in closing so that I can catch the finals of DWTS thanks for checking in on us and Happy Holidays to you and yours.HugsMissy, Doug, Drew and Mariah
Friday, November 9, 2007
RESULTS ARE IN....
We received the results from the test yesterday afternoon. Mariah has a urinary track infection and a stomach infection. I have consulted with her pediatrician at home and will get her medication from the states and do a 2 week course of antibiotics instead of the 30 days they want me to do here. The doctor also wants to take another blood draw in 30 days to make sure the infection is gone. I think these folks are vampires around here they want to draw blood for everything.
I plan to head to the states next week. I have a over night in Durham to pick up some warm winter clothes before going to Ohio.
We have been invaded by mosquito's and I am sending spray for the kids to school. We have had so much rain. I want to do my best to dodge the dengue, so many kids we know have had it and tell us it is awful so we have our eyes and ears out for flying things.
The report cards for Drew and Mariah were great, Drew received all A's in all his core subjects and Mariah received great marks. I must admit that his grades in the specials were not as outstanding and I have taken it upon myself to meet with the teachers, director and board members. They have a different system for grading music, PE, art, computers, Spanish etc and this system is what I call impression GRADING and is not acceptable. I am wondering if I just have to much time on my hands and should not sweat the small stuff but when a teacher can not explain or tell me how he came about a certain grade, and got your child confused with another and to top it off says he has missed alot of school when he has PERFECT ATTENDANCE, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS...So I will persist until I am satisfied or until they lock me out of the school :)
No worries the director was in complete agreement with me and is helping me get answers and grades changed and to educated the teachers on how to evulate children.
On another note we had a great school event today. FUN FAIR. I was in charge of the bead table and this was a great hit with many beautiful things being made. The kids had a blast and we finished just before the rain arrived. I hope to post some photos soon.
I am very tired, I am going to sleep and try and catch up on some much needed rest.
Sweet dreams,
Missy, Mariah and Drew
I plan to head to the states next week. I have a over night in Durham to pick up some warm winter clothes before going to Ohio.
We have been invaded by mosquito's and I am sending spray for the kids to school. We have had so much rain. I want to do my best to dodge the dengue, so many kids we know have had it and tell us it is awful so we have our eyes and ears out for flying things.
The report cards for Drew and Mariah were great, Drew received all A's in all his core subjects and Mariah received great marks. I must admit that his grades in the specials were not as outstanding and I have taken it upon myself to meet with the teachers, director and board members. They have a different system for grading music, PE, art, computers, Spanish etc and this system is what I call impression GRADING and is not acceptable. I am wondering if I just have to much time on my hands and should not sweat the small stuff but when a teacher can not explain or tell me how he came about a certain grade, and got your child confused with another and to top it off says he has missed alot of school when he has PERFECT ATTENDANCE, I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS...So I will persist until I am satisfied or until they lock me out of the school :)
No worries the director was in complete agreement with me and is helping me get answers and grades changed and to educated the teachers on how to evulate children.
On another note we had a great school event today. FUN FAIR. I was in charge of the bead table and this was a great hit with many beautiful things being made. The kids had a blast and we finished just before the rain arrived. I hope to post some photos soon.
I am very tired, I am going to sleep and try and catch up on some much needed rest.
Sweet dreams,
Missy, Mariah and Drew
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Its Doctor Time..
Doug is on his way back to Durham as we speak... he decided to go a few days early to take care of things with his mom, she broke her hip again and is now going to rehab and well you know the drill...He will also be going to the Greenville competiton so all is good. I think I am going to the states next week but will know for sure when I hear the results of Mariah's labs.
i had to take Mariah to the doctor today i think she has worms or stomach bacteria or infection because she has been having severe stomach aches after she eats.
After the doctor, nurse and i caught her they took her blood i tell you she is the strongest kid i know it really sucked but only in a 3rd world country would the doc take your kid next door and buy her ice cream and sit her on her lap and tell her how sorry she was but that she is going to make her better by taking the worms and pain from her belly it was amazing. We also had to take stool samples and pee samples and well it just sucks. I should know something tomorrow or Friday at the latest.
Dr. Anny gave us a prescription but after going to 5 pharmacy's and not having any luck I decided to try Puerto Plata tomorrow.
The kids have a half day tomorrow because of parent teacher conferences so they are happy for the break. Drew will practice soccer for a couple of hours and work on his DNA project.
Hope you and yours are happy and healthy!!!
Missy, Drew and Mariah
i had to take Mariah to the doctor today i think she has worms or stomach bacteria or infection because she has been having severe stomach aches after she eats.
After the doctor, nurse and i caught her they took her blood i tell you she is the strongest kid i know it really sucked but only in a 3rd world country would the doc take your kid next door and buy her ice cream and sit her on her lap and tell her how sorry she was but that she is going to make her better by taking the worms and pain from her belly it was amazing. We also had to take stool samples and pee samples and well it just sucks. I should know something tomorrow or Friday at the latest.
Dr. Anny gave us a prescription but after going to 5 pharmacy's and not having any luck I decided to try Puerto Plata tomorrow.
The kids have a half day tomorrow because of parent teacher conferences so they are happy for the break. Drew will practice soccer for a couple of hours and work on his DNA project.
Hope you and yours are happy and healthy!!!
Missy, Drew and Mariah
Sunday, November 4, 2007
school and life drew style
on Friday i stayed up until 6am partying with a cat that was evil my friend Andrew and his sister Maddie and i tamed the cat!!!! but as usual mariah (when i was a sleep 6am-9am)attacked the cat and made it evil i was so so so so mad because it scratched me and my hand. my hand has like 15 scratches. well also i made the school soccer team I'm a back up goalie for the open team (open team grades are 6-12) and i made goalie for all the other teams. on Friday the boys soccer team played the girls soccer team i played assume goalie i made at least 6 or 7 saves and like had 1 assists from the goal!!!! the 8Th grade and under (6-8) are on all the teams (there are 3 teams) and on friday next week we play three teams i will miss a hole lot of class waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooooooo it rocks (i hope i miss Spanish it's my worst class!!!!! of course). well also i hear that I'm getting student of the month we will see soon please please comment me and if you know my email email me
peace out 2007
DREW!!!!!!!!!!(MISS YOU ALL)
Family Fun....
Just getting in from an over night fun trip to an all inclusive resort " Riu Bachata." We headed out yesterday and arrived at around noon the weather was just awesome, thank goodness for the sun. Lots of pool time, beach fun, all kinds of sports and food galore. I have to document that we all four slept together in one big bed, this was a first for both Doug and I. I danced alot last evening and got a real good fix for my dance bug, thank goodness.
Halloween was great for Mariah, she had a super party and looked great as Hello Kitty.
We are hearing many sad things about the south coast of Dominican Republic and Haiti
and are truly thankful and blessed to have dodged the storm. I have to ask myself why do these folks live by the rivers or so close but no decent answer comes from anyone. I hear that aid is arriving daily and pray that these folks do not suffer.
Doug will be traveling back to the states next week and Iwill be going to Ohio the week of Nov 10 so things are going to be busy for us.
I sense that folks are getting ready for high season when all the tourists come south for the winter when it is so cold up north. Businesses are painting and adding there special touches for the guest, its kind of like spring cleaning back home pretty cool.
Folks have asked me what we will be doing for Thanksgiving, well ..... not sure, the kids have school for a half a day and then we will see maybe a trip to see the whales or something cool not far from home.
In closing I have to mention the scandal at school well there is a teacher that showed the movie Borat to 7th graders. In case you don't know this is a rated R film Doug and I saw this movie and thought it was haloarous but for sure did not let Drew see the film. Parents are pretty upset and the teacher got suspended and so on ....The parents are haggling back and forth on DR1 and naming the teacher and calling him awful things.. I am waiting to hear the facts and make my judgement then but this is the hot topic for the week. I will let you know how it turns out, if you want to read the entire 7 page trash go to DR1 and type in International School and see what comes up. Never a dull moment even in the islands.
Closing for now.
Peace,
Missy
Halloween was great for Mariah, she had a super party and looked great as Hello Kitty.
We are hearing many sad things about the south coast of Dominican Republic and Haiti
and are truly thankful and blessed to have dodged the storm. I have to ask myself why do these folks live by the rivers or so close but no decent answer comes from anyone. I hear that aid is arriving daily and pray that these folks do not suffer.
Doug will be traveling back to the states next week and Iwill be going to Ohio the week of Nov 10 so things are going to be busy for us.
I sense that folks are getting ready for high season when all the tourists come south for the winter when it is so cold up north. Businesses are painting and adding there special touches for the guest, its kind of like spring cleaning back home pretty cool.
Folks have asked me what we will be doing for Thanksgiving, well ..... not sure, the kids have school for a half a day and then we will see maybe a trip to see the whales or something cool not far from home.
In closing I have to mention the scandal at school well there is a teacher that showed the movie Borat to 7th graders. In case you don't know this is a rated R film Doug and I saw this movie and thought it was haloarous but for sure did not let Drew see the film. Parents are pretty upset and the teacher got suspended and so on ....The parents are haggling back and forth on DR1 and naming the teacher and calling him awful things.. I am waiting to hear the facts and make my judgement then but this is the hot topic for the week. I will let you know how it turns out, if you want to read the entire 7 page trash go to DR1 and type in International School and see what comes up. Never a dull moment even in the islands.
Closing for now.
