"Tweat Time"

Our time in DC was so short.  We wanted to see so many friends and we wanted to see so many things but when it came right down to it Shawn had to work.  So we spent our time there actually getting stuff done for our move to Manila.

However we were blessed enough to get together with one family, who we love dearly.  We were in Paraguay together and our kids were good friends.  The Pierces made their way to the hotel on Monday evening, we spent a few hours catching up and then grabbed some dinner before heading to the park to play.  The park is such a wonderful park, on Barton (for those DCers interested) and it kept the kids entertained for hours. 

Eli was constantly getting "lost" at the park.  I even went over and stood right by the play structure to make sure that he would not wander off and get lost with the oh so many people at the park.  But before I knew it he had disappeared. 

I surveyed the park and noticed the ice cream truck stopped in the road with a line around the block.  But if you know my child you know he has no patience; so I found him at the front of the line with his hands out.  Before I could get to him he was running toward me with a "tweat." 

Trying not to shake him for scaring me nearly to death I stomped over to the stroller and grabbed my wallet to pay the ice cream man for the sucker my son had clearly begged off of him.  I stuck my head in the window and said, "Hi, you gave my son a sucker, how much do I owe you?"  He smiled at me and said, "Oh, he gave me a quarter for it. 

Not only was I shocked that Eli had a quarter to give (although he has been keeping "treasures" in his pockets, apparently for this very purpose) but I was even more shocked that he knew what to do with it.  I guess living in a cash economy he has picked up a thing or two. 

So now I know I need to guard my spare change or my 4 year old will be buying suckers from every ice cream vendor he sees. 

Eli's Debut

        On Wednesday we attended a performance of Pinocchio put on by Eli's Preschool, Minigente.  I could not believe how much work the wonderful teachers had put in to put it together.  The story was so cute and each kid was included, but best of all, have you ever seen a 4 year old play Geppetto?  It was stinking funny.  And the more the audience laughed the more he laughed. 
        The show was put on at the Embassy of Argentina.  They have the most beautiful theater that was a perfect set-up for the performance.  The turn out was amazing, it was standing room only (so glad we got there early), but of course it would be in a culture like Paraguay's, where families are so close and so supportive.
       I showed up in levis and quickly realized that I was WAY underdressed.  Many people were dressed in sequins and heals.  But others (the late ones) showed up dressed down so when I was leaving I didn't feel quite so out of place. 



Very Underdressed Eli Supporters

      As for Eli....well he was a riot.  He is very stubborn and because he is speech delayed it often times makes it hard to have a conversation with him.  So when it was almost his turn to go out on the stage he ran out about a third of the way and stopped just looking at the audience.  He smiled while his teachers were whispering, "Eli vení, nesicitamos esperar."  (Eli, come here, we need to wait.)
       He just looked at them and said, "No."  Then continued smiling at the audience.  He was the only one doing anything so all eyes were on him.  He loved it.  I think because he is fair skinned and blond people tend to think he is adorable.  So the audience laughed; and he soaked it up and smiled.  We all knew that if they tried to drag him backstage it would be all down hill from there with kicking and screaming, so they just let him stand there until the music started. 
       Once the music started and his classmates joined him on stage he realized that the music was very loud.  He covered his ears and soon began to cry.  So that was it for Eli.  He spent the rest of the show down in the dressing rooms playing and watching TV (probably where he wanted to be anyway.)  --  The video above shows his cute classmates, but we missed his "performance" in the beginning.
       We got to sit next to our good friends, who I will miss dearly when they leave next month.  Their daughters were wonderful on stage, and did exactly what they were supposed to.



Proud parents and sisters

     


Day One of our Unaccompanied Tour

Well, July 9th came much faster than any of us was ready for.  Our two weeks together was full of doctors appointments, birthday parties and family reunions.  Not to mention those last minute trips to the store to get those last minute needs.  Of course if I had had my way I would have spent every minute relaxing on a beach somewhere with the hubby and kids.  But that is never what our last few days before he leaves are like. 

The morning he left he made sure to give the kids their school year blessing, and when it was my turn and the tear started running down my face, Eli crawled up on my lap and said, "What wrong?" while prying my eyes open so I could seen him.  That little one is going to be the light that keeps us all laughing. 

Emma, Eli and I took the hubby to the airport.  We were running a tad late and the security line was forever long so what is usually a 30 minute hug at the airport turned into a total parking time of 17 minutes.  Isaac decided that he could not bear to send his daddy off at the airport one more time so he said his good byes at home.  It was hard for me to leave him behind with my mom, knowing that he was going to go through that good bye pain alone, but I had to respect that he was figuring out how to deal with the stress for himself. 


The airport brought many tears and dreams about Christmas.

Saying good-bye is hard, but it was even harder to watch my children say good-bye to their dad, and watching my husband say good-bye to his kids.  None of this is fair, but we will make the best of it and try to make some memories along the way. 

