Ecuador Days 54 and 55

Friday February 10th-

Alright, so I failed to update the blog again yesterday. There just wasn't much to report.  Flor and I spent a good majority of the day inside. We did venture out in the afternoon to go to the Mega Maxi to look for a stroller for her. I saw one there, but it was $40 for the basic umbrella stroller, so we decided to keep looking. I am just imagining myself rushing through airports on the way home with bags and with Flor and having to go from one end to the other, dragging her a long. Let's be honest, her walking pace is not going to win her any races anytime soon. It will also be nice to have here for outings and such. Devin took home the double stroller, which is for the best as we don't need a double here. After the Mega, Flor and I walked over to the mall nearby, Quicentro, to look for a stroller there. No success. So, we headed back home empty handed. We came home, had a spaghetti dinner, and then Flor headed to bed.

The good-ish news that came yesterday was that I finally got an email back from MJB and she said that she has our Decree. WAHooooooooo. BUT- she said that we will be going to the Civil Service Registry on Thursday next week for the birth certificate, cedula, and passport. THURSDAY??? That means that she must have gotten the Decree yesterday (Friday) though according to the 8 day limit by law, she was three days too late. So do the laws not really matter?? We have the three day waiting period Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Ugh. MJ and Fabiola are supposedly coming over on Monday to discuss the week. I am going to double check on the date of the Decree and if it is any earlier, insist that we go to the Civil Service Registry ASAP. We will also hopefully do the doctor's appointment on the same day. But if it is Thursday, that means that we will definitely be into the next week before coming home. INFA still has to write a report after we get done with all our stufff, then I can go to Guayaquil for the Visa, then of course we get to wait for the judge to sign off on everything. Let's hope she doesn't feel the need to be cruel again and keep us here for days on end. Time will tell.

Here are some pictures... I have been lazy about getting them off the camera and I really haven't been taking many pictures. But there are a couple from the past few days.

Flor and Robin bowling on the wii the other day. Flor loved it.

I think this was yesterday. Flor and I went on our morning walk and she was mad at me, so she refused to hold my hand. All the better since she walked all on her own the whole time.

 Today, Saturday February 11-

Today has been a really good day. We spent the morning here at the house before Jim, Robin, and Pablo stopped by. Jim wanted to see the house since he hadn't been able to before. We spent some time here and then left to go to old town for some shopping/stroller searching. There are tons of shops downtown and they sell everything you could possibly ever want (a few items we saw today: orange traffic vests, knock off Nike shoes- the brand instead said Neki, and prom dresses, amongst many many other things.) I found some really cute coats (they look like pea coats) for Flor and Hals for just $12, so I bought some of those. They will be good for them to have for Church, etc. We asked a whole lot of people where to find a stroller and all pointed us to this store named Pycca. Well, we eventually found the Pycca--amidst the pouring rain--and lo and behold, yes they had strollers! However, the cheapest was $68. For an umbrella stroller?! No thanks!

We spent a few hours downtown and then decided to head to the El Jardin mall to see if a baby store there had strollers. We spent forever trying to hail a taxi. We finally got one and Jim, Pablo, Flor, and I hurried to hop in. Just as we did, we turned around to see Robin motioning us from a baby store she had just found. Worst timing ever! After all that time walking around looking for a stroller, she was yelling across the street to us that the man had nice strollers and he was willing to barter down to $30 for them. Well, the taxi driver had decided that he was sick of waiting, so he took off driving, leaving Robin behind. We all yelled for him to stop, so he pulled around the corner and Robin came running to get in. Darn it-- we had to leave the strollers behind.

On the way to the El Jardin, we stopped by my old place to pick up my deposit money. Yes, Andres finally texted me today and said that while he did not appreciate my attitude about getting the money back, he had $400 of the $500 to give back to me. He was keeping $100 for the two cups we broke, plus our ride from the airport and our the time he drove us to the hospital where Flor was born- never mind that we had already paid him $40 for the latter trip. Oh well, I wasn't about to argue with him. I was just happy to be getting some money back! It was a bit tense picking up the money as Andres had told me earlier that his mom would be home from 2 on and that I needed to stop by and get it from her. Well, it was about 4 when we stopped by and he was upset that I hadn't come right at 2. I definitely didn't mean to offend the man, but when he said that she would be home from 2 on, I understood that to mean that I could stop by anytime after that. Oh well. Glad it's all over and I don't have to worry about that anymore. So that was good news for today.

The Schinnerers and I pressed on to the El Jardin and finally had success finding a stroller. WAHOO. The baby store there had a large variety, the cheapest being $35. Oh well, I was done with the searching, so we just bought it. I can see why so many people here do not use car seats or strollers. The basic newborn car seat was $315! Yikes. A jogging stroller (didn't look all that great) was on sale for $750 and regularly runs $1035. Holy Smokes. So, the $35 stroller didn't look to bad after seeing all those prices.

We stayed at the mall to eat at a place the Schinnerers have discovered- a ceviche and shrimp place. YUM. A plate of 16 shrimp, rice, and salad was only $7. Not bad. Flor and I enjoyed the food and especially the company.

We are home now and Flor is in bed as she didn't have a nap at all today. We were too busy out and about, but that is fine. Sometimes you just need a day out.

The whole three pictures I took today:

Some buildings down town. I just love the architecture.

I love this one too!

Whenever you go out to eat, the "breath mints" are halls cough drops. True story. How delicious.