Forced Holiday Decorating

About a month ago, someone from the Relief Society (women's organization of our church) asked if they could have their Christmas dinner at our house. "Sure, no problem!" I told them. Then the rest of the month everyone kept telling me how "brave" I was for hosting. I was starting to get really paranoid near the end, did they know something that I did not?

It was a lot of work to get our house ready, but it forced us to do some things we'd been putting off (like washing those windows way, way up there-requiring me to get on the roof, setting up the treadmill and hanging some pictures that had been sitting around for MONTHS) , but I didn't have to be in charge of the invitations, the food, or the program (the things that stress me out), so it worked just fine for me.

The party was a success and now my house will look great for the rest of the season. Here are some photos:

Yes, that's a real tree-isn't it perfectly shaped? Several people asked me where I got such a real looking artificial tree. And those lights? They took about 10 trips to Target and 5 years off of Guapo's life to get them just how he wanted them.

Finally, something up in that space that bugs me everyday. Watering them could be difficult. I don't think dead poinsettias will be quite as festive.

Look at those awesome pillows I found. I was so proud of myself.

My favorite room of the house-so cozy for Christmas.

Guapo's tree that took an additional 2 years off of his life.

My animal from Venezuela greeted people as they arrived.

And look at Kitty with the golden reindeer the previous owners left up in the attic.

I'm practically done with my holiday shopping and wrapping so things are good. Now, if only it would snow. We've only gotten and inch and a half here-very dissapointing to my kiddos.

I hope you're having a wonderful December.

One Deranged Fish, One Defamed Cat

I just wanted to clear Kitty's name.

Pumpkin jumped. Kitty actually saved his life by being on the scene last night-otherwise we never would have seen Pumpkin laying there looking like a little red grape (which are often found on my kitchen floor).

How do I know this?

Last night, I put Pumpkin on top of the refrigerator, a place where Kitty for sure couldn't reach. This morning, I went downstairs to see if Pumpkin was still alive; he was swimming around as good as new. I woke up Juan Carlos a few minutes later to tell him the good news. When we went into the kitchen, the bowl was empty, and there was Pumpkin, looking like a grape again on the floor.

I think it's a cry for help-had he really wanted to commit suicide he would have jumped during the middle of the night-he waited until he knew we were up.

Let Sleeping Babies Lie

I always get kind of jealous when I read Maine Mom's blog. Quite frequently (at least it seems to me), she'll post a picture of one of her babies sleeping in some random place, at some random time. It's so cute!

My kids just don't do that. For the most part they will only sleep in their beds at their nap time or bedtime. None of them would even fall asleep in my arms at church when they were exhausted (am I doing something wrong??? Am I not a good bouncer? Arms not soft enough? What is it???)

Pedro did fall asleep that one time in the library, but that wasn't under my supervision, (the librarians kidnapped him for a while). They probably bounced him with their soft arms and then laid him on the ground:



Well, finally, he did it on my watch last week and I have a picture to prove it:



Then I had a vague memory of Margarita doing the same thing long ago, and sure enough I found a picture of her sleeping in her highchair:



And, while I was looking for that picture I found this bonus one of her sleeping on the floor:

I have no recollection of it, but it's really cute. I especially like the one sock on, one sock off thing she's got going on.

She looks almost as comfortable as kitty:



So, in 10 1/2 years and 4 kids, I have only had my kids fall asleep in non-conventional places approximately 4 times.

Mid-March Randomness

First off, thanks for all of your kind words in regard to my aunt who passed away this week. Traci was right, Aunt Bruna was a character and I will miss seeing her at family reunions and eating her scrumptious Italian cooking.

And to all concerned parties (MOM), when said I Pedro makes me "want to have 5 other babies just like him" I was just exaggerating!

All About Bad Guys

Juan Carlos (4 1/2 yrs) is afraid of "robbers" and "bad guys" right now. Especially right before bed. Julio (7 yrs) is always very sweet and patient and helps reassure him by telling him about our building's very high gate, the guards, the surveillance cameras, the many locks on the doors, etc.

A couple of days ago he asked Guapo about where"robbers" live and Guapo tried to explain that they are just normal people that decide to take things that aren't theirs and therefore they live in houses and apartments just like we do. That was not acceptable. He replied, "But they live in little houses right?"

On the way to school today he asked me if "bad guys" have moms and I told him they did. Then he asked, "Do bad guys have bad moms?" That one kind of surprised me. I had to tell him "no, not always" just in case any of my kids turn out to be "bad guys". (knocking on wood)

Pedro Expands His Resume

You already know that Pedro is into origami, but recently he has added drawing to his fast growing list of talents. Rarely is he seen now without a crayon in his chubby little hand. Here he is with a pink crayon:

...and, here he is 3 minutes later with a green crayon:



(will you look at those cheesy smiles? if the artist thing doesn't work out he can still model.)

Time to hide the crayons.

(shhhhh, I don't want to jinx myself, but Pedro has slept through the last 3 out of 4 nights!!!)

My Maid's Two Week Paid Vacation

...all she had to do was get hit by a car. She came over today to prove that she really had a cast and to bring me her doctor's note saying she can't work for two weeks.

No more manicures and bon bons for me, it's 2 weeks of cleaning potties and scrubbing floors.

Kitty's Comfort Knows No Bound

It was Pedro who spotted Kitty taking a nap this time. He started pointing and saying "meow" when he noticed her. Here she is from Pedro's vantage point:

She was way up here:




Book Club Dictator

Can I tell you how much I love my new position in my book club?

