unamamaloca

Friends

2011-01-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

We had a beautiful little heat wave in early October which prompted a last minute girls getaway. This is what 3 girls bring to a houseboat for 2 nights.

We talked for 48 hours straight. Okay, maybe we stopped to sleep, but that is it. It was so good. We talked about everything under the sun. These girls are the type of girls you can go really deep with, nothing is off limits.

I am so blessed and thankful for such wonderful friendships in my life.

Love you gals!

Kids making a difference

2011-01-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

Poor abandoned blog, once again I am going to try to resurrect you!

Here's some old news, but things I have wanted to share here for some time.

The last post was about The Adventure Project. I was able to bring the project into our elementary school and share it with Genevieve's 3rd grade class. I made a slide show and spoke with the students about the devastation in Haiti. We talked about the living conditions there and how smoke from open fires were hurting, even killing people. We also talked about how $20 (for a stove) could change someone's life. We talked about how the cost of DS game could save someones life. Then we talked about sacrifices. Would they be willing to give up a Christmas gift if it could save someone's life?

They got it. It was amazing to see them get it.

They were on board with raising money to buy stoves for The Adventure Project. We sold coal ornaments for $10/each raising $1,000! Here's how they did it.

So so so proud of the students (and Zeke too!)

Ready for some AdVenture in my life

2010-11-25T22:19:00.000-08:00

Go HERE for some AdVenture for yourself.

It's time =(

2010-07-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

Our last day =(

We had the rental car for our last full day in Samara before driving ourselves to the airport the next day. Luke had made an acquaintance in town who hooked us up with somebody else who led us to a semi-private beach. It was a a beautiful (albeit muddy) hike to get to it, but worth it.

This little parade filled with ox carts came through the center of town in the afternoon. I tried asking the significance, but I'm still not sure why it happens. Apparently it is an annual event though.

One last ice cream at Coco's. Can you imagine a more perfect setting for an ice cream shop? Nothing better than enjoying a scoop under a thatched umbrella and log stools.

We took a drive through through Playa Carillo and beyond. We found the monkeys in the same spot we saw them before, only more of them this time. They were really fun to watch in their natural environment.

The Last Supper.
We had pizza at our friend Daniela's boyfriends restaurant. Super yummy pizza that I wish we had discovered earlier. A cRaZy storm came in while we were there and the water was coming in through the roof like mad (you can see how wet the ground is around us). It was literally pouring in sheets all around where we sat. I was getting splashed a bit, but it was refreshing.

What I will miss

2010-07-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

It's actually been raining here ALL DAY. I'm not gonna miss that.

What I will miss are these little restaurants on the beach. I love grabbing lunch or dinner with my toes in the sand. The kids have the freedom to play while we wait on food, which makes eating out sooo much easier than regular restaurants. And the view can't be beat!

Before and After

2010-07-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

BEFORE

AFTER

After I watched my child dangling in the air by his ankle as my husband held on for dear life to his bucking spooked horse.

I wish I was lying.

I don't have the best track record with horses. Unfortunately I have a growing list of bad experiences on rented horses, but I keep trying (what's that saying about getting back on the horse?) Part of it is not giving into my own fear, and part of it is not putting my fears on my kids.

I have been watching these horses every day for almost 6 weeks. I didn't see one sketchy event in all that time, so when the kids asked if we could ride, I felt pretty good about it.

Right away my fears were back when my horse was acting a little skittish. Still, I was glad I was on the sketchy horse since my 3 kids were on the other horses. Once we got a ways down the beach my horse calmed down and seemed to mellow out.

The guide was going to send us on our own, but decided to walk with us when my horse was acting up. I was glad. Another guide rode with us until my horse calmed down, then he turned to head back to his spot on the beach. I called back and asked him to stay with us. He obliged and I'm glad I did.

We got to the far end of the beach and made the turn around. The guide said this would be a good time for pictures as the horses were relaxed. So we took a couple pictures and headed back. Just a couple minutes later and I hear a commotion behind me. I turn back and see Luke's horse going bizerk, bucking and spinning in circles and going down on one leg. Luke is holding the reins with one hand and holding Zeke (who is flying through the air) with his other hand. Luke is being thrown like a rag doll and Zeke is flung around upside down as Luke holds on to his leg. His grip was slipping and it appeared like he only had him by his swimsuit which he was slipping out of. I was helpless on my horse, and couldn't react fast enough. The guide on the horse rode around to catch Zeke, but he was too low to the ground and he couldn't reach him. One of the reins in Luke's hand breaks, throwing Luke off the horse the opposite side of Zeke, and Zeke who is now close to the ground, is dropped. The guide who was walking the horses runs and rescues Zeke before the horse steps on him or kicks him, and Luke scrambles out of the way before getting hurt (he did feel the horses hoof graze him).

Luke was getting his berrings while the guide was holding Zeke as if it was his own child. He had the bear grip on him and was comforting him. I, of course, was crying and processing what had just happened. G & D were nervous about the horses they were sitting on. The guide was apologizing over and over and kept saying he needed a double scotch. You could tell he felt really bad.

Luke, Zeke and I walked back, while G & D rode their horses which were on a lead. The other guide led our horses back.

I have had a pit in my stomach replaying what happened in my head over and over. So thankful everyone is okay, but also can't help the "what ifs" from entering my head.

I'm so glad Zeke is young enough he will not likely remember this event. I'm also glad that G & D did not totally freak out (like I did). While it was scary to watch, I don't think they realized how dangerous the situation really was.

Of all the things you think that can go wrong traveling with kids in a 3rd world country, being trampled by a horse didn't cross my radar.

And by the way. I think I'm done with horses for a while. Maybe forever.

Daddy rides the waves

2010-07-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

We were trying to figure out the last time Luke surfed. We couldn't remember...that's how long it's been.

But it looks like he's still got it!

A vacation day

2010-07-13T22:43:00.000-07:00

For the most part, while our time in CR has been fun, it hasn't exactly been like a vacation. I have tried to cook a lot of our meals, walk instead of take taxi's, and just be frugal in general. But now that we are in our last week (boo hoo) and Luke is back (yay!), we are "vacationing" a bit.

Today we went to Hotel Leyenda. It is located on the outskirts of Carillo, and is a little bit isolated. Because of this they offer free shuttle transfers for parties of 4 or more. They came and picked us up from our villa and brought us back.

Once there, we were able to enjoy the large pool....

Have what Luke deemed the best guacamole he's ever had (it had hard boiled egg in it)

Order too much delicious food (at really reasonable prices)

Play fuzball (sp?), ping-pong, and pool.

Zeke enjoyed the playground

And we adopted a little tica. =)

Okay, not really.

Actually this little girl was playing with my kids and just plopped herself right beside me for the family picture.

She's pretty cute though!

Of course the other picture (with the bonus child) was better

We just made a day of it and it was really fun. There were a few tico families vacationing there and our kids all played together. G is doing great with her spanish. She seems really comfortable when talking with other kids.

Dane is still taking in the spanish, but still manages to play fine with the ticos. He slipped and fell on the wet tile today, knocking his 2 top front teeth loose, and chipping the one next to them. Looks like he might be losing them early.

Zeke pooped 6 (or was it 7?) times today. Not once in the toilet. We'll just leave it at that.

The days are ticking away and I don't know how I'm going to say goodbye to this place.

A little of this, and a little of that

2010-07-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday.

We started off the morning watching a surf competition.

Zeke has been fascinated with the "caballos" on the beach since we got here. He finally decided he wanted to sit on one. Don't let this picture fool you. He loved sitting on the horse, he did not love having his picture taken.

The kids enjoyed going to a birthday party of one of their friends from school.

They played games like musical chairs, jump rope, hot potato (with a futbol)...

cracked open a piñata

Genevieve & Dane with Dario - the birthday boy.

Right after the party we went home to find that daddy had just arrived! He braved the local busses and saved about $90 getting here. I think Dane's face says it all.

Today was a leisure day of beach, pool, eating, repeat. I was happy to share the parenting duties privileges once again.

Tonight there was so much rain the streets were literally flooded. The gutters had white water rapids. We walked home with water above our ankles in some parts. Ahhhhh the joys of the rainy season.

7-9 hours

2010-07-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

That's how much longer until Luke gets here!!!!! Can I get a woo-hoo and an amen????

Another rainy day in paradise

2010-07-07T23:10:00.000-07:00

It has pretty much been raining for 2 days straight.

Yesterday, I took the kids to the neighboring village of El Torito where CREAR was putting on a day camp this week. The kids did crafts and stuff. One of the volunteers was a mom from Florida, and she is here with her 2 sons about G & D's ages. She is putting on a computer class for the local kids (through CREAR), and invited us to join them that afternoon.

Today we met with them again. The kids swam at the beach in the rain, then swam in the pool in the rain, then had lunch and ice cream at Coco's in a torrential downpour.

At Coco's we were spotted by a friend of a friend from Pleasanton. We had e-mailed one another once we found out each other was here, and had planned to get together but hadn't yet. Keira recognized us from this here blog and came up to say hi. We got to talking and found out her host brother was in Dane's class in school, and was in the computer class with the kids the day before (there were only 2 ticos in the class). This town is so stinkin small!

I finished off the day with getting asked out on a date. I had gotten the kids settled to watch a show before bed and ran to the store with my giant umbrella (just 2 doors down) to pick up a few groceries for the morning. One of the tico surfers I have seen around town stopped me and started talking in a spanish. When I asked him "que?" he reverted to broken english and started describing some pasta dish with a red cream sauce. I had no idea where this was going until he said he would like to make it for me, and would I join him for dinner. Ha! I then had to tell him that I was married, to which he looked surprised. He apologized, said he hoped he didn't offend, but then asked for a hug. I politely declined and put my hand out for a handshake. It was about that time I caught the big whiff of alcohol wafting from him. Nice.

So the crazy thing is, EVERYBODY in this town has seen me traipsing around with 3 kids. How is that not a deterrent? I don't know. But in hindsight I wish I had accepted the offer....and then shown up with 3 kids!

A free dinner is a free dinner, right?

PS - The kids got invited to a birthday party this coming Saturday. They are pretty excited. =)

A little bit of Sámara....

2010-07-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

This is on my walk back from Zeke's preschool. I think it's about a mile (that feels like 5) from door to door. Some days I walk to take him and pick him up. Some days I feel like I am going to pass out from the heat & humidity on this mile walk, especially when pushing the 30 lbs in the stroller.

And this is Zeke's favorite spot to stop and look at the crabs down below. You know, right at the edge of the rusty rebar and broken chain link fence.

This is the long hot stretch of the walk. One day we saw a monkey in the trees on the right.

The Catholic Church. I have yet to see anybody coming or going from it. But I have never been over there on a Sunday.

The town's soccer field. I have not seen anybody on this field. It's pretty wet and muddy. I'm thinking they don't use it during the rainy season. We do see informal games going on at the beach when the tide it out.

