GuayaMama

walk a mile in my shoes

2010-11-11T16:12:00.001-06:00

About a week ago Mapi came home from school and said that she didn't think she wanted to wear her Keen sandals to school anymore. I asked her why not and she said that some girls at school had, on two difference occasions, told her her shoes are ugly. one girl told her in the gym, where she also kicked at her feet two times while saying "ew! ew!" after stating Mapi had ugly shoes. The other girl, Ashley, was standing next to Mapi waiting for a turn in the bathroom when she looked over and said "your shoes are ugly."

I talked to Mapi about her feelings and about differences in styles and ignorance and tried my best to keep my inner "mean girl" in check. I talked to her about options in ways to respond to this kind of situation. I told her I was angry that a 6 year old's comments would hurt my daughter and make her doubt her own choices (cause y'all....she LIKES the shoes). After a few hours Mapi asked to talk about it more, and a few days later asked to talk about it again. The weather turned cold and she had to wear other shoes anyway, so the issue was laid to rest for a while.

This morning it was warm and rainy as Mapi dressed for school so I asked if she wanted to wear her Keens and she said "yes." I coached her to say something to anyone who teased her about them, to tell them that "my shoes are cool; stop being rude." She looked up to me and said "That's what I did!" I stopped in my tracks. "What?" She said "I told Ashley that." I was confused. This was a new plot twist I had not yet heard. I asked for clarification.

it was then Mapi told me that the other day she saw Ashley in the bathroom. Mapi went up and spoke to her, finishing their conversation from the week before. She said (to the girl who probably did not remember her offense from a week ago) "my shoes are cool. Not everyone gets to have the same shoes." Ashley looked at her and in a slightly agitated voice said "fine!"

And that was that (I hope!).

What's with mean girl drama in 1st grade, anyway???? boooooo.

May 10-10-10

2010-06-24T10:40:00.003-05:00

I finally finished my 10-10-10 May monthly review pages! Just in time for June to end *whew*

Here it is:

Journaling reads:

What a month! May this year was just BUSY! Luckily, we managed to keep up and have a lot of fun. Mapi finished her last full month of school and is ready to graduate Kinder in June. She also finished her music class and gave a recital for us with her classmates. We had family dinners at Abuela’s house, and on the 15th Aunt Julie married Dan in a beautiful ceremony. We had such fun celebrating with everyone! Towards the end of June Manuel, the girls and I went to Rockport for a relaxing few days (Mom and Dad went to Branson with friends). I took two Saturdays off to hang out with Sarah; we went to an Austin gardens tour and the Texas Arts and Crafts Fair. Manuel got Keens sandals! All month we played with friends, continued in Catherine’s homeschool co-op, and Manuel stayed busy with work (Pabst changes hands soon!).

Time to welcome SUMMER!!!

Credits:

The Daily Digi "TDF14_1 Missing Files" template;
Cilenia Curtis, DDS:
"Cardstock Basics 01" white papers;
"Potting Shed Page Kit" journal paper and tags;
"Potting Shed 2 Paper Kit" purple papers;
"Clear Butterflies & Trails;"
"From My Sketch Book Paper Notes 1" tab;
Sahlin Studios "Frosted Acrylic" alphas;
Font: Century Gothic, Segoe Script.

Catching up

2010-02-15T23:37:00.003-06:00

I really hate that I don't make time in general to write down all these mental blog posts that come to mind throughout the day. I just don't prioritize it. Even now I struggle with not getting off the computer RIGHT NOW and going to bed. Still, I think if one more thing happens I will forget darn near all of it and/or my head will explode, so here's a quick catch-up for me:

* this winter has been so incredibly wet and colder than most. I look forward to Spring. And lots of bluebonnets in a month or so :)

* at the beginning of the month Mapi had a performance at school (K kids singing in the PTA meeting). Catherine was sick so she stayed with Mom while I picked up Mapi from school, took her to music class, took her to dinner at Las Palapas and then ran her over to school for the meeting. At the restaurant Mapi read a few words off the menu to me - new skill! A few nights later I gave her a phonics reader she'd never read before and had her read it out loud. She did great, with help from me or Papa, and later admitted that while she'd read before in class at school, it was always "listen to the teacher read the story, remember what she said, then recite it back to her" more than "decode these letters/words and make them into a story for me." So that night was her first "real" book reading :) So exciting!

* we bunked the girls' beds this weekend. Catherine is still sleeping in bed with me, but Mapi LOVES having reign over a little kingdom we call "top bunk."

* Mom and Manuel and I painted the foyer (terracotta) and the dining room (warm beige-khaki) late January. Love it.

* right after painting we fostered a puppy for a week. really sweet puppy. Result: we are not ready to adopt a dog. I am TOO LAZY.

* I am really thinking again about homeschooling Mapi instead of sending her to school. I am also really comfortable with NOT making any decision on that front for several months, now. Don't even need to think about it some days.

* Catherine is starting to become a little more independent re sleeping. She let Manuel put her to sleep twice this past week (one nap, one nighttime), and after throwing a fit in bed and splitting my lip open with her (thrown) SIGG bottle, Catherine is starting to see that maybe we should reconsider our dorming options. She's asked to sleep with her sister, which we accommodate right up to the point where she gets so tired she can't stand change and again insists on sleeping the way she always has...with me. Baby steps.

* Remember that concern about forgetting all the things i wanted to remember to write down here? It's happened. I am officially *done* for tonight. Well, save spell-checking, that is. Lucky you!

POTTY TIME!

2010-01-12T09:34:00.003-06:00

Our great excitement yesterday evening revolved around...the potty.

Part One: Catherine, whom I sometimes fear will *never* get out of diapers, took off her diaper after dinner and was walking around the house. After about 20 minutes she came running to me, saying "Mama! Mama! Poopoo! Peepee! My BUTT!" So we ran off to the restroom and, for the first time i can remember, she ACTUALLY used the toilet when she said she would! TOO EXCITING!

Part Two: Apparently there was an incident this evening that involved a LOT of toilet paper being put into the hall bathroom toilet. When Mapi went to use the *facilities* before going to bed, the toilet threatened to flood the room. As she watched in horror, the (dirty) water rose higher and higher with no signs of stopping. Mapi is a rather sensitive girl. This incident just about sent her over the edge. She did NOT sleep well last night, though bravely made several attempts to use the bathroom after *the incident* in spite of her fear. (((hugs))) My sweet baby!

Of teeth and teeth

2010-01-11T12:58:00.002-06:00

It has been COLD! And we have enjoyed so much visiting with friends and family this holiday season. As it wraps up, the kids are still interested in family gatherings and above all love getting together with my brother and his family. COUSINS!!!!!!!

Yesterday Trey and his crew came in to Mom's for a family dinner. Sadly, the kids were not dressed properly to play outside in the cold and dark, so they were inside and YOU COULD TELL they had been inside for TOOOOO long, if you know what I mean. Mapi has lost three teeth in the past month and had a fourth one loose when she was playing with her cousins, maybe a little too rough, when that loose tooth got kicked out by Michael. Mapi was hurt and cried, but I am greateful she didn't have a bust lip to go with the now-evicted tooth. I need to get a picture of her this afternoon - FOUR teeth missing! Two front top and two "right next to front" bottom are gone, baby (teeth) gone. My baby (5.5 y/o) is getting so big!

My other tooth story? On the way to mom's house yesterday (in the cold), Catherine (2.5 y/o) was shivering. She described it to me as "Mama, my teeth are bumping!" Sweet little girl :D

TR Preunion fun

2009-12-27T19:27:00.006-06:00

Well, keeping tabs on the holiday season via blog entries didn't really pan out this year. Huge surprise. I *will* say proudly that I managed to keep up...sorta...with a "December Daily" scrapbook challenge. "Kept up with" meaning I finished more than half and have plans for the remaining pages. Live and learn.

Yesterday (day after Christmas) I had the pleasure of meeting up with some wonderful friends from high school. We have our 20 year reunion coming up in June and took advantage of holiday visits to catch up with one another (families included). A few of the clan were missing (one notably absent Allison just adopted a baby boy last week and was back home introducing him to his new digs!), but they were in our hearts. Sarah has promised to post pictures from the gathering so I will leave you with my first attempt to post a scrapbook page here on my neglected blog:

Passing down traditions - making and baking

2009-11-29T11:05:00.003-06:00

I am supposed to be working on one of my class lessons for PSE, but am having trouble focusing. So I will write instead *wink*

12/2's HIH prompt is:
"Do you remember making any specific recipe with older family members? What was the experience like?"

My short answer: no, not really. Not until I was older, anyway, and then it was more of a "you are in charge of this" (making rolls for holiday meals) kind of thing than a "let's cook/bake together" situation. I could be forgetting something, but really I did not participate much in cooking with older family members until much, much later. AS in Mom taught me a few tricks before I moved into an apartment my Junior year in college later. My grad school friends are who really taught me to cook and enjoy a greater variety of foods.

I do remember having a special bond with my Grandma V over the preparation of artichokes. I would help her snip off the sharp tips of the outer leaves, then she would boil it and later we'd set out the artichoke and butter dip on a plate to pick at on the bar. Artichokes were our "thing" and she even gave me my own artichoke plate when I was older.

While I was mostly kept out of the kitchen as a child, I did have older relatives teach me many things outside the kitchen. I especially enjoy visits with Aunt Charlie Belle, my Grandpa V's sister. Aunt Charlie Belle lived in Dallas and was very crafty. She also always smelled very nice (not craft-relevant, I know, but decades after her death I still think of her perfume when I think of her). Charlie Belle made felt ornaments that my parents still use on their tree today - they were the ornaments *we* were allowed to put on the tree even before we could handle the breakable stuff. One trip to Dallas, Cb taught me to crochet. I think I was about 7 or 8, and looking back I am very impressed that she took the time to teach me to work with yarn and hook. While I never learned to "properly" hold the yarn on my hands the way she instructed, I did get a basic knowledge of crochet down that serves me still today. I had to teach myself a couple of years ago how to read instructions, however, because Charlie Bell just had me do basic projects from verbal instructions that I may have jotted down or memorized on my own!

My Grandma D always had craft supplies and projects at her house as well, and we would work on that each time I'd go to visit her (sometimes for a week or two at a time). Grandpa D taught me about fishing (with Grandma, who actually took me out a lot and who taught me to crab). I wish Grandpa D had taught me to play harmonica before he died, but he didn't. Grandma V taught me to play rummy (cards) probably around age 8 and Grandpa V taught me to play checkers around 6 I think. Grandma V. took me to the SA Zoo and on the train there often enough that I associate that childhood activity with her. Mom taught me to love reading. Dad taught me to change tires on my car and to drive a stick shift (to the tune of "I took a tire off your car, now put it on before you can drive again" and "I dropped your new stick shift car at your college apartment and took your old, auto car home with me to sell - see you back in SA when you learn to drive it!"). I also credit Tina (my roommate) and Eric (my boyfriend) with teaching me to drive that standard car "for real."

My Earliest Christmas Memory

2009-11-28T12:46:00.003-06:00

Turns out I am not quite at the "post every day! Or every week!" place just yet *wink* But I already forgive myself so here's trying once again.

This past week has been crazy busy as I finished my Portraiture class I am taking, finished the (instruction for, but not assignments given in) Holiday in Hand class, created and sent to print an entire album from scratch (my first on PSE!) for a Christmas gift, dog-sat for our fabulous neighbors and then got the house ready for and hosted Thanksgiving dinner. Before you get too impressed, "hosting thanksgiving dinner" really only meant preparing a few dishes on my part. it is a potluck style meal in our family, and Mom really makes the most food. THANK YOU, MOM!

Part of the Holiday in Hand class at JessicaSprague.com includes fabulous prompts for each day of December, to help you in journaling and also in savings / preserving memories. I reckon it will take me a few years to actually "do" the whole class (let's be realistic - Know thyself!), but in the meantime i will try to use this space for a memory here and there.

Dec 1's "remember" prompt is:
"What is your earliest holiday memory?"

I am not sure what my earliest holiday memory is, exactly. I can remember opening up and receiving a child-sized (as in, 3 feet long) Raggedy Ann doll when I was still living with my parents in Grey Forest. That would be before I was 4. I can remember trying to drag it around everywhere and being very impressed at how large my doll was :) I enjoyed the raggedy Ann and Andy book/s when I was little and really treasured having a doll of my own. Out in the country I do not remember having any friends to play with (except for a girl I saw rarely, who lived or visited family along the very backside of our property, which was far in my mind) and did not have cousins or brother in my life just yet - I was the oldest grandchild on both sides by 3 and 4 years. So having that big doll was cool because she was *my* size and an actual friend. I could play with her like she was a child.

OK, In case my mom ever reads this: yes, I do remember going to daycare and being around kids there, and having my BFF Melanie in the class (Melanie, for those of you who don't know her, had cool gym or ballerina uniforms. I am not sure i even got to take a class. That's right - your preschoolers WILL remember things like this lol). So it is not like i was all alone, all the time. But there weren't kids in the house a lot. And I didn't know any better to miss them (or at least, I don't remember that I did). I do remember playing a lot with Spanish Moss and little baby Tree Frogs a lot when I was little. And coke bottles stored under the back stoop for recycling. There may have been a large dog, too, but I don't remember hanging out with the dog.

Anyway - holiday first would probably be that Raggedy Ann Christmas. Unless it was a birthday, in which case I also have strong memories of celebrating Christmas at Grandma V's house with extended family. Mom is grateful I remember getting the "Baby that-a-way" doll one Christmas. She crawled by herself and was a VERY hot item in the late 1970s and Mom couldn't find it anywhere in SA so she eventually got Aunt Blanche to get the doll in Houston and bring it down for Christmas. See, mom? I do remember and even appreciate some things. Sadly, my only other real memory of baby thataway is her sad demise, which included a corroded butt where the batteries resided. What happened, Baby?

