Joy - 31 Things Day 31

Joy from hearing my two children playing together. 

Joy from Agustín’s quick smile that lights up his face and goes right to his eyes.

Joy from an unexpected hug from Nicolás, and realizing that it actually is quite expected as he seems to hug and kiss me every time he comes near me.

Joy from Agustín’s earnestness and sweetness and good heart.

Joy from Nicolás’s alertness and ability to pick things up so quickly.  

Joy from smiles and giggles coming from either of them.

Joy from a husband who is willing to take a sample into the lab at any hour of the day, just so I don’t have to go out in the dark alone.

Joy from experiencing a special moment with my son.

Joy from a house full of guests, good food, and good drinks.

Joy from an unexpected package arriving with goodies from home.

Joy from a spot of sun shining through the window and warming me up.

Joy from reading and sharing and finding connections through the written word.

Joy from the Internet and the way it helps me connect and share and have fun.

Joy from knowing that in less than a month I will be in warmer weather, sitting on a porch sipping coffee and feeling a whole vacation of possibilities ahead of me.

Joy from imagining a summer trip in Minnesota with an empty calendar.

Joy from an ice cold glass of beer or a perfect glass of wine and nothing to have to do in the morning.

Joy from knowing how lucky I am.

Joy from accepting my life, the ups and downs, the good and the bad, and embracing it and loving it.

Look carefully

I just remembered a story I had of Nico about a year ago.

He had just learned how to play Tic Tac Toe and was a little obsessed. He basically wanted to play all the time. On this particular day, I had two "O"'s in a row, but of course, in his excitement to put his "X" down, he didn't block me. I said to him, "OK, look closely. Are you sure you want to put your X there?" He got way up close, put his nose almost directly on the board, and then, in the most serious voice I had heard, said very gravely, "Yes, Mommy, I am sure I want to put it there."

Needless to say, I couldn't put my "O" down for the win.

Amazing what a year can bring. I think if this happened today he'd definitely catch on to what I was trying to tell him.

And then there are these moments.

When you come across a weekly dinner plan that your kids put together, then read it and find that on Monday you're having poop, on Tuesday pee, on Wednesday boogers, Thursday big butt and Friday leftovers (poop again).

Sigh.

(Spring) Cleaning

There is no spring in Ecuador. Here on the equator there are no "real" seasons. But, it must be in my blood, April rolls around and I feel like cleaning!

A couple of weeks back now, I decided that we needed to do something about Nicolas's room. We got the loft put in (still waiting for the carpenter to come and fix the upper railing) and we moved most of the toys in there, but it was always looking like a mess, and there were a lot of toys that really just needed to go. In terms of toys, I've noticed (with my boys, at least) that less is more. YET, they will not throw or give away one single thing, which means we even have teething rings lying around, in anticipation of being played with.


(In all fairness, every time I think I will throw some toy away, the very next day, or even hour, I will spot one of the kids playing with it. So, I am always a little hesitant as well. I've also had those "Mommy, where is that ______ toy?" moments. *Gulp.* I can't say "in the trash" without causing a flood of tears.)


So, a couple of weeks ago, a night the kids went to bed early, I decided to go through their things and get rid of some of these excess toys. It took me hours of separating and throwing, and I couldn't walk for a couple of days afterwards (great exercise for the back and legs!), but the next day the kids actually took out some of their toys and got real excited to play with them.

It just goes to show that a little organization can actually spark a lot of creativity.

Homework time

This is what nights have been looking like around here. Nicolas, doing his homework. Grandpa Dan doing his.

A night of relaxation

I had an especially trying time with the kids this week. There were quite a few accidents, lots of bodily fluids to clean up, quite a bit of excitement over having Grandpa Dan around (the novelty still hasn't quite worn off), Grandma Shushú at the beach (meaning interrupted routines), and Nico ending up at the doctor's office last night (sinus infection - nothing $70 of medicine and a $45 doctor appointment can't fix), so we had a well-deserved night of tapas and wine on the town (Shushú got back and we dropped the kids off and went out for supper - I think she was really happy to see them too after a week of not seeing them at all).

Nico didn't go to school today so I stayed home with him while Bati took Grandpa Dan out and around. Nico is feeling much much better already. Thank goodness for antibiotics! :)

Ecuadorian Cowboy

Nico was a cowboy this year in the annual Freedom Fiestas de Quito program. He rented the coolest chaps - both boys were absolutely fascinated with them, and I think a trip to Saquisili or Machachi is in order to try to find a pair for each of them. They were all leather and he looked so cute doing his little cowboy dance.

This year they decided to make the program even more unbearably longer than usual - a procession through the street (35 minutes - the kids each had a balloon the colors of the Quito flag, and at one point released them into the sky all at once - very cool) with a marching bad and a float for the Quiteña Bonitas, a poetry contest, the Freedom flag contest, and they started with the election of the Queen right at the beginning, so Nico wasn't even performing until almost 11. we got out of there as soon as his number was over, because we had an appointment with the sand and surf! :)

Congratulations! It's a boy! And...an iPod!!

"Mommy, I was in your tummy when I first played the ipod. I was always playing monster trucks. And then when the doctor took me out he found me in there with an ipod."