The view of the main drag with the beach at the end. It looks like a pretty good hill, but it's not much of an incline at all.

Dr Freddy's medical office. Knock on wood we have not had to go there (yet).

Here is one of the two pharmacies in town. I have been in there plenty. This is the place to go for anything you would pick up at Longs or Walgreens.

And here's the butcher. You'll thank me for no indoor pictures. Actually it's not that bad. I've seen worse. Much worse. In fact, I thought I was going to vomit at the one in Kenya.

And here is the "big" supermarket.

The food is on the bottom level, and the top level has non-food items (bed nets, clothes, and other random things).

It is not unusual to find outdated food, moldy bread, ants crawling on everything, and stray dogs and cats wandering the isles

Last Day of School

2010-07-03T22:57:00.000-07:00

Costa Rica has a 2 week mid-year break, so it was the last day of school yesterday.

Genevieve and Dane's school had lot's of festivities with face-painting, music, dancing, and treats.

Zeke's school had a little performance in the evening

Here he is with his teachers: Miss Hazel, Miss Nicole, Miss Laura, & Miss Katia

bummed

2010-07-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

Took a ton of pictures today, but can't find my card reader to get the pics from my camera to my computer.
Will look for it in the morning when I'm less creeped out by finding creepy crawlies under the furniture.

Today was the kids last day of school. They had lot's of fun (as the pictures would show).

Yay for tomorrow and NOT having to get the kids out the door by 6:55am.

Hoping and praying for a sunny day all day. Give me the beach!

Luke will be back 1 week form tomorrow =)

Only 17 days left in beautiful Sámara =(. It's starting to feel like home.

Please let the kids sleep in tomorrow!

Buenos Noches!

Alarm Clock

2010-07-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

Know what my alarm clock was this morning?

The feeling of something munching on my inner bicep. I brushed my arm and felt something. I opened my eyes to see a giant ant having a flesh breakfast. I swear I felt it's huge fang teeth sink into my skin.

The one thing I won't miss about Costa Rica? Hands down, the bugs. And the geckos. I'm over the ants all over the counters. The ant trails on the bedroom walls and occasionally across the bed. All the unidentifiable bugs that I find inside the villa everyday. I'm obviously over the mosquitos. They are my nemesis.

I love it here. But I am over the bugs.

Playing hookie

2010-06-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

No pictures tonight. Did I mention that my point & shoot camera broke right when we got here? So I have to lug around my big camera, and it's kinda heavy and hard to be discreet. So it doesn't get taken out every day. I'm kinda bummed because I have missed some great shots.

The kids were sleeping like the dead when I got the wake up call this morning (at 5:55am thankyouverymuch), so I decided to just go ahead and let them sleep. Secretly, I wanted a little more sleep too. And if there was ever an excuse to play hookie, I think living across the street from the beach in Costa Rica is a darn good one.

We went back to the surf school, because once you take a lesson you get to use the board for a full week for free. I really didn't think the kids would have any luck catching waves without and instructor, but I decided to humor them. The kids took their boards out, and I went out there to help them. Because they are on hard boards they really need to stay away from each other, so I could only help one. I went to help Dane first when I look over and realize that Genevieve went out and caught the first wave she tried. I continued to help Dane (who was also catching waves with my help) and Genevieve was catching wave after wave. I helped Dane for about 45 minutes until he got popped on the cheekbone with his board and was done. Genevieve stayed out there for a good hour and a half to 2 hours surfing. She is really hooked.

We got a little too much sun today. I forgot to reapply the sunblock. I really haven't had to before this point because the rain usually comes in before we are able to get too much sun.

This afternoon the owner of the villas came and got us because he knew the kids have been wanting to see monkeys and there were some outside his house. It was a short drive away and the kids loved it. Zeke came back imitating them "hoo hoo aah haa".

What else, what else.

Still getting eaten alive by the skeeters. Just me and Dane for the most part. The itching is driving me crazy.

Still loving it here.

Goodnight!

My baby is 3

2010-06-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

Zeke had the little celebration at his preschool on Friday, so we decided to make his real birthday a family party. Honestly, I couldn't handle the stress of trying to get food and people to another party, and I think this was more Zeke's style.

Here he is modeling the shirt I made for him. He's a pretty cute 3 year old if I do say so myself.

This is a Family picture. Luke was video-chatting with us so he could be a part of the "party".

We got him a little bug catcher kit, as we thought he could really find some good ones here in Costa Rica. He loved it.

Thanks you Uncle Brian, Aunt Lisa & Jake for the puzzle book. He already played with it tonight.

It was a mellow but good day. Not one tantrum. Yay for me =)

Happy Birthday to my baby. I love you more than you'll ever know!

Hang 10

2010-06-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

Didier was a great instructor

and the wipe-outs

They both had fun, but Genevieve was hooked! She is anxious to get out there again!

10 minutes

2010-06-27T00:35:00.000-07:00

That's about all we got for beach time today. 10 minutes.

I was so looking forward to a lazy day at the beach this Saturday.

But it rained.

And rained.

And rained some more.

But I managed to snap this picture in those 10 minutes.

This is in front of C&C's Surf School, which is right across the road from where we are living. This is the spot on the beach where we usually hang out. If the weather holds out tomorrow, G & D are supposed to take surf lessons. Dane is still unsure about it. He's a little nervous about being out where he can't touch the bottom. We'll see.

We went out to dinner tonight just to get out of the villas. We went to Coco's and had the "typical" dish or "casados" - rice, beans, meat, fried plantains, salad, and an order of fajitas. The food was really good. Genevieve (our pickiest eater) has been trying new foods. She is doing pretty well here because she like rice and meat. The boys are hit & miss. Last night we went to Jardin Marino, a "soda" on the main street. I ordered a cheesburger and casados. The 4 of us can share 2 dishes with food leftover. Our meals were good there too. I think the kids favorite thing was the talking parrot at the restaurant (and counting the geckos - but that's everywhere we go!)

Tomorrow is Zeke's birthday. I will consider it a success if we don't have any tantrums or major meltdowns. Wishful thinking? I baked another batch of toaster oven cupcakes. I think these ones turned out much better. I think I'm getting the hang of this toaster oven baking ;) .

School celebrations

2010-06-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

I took cupcakes to Zeke's preschool (his birthday is on Sunday).

Don't let the picture fool you. He had a total meltdown, didn't blow out his candle or eat a cupcake.
I can't begin to explain why. Such is life with Zeke.

I guess he was hot

2010-06-25T23:45:00.000-07:00

***This was from a few days ago, just haven't had time to post it.

La fiesta de cumpleaños

2010-06-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

I am beat.

Today is Genevieve's birthday. Did you know that 8 year olds have high expectations for their birthdays? I thought we were going to have a simple little celebration. Unfortunately nothing is simple or easy here (at least for this gringa).

The party prep. I purchased and modified some invitations I found in town. The selection was pitiful, but we made it work. We only needed 4 invites, which we handed out just 2 days ago =)

Genevieve invited 2 sets of siblings from school (one Amercian, and one Tico). We also verbally invited a couple families staying at our villas, and Annie, a language student we sat next to on the plane ride here (& whom we see almost everyday). We had the potential to have no one show up, or upwards of 18 people.

Last night I made batches of cupcakes in a toaster oven. I made mini cupcakes to take to G's class, and big cupcakes for her after school party. They turned out so-so, but a toaster oven is not an ideal baking unit.

I spent the morning taking Zeke to school, going to the bank, ordering the (4) pizzas to be delivered, frosting cupcakes, buying ice cream, taking the cupcakes to G's class, cutting up fruit, decorating the big patio, and picking Zeke up from school. I was in a full blown sweat before the party even started.

The party was to start at 11:30.

At 11:25 the heavens opened up and it began raining, and thundering. At the same time we were invaded by a large group of old, speedo-wearing Europeans.

Don't believe me?

By 12:00 the rain was coming down, and we only had 2 kids at the party (the Americans), and no pizza yet.

I'm not gonna lie. It was a pitiful "party". I felt bad for Genevieve. I felt bad for me and all my sweaty effort. And the gigantic bowl of fruit I prepared, and the 4 pizzas that were getting delivered.

By 12:10 I decided to walk to the friends house that didn't show up. When I got there the kids were just goofing off, and the mom explained to me she thought the party was tomorrow. I explained (in my horrible spanish) it was today, and in fact NOW, and brought the kids back with me. By the time we got back the rain had subsided, and the speedo-wearing Europeans were getting out of the pool.

Things were looking up!

(Genevieve & her friend Tiana have matching swimsuits by pure coincidence)

I went to the front desk to ask if they could call the pizza place to find out where our pizzas were. That is when I was informed they don't actually deliver. My pizzas were sitting there waiting to be picked up. Now, I know my spanish is no bueno. But on Tuesday I asked them if they delivered, and they said yes. This morning I confirmed again that they would bring the pizzas to me. I wrote down the name of our complex. She nodded and said "si".

Here I now had a pool of 7 kids, and no way to get the pizzas. Daniella (the receptionist) offered to call a taxi to pick up and bring me the waiting pizzas.

One of the families staying at the villas showed up and joined in. Annie ended up popping by for a quick visit (with a sweet gift of goggles). The rest of the party went well (except for Zeke who was a royal stinker the whole time. Did I mention he peed his pants?....on my lap).

Minus me having to go get the guests, and the pizza delivery fiasco, it was just like a party in the US! (ha ha ha)

We gave out little bundles of sparkly pencils and pixie sticks for party favors, and Genevieve declared it a great birthday.

Mission accomplished.

And a few more pics for good measure.

I am beat.

Adios Papa!

2010-06-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Father's Day early since we would not all be together on the real Father's Day.

Can I just take a second to tell you how great my husband is?

First of all, he entertains my cRaZy ideas =) And he even helps to bring them to fruition!

He is an amazing dad. So much more so than I ever imagined. He never needs a "break" from the kids unlike yours truly. He is always up for an adventure with them.

The kids were already missing him before he left Costa Rica. I kept catching little snippets of conversations between them about how much they wanted daddy to stay.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my best friend.

I love you and MISS YOU!

Playa Carrillo

2010-06-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Sunday before Luke left (yes, 9 days ago, I'm a little behind!) we spent a few hours at Playa Carillo which is the next beach over. We took the bus for the 10 minute ride. The beach is secluded with the town up the hill.

And this is what happens when a 2 year old meets a hammock. Actually the cut looked much worse in person, but it's healing fine. I was not looking forward to a visit to Dr Freddy already.

Still alive!

2010-06-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law checked in with me this morning pointing out that I hadn't posted in a few days. We are in fact alive and well. I've been waiting to post after I uploaded my pictures, and I haven't done that because my photo system is a royal pain. Also, I've been tired in the evenings, and more in the mood for reading than writing.

Luke left for home this morning and it's been an adjustment. We had gotten into a a bit of a groove, a routine, and I felt a little lost today.