We typically had Christmas celebrations with my mom's family and the, separately, with my dad's family while my grandparents were all alive. Later, mom's parents would sometimes go to Dad's parents for celebrations as well. My mom's mom always went crazy overboard with gifts, which I loved. As a child. As an adult I wish my children to have modest Christmas hauls because I now know the work involved in making that much new stuff fit into the house, and dealing with emotional issues involving "gimme gimme gimme" attitudes :) But I digress.

This Christmas we continue on visiting with Mom's family, then Dad's, before the holiday itself, then on the 24th my little family will celebrate at home, then 25th we will celebrate with my folks, my brother and his family, and my own peeps all together.

Holiday goals

2009-11-18T06:24:00.005-06:00

OK, I missed the twenty minutes of writing yesterday. In my defense, my 2 y/o went to bed a little later than I expected her to (after no nap yesterday) and then awoke somewhere around 11 p.m. (when I was trying to last-minute use my free Kodak Gallery GC that was about to expire) and did not go back to sleep with her until well after midnight. it is 6:20 now and about time to start getting my older DD ready for school.

However, I have JUST ENOUGH TIME to cut and paste and edit a bit some FABULOUS holiday values and goals that I found over at the site of the one soul kind enough to offer me feedback from Monday's holiday description post. Bless your heart, Christy at , you kindly comment on my blog and I will now repay you with a serious case of post-lifting. Please don't hate me and know that in this case, it is nothing but flattery. You NAILED your goals, missy! (ETA: ok, on *my* page Christy's values and goals look totally different. And I'm not just talking about spacing, here. I am still lifting at least one and am now crediting Christy for kicking my rear into gear on this past-due assignment)

My holiday values:
1. Spending time with people you love, especially family and close friends. This does not mean *all * the family and close friends, but at least some. Making new friends now is also good :)

2. Staying healthy, physically and emotionally. It is easy to go overboard this season with eating all the lovely goodies out there, ignore exercise opportunities because of the weather or prioritizing something else, and to sleep too little due to stress, excitement or trying to fit more hours into the day. It is also a time when we tend to over commit and fret and worry ourselves, leading to additional stress. Outside pressure to fit into a particular mold adds to that stress. Being around people who have different goals or who tend to exist in drama not peace is an especially stressful situation for me.

3. Remembering who you are and honoring your relationships with loved ones is important to me, especially when we are stressed (see above) or busy (see "Christmas"). I think this is the value that I most cherish and that I too frequently let fall to the wayside of "life" circumstances. Focus, focus ....

4. Sharing the holiday spirit. Anonymous giving and generosity (not of the "tit for tat" variety) are REALLY important to me this season. You have to give of yourself in some way to really feel the love in the air.

5. Peace. I want more peace, more simplicity in my holiday season. In the past this has meant making more compromises about things we all hold dear to use (traditions) but that are likely different for each family. In our family we have reduced the gift-giving a LOT. Personally, I would like to reduce it more or to make it less consumer oriented. I feel a little ...used? when the season turns into one big shop-fest (and I do like my shopping! Don't get me wrong!)

OK, baby awoke so I will finish this later with my goals and a link to my muse, Miss Christy.

Holiday values...free writing

2009-11-16T13:58:00.008-06:00

Really? It's been about 6 months since I last wrote? It was a long, hot summer.

I am taking a class at http://www.jessicasprague.com/ called "Holidays in Hand" that I hope will help kick-start my holiday scrapbook idea. The class is only a week long, but entails a personal commitment to write at least 20 minutes a day. I would like to say I will commit to doing that, but let's face it...we all know I'd be lying. I will commit to writing for 20 minutes TODAY and then go from there *wink* How's that?

Today's assignment for the class is to focus on my holiday values. Specifically: "what are your holiday values? Those things we treasure most, and the hopes we have for ourselves and our families during the holiday season?" For me the holiday season includes Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve, and myriad family and friendly gatherings that go with those holidays. Since Mapi is in school this year I expect there will be some sort of school-related function to participate in as well.

I don't really know how to go about this exercise. I mean, I get it, but um...well, I'm just going to slap some stuff down on "paper" and let the chips fall where they may. Overthinking posts will be (has been) the death of my blog.

Halloween (what the heck, I'll include it here): I don't really like Halloween. It could disappear from the calendar forever and I would probably not notice. or notice and rejoice. We celebrate it by letting the kids dress in costume and walking around the block trick-or-treating at the few neighborhood houses that leave on their lights for kids. I don't decorate my house (well, there's that plastic jack o lantern we sometimes put out front when the kids remember) and I really prefer the kids' costumes that come from our at-home stash (though I am not opposed to buying dress-up garb that will be used year-round). The adults go with the kids to trick or treat. The kids get to pick out a few pieces of candy to eat the following week, then the rest of the loot is set out at night for the Candy Witch to take (she leaves a goody for the kids in return - this past year it was matching pajamas).

October is when I will put pumpkins on the mantel and start dreaming of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving for me is all about getting together with loved ones and sharing a meal. It does not have to be super-traditional, but I admit we do each of us in the family have our favorite dishes. Which get made. Then we end up with loads of leftovers because we all wanted our "special" holiday food :) Manuel loves mom's apple pie. Marlist wants pumpkin pie. personally, I prefer a not too sweet cherry pie. Mom makes the pies. I want her to teach the grandkids how to make them so that tradition carries on more generations. I selfishly do not want to learn how to make them, as I am convinced that will spoil the deliciousness of them if they are *that* accessible to me. usually at the table are: Mom and Dad, Manuel, I, our two girls, my brother, his wife and their three kids, and Uncle Time. We also feel blessed if a friend or relative or two join in the fun or drop by after dinner for desserts and conversation.

Thanksgiving Day we spend cleaning house, getting showered and dressed and lounging around while cooking. Usually we eat a late breakfast to tide us over until the big meal. Lunch recently has been served around 2 or so, and that is our big meal. Turkey is the main meat, and there is salad, rice (this year i may try to slip in some quinoa), beans (black or red), a winter squash dish mom makes, green beans, cranberry sauce I make, Manuel's Ecuadorian meat stuffing (if he makes it), bread and corn. Dessert is up to mom and SIL. I just want pie. Everyone wants leftovers.

The meal ends in time for us to clean up while the kids play. If time and weather permit we may stroll around the block with the little ones. Towards evening we like to look through the Black Friday ads in the newspaper and strategize for the holiday season purchases to come. No one in the family seems to go over the top with purchases for gifts, but the sales are also a time when electronics and new dishes/kitchen stuff and jewelry seem to find their way into the house. Since our weather doesn't really get cold until late November/December, I like to pick up items for my winter wardrobe for the season at the sales. Sooo much nicer on the pocketbook than doing it at another time.

The day after Thanksgiving mom and I usually go early (before 6 a.m.) to shop, returning home before lunchtime. It is a nice time for us two to visit and one of the only times during the year i get to really go shopping for more than a couple of hours without the kids in tow. It is fun for me (I steer clear of crazies and large crowds this morning - it just isn't worth it to me).

Thanksgiving weekend we decorate the house for the Christmas season. I honestly wish I could leave up Christmas decorations longer (say, put up the tree in mid-November), but it just about ruins Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday!) for me if I'm spending it looking at a Christmas tree in my own house. Like I am admitting I have no patience (hmmmm...another story altogether lol).

December we anticipate the following: office party for Manuel, some kind of event for the kids in our local parenting group, a cookie swap with friends, a day of shopping sans kids (everything else is done online), two extended family Christmases (that's two for my side of the family - unless we are travelling abroad to Manuel's family we do not plan to see them for the holidays), our little family Christmas (this year that will be Christmas Eve), and then a dinner/gift exchange with my family, my parents, my brother and his family.

Gift giving: I am still working on finding a place of peace with this one. We do white elephant exchanges for the extended family Christmases amongst the adults, and the kids do an ornament exchange. It is still, for me, too much consumerism added to the holiday. I love gift exchanges but prefer to set a $10 limit (not $25+) on gifts, or say they MUST be regifts, bought used or handmade. Within my family, we usually make a present (photo related) for my parents, and a small ($10 per couple) limit exchange for my brother and SIL, with small gifts for the kids. Eventually I would like the cousins to be responsible for making for finding affordable gifts for each other.

We leave our tree up until after New Year's Day. I don't have a set date for taking it all down, but generally feel like crawling under a rock if it hasn't been done by the end of January :) We don't put out a lot of Christmas decorations right now - just a dressed tree (kids help with the ornaments), a dressed mantel (my grandmother's Peruvian nativity set plus greenery), a nativity set for the kids, and a few decorations in the dining room. I usually change out a few pictures on the wall to include some holiday prints.

New Year's Eve has no real set routine, except it is the only holiday Manuel and I have spent together each year since we've met. We usually stay home or do an early, kid-friendly NYE celebration at a friend's house, but this year I may be up for going to Sea World to watch fireworks. Assuming my "there are too many people here!" vibe doesn't keep me from it. We have some traditions associated with the New Year that we adhere to - usually staying up to ring in the new year, 12 grapes at midnight, and recognizing a theme or goals for the upcoming year. Being a good Southern girl, I always eat my black eyed peas for good luck on Jan. 1. If we are celebrating in Ecuador with Manuel's family we celebrate more traditions.

And that's it! For what we typically do during the holidays. I know the assignment was to think about my values and then write goals for the season, and I know I didn't actually *do* that lol, but I did write. And will eventually be brave enough to share that other stuff here one day.

Rock a bye baby revisited.

2009-04-15T16:02:00.002-05:00

Rock-a-bye, baby
In the treetop
When the wind blows
The cradle will rock
When the bough breaks
The cradle will fall
And down will come baby
Cradle and all

Mapi: and what happens next?

Mama: I don't know (ignores obvious concern for welfare of baby). I guess the Mama put Baby back in the tree.

Mapi: NO! But that's not SAFE! The baby will just FALL out of the tree! Babies don't belong in trees!

Mama: Well, what do you think should happen next.

Mapi: The mama could carry the baby in her carrier! Let's sing the song again. You do it.

I've fallen and I can't get up!

2009-04-11T22:25:00.002-05:00

I'm stuck. Truly stuck. I come to this page and stare at it and can't find the will or the time to write out a proper post. There's actually parts and bits of a proper post about going to the zoo a week...or two... ago in my "Saved" blogs that I haven't posted. Because it is incomplete.

As I said, I am stuck.

Mapi lost her first tooth. Then the second, a week later. We also have pretty much decided NOT to home school her and to send her away to school instead! ACK! Full day Kinder. Will she manage? Will *I* manage? It is a dual language immersion program and will be heavy Spanish for the first few years. Wish us luck.

Catherine turns two on Monday and Friday we celebrated her birthday with a few friends and an egg hunt. I am hereby done organizing or participating in egg hunts (other than a tiny bit of help at mom's tomorrow). We have no plans to celebrate Easter other than to spend some time with family.

We got a swing set. I'd take pics but then I'd have to POST them and that, my friends, has almost everything to do with me being STUCK.

Hopefully this will enable me to get over the hump.

Cheers!

Rainy day dreams come true

2009-03-25T15:21:00.003-06:00

Yesterday afternoon we had some unexpected (and very appreciated!) rain. OK, drizzle. But we don't get a lot of water from the sky here these days so I will call it rain and pretend we are approaching normalcy.

The girls were outside playing when it started to rain and Mapi was over the moon with happiness: the day had finally come that she could go into the (new to us, thanks Abuela!) clubhouse WHILE IT IS RAINING! "Look, Mama! It's raining and we are in the clubhouse! It's my dream come TRUE!" she squealed and ran around in circles, opening and shutting windows in the clubhouse. Catherine ran after her, parroting "dream, true!".

I pulled the tee-pee over to the side of the clubhouse and set a golf umbrella up between the house and the tee pee. The girls could now go from one dwelling to the next without getting wet. OH HAPPY DAY!

Road trip to Austin

2009-03-22T21:21:00.007-06:00

This weekend has been a great end to my "10 or so days of reminding my family I was born, AKA Tamara's extended birthday celebration." Yesterday mom took the girls for the afternoon/evening and Manuel and I went to a few gardens centers to window shop (kinda. I bought a hat, but no plants!), then a few errands, then dinner at Thai joint we used to frequent but stopped going to a couple of years ago. We *were* supposed to catch a movie, but the timing was bad so it didn't happen.

Today we loaded up the kids in the van and trekked up to Austin to check out the Wildflower Center. Mapi was under the impression we were going to the Botanical Gardens and was annoyed that it took much longer than she had anticipated. On the way there we called our friends Sarah and Mike (who live nearby and do not read by blog *cough*) to see if they wanted to meet us. We made plans to touch base as we were leaving the park.

We arrived at the Center around 1 p.m. Everyone in Austin was already there (or at least, that's where they apparently parked all their cars). We spent a while looking for parking, then finally made our way inside.

We had a nice time walking around and enjoying the few bluebonnets and wildflowers that had already come up for the season. Catherine's shoes were too slick on the bottom for the loose gravel pathways and she fell down a few times. She still had fun, though, and at every bench went over, climbed up and urged us to "sit! sit!" Mapi had a good time chasing butterflies and dreaming about what could be behind the tiny door she saw (leading to the children's little house). Both girls enjoyed the water featured as the Center, yelling "agua! agua!" when they saw a new one in the distance.

