Teach Them Young
Posted on May 12, 2008 - Filed Under Kids | 1 Comment
We recently invested in a scale with the intention of losing some weight. It´s also handy for making sure the boys are where they ought to be. But obviously certain little people are watching . . .
Dorian insists that he weighs forty pounds (he weighs 29), so every time he gets on the scale he says confidently, “Ah, forty!” Today I was checking my weight, then Irving checked his and Dorian got on last.
“Wow, you gained a whole pound!” I said.
“It´s the shoes!” He replied, shaking his head.
Happy Guatemalan Mother´s Day!
Posted on May 10, 2008 - Filed Under Mom Stuff | 2 Comments
Photo by Leonid Mamchenkov
Gifts from the North
Posted on May 9, 2008 - Filed Under Kids | 1 Comment
There´s nothing better than getting mail when you´re little and Dorian and Dante LOVE to tear open my packages. But when there´s one for them . . . they are pretty excited. Yesterday, a package from my parents arrived. It´s for Dante´s birthday which actually isn´t until the 16th, but we ended up letting the boys open it anyway.
My mom was sweet enough to get gifts for both boys, since she figured Dorian wouldn´t get why his brother was receiving a gift. Irving and I had already agreed that each boy will get a gift on his brother´s birthday anyway, since Dorian´s is so close to Christmas he´d have to go a whole year without gifts otherwise, so this was just perfect.
Dorian was pretty excited to have something from “Gamma n Gampa”. 
He can´t say Auntie Rebekah yet, so when I told him she was in on the gift, he just nodded wisely and said, “Ah, si.”
The gifts were beach toys! Perfect for little boys!
So, of course, we had to send them outside to play. Dante had never actually sat outside (except in his bouncy chair), so he had a lot of fun, though for some reason I didn´t get a single shot of him smiling! He´s being awfully serious in my photos these days!
So, thanks Mom and Dad (aka. Gamma and Gampa) and Rebekah! The boys loved their new toys!
We Took a Paint Day
Posted on May 6, 2008 - Filed Under Kids | 2 Comments
Yesterday, Irving had to leave early for a music gig, so I worked hard and wrapped up most of my work by noon. That left the afternoon free . . . without any stress. That´s pretty rare for me but I recently took a cut in my blogging job so I can relax a bit more. Yesterday was the first day I really got to enjoy that.
I pulled out the paints, set up a makeshift easel, stripped the boys down to pants and let them have at it while I snapped photos. It was great. I´m trying to use natural light more in the pictures, but it´s hard because little boys don´t hold still for long and the camera I use takes forever to snap a picture without the flash. Anyway, some of the pictures just turned out amazing, so I thought I´d share our day.
They were both pretty absorbed . . . Dorian with painting and Dante with washing brushes.
I love how focused Dorian was as he painted. I literally snapped over 50 photos of him and he didn´t even notice!
Meanwhile, Dante got busy painting the floor.
And himself.
And helping his brother.
My little artists were all worn out after a long afternoon of painting and after a partial cleanup, they relaxed and watched Shrek while I made dinner and boiled bottles. A bath to get rid of the last of the paint and they were off to bed without a peep! We´ll definitely be doing this more often.
All About Irving
Posted on May 5, 2008 - Filed Under Fun | Leave a Comment
Deb over at Mom of 3 Girls did this meme today and I really like it, so I´ll do it here, too. It gives a bit of insight to your significant other.
1. Who is your man? Irving
2. How long have you been together? 5.5 years
3. How long dated? 3 months before he moved in with me (his mom kicked him out of the house for dating a foreigner)
4. How old is your man? 29
5. Who eats more? Unfortunately, that would be me. Irving eats like a bird!
6. Who said “I love you” first? Technically, Irving did, but he thinks I did. He was saying goodbye to me at work and I said “te llamo (yamo)” which means “I´ll call you”, but he heard “Te amo” and so he said, “Te amo, tambien” which is “I love you, too.”
7. Who is taller? Irving by about an inch
8. Who sings better? Neither of us can sing a whit! We´ve both been known to ask the other to shut up. 
9. Who is smarter? I´d have to say he is . . . but he´s not logical. He picks up anything in seconds and has never studied for a test in his life . . . but while cleaning up, he´ll put keys in the cutlery drawer and combs in the toolbox. :S
10. Whose temper is worse? ahem, that would be me.
11. Who does the laundry? We send it out to be done. Otherwise, it just piled up and was so much work to do. Well, it does actually still pile up . . . . but at least it´s clean now!
