Things I Do Now that I Didn't Do Three Months Ago

• make pizza sauce from scratch
• buy (and actually use) fresh herbs from the grocery store
• spend several hundred dollars a month on amazon.com
• patiently wait 2-3 weeks for my Amazon order to arrive
• have a stock pile of breakfast cereal just in case there in an emergency
• buy meat from the butcher (IN SPANISH)
• buy fruit by the kilo
• pay the bag boy to walk my groceries home for me
• Sit through 3 hours of church I don't understand
• beg my English speaking friends to go to lunch with me
• wear shoes all the time (in the states I would rather be shoeless)
• have clean sheets twice a week
• hand wash dishes (sometimes it is just easier)
• check facebook 15 times a day (okay sometimes I did that before moving here)
• talk to the baby first in English then in Spanish (because he won't point and laugh)
• invite the missionaries over once a week
• smile when I hear my kids speaking Spanish
• stand in the grocery store and convert currency in my head
• look out my window when I hear clapping (there might be someone at the door)
• usually have about 3 dozen eggs in my fridge (they come in packs of 30 or 60)
• buy eggs warm off the shelf
• buy milk in one liter bags that then are frozen and stored; we defrost 4 liters at a time 1 whole liter for Eli and 2 skims and a whole for everyone who is not Eli
• try to teach people how to say my kids' names (for some reason Eli is the hardest one)
• schedule all of my (and my kids) Dr. appointments around the few weeks I will be in the states
• use our awesome bbq at least once a weekend
• eat coconut cookies; because they are good!
• drink yogurt, because there is no other kind
• use a prepaid phone plan because it is cheaper
• force my kids to try junk food because we are in a new place and we try new things
• hide my underwear so the maid will not wash them when she is here
• buy coke in returnable bottles
• constantly check to make sure the baby is not playing with roach traps
• or roaches --- yes, gross, I know

I'm sure there will be many more. 

I guess things could be worse I could be living in Ouagadougou!  hehehehehe---Yes Sheryl, I do think I am funny!

~

I Love My Maid!

So I have recently discovered the beauty of taking my maid to the grocery store.  As you know my Spanish sucks, but I know enough to communicate with someone who is patient and willing to sometimes play a guessing game with me, as my maid is.  So while at the store yesterday we went to get veggies, bread and meat.  All of these places require you to communicate with the staff because it has to be weighed and tagged before check out.  At each place I talk as much as I can and then when I get lost I will tell her what I want/need and she will translate my crappy Spanish into good Spanish.

 I have gotten so comfortable with her that when I was a the back of the line and the check out girl was yelling to me to do something I turned to Rocio (my wonderful chica) and said, "Does she want us to move?"  And it took me a minute to realize it was not my crappy Spanish that was the reason for her confused look, it was because I was talking to her in English. 

I pray by the time I leave here, conversation IN SPANISH will come easily, but for now I'm so grateful I have Rocio. 

Gotta Love School in South America!

School is a different animal here.  Please see the following email from the school.  Note that in bullet point number 2 we are asked to make sure our kids get "a good night sleep," yet in bullet point number 1 we are invited to an event that will keep our kids up until 9:30 if you are quick to get home.

Tuesday, May 24          Elementary School Art Fair 7:30-8:30 p.m. in the MPR.  Please join us in celebrating the art work created by our students.

·        May 23-26               MAP Testing continues for grades 3-6.  Please make sure your child has a good breakfast, gets a good night?s rest and gets to school on time.

·        Friday, May 27       May Break?No School    

·        Monday, May 30   Fifth Grade Parent Meeting at 8:00 a.m. in the MPR regarding  Tierra Nuestra.

·        June 1-2                    Elementary School Musical, Mulan 7:00p.m. at the Alianza Francesa Theater on Mcal. Estigarribia 1039.  Tickets are on sale now at the PTA office for G.15, 000.

·        Friday, June 3         Field Day Students should wear comfortable clothes and tennis shoes.  Dismissal will be at 12:00 p.m.

How Do You Say Scorpion in Spanish???

So I am only blogging this because I was telling my sister what dorks my husband and I are she insisted I share it with you all.

The other day my hubby went out to shut off the pool filter and saw a scorpion.  He came in the house and promptly tried to tell our maid to make sure the kids wear shoes outside and to keep their eyes open for.....  how do you say this in spanish??? 

SIDENOTE:  We have tried really hard not to be those people that think if you say something sssslllllooooowwwwwllllllyyyyy in English with that look like you should know what I'm saying that the person will understand us.

So please imagine my husband walking around with his hands pretending to be pinchers, trying to do a funny scorpion walk.  And right behind him I am walking around with a finger pretending to be a stinger saying, "buzzt, buzzt."  And then it hits her she understands!!!!

Es un escorpión.  

Next time I'll try slow english first. 

Happy 200th Birthday Paraguay!