Nico, age 4

(Sorry about the picture orientation. Some bug is refusing to rotate it.)

iPod Junkie

This has become a familiar sight in our house.

Both kids love my iPod, but Nicolás is developing a serious dependency on it. Every day, the first thing he says when he sees me is, "Mommy, can I play on your iPod?"

(Another thing he says when I ask for a good morning or kiss first, is, "When I see you, I think of the iPod." Ummm....)

If I say yes, he gets excited and then goes into iPod mode. Worse than TV mode, iPod mode means you cannot get his attention for anything, save taking the iPod away.

Which results in a screaming/crying fit, which, in turn, results in my saying no more often than not. When turns into a screaming/crying fit, and so on.

He loves the Monster Truck and Shrek cart apps.

Agustín also enjoys the iPod but isn't nearly as obsessed with it.

Athlete

One of Nico's favorite things to do (well, aside from play on the iPod, but that's another story), is play ball. Soccer, basketball, volleyball, catch, baseball - you name it! Tonight he had me sweating, playing basketball in the house with him. I taught him how to dribble between your legs (still have it in me! Although it DID take some practice) and he LOVED it. He doesn't quite have it down yet, but practice makes perfect so they say!

Little Hands and Little (Pincher) Toes

Someone once told me to be sure to take pictures of my babies' hands and feet because someday I would miss those little fingers and toes. I didn't always remember to do it, but tonight Andres caught Nico's hands on film (chip? Can we say film anymore?).

He also caught him doing the pincher toes. Go on, Nico, make Daddy proud. Soon you'll be lifting tables.

Like father, like son.

Big smile

There is nothing like coming home to this enormous smile.

It can make a bad day become the best day ever.

Boys vs Girls

Still the only way I can encourage Nico to get dressed on his own is by telling him that girls must be smarter, because Hannah can do it, and now Hailey is even getting dressed by herself! Then he'll quick get his own clothes on.

The battle of the sexes.

Take THAT! And THAT!

Nico really got into playing in the sand today. He went wild, attacking the sand with his entire body. Screaming bloody murder as he rammed the shovel into the sand, over and over.

He was really loud.

Lots of people stared.

A few smiled.

He did attract a band of renegade kids, though, who later had to be shooed away before they took off with all his sand toys.

Mom, these swings are too LOW!

I thought it would be so much fun. Swinging, see sawing, monkey barring. But when Nicolás got to the park at the hotel and saw that the swings were too low for swinging, he got so mad! Lately he has been having these little temper tantrums, and today I witnessed one first hand. He kicked and hit the swingset as he said, emphatically, "These. swings. are. too. LOW!"

He was so mad, but I had to get a picture of that crabby crabby face.

I can't get over why Ecuadorians love to cement the kids' parks. Not very safety conscious. And Nico did end up falling and scraping his ankle, making a HUGE scene.

Like I said, I thought it was a good idea.

Another Lego Nut

Now Nicolas has been bitten by the Lego bug as well. He saw that some kids have been featured in the Lego magazine and now wants his picture in the magazine, alongside his invention. So we took a picture tonight that we will send off to the magazine, just like we did for ñaño. He is convinced that it will get into the magazine.

Been thinking about Hannah all day - happy third birthday, cutie!

Piggy bank

Nicolás is really into his piggy bank at the moment. He spent a good half hour collecting all the pennies and small change he could find around the house and putting it into his piggy bank. Finally, when he was done, he asked, "Now how do I get it out?" I told him he'd have to break it, and he didn't like that idea at all. Got a little teary-eyed to be precise.

Then Agustín woke up with a nightmare tonight screaming, "No, please don't! Don't break my piggy bank!!! I don't want to break it!"

His spot

You can often find Nico sitting here, between the boys' rooms, playing with his cars.

Smile

The face that makes me smile.

iPod for tykes

They need to make an iPod for kids. Nicolás loves our iPods and always wants to use them. He doesn't strike me to be as much of a music lover as Agustín is, but he sure likes wearing the earphones!

Agustín, on the other hand, has always loved music. In the car Nico always wants me to turn it down or turn it off, but Agustín is always telling me to turn it up. Agus is always asking me to buy his songs as well. In the last year I have acquired songs as diverse as "Coco Jamboo", "Please don't stop the music", some Pitbull song ("1 2 3 4 I know you want me"), "You make me feel like dancing", "You give love a bad name" (he LOVES this one!), "Welcome to the Jungle" (also a favorite), "The Lemon Tree", "So what" and "Staying alive". He likes Taylor Swift and Shakira. He likes country. He likes rock. He gets into jazz. He likes kids' music. He is truly a music lover.

Nico, on the hand, is very selective. Mostly he likes kid's music. But he does like to play music. He'll strum away on his little guitar or piano, or blow the recorder as loud as he can (very very VERY annoying. very.). While Agus likes to listen, Nico likes to play.

Life is a bowl of Cheerios

Found Honey Nut Cheerios (actually, the generic brand, Tasteeos), at the supermarket this week, and Nico got very excited. Lately we haven't been able to find any of the imported (or, in my boys' words, "good") cereals, so we stocked up on a few boxes. Not much room in the pantry now, what with all the Special K, Lucky Charms and Captain Crunchberries in there!