Project Life: Weeks 7-10

More from my Project Life binder. Again, horrible photos. I know. They make me want to cry. Oh well. 

Week Seven

Valentine's Day, with some of the cards I gave the boys. An insert from the chocolate heart Tin received. Pictures from Family Game night, and some pics of A wrestling with the boys.

Week Eight

Carnaval weekend, lots of soccer as you can see.

Week Nine

This week saw us back at the beach, as well as starting swimming lessons again. A few samples of the kids school work (studying for tests) as well.

Week Ten

Back at the beach again, after a big storm. Birthday week as well - Nico turned 6 and Shushu 66! Some pictures from our secret mission that led to the birthday gifts. That was so much fun to put together.

The photo of the balloons on the left hand side where the balloons I put up the night before Nico's birthday. I laughed so hard when he came out. He just looked at them, looked at me, and then in his voice that says you-must-be-crazy said "What'd ya put up all the balloons for?" Still cracks me up!

Playing Project Life Posting Catch Up: Weeks 3-6

I have been really good about keeping up with Project Life. In fact, I look forward to it all week, and some weeks it goes by too fast. I did run out of photo paper one week and had a hard time finding some in the stores, so I got a little behind, then proceeded to run out of ink the next week, but I am finally all caught up and things are working just fine. I am using the DayOne app to jot down little things - I haven't used it every day but two or three times a week, which helps record some of those little moments that are hard to remember at the end of a week.

I am going to go ahead and post each of my weeks, because I like to get a general feel for the album this way. I am doing it in terrible light, however, because during the day when the sun's out the kids are following me around and it's harder to get it done. So excuse the horrible horrible quality of the pics. Maybe someday when I've got tons of extra time to spare I'll re-photograph them.

Week Three

A pretty normal week around here. Not much going on out of the ordinary.

Week Four

The kids had an event going on at school. Andres and I took some time off and went to watch it. Had a lot of fun, although it was so cold outside!  And wet.

Week Five

A birthday party for a girl in Nico's class, another event at Tin's school to celebrate the Tarqui Battle. Some of the kids art work...

Week Six

A trip to Ibarra this weekend, an event at work (nice and fancy, haha), a meeting with an old student of mine, some family time.

Cosmic Bowling

The other day Nico mentioned that even though we said in January that we would go bowling in Quito, we hadn't been bowling here yet. So we made reservations for a lane for this afternoon at 5:30 and went for a little bowling foray!

Unfortunately, the kids had had a really busy and active day at school, hadn't eaten well at lunch, and therefore were very crabby and difficult to handle. The bumpers at the bowling alley had broken and they were awaiting an import, so even though they told us upfront, I opted to go anyway. I figured it would be fun, even if we didn't hit too many pins.

My bad.

Mostly we just heard whining and watched kids hold back their tears because they were last, they only had 11 points, they couldn't hit the pins, etc, etc.

Even with help, they were not happy.

And actually it was almost worse to help them, since if - God forbid! - we didn't hit a pin ourselves, we had to really hear it!

It did not make for very pleasant bowling but Andrés and I tried to make the most of it and see the humor in the situation. Maybe in a few days or weeks or years it will seem funnier.

Brrrrr

It was really cold tonight.

You can't even walk around the house without three or four layers.

Axl....?

We have been getting a lot of lip lately.

Sometimes I blame school. Other times I think it is age. But tonight Nico informed me that it's because that's how Axl (from the TV show "The Middle") acts, and he's cool. Ummmm, ok, maybe no more "Middle"?

The face above was because I mentioned that we'd need to take a bath tonight.

Dying eggs - our Easter tradition

It's become something of a tradition, dying eggs. We can find white eggs now, and while they aren't as popular as the brown eggs, they're in most supermarkets.

The kids made a couple two-toned eggs this year. Daddy gave them the idea. They turned out cute!

We made deviled eggs with most of them, ate the others as hard-boiled eggs.

Happy Easter 2012

Today, at the crack of dawn, I couldn't figure out why the kids were up - it was 5:55 and the kids were awake and rearing to go. I told them to lie down next to me for a while and let me sleep a little more. Finally, Agustín said, "Mommy, if you want we can just look for our baskets alone. Or, maybe you'd like to watch us?"

Oh, right! It's Easter!

HAPPY EASTER!

Of course, we immediately went downstairs to search. The bunny had left eggs all over, filled with candy and money. It didn't take too long this year to find the baskets - Agustín's was under the dining room table, on a chair, hidden by the tablecloth, and Nico's was in the toy box (Agustín found it for him).

Some of the eggs were a bit tricky to find...

Here's the stash. Fun - books and toothbrushes!!!

And candy, of course.

A Good End to Spring Break

Back at the beach again! Woohoo!

I could really get used to this.

