I Hate to Be So Cynical, But . . .
Posted on September 1, 2010 - Filed Under Guatemala, Personal | 3 International Amigos Said
A while back, I posted that our laundry detergent and a bottle of fabric softener had gone missing. Some of you suggested it might have been taken and to tell you the truth, I didn’t want to think about it because that would most likely mean it was our maid that was stealing. She has been absolutely amazing with the boys and we have had very few problems with her, so I really, really didn’t want to consider that as a possibility.
The Monday after I was frantically looking for the laundry stuff and after Irving had called her at home to ask if she’d seen it, our maid miraculously discovered the laundry soap at the bottom of a laundry basket that both Irving and I had checked. It was odd, but I thought maybe we’d just looked too quickly and missed it. The fabric softener didn’t turn up at all.
Then Irving got a call to go play a gig and when he went to iron his shirt . . . no iron. Anywhere. He went and scoured his family’s house because they have a tendency to borrow it. But they had two new irons and he couldn’t find ours anywhere. The maid said she hadn’t seen it in months . . . which could easily be true since we haven’t used it in ages.
And now, over the past week, a bag of pasta and two bags of salt have disappeared, as well as a couple of rolls of toilet paper. These are all things I KNOW I had and didn’t use myself.
Today I mentioned the missing stuff (she’d already brought up the salt, saying she couldn’t find it) and her eyes went big and she started to babble about the salt again . . . which seemed awfully suspicious to me.
Today our maid asked for her vacation, all 15 days of it. Irving said it would be a week since she works part time and has been with us for a year, but she insisted that I had offered her a full half month back when we were going to Canada. Irving told me this later and I pointed out that I had offered to pay her half her wage while we were away for the month to come by and check on the place and dust a couple times a week . . . not as her vacation.
In the end, we decided she can have the 15 days, but we’ll be looking for a replacement. Now that we have the washing machine and Irving is here all day, we really only need someone to come in and do a quick clean, wash the dishes, etc. so someone who comes in three times a week would probably be more than enough.
Learning the Rules
Posted on August 31, 2010 - Filed Under Fun | 6 International Amigos Said
We just recently decided to teach the boys how to play board games. I found one called Subidas and Resbalones, which roughly translates to Ups and Downs, which seemed to be like Chutes and Ladders or Snakes and Ladders.
It’s not.
It’s a complicated version of that childhood game . . . involving a treasure chest of coins that are rewarded or paid, a variety of pirate related adventure squares and over 100 barely distinguishable squares to move on. We solved the problem of dealing with the complications by forming teams, Irving and Dante, Dorian with me, and we’ve been playing this game almost every day!
Now we have something to do during these frequent power outages! The boys really enjoy playing games and we’ll be adding to our closet soon . . . any suggestions?
What Do These Things Have in Common?
Posted on August 28, 2010 - Filed Under Kids | 3 International Amigos Said
Any guesses?
I’ll just tell you . . . all these things were found in little boys’ pockets while I was doing the laundry! And somehow I missed a couple of bees that ended up getting washed.
How to Make a Spider Glider
Posted on August 27, 2010 - Filed Under Homeschool, Kids, Simple Life | 1 International Amigo Said
We’ve been studying spiders in school for the past two weeks and while we didn’t do as many crafts as I would like, we have done a few. The spider gliders were by far the favorite! Here’s how to make your very own spider that will zip up and down his or her “dropline”.
First you need the following items:
Straws, string or baby yarn, tape, scissors and, of course, a spider.
You can print out a spider onto thick paper or cardboard. I drew ours (hence the bizarre appearance) and the boys colored them.
Then you take a piece of straw (length isn’t important, it should fit on the spider’s abdomen) and tape it to the bottom of your spider.
Now, cut long pieces of string. They should be about 6-8 feet long. Tie a little piece of straw to each end. Then fold the string in half and push the doubled up middle part through the straw like so:
So, now you will have two ends hanging from the bottom of the spider and the loop sticking up out by the head. Take that look, hook it over a nail or something high up.
