The Robot

Agustín likes to dance. He won't do it for us often, but today I got him on video doing the "robot". It is his trademark dance.

He likes to breakdance, too. Oh, sorry. That's break to you young 'uns.

Now I know what my mom felt like when she would see us kids wearing revived fashions from the 70's. Because all I'm thinking is, isn't "break" a bit dated? And I am all like, "Yeah, I know how to break dance. We used to do that when I was a kid."

Apparently not. Give it a new, hip (cool, rad, whatever the word is nowadays) name and suddenly it is something no one has ever heard of before. "No, Mommy, this is break. This is new."

Not-so-funny and not-so-hot

Hot Wheels and Funny are not looking so hot or funny these days. It has been unseasonably humid and they have completely rotted inside. Of course it has been over a week, but normally the pumpkins just dry out. These have gotten all Halloween-y on us, caved in mouths, black furry inside. The kids are getting afraid and the neighbors are complaining about the smell (or should be), so it's time to say goodbye.

No, Agustín my little pack rat, we can't keep them any longer.

A trip to Friday's

Every once in a while Agustín will ask, "Why don't we go to Friday's?" And so we do.

Today was one of those days. So we got out of our pajamas and took off for a meal of "the best chicken fingers in the world" and the kids' favorite dessert: Oreo Madness.

We got to the restaurant and suddenly Nico pointed over at another table. A look of angry hurt came over his face and he got real quiet. Sitting across the aisle were his grandparents, great grandma and uncle! We went and said hi, surprised of course that they were there too. But Nico couldn't get over it - they had gone out to eat without him, and he was MAD! He wouldn't talk or look at them for about an hour.

Until Uncle offered him his iPod. Then things were forgiven.

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.

Swimming Lessons

Swimming lessons have really paid off! We got to witness Agustín's skills first hand this weekend, as he doggie-paddled across the kiddie pool and showed us how to tread water in the larger pool. He still wears his floaters, but he isn't as scared of the water, and it is amazing to me that in another month or so he will be able to be without the floaters!

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.

Halloween at the beach

Strange to spend Halloween at the beach, but we had a five-day weekend and needed to take advantage of it! We stayed in La Pradera, and it was nice. Very economical. Not near the beach, but we drove into Tonsupa and Las Palmas with no problem whatsoever. Spent the first day in the pool and then in the sand.




This is the life! Why don't we live here?

Funny and Hot Wheels

We got up early to do our pumpkin carving. The kids picked out a face online and Andrés drew them freehand. The pumpkins this year weren't totally orange, but they had a really nice shape. They were really thick, too, and I got tons of seeds out of them. Fresh pumpkin seeds - a childhood favorite of mine!

So, meet Funny (Nico´s pumpkin) and Hot Wheels (Agustín's). Those are the names they choose for their special guests.

The whole Hot Wheels thing is very reminiscent of Hannah's Soda dollies, since Tin seems to want to name everything "Hot Wheels".

Happy (Early) Halloween!

Ding dong. The doorbell rang around 7 p.m. tonight. Shoot! I forgot about Ecuadorian Halloween (haha, this just means that the kids in the neighborhood trick or treat whenever they get the inkling - at 2 in the afternoon, two or three days before Halloween, or even the day after Halloween!).

I handed out some stale candy I had in a cupboard, as I was totally unprepared. It was really nice, though, that some of the kids asked if mine could go out and trick or treat.

Nico was in Superman pjs, so he was ready, but Agustin was only in his school uniform. Oh well, he went out as a school boy.

The kids loved running from house to house. Nico was a little crazy, running all over the place - he didn't even notice me there. That is, until he fell and scraped his knee and put a hole in his pjs. Oh well. Those are the perils of Halloween!

Colada morada, or purple drink

It's that time of the year again - colada morada. Yum! Andres's mom made some for lunch today, but I had already bought the ingredients yesterday at the grocery store, so I decided to make some this afternoon as well. In total, it took about 2 hours, but most of that was just watching pots boil.


I got the tea made (a heavenly-smelling mix of lemongrass, orange leaf, and myrtle), then the blueberries cooked, then the blackberry juice made. Andrés helped cut up the pineapple and strawberries, and when it all got thrown together I added a cup of sugar and the cornstarch mixture. I forgot the cinnamon, cloves and allspice, however, so I decided to stick them in a coffee filter sachet and add them to the final pot for a little while. Unfortunately, the sachet broke. I tried to pick all the little spices out, but I apologize in advance to anyone who breaks their tooth on an allspice kernel!

Andrés went to the store and came back with naked breads, which he decided to turn into guaguas for the kids. It was a hit! The kids won't touch the colada (Agustín seems to think fruit was God's way to punish us for Original Sin) but he sure will scarf down a guagua or two!

The finished product - it tasted awesome! And I am happy to say that I am keeping the tradition alive. I wonder how many gringas out there are making colada morada this finados?

So tired of Sharks!

That Sharks book. I bought it for the kids this summer, to help relieve the onus of the Reptiles and Amphibians book, which was a book we were reading at least 3 times a week, if not more. I am beginning to regret buying it, however. Like its predecessor, Sharks has become the go-to book for Nicolás. We probably read it four times a week. I love reading to the kids at night, but I cringe when Nico brings this book into bed (each of the kids gets to choose a book each night). Tonight Daddy did the reading, and I felt relieved. I love sharks and manta rays, but a girl can only take so much! ;)

Good thing

I sure hope this is appropriate. Maybe I have lived in Ecuador too long. Regardless, Agustín has started taking showers. And anyone with little boys in the house knows that this is a good thing. A really good thing.