Of course, from a blogging point of view, it was quite boring. Same old, same old: pool, ocean, pool, seafood, etc, etc, etc.

The kids did get some play time in: Angry Birds, the card game! (Quickly becoming a favorite, and a classic! - thanks Aunt Kimmy!)

The kids didn't seem all that excited to see us (the parents) because Bati was there, and they couldn't get enough of him (Yet oddly I don't have one picture of them with him - bummer!).

But I am sure they were excited to get lots of bedtime reading in, especially with our favorite English book The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog.

It was hot, still, and the kids got to use their fancy M&M's fans.

I caught Agustín reading the paper one morning (it was a Miami Herald Andrés had brought from work). He informed me, very seriously, that he was "reading about London. It's really interesting. I don't really understand much, but I know it's interesting."

We left for Quito on Saturday, hoping to beat the holiday traffic by a day, and were glad we did. There had been a landslide on the highway we normally take (only 20 miles north of Quito! Such a bummer - so close, yet so far...) so we had to take the Sto Domingo highway. It had been years since we'd taken this route, and they've done a lot to the highway to improve it - tunnels and two lanes both sides, more signage. Man was it ever gorgeous! The "new" highway can't compete at all - and it is pretty too, but the Sto Domingo road is full - FULL! - of waterfalls and volcanic rock and breathtaking drops off the edge. Absolutely awe-inspiring. We were all speechless - except for Andrés, who actually had to drive it. Still as dangerous as ever, the highway is super wind-y with tons of hairpin turns, and of course it rained and was foggy all the way to Quito - quite stressful, not to mention the extra hour and a half it added to the already long drive.

But I got to see the Devil's face! Yay! I thought it had been demolished with all the construction.

Creepy.

What to do...what to do...

A week (half a week, really, since we had Thursday and Friday off) without the kids.

Of course we had to work, but we also decided we'd make the most of it.

Oh, we had big plans. HUGE plans. A night at the symphony, a night downtown barhopping, perhaps catch a Sacred Music concert, possibly visit a museum or two, mall crawl, whatever. Everything we can't really do with the kids.

Well, mostly we were just tired, and all those fancy plans sort of fell through. Plus, the cold, wet, rainy Quito weather didn't really want to co-operate. I'm not young enough anymore to want to walk around downtown with soaking shoes in a dress and nylons.

But we did get in a movie. ("This Means War", in case you were wondering. Not a lot to choose from, but fun for killing a couple of hours.)

And some good food: an Ecuadorian "steak house"

This was chicken, of course - for me!

And a nice little Italian joint - with happy hour martinis! Yum!

Missed the kids a lot, though, and the sunny warmth of the coast.

A Good Start to Spring Break

Of course, it isn't technically spring break here, since there is no spring on the equator, but it was Easter week, and the kids had it off, so the grandparents decided to take them to the beach for the week. Andrés and I had to work during the week, so we bookended the week with two trips to the beach (the second with Sebastián and his girlfriend).

The first weekend we made it down to the beach, to see how clean up was going since the huge storm that hit a few weeks ago and destroyed the shoreline.

Hmmmm, could be better, but at least you can see the sand!

Nico came down to the beach with us (Agustín stayed at home - not sure why he doesn't like the sand lately) and got his cars out to do some rallying in the sand. It was quite hot, and we had to leave quickly because the sun was beating down and frying us, but it was really nice to get in the sand and hear the ocean a bit.

Of course we spent lots of time by the pool.

Me, reading a book on my iPod.

The kids doing lots of cannon balls.

Some silliness before bed.

And cooling off by eating ice cubes - oh he has that Miller blood in him!

Excited to be alone with the grandparents, Agustín kept encouraging us to "leave whenever you want."

On Motherhood

I was just sitting at work today, thinking about all of the creative endeavours I would like to embark upon at this point in my life, when a thought suddenly occurred to me. Dorky, but it just makes sense today...

I have created two amazing little boys. If I died today, there would be two lives out there - two little personalities, wonderful and funny and bright - that would continue on because of something I (well I guess Andrés had something to do with it too, lol) made.

Wow.

Pretty cool.

I never realized until I became one, but being a mom is the best. I can't understand those moms who wouldn't give everything of themselves to their kids. It actually brings me joy to buy something or do something and then think - hey, someday my kids will get that, or this is something that will be a memory for my kids.

I love that. It is so special and I am so happy that I am the type of person - the type of mom - that sees it for what it is: the most incredible experience a person could have. And the icing on the cake is that Andrés is that kind of dad. That we plan our future as a family, as a couple, and as individuals, around what will be best for the kids.

I know we are not the only parents who feel the same. But I also know that there are some parents who think that once their kids turn a certain age, they're done, that they have rights too and that their happiness is equally important as their kids' happiness. Nothing wrong with that - it is the "American way". But I'm happy to know that over here, at this house, that just won't happen.