I made my family take pictures by the bluebonnets.

I also stole pictures of Manuel sitting with Catherine on the benches.

It was a beautifully warm day! Temps in the low 80s. As we left we saw some turtles hanging out in the pond, warming their backs.

(You don't get to see the picture because blogger is being uppity about me uploading more images *shakes fist*)

Mapi loves mannequins and this child-sized sculpture suited her just fine. She fed it goldfish crackers and asked me to photograph her posing with it.

(I'd show you, but see turtle picture note, above.)

Afterwards Catherine insisted on trying out some poses of her own. She is a learning machine and copies everything we say and do.

(again, see above picture note)

We got in touch with Sarah and Mike as we were leaving the Center (they were inside, looking for us!). They invited us to join them at a nearby park with a playground, where the girls happily played for about an hour.

At the end of the day, Catherine did not want to leave. She took off in another direction several times. Finally, she resigned to staying with us, but did her best to prolong the packing up experience by laying on the mat as Manuel tried to roll it up to put in the car.

With the exception of an unpleasant not-in-the-bathroom mishap on the way home (I'm not ready to talk about it just yet), we had an uneventful return trip to San Antonio. Catherine sang us a lovely rendition of "tickle, tickle, ... SAR!!!!" ("twinkle twinkle little star," to the uninitiated). We got home, gave the girls baths, and they were both asleep well before 8 p.m. Let's here it for a day's worth of fun in the sun!

Mapi holds a dog!

2009-03-20T23:37:00.004-06:00

Mapi and Catherine have, for...ever, shown great concern over being in the same physical space as dogs and/or cats (and, in some cases, other domestic animals). This past weekend Mapi was intrigued enough by a sweet new puppy her cousins brought to Abuela's house that she ACTUALLY ASKED TO HOLD HER after a few hours of careful observation!

Catherine, on the other hand, was not convinced it was safe yet to come out and play. She made it onto the patio IF there was an adult there with her (preferably holding her!). Towards the end of the afternoon she let me sit on a chair in the patio and when Annie puppy came to put her front paws on the chair, Catherine actually touched them. This was a REALLY sweet dog!

I didn't get a picture of Catherine outside with me and the dog, but here are Catherine and I inside. That morning I figured out how cute Catherine's hair would be in twin ponytails *heart heart heart* Boy will I miss that when I finally get around to cutting her hair this summer!

Not loads went on this week, other than Manuel graciously took off work today to spend time with us (and let me go get my hair cut- yay!). I am starting a new (gardening) blog, with support from some other local gardening mamas.

Cheers!

More about my fabulous birthday

2009-03-18T19:45:00.004-06:00

My birthday week and a half has been pretty great so far this year. Last year was...less than great and I was ready for some attention to me. I got it! Even though Manuel was out of town all last week, my dear friends celebrated with me the day before my birthday - we had a potluck lunch and ate too much melted cheese and cake and watermelon. The temps were cold for March (high 50!) and rainy so the kids didn't go outside in Wendi's cool back yard, but they played well together inside and it was all very very lovely. Just what I wanted :) That evening our neighbors invited me and the girls over for supper so we had even MORE attention (ok, it wasn't "Tamara's birthday dinner a la Elaine and Gerard" but it was still fun to be social and with friends. Plus, food was good!).

Friday lunch the girls and I went to Green with Jennifer for some vegetarian fare. The food was very good. Catherine begged fruit off another table's plate (so proud!), and when I ordered her the same fruit salad she proceeded to eat exactly hardly any of it at all. I should have had it served by the lady sitting behind us so Catherine would eat it.

By afternoon I was ready to chew off my arm and beat something with it. I WAS DONE WITH MY WEEK OF SINGLE PARENTING!!!! Friday afternoons are difficult, anyway. But that day was particularly rough. Manuel's flight arrived home late (surprise!) but we had a nice Thai dinner once he come home.

Saturday I left Manuel and the girls for a full 12 hours of MOMMY ALONE TIME! The first since Catherine was born almost two years ago, and one of a handful of 12 hour breaks since Mapi was born 5 years ago.
Must. Do. This. More. Often. I am *so* taking a weekend trip sans kids once Catherine weans (whenever that is!). Saturday's outing included a trip up to Austin to check out thrift stores (so fun!), lunch at IHOP (Annie and I both really wanted this!) and dinner in SA at a little Tex-Mex place. Fun, fun, fun. And really relaxing to not be in charge of anyone but me :)

Sunday afternoon Trey and family came up to mom's house, where we all had dinner to celebrate ME. You could tell it was a birthday because mom actually busted out the brownie mix and made us fattening dessert. YUMMMMMMM.

I am hopeful this Saturday Mom will watch the kids while Manuel and I go on a date, a fine ending to 10 days of All About Me.

A note in my pocket

2009-03-15T10:59:00.002-06:00

I found a note I wrote to myself about a year and a half ago. Mapi had said something to me in the car and I scribbled it down and tucked it away in a jacket I only recently wore again the other day.

From when Mapi was about 3.5 years old. We were talking about her namesake, Abuela Marlist, who died before Mapi was born. Mapi says:

"Whoever dies, gets to leave. Whoever lives, gets to stay.If I say whoever dies gets to stay here, we'll have a bunch of people who died, in our house."

Later that day, we went to Abuela Pam's house. Mapi told her:

"You are my favorite abuela."
"How many do you have?" asked my mom.
"Two" replied Mapi.
"Who is the other one?"
Said Mapi: "she's dead, unfortunately. I invited her to my house for a party. She died."

And that, my friends, is another glimpse into my daughter's head as she pieces together this here universe.

It's my birthday!

2009-03-13T09:18:00.002-06:00

Last night the girls and I all slept in the master bedroom - Catherine and I on the bed, Mapi on the floor. We all slept VERY well and late - past 8. I missed trash pickup! Oh well.

This morning I got up and came to the computer while the girls still slept. Mapi came in a few minutes later and said HAPPY BIRTHDAY, mama! So sweet - I am thoroughly impressed she remembered today is my birthday (ok, I've been talking about it all week, but still...). A few minutes later Catherine walked in and she and Mapi decided to leave for the living room to play. Mapi called out "Happy birthday mama!" to me again as she left the room. Catherine abruptly turned from my side to follow her sister. She got to the doorframe before she parroted "hoppy djedje, mama!" and left the room.

More later about my fun celebration yesterday afternoon (and dinner with friends last night!).

I'm off to lunch with another friend. Yay, me! Manuel returns home tonight. Whew, what a week! We did it!

Sleepless in San Antonio

2009-03-11T13:37:00.004-06:00

This week Manuel is out of town for work and I am left here to single parent the girls. We've been doing fairly well throughout the day, but Catherine, at almost 2, is waking up consistently around 11 or 12 p.m. and staying up for 3 or 4 hours. With me. While we don't sleep. For three nights in a row now. I'm going nuts.

I can't figure out what is the reason for her awakening like this: daylight savings time? full moon? Manuel leaving for a week? God punishing me? Surely she doesn't need to nurse for four hours (as requested). My reasonable friends will tell you maybe her two year molars are giving her reason to awake. Maybe they are right. That might make more sense than looking out the window for a plague of locusts as part II of a divine punishment.

Here's to a better night's sleep tonight!

Mapi's big day

2009-03-08T06:56:00.004-06:00

Yesterday morning we had Mapi's fifth birthday celebration over at Abuelo and Abuela's house. I had intended to throw the party at home, but upon hearing my plans Mapi said "well, actually, I was thinking about Abuela's house for my party." So there's that.

We invited a few friends (and their families) over for a "Royal Bash" and the kiddos dressed up in costumes (not all prince and knight-related!) and ran around the yard. Jacob was a fantastic sport and took on the role of "monster" and all the kids chased him around and around the yard. I am not sure his tshirt will recover from all the tugging, though to be honest - it was a t.u. shirt so I can't pretend I will shed any tears over its demise.

There was pizza, chocolate cake, a pinata, a bubble machine (that died or went comatose after too much work), kickballs and a LOT of wind. I'm thinking it would be worth considering having the venue be inside next year. "Not my house" inside, that is!

After most guests left Mapi opened her presents. She was so cute them! She actually ran out into the other room so she had room to fall down and "swoon" over one gift (I forget which one it was now. She got a lot of "really tiny pieces" gifts). When she opened a cooking apron she put it on right away, and when she got a dress she changed into it immediately. There were several "I waited all my life for this!" cries and lots of breaks from unwrapping to stop and play with her cousins and her new toys.

On that note - I love seeing what the birthday boy/girl received, but the tradition of having kids open all the presents at once just hasn't worked in my house with Mapi and Catherine! For Mapi's first three years I could not get her to open more than 2 or MAX 3 presents at a sitting. She wanted to PLAY with her new toys when she got them, darn it! Or play with her friends. Then she got to where she would open more at a time but she definitely loves to stop and play for at least a few minutes when she hits something particularly interesting. At others' parties, she doesn't really "sit and watch" very well, so I assume most other kids do not and we just open the presents after the party (exception: if someone wants her to open the gift before they leave, she will). It works for us. I don't really know how Catherine will be about all this. She did really love helping Mapi open her gifts.

After everyone left, we cleaned up mom's then-trashed house and yard. I put Catherine down for a nap and the bigger cousins played for a few hours. Manuel took Mapi with him to get a haircut; he said she was so proud of her party and told everyone at the hair salon about it. Mapi went to bed early but Catherine stayed up until almost 10 playing with Mapi's new toys.

Daylight Savings Time starts today!

Birthday angst

2009-03-04T22:46:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow Mapi turns 5! A better person would include a photo with this entry, but I have decided that adding photos to my blog are one of the things that keep me from blogging. So I am cutting myself a little slack here.

I did not know this would happen to me, since it has not occurred yet for any other Mapi birthday, but FIVE is freaking me out a little. I admit, I cried today. A few times. While talking to friends. Because they understand my crazy (bless their hearts) and know that I am a mom who sees her daughter transitioning from a baby/toddler/preschooler into a real, live girl. One with thoughts and ideas and opinions and quite the wherewithall to make things happen. With five I truly feel Mapi's littleness slipping away, and while I suspect that I will read back on these words years from now and think *dear gussy, woman! Get a grip! She's five, not 15 / 30 / 50!*it is hard not to allow myself to indulge just for a few days in the sentimentality that has found its way into my heart this week.

That and I can't seem to find THE PERFECT GIFT. I am embarrassed to even talk about it, but I admit I have an intense desire to prove to Mapi my love for her by finding her THE PERFECT TOY. Normally I do not fall into this trap. Usually I am the boring, practical Mama who buys new clothes (standard workhorse clothes) or books or makes little crafts for birthday gifts. Or give nothing at all, knowing there will be plenty coming in from other sources. But this year I've lost my tiny little mind. I have bought things I promised myself tonight that I must return. I have gone nuts. Little plastic toy parts wait in their wrappers to pollute the carpets of my house. Limited-imagination toys that will be discarded within months, if history repeats. Crap, my friends. C-r-a-p.

So I fall back into moments: tomorrow Manuel works, but the girls and I will go to the Witte Museum to meet some friends to play. We'll grab some tacos on the way and have a picnic lunch at the museum. I'm not sure if they allow that sort of thing, but there are tables outside and vending machines, and goodness knows I am not above smuggling food into...well, anywhere.

When Manuel get home I hope to take Mapi to the store to pick out a cake for her party. And we'll have dinner of her choosing after that. Then some of the above-mentioned gifts.

I *was* going to finally sit down and write Mapi's birth story (how many times have I gotten *this close* to writing it?), but now I remember I need to go wrap gifts for a very big and lovely birthday girl.

Playing g-d

2009-03-03T08:31:00.003-06:00

I'm back! We retired the tired old gerbil that ran the old computer and bought a new unit so now I can actually post in a timely fashion!

This morning Mapi and Catherine came into the office, where Mapi announced to me that "mama, we are playing g-d!" I looked up from the computer. "Oh my!" I said. Mapi continued, "yes, I am g-d and Catherine is Baby Jesus." I looked at Mapi, who has been quite curious about this whole g-d, universe, creation sort of thing lately. "Hello, g-d!" she smiled at me. I turned to Catherine, who was at her side. "Hello, Baby Jesus!" Catherine beamed at me, opened her mouth, stuck out her tongue and panted a few times. "woo-woof!" She said, and came over to lick my hand. Catherine loves playing dog (or "ga" as she calls it). My little deities then exited stage left. Three minutes later they called for me to get them butterfly wings and a net. Religion is hard work.

Big girl!

2008-10-28T21:36:00.005-06:00

Catherine hit her 18 month anniversary and has suddenly turned from a baby into a real, little person :)

A week ago she climbed up on her sister's chair at the table and announced "immig!" which later became clearer (for she repeated it over and over) and turned into "aye-mig! aye-mig!" and finally I realized she was saying (and she confirms this with a huge smile when I say it to her) "I mig!" ("I'm big!"). Which linguistically makes sense, that confusion about the m and b and all. She was SO PROUD of herself for her accomplishment and for being big. And for us understanding that she was telling us she is big. She goes around the house now saying it. Very sweet.

Yesterday Catherine climbed (without help) into my lap as I sat in a chair. She got to the top and announced "Aye-di! Aye-di'i!" Which, of course, means "I did it!" I told her she did it and her face again lit up with the recognition that FINALLY the grown-ups were learning to talk! What fun! She stared at my mouth as I repeated it and then she clarified her own statement into "I-did-ih!" What excitement around here. I have both statements on video but it is a mystery to me to load them to the computer. One day, grasshopper. In the meantime, I love that knows words and then phrases.