Peace,
Missy
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Hurricane Noel
We have a tropical depression upon us and all is well. It has been raining heavily since last Thurs Oct 25 but other than wet clothes we are doing fine.
On Friday Oct 26 was our Halloween day. We went to the nicest neighborhood where we had a map of the houses that were participating in the fun. It started at 4 and went to 6. There were many firsts for me as a true halloween spirit. First the fun began 5 days early. Second it was in broad daylight,(which actually was kind of nice) Third at a few houses they had cotton candy and snow cones and popcorn that the kids would be able to eat along the way. Unfortunately there were only about 15 houses that played in the fun and one thought it began at 6, so no candy there another thought it was on Oct 31 so no candy there either, another one thought it started at 5 and was out getting her candy. Thus we had only 12 houses to scare. We also thought it would be on Wed Oct 31 so Missy was back at the states with Mariah's costume that was ordered on line. Drew and I came up with something. We were hoping to make her a pirate but it turned out to be an American school girl, as she wore her best dress. Drew was a baseball player with his Albert Pujols jersey, simple enough.
On Monday Missy and I saw the funniest sight. First with this rain at the school we saw a couple walking their child to school with a Deck Umbrella then leaving the school we saw a very tall Dominican with a child's very small yellow with pink flowers umbrella. The contrast was just so comical, of course you would have to see it to really understand the humor of it.
I am glad that during most of my soccer days I would have the teams practice in the rain. Well we do the same here too, so Drew is very accustom to playing and practicing in the rain. He is doing very well with the team as they are a mix of 6th to 12th graders. I of course feel pain after every practice as we scrimmage all together for 30 or 40 minutes. I started working out at the gym with my partner William who is doing a fabulous job on being my personal trainer and helping me get my get up and go back.
Again all is well here in the DR. We hope to hear from you and now we have Skype for phone calls which will help out alot. If you do not have it, it is simple to get on the internet.
love and peace to all
Doug and Missy Drew and Mariah
On Friday Oct 26 was our Halloween day. We went to the nicest neighborhood where we had a map of the houses that were participating in the fun. It started at 4 and went to 6. There were many firsts for me as a true halloween spirit. First the fun began 5 days early. Second it was in broad daylight,(which actually was kind of nice) Third at a few houses they had cotton candy and snow cones and popcorn that the kids would be able to eat along the way. Unfortunately there were only about 15 houses that played in the fun and one thought it began at 6, so no candy there another thought it was on Oct 31 so no candy there either, another one thought it started at 5 and was out getting her candy. Thus we had only 12 houses to scare. We also thought it would be on Wed Oct 31 so Missy was back at the states with Mariah's costume that was ordered on line. Drew and I came up with something. We were hoping to make her a pirate but it turned out to be an American school girl, as she wore her best dress. Drew was a baseball player with his Albert Pujols jersey, simple enough.
On Monday Missy and I saw the funniest sight. First with this rain at the school we saw a couple walking their child to school with a Deck Umbrella then leaving the school we saw a very tall Dominican with a child's very small yellow with pink flowers umbrella. The contrast was just so comical, of course you would have to see it to really understand the humor of it.
I am glad that during most of my soccer days I would have the teams practice in the rain. Well we do the same here too, so Drew is very accustom to playing and practicing in the rain. He is doing very well with the team as they are a mix of 6th to 12th graders. I of course feel pain after every practice as we scrimmage all together for 30 or 40 minutes. I started working out at the gym with my partner William who is doing a fabulous job on being my personal trainer and helping me get my get up and go back.
Again all is well here in the DR. We hope to hear from you and now we have Skype for phone calls which will help out alot. If you do not have it, it is simple to get on the internet.
love and peace to all
Doug and Missy Drew and Mariah
Friday, October 19, 2007
happenings
I am traveling today back to the states. I leave later in the afternoon and wanted post before I jet out of here. I will be traveling to Durham, Little Rock, Orlando and back to Sousa between now and next Sunday Oct 28.
Things have been happening here, Doug arrived last Tue, Mariah busted her head open on a hot dog boat, I fried my legs in the sun pretty bad, Drew has a common cold as he put it, 2 awful accidents back to back Wed and Thur and 4 guys dead I saw the immediate aftermath of one.
How can such a beautiful place have so much death and trauma? Sitting here at my desk I look out over the awesome landscape of the lush green peaceful country side and hear the leaves of all the trees and feel so at peace but 2 minutes away is such craziness but I guess I just have to except this as the world we live in.
Drew is doing super in school and continues to get great grades and unbelievable reports from his teacher he is studying very hard and we are so proud of him. Mariah is very happy here and tries her best to stay out of trouble at school, she loves chasing the older kids and hitting them, bothering the chickens and not listening when the teacher says to stop, climbing on top of the play structure where it is to high and off limits, taking things that don't belong to her and so on, but in spite of all of this and her punishment she is in love with school and adores her teacher and friends and wants to be here forever. She is learning to read and write and she enjoys this so much.
I am happy to say I will attend the wedding of a great friend, the anniversary of 2 of my all time favorite people in the world, see my mom I hope she reads this blog because she has no idea I am coming to visit, attend the Fred Astaire National DanceSport Championships and see all my great buds.
Gotta run and get my bag packed. Peace, Love and Happiness to all who are keeping up with our blog!!
Missy
Things have been happening here, Doug arrived last Tue, Mariah busted her head open on a hot dog boat, I fried my legs in the sun pretty bad, Drew has a common cold as he put it, 2 awful accidents back to back Wed and Thur and 4 guys dead I saw the immediate aftermath of one.
How can such a beautiful place have so much death and trauma? Sitting here at my desk I look out over the awesome landscape of the lush green peaceful country side and hear the leaves of all the trees and feel so at peace but 2 minutes away is such craziness but I guess I just have to except this as the world we live in.
Drew is doing super in school and continues to get great grades and unbelievable reports from his teacher he is studying very hard and we are so proud of him. Mariah is very happy here and tries her best to stay out of trouble at school, she loves chasing the older kids and hitting them, bothering the chickens and not listening when the teacher says to stop, climbing on top of the play structure where it is to high and off limits, taking things that don't belong to her and so on, but in spite of all of this and her punishment she is in love with school and adores her teacher and friends and wants to be here forever. She is learning to read and write and she enjoys this so much.
I am happy to say I will attend the wedding of a great friend, the anniversary of 2 of my all time favorite people in the world, see my mom I hope she reads this blog because she has no idea I am coming to visit, attend the Fred Astaire National DanceSport Championships and see all my great buds.
Gotta run and get my bag packed. Peace, Love and Happiness to all who are keeping up with our blog!!
Missy
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Dancing With The Stars!!!
Are you watching dancing with the stars??? NO?? Don't miss this great show. I am loving this season and I wonder who will get kicked tonight. Why am I enjoying this season more than others...This is my weekly entertainment, I put Riah to sleep turn the fans on high grab a soda and just enjoy. I miss dancing much more than I thought I would, I would love to take a lesson, teach a lesson or even watch a lesson. I also enjoy The Bachelor this is such a interesting show I can't wait for Monday night to see both of these and chill.
Dancingly Yours,
M
Dancingly Yours,
M
Monday, October 8, 2007
2 RAINBOW'S IN 1 WEEK!!!
We are happy to report that we have seen 2 awesome rainbow's this past week. Mariah said that she had never seen a rainbow and Drew loved telling a story about 2 friends Chess and Corey who almost found the gold at the end of the rainbow. As most of you are starting to see the change in the leaves, we are starting to experience the rainy season. It has rained in the afternoon for the past few days and the locals say this should be the case for the rest of the month, afternoon showers really make me want to chill and have a nap.
The kids have been busy with sports, parties and play dates just like back in the states only on the play dates they are treated like royalty with nannies, maids, cooks, gardener's, drivers meeting there every need and want. It is a different experience, I do drive my kids to and from school, get them ready for school, help with homework, make sure they are showered, tuck them in at night, take them to all there activities ect. This is the exception for most families here, it seems most folks have a full staff and guess what folks there staff DONT DANCE!!
Only one more week until Doug arrives!!! YEAH!!! The director at the school ask me when he was returning I told him and he said he is ready to have soccer help...so get ready dougie...
I have to tell you that I am so sick of the construction going on next door at my neighbors...they have this massive mansion and are adding a pool house, art room, BBQ area etc and it is getting on my nerves they take up the entire road with there crap because she doesn't want to mess up her yard it was ok for a while but now the missy niceness has worn off and well I am going to tell they guys that it is after 5 and the work day is OVER**
Breath and enjoy your day,
Missy
The kids have been busy with sports, parties and play dates just like back in the states only on the play dates they are treated like royalty with nannies, maids, cooks, gardener's, drivers meeting there every need and want. It is a different experience, I do drive my kids to and from school, get them ready for school, help with homework, make sure they are showered, tuck them in at night, take them to all there activities ect. This is the exception for most families here, it seems most folks have a full staff and guess what folks there staff DONT DANCE!!
Only one more week until Doug arrives!!! YEAH!!! The director at the school ask me when he was returning I told him and he said he is ready to have soccer help...so get ready dougie...