I am the "Book Buyer". That means, when members take trips to the States, they ask me to tell them what books to bring back. Maybe I should explain; we are not a normal everyone-reads-a-book-and-we-talk-about-it book club, it is a sort of "traveling library full of books in English" sort of book club. We pay a yearly due and then as people buy books to add to the library, they are reimbursed for their purchases.

A lady this week emailed me and asked me to give her 4 titles to buy. I inherited a list of books to buy from the previous book buyer, but I am pretty much just disregarding it. I got on Amazon and chose 4 books I want to read and sent her the titles.

Awesome.

I hope I don't get fired.

And, remember the lady who stole to my white elephant Christmas present? She's moving! I don't have to pretend to be nice to her anymore while all the while I am burning up inside, coveting the Spaghettio's and Stove Top her kids got to eat. (again with the exaggeration!)

Things are really looking up around here.

Brazilian Valentine's Day and Other Random Thoughts

Happy Valentine's Day a day late. Brazil doesn't have a Valentine's Day. :( My kids go to a semi-American school, it's really like 90% Brazilian, but the classes are all taught in English and it follows an American curriculum. They try to celebrate the "big" American holidays, but they are never quite the same.

Living overseas the schools our kids have gone to have never celebrated: Columbus Day, President's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, or Memorial Day. When we started out I had big dreams of helping my kids appreciate their "Americaness" through meaningful educational discussions and coloring sheets of the first presidents and Martin Luther King, but alas, in actuality the days just kind of pass me by.

Thanksgiving's only slightly better. In Venezuela the kids had had Thanksgiving day off, and Guapo would take the afternoon off work and would celebrate with other Americans. Not so in Mexico City where they attended a British School, or in Small Town, Mexico where we had no American friends. And here in Brazil where they already have 3 of their own national holidays in November. Sorry Thanksgiving-there's no room for you here! To appease the few Americans at the school, they held a big turkey lunch for the kids and their families (of course they still had rice and beans, but it was a nice gesture anyway).

To celebrate Valentine's Day, the younger kids received a note that they needed to bring in a valentine card for each child in their class. Since the general population doesn't celebrate the day, there were no pre-made, pre-packaged Valentines which is, of course, the route I would have taken. I went to a paper store and spent close to $40.00 (sorry Guapo), buying paper, glitter, glue, etc. to make our own Valentines at home. Margarita (9 yrs) spent a lot of time working on hers and they turned out very nice. Julio (7 yrs old) didn't want to make any so I didn't force the issue, and Juan Carlos's looked like a 4 year old made them-very cute. All of the hearts had happy faces and arms and legs which made me smile.

That should have been good enough, but then I decided to be an over-achiever and make sugar cookies for all of their classes (I couldn't very well have Julio, one of only three Americans in his class showing up empty handed, and if I was going to make them for Julio I may as well make them for Margarita and Juan Carlos also).

Why do I do this to myself? Sugar cookies should only be made for Christmas-they are too much work if I do them by myself and too much of a mess if I let the troops help me. Oh well. Long boring story short-somehow, despite the very curvy drive to school, the slippery plates, the quickly melting frosting, the fighting and some tears, the majority of the 60 cookies made it to school. Phew!

I cracked up when Julio and Juan Carlos came home with a bunch of cards that looked like this one:

Yep. Full on cheesy greeting cards. They probably cost $5.00 each. The parents that gave those must have been appalled by Juan Carlos's personified hearts!

Gaupo got me these beautiful orchids. I hope I can manage to keep them alive for a while.


Random Thoughts

Juan Carlos asked me today if Grandma Sue (Guapo's mom) celebrates Christmas. I told him she did and he told me he's "pretty sure she does Hanukah"

A couple of days ago he told Guapo he's "a little bit American even though I've never lived there, and mostly Venezuelan." (Juan Carlos was born in Caracas)

Finally, I have a picture of me at the carnaval parade. No thanks to the people we were with that only got pics of Guapo-geesh like he's the boss or something. Luckily a friend of mine, whom I didn't even know was going to be there saw me and took this picture. You can't see the entire costume (like the knee-high orange boots), but you can get a better idea.

I kind-of look like an elf, don't you think?

And lastly-here's another shot of Kitty mocking me with her comfort:


Did you know in Spanish (at least in Mexico and Venezuela) you say "Happy Weekend" instead of "have a nice weekend"? Well, now you do. Portugues is closer to English: " a good weekend for you".

Happy weekend to you!

I Want to go Back to Bed Monday

Thanks to all of you for the concern over my "assault". The telephone calls, the emails, the comments-you guys are so nice. I was mostly being a smart alek-yes, the little old lady hit me, but it was more funny than scary. I was a bit shocked, but no post tramautic stress disorder or nightmares. I don't really need counseling. Friday night Guapo and I will be out pounding the pavement again looking for more of Brazil's good eats. :)

My kids started school again today after a week off for Carnaval. That means since December 19th they've only gone to school a week and a half. Now we are in it for the long haul until June when we get to go home (yay!). The house is quite, Pedro's sleeping and the maid has the day off. I love being alone in my house. I just want to curl up in bed with a good book and then take a little-bitty cat nap.

Just like this:

I just don't think people can get that comfortable.

(P.S. Blogger users-is anyone else having problems with the spell check or is it just my computer?)

No Room in the Stable

Kitty loves Christmas.

Remember last year? She loved the Christmas tree.


This year, much to Gaupo's chagrin, we have an artificial tree and Kitty's just not as interested. (Brazil just isn't in to cutting down trees like we are in the States) Here's Julio placing the star on the tree:


Despite the fake tree and lack of fresh pine scent, Kitty's making the most of the holiday season; she's found a new special Christmas place. Here's where I found her this morning:



Cheers!