December Daily 2009

I got my December Daily album finished this year the day after Christmas! Woohoo! It's a great sense of accomplishment and I love how it turned out. In this post I will show the entire album, then post the different journaling/back story in separate posts. The 2009 album is different from last year's in that there is less about the holiday and more about Andres and I (and our trips).


































Now I am contemplating doing a Project 365 (Photo-of-the-day) project. I know. Crazy! But so fun to look back on. I have really been enjoying looking at last year's December Daily (which just got finished a few weeks ago), so a Project 365 would be really cool!

December Daily Days 24-25

December 24th
Getting a family photo is really difficult. Nico always wants to be the clown, Agus is always with eyes half closed, or not smiling. This year we said "Cheese" and it turned out OK though!



December 25th
6 a.m. The kids, excited that Santa had come, rush to our bedroom to ask if they can go downstairs. OK, but no opening gifts until both Daddy and Mommy are there.
6:05 a.m. Presents are being torn open and handled, kids screaming, Daddy and Mommy coming down the stairs...
Santa brought Legos, Transformers, clothes, shoes, books, and a fish aquarium!

December Daily Days 22-23

December 22nd
Growing up in MN, the smells of Christmas were evergreen, cinnamon and nutmeg, and crisp air, a fire crackling away. Now, after 14 years in Ecuador, I have to add a new smell: mangos.

Also featured: Danish butter cookies - Agustin's favorite!

This year was a little "untraditional" around the house. With me working and traveling more there was less baking. We also had Manuelito here doing some work on the house: a December home makeover! Lovely!




December 23rd
Three years of the Freedom pageants and processions and I still don't get tired of it! This year we had a little "burrito sabanero" who had a hard time getting his Christmas spirit going (until the playground - see below) and Santa's elf - who smiled and laughed all morning!
Nicolas spent most of the pageant in the back on the playground - the highlight of the day! Swinging with his friend Diego was the absolute best for my little 3-yr-old. The look on his face says it all.

December Daily Days 18 - 21

December 18th "After school pick up"
With Mommy's new job, we have a different daily routine: Mommy drops you off and picks you up from school. It is nice, seeing you both in the middle of the day, and I enjoy having you in the car, telling me all about your day. Of course, if I happen to forget a cold Yogu-yogu (which happens more often than I would care to admit), there is always a little scene in the car. Maybe a bit of a struggle to get Nicolas buckled up -- he is usually too hot and cranky after the long day. The afternoon routine has changed as well: Daddy picks you up from Grandma's house and does homework with you before Mommy gets home. So far it is working well, although some days I do miss coming home in the van with both of you and Daddy.



December 19th
"Cual numero nos toca hoy?"
This year Nicolas really got into the chocolate advent calendar. He used it to learn his numbers. They were "one-five", "one-nine", "one-one". Finding them himself.
and on the back:
"Numbers"

• One-nine on the advent
• One mini book at storytime ("Frosty the Snowman")
• Four cavities!
• First dentist visit
• Two brothers who are learning how to play together and share.

December 20th
Xmas flicks this season:

• Elf
• The Grinch
• Home Alone

December 21st
I wasn't too happy when I found out a few days ago that I was going to have to go to Cuenca for work for the 21st and 22nd, I'll admit. I had planned to do some stocking shopping, cookie baking, and simply organizing a bit for the upcoming festivities. Everything turned out OK in the end, as it usually does, and the hotel was beautiful - a "special treat" - the boutique hotel Mansion Alcazar. Rose petals ---even in the toilet!

December Daily Days 14-17

December 14th
Lights or no lights, tonight you two decided to work on a puzzle. It was real team work. Agustin - you've always been good at puzzles - even at the age of 2 1/2 you could put them together by yourself. Nico - you "put" them together great, only ont in the right place! But, tonight, don't worry - big brother helped.



December 15th "Believe"
It makes me happy to see you believe - in the power of love, the comfort of tradition, the warmth of home.