This afternoon we had some visitors, which was a nice distraction from my melancholy state of mind. I have been corresponding with a guy I initially "met" on the tripadvisor.com forum for Samara. He and his wife have lived here for 7 years. He has been a HUGE resource for me. Today when I asked him (via e-mail) for advice on what to do about Dane and I getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, he offered me a bed net. He came by with his wife and darling 18 month old daughter to drop the net off, and stayed and chatted for a couple hours while kids swam in the pool. They were totally normal (you never know with so many weirdos online) and really nice! We talked about getting together later in the week. Too bad they are moving in a couple weeks =(.

(this is my view from inside the net using my computer camera)

I am really excited about the bed net! Regardless of how hard I try to keep the mosquitos out of the bedrooms, crank up the A/C, spray us down with repellent, and try to keep the covers on us, Dane and I both wake up with tons of huge welts on our bodies (Dane worse than me). The rest of the family apparently doesn't taste as good, as they only get a few nibbles here and there.

I'll share some pictures of our last few days soon! Zeke has started preschool, so I will fill you in on that too.

Adios!

Swinging through the trees....

2010-06-12T23:31:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: The following event was completely safe. Our kids safety is our first priority. If you know the Taylor's, you know safety is our middle name =). So we don't want any frantic calls from the grandparents!

Now on to the good stuff. We had a GREAT day ziplining with Wingnuts Canopy Tours. And when I say "we", I mean all 5 of us! Luke and I had little faith that Zeke would go for it. In fact, we pictured a huge meltdown, and me staying with him while Luke and the other 2 went on to do the tour. To our complete SHOCK, Zeke did it, and loved it!

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

and a little taste of what the rainy season is like

No gatito!

2010-06-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

We were lolli-gagging around town with Zeke waiting for G & D to get out of school at 11:20. We go over to the school gate to wait and there's an American tourist holding a newborn kitten. She says there were 3 of them abandoned by their mom. We explain we can't take it because we do not live here permanently. I ask where the other kittens are, and she tells me some of the school kids took them home and she hopes they care for them.

We keep waiting for the kids, but they don't come out. I finally go in and ask a teacher what time school finishes today. She tells me they already finished and the kids left!

As we head out the gates I ask an older student what time school got out on Fridays for 2nd grade and she tells me 10:30! So the kids have been out for an hour and we don't know where they are. We start walking down the street toward our villa and I see some kids in uniform at the end of our street. We keep walking and sure enough it is Genevieve, Dane and another classmate. Genevieve is in another shirt, so they have obviously been home and then come back out. She is also holding... a newborn kitten.

She starts telling us the story of the motherless kittens, and how they volunteered to take one. "We adopted it" she says. Luke and I start explaining how we can't keep the cat, that we aren't allowed to, and that it's a baby that needs someone to give it milk in a bottle, etc. They inform us that they already gave it milk.

Then the tears started.
"But it's ours, we adopted it........."
More tears.
(repeat over and over)

We gave the kitten to the boy they were with.

When we get to the villa there is a large bowl on the porch with milk in it. I asked how the kitten reached the milk, to which they answered, "he got in".

Genevieve has spent the afternoon between tears and trying to convince us to get her a cat for her birthday when we get home.

Jackpot!

2010-06-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Today we saw these guys on our walk. We have actually seen quite a few of them, but these ones were closer than usual, and we saw 3 or 4 in a row. The first one was huge.

Luke's favorite thing to do after dropping the kids at school is to go have a leisurely breakfast at the panadería.

We went and checked out a preschool for Zeke to attend. We stayed for about 45 minutes and let him play on the playground with the other kids. He seemed to enjoy it. I don't know if he will actually let me leave him though. I almost didn't go because it's a bit of a walk to get there, but then I thought "do I not have the time?" We're going to go again tomorrow and stay for a little while again. Hopefully he will warm up to the idea.

Were you wondering when I was going to get to the "jackpot" of the post? Well here's the jackpot!
When I planned this adventure, I had hoped the kids would make friends. I really didn't know how well they would be received, but I had hoped and dreamed they would make some buddies to play with both in and out of school.

Last night when Genevieve asked if she could invite her classmate Amanda over to swim today we said sure, but warned her it might not work out.

After school Genevieve invited Amanda. Amanda said she needed to ask her mom. So Genevieve told her where we "live" and to bring her bathing suit. After school Genevieve didn't go swimming like usual. She sat on the patio waiting for Amanda. After a while I felt kinda bad because I was pretty sure Amanda wasn't coming. I went to run a couple errands while Luke stayed with the kids. When I got back, Amanda was in the pool!

The girls were jibbering away in spanish like the best of friends. Luke kept saying "listen to her" (about Genevieve). It was truly amazing to see her speaking so freely and naturally in spanish.

I sat there just taking in the moment. I had dreamed of this, but didn't know if it was a real possibility.
All of a sudden I knew this trip was worth it.

When Amanda's mom dropped her off she said her brother would come to get her in an hour. I assumed that meant she had an older brother. But no. No, no. Her 6 year old brother came to get her.

So the playdate continued and now Dane had a buddy! By the way Dario is 6 and is in the 1st grade!

I might have some insight to the 1st grade drama. I asked Dario how many kids were in his class and he said 24. Dane's 2nd grade only has 5 and Genevieve's 3rd grade class only has 7. So it appears that 1st grade is over-crowded and probably why Dane was not put in there. I just wish they would say that!

When it was time for the kids to go, Amanda and Dario wanted to have my kids over to play. So she went home to ask her mom and she said yes. I walked the kids to their home and told them I would be back in an hour. When I came back the kids were still not ready for the playdate to end. The parents were very nice, gave me a cup of tea and gave the kids a snack. It was pouring while the kids were there so they had to play inside. When I came they were playing some sort of game system. Their homes may be meager, but they have the necessities, and even a game system. And they have hospitality to boot!

So today was a good day. A very good day!

An evening in Sámara.....

2010-06-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

What you might see if you were a mosquito on the wall...

Frustrating

2010-06-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

Warning: This is just a long ill-flowing rant. Feel free to bypass.

I went to the school this morning to talk with the director about Dane being in 2nd grade. She wasn't there but the Kinder teacher who speaks so-so english tried to help me. I questioned why Dane was in 2nd grade when he was only 6. She explained that the school year starts on February 15th and that a 1st grader needed to be 5 years & 9 months by that date (or so I understood). Perfect I said. His birthday is April 1st, so he is over 5 years and 9 months by then. In fact he is 5 years and 10.5 months to be exact. But no. She said they have to be younger than 5 years and 9 months by that date. We went round and round because I thought I misunderstood her. I asked why there were 8 year olds in the 2nd grade with him. I have no idea what she said. Then she told me he could go in Kinder. Apparently he is too old for 1st grade, but he is not too old for Kinder.

And therein lies my frustration.

If they had just put him in Kinder from the beginning there would be no problem. Dane wouldn't have known anything else. But now, the thought of going from 2nd grade (that he doesn't belong in) to Kinder, is a blow to the little guys ego. In fact, he is telling me he won't go. I think a big part of it is that he doesn't want to go to the unknown. He already got the first day of being the new kid over with, and doesn't want to do it again.

The kicker in this whole ordeal? Kinder has a different uniform. Which would mean another hour long bus ride to Nicoya, and even more money on uniforms.

Honestly, I think he would be bored in Kinder. I think they are covering preschool material. But in his current class, there are 2 8-year-old english speaking kids (maybe from France?), and the little girl is nice enough to "help" Dane with all his work. And all his work comes home in her handwriting. I'm afraid he is not getting the spanish interaction that we came for in that class.

Why oh why can't they just place him in 1st grade?

I went back this afternoon with a big box of donations I brought down. Secretly, I was hoping the gift might win me some favor from the principal to get this grade thing fixed. Sadly, she wasn't there and I handed it over to the teachers. Who knows where it will end up and if she'll even know we brought it.

I think I might force him to try Kinder tomorrow. Being that his 2nd grade teacher has a meeting in Nicoya, and none of the 2nd graders have school, it's a perfect day to try the class. Yes, you read that right. The teacher is busy, so school is cancelled for 2nd graders.

Welcome to Costa Rica. In so many ways it is not 3rd world here. But in some ways, it so is.

The scoop on school

2010-06-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

While the big kids were at school we took the opportunity to explore town with Zeke. We took a long walk, and ended up seeing some wild horses. The tide was high so we couldn't make the loop along the beach that brings you back into town. So we made a U-turn and high-tailed it back to get the kids on time. We had a nice refreshing drizzle. We haven't seen much sun yet, but the warm weather makes up for the lack of sunshine.

We picked up the kids from school and found out 3 interesting things.

1. Dane was put in 2nd grade. He just finished Kindergarten at home. I requested that he be put with kids his own age (6). I asked another girl in his class how old she was and she said 8. Dane can barely write, so this should be interesting. (Genevieve was put in 3rd grade)

2. Genevieve was called Jennifer all day by both the teacher and classmates. She said she tried to correct them at first but they didn't understand, so she let them continue to call her Jennifer.

3. They fed the kids lunch at school. The kids said they had rice, salad, and potatoes. And they said they ate it (that might be the bigger surprise).

Genevieve said she made some friends. A girl named Amanda stayed with her the whole time. At recess she even bought Genevieve a snack from one of the street vendors that comes up to the school fence selling stuff. Ay yay yay! I never thought to tell the kids to not eat off the street because I didn't think it was a possibility for them. Lets hope those probiotics are doing their work!

Dane gave us less info, but that is par for the course. Genevieve complained that all they did was write all day long. The good news is, even if they don't especially like school they get done at 11:20, so they have the rest of the time to enjoy the beach, pool, and town.

All in all, I don't think they loved it, but I don't think they hated it either.

Here we are having a first day of school treat of helados!

And now a dip in the pool. I have to admit, I'm feeling pretty spoiled.

Escuela

2010-06-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

Genevieve & Dane just left for school. Praying for a good first day!

and this little guy is

Actually he just woke up as I was uploading this pic.

Let the games begin!

My spanish is no bueno

2010-06-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

First, a few words.

Hot.
Sticky.
Sweaty.

We have had sporadic rain and thunderstorms throughout the day. I hear this is typical of the rainy season.

This is the view from our patio with the sun peaking through.

Today was a good day! We had a leisure morning and then went over to the school to talk about the kids attending. The director didn't speak any english, and Genevieve was too embarrassed to translate. I really thought I could get by with my sucky spanish, but there are not too many people here that speak any english. Talking with the director today (and I use word "talk" loosely as there was an awful lot of miming going on) was motivation for me to really work on my spanish. So yah. If you want an immersion experience for yourself or kids, I think Samara is a good choice!

Luke took the kids to the beach while I took the bus to Nicoya to get the rest of the kids school uniforms. It was a 1 hour bus ride through beautiful lush foliage. I found the tienda and bought the supplies and headed to the super mercado grande for some groceries.

From the bus....