I have to tell you that I am so sick of the construction going on next door at my neighbors...they have this massive mansion and are adding a pool house, art room, BBQ area etc and it is getting on my nerves they take up the entire road with there crap because she doesn't want to mess up her yard it was ok for a while but now the missy niceness has worn off and well I am going to tell they guys that it is after 5 and the work day is OVER**
Breath and enjoy your day,
Missy
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
welcome to october
is it really october? is fall here? well this is something i will miss .... enjoying the different seasons .... i love all seasons and the changes we get to experience ... i like shopping for the season ... not any more or at least for this year its hot and on some days hotter. people say the rainy season is coming and it will be cold but these folks don't know cold. 70's is not cold.
the country had a nation wide strike to protest the gas prices and drew was very concerned that we would have problems going to school, all was well and i even made a trip to puerto plata and things were cool. drew said that 6 kids were absent from his class so it was a quite day. so thank goodness no road blocks, tire burning, rock throwing and random shooting.
i must close now i want to put mariah to bed and watch DANCING WITH THE STARS
watch and vote for tony and jane
smiles
missy
the country had a nation wide strike to protest the gas prices and drew was very concerned that we would have problems going to school, all was well and i even made a trip to puerto plata and things were cool. drew said that 6 kids were absent from his class so it was a quite day. so thank goodness no road blocks, tire burning, rock throwing and random shooting.
i must close now i want to put mariah to bed and watch DANCING WITH THE STARS
watch and vote for tony and jane
smiles
missy
Sunday, September 30, 2007
playing, reading, relaxing
We are just enjoying the weekend and taking it easy. I read the book that Drews class has been reading last night, I must be running out of evening things to do. Hatchet was a great book and I enjoyed it alot, I found it to have some great life lessons and thought it was a little advanced for a 6th grader, mainly the lines about Brian's parents getting divorce and Brian's secret. This is the first time I have read a book that Drew was required to read, come to think of it this might be the first year he has been assigned to read a class book. We have been doing alot of cooking this weekend, Friday night we made a cake, this morning we made waffles and this evening Drew wants to make his famous nachos. I cooked a meal last week that was awful, I don't even think I could have given it to the poor or even put it in there trash bin it was awful.
The kids have been playing out side and going for walks, battling with branches and enjoying the nice weather before the rain just started a bit ago. We did go out to dinner last night for sushi it was great.
I have not mentioned that we have satellite TV here and when it is cloudy or the weather is not good we can't watch TV so now Drew is writing a book and Mariah is drawing a picture for Doug.
DID I MENTION WE MISS DOUG!!!! 2 weeks plus to go and counting.
I don't post so often now because it seems as our life is boring and routine. We have been here as a family over a month and Drew is starting to plan a visit to Durham maybe for Nov or Dec...Both kids are doing great. I must close for now we are going to practice Spanish and put a puzzle together. Peace to all,
Missy, Drew and Mariah
The kids have been playing out side and going for walks, battling with branches and enjoying the nice weather before the rain just started a bit ago. We did go out to dinner last night for sushi it was great.
I have not mentioned that we have satellite TV here and when it is cloudy or the weather is not good we can't watch TV so now Drew is writing a book and Mariah is drawing a picture for Doug.
DID I MENTION WE MISS DOUG!!!! 2 weeks plus to go and counting.
I don't post so often now because it seems as our life is boring and routine. We have been here as a family over a month and Drew is starting to plan a visit to Durham maybe for Nov or Dec...Both kids are doing great. I must close for now we are going to practice Spanish and put a puzzle together. Peace to all,
Missy, Drew and Mariah
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
School Holiday etc...
Just getting back into the grove. The kids enjoyed a half day of school on Friday and no school on Monday. We received the report cards and both Drew and Mariah did great. We spent Sat and Sun at a all-inclusive resort called SunVillage we had a blast and the kids were completely worn out. I have been spending some time doing real estate and this is very interesting and challenging for me. I have been going to different properties and negotiating agreements for the company I am working for and have come across some interesting folks. I now feel ok when I am lost and seem to quickly find my way to a place I remember. I am a bit homesick for certain things but all in all things are great. I am sending out mailing address so that anyone wanting to send mail or great dvd's, books, magazine, and any other fun stuff is welcome.
Missy Daffron
BM 300782
3508 North West 114 Av.
Suite A
Miami, FL 33178
I was excited to set up an account with Business mail and Cargo so that I can receive and send mail. We received a package from Doug today and the kids were so excited, I was happy to get my past issues of People mag.
Have to run to a meeting...
Hugs,
Missy
Missy Daffron
BM 300782
3508 North West 114 Av.
Suite A
Miami, FL 33178
I was excited to set up an account with Business mail and Cargo so that I can receive and send mail. We received a package from Doug today and the kids were so excited, I was happy to get my past issues of People mag.
Have to run to a meeting...
Hugs,
Missy
Monday, September 24, 2007
WOW MOM LOOK AT _____________!!!!!!
Rooster waiting for his owner to come out of the store...How do they get the bird to wait patiently? Oh it's legs are tied up. (Can I do this with Mariah)?
7-SEVEN BREATHING PEOPLE on a MOTORCYCLE unbelievable...(2 adults and 5 children)
This is a record for us I thought 5 was alot.
Beach toilets..I have never seen people dig a hole in the sand do there business and cover the hole...Not behind a tree ***out in open public.
More later...
M
7-SEVEN BREATHING PEOPLE on a MOTORCYCLE unbelievable...(2 adults and 5 children)
This is a record for us I thought 5 was alot.
Beach toilets..I have never seen people dig a hole in the sand do there business and cover the hole...Not behind a tree ***out in open public.
More later...
M
Friday, September 21, 2007
I WANT TARGET or something close..
So I must vent a bit.
I have a friend who is going to deliver her baby girl next Wed. I decide to take her with to POP to go shopping for a few things she does not have. Well, the store is where everyone has been telling me to go that it is the best on the north coast. We leave after I drop the kids at school, arrive in Puerto Plata at 9ish and head into Casa Nelson I saw a few interesting things that I did not need and went up stairs to the baby dept. Sandra really wanted a diaper bag so we looked around and well the clerk show us the 2 to choose from 1pink with flowers and a blue one ok thats done wish there were more selection and the quality was better but this is what you get. I look for blankets she only has one and says oh I have ONE this in enough Missy??? What about pee and puke or other things like leaving it somewhere, got to have another. No 0-3 months sizes I wonder if babies just stay naked until they are 3mths old. Please send me a note when you hear of a WalMart or better yet a Target is coming this way.
Enough,
M
I have a friend who is going to deliver her baby girl next Wed. I decide to take her with to POP to go shopping for a few things she does not have. Well, the store is where everyone has been telling me to go that it is the best on the north coast. We leave after I drop the kids at school, arrive in Puerto Plata at 9ish and head into Casa Nelson I saw a few interesting things that I did not need and went up stairs to the baby dept. Sandra really wanted a diaper bag so we looked around and well the clerk show us the 2 to choose from 1pink with flowers and a blue one ok thats done wish there were more selection and the quality was better but this is what you get. I look for blankets she only has one and says oh I have ONE this in enough Missy??? What about pee and puke or other things like leaving it somewhere, got to have another. No 0-3 months sizes I wonder if babies just stay naked until they are 3mths old. Please send me a note when you hear of a WalMart or better yet a Target is coming this way.
Enough,
M
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Checking In...
This is a photo of Mariah at school. Ms.Vesna gave us a disc with lots of great photos of Mariah and her class!!! Hope you enjoy!!!Just want to check in and write about a few things that have been happening etc. We are busy and enjoying school, activities and sports. Doug left the island on Monday for his month away and the kids and I have been missing him a lot. I have some projects I have been working on and staying busy. I attended the first PTA meeting at the school and found it quite interesting. I hope it will be a great group to get things accomplished. I felt is was a bit of a fashion show with 20 something women and 1 guy I only ask 2 questions which were how many students are enrolled in the school 178ish and how many families are there, the director said he did NOT know that they were still working on this. I did not know a sole and was content to listen and observe. We have our next meeting Oct 1. I have a dance project of some sort and have been meeting speciality dancers and this is fun and interesting. I decided to purchase full coverage insurance for my car, some folks say this is the thing to do and some say not. Well, for peace of mind and my security I wanted to contribute my 1000usd and go for it. The lady that inspected my car and went over the details tells me if I have an accident to go straight to the police statio and instead of putting you in jail while they investigate the accident you are sent to Santiago and put in a hotel next to the jail this is covered by your full coverage insurance...if you hit a person on a motorcycle and there is not to much blood quickly put them in your car and drive them to the public hospital before angry family and people migrate around the scene. I must say there is so much to learn when living in a 3 world country. I noticed the smell of cow poo when in the house the other day and I think the sewer must be screwed up or something, I look around the house and go out side only to see right NEXT door about 12 or more BULLS grazing. These are my neighbors for the time being until they have eaten enough to clear the lot and go to another place in the neighborhood. The weather here continues to be bloody hot and I wonder if this will be the case through the winter, I need more summer clothes here my washer is hell on our clothes and line drying fades navy uniforms pretty fast. I must confess over all I feel there are so many pro's to living here, I will say it is not for everyone and I must think who in my pool of friends would like it and no one comes to mind at this moment. I think on the other hand to vacation here well almost all the folks I know would like it so dodge the winter and come hang with us.
PS Bring some flavored liquid coffee creamer!
Off to dodge the flea's
Missy
PS Bring some flavored liquid coffee creamer!
Off to dodge the flea's
Missy
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Back in action...
Dear Friends,
Sorry for my lack of blogging. I have been trying to recover from the dance competition and transition back into real life. The United States Dance Sport Championships in Orlando Fl was wonderful and the company I represent had 4 national champions and so much business I worked from early in the morning until late into the evening, not even leaving the vendor area to see the daylight on some days. I do enjoy this but the strain on my body is had to recover from.
