Back to Brasil

We had a great end to our extended vacation in NYC and Phoenix, and with our previous weather karma, Jay was hoping to delay our departure to Manaus by another day, too. We didn't get so lucky though, and we left NY during the afternoon on Super Bowl Sunday. Unfortunately for Jay, by the time we landed in Atlanta for our first short layover, it was half-time! Not only did he miss the first half of the game, we had to board right before the second half started. We thought maybe they'd be playing it on satellite tv on the plane, but they didn't. Good thing his team wasn't playing... well, sort of.
About a week before we decided to go to the states in January, we had planned on being there February through March. As annoying as it was to be forced to change our plans because of visa issues, I am so grateful to have traveled at that earlier point in the pregnancy. The going there was not so bad at 22 weeks or so, but the 20+ hours, 2 day trip back at 27 weeks was a little much for this lady. We had 2 short, 3.5 hour flights at the start and end of our trip which weren't too bad. I had to get up and walk around a bit and use the bathroom, but they were nothing compared to the 9 hour flight from Atlanta to Brasilia. Talk about uncomfortable. While the guy next to me at the window seat slept the entire time, neither Jay nor I could sleep at all. I had to get up so much to stretch and walk around, and never felt comfortable enough to doze off. Fortunately, Jay is super supportive and rubbed my legs for me, but there was really no relief until we got off the plane.
That relief was rather short-lived once we got back to our place in Manaus and discovered that there was mold everywhere! Having no previous experience traveling at this rainy time of year, we didn't think it would be a problem. We were seriously wrong on that one. We spent the whole afternoon back cleaning the couch, pillows, floors, bathroom, fridge, and cabinets.
Not exactly the welcome home we were expecting, but then again, somehow it didn't surprise us!

Tales from NYC

Somehow we ended up with bad traveling/weather karma on this trip to the states. Granted, we don't usually do so much traveling in January or February, but still. Our flight to Phoenix from New York was canceled and delayed a day because of an impending winter snow storm. It ended up snowing 7 inches overnight, and by mid afternoon on the original flight day, most flights were operating on schedule. We had a place to stay in the city and didn't want to chance spending a night at JFK, so we didn't mind the delay too much. On the way back from Phoenix to New York, another impending snow storm in the East caused our flight to be canceled again! We changed it online for free, showed up bright and early at the airport for our new flight the next morning, and were promptly forced to reschedule it because it too was canceled. Our third try to get into the NYC area was successful, and after a brief stop off in Baltimore, we were back to the cold, windy winter days of NYC. The only concern we had with our changing schedule was the time constraint we were under with the visa documentation for Jay. Luckily, our plans were not ruined as the nice woman at the Brazilian consulate made an exception for my desperate husband. Muito obrigada!!
Being 6 months pregnant and with 4 full suitcases, we thought it would be best to forgo the shlepping up non-elevator buildings and sleeping on futons generally associated with staying at friends' places in New York.  Jay found an absolutely great hotel on the Upper West Side at a good price. We stayed in a residential building that also rented out places for people in a studio apartment that slept 4 comfortably and had a kitchen and bathroom. We were less than a block away from the subway, Trader Joe's, and Gray's Papaya. We both highly recommend it!

26 weeks prego, Woogo Hotel apt.

My best friend Nik came to visit us there <3

One of the things we most looked forward to this whole trip was our Baby Shower in NYC. My good friend Natalie volunteered to host it at her house for us, and she couldn't have done a better job! We were so thrilled to be able to spend time with all of our friends in one place on a Friday night, and I know that everyone had an amazing time.

Me with the Hostess with the Mostest

We started the night with a delicious homemade dinner of arugula salad, baked chicken, and pasta w/pesto and sun-dried tomatoes. Nat is quite the chef and baker, and everything she makes turns out being awesome. She made lots of cupcakes that spelled out "Showers of Happiness" and even made chocolate lollipops in the shape of baby things to give as favors. It was so cute!

There were a lot of fun games planned, and lucky for us, all of our friends are really good sports! Everyone participated between conversations, and I know I will always fondly remember all of the laughing involved. 

This is the game where each person tried to guess 

the right measurement of my belly. 

Jay's was too short! Good work ;) 

Each team had to act out a song with the word "baby" in it. 

Ours chose "Hit Me Baby One More Time," as you can see!

The other team's turn singing.

After several fun games, like name the baby animal, we opened our presents. Since space was quite limited in our suitcases, thanks to the generosity of family and friends in Arizona, we mostly received gift cards in NYC. They will all undoubtedly be put to good use for our lil guy. 

Plenty of our friends told us after the shower that it was the best shower they've ever been to. Besides the host's obvious enthusiasm and preparation, the reason for this is because we have such great friends in our lives. We truly feel loved by them all, and we hope there is no doubt that the feeling is mutual. 