12. Who takes out the garbage? Irving, we have to haul heavy bags a long way out to the road, so he does it.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does
14. Who pays the bills? He does
15. Who is better with the computer? Definitely me, Irving is just getting into computers and I´ve been on them since I was little.
16. Who mows the lawn? This is our “lawn”.
17. Who cooks dinner? I do. We supposedly had a deal where he´d cook Mon-Wed, but he doesn´t start until after bedtime for the boys and I end up making their dinner anyway.
18. Who drives when you are together? Irving, since I haven´t learned to ride a motorbike yet.
19. Who pays when you go out? Depends on who has money.
20. Who is most stubborn? Me
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me
22. Whose parents do you see the most? Irving´s, since we live on the same piece of land. My parents haven´t even met him!
23. Who kissed who first? I honestly don´t recall.
24. Who asked who out? Um. He said, “I hang out in the park every night around 6 until late. So, maybe we´ll see each other there.” Terribly romantic, huh?
25. Who proposed? Irving did, but we never got married because of paperwork. Now it won´t happen because I told him that if I was pregnant or had kids, I wasn´t getting married. I think then it´s more out of necessity than love.
26. Who is more sensitive? Me
27. Who has more friends? Neither of us have friends, but he has more acquaintances.
28. Who has more siblings? He does. I have three sisters and he has 2 brothers, 2 sisters and 2 half sisters. There may be more that we don´t know about, too.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? Usually me. But he takes over sometimes.
I´m going to tag Kimmie, Jessica and Bernie (switch to “who´s your woman?” )
Mama´s Boy No More?
Posted on May 3, 2008 - Filed Under Mom Stuff | 2 Comments
Ok, Ok, I know this is normal . . . but . . . but . . . sniff. Tonight Dorian requested that his Papa put him to bed . . . even with the stories! I´ve read him his bedtime stories since he was born and this is the very first time he´s made a request otherwise.
My little boy is growing up and I´m not sure I like it! First the refusal of kisses and now no more bedtime stories? Sigh.
You Asked for It
Posted on May 2, 2008 - Filed Under Personal | 8 Comments
Ok, so I´ve had a few requests for more photos of myself on the blog . . . the problem is that I´m usually the one taking the picture! But last night the boys and I were having fun and Irving picked up the camera, so here are a few shots to satisfy those of you who think I ought to be on my own blog. 
13 Things I Couldn´t Live Without
Posted on May 1, 2008 - Filed Under 13 Things | 2 Comments
There are a lot of things in our lives and while we can probably live without most of them . . . there are a few things that are just necessary! (these are not in any particular order)
- My boys (does that count as two?)
- Irving
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Books
- Fresh air (I´d never survive in a big, smoggy city)
- Popcorn
- A digital camera
- Internet
- My online friends
- Sisters
- Cool, fresh water to drink
- Bleach (I´m a bit of a germaphobe at times!)
Wordless Wednesday: Peekaboo!
Posted on April 30, 2008 - Filed Under Wordless Wednesday | 4 Comments
Soon We Can Shower!
Posted on April 29, 2008 - Filed Under Guatemala, Personal | 3 Comments
Ok, well, to tell the truth, it´s a ways away, but our new builder is working very quickly to finish up our bathroom and I´m so happy to see the building going up!
Here are a couple of shots of the brand new bathroom to be . . .
The weird green thing in front is a pila, or water storage/sink. The middle holds water and one side is ribbed for scrubbing clothes, the other smooth for dishes. The doorway to the bathroom is behind the tree, which is getting chopped down in a couple of days.
Here is the view from the front, that first row of dark concrete is actually floor level, so you can see how much we have to fill in with dirt!
Here´s what the end result will be . . . I hope. I designed this on floorplanner.com.
The stairs by the bathroom lead up to a second story, which will be my craft room/office/storage space/guest room. I´m really, really looking forward to having a place to sew or be crafty without Irving heaving huge sighs about the mess and cleaning up stuff as I am working on it!