Update....don't expect me to stay ontop of this

So I know it has been forever since I blogged.  I think once you get behind the idea of catching up is just so overwhelming that you keep putting it off, longer and longer.  Fortunately now I have another think  I want to put off more than blogging, homework.  Yes, I have gone back to school to get my masters in Applied Behavioral Analysis with Arizona State.  I’m super excited about being back in school, but very overwhelmed and even more stressed about managing my family, and vacations during this year and a half I’ll be back in school. 

Since we all know that there is no way I’m going to post for everything we have done over the last 6 months or so, I’ll just give you a quick rundown.

In September Shawn and I went to Bogota.  While he worked I hung out at the pool and checked out the city.  On the weekend we hit a couple of museums and hired a taxi to take us out to the Salt Cathedral.  It was beautiful and we are super glad we went. 

Isaac started Kung-Fu and after 6 months earned his yellow belt.  He loved it, but decided this semester to participate in the elementary school play.  He has been cast as the Mayor in Seussical the Musical. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rapunzel

Emma participated in the play this fall and was cast at Rapunzel in Into the Woods.  She made a beautiful Rapunzel, and I must say although she did not share the same feelings I was relieved that she did not have a huge part like last year.  I’m sure next year she will be very specific as to what she wants to play. 

Through a ton of hard work, Emma has been on the Principal’s honor all year long.  She was also one of only three students recognized for having outstanding conduct in the whole middle school.

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years, partaking in some of the local traditions.  One of which is celebrating with fireworks at midnight.  We did NOT set off any of the fireworks (mostly for fear of setting off fireworks made in Paraguay).  

Emma is the Angel in the Ward Christmas Party



Eli at the Embassy Christmas Party

In January we took a trip to Puerto Madryn, Argentina.  We did so because Isaac had stated when moving to Paraguay that he would like to go to the Amazon and see the Penguins. 

The Amazon didn’t seem possible this year, so we hit the penguins.  It was awesome, we say a penguin colony of over half a million penguins, and went swimming with sea lions in the wild.  On our way home we stopped at a zoo near Buenos Aires and got to pet lions, tigers, and many other animals. 

Since returning home Shawn headed to D.C. for high treat training before taking off to Afghanistan while the kids and I were stuck at home for 5 weeks without him.  We are grateful he has returned home to the heat for family time before leaving for Afghanistan. 

Eli started preschool in February, it is a little early for him, but I decided the extra Spanish and kid time will do him some good before we take off next year. 

 

 

Potty Training - Post 1

I named this post Potty Training - Post 1 because I have a feeling I will have several posts to share.  I remind you I blog for my family who misses us dearly so if you have no desire to read potty stories, please don't feel obligated.

So a few weeks ago I bought Eli a new potty.  He likes it well enough.  He would carry it all over the house if I would let him.  And with the older kids I did allow it.  But that was when I was in control.  Now we have a nanny, and I can't explain to her why it is alright for him to carry it all over the house now, but when he actually starts using it, it MUST stay in the bathroom.  So for Eli, the potty stays in the bathroom. 

Anyway, we aren't really potty training as of yet.  Just letting him get used to it.  He sits on it every morning and if I'm going to be in the bathroom for an extended period of time.  But he has not really shown enough interest for me to put my heart and soul into it yet.  But this morning we NEARLY had a break through.  While he was sitting on the potty he felt the urge to pee.  So he promptly stood up and peed on the floor in front of his potty. 

Well...at least now he knows was pee-pee is. 

4th of July in Asuncion

     Sorry this post is not coming to you until 6 weeks after the 4th of July.  I can blame some of it on family fun, and getting ready for back to school; but some of it just boils down to being lazy.    

     So I think the best way to tell you about the party is just to show you how much fun we had.  This was our first 4th of July overseas as a family and I didn't know what to expect.  It was a lot of fun.  However the party for families actually occurred on June 30th.   

Friend Fun

Balloons

Food

Family Fun

Statue of Liberty

Egg Toss

Long lines for bouncy slides

Soccer (futbol)

Cheaters in the 3 legged race

Super Cute Babies

Dancing

Music

Cartoon Artists

Tug-o-war

Still got it!

Egg Toss

Prizes (we had 7 tickets and won 3 prizes!)

Uncle Sam

      



  




Best of All FAMILY!!!

 The following pictures are pictures from the actual 4th of July.  There was a more formal party at the Ambassador's residence later in the day that I do not have pictures of, but was a very nice event.  I was an interesting event as the change (ousting of the last president) of political power had just occurred (a week or so ago) here in Paraguay and the Embassy didn't know if they should expect the old administration, the new administration, some of each or none at all.  I'm going to say it was a success, although my Spanish leaves something to be desired so I could have missed something.  But I enjoyed myself and they had peanut butter cookies.  What else could a girl ask for?

Marines with the flag

Raising the flag



Star Spangled Banner

Ambassador speaking