Let's Go Suns!

Jay's mom and dad treated us all to a Suns game the other day, and it was a great time. They played the Celtics, and the Suns pleasantly surprised us by kicking some serious booty! They were ahead the entire game, and I have to say, that makes the whole experience so much better.

Right before the start of the game

The Happy Hatlers

It was cool to see the game in person, and even better to go home with a win and a super happy husband!

Our Baby Shower

Not too many brothers are up to the challenge of hosting their little sister's baby shower, but lucky for me, mine was! With the help of his girlfriend Daphne and our Aunt Donna, we had a super fun co-ed shower for our lil bun in the oven.
Since we haven't lived in Phoenix for a long time, Jay and I were thrilled to see so many friends in one place. Besides our family, several of my friends from high school and NAU were there, as well as our trombone teacher from college. It really means a lot to me to have had the chance to spend some time with such dear old friends. Unfortunately, I didn't get pics with them cause we were too busy eating, chatting, and playing games. But here is a pic of us with my cousin Jeremy who came down from NAU for the shower, and my brother Aaron.

We all chowed down on some yummy food, and then played a few different games. I think everyone had a good time playing!

Group shot during a game

Best Toilet Paper Baby

Dressing a babydoll

Phil squared!

After the games, we got to open our presents. We got a ton of cute baby stuff, including some Cardinals baby gear, scrapbook, bottles, blankies, boppy, and clothes. I'm sure everything we got will be put to good use!

We are so grateful to have had such a fun shower, and we can't wait for everyone to meet our lil guy! 

School Days

My mom is a third grade teacher in a one-school district way out in the desert 60 miles from home, and we had the pleasure to spend a morning with her class last week. The kids were super excited to meet us after hearing so much about us. When my brother came to visit us in October down in Manaus, he brought a bunch of colored fall leaves with notes written by her class on the back. I immediately put them on our wall  because the handwritten notes were so adorable - like "Dear Sarah, Sorry you have to be alone for Thanksgiving. Well, not alone, but just with Jay," or "How is Brazil? Is it fine? Your mom really misses you." As you can imagine, I was happy to meet the kids that I've heard so much about, too.
After a long and scenic drive, we waited in the back of the classroom to surprise the kids, and they knew who we were right away. They were very excited to see us there especially because we brought a trombone. My mom doesn't mess around, and the kids were very well-behaved, respectful, and polite the whole time despite their obvious excitement.
They had a few lessons to get through in the morning, and then they had a Q&A with us about our life in Brazil. They were curious about playing in the orchestra, the rain forest, and everything else - including our favorite color! Gotta love 8 year olds!!

As I opened the trombone case, the kids' faces all it up to see the shiny parts. It was quite amusing to me because they were just so elated to see it! I played a little bit for them and showed them how the trombone works. When my turn was over, Jay took over and taught them how to sing "When the Saints Go Marching In." While he played the melody and improvised on it, they sang the words with huge smiles on their faces. Once they had that down, they all lined up and marched around the room while singing to his playing. You can find the video on YouTube if you search for "Aguila School Saints."

When it was time to say our goodbyes to the kids, they all started asking when we could come back and even told us that they would miss us! It was great to meet and interact with them, and I'm happy to be able to picture the kids my mom talks about so much. 

Jay and I took a ride into town while my mom stayed and finished up the school day. It really is nothing but mountains, cacti, and desert out there, so we took the chance to take some typical Arizona photos. You would think we were two tourists stopping on the side of the road! 

25 weeks prego

Longhorn cattle 

As you can see, we had a lot of fun out there and are grateful to have seen my mom in action! She is the BEST!

Travelin Time

We've already been in the States for a couple weeks, but I finally have the chance to update this blog a bit. We left Manaus on a hot, balmy night wearing tank tops and arrived in New York City the next afternoon to freezing cold weather. Luckily our dear friend Arlene arrived prepared at the airport with two winter coats for us.  After only being hot and sweaty for many months, we were happy to have the cold, brisk, American air in our faces! 

At the start in Manaus, 23 wks prego

Bundled up in NYC

We rented a place from a friend in our old neighborhood and ate at our favorite restaurants around there. When we weren't staying warm inside and resting, we were busy running around seeing friends and taking care of business. We enjoyed several delicious homemade dinners at friends' places and many lunches out catching up with others. We really love our NYC friends and miss them when we're in Brazil. 

Nikki and me after brunch at West Side Diner

Our FridayFunNight crew reunited!

Joe happened to be in NYC this weekend, 

and we are always thrilled to see him!