December 16th
A lack of electricity didn't stop us from celebrating the novena this year. We read the prayers by candlelight, sang a capella, and made lots of noise with our homemade drums.
On flip side:

• Novena favorites:
• playing with the nativity scene animals
• Special K bars
• crackers n cheese
• hearing about Baby Jesus
• being with the fam
• treats
• making lots of noise
• "Los peces en el rio" (rock version especially)
• "Jingle Bells"
• singing carols
• "Campana sobre campana"

December 17th
This time of the year you have a hard time keeping up. Twice this week you fell asleep on the couch, once in Daddy's arms. More sleep for you means more time for us to get things done, more time for brother to play undisturbed, and a better mood the next day!

December Daily Days 10-13

December 10th
There is something about this pocket Spanish-English dictionary: both kids will take it and "read" it for hours at a time, telling made up stories, proud they are "reading."



December 11th
So excited to collect things for the needy, you both raided your toy box, clothing drawers, and the pantry. Nothing was "too good". I'm proud of you!



December 12th "Mama's boy"
First visit to the dentist. You were tense, nervous, maybe a bit scared, but I was probably worse. I've always been like that with you - maybe because you were my first born, but I had a hard time sitting there watching the dentist work on you (we waited too long - two cavities!). A couple times tears came to my eyes and I felt like I was being a bad mother to make you sit there scared, but later you informed me that it didn't hurt, it was just "gross". I was relieved. I hope the next time it will be easier...on ME!



December 13th
This year at school Agustin was padrino for a 4-yr-old from La Bota neighborhood. Isaac Campos. Agustin decided to make him a Christmas card ( a very original, cute one!) and Nico had to get in on the action!

December Daily Days 6-9

December 6th



I can't help but wonder if some day I will ever run a marathon. For months I was in the habit of jogging 45 minutes a day, and I loved it. A marathon (or half) may be in my future...

December 7th



Oh coffee. Oh Starbucks. Starbucks Starbucks everywhere! I always look forward to Starbucks when we visit the States, and this time of the year, with the cold cold weather and the seasonal coffees made Starbucks really hit the spot! Peppermint Mocha, Creme Brulee, and Gingerbread lattes (my fav!) - we tried them all (and some of them twice). By the end of our trip, even Andres was getting one - and that says a lot since each one costs about $5-6! In the end, however, I can take just a plain black coffee - my favorite way to enjoy a cup of Joe. Starbucks may have been expensive but, in my opinion, it is a trat well worth it. Also, I saved money buying gloves - any time my hands were cold I bought coffee!

December 8th



This year, out of the blue, you asked for a star (not a bow, as other years) for the top of our Christmas tree. So while in Las Vegas, your daddy and I bought a star for our tree topper. You were excited when you saw it. You finished your homework up real fast so that you could watch us put it on the tree and light it up. I quite like it too...I've never had a star as a tree topper before! Thanks, Agustin, for another great decorating idea!

December 9th

Since November 5th, we have been experiencing nationwide power cuts, due to a drought (and, let's face it - poor government planning). This means that the whole country has been put on a power schedule. Ours hasn't been SO bad, about 3-4 hours every other day, but it has been only at night (7-10 or 11 pm). So, on days when we won't have power, it's a mad rush to get the kids home, homework done, toys put away (or we'll step on them in the dark!), candles set up, dinner and dishes done - all before lights out!