Doug and the kids had a super week and things went very smooth. I have been resting alot and catching up on my sleep during the day, hanging with the kids after school and just being lazy over all. I have been doing stuff on the computer and the phone for the dance biz but this is pretty much it.
Drew is enjoying soccer and had his first pratice at school on Monday. This is a school wide team for grades 6th 12th and Drew was awesome he was goalie and the other teamed only scored on him once or twice. Doug attended practice and well the guy is out of shape and needs some major conditioning but he hung in there and was on the opposing team of Drew. It was great to watch. Drew is still enjoying Baseball and the other kids really cheer for him when he is up to bat and makes a great play. Drew is going to explore surfing this next week so I will keep you posted.
My Mariah, she is into tennis and starts karate today. We will also explore horse back riding and see how she does, she loves animals so much.
I continue going to my Spanish class and am still on the introductory package just trying to learn the basics I am the turtle but very persistent.
Doug is off to the golf course and I plan to read this after noon and wait on the plumber to come and un clog my sink.
Thanks for reading.
Take care,
Missy
Sorry for my lack of blogging. I have been trying to recover from the dance competition and transition back into real life. The United States Dance Sport Championships in Orlando Fl was wonderful and the company I represent had 4 national champions and so much business I worked from early in the morning until late into the evening, not even leaving the vendor area to see the daylight on some days. I do enjoy this but the strain on my body is had to recover from.
Doug and the kids had a super week and things went very smooth. I have been resting alot and catching up on my sleep during the day, hanging with the kids after school and just being lazy over all. I have been doing stuff on the computer and the phone for the dance biz but this is pretty much it.
Drew is enjoying soccer and had his first pratice at school on Monday. This is a school wide team for grades 6th 12th and Drew was awesome he was goalie and the other teamed only scored on him once or twice. Doug attended practice and well the guy is out of shape and needs some major conditioning but he hung in there and was on the opposing team of Drew. It was great to watch. Drew is still enjoying Baseball and the other kids really cheer for him when he is up to bat and makes a great play. Drew is going to explore surfing this next week so I will keep you posted.
My Mariah, she is into tennis and starts karate today. We will also explore horse back riding and see how she does, she loves animals so much.
I continue going to my Spanish class and am still on the introductory package just trying to learn the basics I am the turtle but very persistent.
Doug is off to the golf course and I plan to read this after noon and wait on the plumber to come and un clog my sink.
Thanks for reading.
Take care,
Missy
Saturday, September 8, 2007
1st Week Nuances
While Missy has been working in Orlando this week with the United States Dance Championships, I have had the luxury of getting Drew and Mariah to school and other activities.
Well the things started happening the very first morning. I set my alarm for 6:30am just like I was suppose to do, however, for some reason my phone did not change when I got here. It was an hour and 12 minutes behind. How could this happen, fortunately Drew woke up at 7:10 and got us up and moving. We made on time after all. Whew!
Mariah likes school so much she does not want to leave. She has made a friend, Layla and they have to play for 20 or more minutes on the playground.
Tuesday all went well up until after school, when I was to take Mariah to a place for her tennins lesson, again a mix up with her coach who thought he was meeting us at a different court,although he was the one who told us to go to the court we went too. So after waiting for about 20 minutes with Mariah and her not so patient self, this was not too fun.
Wednesday was open house day and this was just great. There were many parents attendening and all went well. Then we tried to go to our pool only to find out that they are resurfacing or repainting it, so no fun here back to the happy house.
By Thursday the school thing is all going fine but when I came home to load some music on my computer to download on Drew and Mariah's mp3's I find out that my DVD-CDRW player on my computer is missing. The darn thing does not read any thing put into it. I could not rip the two new cd's I got for them. After several hours of trying to fix it I gave up and will try tomorrow. After school, Drew was to go to baseball. Here is where Missy does a great job, however I am not as determine to make everything happen so when we could not find the director of the field and since our spanish is very lacking I just said Drew you sit here in the stands while Mariah and I go get some ice cream. When we returned sure enough Drew was in the outfield and was playing. Kids can work things out if they really want too.
Friday was a Super day. Mariah had her tennis lesson and her backhand is starting to become a reality. Her forehand is still chopping at flies but in time she will improve, she really likes it in the high heat of the day. The only thing that could have went off course today was when I tried to find the German butcher shop. I was driving looking for it and I passed it so I was going to turn around and put my blinker on and was about to turn left when a car was speeding by and passing me on the left. A very near miss.. Double yellow lines have no meaning here, and if you do not use the mirrrors at all times it is very dangerous. No sudden moves here and no afterthoughts. This must be a very alert and cautious way of driving. The cars and motor conchos(motor scooters) are flying by all the time both on the left and the right.
The weekend is coming up and Missy will be home on Sunday Night, I can't wait, but I must.
until next time
doug
Well the things started happening the very first morning. I set my alarm for 6:30am just like I was suppose to do, however, for some reason my phone did not change when I got here. It was an hour and 12 minutes behind. How could this happen, fortunately Drew woke up at 7:10 and got us up and moving. We made on time after all. Whew!
Mariah likes school so much she does not want to leave. She has made a friend, Layla and they have to play for 20 or more minutes on the playground.
Tuesday all went well up until after school, when I was to take Mariah to a place for her tennins lesson, again a mix up with her coach who thought he was meeting us at a different court,although he was the one who told us to go to the court we went too. So after waiting for about 20 minutes with Mariah and her not so patient self, this was not too fun.
Wednesday was open house day and this was just great. There were many parents attendening and all went well. Then we tried to go to our pool only to find out that they are resurfacing or repainting it, so no fun here back to the happy house.
By Thursday the school thing is all going fine but when I came home to load some music on my computer to download on Drew and Mariah's mp3's I find out that my DVD-CDRW player on my computer is missing. The darn thing does not read any thing put into it. I could not rip the two new cd's I got for them. After several hours of trying to fix it I gave up and will try tomorrow. After school, Drew was to go to baseball. Here is where Missy does a great job, however I am not as determine to make everything happen so when we could not find the director of the field and since our spanish is very lacking I just said Drew you sit here in the stands while Mariah and I go get some ice cream. When we returned sure enough Drew was in the outfield and was playing. Kids can work things out if they really want too.
Friday was a Super day. Mariah had her tennis lesson and her backhand is starting to become a reality. Her forehand is still chopping at flies but in time she will improve, she really likes it in the high heat of the day. The only thing that could have went off course today was when I tried to find the German butcher shop. I was driving looking for it and I passed it so I was going to turn around and put my blinker on and was about to turn left when a car was speeding by and passing me on the left. A very near miss.. Double yellow lines have no meaning here, and if you do not use the mirrrors at all times it is very dangerous. No sudden moves here and no afterthoughts. This must be a very alert and cautious way of driving. The cars and motor conchos(motor scooters) are flying by all the time both on the left and the right.
The weekend is coming up and Missy will be home on Sunday Night, I can't wait, but I must.
until next time
doug
Monday, September 3, 2007
Doug's first day in paradise
Today was a truely great day. We spent the whole day at Williams place. This is a 3 bedroom/2 bath condo on beach with a wonderful pool. I am later to find out that this will be our new residence as soon as Missy sells our house. We will be in his condo while we build a new house in the same community that we now live in, Terramar Estates. It takes about a year to build a house down here as they are built to last and sustain any crazy weather, like high winds or that crazy thing called hurricanes. I like that word better with the Carolina Hurricanes Hockey team.
Mariah, Drew, William and his kids Jefferson and Stacy and me had a great time in the pool. Missy and Judy spent most of the time in the shade talking. I of course forgot sunscreen on my first day so my shoulders and face have that caribbean red tint. After a glorious day in the pool and on the ocean, Will,Judy, Missy and I had a long evening and discussed the possiblities of making money here on the island. As these opportunities open up we will let you know more of our accomplishments. Over all I am happy to be here with the full family, but as many of you know Missy is headed to Orlando on Monday for the big United States Dance Championships where she will be vending with dance dresses for the whole week.. tomorrow she will show me the ropes of the school and all the activities for Drew and Mariah. I can't wait.
Doug
Mariah, Drew, William and his kids Jefferson and Stacy and me had a great time in the pool. Missy and Judy spent most of the time in the shade talking. I of course forgot sunscreen on my first day so my shoulders and face have that caribbean red tint. After a glorious day in the pool and on the ocean, Will,Judy, Missy and I had a long evening and discussed the possiblities of making money here on the island. As these opportunities open up we will let you know more of our accomplishments. Over all I am happy to be here with the full family, but as many of you know Missy is headed to Orlando on Monday for the big United States Dance Championships where she will be vending with dance dresses for the whole week.. tomorrow she will show me the ropes of the school and all the activities for Drew and Mariah. I can't wait.
Doug
Doug's Arrival
Wow I am finally here in the DR. My traveling day was a mild adventure. As alway's I spent all day Friday getting ready. I had many errands to run for Missy gave me a big list to get stuff for Mariah's class. I also got the house in NC ready for our new housemate, Sjorn. This is a great guy Missy knows from Duke. He will be watching over our house as well as getting our mail. I, as usual spent all day and night getting things ready for us to be away. I crawled into bed around 2:50 am and was going to nap until 4:45am and then my neighbor was coming @ 5 to take me to the airport, unfortunately he could not remember if it was 4 or 5 to come to the house so he came about 3:45am and could not wake me with his knocking, fortunately I forgot to lock the front door and he came in and scared the holy **** out of me. At least I got to the airport 3 hours before take off.
