Cereal boxes are all the rage in our household…..whenever one is emptied it is immediately snatched up and taken to the oh so sacred place……

Only the hands of Elijah can touch this collection.

 

And this one is only Chi’s.

 

Zekey’s collection, well, let’s just call him the little destroyer.  His cereal boxes only lasted at the most, an hour.

 

Kinotos, these are a favorite too.  Elijah and Zekey devour them.  They are the size of a cherry tomato and taste like and orangey lemon.  They are refreshingly tasty.

 

Another favorite is gum.  I usually give it to my kids when I pick them up from school.  Some how this piece ended up on the table with the teeth.  I didn’t even ask, I’m assuming Zekey, but really this could have been any of the boys.  I’m sure one of them wanted to know what it felt like to chew the gum with the fake teeth in their mouth. 

 

 

There are new spaceships built everyday….EVERYDAY.  There is much time spent on this activity, and trading, and arguing, and zooming and saving.

 

www.starfall.com  is also a favorite.  They all three sit there and listen to Malachi read. Or watch Elijah navigate through the alphabet. 

 

Another favorite is eating anything sweet….isn’t that a favorite of most people.   

Malachi made these truffles in school yesterday.  They made them in their English classes….they’ve been doing special activities all week in English classes.   Look real close, the kid has dulce de leche ALL over his face and arms. 

This last weekend the boys and I walked to a park that is at the end of our street.  And what did the boys spend more time playing on than the playground equipment??

Their spaceships, of course.

 And apparently you can eat this fruit.  I’ll figure out the name sometime.  We have one of these trees (that Chi’s in) in our backyard, when some of the boys from the villa were over the other day to play the Wii with Brian, they said that is fruit to eat.  So they went out in the backyard and picked the little yellow fruits off and ate them.  Brian and all my boys liked it.  It’s my turn next…..I’ll let you know what I think. That one Zekey is holding isn’t ripe yet.

 On our walk home we bought some popsicles……here’s all three enjoying them and SHARING them with each other….unprompted by me.  I love it when that happens.

Elijah likes his so much he’s a little cross-eyed. 

And the boy who can’t stand to have tomato sauce from spaghetti or any sauce really on his face, doesn’t ever seem to notice what happens to his face when he eats ice cream.  It is like this EVERY TIME!

And a little sugar-craze.

Then all three rode bikes for awhile….and they all three fell down at the EXACT same time.  But I missed it by less than a second!!!!!  And no one was hurt, those are the best kinds of falls.

 

This one is just for fun….

Which Gornik boy do you think it is??

 

I’m linking up to Adventures in Babywearing a call to action over baby slings.

My babywearing days have been over for about a year now. I didn’t start using a sling until my third little guy was born.  And at first it was out of necessity, Malachi turned three a week after Zekey was born and Elijah was 22 months.  I’d walk pretty much everyday to go fetch our mail at the post office and then for a walk on the boardwalk…..yes, it was as delightful as it sounds.  The two older boys would ride in the double stroller and Zekey would ride in the sling.  The necessity of the sling breeded a LOVE for having my littlest guy so close to me.  I wished I would have used one with the other guys.  When Zekey was 5 months old we moved, and were homeless for awhile…traveling and preparing to move out of the country.  The sling kept him safe during many a shopping trip and church service.  He napped so well in it when we were away from his crib.  And then we moved to another country and used public transportation everywhere, slinging him was the SAFEST place to be.  And then we moved to yet another country and a friend passed down her Ergo baby carrier(with the instructional DVD).  And I LOVED it.  Zekey was about 20 months then and the Ergo was so comfortable for me and more comfortable for him since he was a big 20 month old.  He again was much safer in that than walking hand in hand next to me as we figured out how to live and shop in another country. 

These just so happen to be the ONLY shots I have of Zekey in the sling…ahem….Why didn’t I take more pictures????  And I don’t any shot of him in the Ergo….not one…sniff, sniff. 

 

His little face is covered here to protect him from the sun…..and the weight of his body is resting on my legs.  Yes, he was safe. 

 

My mom and stepdad renewed their wedding vows for their 25th wedding anniversary.  See Zekey’s face peeking out?

 

Whenever we visited anyone’s house, the safest place for him to be was in the sling, not crawling around on the floor!

 

I was catching up with a friend while visiting her church.  And look at my little guy all snuggled up and asleep! 

 

 

If I have more babies, there is no doubt I will wear them, too.

 

P.S.  And many thanks to my good friend Jil who loaned me that sling.  You can find her here.  