Some pics of Nicoya....

They actually have real grocery stores there. Shopping back in Samara is like shopping in a campground store. Small, over-priced food, and not quite everything you need. The store in Nicoya has most everything, but a lot of it is crazy prices. For example, a block of parmesan cheese was $25! Needless to say, I didn't buy it!

We had a nice dinner of spaghetti, garlic bread, and watermelon on our porch.

The bugs here are huge and plentiful. If I could just get used to the occasional sighting of these guys both outside and inside our villa, I'll be fine (does a dozen in 24 hours qualify as occasional?).

I know there was more excitement today, but it all runs together. I'll try to post more often when it's fresh in my memory.

I'm off to bed since the kids start school at 7:00 am tomorrow. No, that wasn't a typo. Siete!!!! (which is like 6:00 am until our bodies adjust to the time change). Did I mention we don't have an alarm clock?
They are in school from 7:00 to 11:20. The older grades go in the afternoon. Hoping for a good day for the kids tomorrow. Genevieve was a little nervous tonight, and I don't blame her. I hope the little niños are nice to my kids!

Buenos noches!

We really made it!

2010-06-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

Our flight was delayed in Dallas by about an hour and a half but we made it!

Not without a code 4 emergency though.

The kids were playing at the gate while we waited for the plane to be ready. And somehow, some way, "blue blanket" and "puppy" disappeared. We didn't realize it until about 15 minutes into the flight.
We had already planned on, talked up and executed the departure of the binky for this trip (it was beyond time). We have been binky-free for about a day and a half and he's doing great. Now the poor guy doesn't have any of his comforts from home. He's in our bed right now, and all seems well. Praying he will adjust better than we expect.

We would really like to track down blue blanket and puppy, but it's not so easy from here.
If you are so inclined to help with that, Zeke would be indebted to you forevermore!
We think we lost it at gate D20 at the DFW airport on June 6th getting on an AA flight. It was a blue blanket with white trim, and a tiny little tan webkins puppy.

The drive to Samara was beautiful. We stopped in Nicoya at the Maxi Bodega to buy a few groceries, and we hoped to by the remaining pieces of the kids school uniforms. Unfortunately the tiendas that carry the uniforms were closed (Sunday afternoon).

Tomorrow we will go talk to the school about the kids, and hopefully they will start Tuesday.

We had dinner at El Lagarto, a restaurant on the beach. The food was good, but expensive, as is most everything in town. We'll be cooking most of our meals.

We finished off the day with unpacking and a dip in the pool.

I tried to post a video clip but it's not working. Maybe tomorrow.

Buenos Noches!

Getting ready to leave Dallas

2010-06-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

Flight was delayed because they had to repair a "seat".

Here's Zeke showing off his passport.

Hello Dallas

2010-06-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

2010-06-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

Do I look tired and unshowered?

We take up a whole row :)

2010-06-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

2010-06-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

Moving?

2010-06-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

The agent at the counter asked if we were moving to Costa Rica. Ha!

On our way!

2010-06-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

We made it! Into the car and on the road at least!

I've had almost no sleep, no food, my house is a mess and I didn't get
a shower, but we made it!

(I'm most sad about the shower)

Upcoming weather in Sámara

2010-06-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Yikes! Looks like it will be hot and wet!

Even though I knew it was the rainy season when I planned the trip, all my little pictures in my head of how it will be are of sunny 75 degree days =). I think I better start daydreaming in the hot and steamy mode.

The final hours.....and doubt!

2010-06-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

I think we're about T minus 40 hours (what does that mean anyway? T
minus....?)

And I am officially overwhelmed, and in the crazy cycle.

What was I thinking?
This is nuts.
I can't be a single parent in a foreign country.
I don't know Spanish.
What if the kids hate it?
What if it's nothing like I pictured?
What if someone gets sick or hurt?
What if I didn't pack enough ranch dressing packets?

Yes, my craziness extends to ranch dressing.

Because....going to Costa Rica means eating a lot of salad. Obviously.

Nope, there's no explaining the crazy cycle. It's just where I'm at.

Sleep (lack of) and stress are the culprits.

And I might have cried today when I picked up Dane from school.

Just maybe.

So if you see me weeping in the next 40 hours, there's probably no explanation.

Except that I am trying to pack up my entire life in suitcases, and tie up all loose ends here (school, business, home, pets, plants, bills, mail, presents, ETCETERA) before we board the plane. In T minus 39 hours.

Packing

2010-05-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

Lucky for us American Airlines hasn't done baggage restrictions for Costa Rica. So technically we are each allowed two 50 pound bags plus a carry-on. That's 500 pound for our whole family. I hope to not be anywhere close to that!

However I am bringing down quite a bit of stuff. I have packed some new inexpensive toys and activities for our kids, things we can leave there when we are done.

I am also bringing donations for the school the kids will be attending (paper, markers, colored pencils, rulers, glue sticks, etc),

and also a bunch of craft stuff for CREAR, which is the day camp they will be attending when the school goes on break.

Lastly, I'm bringing some food supplies. I don't know exactly what will be available to us, but I do know that any "american" products will be very expensive. So I'm bringing down some stuff to at least get us started (don't judge all the processed foods!). I know we will have access to tons of fresh fruit, which the kids will love. But I wanted to bring a few familiar items from home. We will also be celebrating 2 birthdays down there (Genevieve will be 8 on June 24th, and Zeke will be 3 on June 27th), so I want to be prepared with cake making stuff.

My biggest job right now is trying to keep my anxiety in check! I have my To-DO list, and I am actually doing okay on it. But I can't seem to control my anxiety. It's going to be a busy week, and no matter how hard I try the end will be crazy I just know it. I should just plan on an all-nighter the night before we leave. Ugh! I just have to keep reminding myself that this will all be worth it.... Right?

Villas Kalimba

2010-05-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

I think the number one question people ask is where we are staying. I spent weeks (maybe months?) researching this aspect of our trip. It was hard finding something that had all the things I felt were important. I wanted a kitchen (eating out with 3 kids is less than enjoyable, not to mention expensive!), a pool, a/c, wi-fi, it had to be an easy walk to the school, the beach, and town, and I preferred something with a property owner on site since I will be a single mom for a month. Oh, and it had to fit in my budget!

I found that a lot of places will give you a really good rate for such a long stay. Some of them were even a 40-50% discount! After much contemplation I settled on Villas Kalimba. It had everything I wanted. There are 5 detached villas surrounding a pool.

We are renting a little 2 bedroom/2 bathroom villa with a small kitchen.

The only thing I am nervous about is there is no indoor living area. The kitchen table and "living space" is on the porch.

But, who goes to Costa Rica to be inside, right? The villas are in a gated compound which adds another level security.

It is just a block from the school and the beach, and there is a small grocery store a couple doors down. The owner has been more than helpful answering all my questions, and has even gone to the local school more than once on my behalf to enquire about the kids attending.

I'm really excited to call this place home for 6 weeks! I'm just hoping my kids don't drive the other guests cRaZy!

Costa Rica or Bust!

2010-05-20T23:46:00.000-07:00

The countdown is on! We leave for Costa Rica in just over 2 weeks. We'll be living there for 6 weeks, in the small town of Sámara, which is on the Guanacaste coast on the west side of the country. I picked this town because it appears to be quaint, safe, and beautiful. While there will be American & European tourists, it is a popular vacation spot for Ticos. I have spent many months researching and making connections in Sámara. I still feel confident this was the right choice, although only time will tell!

We will be staying in a little 2 bedroom villa with a pool, just a block from the beach. I have gotten the okay to enroll Genevieve and Dane in the local school. I have purchased most of what they will need for their uniforms, and will pick up the rest in Nicoya on the way.

Here is an aerial view of the town.

So proud

2010-04-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

Can I just say how proud I am? Last night was the Mutli Cultural Fair at the school.

Genevieve & Dane were each in a performance. They did great!

There was some sort of communication error in Genevieve's class and the ball got dropped for the costumes....right into my lap! I spent the last 2 weeks making 13 skirts (with some help on the hems & sashes).

Good times! (note the sarcasm).

And Dane. I thought he would completely pitch a fit about having to dance.

He surprised me!

And how cute is he?????

Love them! =)

****And yes, those are his white felt shoes peeking out the bottom of his pants =)

An idea in the works

2010-04-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

One of my biggest desires as a parent is for my kids to have a strong sense of empathy and a compassion for others.

Sometimes life gets muddled with the ordinary and mundane schedules of work, school, homework, baseball, dinner, sleep. When do we fit in the really important stuff in life?

My kids love going to Awanas, and I love for them to go. They learn a lot, and it's fun. But I don't feel like we are building community there as kids come from all over town. I also feel like we are keeping them in a bit of a Christian bubble. Part of the reason we decided on public school is that we want to be a light in our community. We want to make connections, build community, and show Christ's love to others.

So I've had this idea floating around. I would love to start an after school club at our elementary school. A club based on biblical principals, but would be appealing to people from all walks of life. A club where we teach kids how to care for others above themselves. I envision doing service projects locally and supporting charities abroad. I want to open their eyes to the rest of the world, as many have not seen anything beyond our little well-to-do town.

I'm picturing a mix between fundraisers and projects where we can use the money earned to help others. Making blankets for the homeless or elderly, providing backpacks & PJ's for kids in foster care. Raising money to dig wells in Africa, provide school supplies for the underprivileged in Oakland. I want to expose them to different opportunities and see where their hearts lead them. What ideas can they come up with?

I was thinking "Compassion Club" is cute. But then I googled it and found this. It appears that Compassion Clubs are quite popular amongst a certain crowd =(. Maybe we can bring new meaning to the term!

I have a lot of ideas.

The question is will I make this one come to fruition?

Resourceful Mama

2010-04-21T23:00:00.000-07:00

When I found out on Monday that Dane needed white shoes for his Kindergarten dance performance on Wednesday, what's a mama to do?

My boys don't have white shoes. I know that some do, but my boys....lets just say they've never met a puddle that they didn't befriend. The muddier, the better.

I'm not cheap, but I was not about to go buy white shoes that would only be worn for three 2-minute performances.

So I made these.

What are they? They are an old pair of brown Van's that had a hole in the toe, and technically are outgrown (but he could still get his feet in, albeit a little uncomfortable). I first tried spray painting them white. The rubber around the bottom turned out great. But the paint wouldn't stick well to the canvas fabric. So then I tried brushing them with house paint. Um... they looked awful.

Ah ha, I got it! Felt. I cut out and glued white felt onto the shoes. It was kind of a sloppy job, but it worked! And up on stage, no one is the wiser.

Sometimes I'm kind of proud of myself for my resourcefulness. Is that bad?

I'm just gross.

2010-04-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

It's back! Wendy's 2nd annual DMV (Dirty MiniVan) Contest. Although I don't have a minivan, my Chevy Tahoe is just as embarrassed.

Let's just get right to it.

The view from the drivers seat.