December Daily Days 3-5

December 3rd
Lots of walking again today - down to New York, New York and back. I really wanted to see a show in Vegas, but Andres didn't seem very convinced, so the really "good" ones, like Cirque du Soleil or Phantom, were not really an option (I just couldn't see him agreeing to $200+ in tickets, especially with a mall right down from our hotel). regardless, we decided to see the "V" variety show in the "V" theater in Planet Hollywood, but when I went to buy the tickets the girl at the counter convinced me to see "Inten-si-T" - a new show premiering that night about the "history of music". Tix were only $5 each (what they called "free") and I thought, "hey, how can we go wrong?" Well, turns out it was the history of house music, the girls couldn't dance and couldn't keep in sync, the singers were off key - the seats were like some from a "chifa" (Chinese restaurant). A disaster - which we laughed through the entire time. UNREAL! The saving grace of our wasted afternoon was dinner at Margaritaville. The wait was less than fifteen minutes (can't say that for Red Lobster Times Square!), the service was good, we sat in a boat and the dinner "show" was 1000x better than the one we had just seen. And free! I had a Cheeseburger in Paradise, which was the best cheeseburger I have ever had, and Andres got the nachos - also the best I've ever tried. Great treat after the intensity freak show! Even Andres was no match for the volcano nachos...



Some memorabilia tucked into the envelope...


December 4th
Our day started with shopping...er, every day started with shopping...



December 5th
I love Christmas lights, decorations, music. And the trees and ornaments! But I have to admit, by now I was really missing the kids, and the decorations made me wonder if they were remembering to open the advent!

December Daily Days 1-2

December 1st journaling: Welcome to Miami



We spent the first day of our vacation - just the two of us - in Miami. We made the stop in order to do some "power-shopping", which is what we (and half of the Caribbean and Latin America) did. Walmart - a 24-hour Walmart - was like an oasis in the desert. The promised land. People with 3-4 carts piled HIGH, ready to take their goods back home. We were no exception, but we only had one bag, so two hours was enough to fill it up - all 46 lbs! So "Walmart" rings in our ears, but I can't forget the sound of opening an icy can of diet pop, either.


December 2nd (recycling last year's Christmas card from Dad. Thanks, Dad!)



Inside card it reads:
Christmas in Las Vegas - well, beginning of December at least. I don't know what I was expecting but I certainly wasn't expecting low 30's! It was cold - the bitter Arctic wind that makes your pace faster. Maybe that's why that first evening we made it all the way down to Paris. We hadn't got much sleep - up at 4 a.m. and 3 flights to Vegas, but the combination of excitement, lights, and cold kept us going until after midnight. The Strip was exciting at night, especially after daily "apagones" in Ecuador. It seemed really strange to be surrounded by nonstop lights and sounds knowing back home some people are sitting in the dark!

Two more weeks!

Two more weeks before we hit Vegas! Can't wait for the time with my honey alone, not on a business trip or family vacation but a time to just do whatever we want and spend as much time in the malls as we want. I can't wait to just saunter around the strip all day long, walk everywhere we possibly can and take a gob of pictures.

Around here

Around here:

• Feeling a bit guilty for not having posted anything for such a long time. So much has happened since the last one - a visit back home, Kas started school, a new job, lots of travel, a new niece!
• Excited about a visit from the Tooth Fairy - wondering if she can be real, since fairies are just pretend.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Excited that "when I'm five I'll lose my teeth too." Such a big boy, patiently waiting his turn for the Tooth Fairy.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Getting excited about my December Daily album, trying to get back into the groove of creating something. Determined to finish it this year, but a little worried, knowing that the first week of December we will be in Vegas.
• Thinking about our trip to Vegas, without children, hoping that it will be awesome and a great time for us to connect, since we're not working together anymore, for the first time in almost 10 years.
• Enjoying coffee and Diet Coke just a bit too much.
• Enjoying the kids and the way they giggle and laugh out loud during a movie. Today it was parts of Flubber and Home Alone (in the car).
• Happy that the Damas Bazaar went off well, glad I could contribute a bit and spend some time with friends there.
• A little nervous about an upcoming birthday. The six-year-old is expecting a big celebration, and I just can't seem to summon the energy this year.
  
• Happy that I actually blogged, and hopeful that my posting will get more consistent.
• Marveling at a kid who is growing up every day. Doing homework with little protest, protecting little brother (as well as occasionally threatening him or trying to trick him out of something), becoming more self aware, especially in front of the mirror (and camera).
  

