Santa Claus goes door to door in pickup truck!

So we were hanging out at the crib the other night and heard the odd combination of a hurricane siren and super-loud Christmas music.  We popped outside to see what was the matter and what to our wondering eyes should appear but a pickup truck with Santa Claus nestled between two huge speakers! We followed them and watched as Santa handed out presents to ecstatic children at our neighbors' homes.  Egan was entranced.  Turns out you can pay $3 BZ to the local preschool and Santa Claus will bring your child a wrapped present (that you provide) to your child at home! So fun!

Check out this quick video of the action:

Groovy Clouds and Kids

Egan's new thing is "Play monster trucks, see boys!" which means he wants to go a couple doors down the block to Anchorage Resort where very sweet  five and seven year old brothers live on site.  Their parents are caretakers of the resort and live in a pair of really cool thatched roof houses:  one is a huge kitchen and the other is their living room and bedrooms.  The boys have a few toy monster trucks that they graciously allow Egan to play with.  We started bringing toys of Egan's for them to play with and it seems a fair trade.  They look forward to his visits and vice versa.  A few days ago, the clouds were especially cool and I took a bunch of pics while we were visiting the boys.

Botfly, Mama!

So word on the street (or rather, the Internets) is that botflies are relatively common in Belize.  From what I've gathered, the botfly deposits little eggies on a mosquito and then when the mosquito bites you the egg (or larvae at this point; not sure) jumps into the little hole in your skin.  Then it stays right there and grows.  So in a couple of weeks you feel something moving around in your still-itchy bite.....a big fat maggot living off of your bodily fluids.  The tell-tale sign is that there is a small hole in the bump so the cute li'l guy can breathe.  Adorable!

Last week, pretty much overnight, Jesse the Texas Black Dog developed a surprising lump on his snout.  It had a little hole in the middle.  I scoured the internet and became convinced he had a botfly.  Egan was very interested.  When he first saw a picture of a botfly larvae, he pointed to it and said:  "I eat that."  When we got to the videos of people pulling the maggots out of their bodies, he changed his mind.

Jesse with the not-a-botfly mark on his snout.

I took Jesse to the vet and it turned out it was just a nothing little bit of nothing.  But botflies have been on the brain I guess because a couple days ago, Egan pointed to a blemish on my face and with a big smile said:  "Botfly, Mama!".

For a graphic and amusing tale of a recent botfly removal, check out the "As the Coconuts Drop" blog that I have a link to on the left side of this page.

Me at work!

Remember awhile back I mentioned signing some mysterious papers?  Okay, maybe you don't but I promised to explain later, so here goes:  We are now partners in Caye Caulker Properties For Sale, a successful real estate business on the island.  The other day we rode out to the north island to take some property photos and scope out another upcoming listing.  Here are a couple choice photos:

Egan all decked out in his boating gear.

On our way back.  There's the north caye behind us.

This one is for Cara!  Here is the magic of the nursing necklace in action. 

So....how awesome is that?!  Sure, as a Realtor in Austin, TX I sometimes brought the baby along when I took property pics or when I showed houses to super-cool clients (like Joy and Adam!), but did I get to do it on a boat?  Did I get to nurse while I drove?  Were shoes optional? 

Gratuitous Egan Cuteness Photo