Catherine LOVES to wash her hands in the sink. We have a step stool in front of it and she would happily play there for long periods of time, water running, if only I would let her. Sadly, I am nervous about her being in there by herself and am unwilling to supervise her there for extended periods of time. Plus, she cries LOADS if I end the water play early AND if she gets into the bathroom alone she will at times (less now, but loads earlier) go splash in the toilet. Which I think is yucky. So I generally keep the bathroom door closed to her.

Today, however, the door was open. And Catherine discovered the open door. I was in the office when I heard the undeniable silence of a child having illicit fun. I went down the hallway, saw the open door, peeked in, and saw this

Catherine had climbed the steps, gotten onto the counter top, sat in the sink, found her toothbrush, grabbed the toothpaste, turned on the water (onto her *until then* dry pants) and was grunting for someone to please open the friggin toothpaste. It was practically empty so I opened the tube and gave it to her, where she happily spread a dot of if onto her brush and cleaned her mouth. She is so ready to follow what we big people do, and I am surprised by it each and every day - she is my BABY!

Happy Campers!

2008-10-27T12:15:00.003-06:00

This weekend we went camping with two other families. We planned the trip in the heat of early July, when late October (last October it was still in the 90s for the first half) sounded nice and refreshing. Wendi's husband Kent (aka "Chuck") offered to bring his vast array of camping gear for us to use, and each family brought their own tents and bags (and, in our case, queen size mattress - oh ah the rough life!).

Kent made reservations for us at Canyon Lake (Potter Creek campground), and our sites were right near the water. The level of the lake was down and the kids were able to go out and pick up shells were the water used to be. Mapi and Bradley (and later, Georgia) played tug a war with a rope they found in Kent's truck, and all the kids enjoyed playing with the ride-on toys we brought.

We prepared food on the fire and on Kent's Coleman kitchen. The menu (you were waiting for the menu, yes?) included breakfast tacos (potato, egg, onions, bacon, salsa, cheese, beans), hot dog/sausage lunch and fajita taco dinners. The kids LOVED roasted marshmallows over the fire for dessert. I missed watching them (I was putting Catherine to sleep), but the report from other grown-ups was that Mapi's face was lit up the entire time, including when she asked if her "marshmallow was gross (roasted) yet."

Friday night was extremely cold (for me. In a tent). I was on the mattress with Catherine and did not sleep much due to waking up from cold. Saturday afternoon I ran into town and bought some sleeping bags for us. Mother Nature rewarded my initiative and saw to it that Saturday night was much warmer. At least we now have sleeping bags for everyone in the family :) (the picture below shows the result of Catherine learning to take off her own shirt, for the first time - she was no longer cold once the sun rose!)

Overall, we had a really nice time. I would love to check out some of the other parks in the area, ones I went to with my own family when I was younger. Manuel and I both agreed it was a lot of work organizing the things we would take, but we are both hopeful that this part of the process will be easier with experience.

Thank you, Wendi, Kent, Annie, Ben and kiddos for making this such an enjoyable weekend!

Fall is here!

2008-10-14T10:09:00.006-05:00

Oooh it has been so long since I have had an update. We have been crazy busy the past month, and are looking forward to at least a little bit of relaxation for the next month. "relaxed" being a relative term ;)

Early this month Manuel celebrated his birthday. As a gift he went to Las Vegas with some buddies while the girls and I went to the coast with my parents. We all had fun and came back exhausted. Mapi really enjoed playing in the water and Catherine loved the play structures at the Rockport beach. She tried many times to slide down a wooden ramp - it was slower than a real slide, but more her size; she was adamant about doing it. There were loads of jellyfish on the beach this time, so we played mostly in the sand away from the surf. We took our requisite walk down the pier, though only once - Cahterine hated the wind blowing in her ears, and Mapi was etremely nervous about the waves possibly coming over the pier and washing us away for good. We also swam a bit in the pool - I love October in Texas!

Immediately after we got back, friends came to visit us from Ecuador (4 adults and one 11 y/o) for a week of non-stop tourism and shopping and eating. LOADS of fun and they were fabulous house guests. We went to the science museum, the zoo, Sea World, downtown to the river walk, and then also to the outlet malls, regular malls, and most of our favorite restaurants. I hope they come visit us again soon :)

We have made a lot of changes to the house - installed LED downlights in the kitchen, finished the kitchen rehab work for this phase at least (we want to do more lighting, perhaps early next year), got all-new windows, and finished decorating the dining and girls' rooms. We will probably stay in a holding pattern on the house until the holidays, when we will add a few more decorations for Christmas. Mapi is already talking about decorating trees.

Felt play food - Cowboy breakfast

2008-09-03T13:02:00.002-05:00

This month we have a birthday party invite for a friend who is turning 4 years old. His parents plan to buy him a kitchen this Christmas, so I decided to make him some felt food. I used wool-blend felt, wool stuffing and hand-sewed the whole shebang.

The theme? Cowboy breakfast. The menu? One fried egg, two pancakes with syrup and butter, one sausage patty and fruit salad (two strawberries and three banana slices). Presentation? The food is wrapped up in a bandana and tucked into a metal kid-sized pail, ready to go.

Poorly lit picture:

I had a fun time sitting down and actually crafting - it has been a while! Mapi helped me with some of it (though it is easier and more relaxing when I do it ALL BY MYSELF lol). She requested I make a similar set for her for Christmas, which I would love to do. I already have plans to make her more butterflies for her collection, as well as some fall gnomes for a present from the Candy Witch come Halloween (you know the candy witch - you leave your candy outside after trick or treating, and she comes to take it Halloween night, leaving you a small gift instead? LOVE HER!).

House remodel work

2008-09-01T22:40:00.002-05:00

We have been so busy the past month and a half! Summer is crazy, even when your kids are not in school!

We are continuing work on the house. Specifically, this summer friends (hi, Annie!) inspired me to declutter more and hoard less. We've been going through the house finding things to donate, sell or trash. Mapi is affected by this, too. I heard her the other day talking to her Abuela. Here is what she said:

"Abuela, do you see how many magnets we have on the refrigerator?"
"Yes, you have many."
"We need to sell them. I mean, we need to donate them. Let's recycle them."

Poor thing doesn't know what to do with things anymore! We definitely still have loads more work in front of us before we even get into maintenance mode. I have tossed a few things that I later regretted, but am overall happy with the progress we are making. The office is less of a bodega these days and more of an office (with a lot of crap in it). I actually had an organizer come in and help me figure out what stays and what goes. Because you get to a point in your absolute clutter that sometimes outside help is necessary. This is one of those times.

ANNIE and her MOM came over and actually helped me move furniture and made suggestions and we re-did the foyer and dining room. I also put up family pictures in the living room, something that I really enjoy but I never did because it felt too "private" for that kind of "public" display (I know, it's weird. I blame my parents, who didn't post family pictures in public living areas of the house).

We have also been working hard to finish out the 5 year-long kitchen remodel. IT IS ALMOST COMPLETE! This summer the handyman came and grouted out the bar, the electrician came and installed rough-in housing for the LED down-lights we are putting in (after taking out the old ugly fluorescent circa 1977). Our carpenter came in and trimmed out the ceiling where the old lights were, and now all we have to do is seal the wood the carpenter installed, then have the electrician return to finish installing the last 2 LEDs (we'll have him return next year, hopefully, to add more lighting above the bar). We also had a little scare when the fridge stopped working. Calling a repair guy out cost about $80 and all he did was REBOOT my fridge. You heard me right. It works like a charm now. Feel free to try this at home (unplug fridge or turn off at the breaker box, wait a few minutes, turn back on) next time your unit is down.

Last weekend we moved the queen bed from the guest room and swapped it out with the twin bed in my daughter's room. Now the girls share a room (in name only; the baby still sleeps next to me). This weekend (after I was done being sick), Mom came over to help Manuel and I paint the girls' room "pink," per Mapi's request. The color is actually a crazy pink/purple/white hue that changes colors with the sun. It is a no-VOC paint that we bought at Home Depot. Minimal odor (Mom and Manuel said there was no odor, but I could smell some). Super groovy color. This afternoon we bought bunkbeds for the girls, though they will not be set up as bunks for a few years yet.

And that's about it in a nutshell. Loads more going on, but I loathe long entries so I will save the rest for later :)

Family

2008-07-14T11:17:00.004-05:00

Jenny returned to Austria two weeks ago! It is hard to believe it has been that long or that short since we said good-bye. We consider ourselves so fortunate to have had a positive exchange year with Jenny. I am sure we'll host another AFS student at some point in the future.

Prior to leaving, Jenny made us a surprise scrapbook. She told us it was for herself because she knew there was no way she could work on it in secret and still spend time with Mapi, her official scrapbook helper!

Jenny also spent time cuddling with Catherine. Here they are after dinner at one of Jenny's favorite restaurants.

The month before Jenny left we went on some outings as a family. Here we girls are downtown, hamming it up for the camera:

Our last hours together were spent at home, though. Making sure everything was packed, visiting while pretending nothing was "wrong," and doing last-minute photo and music downloads for Jenny:

We miss you, Jenny B!

Mapi Goes to the Movies

2008-07-14T00:05:00.005-05:00

My big girl is growing so fast!

This weekend Mapi went with Papa to see her first real "in a movie house" movie. At four years old, I reckon you are old enough to sit through a feature film. I was planning to take her to see a flick this fall, but Manuel noticed Mapi's interest in "Wall-E" when we went to Disney this spring, so he proposed he take her on this first excursion into movielandia.

For her special day, Mapi wanted to wear a dress. She chose one that matched Catherine's shorts (even though Catherine was staying home with me, Mapi thought it would be a good idea if they matched colors). I told Mapi that, in my recollection (mind you, it has been years), the movie theater was cold and she might want to wear pants under her dress. Mapi was not thrilled with this idea but settled on a compromise that suited her well: she'd wear a long skirt under her dress. My girl does love to layer her skirts, that is for sure.

Since she chose a sleeveless dress and only a thin skirt to cover her legs, I pulled out some babylegs for her to take in her bag to put on her arms or legs if she got cold. She immediately decided she would wear them NOW on her legs. And since I had more than one pair, a set on her arms NOW would also be nice. In case she got cold, Mama. Just in case.

So here she is, in all her fabulousness. As we were walking down the hallway after getting her dressed, Mapi said "Do you like my outfit, Mama?" I replied "yes, you look verrrryyy......" (pauses, looking for the right word). "DAPPER!" called out Mapi. I look very dapper, wouldn't you say, Mama?"

Yes, darling. You do. Dapper all the way.

Catherine missed her sister while she was gone.

Mapi returned after watching the movie and reported that it was a lot of fun. She had popcorn and sat between Papa and Abuela. Manuel said several people admired her outfit at the theater. Of course. Who wouldn't? My kid has class.

Ode to a patio

2008-07-13T00:43:00.006-05:00

Almost six years ago Manuel and I were searching the neighborhood where I was raised in hopes of finding a house of our own, where we could raise a family. We were living in an apartment at the time and were in no huge rush to move before finding "the right house." We found *our* house the week after returning from out of town (Manuel's mother had unexpectedly died; we went to Ecuador for her funeral and to be with his family). It was a repo, the bank owned it, and it was in major disrepair. Nonetheless, it had the qualifications we sought: it was in our target neighborhood, one story, four bedrooms, two baths and a two car garage. As an added bonus, it sat on a corner lot in a small cu-de-sac.

I was sold from the minute we walked in and I saw the kitchen opened up into the living area (something not common in our area). The original back patio had been enclosed and made part of the house (kind of. It still had a wall of sliding glass doors on it that we took down during the renovation process). The back yard was large and it had a pool (something we weren't looking for, but were pleased to find). What got me on the phone to call Manuel at work so he could come RIGHT NOW to see our diamond in the rough: the house had a good-sized covered patio adjacent to the house. YIPPEE!!!! The patio was smaller than the one I grew up with, but it was covered in a nice vaulted ceiling that extended from the house.

When we purchased the house we knew it would need a lot of work. Over the years we have saved and spent, saved and spent, borrowed and repaid, dreamt big dreams.

Each year we do something more to it. When our first daughter was born we had no (permanent) kitchen: we had floors and one set of old cabinets on the wall, but all floor cabinets had been demolished the previous year, when we moved in and redid the floors. For well over a year we had a few pieces of furniture (including a folding card table) in the kitchen serving as cabinets. Eventually, cabinets were installed (the counter tops came later still!). We had a utility sink hooked up and only when Mapi was almost done using bottles did we install a dishwasher and proper sink (and counter tops - oooh ahhh!).

Through time we have replaced the roof, replaced the fence along the outside perimeter of the property, worked on the pool some, redone the kitchen, and bought a new a/c and hvac.

This year's project: paint the house exterior and fix up the back patio. We kept the colors of the house basically the same, but in the back we added more white where there had been grey. We also had the painters stain and seal the fence. What a difference! My favorite part of it all, however, is the back patio. Where it used to have slippery, stained concrete floors (horrible when wet, so a huge problem when we swam and/or had company to swim), we now have a painted floor with a bit of texture (enough to keep you from slipping when wet!). Where there were ugly, rusting light fixtures there are now new fan and light kits. We will replace the furniture (hopefully!) by the end of the summer, and are replacing the old grill (inherited from my parents) as well.

"Before" picture of the back patio:

It's a shame you cannot see the concrete floor stains or the truly ugly light fixtures. Please trust me when I say they are there and they were awful.

"After" pictures of the back patio (obviously my favorite part of the house that got painted! lol)

Changing the lattice from grey to white really made a difference. I love having a fresh, new-looking room outside! It isn't finished yet but I will post pictures once we have the furniture in as well.