Still no

Still no contract
Still no post
Still no money
Which is what I need most

Gotta a cute hippo though
And some lovely flowers
running along the blog
at every waking hour

You can read that like a blues song.

Wassup?

I've got a post in the works that has been in the works for probably about two weeks now. I keep putting it off because I needed to add some photos. In the meantime, I wanted to blog and thought, why not? No one knows there is another post to go up that I had planned on getting up first (well, now you do I suppose). There are no blogging police who say what can go up when and how. So here I am.

Apparently, with nothing to say.

So, here is what is up this month.

• Still working without a contract. There was a flurry of activity last week as my contract got written, printed and signed and then two days ago withdrawn again. Back to the drawing board. My boss says not to worry but honestly I am tired of not worrying... It is what I do best, after all.
• Agustin graduates from kindergarten on Monday. We will have the day off because the ceremony will be no less important than the crowning of the Queen. Then I am sure we will have to celebrate by taking the kids out, showering them with graduation gifts (can't give something to one and not the other), and stopping by the relatives' to boast that he made it! haha. Always so much drama!
• I am so excited for kindergarten to be over. No more homework for me!!!! Oh, I mean Agustin. But since I have to sit and twist his arm to do it two hours every night, it will be a break for me! Yay! Summer vacation!
  
• I don't think I could - well, would want to - function without coffee. Two cheers for coffee. Let's make that three cheers!
• For some reason I just started thinking about the Chinese embassy here in Quito. Strange. I think that means time to go...

Watch for Stuffed Animal post soon...

Mother's Day Poem - Translation

I forgot to put the translation to the poem in the previous post. Thought you might like to hear it!

From the sky fell a rose
My mother picked it up
She put it in her hair
How pretty she looked!

Gotta love it when two little kids think you're the prettiest princess in the world!

Poetry Night in Claros del Norte or How to Feel Like a Million Bucks

So, you want to feel like a million bucks, do you? Well, I have the recipe and all it takes is two cute little kids (ages 3 and 5), one cheesy little poem, and a mother. The best part is the mother doesn't have to do anything, except get hugged at the end. So there!

This little poem has been everything I live for for the past ten days. In honor of the upcoming holiday (Mother's Day), Agustín and Nicolás have taken to reciting it for me every evening (and sometimes two or three times an evening).

They get real excited and say "Mommy, mommy, I have something to tell you..." Then they stand real straight and tall. They suck in their little breaths and start...

Del cielo cayó una rosa
Mi mamita la recogió
Se puso en la cabezita
¡Qué bonita que quedó!

And then for the very best part. They beam, ask me if I liked it, and RUN over to give me the biggest bear hugs in the world.

And if that doesn't make you feel like a million bucks, I don't know what will. Well, besides a million bucks.

Living in a Video Game

Some days I feel like I am living in a video game. A little Mario Bros. world where simple tasks like walking and jumping over a puddle at times become a challenge.

• Like trying to pour milk while a 3 year old climbs up your leg.
• Or walking by the stairs when suddenly a five year old jumps out at you screaming "Catch me!"
• Or trying to navigate the kitchen-utensil (land mines and grenade bombs in my boys' imaginations) strewn kitchen floor while I try to make supper.

• Balancing one kid on my back while I carry the other because they both have to be the first ones in the car.
• Making gecko/Galapagos tortoise/fire salamander/iguana/crocodile/newt/bullfrog/Komodo dragon noises as I read the bedtime book Grandpa Dan gave us.
• Blocking karate hacks (rattlesnake attacks) to the face and fake crocodile bites while reading said book and also while trying to differentiate between one of the former or what might be an unexpected bear hug and kiss.

I figure I am in Level 3 approximately - I am just beginning to get the hang of it while the difficulty has gone up a notch. I still have all my lives though!


My boys - turning my life into a video game one day at a time.

Just for fun

A very funny lady was recently updating her status on FB with Jack Handey's Deep Thoughts. (You remember those skits from SNL - way back when everyone knew it as "Saturday Night Live"?) I had to start googling them, and thought I would add a few of my favorites, for a laugh every time.

