Espinosa Footprints: My Shimpansees

We had some fantastically productive days at the Espinosa house last weekend. On Friday, Danny changed a burnt-out head light in our minivan, made deposits at the bank, replaced the vacuum bag, and ordered a repairman for the washing machine. I got Gio's birthday present, cleaned the bathrooms and carpets, and sorted through many random piles of stuff in many random corners of the apartment. I even began sorting through my medicine cabinet. This is a big deal. I have travel-sized lotion bottles from every hotel I've stayed in since I can remember. I have perfumes that pre-date my high school graduation. That CK-1 bottle I got for Christmas in 6th grade? Right there next to my GAP Heaven scent from 9th grade and Pleasures from I-don't-know-when but it smells like all the organic matter has died a second, more unpleasant death. I take them with me every time I move, and all of them are still half-full. Thrifty or ridiculous?

On Saturday morning, we visited with Danny's mom, and later that afternoon, with his sister in-law-in-law, Katie (it's a complicated family tree) and her 3 kids. My mom had a barbecue at her house on Saturday evening to celebrate the improved health of my cousin's mom. (I'd call her my aunt except that I have never done so-- more tree complications). Celebrating health, as we were, it came up in conversation that my children are never sick. Dominic and Noemie catch one or two colds a year, and its only a few hours before they're back up on their feet being their silly selves. So naturally, I gushed, and explained my expert strategies for sick-proof kids...you know, ensuring they get fresh air daily, guarding their sleep times religiously, strictly monitoring their refined sugar intake, delaying their vaccinations, and so forth. So naturally... they came down with the worst viral attacks of their lives that night.

Last night was particularly rough, as Dominic was running a fever of 103º from about 8 pm, into the late morning. No amount of Tylenol or sponge bathing would bring it down. We were up and about every 2-3 hours checking his temperature, checking website symptom checklists ("Can his chin touch his chest? Can we rule out meningitis?!"), and debating whether or not to call the doctor. When the thermometer read 104 in the morning, and Noemie, who sporting conjunctivitis (pink eye) and an ear infection, started throwing up, Danny wisely chose not to abandon me (ie. go to work). Thankfully, Cristovan appears to be entirely healthy and happily oblivious.

There are six weeks until America's mid-term elections. I don't think there has ever been a more highly anticipated mid-term election in recent history! Truly, social media and the internet has dramatically revolutionized interest and accessibility to politics in this country. My particular concerns are focused on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a treaty that, if ratified, will subject U.S. law regarding children and families to international standards, which is to subject the parent-child relationship to the state-child relationship. In other words, parenthood is regarded as a privilege endowed by the nation-state, a privilege that can be rescinded if the state feels that a parent is not acting in a child's best interest. The definitions of "abuse" and "neglect" are broadened so that in many European countries this has included homeschooling. The current administration has promised to ratify it. And I am, as you might expect, up in arms.

Venezuela is facing elections of its own next week. Most of Danny's family (including his maternal grandparents and all his cousins on that side) live there. We are monitoring the political situation there before deciding on whether or not to make the trip for Danny's 30th birthday. The political climate there has been tumultuous for some time, as their President, Hugo Chavez, continues to push Castro's agenda, nationalizing private property, silencing opposing media, and so on. Because socialism obviously worked for Cuba... what?! Things may get even uglier there if Chavez does not get the parliamentary seats he needs to push his "socialist revolution." Actually, they're going to be ugly either way. We're just monitoring the dynamics of ugliness. I know what you're thinking..."Venezuela has the 4th highest murder per capita rate in the world; what exactly is your threshold of ugly?" I don't know what to tell you. But on the flip side, Dominic and Noemie love playing with their cousins when they come to visit and Danny has been wanting to take me for years to his former summer home.... though I find it a bit disconcerting that he reminisces most when he smells the aroma of car exhaust mingled with with fried corn meal...

Dominic's birthday is coming up on October 6. We will be throwing him a little party on October 2 at my dad's cousin's pool... located in the development next to ours. Dominic has requested a LightningMcQueen-Spiderman-WallE theme. I've already began working on cake designs. Again, we will see.