The flight was good and I snoozed big time. Missy had me fly into Santiago as the flight was much cheaper but it is about and hour and half ride to Sosua. I had trouble keeping my eyes open as my driver, our friend Wilson, brought me to the house.. We arrived around 4:45pm.
I was greeted with enthusiasm from everyone but especially Mariah. She had to hold me for a long time, then Missy took her to the supermarket while I caught another catnap before dinner with our friends Will and Judy. We were supposed to meet at 7:30 and Missy made sure we were on time, and granted I have not ate anything since 6am at the airport in Durham. They were mixed up on the time and arrived at 8:30. As hunger sat in I was finally thankful for our food around 9pm. We had a great dinner and more fun at another place for after dinner drinks. I was so spent I just wanted to get back to the house and crash, which we did around 1 am.. Oh well the adventure can now begin.
Doug
The flight was good and I snoozed big time. Missy had me fly into Santiago as the flight was much cheaper but it is about and hour and half ride to Sosua. I had trouble keeping my eyes open as my driver, our friend Wilson, brought me to the house.. We arrived around 4:45pm.
I was greeted with enthusiasm from everyone but especially Mariah. She had to hold me for a long time, then Missy took her to the supermarket while I caught another catnap before dinner with our friends Will and Judy. We were supposed to meet at 7:30 and Missy made sure we were on time, and granted I have not ate anything since 6am at the airport in Durham. They were mixed up on the time and arrived at 8:30. As hunger sat in I was finally thankful for our food around 9pm. We had a great dinner and more fun at another place for after dinner drinks. I was so spent I just wanted to get back to the house and crash, which we did around 1 am.. Oh well the adventure can now begin.
Doug
Saturday, September 1, 2007
FUN!!!
Tennis, sleepovers, treehouses, baseball....
This is what we have been up to for the last day and a half. Drew was invited to a playdate that turned into a sleepover. I had to go and check out the treehouse the neighborhood kids were building so that Drew could go and play. Yes, I did take my fat but up the ladder to the treehouse and wow is it cool, it reminded me of the Treehouse book edition for kids. I also couldn't get over the fact that it is a stones throw from the ocean. The boys wanted to sleep there and camp out but I convinced them that DOUG the awesome camper would arrive soon and would really dig sleeping out side with them hhehehehehe. Mariah went to Raquels and had a blast, I don't know if I mention that I have to use the water hose on her body after a playdate at Raquels she is the dirtest of any kid I have ever seen..just plan nasty...but oh so so happy.
Baseball was this morning at 8am I asked my Spanish teacher to meet us at the field so that she could help us see if they would let Drew play and get all he information.
Drew was the only gringo so he was like a neon sign and really stood out. He seemed to have a great time but mentioned about how hot it was. They had like 4 games going on at one time on the same field and kids were praticing using sticks and popcorn kernals and were wearing sandles AND>>>the helmet was like an object they only see on TV and is not used in this league...The practice, games started at 8am and finished at 12 can you believe this 4 hours. They also practice on Tue and Thur. We joined and paid the 180 pesos which is about 5 us dollars and I left to go and get Drew water. No way was he going to drink out of the hose all the other 60 boys were using and the water where was it coming from scary. I return and a lady wanted me to sign 2 forms I say no problem and tell her my husband will bring them next week. Well, the forms say that if you get a baseball contract you will give this guy who sponsors the league 20% of your contract...I couldn't believe this I know for sure that some of these poor kids are going to go somewhere with there talent they were so great and talented..so do you think this is cool should I sign it not that I think Drew is going to the major leagues but for me its the principal..
Drew and I want to get in touch with colleges that have baseball teams and ask for there old balls and other supplies that might be useful here maybe a drive called BASEBALLS NOT KERNELS
or something else catchy.
Doug is arriving today and Mariah is so excited. She had her private tennis lesson today. I must say this girl of mine sometimes gives me hell, so when I got in the car with her I complimented her and told her what a great swing she had and she really did. Well, she said I'm not doing tennis any more
ok I say then what sport do you want to do
she replies MOTORCYCLE RACING
where in the heck did she get this I need to find and purchase a helmet for her because she is going by motorconcho to some places and I will feel better when she has a helmet. Just for the record NO one wears a helmet here don't ask me why and seat belts are for building houses not saving lives...go figure.
Mariah is napping and I will see how much longer until Doug and his taxi arrive.
Peace to all,
M
This is what we have been up to for the last day and a half. Drew was invited to a playdate that turned into a sleepover. I had to go and check out the treehouse the neighborhood kids were building so that Drew could go and play. Yes, I did take my fat but up the ladder to the treehouse and wow is it cool, it reminded me of the Treehouse book edition for kids. I also couldn't get over the fact that it is a stones throw from the ocean. The boys wanted to sleep there and camp out but I convinced them that DOUG the awesome camper would arrive soon and would really dig sleeping out side with them hhehehehehe. Mariah went to Raquels and had a blast, I don't know if I mention that I have to use the water hose on her body after a playdate at Raquels she is the dirtest of any kid I have ever seen..just plan nasty...but oh so so happy.
Baseball was this morning at 8am I asked my Spanish teacher to meet us at the field so that she could help us see if they would let Drew play and get all he information.
Drew was the only gringo so he was like a neon sign and really stood out. He seemed to have a great time but mentioned about how hot it was. They had like 4 games going on at one time on the same field and kids were praticing using sticks and popcorn kernals and were wearing sandles AND>>>the helmet was like an object they only see on TV and is not used in this league...The practice, games started at 8am and finished at 12 can you believe this 4 hours. They also practice on Tue and Thur. We joined and paid the 180 pesos which is about 5 us dollars and I left to go and get Drew water. No way was he going to drink out of the hose all the other 60 boys were using and the water where was it coming from scary. I return and a lady wanted me to sign 2 forms I say no problem and tell her my husband will bring them next week. Well, the forms say that if you get a baseball contract you will give this guy who sponsors the league 20% of your contract...I couldn't believe this I know for sure that some of these poor kids are going to go somewhere with there talent they were so great and talented..so do you think this is cool should I sign it not that I think Drew is going to the major leagues but for me its the principal..
Drew and I want to get in touch with colleges that have baseball teams and ask for there old balls and other supplies that might be useful here maybe a drive called BASEBALLS NOT KERNELS
or something else catchy.
Doug is arriving today and Mariah is so excited. She had her private tennis lesson today. I must say this girl of mine sometimes gives me hell, so when I got in the car with her I complimented her and told her what a great swing she had and she really did. Well, she said I'm not doing tennis any more
ok I say then what sport do you want to do
she replies MOTORCYCLE RACING
where in the heck did she get this I need to find and purchase a helmet for her because she is going by motorconcho to some places and I will feel better when she has a helmet. Just for the record NO one wears a helmet here don't ask me why and seat belts are for building houses not saving lives...go figure.
Mariah is napping and I will see how much longer until Doug and his taxi arrive.
Peace to all,
M
Friday, August 31, 2007
WOW A MONTH OF BLOGGING!!!
I can't belive that I have been writing for a month. I took time today to go back and read the post. I would definitly be failing grammer class and be canned if someone was grading my post. The crazy thing is that I feel free to write here and don't feel the need to be correct. It's kind of like dancing is for me just move and enjoy the moment, this is what I am doing with this blog. I am sitting at my computer and looking out at the mountains and feeling the breeze or is it the ceiling fan anyway its perfect so peaceful. I feel like I have made a little progress in Spanish, I had my daily lesson this morning and passed my test, I guess this means I can purchase more lessons, I am not moving to the next level for sure, I think I will be on the beginner's program for a long time.
I forgot the mention that yesterday when we woke up Drew's bedroom was flooded. I thought the the water pump had backed up but realized the water was coming from his ac. Drew was not happy that he had a inch of standing water in his room and that all his things on the floor were soaking wet, thank god for Raquel she cleaned everything, called the repair man who will be here in an hour (I will belive it when I see it). I must say that living in a 3rd world country you must have PATIENCE these people are so different, I was going on the road to Mariah's friend's house yesterday and the workers had dug a huge hole ACROSS the road to put a pipe in, there was no way to get aroundthe hole because of the big ditches on either side and no lift or rope to tie your car to, so I stopped and called JoAnn and she had to tell them on my cell to fill in half of the hole so I could drive across and be on my way...What are these folks thinking or doing. How they survive is beyond me.
Drew has been invited for a play date after school and I plan to follow the mom so that I know where to go and pick him up, he was so excited. What a social kid he is, he is making friends and learning so much. Mariah has a private tennis lesson with Melvin at 4 and was griping about it the entire drive to school, I think she will like it but boy oh boy is she a challenge some days.
GUESS WHAT FERMEIN IS HERE TO FIX THE AC WOW UNBELIVABLE>
gotta run
missy
I forgot the mention that yesterday when we woke up Drew's bedroom was flooded. I thought the the water pump had backed up but realized the water was coming from his ac. Drew was not happy that he had a inch of standing water in his room and that all his things on the floor were soaking wet, thank god for Raquel she cleaned everything, called the repair man who will be here in an hour (I will belive it when I see it). I must say that living in a 3rd world country you must have PATIENCE these people are so different, I was going on the road to Mariah's friend's house yesterday and the workers had dug a huge hole ACROSS the road to put a pipe in, there was no way to get aroundthe hole because of the big ditches on either side and no lift or rope to tie your car to, so I stopped and called JoAnn and she had to tell them on my cell to fill in half of the hole so I could drive across and be on my way...What are these folks thinking or doing. How they survive is beyond me.