Trader Joe's shopping bag that I always forget to bring in, random papers, Softball bucket & equipment, extra skirt, mail, bag of diapers/wipes, and a bag of baby toys I need to give away.

Passengers seat, other view

Mexican blanket (I've had for like 20 years), broken bag spilling the baby toys I need to give away. Every time I made a hard left turn "Old MacDonald" would start playing from the tractor.

Center Console

Goofy (or is it Pluto) Pez dispenser, binky clip we haven't used in months, green container of bandaids, receipts, pencils and who knows what else.

2nd Row behind drivers seat

Jacket, soft-sided cooler from who knows when (or what's in it), diaper bag, extra clothes, diapers, (and let's be honest, I have no idea what all that crap is)

2nd Row, other side

another sweatshirt, and a really gross filthy carseat

3rd Row

sweatshirt, backpack, crumbs...this area actually looks clean! Relatively speaking =)

Back trunk area

Another bag of ? Maybe change of clothes, diapers? Stroller, 2 camping chairs, and yes, a potty seat =) I think I should get extra points for having a toilet in my car. Does it get any grosser?

There you have it. I feel more exposed than if I were posting naked pictures of myself on the internet.

Tomorrow's the day to clean it out!

or the next day....

Test

2010-03-26T10:25:00.001-07:00

Test

map anyone?

2010-02-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

One of the most frustrating aspects of finding accommodations has been all the different not-to-scale maps of Samara that everybody has on their websites. Location is extremely important to me as I've decided I don't want the expense of a rental car for 6 weeks. I want to be able to walk everywhere, which could be a challenge with my 3 year old (who threw a fit just walking a few blocks to pick up his brother from school today).

Here is an example of how vastly off these maps are, and why I am obsessed with the internet and researching. I was looking at Condo Solimar - (the yellow rectangle on the left). As you can see it looks pretty close to the school (the purple oval on the main street of town))

Until I looked at google maps. Condo Solimar is circled in red and the school is a green X.

It's appalling really.

Just for kicks here's another map of Samara

If you clock on the pictures you can see them bigger and in more detail

Are my plans falling apart?

2010-02-07T22:52:00.000-08:00

So, I thought I did my homework.

Back when I was researching Antigua as my destination, I was originally planning to go over the kids winter break plus miss an additional 2 of weeks of school. The reason being is the winter is my husbands slow time of work and I thought he could possibly take a month off to be with us. But I found out that Guatemala schools are off the month's of December and January because it is their "summer break".
That's when I started getting the crazy idea of bumping up the trip to our summer (June/July) and doing the trip mostly as a single mom.

I thought I had done my homework.

I booked our tickets.

We were to leave June 5th (the kids would miss the last week of school) as we are using miles to purchase our tickets and we could use less miles by going earlier.
Tonight I found out that Costa Rica takes a 3 week school break from July 5th through July 24th. 3 of our 6 weeks. Half our trip!

So now I am wondering will the public school even take my kids for 3 weeks?

I did find out about a program in Samara called CREAR .

They provide after school programs and summer enrichment programs for the local kids of Samara. The key word is local. That doesn't stop this mamá loca though. I put in an e-mail to see if my kids can participate too. I'm anxious to see what they say.

I was really looking forward to the consistency of them being in school for 6 weeks though. But, such is life in a 3rd world country. You have to learn to roll with punches, otherwise you will just be consumed with frustration.

Oh, one more thing I learned tonight. The schools are typically only in session for 4 hours a day! Now that is muy loco!

Contacts

2010-02-02T15:59:00.000-08:00

Finding local contacts is key in this kind of trip. I thought I had hit the jackpot in the contacts department, but unfortunately "my source" has been less helpful than I had hoped.

You can find contacts in lot's of ways. I scour the internet for forums, reviews, websites and blogs to find people I think can help answer my questions. Expats can be a gold mine of information.

Right now there is a family who owns a vacation house in Samara (right across from the place I plan on staying). They are there with their kids who are attending the school I plan to have my kids attend. They have a website dedicated to raising funds for said school. They should be a wealth of information. But they answer my questions with the bare minimum. Very frustrating. And that is part of the reason for this blog. If I can help you to not reinvent the wheel, then I will be thrilled! This is an exciting opportunity, and we should be helping each other!

Here is an expert from my last e-mail to my "source".

What are the school hours?

I just purchased our flights, and we will be there June 6-July 19th. Who is your contact person at the school? Should I contact them ahead of time about my kids attending, or just enquire at the school when we get there?

They have a preschool program as well? Do you know how old the kids have to be to attend?

My kids will be 8 (entering 3rd grade), 6 (entering 1st grade), and turning 3 on 6/24.

I am talking to the owner at XXXXXX, and am hoping to stay there. I loved your house, but it is out of my price range for this trip unfortunately. Maybe in the future.

Samara isn't the easiest place to find lot's of information on, so I am eating up any details I can get my hands on. I appreciate anything you can tell me.

Thanks!

And this was the source's reply

the hours at the school vary. your three year old is too young for the public school. there is another program that costs money at the patio colonial. lenina would take all of your children there. the two older ones should be able to attend. you will have to ask when you get here. XXXXX is right across the street from [our house].

the director name at the school is lourdes. she can answer all of your questions but in spanish

A few crazy ideas

2010-02-01T13:09:00.000-08:00

So I've had a handful of crazy ideas in my life.

One landed my husband and I in a motorhome for a year traveling the entire United States. Our families sure thought we were crazy. It ended up being the adventure of a lifetime. Truly the test of a marriage. 365 days together, in a tiny moving home. And no internet or cell phone to assist the process. These were the dark ages people (1998/1999).

Another locura {crazy idea} took us to Kenya for 3 weeks. With our 3 1/2 year old. And 20 month old. Now that is crazy. Let's just say we survived :)

A little over a year ago I took my daughter (age 6 at the time) to the charming town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico for a week. Just the 2 of us. I don't think this was crazy. Well maybe a little. Especially when we were dropped off by our taxi at our "B&B", at dusk, and nobody was home. Our flights were delayed, and we had come straight from the airport to a deserted street in Mexico, left on the curb with our bags. At that moment, I indeed thought I was un poco loco.

And here I am today, working through my latest and greatest crazy idea. I'm blogging about it because I think there are other crazies out there like me trying to do similar things without a lot of resources. Just maybe I can help someone else figure out how to pull off adding a little crazy into their own life.

Tee's!

2009-12-28T23:42:00.000-08:00

I was busy this Christmas! Every year I intend to make hand-made gifts and resist the buying frenzy from big-box stores. This is the first year I actually got passed the "intention" part of it, and got some real sewing done. Here are a few of the shirts I made.

I'm thinking about opening an etsy shop to sell custom tee's, and save up for an upcoming trip to Costa Rica. Until then, if anybody wants to buy one, e-mail me at amy . taylor 2 @ comcast.net (no spaces). I think I will sell them for $15/each for the "letter tees" and $20 for the "Mom" tee (hand-sewing takes more time!). Matching barrette - $2.

Check out PROJECT 320

2009-12-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

On December 14th,

We are going to build a well.

You are going to build a well.

(photo courtesy of Jody Landers)

Because we can.

Because you can.

How?

Right now sweet, generous, creative and caring women from all over the country are sewing, knitting, painting, shopping, blogging, praying.

Donating.

Over 100 items.

Handmade and heartfelt happiness.

Starting

December 14th

and ending

December 18th

Project 320

will be holding a virtual raffle.

10 prize bundles.

Each $10 donation to the well

earns one virtual ticket.

You get to choose how many "tickets" to buy

and which prize package you want to win.

On December 21st we will "draw" ten winners.

But most of all,

we will celebrate the victory.

The promise of clean water for a village.

Life.

Are you excited?

You should be!!!!

Because it is going to be awesome.

Grab a button.

Spread the word.

My friend is rad

2009-12-13T00:30:00.000-08:00

You should check out her blog to see what she's doing with her money...

Wendy's Blog

Neglected

2009-08-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry dear blog. You have been completely neglected for over 2 months. I know there are no readers left, but hopefully some of them will come back. I have been busy raising money for Pleasanton schools, and while it is a bit different than my normal "charities", I have gained a lot of experience in how to hold an auction on a much grander scale. Hopefully those skills will serve me well in the future.

I have big plans (after I take a little breather). I want my family to raise enough money to dig a well in Africa. After concentrating so hard on keeping our schools up to par in an upper-middle class, rich (by the world's standards) city, I am acutely reminded of our brothers and sisters on the other side of the world who don't have clean water, and often spend the majority of their day fetching water from a disease infested water-source. While my kids have the privilege of good schools, warm meals, new shoes, over-abundance of toys, and 2 parents, there are so many kids who are orphaned, sick, and don't even have a chance at life. Access to clean water can literally give a person life. A well, can give a VILLAGE life.

My deepest desire would be to see my own town of Pleasanton, who has pulled together as a community to help save our schools, to have that same passion to save lives of children they have never met. I would love to see our school Valley View sponsor a town about the same size of our school community, and build a relationship with them. Fundraise to improve their living conditions, provide food for the hungry and medicine for the sick. I think it would be amazing for our kids to connect with someone across the globe, to help someone with basic human needs. I'm fully aware that this doesn't solve the bigger problem of why these people are in such desperate poverty, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't help them.

Right now this will be a family effort. If you see my family and I on the side of the road selling lemonade you will know why. Hopefully one day this will be a school effort. And in my biggest dream of dreams this would be a city-wide effort.

URGENT NEED

2009-05-31T20:38:00.000-07:00

This is from my friend Brandi's blog....

FEED THE FORGOTTEN

Too often we hear heartbreaking stories like this (that I posted on Saturday) and do nothing. We feel helpless. . . and so we move on. Not this time. There are people DYING in Uganda right now. There are children who's bellies are hungry and aching. There are mamas who are too weak to stand and babies begging to be held. There are people trapping termites hoping for food and eating dung in helplessness. DO NOT CAVE TO DESPAIR. YOU CAN DO SOMETHING.

Join us and Children's HopeChest to FEED THE FORGOTTEN!!! (CLICK HERE TO GIVE NOW)

PLEASE PUT "FEED THE FORGOTTEN" IN THE NOTES SECTION ON THE DONATION FORM.

For $0.14, we can (and WILL) feed someone a meal of posho and beans. (posho is cornmeal, which is filling and beans are protein). Take that in for a moment. . .

$0.14 a meal

$2.86 for 20 days

$1 per FAMILY

$20 feed a family for 20 days.

How much was my Chick Fil A yesterday? How much is your Starbucks? The bigger question is how much am I willing to give up SO THAT OTHERS MIGHT EAT?

Remember Jesus story of the Good Samaritan? Remember how his very neighbors walked right by him? They probably looked at him with pity. . .probably thought "oh poor guy, that breaks my heart" but the fact is THEY DID NOTHING.