To make your spider zip, pull the two string ends apart . . . the spider will fly up to the ceiling! Just bring the ends together, keeping the line taut and the spider will slide right back down to your hands.
I tried to get video and photos, but nothing worked, so you’ll have to be satisfied with this blur of a child . . . or make your own!
An Impromptu Trip to the Zoo
Posted on August 24, 2010 - Filed Under Fun, Guatemala, Kids, Travel | 7 International Amigos Said
This past Sunday we had quite the adventure. First we headed to Chimaltenango looking for something pretty specific. It wasn’t available in the MaxiBodega so we decided to go to the capital and try our luck at HiperPais. No go. Feeling a bit annoyed that we’d just traveled for entirely too long in two completely different directions, we sat there thinking what to do. Then Irving said, “Hey, why don’t we go to the zoo?”
Now, we’ve tried MANY times to go to the zoo. The first attempt was when Dorian turned two . . . and the rest of our tries were equally unsuccessful. Since our Sunday plan had vanished, it seemed like it might be a good time to skip the plans and just do it. So we did.
It was great! The boys were very excited to see lions, but when we got to the lion exhibit, they breezed on by with barely a glance. :S
The elephant, however, was another matter.
It peed while we were watching and . . . well, if you’ve ever seen how much an elephant bladder can hold, you know why my boys were laughing, pointing and squealing, “Cochino!”
Another huge hit, to my surprise, was the turtle cage.
But nothing, absolutely NOTHING, compared to the grizzly bear who kept us entertained for over 15 minutes by fishing leaves out of his pool and eating them and then taking a bath!
Shortly after the bear, it started to rain. Now, my kids LOVE to run out in the rain at home, but Dorian was quite offended that the skies would dare to open up while he was at the zoo.
Dante, on the other hand, barely noticed.
Dorian cheered up when we got to the birds though! He does love owls!
I didn’t take a lot of other pictures after that since I didn’t want the camera to get wet. We went to the snake house, where the boys were thrilled to see snakes up close through the glass. When we came out, there were some girls holding assorted snakes that you could touch and get your photo taken with. We didn’t do the photo, but Dante touched a snake and was very puffed up for ages afterwards . . . especially since his brother wasn’t as brave as he was!
“It’s going to bite me and it’s poisonous.” Dorian said, staying far away. He didn’t believe us when we said it wasn’t poisonous . . . he’s quite certain that all snakes are, which isn’t a bad thing considering we do find them on our land once in a while!
Here are a few other critters we saw . . .
Finally, we headed home and it stopped raining at the end of our trip! The boys got to pick a souvenir each. Dorian got an inflatable plane (yes, at the zoo! But there’s the airport right beside it so I guess that was the reasoning).
Dante got a monkey that chirrups and squeals and hugs you. He’s in love with it . . . he sleeps with it tucked into bed with him now.
All in all, it turned out to be a great day!
Raising Bilingual Kids
Posted on August 22, 2010 - Filed Under Guatemala, Kids, Simple Life | 8 International Amigos Said
A LOT of people ask me how we managed to raise our kids to be fluent in two languages. There are a lot of questions out there and while I’m no expert, I did do some research before Dorian was born to try and make sure we did the right thing. So, with that in mind, I thought I’d answer some of the more common questions.
First, I’ll tell you what we did. Our strategy was based on the fact that we live in a Spanish speaking country and they would spend most of their time playing with Guatemalan children. That’s since changed since a lot of expats with kids have recently moved to the area, but when Dorian was born, we knew virtually no other English speakers.
With that in mind, I stocked up on children’s books in English, DVDs in English and they were exposed to my native language that way. Also, I spoke only English with them (still do for the most part) and Irving speaks only Spanish with them. The idea behind this was to separate the languages. Other ways you can do this (particularly if the parents are not bilingual):
- Speak one language at home and another at school
- Parents speak one language, the maid or nanny speaks another
The idea is to keep the languages separate. Supposedly it takes longer if kids are hearing several languages from one person and I’ve actually seen that in other families where one parent will speak two or three languages to the child.
