Evening - 31 Things Day 10

We were away at the beach this weekend, so I've got a few days to catch up on. I did my journaling there, then put together the layouts when we got back.

Some truths about our evening routine:

Homework almost always lasts a couple of hours, so dinner is usually served around 7 pm. The kids like an hour or two before dinner to play in their rooms and just unwind. 

We almost always eat dinner together at the kitchen table. Occasionally we will allow the kids to eat “way upstairs” on TV trays in front of the TV, or if homework went extra long, at a table in their room, but most nights we eat together. 

Nico eats slowly and gets up often during dinner to bounce a ball, look for something, get a toy - anything to stall for more time. Agustín eats quickly and usually asks for seconds, or for dessert (for him, that means cheese). Both boys are in the habit of asking “May I please be excused?” before they get up and leave the table for good.

Depending on when Nico finishes his meal, the kids will have another 15 or 20 minutes to play before the bedtime routine begins. That consists of cleaning up their room, getting pajamas on, using the bathroom, and then getting Mommy or Daddy to help brush their teeth (dentist’s orders). 

There is always reading time before bed. Andrés and I take turns, but the kids seem to prefer “Mommy”. I think it is because Mommy lets them choose two books each. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog is read every night, and lately we have also been reading Batman: Day of the Dark Knight most nights.

After reading is done, we say prayers - one in English and one in Spanish. There is usually a chorus of “Sweet Dreams!” and “Love you more than anything!” and then lights off. By now it is 8:30, although lately it has been more like 8:45.

While one of us has been doing the bedtime routine, the other is usually getting uniforms and lunches ready for the next day. This may mean that we are doing a load of laundry or a few dishes, but soon after this both of us usually retire to the bedroom to rest. We might watch a little TV or a movie together, or get some time on the computer. We are usually under the covers and not puttering around as the house is dark, quiet and cold at this time. I tend to go to bed after Andrés, since I am usually reading and have a hard time putting down my book. By eleven o’clock we are usually both ready to go to sleep. 

Morning - 31 Things

Mornings usually come too fast for me. 

I’ve never been much of a morning person. In the morning I am slow and lethargic and it seems to take me twice as long to get things done. I can always convince myself, as I’m reaching for the snooze button, that just five more minutes won’t make a difference in my routine.

The alarm goes off at 5:20, and after a few pushes from the snooze button, I am finally up. We make the bed, and then I get into the shower. I usually take my shower before Andrés, since the water heater is broken and has to be turned on manually, and he doesn’t mind going outside on a chilly morning to do so. Then he hops in while I get dressed. 

Just about at that time, the kids come into the room. They don’t need a wake-up call. There is a 5:50 plane to Loja that passes over the house that usually wakes them, and if that doesn’t, the sun will, at 6 a.m. They are a little like mini zombies: push open the door (there’s always a slamming door involved), use the bathroom (eyes generally closed at this point), then hop up on our bed and cover up with blankets. Nico likes the blue one and Tin prefers the pink and green one. There’s not much talking yet, but in about five minutes the remote will come out and they’ll be watching Disney Channel (Poppy Cat, Special Agent Oso, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates have been the favorites lately).

If I have to go into work, I go downstairs with Andrés and we have breakfast until Grandma Shushú comes to take over for us. Andrés and I both like to mix it up. One morning it might be scrambled eggs on toast, the next a grilled cheese sandwich or yogurt with granola. I rarely have time on weekdays to eat fruit for breakfast.

I grab some coffee in a mug to go, and we get into the car and head out for our 45-minute commute.

If I don’t have to go into work, then usually I snuggle with the boys when they jump into bed. They fight over whose side I turn to, who I hug, who gets the blankets, etc., and so instead of sleeping in a bit more, I end up tossing and turning and talking to them until 6:30. 

At 6:30 I get up and go downstairs to get their breakfast ready. Agustín loves cheese, so his breakfast usually consists of a piece of toast or bread and a half of a banana (one of the few fruits he’ll eat) with some sort of cheese - a wedge of cheddar or gouda or crackers with cream cheese. It’s important to have a glass of milk ready for him on the nightstand. (They eat in our bed on trays, watching TV - basically their only TV time at home.) Agustín eats quickly, and usually has me go downstairs for seconds. You can always tell what his favorite thing on the plate is - he always saves that for last.

Nicolás, on the other hand, likes to savor each and every bite. He loves cereal, with milk, and usually asks for that in the mornings, but if there is time I might make him pancakes as well, and that is always a big hit. He is the opposite of his brother when it comes to eating: he doesn’t like cheese, isn’t a big fan of bread, and saves the “yuckiest” thing on his plate for last. He is usually finishing his breakfast right up to the very last second. In this sense he and I are the same - always taking our time, and at the last minute rushing around so we won’t be late. I imagine I was the same way when I was little. I remember walking into the kitchen and all of mom’s daycare kids (many my same age) already well into their breakfasts, and me just rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

After breakfast is finished, the kids get dressed. Uniforms have almost always been laid out the night before. Agustín will dress himself but Nicolás still likes to be babied and will mess around until you get frustrated and get him dressed yourself. My favorite part of the morning is changing their socks. I make a habit of kissing their feet and changing their socks for them each morning. This started because I realized that when they were dressing themselves they were forgetting to change their socks, but now it is a little routine that both boys love and have come to expect.