Now that the patio is safer for the girls, I enjoy taking them out there twice a day to help me with laundry. Truthfully, they aren't a ton of help. But if they can play ball or ride bikes while I hang clothes to dry, at least they are supervised and I am not at my wit's end. Catherine loves to pull clothes OFF the line (if she can reach it, like with sheets that hang towards the floor) and off the drying rack (where I dry smaller things like underwear and cloth wipes). it is tricky hanging clothes to dry when you have a toddler who earnestly works to undo your accomplishments.

At night (non-peak energy time) I wash clothes, then I hang them to dry in the morning on the back patio while another load washes (also non-peak time). I can hang up two loads (one after the other) in one day and have them both be dry by night. If needed, I will then throw one or both loads in the dryer for a few minutes to soften (or finish drying, if it is a wet day). Hanging clothes and bringing them down has become one of my favorite parts of the day.

I wanted to include a picture of diapers drying (they are so sweet on the line!) but only have clothes drying right now:

I have two retractable clotheslines, one on either corner of the patio where it meets the house. I want to add a third permanent retactable line on an outer patio corner. Maybe I can pick up one tomorrow. I love laundry lines!

The worms! The worms!

2008-07-07T15:21:00.004-05:00

I posted this on our local parenting board but thought I'd include it here for advice:

For all you vermicomposters out there (or those who just read about stuff like that! lol):

I got my red wriggler worms when we did a co-op mid-May. They have been ok so far. in general, I feed them once a week. Mapi typically asks to show them to Mandi on Wednesdays so that's when I throw them food. Usually, there are a couple of worms on the top of the bin (inside the lid) when I open it (I have the rubbermaid worm bin do-it-yourself number and keep it inside). Today there were at least 20 worms towards the top. They seemed to want OUT.
Uh-oh.

My fabulous powers of perception tell me something is not *right* in the worm bin. I think the paper they live in is too damp, so I added some dry shredded newspaper (and food) to the bin this afternoon. I also plucked all migrating worms off the lid area and tossed them back into the paper mess. I "turned" the bedding in general to help aerate it and I added some fresh bedding over the new food.This evening I checked on them again and saw an impressive number up towards the top again. About five were in a knot near the top. Is this a worm swing event? I thought the dry bedding and food would make them happy. That makes me happy.

I don't have extra gnats or bugs in my bin (that I could see) and it smells like it should smell - earthy.So why are they trying to leave? Any ideas? Places to look online for helpl? Do you think they need more food? I think they might. How often do you actually feed yours?

Trying to avoid the great worm diaspora of 2008....

(ETA: one of the mamas on my local board suggested that maybe the worms were rising to the top due to sensing the recent rains we were having. This week is the first since May that we've had any rain).

These scissors cut hair, Mama!

2008-07-06T15:07:00.003-05:00

I reckon it is time to return to the world of blogging. Jenny is packed and gone, and we are one week into recovery from her departure (and whirl-wind activities prior to her leaving).

Mapi and Jenny did a lot of crafting before jenny returned to Austria, and Mapi continues enjoying working with scissors and paper to make a scrapbook. This morning I could not find the decorative edge scissors I let her use (they really can't cut much beyond paper), so I gave her some kindergarten-style dull-tipped scissors.

Fast forward to now, after lunch, while I am messing around online. I feel a vague disturbance in my peace and quiet and am aware enough to figure out it is a child talking to me, my child, and she is saying the same thing over and over. it involves the word "Mama." Knowing she will not stop until I acknowledge her, I look up and focus in on her words:

"Mama, look! These scissors cut hair, Mama!"

Well, that will make your heart drop, won't it? Panicked, I see she has scissors in one hand and a lock of hair in the other. i try to find where she cut from. She has a lot of hair on her head. I *still* don't know where she cut, but we talked about not cutting hair - that's my job.

I should really pay more attention to my kids while they craft.

Hill Country madness!!!

2008-06-18T01:50:00.002-05:00

This weekend was Father's Day and one of two "family weekends" planned for Jenny's final month here, so we loaded up the wagons and headed north to the Texas Hill Country. We drove through Blanco, where they were having their annual Lavender Festival. It was bright and sunny and HOT out but we decided an opportunity to make an unexpected Lavender Festival could not be missed. Mapi spent most of her time in the stroller, barking out requests for lemonade (lavender lemonade, thank you!). Manuel pushed Mapi around and tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. I dragged Jenny around with me as we looked at booths, and Catherine hung out in her personal sauna (aka on my back in a carrier), wondering why we were no longer in the car. I bought myself a pretty little bracelet made with amber, turquoise and coral. i remembered after I bought it that I had told myself not to buy any more coral :( Perhaps its prettiness sitting upon my wrist will remind me to stop being so selfish in my vanity.

After the festival we went on towards Fredericksburg, stopping outside of town at the Wildseed Farms for some ice cream and window shopping. I was impressed with the farms and would love to go back in April during wildflower season here. Mapi wants to go back and visit the Butterfly Haus there as well.

In Fredericksburg we checked in at the hotel, then headed over to Main Street to eat dinner (Auslander: some touristy German - American - Mexican joint. They had a veggie patty so no complaints here). It was Sunday so most of the shops were closed, but we had our fill of window shopping for the day. We returned to the hotel and Jenny and I took the girls swimming while Manuel rested upstairs.

On Monday morning we ate a leisurely breakfast at the hotel (they had a decent breakfast bar, actually), then we drove out to pick peaches at an orchard. It was fun but - again - bright and HOT by 10 when we finally started out towards our peach trees. Mapi enjoyed it, though, and searched high and low for "the perfect peach." Catherine sacked out quickly on my back. Manuel carried around the box for peaches and Jenny ate peaches off the tree (we had a discussion about washing them first) and talked a bit on the phone. After we checked out with the cashier we returned to Fredericksburg and went into a few of the shops we'd identified the night before as being "entry-worthy."

We slowly made our way back to San Antonio, Got some scrapbooking supplies for Jenny, ate dinner and came home to swim again. Everyone was tired, as usual, from vacation!

This week I've also been working on some scrapbook pages for Jenny to add to her album. She leaves in less than two weeks!

Talk to me

2008-06-06T07:48:00.002-05:00

Catherine is so good at communicating. It blows my mind. While we were at Disney (she just turned 13 mo) she started to shake her head...usually to indicate "yes," but it was at an appropriate yes/no moment and we soon learned to give her a minute to decide if "no" was what she really meant.

Her first word were: mama, papa, nana (nyanya, for Mapi), neneh (jenny), bo (beso / kiss), gracias (thank you - I love that she spontaneously uses this appropriately!), and lately "wa" for water.

During the night last night I was nursing her while half asleep and she wanted to switch sides. I wasn't responding quickly enough and she hit at my breast a few times and said (swear to g-d, clear as day) "I want this one."

My baby talks!

Catching up...Botanical Gardens, Disney, Pool, Worms, WALKING!

2008-05-30T23:43:00.008-05:00

Mapi and Bradley at the Botanical Gardens. Ritual #2: feed ducks and turtles and fish.

Hello! I have been a negligent blogger, it's true. But with good reason: lots and lots going on here and not so much going on in the land of "focus while using the computer," thanks to my two little munchkins.

Briefly, this months we:

Welcomed worms into the house! (well, I welcomed them. Jenny and Manuel completely balked at the idea of having them in the house, and Mapi and Catherine are oblivious to mama's vermicomposting project). The worms came the night before we left for vacation, and were fostered by the fabulous Natasha while we were in Disneyworld. Worms are back at my house now, and after a brief stint hosting too many gnats to tolerate, are happily composting paper and kitchen scraps while I neglect them more and more (they love the neglect! It's true!). I'd take a picture for you but they truly enjoy their privacy. They live in a modified Rubbermaid tote under my bathroom vanity.

Went to Disneyworld! We went on vacation with my parents and my brother and his family. LOTS OF PEOPLE! We stayed at Coronado Springs (Disney property) and had a lovely, if exhausting, time. The best food was at Boma. Is there anything else to discuss, really?

The day we returned from Disneyworld, Catherine took her first steps solo, while we hung out outside. She refused to do it again for a few days, but within a week was walking halfway across the room. Within another few days (this past week, at 13.5 months), she was doing laps around the kitchen. She still likes to hold your hand for balance, but can do pretty decently on her own. Needs to work more on that balance ;)

Catherine grew a new bottom tooth (#3 down there) while we were at Disney, and popped through #4 this past week. So two new teeth this 14th month of life; she now has a complete set of four on top and on bottom.

Mapi has been enjoying trips with us to the Botanical Gardens. My annual pass expires tomorrow so we've been going more often than usual, since I don't plan to renew until fall. At home, Mapi is REALLY enjoying the pool this year. She likes to hang out on a floatie inner tube, but can actually touch the bottom now in the shallow end of the pool. She also talks big about wanting to learn to swim, but is reluctant to try new things (kicking, putting face in water, etc) that are related to that skill set. One day, pinkie...

Jenny is in the midst of her final exams at school. Next week will be her last for this exchange year! She will stay with us another month before returning home to Austria. Already she has started a list of parties she'd like to attend in the next 10 days ;)

Manuel is working very very hard. And keeping in touch more with family in Ecuador, since there have been some health updates with family members there. Every once in a while he takes a break to enjoy the fruits of his (at work and at home) labors:

We are painting the house! Well, paying someone to paint it. They start at the end of next week. Woohoo! They are also sealing the (new sections of) fence AND painting the patio floor with texture so it isn't slippery when wet AND installing new ceiling fans outside. Yippee the yard is getting funner by the month! The pool looks great and is actually quite pleasant now that it is warmer out.

Time for bed! Have a great weekend!

Kiddo updates

2008-05-06T11:24:00.005-05:00

Get serious - just about every post is a kiddo update. The whole REASON I blog these days is to get down *somewhere* the things that are going on with the wee ones. So here goes:

Mapi:

Is such a help with her little sister. She has her (undesirable behavior) moments, but hey - so do we all :). The other day Mapi told me this:

"Mama, do you know who is my favorite at Abuela's house?"
"No, honey, who is your favorite?"
"Abuelo. Because he tickles us and plays games."
"Mama, do you know who ELSE is my favorite at Abuela's house?"
"No, baby, who else is your favorite?"
"Abuela. Because she knows how to get to Disneyworld and she cooks me anything I want."

Well, then. There ya go.

Catherine:

As for Catherine, she is blowing and going. At just shy of 13 months Catherine:

*can finally crawl! The standard way, with arms and legs supporting her body! She won't crawl on the tile, though, if she can help it. I like to think of that as a build-in (not so child-proof) baby gate.

*loves to walk with someone else's assistance. She prefers two fingers' help and can really boogie that way. She can also do one finger but is much less confident doing things that way. She "walks" much much more than she crawls.

*Is really amazing about communicating with us (verbal and non-verbal means). As far as language goes, she signs for "more" and something to do with "hair" (she pats her head at me periodically. I'm not sure what it means, really, but she likes when I respond to it). She also says "mama," "papa" (not as much), "nana" (that's with tildas that I don't know how to type here, for sister), "gracias," and I swear the other day she said "up" and "no."

The other day Catherine saw something on the bar that she wanted. I was holding her and she wanted me to take her to the object. I did not want her to have said object so I told her we weren't going there and I continued my conversation with Mapi. Catherine took my face in both her hands and abruptly turned my head to look at the object. Just in case I didn't "get" what she wanted before. I had to laugh - what a cheeky move!

Jenny:

Is in her final month of school (don't let her hear you say that out loud!) and will be with us for another month after that. She is unwilling to make plans for June and is feeling anxiety about going back. Or more accurately, about leaving here and ending her year abroad. She is thus in over-drive "I MUST DO EVERYTHING NOW!!!" mode and in general a very busy young woman. Last weekend she threw a farewell party for another exchange student. She helped Manuel wire speakers in the back patio area, and cleaned the back yard and bits of the house (and watched the girls while we did our chores). It is going to be an interesting transition for the entire family when she leaves, no doubt.

Botanical Gardens

2008-05-05T19:25:00.005-05:00

I can't keep up with our daily activities! The past two weeks have been full of getting ready for our family trip to Disney, and making sure things run smoothly as we pertain to Jenny's social calendar. This weekend was laundry, packing (some) for our trip, and cleaning house and setting up speakers for Jenny's pool party. That's over. Tonight Manuel took Mapi to what I believe is the choir's last concert of the year (Jenny is in it). Catherine and I stayed at home because I thought she was going to sleep. I was mistaken, for those interested in how well I can read these things ;)

This morning Mapi, Catherine and I met our friends at the Botanical Gardens. My pass there expires at the end of the month and, like we did with the zoo, I am determined to suck as much more life out of it as I can before the pass ends.

Mapi and her friend Bradley led the way through their usual course (we skipped the non-sidewalk paths - it had recently rained). We walked through and old-fashioned garden, admired fountains, went to the glass pyramids, climbed to the top of that, endured too many minutes of me playing with the camera and taking pictures of flowers (*yawn*) in the tropical area, ate lunch, then returned to THE BEST PART OF THE GARDENS, EVER (Mapi's sentiment): the long fountain. That's where the kids play and get wet and generally act in a way that makes others wonder why we don't send our kids to school for more hours a week, as they *clearly* need social skills (NOT! How fun to play in the water!).