On to some of the common questions . . . feel free to ask more in the comments.
Do they actually speak two languages, or just understand them both and speak one?
My kids both speak and understand Spanish and English. Which one they prefer depends on the day! Early on, Dorian spoke mostly English, though he understood Spanish just fine and Dante was the opposite, speaking mainly Spanish until about a year ago.
What do they speak with each other?
Mostly English, actually, but there’s a lot of Spanish mixed in. Anyone who speaks just one language would be a bit lost listening to them play.
Do they get confused?
They don’t seem to! While the boys switch to the other language if they can’t think of a word, they can stick to just one language when necessary.
Do they know which is which?
This is a connection that Dante just made and Dorian has understood the difference for a year now, so it seems to happen around 3. Now they ask for movies in English or Spanish, depending on their mood and if they start speaking to a friend in Spanish, you can remind them “they speak English” and they’ll switch over.
Is their speech delayed?
Dorian was a very verbal child and started speaking at four months (in English), so it obviously didn’t affect him . . . but Dante was a bit behind until recently. From what I read, most kids are somewhat speech delayed when learning two languages from the get go, BUT they catch up very quickly, which is evident in all the kids I’ve seen.
We know one little boy who was raised trilingual and he didn’t speak until he was 3 . . . but you’d never know that now, he chatters away fluently!
How’s their vocabulary?
Well, Dante told me the other day, “You’re dispicable!” And they frequently refer to food as “delicious” or “disgusting”, so you tell me.
What are you going to do about school?
Since we’re homeschooling and I’m the teacher at the moment, we’re starting with English. Dorian is currently reading in English and by Grade 2-3, he will probably start reading and writing in Spanish, but we’re taking it as we go.
Any more questions?
7 Reasons I’m Very Glad I Have Irving
Posted on August 20, 2010 - Filed Under Personal | 3 International Amigos Said
Yesterday was a bit of a disaster. These things happen. Irving is amazing in situations like this because while I’m one of those people who just gets more and more frustrated, he takes it all in stride and deals with everything quite calmly (which is actually annoying if you’re frustrated, but still a good thing).
So, here are a few reasons I’m glad I’ve got my guy.
1. He handles things without stressing. If something needs to be done, he’ll do it or find someone to do it, no freaking out or worrying aloud how on earth we’ll manage.
2. He loves his kids. He spends pretty much all day every day with them and never really complains about it. He spoils them, which sometimes isn’t a good thing, but it’s also because he loves them.
3. He takes over the worst duties. After yesterday’s poo incident, I was pretty grossed out . . . Irving marched in there and Cloroxed the whole place, bathed and disinfected Dante and let me just stay out of the whole thing. What a guy!
4. He’s always taken night duties. I suck at sleeping for an hour at a time and I get super grumpy. So, when Dorian was a newborn, baby, and toddler, and woke up every 20-40 minutes throughout the night, Irving got up with him. For some reason, he can do that and not feel too tired. Thank goodness!
5. He stands up for me. When I met Irving, he was very much a mama’s boy and still is. I think a lot of Latinos are because they stay so long with their families. Anyway, even though I know he adores his mom, he will side with me in any arguement and stand up to her for me, even if he later asks me why. That to me is so very important to have someone on my side.
6. He’ll go out for any reason. Yesterday, Irving went out to get supplies THREE times with all the stuff that was going on. He didn’t complain at all. In fact, I said he should just forget it and I wouldn’t make the cookies, but he said no problem and headed back out the door. Course, he also ate half the cookies, so maybe he had good motivation.
7. He cleans. Sometimes, anyway. This is another of those good/bad traits, since it bugs him when the boys and I have craft stuff out. BUT, when the maid doesn’t come, he cleans like a madman.
The No Good, Stinky Day
Posted on August 19, 2010 - Filed Under Uncategorized | 6 International Amigos Said
It’s been one of those days. It started off fine, though I slept in (after watching Prince of Persia until entirely too late last night). Irving and I went into town and did some grocery shopping because we’ve been eating pretty much only beans for the past three weeks and I needed something decent to put up on Gourmet Mama.