Drew has been invited for a play date after school and I plan to follow the mom so that I know where to go and pick him up, he was so excited. What a social kid he is, he is making friends and learning so much. Mariah has a private tennis lesson with Melvin at 4 and was griping about it the entire drive to school, I think she will like it but boy oh boy is she a challenge some days.
GUESS WHAT FERMEIN IS HERE TO FIX THE AC WOW UNBELIVABLE>
gotta run
missy
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Playdate, Spanish class etc
Good evening!!! The day has been good. Coffee with a mom from school, trip to Puerto Plata to purchase a lamp for Drew so he could see what he's reading "no luck", Mariah had a play date with her class mate Lelia, wow they live one block from kite beach and it was wonderful to look in the sky and see all the kites and feel the ocean breeze. Drew went with me to my Spanish lesson and we had the lesson together it was wonderful. Great sushi at a restaurant we discovered on the way home this evening.
On a sad note there was an awful accident 10 min from the house yesterday where 18 people were killed. I checked the news etc and did not see any reports. The parties involved were a truck load of Haitians and big tour bus. I inquired about not hearing ambulances or such and the folks at the bar laughed so hard, on guy said you would be lucky if someone threw you in the back of there car or truck and gave you a lift to the hospital. The wreck was awful with people dismembered, these drivers are so crazy I am going to stick to my slow pace.
Doug is back in Durham and collecting all the things we ask him to bring we are waiting his arrival on Saturday.
I have come to appreciate the simple things in life like ice cream that stays frozen until it gets to your freezer at home...its not happening here its melted before you drive away from the super. Having central ac oh the wonders. Hardly ever any bugs or lizards in your home, we always have lots. The cat calls from all the Dominican's it really gets old. The safety I feel in America, there are so many POOR people here break ins and crime is high, I am always conscience to lock the bars on the doors of the house and to lock my car, I was slack about this in Durham. There's more but I need to check Drew's homework.
God Bless America and You,
Missy
On a sad note there was an awful accident 10 min from the house yesterday where 18 people were killed. I checked the news etc and did not see any reports. The parties involved were a truck load of Haitians and big tour bus. I inquired about not hearing ambulances or such and the folks at the bar laughed so hard, on guy said you would be lucky if someone threw you in the back of there car or truck and gave you a lift to the hospital. The wreck was awful with people dismembered, these drivers are so crazy I am going to stick to my slow pace.
Doug is back in Durham and collecting all the things we ask him to bring we are waiting his arrival on Saturday.
I have come to appreciate the simple things in life like ice cream that stays frozen until it gets to your freezer at home...its not happening here its melted before you drive away from the super. Having central ac oh the wonders. Hardly ever any bugs or lizards in your home, we always have lots. The cat calls from all the Dominican's it really gets old. The safety I feel in America, there are so many POOR people here break ins and crime is high, I am always conscience to lock the bars on the doors of the house and to lock my car, I was slack about this in Durham. There's more but I need to check Drew's homework.
God Bless America and You,
Missy
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Time to think..
We are enjoying the afternoon listening to the thunder and feeling the breeze kick a bit as the storm rolls in. AHHHHHH it feels nice to not have the powerful sun baking us in the afternoon. We are excited that Doug will arrive on Saturday but I will only see him for 2 days. I am leaving Monday for Orlando, I arrive back in the DR on Sunday.
Mariah has just left the house in her rain coat to go to Raquel's house to play with her 2 boys, she has been doing this for the past few days and it is one of the highlights of her day.
I got my brakes fixed this morning and hope this is the end of car trouble.
Just a note to those of you sending emails to ME at dancetime, I am unable to open dance time until Doug brings another computer so don't think I have forgotten about you I just have no access to AOL.
Well I am going to go and make a list for Doug to shop and bring for Sat.
Stay cool,
Missy, Drew and Mariah
Mariah has just left the house in her rain coat to go to Raquel's house to play with her 2 boys, she has been doing this for the past few days and it is one of the highlights of her day.
I got my brakes fixed this morning and hope this is the end of car trouble.
Just a note to those of you sending emails to ME at dancetime, I am unable to open dance time until Doug brings another computer so don't think I have forgotten about you I just have no access to AOL.
Well I am going to go and make a list for Doug to shop and bring for Sat.
Stay cool,
Missy, Drew and Mariah
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
broken car etc...
I will have to say today was strange. My car would not go in reverse when I was at the lawyer this morning and all the men flocked to me like fleas. My friend saved the day and I was back in action pretty fast. I will take it tomorrow and get it checked.
The director of the school needs to have a meeting with me tomorrow. Drew is not making progress in Spanish class. I hate to tell him but I think my Spanish teacher would say the same. I ask him and he said oh Mom don't worry I know I suck. I will see what our options are and make a plan of action. He has such a good attitude about it all.
We have an offer on our house and I will know in a couple of weeks if it is a go. I am starting to decide should we buy or build. I love my neighborhood and think building is the way we should go.
Mariah is doing great and loves her friends at school and especially the teacher. I love her teacher. The passion she has for teaching and the children is just wonderful. Can you imagine teaching 9 spoiled 5 year old. Hot and no air conditioning whining etc.
Mariah has been asleep before 8pm last night and tonight, I think she is so active and the heat really knocks her out. I am trying to make sure the kids drink enough water, it seems that they can get dehydrated easily
Its snack time for Drew and I want to look over his homework.
Goodnight,
Missy , Drew , and Mariah
The director of the school needs to have a meeting with me tomorrow. Drew is not making progress in Spanish class. I hate to tell him but I think my Spanish teacher would say the same. I ask him and he said oh Mom don't worry I know I suck. I will see what our options are and make a plan of action. He has such a good attitude about it all.
We have an offer on our house and I will know in a couple of weeks if it is a go. I am starting to decide should we buy or build. I love my neighborhood and think building is the way we should go.
Mariah is doing great and loves her friends at school and especially the teacher. I love her teacher. The passion she has for teaching and the children is just wonderful. Can you imagine teaching 9 spoiled 5 year old. Hot and no air conditioning whining etc.
Mariah has been asleep before 8pm last night and tonight, I think she is so active and the heat really knocks her out. I am trying to make sure the kids drink enough water, it seems that they can get dehydrated easily
Its snack time for Drew and I want to look over his homework.
Goodnight,
Missy , Drew , and Mariah
Monday, August 27, 2007
school and life
this is drew and i would like to say that school is great. The food is great like the tacos and rice and beef and other great stuff we have many things to do here like go to the beach. i caught some awesome waves on my body board one of the waves when i was going out flipped me over and i got stuck in the sand for 2 other waves. others were very scary my friend Omar taught me how to go through the giant waves about the size of 2 of my dad (Doug if you know him). i will tell you how just dive right through them little ones just jump over. we also went into the ocean and swam around a lot like i saw because i was wearing goggles lots of fish my friends were scarring me saying that i will cry like a baby if i step on a sea enchant i thought it would attack me or something i also have had a lot of homework because some people would not stop talking but i survived and the snake thing that my mom said is true it was green!!!!!!
peace out 2007
peace out 2007
DREW!!
a hole new world...but i think i like it :)
Happy Monday!!!! I hope everyone had as much fun as we did this past weekend. I knew that we were living in paradise but it really did hit me until yesterday. We traveled up the coast about an hour and a half to a town called Rio San Juan. We "chartered" rented whatever you would call hiring a boat for 9 people to take us to some awesome coves, swimming spots and beaches. It was post card beautiful. The crazy thing is the cost was $30 USD for all of us all day. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Drew had a blast with his new body board and I also gave it a try and rode a few great waves. Mariah and her friend swam, made some cool sand castles and had so much fun. All of this fun is in our back yard.
SNAKE ALERT DREW JUST RAN IN THE HOUSE AND SAID HE WAS SHAKING THE TREE NEXT TO THE HOUSE AND A SNAKE FELL OUT-- HE RAN SO FAST INTO THE HOUSE HE IS OUT OF BREATH.....
We have a few lizards and other interesting creatures that live in our home if only we could catch one Mariah would be one happy camper!!
The kids had another great day at school and Drew said that lunch was awesome.... I heard another mother complain about the food, she should eat my cooking and then she would have something to complain about.
Well its time for baths or should I say what Mariah said last night MOM the ocean is our bath tub we only have a shower at home.
Will write more soon.
M
SNAKE ALERT DREW JUST RAN IN THE HOUSE AND SAID HE WAS SHAKING THE TREE NEXT TO THE HOUSE AND A SNAKE FELL OUT-- HE RAN SO FAST INTO THE HOUSE HE IS OUT OF BREATH.....
We have a few lizards and other interesting creatures that live in our home if only we could catch one Mariah would be one happy camper!!
The kids had another great day at school and Drew said that lunch was awesome.... I heard another mother complain about the food, she should eat my cooking and then she would have something to complain about.
Well its time for baths or should I say what Mariah said last night MOM the ocean is our bath tub we only have a shower at home.
Will write more soon.
M
Saturday, August 25, 2007
LIFE ON THE ISLAND!!