This last Saturday Paraguay celebrated its 200 birthday.  They had a big (this term is being used loosely) parade downtown where many countries came to celebrate the day with Paraguay.  After seeing all of these groups we wished we had just gone and watched because it looked so amazing (and I would really have rathered my kids not see some of the costumes so up close and personl.) 

But participate we did and although it was a long day it was one for the memory books. What was funny is once the parade actually started we walked for about a block and a half and then it was over. So although there were many participants and many countries were represented, the crowd all fit in that tiny block and a half.

 The kids with Uncle Sam.  (I think that is who it is.)  Isaac was super excited to participate. 











 

                 He did eventually cheer up.  Maybe that is because they gave him a balloon and cookies. 

                                                                An attempt at a group shot. 

                                                              The three 5th graders walking.

             Right before we started walking I was yelled at because I was not walking between the lines.  So this is me staying between the yellow lines. 

                           This is the kids' spanish teacher with someone from the Taiwan group. 

                                                          And here we are all done. 

So far one of my favorite things about being here has been seeing the patriotic spirit of the citizens as they have prepared for this day.  The city is covered in red, white and blue.  Stores have put up balloons and banners, and mannequins are dressed in red, white and blue.  I am so glad we didn't miss this.

Eli Turns One

I have to say I was dreading Eli's first birthday.  In our family 1st birthdays are a big deal and we usually have a big family party.  Cake, singing, presents, the works.  I knew that Eli's birthday was going to be different and that made me really sad. 

We have only been here a couple of weeks so although I came prepared with a few birthday decorations and a cake mix, presents had not arrived (with the excetion of my mothers... she is so on top of things).  We have all been feeling VERY under the weather and it just didn't seem like a birthday.

The kids however did make the best of the day.  We put up what decorations we had and spent the afternoon making the cakes.  Everyone did their best to make Eli's day special for Eli. 

Emma and I worked on baking the cakes and then I turned over the frosting and sprinkels to the kids and they each decorated one cake.  I think this has become their favorite part of the birthday tradition.  I used to order cakes because it was a "special" event.  But they love decorating so much it makes the day that much more special.   

The picture below is of my mother on the phone singing to the birthday boy.  She was such a trooper it took him almost an hour to eat (and decide he couldn't eat any more) cake and she was on the phone for the whole of it.  I wish we would have throught a head and brought our camera so we could have skyped. 

This is how all of the cake was eaten:  a big handful and then shoving as much of it into his mouth as possible.  It will probably not surprise you that a good portion of the cake ended up on his lap. 

 How do you not love that smile???

When he was done eating he began just playing and throwing it everywhere.  Emma called it the Splash Zone.  He had a blast!

 

Eli offered many times to share his cake with everyone else.  He is such a great sharerer.  We however refused. 

 I could not decide which of the following pictures was better so you get both.  I have them as the background on my tv so everytime I turn it on I laugh. 

Last but not least I would like to take a moment to remember my father-in-law.  He died 14 years ago on this (April 8th) day.  It has always been a difficult day for our family, but last year on this day our little angel came 2 weeks early to change all that.  I like to think it was Paul's doing; reminding us that he lives on through our children (and believe me the genes are strong).  I believe Eli still gets to talk and play with him all the time and knows him well.  I didn't know him very long but I know he is a great man.  I am thankful for his love and example to my husband.  I am grateful for the home my husband was raised in with strong roots and abounding love that surrounded him.  I hope we can/are providing that environment to our children.  You are missed Paul!  We love you!

Things That Make You Go, Hmmmmm

For security reasons I can't post pictures of our house.  However there are a few things about it that I think are funny enough  to share with you. 

Every single door and closet in the house comes with these keys.  If you want the closet to stay shut you need to lock it.  So all over the house we have keys sticking out of doors.  On day number 2 Emma thought it would be funny to lock Isaac into his room, and then she couldn't get him out.  Of course it was somehow his fault.  

It is hard to tell but this nob is right up against the shower door and does not turn anything on or off.  It appears to be there so we can wonder why it is there. 

I know, this seems like a perfectly normal picture of the front porch light.  However you will find it in my living room.

No comment needed. 

Yes, my washer and dryer are in two totally different rooms.

This is newly laid sod.  It appears to be crab grass.  Our tax dollars at work. 

This is how the trash is collected.  These little bins sit out infront of each house and you take your trash out to it.  They come once or twice a week (no specified day) to collect.  So people just have trash out in front of their house all week long.  

We couldn't open a couple of the doors in the house.  They told us that if we looked in the office we would find the "extra" keys and see if they work.  This is what we found.  60+ keys and hours spent trying to get them to match and the lock smith still had to come out. 

This is our front door.  It is hard to see but you can look through the lock and see right through to the street. 

Nintendo DS fun for the whole family. 

Hope you got a chuckle.  More later.