Fiesta and Capitol fun

2008-04-27T22:57:00.007-05:00

I still haven't posted Catherine's birthday and Brooke's visit, but MAN this has been a busy month (year)! Will hopefully get to it one of these days (months). In the meantime:

This week was FIESTA here in ol' San Antone. For us, it meant avoiding certain areas during high-traffic times. But it also meant no school on Friday and packing up the kids to go downtown for the Battle of Flowers parade. The plan was to take Jenny, Mapi and Catherine downtown, meet up with some friends (toting their own babies and preschoolers), eat, walk the river, then catch maybe 20 minutes of the parade before taking off again. Jenny would meet up with her boyfriend and we'd all meet back at the house in time for Jenny to make her evening event.

We ended up taking the park and ride event bus and the kids LOVED their trip on the city bus. I loved not having to drive or park downtown during an event. The kids were great on the bus, both ways (ok, there was a little excitement on the way back, but nothing a well-placed mama couldn't overcome). Wendi took great pictures on the bus AND downtown but she's not timely about getting me copies so I won't include them here, today. Trust me, it is your loss.

Once downtown, we went to the festival down near the cathedral square. It was time for lunch, and Mapi wanted lemonade ($5) while I wanted arepas (sin carne! -$2 each). Mapi enjoyed the arepas and also ate some of her packed lunch. Afterwards my friend bought her daughter a flower "crown" and, after seeing Mapi's longing looks towards her friend's crown, I too succumbed to Fiesta peer pressure and bought one as well. They just looked so darn cute!

The crowds were...plentiful so we decided to escape to the Riverwalk until the parade was underway. At this point Jenny took off with her man, leaving us moms unquestionably outnumbered. It was a beautiful day, however, and things went pretty well. No one could believe it - no melt-downs, no major accidents, no promises to never ever do this again!

After a refreshing a/c and bathroom break we went back up to the street and watched the parade for a bit. Annie got suckered into buying another flower crown for her kid, this time in a different colorway. My theory on the day's success revolves a lot around our willingness to throw money at any potential problem. We moms also had little to no expectations for the day so flexibility reigned. At this point I could show you picks of the parade, or of my kid's back YET AGAIN! You know you want the latter!

After the parade we went to Rivercenter Mall for more food (Mapi negotiated a raspa on the way to the mall - another $2 and a number of stains on her cute dress). The a/c at the mall was WONDERFUL! We had snacks then took the kids back out to the river to play on the bridge. We were DONE and ready to head back to the bus stop. I was impressed that what was meant to be a 2 hour trip downtown ended up being a day-long activity. Catherine rode on my back the whole time, and I was happy once again to not have brought strollers to the Riverwalk. It is just not practical with all those stairs. We rode the bus home and everyone slept WELL afterwards.

Saturday we went to Austin to stay with my friend Debbie. Jenny had prom with another exchange student in her program (in Elgin, near Austin) and we dropped her off for his parents to pick up after we did a little sight-seeing downtown. Today we meant to go to the lake but the weather was crazy cold and wet and windy. Sadly, I cannot remember the last DAY (some nights, yes I remember) when it rained. It has been a dry winter. We stayed at Deb's house most of the morning instead, ate a lovely breakfast, and then went home after a nice big lunch and a fabulous tour of Deb's practice. I mostly took pictures at the capitol building (biggest in the nation, thankyouverymuch!):

Jenny trying to escape the paparazzi:

Looking towards the capitol (from inside the annexed area):

Happy Anniversary to us!

2008-04-21T06:59:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary. Manuel and I spent the day for the most part without kids and it was SO MUCH FUN! We haven't done that in quite a while and mom, dad and Jenny came to the rescue and took the little ones for seven whole hours. That gave M and I two hours of travel time, an hour for lunch and four hours of shopping at the outlet mall. I know shopping might not sound romantic to the untrained ear, but we both really wanted to go and it is so much easier without kids. Manuel also surprised me with a beautiful pair of earrings. Shopping AND a gift! Great fun was had by all.

Here we are in 2001, wed at the Botanical Gardens:

And happy us seven years and two kids later (I know, this picture is a complete repost from last time but we haven't many current family pics lol):

Meanest Mama ever!

2008-04-10T03:10:00.002-05:00

The judging committee ruled in this evening. I am, in fact, "the meanest mama EVER!" At this late hour I cannot remember what I did to earn such a high title, but it was a grievous offense and it happened this evening. It most likely was related to keeping someone in the household safe from harm's way. I am struck by this moment and wonder how I managed to avoid the label for four years. At the very least I know I am loved dearly by my kids (even if they *are* the nominating committe AND awards chair all rolled into one).

Second-quarter changes!!!

2008-04-01T14:30:00.008-06:00

Happy April Fool's Day! I'm too tired to play a joke. I did, however, teach Jenny about April Fool's jokes so I feel like converting a person who otherwise would not have joked is "good enough" for this year at least. Exciting things happening today: (1) Mandy (my friend's nanny) came to our house to work her magic over here for a few hours while I worked my magic on laundry and kitchen chores. She was wonderful with the kiddos and I loved the four hours of "silence" (what I call anything that doesn't involve an electrically run object *or* my kid saying "mama, mama, mama" hundreds of times in an hour). (2) it is the beginning of a new quarter! Woohoo! Realistically, that means little in our house, but since Mandy came and will come again next week, I'd like to think it is the dawn of me not being so crazy :D (3) I really don't have a #3. Though I did just remember that today is the anniversary of when Grandma (Catherine) died about 11 years ago (10? 11? I feel like I should know!). After that, I quit my job, packed my bags and went to South America for a bit.

So what are my big plans for the quarter, you ask? I'll tell ya: work more on decluttering the house, get the backyard ready for summer (clean pool, start compost pile, paint house and patio floor), get ready for and enjoy the spit out of vacation

Last week was hectic. One night was training and strategizing for the Saturday (county/senatorial) level caucus action. Then Saturday was the actual event (why yes, yes I *did* get 5 more signatures for recycling in the 'hood!). Thursday night was the neighborhood board meeting. Somewhere in there was a prep day for the local API garage sale fundraiser. Everything else is pretty much a blur. In fact, I don't even have pictures to share with you from the week! Oh no!

Not to worry. I've been meaning to post pictures from Mapi's birthday party (almost a month ago!). She had a few friends and cousins over for a fairy/dress-up party with pizza and cupcakes (kids decorated the cupcakes). Costumes were optional but almost all the kids came in fun fairy / royalty / fantasy attire. Afterwards my brother took a family picture of us. Here is your weekly dose of family fun:

Mapi loves Tinkerbell and Abuela bought her and Tori matching Tinkerbell outfits:

We put balls out for kids to play with and later take home as favors. Abuelo showed Catherine his top secrets to successful futbol playing:

Catherine actually got passed around quite a bit at the party. Jenny's turn:

Easter Weekend

2008-03-26T22:08:00.004-06:00

Easter came early this year! We were invited to about four egg hunts this year and I have to say, I am having a difficult time getting in the mood to go to that many candy or small-toy fests all in one week. I don't mean that to sound ungrateful. I just haven't felt in the mood to buy, fill, hide, hunt, carry, clean and then see for months to come little egg halves scattered about the house. It makes my mind numb.

But TWO egg hunts! Two egg hunts I can handle. It was *almost* one egg hunt, since I woke up Saturday morning, completely forgetting about the neighborhood egg hunt the neighborhood association sponsors each year. I had volunteered to hide eggs at 8:30 and was, at 8:20, still in my pj's, just out of bed, reading online and thinking about breakfast. I read a friend was going to an egg hunt that day and I said "EGG HUNT!" and ran about the house, brushing teeth, getting dressed, barking out instructions for Manuel (who was keeping the kids) and grabbing a cereal bar, water and a banana, rushing out the door by 8:27. I walked to the duck pond and arrived there by 8:32. Two minutes late, yes, but I was pretty pleased with myself that I made it that morning. Talk about miracles!

We had a nice time getting ready for the hunt. The eggs were too obviously hidden (or not hidden!) for one of our volunteers. He told me stories of his grandmother, who used to be in charge of family egg hunts on the ranch. Eggs were hidden under cow pies, amongst other things. I was amused but also glad Granny was not there that day. I was hoping to be done within an hour after the hunt began, and Granny's hiding would have had us there all day. No thanks ;)

Here are "big kids" looking for eggs. We divided the pond area into three hunt areas: 0-5 years, 6-7 years and 8 and older. There were only 2 kids in the 6-7 group - man, did they clean up!

I took advantage of my captive audience and walked around asking for signatures for my curbside recycling petition (still have more than half the neighborhood to recruit for this!). I feel like people are getting more interested in signing the petition. I would love to have it done by...the end of the year! heheheh. Everything in due time.

Saturday afternoon Mapi went with Abuela and Abuelo to go to an egg hunt at my brother's house. They have it each year and I look forward to making it more of an annual event with my kids once EVERYONE is able to walk on their own *cough*Catherine*cough*

Speaking of walking on their own - Catherine is getting more and more stable as she walks (holding fingers) each day. She also "crawled" (dragged herself by her arms) from the middle of Mapi's room to the hallway outside Mapi's door the other day. Exciting times. We had abandoned her (Mapi was explaining to me the intricacies of her new and improved passport system to enter her room) and Catherine decided to take matters into her own hands.

Monday we went to Sea World with Wendi and her kids. Mapi demonstrated her new-found skill of tree climbing after we finished the Shamu show (where, incidentally, I got WET! WET, I tell you! They changed the show around and now have three whales splashing the audience at once. The water goes way past the wet zone and frankly, I think they need to reconsider their choreography because of it). My monkey in the tree:

Happy Spring!

2008-03-20T10:06:00.004-06:00

Today is the first day of Spring - BRING IT ON!

I am overdue for an update but frankly have no idea where to start. We are busy these days with birthdays (check!), St Patty's Day (check!), Easter preparations (almost over!), getting the house in shape, taxes, Jenny leaving for Spring Break, blah blah blah. After two weeks of me being sick then Catherine being sick, we are recovered and getting back into the swing of things. Because of some killer dirty diapers (and spills using cloth) we had Catherine in disposable dipes this weekend and, not surprisingly for her, she has a nasty rash now. Poor thing. I really would like to find a disposable option for our Disney trip in a few months, but otherwise cloth seems to help her stay pretty clear so I am not going to fret about day to day diapering needs.

Yesterday Catherine and Mapi joined me outside for a bit. Mapi caught a bug in a plastic bowl and Catherine was happy to take part in *whatever* her big sister was doing. Here they are this afternoon.

"Big girl" updates:

Mapi is four now and I swear a light turned on in her head and she's acting so much calmer and more cooperative than even a month ago. YAY! She is thoughtful and considerate and even went on an outing BY HERSELF with my friend Sarah to the zoo last week. This was Mapi's first trip out in the world that didn't involve me, her dad or abuela (correction: her first trip since she was in daycare while I still worked back in the day").

Catherine turned 11 months and, while still not crawling, has developed a keen interest in walking around while holding *my* hands (that means no one else will do FYI). Her balance is atrocious but improving. She also will drag her body (in a pre-crawl fashion) about 6 to 12 inches if she's on a tile floor and highly motivated to reach something (usually disgusting) on the floor near her. Catherine claps, signs "more" (hehe by clapping - give it to me, will ya?), says "mama" and means it, waves goodbye/hello and says (I promise it's true) "hola" while waving hello. I'm not putting this in the baby book so feel free to tell her two decades from now what her life was like. Oh, and she has 5 or 6 teeth, I think. Count 'em yourself in the picture.

Happy Birthday to me!

2008-03-13T11:26:00.002-06:00

I had plans for this morning. Big, glorious, escape from the house after a week of contractor-watching, cold-having while Manuel is away and baby-sick staying at home. I was going to go to the gym, be ALONE, have a nice long shower and wash my hair and get prettied up before going to lunch with a friend, getting my driver's lisense renewed and then getting home in time to let in the contractors again (please let them finish today).

Catherine, however, had her own plans. She is on day 3 of a 102 fever and quite miserable. So we are staying home. I was not very graceful this morning while sharing my plans with friends and family. Tears were involved. I need more sleep! So can I have a birthday do-over? I wanted to have FUN this year on my birthday *shakes fist*

Texas primary voting. Bring food, a chair, a blanket!

2008-03-09T19:36:00.002-06:00

(the following was started on Wedsneday and completed on Sunday - apologies in advance if there is a change of voice. I am *not* proofing, my friends!)

Good morning! I am so tired. Yesterday was the Texas “primaries” and I had a slip of sanity and decided late morning to take the girls to go vote (a girlfriend in another precinct had gone and said there weren’t horrible lines so I felt good about taking the girls with me instead of waiting for later in the day when I had help watching them).. We got there at 11:450 a.m. and did not finish voting until 1:15 p.m. It was not my brightest hour. I think my 4 year old (happy birthday, Mapi!) now hates voting FOREVER. She was actually VERY nicely behaved until the last 15 minutes, when it all just got to her and she was on the floor screaming and crying. All throughout I had Catherine on me in a carrier on my back or front, and I several times also picked up Mapi to carry them both so I could stay and vote.

The problem? It appeared to lie with the volunteer staff running the show. There were about 10 machines ready for business, but only about 2-3 were being used at any given time. It was EXTREMELY frustrating for everyone involved. After going through it I decided I definitely DID NOT want to return to the polling place in the evening with my kids so I could caucus at 7:15.

Fast forward to the evening. Jenny stayed at home with Mapi (Manuel was out of town). I took Catherine over to mom’s house (thank you for a delicious salad MOM!). I figured since I wouldn’t e home until ahem 8 or 9 it would be best to have a “divide and conquer” approach to little ones at bedtime. I am SO GRATEFUL that my family were there to support me and watch the girls because there is no way I would have been able to attend to both of them and caucus last night alone.