Breakfast Outside

For the last week or so, Agustín has been getting nauseous every morning, especially if he smells breakfast, like pancakes or eggs or even bacon! Daddy taught him a little trick, to try to avoid the inevitable vomiting we have not seen for a long time: Go outside and get some fresh air, walk around, breathe deeply. So far it has worked - there have been no accidents, and this is important not only because we don't want to clean it up or have to change uniforms at the last minute, but also because once he starts the whole vomiting routine, he takes it to the next level, and we see a lot of it for quite some time.

This week he has spent every morning outside, trying to control his nausea. He still gets hungry, though, so we bring him his breakfast. Now Nico has joined the action. It is cold mountain air out there at 6 a.m., believe me, but neither of them seems to mind.

Ah the memories Grandpa Dan is making...!

The last few days Andrés and I have been doing some paperwork to register our U.S. Marriage certificate here in Ecuador. It has been a long and tedious process (think legalizing each paper in 2-3 different offices - or rather legalizing the legalizations!), but will make future paperwork in the country a lot easier once it is done. Yesterday we were in the Vital Records Offices from 10 a.m. until almost 4 p.m., and again today for an hour or so, and I have felt the exhaustion!

Anyhow, we got home, did homework, studied for Tin's math test, and ordered Papa John's. While we were eating, Andrés asked, "Are there any shows on tonight?" I'm thinking, "Tuesday? Nah, nothing good," so I say to him, "No, but on Thursday 30 Rock is going to be live, so we shouldn't miss it." He looked at me kinda funny, but didn't say anything.

Later, once we got the kids into bed (early might I add!!!) and were finishing the last story of the night, I suddenly realized what he meant: The Grandpa Dan Show!!! I ran to the computer and made the call. Luckily, no one had given up on us yet and we still caught the show.

And gems like this.

I think it will be hard for Agustín and Nicolás when they grow up not to realize that most grandpas won't put on elaborate puppet shows and dress up in giant Mickey Mouse costumes for their grandkids.

These will be great memories that will stay with them forever. These will be the stories they tell to their own kids. "When I was little, my grandpa used to dress up in funny costumes and dance and sing for us with puppets he made with his own two hands..."

*Like we kids will always remember the Toby-as-dinner-table-shark episodes, cabin Olympics (and really so much more) as well as, my personal favorite, the mantra "Pretend it's a giant Hershey bar!" - and yes, I've taken to using that exact same phrase, although my kids, because of cultural considerations, have NO idea what a Hershey bar is. I'm going to have to change it to Manicero bar, but it just doesn't have the same ring to it...

Remarkable Cows

Tin spent a good portion of his afternoon today listening to Rhinoceros Tap and reading/singing along with the CD. He was really proud of himself, that he sang all 19 songs. ("Nineteen songs, Mommy, nineteen! That's a lot." in his own words)



In the meantime, in my own book news, I am currently coveting Hoda Kotb's new book, released today, I believe. (It really is too bad her name is a swear word here in Ecuador or I would tout her a bit more around here, haha). I really hope it is on iBooks! Although I'd much rather have a hard copy, but I doubt it will make it to the bookshops down here.



I am also re-reading Gone with the Wind (on my iPod) - oh it is just so good, I'm already lost in the story in chapter 2!!! - and the best book ever, The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam. How could I have never heard of this book before? It was one of those purchases where, I had a few extra dollars and ran to the bookstore to treat myself with something, and couldn't find a single thing I thought looked good. Desperate, I spotted this little treasure. I was unsure, but went ahead and picked it up anyways, and I am so glad I did. So far, halfway through, I am really loving it. It takes place in the now-Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia, and it feels nice to read something about a place so far away and "exotic".

Just a humhumming away

I had the window open this afternoon and was sitting upstairs in the bedroom on the computer when I heard two little voices just a-chatting away. Tin was walking around the backyard as if he had somewhere important to go, just talking up a storm, and Nicolás was just following him.



This went on for a good 20 minutes, until Agustín remembered the dentist's orders - lots of freezies and popsicles - and sat down for a bit of his "medicine". Still no problems with the stitches, so I think we can start cutting back on the freezies now for a while. Yesterday he (Agustín) had about 10.

Oral surgery

The end of this smile?

Agustín went in for minor oral surgery this morning, to get rid of the the flap of skin that connects his upper lips to his upper gum. It has grown too much, too long, and is between his teeth, which is why they are so separated. Last week when the kids went to the dentist (Agus 0 cavities, Nico 3!!!) the dentist said it was time. I was really really nervous, and once we got there Tin was too. It took over an hour just to get the anesthesia in! Once the Novacaine started working, however, he was fine, although not too happy about getting stitches. We go back next week to get the stitches out, but in the end, he was a real trooper and hasn't complained even once about it all.

With this little operation, he will be ready for braces if necessary, but hopefully once his front teeth start coming in they will correct themselves a bit. Although, if he needs braces, I don't mind at all. It may improve his speech, too, according to the doctor.

December Daily 2010

Getting my December Daily together. So excited to be starting on it. I am going to do all my pages the same size, like Ali Edwards, but not sure how I will like that. One of my favorite things about it in the past has been having different sizes and textures. We'll see, I guess.