What will you do? These children are starving. . .

these actual children. . .

will you help? The money raised will feed those precious children. There are 3 - 4 villages that we are targeting (I'm hoping for more after we see how much we can raise!) to bring food relief to asap. These people are literally starving. . and waiting for you to act. Will you help? Even with paypal fees (2-3%) even $1 will feed 6 people! You CAN make a difference.

Spread the word, blog about it, facebook it, twitter it, ask your church or school or business to give, post the blog badge anything. Truly, we are begging you. . .on behalf of these children not to forget this post and move on to the next in your google reader list. Stop, pray, act.
GIVE TO FEED THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN!!!!!

Add "feed the forgotten" in the notes section when you give!

Princess Ball

2009-05-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

Our church put on a Daddy-Daughter Dance called the Princess Ball. They are there right now. I hope she is having a good time with her daddy.

Tender Hearted

2009-05-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest joys of being a parent is when I get a glimpse of my own child showing compassion for others. I want my children to have a heart like Jesus, and admittedly there are times when I try to force it into them. But the truly sweet moments are when they show compassion all on their own.

We have taken our children to Africa. They have seen the poor, the hungry, the homeless. They have been to "street church" where we handed out bowls of rice and beans to people wearing filthy rags for clothing. But it has been 3.5 years and their memories are fading (Dane's are gone, but Genevieve still has some). We talk regularly about those without food, clean water, homes, or even parents to care for them. I just want them to get it. I don't want to raise another generation with a sense of entitlement. With only selfish ambitions.

So it is mornings like today that give me hope.

Genevieve had turned the TV on before school in hopes to catch a cartoon before we had to leave. But instead of Super Why coming right on, the channel was turned to a one of the promos for sponsoring children. It showed little sick children, with the flies on their faces and bloated bellies.

In a solemn voice she asked me "mom, are those the poor kids in Africa we talk about?". I answered that they were. Then I decided to go about my business getting her lunch made, and let her take it all in. She sat and watched the program in the other room. As we were packing up to leave she showed me a container full of change and told me that was the money for the people without food. She then wanted to know if we had more money we could give them. I suggested we try to raise some money to send them. She asked "like a lemon-aid stand?" She was referring to our failed attempt from last summer. So I think we are all ready to try doing this again. And thinking of other ways to raise money too.

And that my friends, makes a mama's heart swell with pride. Pride in a good way. For just a moment I think all will be right in the world if this is what the next generation will be like.

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day Tea at the Preschool

2009-05-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

Commentary to come....

Multi-Cultural Fair at the school

2009-05-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Commentary to come...

Road Trip Part 3

2009-05-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Commentary to follow....

iphone's could help feed people.

2009-05-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

I've had this idea brewing for awhile now. Have you ever been in a store, put something in your cart that you really didn't need, and thought "I would rather send the $3.99 to buy a mosquito net for someone in a malaria-inflicted region, or medications for an HIV infected person", and put it back ont the shelf? But then you get home and you don't actually send off the $3.99 to the charity?

How cool would it be if there was an iphone application, let's call it "icharity", where you could send any amount of money at the touch of a button (or 2) to your charity of choice? Where you are driving through the drive through at Starbucks, and at the last minute decide "instead of this $3.85 mint mocha frapucchino, I can buy 22 meals for the hungry in Uganda through Children's Hope Chest". And you can do it RIGHT THEN.

I've been dreaming about it this. So I finally decided to google what it would take to get an application designed.

And that would be in the neighborhood of $30,000. =(

Do I think it's worth it? YES. Do I think it would encourage people to give up some of our luxurious spending in turn for thoughtful giving? YES. Do I have $30,000 to make this happen? No =(.

But maybe someone out there in the cybersphere will see this blogspot and also happen to be an iphone application designer =). And they can HAVE this idea free of charge =).

Oh and by the way, do I have an iphone? No. I did for about 4 months until it was stolen. Would I get one again just for this application? You betcha.

it's heavy

2009-05-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

My heart is heavy....

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

Thinking about mother's today. Mother's who get to spend today with their kids, and mother's who don't. Mostly the mother's who don't. The mother's who don't get to tuck their kids into bed at night or kiss their boo boos all better.

Because they are dead.

14 million orphans in Africa alone. Thinking of those mothers today ♥ . Mourning with their children. And thinking about what I can do to help less mother's die.

All the while hugging my kids and thanking God for allowing me to mother them.

updating the vacation posts with pictures!

2009-04-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

See below.

Still have to post about our last couple of days.....

Still CrAzY.

2009-04-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

Day 5 (Tuesday). Packed up at the Pismo RV Resort Campground in the morning. While I showered and packed, Luke took the kids to the campground mini golf, but it sucked and the kids were fighting. We pulled out of camp around 12:00, and drove about 20 minutes before we realized neither of us packed the stroller.

Turned around and went back for it, to discover Zeke had pushed it to a neighboring campsite, and parked it at the door of a really nice motorhome. Maybe he was trying to upgrade? Sorry dude, you're stuck with us and the old, seen-better-days trailer.

We drove to LA, hoping to spend a little time with our friends Monica & Trevor who had a new baby boy 6 weeks ago.

Visit was nice, we spent a good amount of time trying to figure out where we could park the trailer close to Knott's Berry Farm so we could be close in the morning. In the end we decided to just stay parked in front of their house and drive the hour in the morning.

Day 6 (Wednesday).

KBF didn't open until 10:00am, and we were told we would hit less traffic if we left between 9:00 and 9:30. We were pretty on schedule with only a slight hold-up when Zeke got locked in the trailer bathroom. After trying to stick some pointy objects into the lock, Luke finally decided to remove the handle on the door. Zeke was freed, and we were on the road.

We circled the park a bit trying to find the RV parking, and finally got in the gates at about 11:00. Right off the bat Luke & Dane hit a roller coaster (the only one Dane was tall enough to ride - but a real roller coaster none-the-less).

Genevieve, Zeke and I went off to explore (for what turned out to be about an hour) while we waited. Zeke was having tantrum after tantrum, and was being a little hellion to tell the truth. By the time we met back up with Luke & Dane, I was about done for the day. Zeke is definitely a 2-parent kid.

We had a good day, the highlight being the log ride. The kids loved it. Zeke tolerated it the first 3 times or so, then was pissed the last 2.

The big surprise of the day was when we were eating dinner. Genevieve saw another roller coaster. A big one. The kind that goes upside down about 4 times. I would say similat to the Demon at Great America. She said she wanted to ride it. I told her she wasn't tall enough. She ran over and measured herself, and she was an inch or 2 too short. She insisted that she was tall enough.

Finally I told her, she could wait in line and see what the ride operator said. Luke was off buying food during all this, and I had the 2 boys, so I couldn't go with her. About 10 minutes pass, and she still wasn't back. Luke came back so I ran up the exit to see where she was. Well she was in front of the line, ready to go. I couldn't believe it. This tiny little 6 year old about to ride her first real roller coaster (and a doozy at that!), and she was going to do it by herself. I still can't believe the confidence she had. So I took off running to join her. I enjoy roller coasters less the older I get, and I had no desire to do this one. But I couldn't let her do this by herself. So we did it together. And she was hooked. We've got ourselves a little adrenalin junkie.

The last couple hours at the park there were virtually no lines, so we got to ride a bunch of rides. Minus the outrageously over-priced food, I think the park is a good bang for your buck for a family like ours. We didn't budget for Disneyland, and you can't do Disney in one day. KBF was a great fit. I'm sure it was a highlight of our vacation for our kids.

After we left the park at almost 10pm, we drove a couple hours south to park at our friends (the Berry's) house in San Diego.

Day 6 (Wednesday). We woke at the Berry's, and enjoyed a leisurely morning catching up. As leisurely as it can be with 8 kids running around. Yes eight. You might remember the Berry's from my other blog, where I explained how they were adopting 5 year old Ugandan twins. So the Berry's had their (now) 5 kids, and us with our 3. Actually for 8 kids, it wasn't that chaotic. We all went to Coronado beach, where it was altogether too windy and not nearly warm enough for a beach day. Somehow we still manage to get burned. I was a bad bad mommy who brought, but completely forgot to apply the sunblock.

We came back, showered, and unsuccessfully tried to get Zeke to take a nap. We had plans with to get together with a friend of mine form college for dinner, but she completely flaked on me. So we yet again imposed on the Berry's and they were gracious enough to feed us =). It was a sweet time that I'm glad we didn't miss. We got to look at some photo books that Brian made from their 2 trips to Uganda, and Becky & Billy (the twins) were right there getting so excited about the pictures. They have been here 2 months, and know soooo much english. Apparently they came over with quite a bit, and are picking up the rest at a rapid rate. In fact, we couldn't get them to speak Lugandan to us at all. Anyhow, all the Berry kids are absolutely adorable, and we are really enjoying our time with the whole family. Tomorrow we are going to the San Diego Zoo, and it will be the twins first time. Should be exciting!

Okay, done for now. The only new trailer news is that when Luke plugged us into the Berry's extension cord, he got shocked when he touched the outside of the trailer. We were plugged in all night, and he got a pretty big shock this morning. That one is much scarier than a leaky roof or even a flat tire. So um, yah, say a little prayer that we don't get electrocuted in this heap. =)

Yep, we're certifiably cRaZy.

2009-04-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

We're on a road trip. All 5 of us. 9 days. One truck. One trailer. Tight quarters.

But we're trying to build memories on a budget, so this is what it looks like.

When we pulled Grandpa Bob's trailer out of the storage lot last week we got a flat tire 1 block from the yard. Luke put on the spare, then later that week took the tire in for replacement. That's when we found out that while the tires didn't look too bad, they were in fact 13 years old. So we replaced them all. Except the spare.

The day before our departure it rained. That's when we discovered that the back of the trailer had a leak. When Luke got up there to caulk the "spot", he discovered there was actually a huge rotting "portion" of the roof. Thanks to Luke and his dad the roof was repaired, and all was well.

Day 1 (Friday). We thought we would head out of town around noon on Friday, catch the Good Friday service at church, and get on the road. I think we actually pulled out of town at 5:00pm. No service at church, and Jack in the Box on the road, just trying to put on a few miles. We ended up at Big Sur Campground. Did I mention we didn't make reservations anywhere? Yes, we know it's a holiday week. But we're like that. Sometimes. Fly by the seat of our trailer. Luckily we got a spot - although a little pricier than we had hoped.

Luke took the kids for a little hike in the morning and let me sleep in. I hadn't slept very well the night before. Maybe it was the bed. Oh yeah, this is funny. The last time we used the trailer we were a family of 4. Genevieve was about 3, and Dane was 15 months or so. Luke and I took the full-size bed in the"bedroom" (I use that term loosely), and we put Genevieve on the couch with a little bed rail, and set up a pack'n play next to her for Dane. That whole trip we apparently never pulled out the couch into an actual bed. So we didn't know that it was actually what Luke calls a "California Twin" Maybe a hair wider than a twin. I'm pretty sure it is the same width as a twin, only shorter, so it appears it's wider. Anyhow, we assumed the bed made into a full, and only discovered the teeny tiny bed after we had tucked all 3 kiddos into the full-size bed in the "bedroom".