When I arrived at the school around 7p.m., police officers were already in the intersection directing traffic and the parking lots to the school were full. I followed cars to a grass lot across from the school, where I jumped a curb to park with others. I tried to stay in the outer bits of the field since I was concerned about being able to get my car out of the crowd after caucus ended.

I walked up to the school, where a long line had already formed of people waiting to caucus. Since voting had not ended that day (polls were supposed to close at 7 but there were still LOTS of people in line) we were asked to wait outside. After about 30 minutes a volunteer asked us to be quiet as we moved through the group of waiting-to-voters and we were led to the two school gyms. One the way we saw the mess of people still waiting to vote. There were lines filling the front entry way, leading in to the cafeteria were there were well over a hundred people waiting at tables and in more lines yet. Exit the cafeteria and there were more voters still waiting in line down the hallway to vote. It was going to be a long night.

Caucus volunteers organized us by precincts and asked us to line up by last name so we were all completely ready to caucus once voting ended. We did. That was around 8 p.m. Within 15 minutes people started getting out of lines, however, and we moved around our precinct talking to one another. There was a good deal of excitement in the air, and people were happy to be part of the process.

After another hour reports started coming in regarding how many people were left to vote: about 75. About 50. About 40. Only 24 more left. Each report brought renewed hope that SOON (half an hour? An hour?) we could start the caucus. In the meantime, we sat around and waited, visited, laughed, shared.

Hours passed. Some people got angry. Most did not. Some people left (many, I am afraid!), like the older man who got dialysis treatment and had missed his evening meds. He just couldn’t stay any longer. Or the older couple who left around 11:30 because it was just so LATE. I was amazed at the dedication of the family (mom, dad, grandma) with four children (two in a stroller, two school-age) who were there UNTIL the caucus began. That’s right, those folks stayed and showed their kids what (messed up) democracy is all about.

I was mostly impressed with the patience and general sense of COMMUNITY I got from my new friends in the gym. These people were my neighbors. The ones I didn’t know before the night began I doubt I will see again unless it is in passing in the street, but for six hours we were together, supporting one another. I shared all the food I had brought with me in my purse (two fruit leathers, some candies and a granola bar – ok, I did NOT share the last item). Someone walked around and handed out goodies after they made a food run. It was nice. We shared ideas and learned from each other – about the electoral process, about food (hey, ya gotta talk food!), about things happening in the neighborhood, weaving, kids, schools, and hope. Even the Clinton supporters talked about hope. We shared a charged sense of change and history in the making.

My hat off to campaign volunteers who eagerly (and later, tiredly) encouraged us to “please stay!” And reminded us “thank you for staying! What you are doing is important.” They were tired. The last 48 hours had whooped their backsides. They were (mostly) young and hopeful and dewey-faced and adorable with their messenger bags and campaign buttons. After some preliminary results came from other states also having primaries that day, I saw a woman sitting on the floor, crying on the phone, with another woman’s arm around her for support. I walked by, trying to give her space. It was a long night for us all. On the way back to the gym I saw her again, still sad, and offered her some food from my purse. Because while I am an Oprah show on comfort eating just waiting to happen, I can’t walk by someone troubled and not feel compelled to ease their woes by offering them food if I have it. She accepted it.

At a little after midnight the last voter voted. It was time to get on with the caucus! BUT WAIT! There was an announcement. There had been an oversight throughout the day. Each vote had to be individually hand-stamped before we could begin. “It won’t be long!” they said. They always said that. We asked them to please not tell us how long anymore, it was too rough.

Around 12:30 a.m. we FINALLY got the go-ahead to caucus. People got back into their precinct groups, lining up alphabetically. People who needed them were offered chairs to sit in while waiting in line. The process was surprisingly quick, compared to the rest of the day’s ceaseless rhythm of waiting, waiting and waiting. After everyone registered their preference for candidate, the officials tallied those numbers and determined the number of delegates that would represent each candidate at the senatorial caucus to be held in our city at the end of March. After that, delegates would go on to the state caucus meeting. Our precinct had 10 delegates. Two went to Clinton, Eight went to Obama. We split into two groups (Clinton and Obama camps) and voted on resolutions to be sent to the next level of voting. We also voted on who we would send to support us as delegates later in March. Then, at 1:30, we were finished. Finished and tired and cold.

I walked back to the car with a woman I’d gotten friendly with over the past few hours. It was cold and the streets were dark. A police officer directing traffic watched us go to the field where our cars waited for us. I went home, realized my baby still was at mom’s house, then went to her house and picked up my fare. I came home, bleary eyed and excited, to watch tv for a few minutes. My 3 y/o awoke just as the baby fell asleep. I put the three year old back to bed. The baby awoke and I got her to bed. Then they tag-teamed me for two more awakenings each. I WAS TIRED! My husband, all this time, was out of state for work. The next day (check that – same day, next morning) was my 3 y/o daughter’s fourth birthday. I was not on my toes but we went out and had fun anyway. Final results from the caucus votes? Should be in sometime next week. And while Clinton took Texas by the regular primary votes, the winner of the most caucus delegates remains to be seen (reports currently favor Obama). Was it worth my time to complete the Texas two-step? Regardless of which candidate wins, I vote “yes.”

I look really pretty. And feet trump milk.

2008-03-07T11:44:00.002-06:00

Mapi has been on a campaign of negativity this morning. It is getting on my nerves and I am tired and sick and really not at all patient. Here is our last conversation:

-Mama, get off my stepstool.
-(stirring batter for banana nut bread) I'm using it.
-No you're not! Get OFF!
-(not budging) Do you need it?
-No!
-I'm using it.
-No. You're. NOT! You CAN'T use my stepstool!
-(stops stirring) Then you can't have any banana bread.
-LONG PAUSE
.....
....
....
-Mama, you sure look pretty on my stepstool!
-(resumes strirring) Thank you, darling.

~~~~
Manuel has been our of town all week. He returns home today. Yippee!
~~~~

Last night Catherine awoke from her nap and cried for me to come to her in bed. I cuddled up next to her and lifted my shirt for her to nurse. She latched on for about 3 seconds, latched off and started playing with her feet. I asked her if she was hungry. She giggled and promptly put her foot into her mouth. Session over.

Feet: 1, Mama milk: 0.

Happy 40th Anniversary, Pam and Skip!

2008-03-03T13:24:00.005-06:00

My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in February. 40 years and a half since they met (they met in the fall and got married in...February. And it took! They are awesome!). Since some time last year I have been scheming to do something special for them for their big year and my brother agreed to be in on it with me.

We decided to have a surprise party for them at Paloma Blanca, a local Mexican food restaurant we all enjoy. Months before the party we picked out "the perfect" date and starting making plans, only to have mom and dad decide at "the last minute" (ok, a couple of months beforehand) to go to Las Vegas that weekend. Yeah. All right.

Changed dates. Got Aunt Kathy involved in the process (she kindly listened to my updates every week, boring as they were), met with the events coordinator at Paloma Blanca, and went from there. It was an exciting few months of getting guests lined up and invited, finding "the perfect" gift for mom and dad, choosing menus, buying decorations, framing pictures, etc. Frankly, I blame this in part for why I haven't been blogging. That's right: I take no personal responsibility for my departure from bloglandia.

Two Saturdays ago Aunt Kathy, Uncle Mike and cousin Victor came down from Houston to spend the weekend with Mom and Dad. Mom thought they were coming down to take the happy couple out for dinner for their anniversary. My brother, husband and I all protested much since that meant *we* couldn't take them out to dinner. We gave exemplary performances, I admit. Mom was vaguely concerned that we were upset. Still, she was going to party with her sister and we could be put off until the following weekend.

On Saturday Kathy took mom and dad out around town while I got the last of my tasks finished and (brother) Trey did the rest of what he needed to do for the party. Guests arrived at 4:30 (this was a small-child friendly party, after all!) and Mom and Dad and crew arrived at 4:45 for the big surprise. Mariachis arrived at 5 and we all visited, ate, ran after kids, took pictures and generally congratulated ourselves on a job well done.

To my knowledge, there are no actual pictures of Pam and Skip coming into the room and being greeted by us all yelling "surprise!" So here is a picture of them at their table instead.

All in all, it was a fun time. The event coordinator and wait staff at Paloma Blanca were superb. The food was delicious (try their vanilla Tres Leches cake!) and no one wanted for anything. We were very well taken care in by the staff there, for which I am grateful.

The kids got a little bored after supper. They spent some time outside playing in the water fountain, some time running around the tables after one another (go on, cringe. We didn't let it get too out of control), and a surprisingly long period drawing at an empty table (thank goodness for extra pens and card stock!). They were AMAZING, though. Not one meltdown-level tantrum (and only one crying incident that I remember). I was impressed. Jenny also earned her keep walking the two little girls around the sidewalks outside the restaurant while the grown-ups visited some more.

Good fun was had by all. I am relieved the party is OVER - I am not a fan of surprises and the stress of keeping it a secret was about to make me crazy. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, FOLKS! I love you guys tons!

All hail Princess Goodweather!

2008-02-25T16:20:00.007-06:00

Spring is upon us! Not technically, but as far as what to wear when you leave the house these days - shorts weather is upon us. kinda. Then it goes away then it returns and really...none of us *are* exactly sure what to wear for more than one or two hours at a time. It has been a mild winter and oh how I am happy to see it end :D A few more chilly days this week, then it will be March and I will require blue skies and 70-80 degree temperatures until...well until it is so friggin hot I wish it were summer's end again.

Mapi is having fun dressing up and parading around outside these days. Here she is last week in her princess gear. That's our tablecloth drying behind her.

We are also enjoying our CSA veggies each week. This week was the best so far, with delicious winter spinach and some sweet red-leafed lettuce and even sweeter cauliflower (and swiss chard, green onions and broccoli) in it. It is easier for me to eat a variety of veggies when I don't have to think about what to buy. Our grower is pretty local and the produce he brings us is super-fresh and grown organically. YUM! This picture is for Jovi, who I like to think cares when people post about food.

And finally, Catherine has been making some strides towards self-mobilization. She can, from a sitting position, practically bend herself forward in half and sometimes get into her stomach from this position. She then can scootch a few inches forward if there is something desireable just outside her reach. I wouldn't call it crawling yet, though. But considering she's 10 months old, well...a mama can be impressed now, can't she? lol

Beco, baby!

2008-02-06T19:12:00.000-06:00

My name is Tamara, and I am a babywearer.

I love slings and pouches and mei tais and soft structured carriers and even tolerate wraps and rign slings on occassion. I decided to babywear before I even decided to have a baby. It is functional, fun, practical and even stylish. Babywearing is hitting the mainstream baby gear "to buy" lists, and I couldn't be happier.

With Mapi, my favorite carrier was a mei tai. I used other styles of carriers but with my bad back and injured neck, a mei tai evenly distributed Mapi's weight and was, hands down, my carrier of choice.

With Catherine I started using a mei tai almost immediately. I favored a hula-girl print Babyhawk but had some others stahsed away for variety. When Catherine got bigger I upgraded my babyhawk to a ... taller babyhawk (also with hula girls print, heheh). Love love love and love. A few months ago, however, I decided to stick my toes into new waters and bought a gently used Beco (fourth generation) from the for sale or trade forum at thebabywearer. It took a while, but the Beco has become my go-to carrier for when we are going to be out and about for more than a few minutes.

This weekend I started putting Catherine on my back and when she fell asleep I had Manuel put up the sleeping hood so her head wouldn't bob around. It was fabulous! She slept back there for over an hour and I was able to walk around and shop in peace. A few days later at the zoo I did the same - put her on my back and used the sleeping hood when she fell asleep. I'm so pleased at our new system! Here is a picture of us at the riverwalk. Catherine is fast asleep, and I am comfy as ever.

Down on the River

2008-02-06T15:21:00.000-06:00

This Saturday we went downtown and walked on the river for a while. Jenny stayed at the mall with a friend and shopped and watched a movie. Manuel, the girls and I enjoyed the gorgeous weather outside. Mapi talked us into a boat ride, ice cream and dinner on the river. We were there for a few hours and had a LOT of fun. I am 100% ready for spring to be here, and the weather Saturday was a little taste of things to come: high 70s, low 80s for several days now.

Mapi enjoyed watching the river barges/boats. There was a Mardi Gras celebration and people were throwing beads from the barges, playing music, having a good time. There were booths set up alongside the river with artisans selling their wares. We need to get out more often, and will undoubtedly do so once winter ends for good.

Passport, please

2008-01-31T12:40:00.000-06:00

Yesterday afternoon I had to go to the dentist. Mom kindly agreed to come watch the kids until Manuel got home. Minutes before Mom arrived I was running around, trying to get ready. I wanted to leave Catherine in Mapi's room to play while I got ready. I took Catherine to Mapi's room and knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

"Who is it?"

"It's mama. Catherine wants to play with you."

Door opens slightly. Mapi peeks out and looks up at me.

"You need a passport to come in. A passport with a stamp. And no envelopes!"

"What?"

"A passport. Anyone who comes into Mapiland needs a passport."

Time's a-wastin. I don't have a passport for Catherine! I'm trying to get to the dentist! All *I* have is a cavity. Not a passport. Where the heck did she get *this* idea? Why don't I monitor her tv watching more often? WHO REQUIRES A PASSPORT TO GET INTO A ROOM?!??!

I go to the office, baby in hand. Fish scrap paper out of the trash can. Take it back to Mapi's room.

Knock knock.

Door opens

"Did you get a passport?"

"Here" I said, thrusting the paper into her hand.

"This doesn't have any stamps on it."