My post tonight has to recap school yesterday and our great evening with friends. The kids had a wonderful Friday and the meeting with the lower school principal went super, they are eager to help meet Drew's needs and willing to help us make the year successful!! Mariah had a super day and was asking about going to school TODAY!!! When I arrived at school to pick Drew and Mariah up Drews class was on the field playing soccer, this was there p.e time and the hottest part of the day. I couldn't help but to watch the game and see the interaction of Drew and his new buddies it was wonderful, I also enjoyed watching the p.e teacher taking it easy under the shade tree, looks like a job for me. Drew received his paper about CNN and Micheal Vick and earned an A YEAH for Drew and his hard work of over 3 hours on this project. Drew also got back another math test with a perfect score so needless to say he was a happy camper.
Drew had a friend from school over to play for the afternoon and Mariah had time to catch up on much needed rest before we went downtown Sousa for a haircut. We also had a wonderful visit with our new friends Judy, Omar, Anthony, and Paco the company was perfect and dinner was outstanding. Mariah fell in love with their 4 week old Rottweiler puppies and was entertained the entire evening. She cried when I would not let her have one or even BORROW one oh well like sucks sometime.
Today was great and my 2 hours Spanish lesson at 830am is how I started the day. I am slow but determined so stay tuned.
This afternoon we went to a WONDERFUL beach in Cabereta call kite beach and I loved it. The kids played, we watched the surfers and had a wonderful seafood dinner on the beach. We also ran into classmates from both Drew and Mariah's class, the only thing missing was Doug.
We had planned to go to our friend Wills house for a movie but Riah crashed on the JOURNEY home. I say journey with all seriousness because it is dangerous with motorcycles, cars, bikes, people and animals with NO LIGHTS.
I am going to close now but will catch you soon.
Sweet dreams,
Missy
PS if you get a chance do a google search of cabereta beach in the dominican republic it is one of the top 5 surfing beaches in the world.... The waves were out of this world!!!
Drew had a friend from school over to play for the afternoon and Mariah had time to catch up on much needed rest before we went downtown Sousa for a haircut. We also had a wonderful visit with our new friends Judy, Omar, Anthony, and Paco the company was perfect and dinner was outstanding. Mariah fell in love with their 4 week old Rottweiler puppies and was entertained the entire evening. She cried when I would not let her have one or even BORROW one oh well like sucks sometime.
Today was great and my 2 hours Spanish lesson at 830am is how I started the day. I am slow but determined so stay tuned.
This afternoon we went to a WONDERFUL beach in Cabereta call kite beach and I loved it. The kids played, we watched the surfers and had a wonderful seafood dinner on the beach. We also ran into classmates from both Drew and Mariah's class, the only thing missing was Doug.
We had planned to go to our friend Wills house for a movie but Riah crashed on the JOURNEY home. I say journey with all seriousness because it is dangerous with motorcycles, cars, bikes, people and animals with NO LIGHTS.
I am going to close now but will catch you soon.
Sweet dreams,
Missy
PS if you get a chance do a google search of cabereta beach in the dominican republic it is one of the top 5 surfing beaches in the world.... The waves were out of this world!!!
drew baseball
this is drew and i have had a great baseball experience but I'm afraid to play in the Dr all my friends say i should play and i think I'm deciding i will i hope like last season we win like a tournament if there is one. I also want to play for a school team if there is one i would play soccer. School is well, 60 math problems i got all of them right assume i also am having a hard time in Spanish. It's hard because the teacher only speaks Spanish to the class and he tells me to try and understand and i don't :(. Mr. mack is a NICE TEACHER HE ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish i could see my friends like my best Friends but school is assume too i hope that anyone that makes a comment will if you like baseball please leave a comment.
peace out 2007
Drew
Thursday, August 23, 2007
school part ll
i am starting to wonder if anyone is reading this blog because no one ever comments. please please just say hey and let us know your out there.
i returned to school with some time to spare before pick up. i was able to take all the supplies to each class and give mariahs teacher a rug for her class. when i sat on the floor to put a puzzle together with mariah this morning i had dirt and other nasty crap all over my hand and clothes. ms.vesna was so thankful and happy and pulled up the yuck flooring and put down the rug down right then and there. this is a rug we used for a long time in drews nursery and in our kitchen.
mariah did NOT want to leave school and had a super day. drew also had a very good day and said he liked it very much.
mr.mack drews teacher was so positive with his comments about drew and said he was super and so thoughtful, he said that he could already tell it was going to be a great year. the only challenge was spanish class, drew said that all the kids could speak great spanish and he know nothing but that he was assigned a special teacher to work on his spanish everyday. he said "mom the on thing is she does not speak english and doesn't seem to understand a word i say in english" i told him its's just like a sports game and he has the challenge to figure out how and what to say. his reply great idea mom.
drew had homework tonight. he had to watch cnn and write a one and a half page report on a story of his choice wellllllll drew watched and went on line and chose the micheal vick story he has done alot of work-- like 3 hours. mr.mack said you are not allowed to misspell any words so needless to say drew is had at work with his pencil, eraser and dictonary. this is torture and mr.mack and i will have to have a chat in the am or maybe not, drew seems fine. drew has a learning disability in written language and has done great in years past with a special educational plan called an iep for all you folks that know about public education in america this is the plan all children have designed for them. i need to remember i am not in america and have to chill and go with the flow.
we are all tired and will be heading to bed by 830 so i will close for now.
wishing all of you a great nights rest.
peace,
missy, drew and mariah
i returned to school with some time to spare before pick up. i was able to take all the supplies to each class and give mariahs teacher a rug for her class. when i sat on the floor to put a puzzle together with mariah this morning i had dirt and other nasty crap all over my hand and clothes. ms.vesna was so thankful and happy and pulled up the yuck flooring and put down the rug down right then and there. this is a rug we used for a long time in drews nursery and in our kitchen.
mariah did NOT want to leave school and had a super day. drew also had a very good day and said he liked it very much.
mr.mack drews teacher was so positive with his comments about drew and said he was super and so thoughtful, he said that he could already tell it was going to be a great year. the only challenge was spanish class, drew said that all the kids could speak great spanish and he know nothing but that he was assigned a special teacher to work on his spanish everyday. he said "mom the on thing is she does not speak english and doesn't seem to understand a word i say in english" i told him its's just like a sports game and he has the challenge to figure out how and what to say. his reply great idea mom.
drew had homework tonight. he had to watch cnn and write a one and a half page report on a story of his choice wellllllll drew watched and went on line and chose the micheal vick story he has done alot of work-- like 3 hours. mr.mack said you are not allowed to misspell any words so needless to say drew is had at work with his pencil, eraser and dictonary. this is torture and mr.mack and i will have to have a chat in the am or maybe not, drew seems fine. drew has a learning disability in written language and has done great in years past with a special educational plan called an iep for all you folks that know about public education in america this is the plan all children have designed for them. i need to remember i am not in america and have to chill and go with the flow.
we are all tired and will be heading to bed by 830 so i will close for now.
wishing all of you a great nights rest.
peace,
missy, drew and mariah
school part one
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!
DOUG DAFFRON IS 51 today..........
WE LOVE YOU DOUGIE!!!!!!!
good morning!!! we thought we were starting the day off perfect by waking at 630 ish and getting ready for school. well mariah did not want to get up much less go to a new school so for those of you who know her very well my morning was HELL... we made it to school a few minutes late but everyone was outside listening to the director give his welcome and introduce all the staff so being late was great because mariah has an opinion about everything and everyone. first we went to the 6th grade huddle and i promptly went to meet drew's teacher MR.MACK . mr.mack seemed very nice and a no nonsense type of guy he shook my hand followed by drews and complimented drew on his hand shake and manners (yeah thats my boy). of course mariah would not say hello to mr.mack she just wanted to know where his hair was and did he plan to go shopping and get more mymymymymy. this kid is to much mr.mack did not hear her but other parents did so we are making good first impressions. i left drew with the class on the courts and went towards the kindergarten building and room. mariah was complaining the entire walk i dont like this school, its hot, i'm thirsty, school is stupid and so on. i just smiled and greeted the parents and other staff on our peaceful walk and thought the entire time "fake it till you make it" i really need a strong drink. into the class we go and meet MS. Vesna . wow, god really loves us because she was an angle so kind, patient, caring, organized and so many more adjectives i could add. she takes charge and the meeting starts and she invites me to pull up a chair and stay. i forgot to mention that mariah was attached to my leg and i guess ms.vesna could see that i was not going anywhere with out a huge fight, so i stayed and we sang songs, did the calender, weather, morning message, went to stations, went the the cafeteria for the morning snack and had a wonderful time. i planned my exit and told mariah that it was time for me to let her be a big girl and do her school work and i would return at 3pm ms.vesna showed her where 3pm was on the clock and off i went. i was amazed no problems and even a KISS. i am so excited about mariahs class she has a total of 8 other classmates and they seem like a great group of little kids.
i got to meet the lower school principal and she told me that she had seen drew and that there are 3 or 4 other drew's and andrews in his class so they had decided to call my drew "drewtwo" or would it be "drew2" he will have to tell me and i will let you all know.
i also ran into him in the cafeteria having snack with his class and he seem very hesitant but i did not hoover because this is not cool, i just quietly asked him how he was doing and he said fine, i told him i loved him and he said me too, as i was walking away he said that he needed a water bottle, i didn't know if i was suppose to go home and bring it back or what so i decided to do the or what and make sure he takes one tomorrow.
i left the school at around 10 and went to spanish school . more on that when i have more time. i have to delegate my girl raquel to defrost the refrigeration (this is new for me) an alot more chores. did i mention she work 6 days a week from 8am until 6pm this is awesome and i wish that we could take her to the states.
part 2 of school will come late and i hope drew wants to blog and share his thoughts.
smiles,
missy
DOUG DAFFRON IS 51 today..........