So we laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more. Then we each hugged our corner of the bed, and tried to get some sleep.

Day 2 (Saturday). Only a few miles out of Big Sur, we hear a clunk - clunk - clunk..... outside. Luke pulls over to find that all 4 (5?) lugnuts on one of the new tires on the trailer are tearing up the rim. So he jacks it up and puts the spare on (you know, the one tire we didn't replace). And we spend the rest of the day looking for a tire shop. Nobody has that rim in stock, so we have them take the new tire off the ruined rim, and put it on the rim of the spare (old) tire.

Following this? We are on our way, however we don't have a spare now, and we still have to find someone who carries that rim.

Along the coast we see a beach with tons of sea lions on shore. The kids really enjoyed watching them, but it was super duper windy, so we didn't stay long.

After being told there's "no room at the inn" at a couple campgrounds, we end up at Morro Strand State Beach Campground in Morro Bay. Picture an asphault parking lot 'sort-of' on the beach - with no hookups, or campground showers =). We have a shower, but don't know how fast our holding tank will fill up. This place was kind of depressing. But the kids were tired of being in the truck, and we told them we weren't going to move for a whole day. So we dyed some eggs and called it a night.

Day 3. (Easter Sunday) The Easter Bunny came. The kids were thrilled with their meager easter baskets,

and we broke the news to them that we were in fact "moving" that day. We hid eggs, and while they were hunting, we quickly got the trailer hooked up and ready to move.

We promised we were just driving a tiny bit. We ended up at Pismo Beach at a nice campground, and to the kids delight we snagged a campsite next door to a little playground.

The campground is on the beach, but unfortunately when we got over there it was crazy windy and chilly. We were told it is like this every afternoon. Later we walked downtown, watched the surfers from the pier,

ate at a yummy BBQ joint (can' t remember the name), and finished off the evening with some self-serve yogurt & toppings.

Zeke was seriously delirious as he only had about a 20 minute nap for the whole day (not from lack of trying). Luke and I retired to our teeny tiny bed, only to have Zeke come paddling out of his room and insist on sleeping with us. Yes, that meant that Genevieve and Dane were living large in the full-size bed, while the 3 of us were all cozy in our "California Twin". I finally got up and slept with Genevieve and Dane with my feet hanging off the bed (we had put them in the bed sideways so they would all fit). Another night of less than average sleep.

Do I sound negative? I don't mean to. We are having a good time. It's just been somewhat of a comedy of errors. And this trailer has proven too small (and too old!) for our family of 5.

Day 4 (Monday). Are we already on day 4? Wow. We are still at Pismo Beach.

We decided to have a day where we are not moving. Although the beach is much to be desired here, the kids seem to enjoy being here (they love the playground and meeting all the kids who come to frequent it all day long). Right now Zeke is going on a 3 1/2 hour nap (hallelujah!). The kids are starting to complain that they're bored. We are heading south tomorrow, although not sure where. We're thinking of doing Knott's Berry Farm (because it's relatively inexpensive, and can be done in one day). But camping/RV options don't look great in LA, so we'll see. Would love to find a nice campground with a great beach. Have spent quite sometime looking for that, and have come up dry. I can find nice campground/poor beach access, great beach/parking lot campground. And nothing is close to KBF. We are willing to skip KBF if we can find a great beach destination. But between here and San Diego nothing looks great. Can you believe that? I had no idea.

Okay, off to get ready to do something when the baby wakes up. And yes, at 21 months he's still my baby. And probably always will be.

******Unfortunately no pictures until we return =(. I grabbed the wrong cord for my camera.

It's not only a name

2009-03-31T00:54:00.000-07:00

For those of you that thought "Taylor Trash" was just a cute little 'play on words' with our name....

Using the Force here at Taylor Trash

2009-03-27T22:53:00.000-07:00

Our little Dane Luke is turning 5, and wants to ring in his birthday Star Wars style.

So we are knee-deep in Darth Vadar, r2d2, light sabers, and jedi training prep. Should be a yoda fun. Get it? Yoda, instead of loada, or load of....

I crack myself up.

Invites....

My homemade stand-up in progress. In this picture I haven't attached it to the cardboard yet. I have to say I think it turned out really cool. It's probably 6 ft tall. I found a program that lets you turn any high res picture into a poster that you can print out in 8.5 X 11 sheets and put together like a puzzle.

the lonely

2009-03-25T00:16:00.000-07:00

"Father to the fatherless, defender of widows, this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy." Psalm 68:5&6

The American Dream....is not God's dream

2009-03-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

Feeling restless tonight. Once again I am all-consumed with the purpose of my life.

In a nutshell, I am not okay with being a Christian living the "American Dream". The words of the Bible are becoming more real and more literal to me every day. My compassion for God's people, especially "the least of these" is growing at a rapid rate.

As Christians I think we often sit back and admire others that have been called to do great things in the name of Christ. I have often thought "if He called me to do that (insert any number of radical sacrifices), would I obey?" And it has only recently occurred to me that we have already been called. We don't have to have an "ah-ha moment", or a "divine intervention" to follow what He has already asked us to do in His Word.

Lately, I have literally been kept up at night thinking of the millions of orphans in the world. I have been resting in the peace that we have not yet been "called" to adopt. I assumed that God would hit me over the head with something tangible, showing me (us) that this was something we were to pursue.

But if I truly want to be Christ-like, then my heart needs to bleed like His. And my actions should reflect that.

What more does He need to do than to write...

'Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.' (James 1:27)

"But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." (I John 3:17-18)

I am acutely aware of how blessed I am to be an American. I realize that my life is a life of luxury to much of the world. That my "humble" 1400 square foot house and the amenities within would be considered a vacation for millions. And that is why I cannot shake this verse:

"To whom much is given, of him much will be required.” (Luke 12:38)

Because I have been given so much, I am expected to give much. Sacrificially.

My heart hurts. I have not given much. Not when thousands are dying daily for lack of clean water and food. Not when millions of children are without a family to call their own.

So where do I begin?

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." (Mother Teresa)

So I will start with just one.

And as my passion grows I will try to remember.....

“It is not our job to convict the world, but to live as a convicted person.” (John Piper)

She's our star

2009-03-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

But she also happened to be star of the week last week in her first grade class.

We didn't have much direction on what to do. I'm assuming the teacher sent something home at the beginning of the year, but since we're new to the class we didn't get it.

Anyhow, we made a poster. Okay, technically I made the poster, but Genevieve helped by filling in the little questionaires I made about her "favorites".

***Hint- if you click on the pictures you can see them in more detail =)

We are entering sports, starting with tee-ball....

2009-03-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

Dane is on the Little League Giants. They don't keep score. Every player has a turn at bat every inning. They don't get "out". They get to run a base at every hit.

So it's pretty much not baseball at all. But they get to wear the cute uniforms, swing a bat, and run. Can't be all that bad.

Cute towel, wrong name

2009-03-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a little hooded towel for our cousins new baby Grace Loren. Only I thought her name was Loren Grace. Notice the "L"?

Bummer.

I need to make her a new towel. Not sure what to do with this one. Don't think I have any friends expecting little girls whose name starts with "L" right now. Maybe she will just get both. And her parents can have a good laugh about it.

Soiled SUV

2009-03-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

My friend Wendy is having a contest. A contest I should be embarrassed that I'm a contender in. But there is something liberating about airing your dirty laundry, or "Dirty DMV" (Dirty Mini Van). The one last cool factor that I still hold onto is the fact that I don't drive a minivan. Luke and I made a pact, even before we were married. There would be no minivan. Ever. Not to say I don't drool over the lower vehicles with automatic doors and whole slew of make-your-life-easier-with-small-children options. I do. But a pact is a pact. And to tell the truth I realize there is nothing cool about SUV's, unless you're a mom and you're proud that you held out from the minivan. Then you think you've still got an ounce of coolness left. But really you're just holding out on practicality.

I digress.

Back to the competition. I'm entering my Soiled SUV. Last week when Wendy announced her competition I was so bummed because I had just driven on a field trip so I had "cleared" out my SUV. Notice I didn't say "cleaned" out. Wendy replied "give it a week, and submit your pics". I thought, 'oh no, not this time. THIS time, I am keeping it free from junk. No more STUFF. I'm taking everything in every time I get home.' Well here we are 10 days later, and I'm a contender. And probably a pretty strong contender.

The pictures don't really do it justice, but here goes.
#1 - The dash - We've got a NKJV Bible, 3 diapers, 2 preschool projects, and a bunch of bandages/ointment for Zeke's newest burn. Further down out of sight is a hat of Luke's.

#2 - The passenger seat. Always the first to collect all the crap. We have clothes I need to return to my SIL, about a weeks worth of mail (because that's how often I check our box at the end of the road), my giraffe purse, an empty lemonade container, another preschool project, and who knows what else underneath. In the consol thingy is another diaper, an empty Hansen's can, a hair clip, mailbox keys, DVD remote, and probably some garbage.

#3 - The passenger seat floor - A McD's bag, a Toys R Us bag with a couple birthday gifts, and the backing to 200 postcard stamps.

#4 - the 2nd row - 1 jacket, 2 sweatshirts, a sweater, 2 teddy bears, a dance costume, an old (probably moldy) sippy cup, a pack of stickers and a lid to a missing cup.

The "trunk" of the car has actually been uneventful. There are a couple pieces of cardboard for a project and a stroller. Not Taylor style at all.

Luke wanted me to disclaim that he doesn't even like to to ride in my car. I told him not too worry, as that seems to be the general rule with most husbands regarding the family car.

It is, what it is....

when I grow up

2009-03-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

Genevieve is 6 1/2. Many days she tells me what she wants to be when she grows up.

Today: "When I grow up I want to be a Professional Jump Roper."

Sweet. I guess your dad and I should start building the little cottage in back that you will surely be living in when you are 45. =)

And here she is being a monkey in her little jungle scene that she created.

My Valentine's Day gift to Luke

2009-02-19T23:43:00.000-08:00

This was my Valentines Day gift to Luke.

(turn off or pause the music player at the bottom of the blog)

It is only the last 7 years of our life because that's when we went digital. Scanning the previous 7 years will be a monstrous task. Someday maybe.

I realized Luke and I have very few pictures of just the 2 of us. I felt a little guilty cropping our kids out of all the pictures =)

Fun in the snow

2009-02-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

Dane had a ski lesson over New Years break, so this time he was a pro going up the rope tow and coming down the bunny slope.

Genevieve went to Ski School this time and did pretty good.

And Zeke just made a cute snow bunny

Lynda & Danny's Twain Harte cabin with lot's of snow. Gotta love the generous in-laws who share their cabin with us.

The King Family came up for a couple nights after they got over the flu.