"Well, in Catherinelandia that's how they make passports. No stamps."

"OK, she can come in."

Mom comes and I rush out the door as she is getting settled. This morning mom tells me "did you know your daughter made me go make a PASSPORT before she'd let me into her room last night?" "Yeah," I said. "She's been pretty consistent with that. Made me produce one for Catherine too. Got all uppity about stamps." Mom said Mapi didn't like her passport, either, and sent her to my office and/or the kitchen to find a proper stamp. Mom just gave up and started putzing around the house. Mapi came to find her a few minutes later and got the stamps for her so she could do a proper passport. Eventually, Mom was allowed to enter Mapiland.

Detail-oriented, my girl :D

Pretty bibs all in a row

2008-01-29T16:52:00.000-06:00

My dear friend Mysti at pink baby and pancho made Catherine some bibs and we are soooo excited about the new accessories for dinnertime. With the exception of the one she wore yesterday, here they are (forgive the blurry pic).

Mapi loves choosing a bib for Catherine at mealtime, and I love any help I can get in keeping stains off the clothes.

On a related front (stretching it, I know), Catherine got her 5th tooth last week. Top left second in line (can't for the life of me think of what THAT is called).

I went to the gym today and worked on legs with a trainer. I can barely walk at this point. They don't hurt, but they are like jelly and we went to the park for a few hours afterwards so I haven't had the chance to just REST that I feel I need. Getting in shape is WORK.

Diaper cover

2008-01-23T16:18:00.000-06:00

I never post pictures. Sooo lazy! But as part of my "it's 2008...stop being such a bum!" effort I decided NOW is the time to post a picture. Here goes:

Catherine is wearing my first attempt at crocheting a wool soaker (shorts/cover) for her cloth diaper (we mostly use prefolds around here, covered in wool). I used a pattern I bought at ladybugz farm with some wool I had from a "learn to knit" kit (that I clearly underutilized since I am just now learning to knit...after the yarn has been used elsewhere). I cut Abuela out of the picture because I love my mother and she would have hated the picture. So there.

One man's trash is another woman's...crusade

2008-01-23T15:34:00.000-06:00

We've lived in our house for a few years now and plan to stay there for a while (read: neither hubby nor I ever want to pack another box to move again, ever). I like our neighborhood and the city but have been annoyed more and more each year by the fact that we do not have curbside recycling in our area. People 3 miles away in the city have it. People across town in the county who have a homeowners association have it. We don't. It hurts. it hurts to throw away garbage and know I am part of the landfill and resource problem in the world. It hurts especially since I *could* conceivably save things to recycle and then drive them somewhere to dispose of them, but I don't. Because I am a little bit lazy. And know my limits.

So while I am not willing to pack up my trash and take it elsewhere, I am willing to reduce the amount of trash I make in my own home. Most of the clothes I buy for the girls and for me are used. I prefer to get decorative items at an estate sale than the department store. I repurpose things for craft projects and I use cloth diapers on Catherine, cloth towels in the kitchen and cloth in the bathroom as well (my hubby will insist here that I point out he is a pure paper man when it comes to toilet needs). Still, we make a lot of trash.

Last year I decided to run for Board of our neighborhood association and was elected. This past year I have talked to A LOT of people at our local water district and trash pick-up (the trash is billed through the water folks so there was a lot of buck-passing to answer my request for help) regarding curbside recycling services. Last week I finally talked to someone at trash company about the service. He said since we are in the county and not part of a HOA, they are unlikely to offer us recycling because they don't think we'll commit to it and it isn't worth their time otherwise. Boohoo. He finally told me that if I could get at least 65% of our residents to petition, saying they wanted the service, he would take it to the company and plea our case. We have over 300 houses in the neighborhood.

Last night was our annual all-neighborhood meeting and I got a chance to speak to attendees about the effort to bring recycling to our area. My discussion followed our councilperson's talk which included his interest in recycling and energy and resource use. I passed around a petition after I talked and I think all the households there signed their support. Now, that only amounted to about 20 houses, but I figure it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Twenty houses down, 200 or so more to go.

One day I *will* recycle from my own front door.

That's killing my life

2008-01-22T13:09:00.000-06:00

Mapi cracks me up as she maneuvers her way around the English language. A new thing she been trying on for size is expressing when she is tickled by something she sees or hears. Her response to it is "it's killing my life." I know we say "x kills me" when we think that "x" is funny. And I know Mapi knows that killing is something you do to someone's life (this summer there was extensive discussion of killing and death as we promoted a "catch and release" program for frogs kids played with at the homeschooler park date). So she's put the two together and tells me when something is funny: in the car Catherine fell asleep and was suckling in her sleep. Mapi thought Catherine was pretending to nurse and she said so, saying "Catherine is killing my life...she's pretending to nurse!" It's cute. I don't have the heart to correct her - she'll figure it out soon enough and in the meantime I enjoy hearing the language from a learner's point of view.

Now I need a project

2008-01-20T23:50:00.000-06:00

I'm happy to report that I feel confident in my knitting abilities to date: cast on, knit, purl, binding. Yay, me! I have been fiddling around with practice patches for the past few days and now I need a real live project. Preferably a tiny yet functional project. Made from some yarn I already have with tools I already own.

Off to spend ridiculous amounts of time on Ravelry

Darn you, Barbie! shakes fist

2008-01-18T21:48:00.000-06:00

This evening at the mall Jenny was getting her hair cut while Mapi, Catherine and I sat at the water fountain and threw in coins, making wishes. We got up to go check in on Jenny and Mapi said to me, "well, if Jenny isn't going to dye her hair, when I grow up I'm gonna die MY hair...blond!"

*cringe* why can't my kid love who she is? I muster up my "love thyself" lecture and ask "why do you want to dye your hair blond?"

She pointed to a little girl on the other side of the fountain, playing with a blond doll. "She that girl over there? She's nice and she has a blond doll and she's beautiful." *mama shoots evil eye to said doll for ruining EVERYTHING*

"Well," I said, "I don't have blond hair. Do you think I am pretty?" That's logic, my friends. Sure to win, right? Her response:

"No, mama! I'M PRETTIER!!!!!!" ...runs off, laughing maniacally.

2008-01-16T08:44:00.000-06:00

Ack! This month has been insanely busier than last. How did that happen? I keep meaning to come in and jot down a few stories but THERE'S NO TIME! Quick update, then:

Catherine is now 9 months old. She is more and more vocal each day. Since she doesn't crawl or try to motor around, she sits where she is and orates or, in the case of this morning, dictates to others her views on the world. You can tell her mood by the cadence and direction (up or down) of her voice. She grew another tooth (top right) this week, bringing total count to 4 fabulous pearly whites. (note to self for never-to-be completed baby book: tooth #3, top left, appeared right around the new year). She is in desperate need of a hair cut.

Marlist is experimenting a lot with the English language. She is especially fond these days of "never, ever and forever." Still trying to work out how those fit into the universe. If you tell her we are going to do something, she often replies with "forever?" it is adorable but sometimes tedious for you to reply to her. So sometimes, you reply with a smart-aleck answer. And she doesn't always hear the sarcasm. For example, Mapi and Papa were driving home from a loooong trip to the grocery store. Papa was tired from a long day, a long grocery trip, and just from answering questions all evening long (3 y/o are very inquisitive!). He tells Mapi: "we are going to go home, take a bath, get into pajamas, and go to sleep." Mapi asks "Forever?" "Yes," says Papa, "forever." ...silence... "But Papa" (scowl on face and reproach in voice) "it's not NICE to waste food! We shouldn't buy food if we are going to sleep FOREVER!." -Mapi 1, Papa 0.

Jenny has finals this week and she is learning more about the American education system each day. Our recent drama was getting her immunization record straight so the nurse wouldn't kick her out of school. She is shocked that finals are worth such a high percentage of her semester grade, and has commented on the difference between learning a subject and learning to take a test. On a related note, Manuel is more and more interested in homeschooling the girls after seeing what school is like here for Jenny.

Manuel has been working and getting settled back into his routine after a long Christmas break. He's got a new project at the house as well, that includes drilling walls and running cables. My job is to keep the girls away from him while he's working so we don't mess up the project. Can't wait until it is finished and we can enjoy the fruits of his labor!

I am busy these days going to the gym, organizing a surprise for my parents' anniversary (hoping here mom doesn't know about this blog), campaigning for recycling in the neighborhood, and running to playdates and activities for the kiddos. Oh and I'm still trying to stay on task about learning to knit.

Mapi says it is time for breakfast. Off to make the donuts!

Darn those baby milestone books!

2008-01-03T22:15:00.001-06:00

I did it. I swore to myself 6 months ago I wouldn't open it again, but tonight I found myself powerless in the face of expert advice and I opened up...a baby milestone book and READ. What a dumb move. Turns out my darling, lively, precocious 8 month old is actually not where the book says her peers should be. Hmph. They left themselves some wiggle room ("not all babies develop at the same rate or in the same ways at the same times...") and of course Catherine is working on some heavy duty mental and social skills while she doesn't bother to show minor interest in crawling. But still...they didn't have to rub it in. Who wants a mobile baby, anyway? ;)

On that note, Catherine is communicating more. She figured out she could point and lean or grunt in a certain direction as we carry her to make us go wherever she wants to go. It's great fun. Crawling, my friends, is for chumps.

Knit wit

2008-01-02T00:16:00.000-06:00

It's officially Jan 2 so I feel comfortable writing another post (are there rules about this? Is it too weird to post more than once a day? Does this thing have an edit feature that I haven't yet managed to find? WHY am I blogging, really? Why?).

I have decided to tackle a new year's resolution: to teach myself to knit. In the past hour and a half, I have squinted at a (useless) book that assured me I could teach myself to knit (so easy!), watched countless videos on youtube (turns out using the sound on these videos is quite helpful), tried VERY hard to remember my one knitting lesson with Jovi over a year ago, and quietly did a mental "shakes fist" at Aunt Charlie Belle for not teaching me to knit when I was a kid. I'm not sure *she* knew how to knit, but she was right crafty and she taught me to crochet, so I figure she knew knitting too but was for some reason holding out on (then) 8 y/o me.

Anyway, I managed to cast on and to knit and purl a row each. It is cumbersome and anything but graceful, me knitting. I can't imagine I am holding the needles correctly. My movements don't flow and as I do more and more stitches the needles get further away from one another. Aside from looks (oh THAT!), I can't figure out why anyone would want to knit when they could crochet. Crochet is so much easier. Friendly. Uses half the needles.

My little one is calling me so I'll end my rant now. Feel free to make suggestions on how to improve my mad knitting skills.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T22:13:00.001-06:00

It's January 2st and time for my quarterly (*cough* semi-annual) report :)

Last I wrote, Jenny was coming to stay with us as her welcome family for her exchange year with AFS. I am happy to report that she is still with our family and going to the same high school I attended back in the stone ages. Manuel and I decided to open our house and hearts up to Jenny, and we are grateful for it. Mapi loves to play with Jenny (and with Jenny's shoes!). Catherine also loves to hang out with Jenny, in her lap or by her side.

Mapi amazes me each day with her insight and independence. When did my baby grow so big? This Christmas Mapi was taken with her advent calendar (envelope system that she help design), and she enjoyed helping get the house ready for Christmas. Who knew a 3 y/o could wrap presents?

Catherine is a doll as well. Her mellow, happy personality (which I miss right now, while she is sick - booo!) remind me to keep joy in my life. She's grown a third tooth in the past few days, while also fighting off cedar fever. She is laid back but also very particular about things that are important to her. She loves to watch her sister Mapi go about her daily business. Mapi plays with Catherine in a way that makes her laugh with true sister love.

Manuel and I finally joined a gym. A few friends go there as well, and it is such a nice break to have a couple of hours to take care of myself, but still have the kids in the same building where I can go to them if they need me.

I have a confession: I want to make a new year's resolution to blog more often. Maybe even *gasp* once a week (dare I dream?). It does seem like a huge commitment, though. Not sure it will happen. If anything, I need to pay more attention to the "load DW every night" or "put away laundry routinely" resolutions more than the "blog like you actually understand what a blog is" line of thinking. We'll see :D

Would you like a cup of hectic to go with that?

2007-08-06T16:24:00.000-05:00

We have been busy, busy and busy. Short story: last week we had more work done on the kitchen remodel. There was a complication with our lighting decision, however, that stopped it completely and now we are in a holding pattern for a couple of weeks until the electrician can install the new lights and the carpenter can return to finish out the work he was going to do.

In the meantime, Manuel and I have kept busy making room in our house for Jenny to come stay with us. Jenny is a student from Austria who is studying here for a year through AFS. We are her "welcome family" and are looking forward to hosting her until she finds a permanent host family.

I have the flu and am not much in the mood to write. Gotta sing, gotta dance...

A quarter-year passed

2007-07-13T15:17:00.000-05:00

Catherine is three months old today! It is hard to believe that she has already been with us that long. Yesterday she laughed for the first time. I have been trying in vain to get her to repeat the performance, but all I get from her all gummy grins and goos and gahs. Not that I mind googahs - they are great! But the laugh was unbeatable.

Today we went to the zoo with some mommy-friends; each of us moms had a preschooler and an infant in tow. The mama with the youngest baby just finished writing her birth story. Six pages - single spaced. I haven't written a birth story for my 3 y/o, much less the new one. Immediate recollection offers little for either birth. I want to be a good mommy, though! I want to write a birth story...one day! And fill out the baby books. And print some baby pictures. And all those things you do when you aren't running after two wild girls who mean all the world to you. What I *need* is a ghost-writer for the birth stories. Where can I get me one of those?