• “If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
• “The next time I have meat and mashed potatoes, I think I'll put a very large blob of potatoes on my plate with just a little piece of meat. And if someone asks me why I didn't get more meat, I'll just say, "Oh, you mean this?" and pull out a big piece of meat from inside the blob of potatoes, where I've hidden it. Good magic trick, huh?”
• “I hope some animal never bores a hole in my head and lays its eggs in my brain, because later you might think you're having a good idea but it's just eggs hatching.”
• “If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.”
• “Whenever I see an old lady slip and fall on a wet sidewalk, my first instinct is to laugh. But then I think, what if I was an ant, and she fell on me. Then it wouldn't seem quite so funny.”
• “I think there should be something in science called the "reindeer effect." I don't know what it would be, but I think it'd be good to hear someone say, "Gentlemen, what we have here is a terrifying example of the reindeer effect."”
• “I can't stand cheap people. It makes me real mad when someone says something like, "Hey, when are you going to pay me that $100 you owe me?" or "Do you have that $50 you borrowed?" Man, quit being so cheap!”
• “Here's a good trick: Get a job as a judge at the Olympics. Then, if some guy sets a world record, pretend that you didn't see it and go, "Okay, is everybody ready to start now?".”
• “To me, it's a good idea to always carry two sacks of something when you walk around. That way, if anybody says, Hey, can you give me a hand? You can say, Sorry, got these sacks."
• “If any man says he hates war more than I do, he better have a knife, that's all I have to say.”

OK, that's enough. Funny.

On Thoughts

"...thoughts can save people, and...the capacity to believe that you can have thoughts, connected to your own experience, is every bit as vital as the more fashionable claims for emotional self-expression."

-Philip Davis, The Reader

I love this quote. It reminds me why I went into Liberal Studies in the first place. We truly are a dying species, ah, but what a way to die!

Crespuculo, or Twilight as You Have Probably Heard It Called

I am well into the Twilight series, and since many of my dearest friends seem to be obsessed by it, and since I cannot NOT read something that everyone is talking about, even if it is something I would never pick up on my own, I decided to acquire the series on my last trip to the States. Unfortunately, vacationers in Orlanda,FL do not seem to be much interested in reading, and I could not find a bookstore anywhere near the Disney World properties. Not even in the resort, where I thought for sure they would have a stand for magazines and books or something. Strange. Anyhow, I ended up looking for the books at a Walmart, and could only find the first one. I got it, and when I got back home started reading it. I don't know what I was expecting, but it sort of fulfilled my expectations and didn't at the same time, so I became intrigued and decided I had to read all four books. But where was I going to get them?

Fast forward to the largest display of Twilight books in an Ecuadorian book shop in a nearby mall, and all in English! Wow! Amazing. So I spent a small fortune on the other three books and have settled in to figure out what the hype is all about.

Maybe I was wrong to read all of them in a row. Too easy to find inconsistencies. Or maybe I was wrong to mention that I was reading the series to a bibliophile friend who was none too happy, and then proceeded to tell me his theory that Meyers had books 2-4 ghostwritten. But I haven't enjoyed them as much as I expected to. It is a book for young adults, so I realize who the audience is supposed to be, but I find myself going back page after page and trying to figure out what the heck is happening. For example, at a crowded party Edward will "leave the room" and Bella will be frantic to find him, only to notice Alice in the corner, who has "caught Edward's eye from across the room". Now, how did that happen when I had assumed he had already left? I know it is picky and petty but that is the kind of reader I am, I guess. I am not reading the books for their literary worth, but for the story (and the story is good), but if I am reading for the story, I would think the author would have to be more careful with the details that really make the story move. So, I have been struggling with that aspect of the books (and yes, the first book was much more polished, making me buy into my friend's theory).