WE LOVE YOU DOUGIE!!!!!!!
good morning!!! we thought we were starting the day off perfect by waking at 630 ish and getting ready for school. well mariah did not want to get up much less go to a new school so for those of you who know her very well my morning was HELL... we made it to school a few minutes late but everyone was outside listening to the director give his welcome and introduce all the staff so being late was great because mariah has an opinion about everything and everyone. first we went to the 6th grade huddle and i promptly went to meet drew's teacher MR.MACK . mr.mack seemed very nice and a no nonsense type of guy he shook my hand followed by drews and complimented drew on his hand shake and manners (yeah thats my boy). of course mariah would not say hello to mr.mack she just wanted to know where his hair was and did he plan to go shopping and get more mymymymymy. this kid is to much mr.mack did not hear her but other parents did so we are making good first impressions. i left drew with the class on the courts and went towards the kindergarten building and room. mariah was complaining the entire walk i dont like this school, its hot, i'm thirsty, school is stupid and so on. i just smiled and greeted the parents and other staff on our peaceful walk and thought the entire time "fake it till you make it" i really need a strong drink. into the class we go and meet MS. Vesna . wow, god really loves us because she was an angle so kind, patient, caring, organized and so many more adjectives i could add. she takes charge and the meeting starts and she invites me to pull up a chair and stay. i forgot to mention that mariah was attached to my leg and i guess ms.vesna could see that i was not going anywhere with out a huge fight, so i stayed and we sang songs, did the calender, weather, morning message, went to stations, went the the cafeteria for the morning snack and had a wonderful time. i planned my exit and told mariah that it was time for me to let her be a big girl and do her school work and i would return at 3pm ms.vesna showed her where 3pm was on the clock and off i went. i was amazed no problems and even a KISS. i am so excited about mariahs class she has a total of 8 other classmates and they seem like a great group of little kids.
i got to meet the lower school principal and she told me that she had seen drew and that there are 3 or 4 other drew's and andrews in his class so they had decided to call my drew "drewtwo" or would it be "drew2" he will have to tell me and i will let you all know.
i also ran into him in the cafeteria having snack with his class and he seem very hesitant but i did not hoover because this is not cool, i just quietly asked him how he was doing and he said fine, i told him i loved him and he said me too, as i was walking away he said that he needed a water bottle, i didn't know if i was suppose to go home and bring it back or what so i decided to do the or what and make sure he takes one tomorrow.
i left the school at around 10 and went to spanish school . more on that when i have more time. i have to delegate my girl raquel to defrost the refrigeration (this is new for me) an alot more chores. did i mention she work 6 days a week from 8am until 6pm this is awesome and i wish that we could take her to the states.
part 2 of school will come late and i hope drew wants to blog and share his thoughts.
smiles,
missy
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
safe, sound and HOT!!!
wow what a long day. doug and i got a few hours of sleep only to wake at 430ish this am and leave for the airport at 5. the kids were so exhausted and slept the hour and a half before our flight took off. no problems in miami and it was a breeze getting our 7 pieces of huge luggage through customs the total weight of all our luggage was 300lbs. i thought we were suppose to be getting rid of crap, who knows.
we have unpacked all the bags except the 2 plastic containers full of school supplies and this we will just take to school.
the house and yard look great and our super house extraordinaire, raquel was waiting to help us unpack, iron school clothes for tomorrow and play some games while i ran to the store.
we just returned from dinner and mariah is knocked out and i plan on holding her under the shower and rinsing off the dirt and putting her in bed.
tomorrow school starts at 8am with a general assembly on the basketball courts. mariah is protesting and drew is dragging but i feel that they will be good to go after a good nights sleep. i will post after i drop them in the morning. i am starting school myself ..spanish school ...
take care and stay cool.
missy, drew and mariah
we have unpacked all the bags except the 2 plastic containers full of school supplies and this we will just take to school.
the house and yard look great and our super house extraordinaire, raquel was waiting to help us unpack, iron school clothes for tomorrow and play some games while i ran to the store.
we just returned from dinner and mariah is knocked out and i plan on holding her under the shower and rinsing off the dirt and putting her in bed.
tomorrow school starts at 8am with a general assembly on the basketball courts. mariah is protesting and drew is dragging but i feel that they will be good to go after a good nights sleep. i will post after i drop them in the morning. i am starting school myself ..spanish school ...
take care and stay cool.
missy, drew and mariah
house for sale in the dominican republic
ok just a reminder...the dr is short for dominican republic. so i mentioned this is an adventure...i have decided to put our 1 bathroom house on the market and find another place to live that has TWO toilets...i know i am spoiled but any of you that are planning to come and visit will appreciate my aggressiveness. check out the pic at the link below and let me know what you think. never a dull moment. just the way i like life. gotta run i have to supervise my better half with the packing!!!
smiles,
missy
http://www.remaxnorthcoast.com/cgi-bin/ListingInfo2.cgi?listing_id=815&lang=en
smiles,
missy
http://www.remaxnorthcoast.com/cgi-bin/ListingInfo2.cgi?listing_id=815&lang=en
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
one more sleep.....
is it really happening??? we have been so busy with all the things to do before we depart for the island tomorrow morning at 7am. We had a great farewell pizza party in mariah's class. i must admit that one little guy who mariah really likes kaun cried and this really made me sad. the kids start school on thur and i will post how our travel goes and more when i arrive tomorrow afternoon. we are off to the durham bulls park for a game and special presentation of drew's baseball team. peace to all.
m
m
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
how many more sleeps?
the title of the blog is what mariah compares days and time with. well the count down is on and we only have 7 more sleeps until we move to the dominican republic. WOW..... i thought i was ready but i must confess i am not. i have so many things i need to get done and so many things that should get done. i have been traveling alot, last weekend to ny and this weekend to ny.
i wanted to write about drew and his baseball teams great win for the season, he had a blast and the team ended up being the champions for the league. he is looking forward to playing sport in the dr and making friends along the way.
i gotta run i have a doctors appt now.
peace,
m
i wanted to write about drew and his baseball teams great win for the season, he had a blast and the team ended up being the champions for the league. he is looking forward to playing sport in the dr and making friends along the way.
i gotta run i have a doctors appt now.
peace,
m
Sunday, August 5, 2007
weekend and more
wow how time goes so quickly. the weekend is almost over and it is back to school for mariah in the morning. mariah is in kindergarten and has a wonderful teacher jo anna but is not adjusting as well as i thought she would. every day last week she cried and did not want to get ready for school and when we dropped her at school she did not want us to leave. it may just take more time and patience.
the count down is on for our move to the dominican republic and for the kids to start school at the international school in sousa. we depart rdu on aug 22 and the kids have there first day of school on the 23. the 23 is also dougs bday so we will plan to celebrate before we depart.
we held a seminar on sat and it was great, i am so excited to be part of a company that is progressing and growing and to have so many great friends.
drew is such the sports guy and has been playing baseball for a couple of months and really loves the sport as well as other sports its so much fun to see his passion and to have such a great kid.
going to close for now ,
thanks for reading,
m
the count down is on for our move to the dominican republic and for the kids to start school at the international school in sousa. we depart rdu on aug 22 and the kids have there first day of school on the 23. the 23 is also dougs bday so we will plan to celebrate before we depart.
we held a seminar on sat and it was great, i am so excited to be part of a company that is progressing and growing and to have so many great friends.
drew is such the sports guy and has been playing baseball for a couple of months and really loves the sport as well as other sports its so much fun to see his passion and to have such a great kid.
going to close for now ,
thanks for reading,
m
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Family Reunion
During July28-30 we all flew to St Louis to be with the rest of the Daffron Family. The reunion was held at the Harbor Inn and Condo's by Mark Twain Lake. We have been coming here to spend 3 days of our summer for the past 10 years. Everyone has a great time eating, playing cards, visiting each other, watching all the new children and cousins get reaquainted, and the highlight is going out on the pontoon boats and swimming in the lake. Some of the family have speed boats where they go tubbing on the water. Drew really loves this. Mariah was her usual busy self and had a fabulous time with her new cousins. Missy and I had a great time being together with my family and seeing my father, Ed and his wife Helen who makes all the trip a joy. She is known for her delicious bananna pudding and her home made mac and cheese.
This may be the last time for Ed as his parkinson's is really advancing. We love him so much and only want the best for him, Helen has been a true trooper in keeping him in a loving home with help from her daughter Nancy and her friend Greg. Without these two wonderful people Helen would not be able to keep Ed at home. Anyway, all was truely fun and life is meant to have wonderful memories as these. Having time for family is always a true experience.
Doug Daffron
This may be the last time for Ed as his parkinson's is really advancing. We love him so much and only want the best for him, Helen has been a true trooper in keeping him in a loving home with help from her daughter Nancy and her friend Greg. Without these two wonderful people Helen would not be able to keep Ed at home. Anyway, all was truely fun and life is meant to have wonderful memories as these. Having time for family is always a true experience.
Doug Daffron
getting started
I am excited to journal the daily events and fun that surrounds our lives. I have spent so much time reading and following blogs that I have taken a brave leap to do one for our family. So sit back and get ready for a lot of laughs and fun times along with struggles and perseverance of our life.
Smiles,
M
Smiles,
M
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