This morning while I showered, I put in the movie Beauty and the Beast for the boys to watch for a little bit.  Malachi didn’t want to watch it.  WHAT???  The boy who will sit in front of a tv and watch ANYTHING that is on it.  He said he didn’t like Beauty and the Beast.  Instead he sat on the couch in the playroom, all by himself and read a Spanish book out loud.  

 

Today he went with me to the Hora Feliz and chatted away with the older boys there.  He followed them around, one of them had a new, really cute puppy and a group of boys kept running with that new pup….Malachi included.  He makes himself belong wherever we go.  

 

Tonight he wanted me to read some of Deb’s stories for bedtime, but it was late and they’d had a really long day(while the girls did a craft, some of the boys came over to play the Wii with Brian….and of course, Elijah and Malachi played with them too.)  I told him I would read some of the stories tomorrow.  He came up with the idea that he wanted me to read the stories to him while he eats breakfast.  Then told me I could plug the computer into one of the two plugs by the table so that he can eat his cereal and I can sit at the computer and read to him.  LOL!  This kids always has a plan!

Girl’s night was fun.  I want to do it again.  It was even better that it was a ballet.  This is the first time I’ve seen a classic ballet.  Brian and I saw Romeo and Juliet down here last year.  It was great to see, but much more theatrical.   Of course, originally it isn’t a ballet…..so it was wonderful to watch, but totally lacked technically.  And the very first time I ever went to see any professional ballet was the first year Brian and I were married.  He surprised me with tickets to a ballet in Indy, we even stayed overnight in a hotel.  It was so fun and so sweet of him.  It’s great to have another memory stashed away and I do hope us girls get to do this again.  I mean the tickets cost $25 pesos….that is a little over $5 A TICKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yes, we WILL do this again!  And Swan Lake was magical…..those dancers really were amazing…AMAZING!

So, here are some crazy shots from that night.  I really didn’t want to use the flash, but I finally broke down and used it…once.  :)

no really…I was trying to do some light painting.  :)

 

I missed the shot when they were doing a first position.  :(

 

so stunning……

beautiful….just beautiful!

 

so cute!

she was SO excited!

 

Thanks Deb for taking Ellie to the ballet!  And letting us come too!

 

Things I find myself saying over and over again these days……

 

No roaring at the table.

 

No getting up and running around while eating.

 

Sit on your bottom while eating and no playing with toys while you eat.

 

No calling each other stupid or bad or que malo que sos (the spanish equivalent of calling each other bad).

 

Ignore everyone else while you are doing your work, I know you hear them but try not to interact with them. (to Malachi while doing homework or English work….HOLY COW, it’s not so much distractability as it is that he is an extrovert and wants to be involved with everything that is going on at anytime in the same room he’s in!  Once the room is cleared, he’s FINE!)

 

What do you find yourself repeating these days???????

 

Here’s some shots of Scott’s fun pirate party…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Treasure Hunt!

 

My boys are obsessed with climbing this gate.

 

 

 

This shot was supposed to be a shot of Ellie with teeth too….but instead it’s a pretty picture of her.  I’m not gonna go back and re upload more pictures.  I forgot how dumb xanga can be, where you can’t switch pictures around when they are sideways.  So I’ve already re-uploaded all the other shots that had to be switched around.  Pretty Ellie it is!

 

 The cake Deb made was AWESOME!!!!!

Today started out with our third smashed car window in the last month.  Brian got it fixed and had the car back in less than two hours.  While he was gone, Zekey was refusing to put his shoes on and hit the mirror in our bedroom and broke a corner off.  That boy, that boy.  We then had some fun at Ellie’s birthday party……

    

 

Zekey coloring.

 

 

Em and Ellie painted their nails.

 

She’s 6!!

 

This is what happened outside our place right before leaving for the kite flying at the boy’s school.  Those motorbikes are crazy dangerous here.  Before we moved here, Brian always said he’d drive one of those once we got down here.  Everyone discouraged him from riding the death trap.  This guy was still alive….and just seemed really scraped up.

 

Happy Spring Day at school.  It wasn’t quite a consistent enough of a wind to keep the kites up.  But all the parents and kids kept trying. 

 

 

 

Brian was unknotting Elijah’s string.

 

She’s SO adorable!

 

Ellie flying her kite!

 

The boys and friends chasing some kites.

 

Elijah and Julian

 

Elijah and Javier

 

What a great smile!!

 

It cracked me up how Scott’s hand is hanging on Brian’s back pocket!  They were going to retrieve the pinecone that some kid took from Zekey and then threw it really far away.