Not only were we happy to see Joe that night, we were even happier to see him the next day when he helped us unload our storage unit! It was such a help to have him and his car there, and we finished the job after 9 long, cold hours. Don't worry, I didn't lift anything too heavy! Oh, I even got my first pregnant belly sympathy when I took my coat off at the post office. The clerk was definitely not excited to see us at her window with 21 boxes, but once she saw my belly, she really lightened up and was telling me to take it easy and not be in a rush. Whatever you say, lady!

We were scheduled to leave NYC on the same day as a snow storm was predicted, so we ended up moving our flight to the following day. After hearing the horror stories of people stuck in airplanes for hours during the last blizzard there, we didn't want to take our chances. The storm ended up being handled very well, and we got about 7 inches over night. 

Post-storm picture outside our building

After a week of cold weather there, we are loving our sunny, warm weather here in Arizona. It's been especially nice and pleasant here, in the 70's the whole time so far. We've been staying busy hanging out with family, eating, and enjoying the convenience of driving a car! It's been over 7 years since we had a car, and while we wouldn't really want one in NYC or Manaus, we are loving it here in Phoenix. I know Jay has been enjoying his morning drives to Starbucks for a coffee! Sometimes it's the little things :)

My mom lives pretty close to the new stadium where the Cardinals play football, and we happened to stop over there on one of our "just because we can" drives. We found out they give tours, and we both had a great time seeing behind the scenes there. 

Inside the stadium

The field that stays outside in the sun 

when there are no games

A natural in the press room!

The tour was so fun, and it was really nice to see how happy Jay was checking all this stuff out. I definitely got more smiles in these pictures than usual! 

We're still enjoying our time in Arizona, and I will update this week with more pics from our trip to my mom's school and our Baby Shower! 

Noise Makers

First, let me start by wishing you all a very happy and healthy new year! We had a very relaxed get together with some friends last night. It was especially cool because the hosts have an adorable 5 month old little girl, and I got to talk about baby stuff with her mamae. Also, their backyard is filled with all sorts of edible treats. They have lots of fruit- banana, papaya, acerola (like cherries), carambola (star fruit), noni, lichee, grapes, maracuja (passion fruit), and many veggies/herbs- lettuce, spinach, sweet potatoes, basil, erva mate, among others. The host, Gustavo, is extremely knowledgeable about all things natural and works at a reserve with bees. He went around his yard picking leaves off various plants and offering them to us. His mom celebrated with us and made some fried leaves that were delicious!

Not sure what the English translation is for 

this plant, but it's edible when cooked

My hubby and me, 5 months prego

Now, humor me and allow me to vent...

I understand that the New Year is a big deal anywhere. It's totally normal to party with friends, light fireworks, and listen to music. How is it that NYE in a port city in the Amazon is more obnoxious than the combined 6 new years we celebrated in the "city that never sleeps"? 

OK, so maybe it's a cultural thing, but as far as I see it, dumb is dumb. What is the point of waking up Dec. 31 at 9 am to light off fireworks? How is that fun when you can't even see them in the bright sunny sky? You continuously hear fireworks the entire day, morning to night here. It's just dumb to waste them before it's dark outside, not to mention annoying for your neighbors. 

Here is the other factor that made NYE more obnoxious in Manaus than NYC. When we got home from our friends' place, it was a lil after midnight- I get tired fast being prego :) Behind our little villa is an area that used to be an igarape, like an inlet to the Rio. The government removed the shacks that were there and put up free public housing. Normally we have no problem with our neighbors and like watching the kids play and invent games outside. 

Some kids playing in the rain behind our house

Last night, however, introduced us to a side of Manaus that we would rather forget. By one in the morning, people had more or less run out of fireworks. But of course just sitting around and talking outside is no fun. Why not drag your 3 foot tall speakers outside so the entire city can enjoy your celebration? The people behind our house BLASTED music outside until 8 in the morning, I kid you not. When I say blasted, I mean it was louder in our house than we can make our own speakers go. 

I woke up at 4 am and looked outside with complete disbelief that such rude people actually exists. There were only about 7 people still "partying," and did not seem to mind the crappy, distorted sound only feet away from them. Around 4:30 am they switched from such American classics as Summer Lovin' and I Will Survive to all Brazilian music. When Jay went to glare at them through the window at 7:00 am, there were only 4 people still outside, standing right in front of the speakers. By the time they tired of this amusement and went inside (8 am), we were lucky enough to have a carro do som park right outside for another hour. This is a car with its speakers mounted outside on top of the car to allow them to share their music with anyone within a mile radius. How thoughtful. Who doesn't like the sound of extremely loud music on cheap speakers when they wake up? 

Oh, and don't even get me started on the dogs nearby that bark 30 minutes non-stop in front of their apathetic owners...