Birthday Bash!

Sweet potato cake with cinamon buttercream frosting.
Delicious...despite the extra butter!

 Here are some pictures from Emily's TWO birthday parties. ;)  Half as many parties as she is old!  Our second party in La Zubia was really fun and so, so easy.  I love homemade cakes and personalized parties with fun, crafty party favours, etc. but something like that just wasn't in the cards for her second party in Granada. There's no way I would have had time to bake a cake, much less deccorate a place, and arrange some kind of entertainment/craft for the kids... 

The ball park turned out to be the best deal ever!  It was 9 euros per child (not counting the birthday girl) and included EVERYTHING.  That is and hour + of play time, snack, drinks, cake, a little gift for the birthday girl and bag of party favours for the guests.  Then for an extra 20 euros you could hire a magician for a magic show.  We did that too.  It was a big hit--all of it. 

I wasn't so keen on the idea of the junky snack they prepare, but one day of that kind of garbage never hurt a kid.  Emily was thrilled.  She was pounding down the little corn puffs (like cheetos without the cheese power) and probably drank four glasses of chocolate milk!  They also served ham sandwiches and nutella sandwiches (eye roll).  Then there was chocolate cake for all.  I don't know how she didn't end up with a tummy ache, but all the kids seemed pretty excited to have free rein of whatever they wanted to eat.  I did feel slightly guilty, because it does go against my general beliefs of healthy eating and how we're raising Emily...but like I say, desperate circumstances call for desperate measures.  And really it was fantastic to be able to just take her there and have everything ready and prepared--absolutely zero headache.

Her jack-o-lantern came out for the party, too!

We even paid a little extra to have some savoury puff pastries and drinks of choice (coffee, tea, soda, beer...) out for the parents who stayed.  I spent the whole party sipping a coffee and chatting with other parents while Angelines watched over Emily. :)  The place has adult supervisors inside the three-floor ball park jungle gym, but that was a little too much for Emily.  She only stayed in there for about 20 min.  The big play area is designated for 4-11 year old kids and there is a separate area for the 3 and unders.  Emily had two guests who were "under-aged" and playing in the baby zone.  In the end she and two other four-year-olds opted to join them.  The owners were flexible, as originally they had said that the older kids were not allowed in the baby zone, but of course, Emily and her friends were better behaved than some of the 2-year-olds in there.  The only down side was that a parent was required to be in there with the little ones whereas the older kids were totally on their own.

We all bought Birthday hats and Emily was SO exited
...just not showing it in this picture!

The magic show was a surprising hit with Emily!  I didn't think she would be very game at all to go with the magician and participate in his act as I was pretty sure the birthday girl would be called to do.  I was such a shy child and couldn't stand being the center of attention in those kinds of situations where people might laugh at me.  I distinctly remember refusing to hit the piñata at a friend's party when I was around her age because I couldn't stand the thought of missing and having everyone there staring and laughing.  Emily has no such problem apparently.  She proudly identified herself as the birthday girl and then happily accompanied him up to the front to do some magic with him.  She got pretty into it.  He asked for her total concentration and "magician face" (which was a pretty terrible grimmace)...scroll down to the pictures, you'll laugh!

Friends and cousins in the bar. :)

Although the party food was less than healthy and the party itself was not so personalized as her fiesta in La Roda, I was really happy about one thing in particular: no presents!  There is a parent Whatsapp group at school and a mom propsed a very novel idea to save money and keep gifts in line with parents' values, etc.: rather than bringing a gift to the party, the parents will buy something in the name of all the school friends present.  It sounds strange, but it's actually a great idea.  All of the parents who have agreed to this idea are on a list and when your child is invited a listed child's bday, all you have to do is show up.  There is no worrying about what to buy or what the child is interested in or what the parents may or may not approve of; you just go and have fun!  From the parents' side of things, you save money NOT buying presents for other kids and can therefore afford to spend a bit more on your own child and buy them an extra something "from their friends" that is in accordance with your own values, etc.  Emily's friends gave her the magic show as a gift.  Several kids also brought beautiful handmade cards and pictures for her. So although in some ways it was your stereotypical junk-food party, it was really wonderful that everyone who came was just there to have fun, celebrate and be with Emily.  In my opinion it was really what a birthday should be about.  There was none of the gift comparing, greedy ripping through wrapping paper, or faking (or not) that you like someone's present.  It was just so much more natural.  All the kids had a blast and Emily most of all. :)

Following strict directions to carefull hold the glass while concentrating on her "magician's face".