When we came back, I busied myself, making a fruit pizza. I was chopping the fruit and reading the recipe for the sugar cookie base when I realized . . . I had no eggs. I dispatched Irving to get some. When he returned with them, I started mixing up the batter for the cookie base and some chocolate chip cookies and realized that I had no flour. Now, you might think me silly for not checking this ahead of time, but we’d JUST bought five pounds of flour and I hadn’t baked yet, so I knew the bin was full. Except it wasn’t.
Irving headed out again. And, while he was away, I put the first batch of cookies into the oven (I had just enough flour for those) and the gas ran out. Sheesh. I recognize a hint when I see one. Needless to say, the cookies turned out ugly and unphotographable, but totally edible.
Then, while cleaning up, I heard Dante sobbing in the bathroom. I asked what was wrong. “Poop, it’s everywhere!” He wailed.
I went in and sure enough, poop everywhere. He had realized he needed to go, ran for the bathroom, lost it outside the bathroom and then shut himself in to try and clean himself up. Alone.
There were bits of toilet paper everywhere and the actual toilet roll was IN the toilet. And my poor little guy was covered in muck and sobbing that he couldn’t clean it up himself. We reminded him that we’re here to help with things like wiping and getting to the toilet in time and right now, Irving is cleaning the entire place up. Yet another reason I’m glad we have the bathroom separate from the house!
Finally, I went to do the laundry, only to find that the brand new detergent AND the fabric softener are . . . gone. Luckily I had powder soap left, but still.
It’s only 3 pm, but I’m thinking we could use a reset on this day.
Dorian’s Hair
Posted on August 19, 2010 - Filed Under Kids | 1 International Amigo Said
We’ve had quite a few comments on Dorian’s hair lately. He really likes it long (“it’s so beautiful and flowing!” he says), and I have no desire to fight with him over something so silly as hair. So it’s long. I trim it now and then and the deal is that he has to let us comb it if he wants it long. One mention of scissors or the barber and he sits quietly so we can get out the tangles.
The other day, a taxi driver asked me, “How do you grow a boy’s hair that long?” I mistakenly took this as an insult and bristled, saying, “He likes it that way!”
“Oh, no, I mean, how do you grow it? How could I grow MY hair like that, it’s so nice.” lol. So I told him we just left it alone for the most part and trimmed the ends so it didn’t get all frizzy.
My in-laws are very against long hair, as is evidenced by the fact that Irving mentioned he was THINKING of taking Dante to the barber and they hacked the kid’s curls off. And I do mean hacked. Those of you on Facebook will have heard that lovely story.
Anyway. They are always on us to get Dorian’s hair cut and to prove their point that he “looks like a girl”, they do things like braid his hair, put a ribbon in it or put it in a ponytail. Which I really could care less about. Then the other day he came back with a ponytail and I couldn’t believe how LONG his hair is getting! Check this out (sorry for the bad pic, he wouldn’t hold still):
And, I have to admit, his hair is much nicer than mine!
A Love of School
Posted on August 18, 2010 - Filed Under Homeschool, Kids | 5 International Amigos Said
Dante spent the entire day yesterday asking, “Can we have school? I want school.”
The reason?
Spiders.
We’re doing a unit study on spiders right now and my little guy is a tad obsessed (hence the theme). It’s been so much fun! I got some plastic bugs and spiders, printed off some activity sheets and a anatomical drawing of a spider. While the kids aren’t writing yet, they sure are thrilled to learn!
We read about the life cycle of spiders, looked for spider nests and webs, tested the webs with our fingers to see how sticky they are . . . and we’re not done! We’ve still got spider gliders to make, a paper mache spider and some pom pom spiders, plus learning more spider facts. Dorian is learning to read some spider words and both of them are counting spider cutouts!
I’ll have some pictures later, but here’s a totally unrelated one of Dorian’s worksheet. Note the little face in the lower right . . . he adds little touches like this to ALL his schoolwork!