I also have not appreciated how flat of a character Bella seems to be (I think she is changing a bit in book 3). I mean, the girl is obsessed with being a vampire, to the extreme that she (who I had the impression of being so smart and perceptive) seems to miss out on the whole picture. And if she really loved Edward that much, as much as she obsesses to, why wouldn't she listen to his reasoning a bit more? It makes me think she doesn't really love him but instead is obsessing over him because he has that (apparently) special vampire characteristic to appear irresistible to humans.

One of my friends has said that Bella is so flaky because she is in love. Perhaps. She was supposedly so different from the other girls her age, though, that she has secretly disappointed me that she is acting like the star struck teenager. Really, is it so different to think a teenager would want to give up everything to become what appears to be a glamorous, eternal vampire - give up marriage and college and babies and family and friends and death for a boy? Wouldn't every teenager be willing to do that? They are, after all, quite selfish and not much interested in the things about life that make living living. Oh Bella, you are so sad sometimes. What a sell out.

These are the questions I have, and normally they would sound like good ones, except that there is nothing in the story to help me through them. Like the author is just avoiding those hard questions. Again, it is YP Fiction, but even young readers deserve to have the hard questions approached, don't they? Especially with such a successful series.

On the whole Edward is a much better character, deeper and more intriguing, which probably explains why the series is so popular, since many of my friends seem to be secretly in love with Edward Cullens.

Ha! Taking a book so seriously. I am still obsessed with getting to the end, so don't think I am saying I won't read them. But, I am a little surprised at their wide spread success (don't hate me!).

Disney Vacation

So, I haven't posted anything about our vacation, yet, probably because I have been having trouble getting back into things since we returned. What a great time, everything was perfect and the best thing was having someone cleaning up after me, cooking for me, taking me places, etc. I loved the hotel and having the pool and while it was miserably hot I secretly loved the heat (as usual). Right now I am sitting at work with a heating unit full blast on my legs and I feel like I am never going to thaw. So, bring on the heat! I will complain but just because that's what I do!

The kids of course had the bext time. We saw all four parks, but the Magic Kingdom is of course the best one. I wish we had spent all our time there, maybe one day at Epcot. I didn't get on any adult rides, but just watching the kids get so excited for Dumbo was the best. The 55-minute line full of young adults waiting to get on could have been a bit more pleasant, but oh well. It was busy. What can you do?

On a side note, I just love going to the U.S. and experiencing all that space. Everyone takes it for granted (except those in NYC I suppose, that cement jungle is a special type of hell), but in a place like Minnesota you just figure everywhere in the world the yards are big, the avenues wide with little traffic, the trees shadow the streets and there are virtually no people since you do not see evidence of people everywhere you go. So I didn't appreciate the crowds in the parks, but the hotel was big and not so crowded and we spent a day renting a car and just driving around and I loved just soaking up all the extra space there is to be had. And to imagine how big the Disney property is, well, that is another thing. From our hotel it was a 20-minute drive on a highway to Magic Kingdom. All within the Disney property. Crazy. Scary, too, how big that place is and how powerful in a sense. But I am not going to dwell on the evils of Disney because as long as I got my money's worth of a vacation I guess I can shut up about it. But man, there is a lot of money in that place. That's all I'm going to say. That and comment how a recent article came out here in Ecuador where the public complained about the high cost of public transportation (25 cents). Just to put things into perspective.

I think it was just great having a true family vacation, just the four of us to do what we want when we want and where we want without having to worry about boring someone else or what someone else wants to do. Not to be selfish, but just to know that if the kids are tired we can go back to the hotel, even though we didn't "finish" all of our plans. Or, if the kids wanted to have chicken nuggets for the 115th meal in a row, it was fine. Very refreshing to have that kind of freedom. We will have to do more of those things, I think. My next idea was trying a trip somewhere down here, in South America, like maybe Argentina or Chile, or up to an island in the Caribe, like San Andres. We'll have to see, there are so many places in Ecuador I still don't know, but I see that as the boys get older it will be easier and easier to take those types of vacations.