 

This is the crown Zekey won at Ellie’s party.  He wore it to the kite day, and then took it off and Chi wore it around for awhile. 

 

 

And tonight, all three boys started swimming lessons.  They’ll be taking them until we leave for the states.  We figured they should know how to swim since our first week in the states will be at an indoor waterpark for a week of vacation.  Malachi and Elijah LOVED it and listened really well.  Zekey cried some, Brian bribed him with candy and ice cream.  He stayed at the edge and dangled his feet in for awhile.  Every time one of the teacher’s talked to him, he’d make a huge pouty face and start the cry.  It was funny, cute and sad….but at the end he got in the pool at the edge.  He said he liked it, we’re hoping for more progress on Thursday.

I’m really trying not to worry too much about the boys’ schooling, but I take it so daggone serious!  I was a teacher for crying out loud…..I’m trying to be okay with it.  And there are more days than not that I’m okay.  So, here are some things they brought home last week.  I like when these notebooks are sent home, it gives me some kind of idea as to what they do for 5 hours. And I take a lot of deep breaths….and more deep breaths.  And remind myself, they really are doing okay. 

Here’s Malachi’s report card…………

MS is very good….in the 90′s and S is good….in the 80′s.

 

This is something they do quite often, there is a little poem in the corner and they have to illustrate it.  I’m assuming it is a way to practice reading and then the picture they draw shows their comprehension of what they’ve read.

 

Here’s some math…..this is about placeholders for the tens and ones……and then at the bottom, adding 3, 4, and 5 numbers together.  Huge numbers…..okay, I’m not gonna think or write too much about it, because I’m already getting annoyed.

 

And he started cursive in September…….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(This is halfway thru first grade people!!!)  Linda McCaman encouraged me by saying at least he has been practicing in class, many times they don’t practice in class!  And we’ll keep practicing manuscript at home and we’ll soon start practicing cursive too.  God help me!  (Am I overreacting?  I started teaching a little bit of cursive at the end of second grade, is that how it still is in the states??)  Christa and I chatted recently about how crazy K-grade is now…..you know, your kid should be fluently reading and expecting kids to write in full sentences!!  I feel that weight on me too.  I’m teaching Chi and Lijah in the morning.  Chi can read English, but we are just starting into long vowels.  He can spell everything we’ve worked on up to this point in the book Phonics Pathways, but he can’t write any complete sentences.  Do you hear my stress??  I’m trying not to pressure myself (or him), but I feel this need for him to be where others his age are in the states. 

 

And here’s Elijah’s work.

This is a poem that he had to illustrate about a rainbow.  At the beginning of the year, most of his drawings didn’t match the poem.  But he seems to be understanding more and his drawings match more.

 

Some cursive handwriting practice in k-grade.  Even though he is STILL learning how to write each letter in the alphabet in manuscript!

 

This is practicing shapes.

 

This is a drawing of a dinosaur.  They spent several weeks talking about them.  I love this drawing!

 

And last but not least, the coloring of mandalas.  It is very popular and common here.  Malachi colored them last year and still does this year too.  Are those common to color in the states?  Or do you see them in art classes at all? 

 

So, they are learning things…and learning it all in another language.  And I keep reminding myself how awesome that is. 

 

I have five pairs of jeans…okay, six…but the sixth pair are work jeans with paint stains and a huge hole in the knee.  I have two that are HUGE on me and fall down even with a belt, they are stashed in the upper levels of my closet.  And then there were three,  two that now have holes in the leg/knee(one that requires a belt ) and of course many loose strings by the hem at the foot.  And until yesterday, I had one pair….that was decent, not much fraying at the bottom, no holes, but then I washed them with new red dish towels, not a very smart choice.  But they are jeans, and I thought they could stand up to red….and now they are pinkish!  PINKISH!!!   SO, one of the things I really look forward to buying when I visit the states are jeans.  I can’t wait….it makes me giddy to think of owning new ones….well, new to me.  The two remaining pairs that fit the best were ebay purchases…Gap Long and Leans.  I’ve already searched ebay for some more, and as we get closer to departure, I’m gonna buy some and send them to a family member who will meet me at the airport with my new jeans…ready to be worn.  I’m so excited!

 

   

These are still my favorite….even with it’s new hole.

 

 

I like it when jeans fray at the bottom….that means they are well-worn and comfortable and stick with me.

And I’ll keep ‘em and still use ‘em….but I’m ready for some new ones…squeaky clean and no tears and fraying.