Dane & Sam sledding in front of the cabin.

Genevieve & Grace making their way up the hill.

And a little winter hot tub fun.

Valentines Fun

2009-02-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

I love having the kids make their own valentines day cards. I don't go crazy, but I usually get some cardstock, do something cute with a picture of them, and have them add stickers. Simple, but homemade.

Sorry about the picture of Danes, my camera was a little flash-happy. His preschool class is the monkey room, thus the monkey stickers.

Cute little Dane-ism-

I was getting out the stuff for the cards, and he kept telling me "mom, there are 5 gils (can't say his "r"'s still). And I told him we were making the cards for everyone. And he asks "for the boys too?" Then when we were putting heart stickers on them he tells me again "I need 5 'hawts' for the gils". He couldn't believe that we were putting heart stickers on the boys cards too (we don't address the preschool cards).

I just think it's funny how he knows it's a kind of a "love" holiday, and wanted to just give the girls the cards. How cute is that?

Genevieve's turned out really cute. Hers are in spanish because she is in the dual immersion class. They didn't have to be, but I thought it would be fun.

And these are the treats I made to go with the cards. White chocolate dipped pretzel rods with sprinkles. Yummy and EASY.

Cutesie cake

2009-02-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

I made this little cake for my friend Kelli's birthday last week. I used a tiny little round pyrex dish and it was a personal little 3"-4" cake.

The SOLD Project

2009-01-31T22:51:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to Cornerstone's viewing of The Sold Project. A series of short documentaries highlighting the exploitation of children in Thailand.

They explained how poverty and lack of education are key factors in this vicious cycle.

The SOLD Project has focused their energy on PREVENTION. They feel the best way to keep children from entering the sex industry, either by force, coercion or default, is by helping to provide an education. While public education is free in Thailand, many families cannot afford the books and uniforms mandatory for attending school.

The SOLD Project has started a scholarship fund for children in poor high-risk villages. They have an on-site case manager who assesses the local children's needs, and helps them to apply for the scholarships.

Last night at Cornerstone ALL the children they had profiles for were sponsored! However, that does not mean their work is done. It just means the case manager can keep finding more kids to help.

Check them out. Also check out the film schedule. They are on tour, so it just might be coming to a city near you.

more water

2009-01-23T15:04:00.000-08:00

Can't stop thinking, and talking and doing water.

At the other blog

I so need to combine these.

300 voices for water

2009-01-23T14:09:00.000-08:00

You might have noticed the new little button on the right of my sidebar. Water For All Seasons. It's a spinoff of Water For Christmas. Because there are many of us that can't stop at giving the gift of water - the gift of life, just at Christmas time.

My friend Jody (well, we've never actually met, and I only "know" her through blogland, but she feels like a friend) is leading the way for those of us who are constantly asking ourselves "what can one person do to make a difference in Africa?"

She is gathering a team of 300, who will do 2 things.

1. Commit to sending $20/month to charity: water.

2. Share with others about water.

Okay, I guess she is only asking that you commit to #1, but is pretty confident you will just be compelled to do #2.

This is a team effort.

300 voices going strong.

Can you imagine the power and effect God will have through THREE HUNDRED people passionate about water?

Water is life.

300 Voices for LIFE.

Will you join us?

Leave a comment below if you will, then go to HERE to hear what Jody has to say. Then go HERE to sign up to be part of the team.

I'm secretly hoping to have a little branch of the 300 right here in the tri-valley. I am yearning for like-minded friends that will come together who want to DO SOMETHING with me. Not with their extra time, 'cause none of us have that. I want a group of us who will sacrifice, and carve out a chunk of our already hectic lives to do something beyond ourselves. Beyond our families. Beyond our comfort zones. Where are you friends? The ones that think BIG?

Wow I didn't really plan on calling you all out, but since I am, I might as well do it. Leave a comment if you're on board. If it's too uncomfortable for you to leave a comment on my blog, then you're not the Big Thinker I'm looking for. NO OFFENSE.

Okay, now I'm going to be nervously watching my empty comment section all week. You can still comment even if you are not feeling like being part of the 300 voices. You can still send me a word of encouragement, or tell me that once again I've gone off the deep end =) That just may very well be true.

Because I do like to swim.

need to combine blogs

2009-01-22T15:09:00.000-08:00

So it's apparent that I can't keep up 2 blogs. If I'm updating one, the other stands stagnant. I'm thinking there's a way to marry the two, but not sure what that is.

Any ideas?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Computer & Mexico

2009-01-18T09:39:00.000-08:00

Update on the crashed computer:

I found a guy via a friend of a friend who was able to retrieve all my data off the hard-drive. It cost $125, which I felt was a great deal considering my quote from Drive Savers for $2500. I then took my computer to apple so they could replace the hard-drive. Just got a call from apple, that it appears my hard-drive is working, and that something else was wrong with the computer to make it impossible to access the hard-drive. Ummmmmm, it would have been nice if they figured that out and told me BEFORE I went and PAID MONEY to have my data retrieved. THANK GOD we did not go to Drive Savers. Could you imagine if I paid $2500 to retrieve my data only to find out that it was never "lost" in the first place???? Apple just lost a few points in my book. They are the ones who told me that my HD was bad and to retrieve my data before I turned it over to them.

I will up the computer tonight or tomorrow and will know for sure what the scoop is. I am also learning that "backing up" my data gets a bit more confusing and involved because I am running Parallels and Windows. The only reason I am running these programs is because Quickbooks Mac is a crappy program, and won't do everything we need it to do, so I am forced to use the Windows version.

Way more than you ever wanted to know I'm sure.

Mexico! I realize from the different comments and e-mails that I never really explained WHY I took Genevieve to Mexico. Our elementary school has a Dual Immersion Program where students are taught in spanish starting in Kindergarten. It is a highly sought after program, and only half the school participates in this program. Priority is given by how many years you have lived in our town, and is open to the whole district, not just those who are supposed to go to our school.

We have had Genevieve on the waiting list since Kindergarten, and she JUST got a placement half-way through first grade. We got the call right before Christmas Break. So I had this crazy idea of taking her to Mexico to give her a little boost in spanish before throwing her into her new class. You know, since she will be A YEAR AND A HALF behind the other kids. Well my crazy husband supported my crazy idea, and it became our crazy reality. Our business is technically closed between Christmas and New Years, so Luke was able to be home with the boys while us girls went on our little mother-daughter adventure.

It was a great trip. The town of San Miguel de Allende was beautiful. The language school was top-notch. But the best part was seeing Genevieve in a new element. Wow, the difference without siblings to bicker with! It was great. I'm secretly planning our next mother-daughter get-away, because I truly enjoyed our time together like no other.

So Genevieve has been back in school for 2 weeks and she's doing great! The transition is going much smoother than I (or her new teacher) anticipated. I'm hoping that we can go somewhere this summer as a family to help keep up the spanish over the break.

This is why

2009-01-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

This is why I can't be complacent.
This is why I can't sleep at night.
This is why I have to DO SOMETHING.
This is why you do too.

(first turn down the music player at the bottom of my blog)

A plug for the 'ol biz

2009-01-12T14:23:00.000-08:00

Back it up!

2009-01-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

Now.

Stop what you are doing, hook up your computer to an external drive (if you don't have one, go out and buy one), and BACK UP YOUR STUFF.

I'm the queen of reading these messages, and saying to myself "yah, I gotta do that....later".

Well later never came and my hard drive CRASHED.

NO WARNING. 9 month old computer.

ALL of our business information & customer accounts are on that hard drive. Our LIVELIHOOD.

All my pictures from the last 9 months.

I am a self-proclaimed IDIOT for not backing-up.

Right now I don't know what (if anything) will be salvaged. To send it to a professional data-retrieval place is between $2000-$3000. We MAY have to go that route. And we still MAY not get anything back.

Trying to have peace. These things throw me into such a tailspin. I have to remember that God CAN fix this problem. So if He chooses not to, I'm supposed to learn something from this ordeal. I'm pretty sure it is not supposed to be "panic" or "stress". I have to keep my eye on the bigger picture. Our lives may get really difficult for a while because of this, but they will not end.

One more lesson in PERSPECTIVE, that's for sure.

So why are you still reading this?

GO BACK UP YOUR PRECIOUS FILES!!!!!

Is it Lupus?

2009-01-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

My friend Danika has a new blog. Well, she's been blogging for a little while now, but her husband designed a new blog for her with different sections, and it's really cool. She talks about her journey with Lupus (which she is currently battling right now), and how that journey has affected her drive toward healthy eating, a healthy lifestyle, her parenting, her marriage, and her relationship with God. You should definitely check it out.

Is It Lupus?

need to update!

2009-01-06T19:08:00.000-08:00

Hopefully tonight!

Remember these?

2009-01-04T18:13:00.000-08:00

My stork and (other signs) business has been plugging along ever so slowly, which I have been content with considering our crazy pace of life these days.

But it's time to kick this business into gear! Luke's painting business is quite slow right now, and the pool business isn't generating quite enough. So it's time to get serious about this business again.

Special Deliveries is back in the game baby!

Home!

2009-01-03T23:55:00.000-08:00

We got in this afternoon. Luke, Dane & Zeke came to pick us up at SFO airport. I was so excited to see Zeke. Of course all the boys too, but especially Zeke. He was the only one I couldnt' talk to on the phone (or at least hear his voice, since he STILL doesn't talk). And babies change so much so fast.

Can I just tell you how he just about broke my heart?

Seriously.

When he saw me, the look on his face was indescribable. It was NOT joy or happiness. It was confusion, a little anger, and just plain unhappiness to see me.

When I put my arms out to him he pulled away and clung to Luke.

I think he had come to terms with the thought that I was gone forever, and had settled into a life with daddy. And I came home and threw a wrench in what he thought was reality.

He has been hot and cold with me all evening.

Sometimes he would come sit in my lap, and other times only daddy would do.

Seriously broke my heart =(.

I will be updating my other posts with pictures and more info, so scroll down in the next couple of days.

Adios amigos!

can't sleep

2009-01-02T21:52:00.000-08:00

in bed, under the covers, fully-clothed. alarm will go off in 3 hours. still can't sleep. =(

Feliz Ano Nuevo! ~ Thursday

2009-01-01T22:58:00.000-08:00

New Years Day closed most of San Miguel down. However we did still have school (which I'm grateful for since we paid for a week!). There were still a few restaurants and stores open, but definitely not the crowds like the other days.

My teacher Eduardo took us to el mercado artisiennes (sp?) today. So here's the wierd thing about San Miguel which makes it distinctly different than other parts of Mexico that I've visited.

They don't bargain.

Nor are the vendors aggressive. They are the opposite of aggressive. They hardly will even ask you to buy something from them.

Once they name their price, that's it. They will let you walk away if you don't want it. It was so weird.

new post tomorrow

2008-12-31T21:36:00.000-08:00

need sleep.....

asta manana