The TV goes off, the kids finally get up out of bed and go brush their teeth while I wet and comb down their rogue hair. 

Downstairs, the boys get their shoes on while I warm up the car and then we’re off. It takes about 15 minutes to get to school. Sometimes there is music on,  but many times the boys are asking me tricky questions. This morning it was who invented money? and why do we care about money if it’s just paper?

Our routine

It is nice to have a routine, now that the kids are in school. We come home, finish homework, then play for a while until supper is ready. By 8 p.m. the kids are in jammies and in bed, waiting for their bedtime story. When they were very little, I loved this tradition, but sometimes now I wonder if it was very smart of me. As they get older, the stories/books get longer, and now they both want a book, since they can never agree. It turns into an hour-long ordeal some nights, and if we refuse a story they have a fit, claiming that it will give them nightmares (and it usually does).

Today we "read" from the Arthur book we got this summer at the library sale. The pieces were missing so Daddy had them made and laminated, and the kids love putting all the characters all around the pages, in their slots. Now they like to tell their own stories with them (which involves a lot of smashing heads and feet in doors and standing upside down), but sometimes these stories will go on for twenty or more minutes.

They never seem to tire of them, though.

today's plans

Daddy has to work all day today, so I'm home alone with the kids. We are planning a nature walk, maybe we'll do some arts and crafts, we'll listen to internet radio, and then hopefully the kids will be all worn out and take a looooooong nap.

Off to School!

Bright and early this morning, Agustin wanted to show off his uniform to his family back in Minnesota...

And then, he wanted to do a little pirouette...














And we can't forget little brother!

Hello again... Is it me you're looking for?

I am so ashamed - so long and I haven't written anything! I've been busy with a few translations, my CEC blog, writing for suite (a silly little hobby, perhaps, but very enjoyable), and work. Oh, and the two kids, but that's a given, isn't it?

May seems to be a busy month in Ecuador in the field of education. I've got a lot on my plate, but very fun and exciting stuff, which is nice for a change. Lots of workshops and seminars. I got to meet the author of the series English in Mind, Herbert Puchta, in an exclusive workshop for program coordinators at the Hilton Colon, and what a nice guy! And with so much to say about teaching teenagers - I will be able to use a lot of his ideas for upcoming workshops (teaching teenagers is always a big request with our instructors).

This month was also the AGM (Annual General Meeting for you non-Brits!) for the CRADLE Project, which I do consulting work for. We are also in the long process of revising the Our World Through English textbooks (Books 5 and 6 are the last ones on our agenda) and as I am in charge of writing the Grammar Pages, I have a lot to do there. Just editing the student's and teacher's book is a lot of work too, something that I need to get started on if we are to have them ready by September.

I was approached by the representative of Thomson Learning here in Ecuador and asked to possible be their educational consultant (perhaps not the right name?) - anyhow, what I would do is prepare workshops for English teachers on how to use their textbooks - and then travel around the country (at least the Sierra region) to give the workshops and answer questions about the books. Now wouldn't that be fun! I haven't heard back yet, so I don't know how that will work out.

Lastly, I have been busy with some longer translations. Once I get into them, I have a blast with them too - although since I have to work on the computer I quickly develop an aversion to the internet and blogging since I am working nonstop and at breakneck speed. Anyway, the translation was due today and it is finished after three weeks of wrestling with it. Let me just say, the internet is an amazing thing - can you believe that before I had to try to look for technical and field-related words by searching texts and dicitonaries? Now all I do is google the phrase and I can instantly determine whether I have the right phrase or not. What an amazing tool!

I joined the Damas, finally! And I now have access to an awesome library. I can't believe it took me twelve years here to figure it all out - can you believe what I've been missing!?

Well, I am just excited this month about work and stuff I am involved in. Some of it is dreary and upsetting (like when you have problems with teachers and students, some of which can get ugly), but on the whole, May is an exiciting time for teachers here in Ecuador, and it has also stopped raining all day - which can bring a smile to anyone's face. Now we just get a rainy afternoon - but blue skies in the morning! Woohoo!

Creatures of Habit

There’s something to be said for falling into a routine. Before I had kids, I felt like this was the curse of getting old – having a daily routine. I’d remember doing my neighbor’s paper route and feeling sorry for the older couples who would wait for their morning paper to arrive every day at the same time. They would get so upset if you were even minutes late. My father-in-law has always said we are creatures of habit, but I never wanted to believe him. I kept busy, mixed things up, didn’t want to fall into a rut. Then my first child came along and spontaneity became chaos. It took us a while to establish a routine, and then came the second and the routine was disrupted again. But these last few months with my two kids felt so right once we got back into the routine: get up, make bottles, get clothes for the day ready, make beds, get dressed, eat breakfast, bath for the smallest, and then the playing begins… I felt so calm, so… capable, like now I could truly do anything if I could handle this growing family. Now I’m back to work and the routine (at least mine) has been broken, and once again I feel like I’m free falling…