Category Archives: goals

Around the Finca, Moca, Festival de Chinas, Isabela and More

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Aeden is too cool for photos

Whew. Lots to update. We have been doing a variety of projects around the farm including finding new plants and building a new staircase into the jungle. When we’re not working on the farm or cleaning or repairing the cabana or cabin, we go out into the world and try to find new adventures. We like to stay around the west side because we can make a day trip out of it and still get back by dark to keep to Aeden’s sleep schedule. Here are a few moments caught on camera recently.


Another beachy day in Rincon – Playa Lala is now a favorite here


Fun at Villa Cofresi with the babe

From eggs we came to eggs we sit


Isabela, PR with the moon and all


We filled one of our largest single orders of flowers!


I love making the bouquets

Aeden has many adoptive aunts and uncles like Carlos and Maribel from the market


Photo bombed by a cow and a bird 🙂


Cool church in Moca


Just chillin’, kickin’ back on Mom’s lap


Aeden’s making his mark! In the new cement stairs!


Lots of hard work!


Silly boys at the beach


First time in a swing! He’s getting so big!


He has even gone swimming, underwater!

And had his first real bath -in the kitchen sink!


Cool leaves on a plant. I think this is a rattlesnake flower


Our monstera plant fruited!


Immature and mature monstera fruit! Tasted like pineapple and banana with a slight bite. You have to be careful not to eat them immature or it will burn your mouth.

 


Our prettiest ginger yet!

 
The Festival de la China was a bit of a bust! Super rainy!


I thought it was funny they were selling oranges in onion bags though!


And I was amazed at the variety of oranges (and bananas) one can grow


Aloha! A fun day in Isabela


Britton and Aeden in Isabela


Family fun


Two cuties


“Still round the corner there may wait a new road or a secret gate”


This little guy melts my heart!


We walked this LOOONG boardwalk in Isabela -windy, hot and dry but very beautiful. Would be a great bike ride


Fun with friends from Colo. It’s weird to “remember when.” It seems so long ago now


This just happened. I always call him my little monster and then I saw this onesie at the flea market and I was wearing basically the same thing and then we ate at an El Meson that had this colored wall. Serendipity-do-dah!

Latest update from the farm about baby Aeden (on the new stairs!)

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Explorations near Joyuda: Modern Ruins and Hidden Coves

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With the baby, we have found that we need to get out of the house and property more than ever. We have a sort of routine where we stay in one day and go for a drive the next. Sometimes it’s every two days or so, but we like to get out so we don’t feel like all we do is work around the property and take care of the little guy. This last week we did some explorations around the Joyuda area. Joyuda is between Mayaguez and Cabo Rojo. We take the cool backroad of 102 to have an ocean drive. We made it back to one of our favorite spots: Punta Ostiones also know as La Playita.


Area of Punta Ostiones


Trails


Secluded Coves


Postcard beach scenes


Me and Aeden in one of the coves -he loves to kick the water!


Noni fruit growing wild -edible and medicinal but very yucky tasting!


Hermit crab on shucked coconuts


Exploring through the Ostiones trails of coconuts and mangroves

We also briefly checked out a cool abandoned juvenile detention center that is now a mountain bike riding course. It was cool in a spooky way.  Then we went back another day with friends and explored more.


When we stumbled upon an old abandoned church that is being reclaimed by the jungle!


Creepy hallways of the old buildings -now used to play “Gotcha” or paintball


In the doorway to the church


Me and Aeden on the altar


Down the stairs


We’re off again! Grab the kid! Firewoman carry! 🙂


With friend Laura exploring the southern part of the trails


Aeden can keep his head up now which makes walking with him easier


A group of us exploring the ruins


Creepy hallways! “We’re watching!”


Britton and Aeden near the church


I did another photoshoot with Laura there. I can’t wait to see her results!


Later we stopped by the Gato Negro right on the water in Joyuda and watched the birds and tarpon fighting over fish scraps

 

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Raising a Baby on a Budget

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If you’ve been following this blog for any time, you know that we retired young and moved to the Caribbean to live the life of our dreams. Some people have made the comment to us that it is all fine and dandy to do that as a single person or couple, but it is altogether different with kids. And that is somewhat true. Having a child changes a lot about your life and realigns priorities quick. Children definitely don’t make things any cheaper.

However, I would say that it is completely feasible to live financially independent with kid(s). Being frugal and budget minded was what got us here and it certainly doesn’t (or shouldn’t) go away when you have kids. If you have good financial habits you just sort of incorporate them into the new life with child. Here are a few tips and tricks we have learned so far in our journey as frugal parents.