Along the lines of birthday greed/consumerism, there was a birthday party of 30 kids there that same day.  The birthday kid walked out of there with several garbage bags full of gifts...  When you get so much, you value very little, in my opinion (and experience).  A thoughtfully drawn picture means so much more, and when it's not compared to some fancy Barbie doll all the better.

Emily didn't miss the presents one bit.

To respect different parents' wishes about kids' pictures online, this is the only one I'll post...but they were a cute bunch. ;)

One down, one to go...

The birthday party was a success; though we have decided that next year we will just have a party in Granada with her school friends.  We celebrated at the bar like last year, but it was virtually exclusively family, which means not many kids her age.  Only one little friend from town was there...  Emily didn't seem to mind not having friends to play with.  She is very accostumed to adult company and this is actually something we're trying to work on now that she's in school: relating to peers and making friends her own age.  She has bonded more with her teachers than any of her classmates.  With that in mind, having a birthday part in Granada with school friends is, I think, especially important.  Thus the title of this post: one (party) down and one to go. ;)

This week completely got away from us.  We were still recovering from our colds (me my sore throat and Emily bronchitis), and this week we were struck by a stomach bug!  All of the teachers at school were ill.  We were dropping like flys!  Tuesday I was in class alone since my teaching partner was sick at home with some kind of flu.  And then I went home Wed. after throwing up at school.  Thankfully Thurday, I was much better.  In my case, at least it seems to have been a 24-hour bug.  But then around 5am on Friday Emily was throwing up in bed.  Angelines isn't in Granada with us after Thursday mornings because she comes back to La Roda to open the bar.  I had no one to leave Emily with and so ended up not working Friday either!

Anyway, between hospital visits (we visited the ER because Emily's cough didn't seem to be improving even after using the inhaler for 3 days) and stomach bugs, we have had no time to research places in La Zubia to celebrate a birthday party.  I am hoping to get things lined up today because searching online I found a fun ball park, indoor play place very near our piso in Granada, and be able to celebrate with her friends on Wednesday.

So somehow in the time after school, I'll have to find time to make another cake and organize the food and party favours for a second fiesta.  My coconut and sweet potato cakes came out delicious!  I mistakenly read the buttercream frosting recipe when measuring the butter for the sweet potato cake, though and so put in half again as much butter as needed!!  It came out more brownie-like than cakey, but it was still delicious and everyone was surprised by how good it was.  When they heard "sweet potato", many said they prefered the coconut, but once they tried it, everyone wanted more.  As party favours we had beads and elastic string so the kids (or adults) could make their own little souvenir bracelettes. :)

I'm thinking of making invitations and a piñata with Emily today if I can get ahold of the place today and confirm the reservation.  It is a lot of work and bother, honestly, but I really do think that a party with her friends is important.  It's a great way to get a lot of them together outside school and build closer relationships in a different setting.  So... here we go.

I left my camera with party pics in La Zubia, sorry this is such a bland post.

Happy Halloween

So it looks as though I'm pretty much on the mark for my once-a-month blog post. :(  I had hoped to squeeze one in before the first.  This week has been a vacation week for me, so I really thought I'd be able to get that done, but...

Anyway, there is so much to tell, but I really just wanted to share a few pictures from our pumpkin carving.  Emily was so excited.  This was the extent of our Halloween celebrating, but she kept talking about the halloween party in the kitchen, :)  Poor kid.  There were no costumes or trick-or-treating and that party at school was canceled (to be rescheduled) because of inclement weather.

She drew out a pumpkin face and then I carved it into a jack-o-lantern.  Can you guess which of the two, she designed??  The other is for the bar.  When we lit the candle inside, I exclaimed, "Spooky Halloween!" and she caught onto that repeating throughout the day, "Smokey Halloween!" :)

This week has been a really much needed break.  But as so often happens when you're going non-stop and then suddenly stop, I started getting sick on Monday and by Wednesday evening had been prescribed antibiotics.  My throat has never in my life been so sore.  I can feel the inflamation (still), and I felt as though I was swallowing razors.  Even water, stung and burned as it went down!  Wednesday morning I went to the doctor here in La Roda and because I didn't have a fever, he prescribed nothing more than garggling with salt water and a painkiller/anti-inflamatory pilll.  We got a second opinion at 6:30 because I was near tears every time I had to swallow.  The second doctor shouted in disbelief when he saw my gigantic, red, tonsils (complete with puss pockets).  He said he couldn't believe I hadn't had a fever.  Now, after a full 48 hours on the antibiotics, I am feeling noticeably better.  I can swallow without grimmacing, though my throat is still very sore and I can still feel the inflamation.