Hand-me-downs!
Baby stuff only lasts a short while. Take any offer of hand-me-downs that you can get, whether as a gift or bought secondhand. Many times they are only 3-6 months old and in great shape. We have a hand-me-down crib, breast pump, carriers and lots and lots of clothes and toys among other things. The only thing we have bought new was a dresser/changing table.


Photo credit: Laura Malischke

Breast feeding
Breastfeeding is not as easy as it looks and can even be painful (as it was for me in the beginning), so I completely sympathize with moms who aren’t able to do it, or do it for long. But it really is the best gift you can give your baby to start them out: from a strong immune system to parental/child bonding, it is an amazing thing. But the added bonus is that it is free! If you added up how much we would be spending on formula we have probably already saved hundreds of dollars.

Diapers
I really wish I could say that I use the reusable diapers we were given more than I do. We don’t have a washer and dryer near the house (actually we don’t have a dryer at all), so cleaning diapers would be a huge chore. That said, they are a great money-saving and environmentally friendly option and we have used them some. The good thing about disposables, however, is that you don’t have to change them very often because they can soak up a LOT of liquid, so one diaper often lasts through a whole night and you don’t need to worry about diaper rash as much. We were gifted a huge pack of diapers when Aeden was born and have only recently gone through them. I estimate we will need to spend about $40/month on them until he’s ready to be potty trained (around 2 years old).

Healthcare
Thankfully here in Puerto Rico health care and insurance isn’t too expensive. To have our baby covered by health insurance is about $90/month and has very low co-pays ($10/doctor visit).


Britton and Aeden by the sea

So all in all our expenses have increased about $150/month since having our baby which isn’t too bad! Since we are both home we can do things to increase our income (like selling flowers, renting out the cabana, etc) and take turns watching the child. Babies really don’t need much. They just need to be fed, cleaned and loved. And that, my friends, is priceless.

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Tropical Garden Expansion

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New garden area we are working on- what we call the Hobbit Garden

One of our favorite things about living here in Puerto Rico are the tropical plants. Since our plant hobby is now paying for itself with the sales of flowers at the Sunday farmer’s market we have decided to keep expanding the gardens. It is sort of a scavenger hunt to find some of these exotic tropicals like the rare heliconias, gingers and fruit trees.


Upper garden level where we will soon be adding stairs to lead into the jungle

Our cabin in the jungle is surrounded by lush gardens!


Rare sighting of a century plant (agave) in bloom

Bees on the agave bloom

We have learned from years past that we cannot clear and maintain an area unless it has water.  You would think (or at least we did naively when moving here) with it being a tropical environment that we wouldn’t need to water, but that is not the case. We can have torrential rain pours, but then 7 days of nothing and everything dries out. So in order to not just throw money and effort away on all the plants we buy and find, we have to first make sure there is water to the area. This often entails clearing out the underbrush and weedy trees and throwing them into a pile, then installing tubing above ground along the border and if the tubes go into a visible garden area, digging a trench for them as well. Then we hook up a spigot and hose.


Britton hooking up the waterline from Hawk Alley to the Hobbit Garden


Aeden hangs out with us as we work

Now that we have expanded the property we have different names of the sections of the property so that we know what we are referring to. The final (and most fun!) step is to seek out the plants and plant them. Some of these are transplants from our own property like the huge torch gingers and coconut palm starts, but many we must buy or find.


Britton and Aeden at a garden store in Hormigueros


Dragon fruit growing at one nursery


Lots and lots of plants -many of them are too small and dainty for our large-scale garden

It’s not all work out there, though. We often find weird random things like alcohol bottles from the 40s and 50s, old clothes and furniture from who knows and we also play- climbing trees and swinging from vines. Now that I am not pregnant I can help (and play) a lot more. And since it’s not so hot and humid it’s much more enjoyable in general. We have to remember when we have these pushes to the outer boundaries of the property that we will have to maintain these areas as well which means getting a mower through there or planting it thick enough that the vines and weeds are thwarted.


Swinging from the vines

New flowers we found. Not sure of the name


There are always so many iguanas around and sometimes they destroy our plants. But they are also so cool to see


New bench in the Hobbit Garden

Here’s a little walk through of some of the flower gardens

Oh and we’ve been growing more than just plants! Aeden is now 4 months old and growing, well, like a weed 🙂 Here’s his 4 month update!

 

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