Tomorrow we're celebrating Emily's fourth birthday (actually on Sunday).  I am up late in the kitchen finishing off her cakes.  She's asked for coconut and sweet potato!  ...Not exactly your run-of-the-mill four-year-old, right?  I always make two just to be sure we have enough.  This year I've also bought fondant and food coloring, so we'll see if my creativity gets flowing tomorrow. ;)

I promise a post party post (hehehe).  So that will bring up my monthly average slightly. ;)

Hugs for now.

Once a Month...?

I think that if I set a post-per-month goal for myself, I may actually be able to achieve it!  Sorry to be so silent. I am sure you've all been on pins and needles since my last post wondering about school, etc. ;)

Truthfully, I just re-read that last post of mine from September first, just barely a month ago, and it feels like years have gone by since then.  The transition to life in two places, 40-hour work weeks, and school for Emily has been much harder than I had ever imagined.  I am exhausted.  Emily is exhausted.  Angelines is exhausted...and Norte is a pain-in-the-rear puppy!

On the bright side, our piso is feeling a bit homier, though I am hoping we'll be able to reneg on our contract and find a nicer place.  At least now we have internet, so we aren't cut off from the world from Mon-Fri!  We've had some lovely visits with workmates (after hours, of course) and also a few playdates with kids from Emily's class in hopes of getting her more quickly feeling comfortable in such a radically different situation.

All of the staff are wonderfully supportive and our principal and teacher coordinator are eager to hear from us with suggestions for improvements.  The work environment itself is really fantastic.  It just isn't easy to have so much new all at once.  It's hard on me, but it's even harder on me to be dealing with my own work stress (adjusting to new roles, and changing schedules, etc) and on top of that be understanding and empathetic toward Emily and Angelines who are both all new to anything outside La Roda.  All that means is that there is zero sympathy left for poor Norte who is in the midst of his doggy teenage years and is testing limits and chewing endlessly! :(

The craziness of it all, and the obvious lack of internet (until just this past Monday), can account for my blogging absence.  I won't pretend like I'll have a lot more time from here until Christmas though...but I do hope to get in at least one more post before November!

Oh!  One really, REALLY great thing that has happenend just this week is that I was able to schedule my final exam for December!!!  I called on Tuesday to make the appointment thinking that I just needed to bite the bullet and do it already.  When I expressed dismay at my first choice, date being unavailable, the woman offered I do it in December...  I couldn't BELIEVE my good luck!  I wanted to kiss her through the phone!  Apparently there is an option to leave the exam until December and I had no idea.  I will now be doing it on December 11th.  So it is still close enough that I need to keep my motivation up for studying, but far enough away that I am sure I'll actually be prepared when the time comes. :)  Yippeeee!

And now it's nearly 10pm and I need to go to sleep.  The weekend isn't long enough to get me back to normal before we're at it again...

Goodnight all.

Welcome September

As is becoming the norm nowadays, there is so much to say that I don't know where to begin.  Summer has been a whirl.  Rather than my usual 20-hour work weeks, I was putting in an extra day all through the summer in an attempt to do my part to help make up for losses from the fair fiasco.  This past week has been my only "vacation".  But this year's vacation just means that I haven't been working at the academy... Tuesday and the better part of Wednesday morning we were in Granada scouring the piso in the un-airconditioned heat.  It has been nice, however, to just be at home; and of course it felt good to get some headway made on making our place in Granada a little more home-like.

The really wonderful thing about this summer has been that although I've been working more hours per week, it was only in the mornings nine to two.  My schedule has been getting up around 6:30 to walk the dog and eat and shower in a leisurely manner before heading to work, get home for lunch at 2:30, have quiet time with Emily from about 3:15-4:00, and then spend three hours at the city pool until closing time at 7pm.  Then it's home to walk Norte, bathe Emily, have dinner and put her down to be around 10.  Usually have and hour or so to myself before I must hit the hay myself.  Not a bad schedule, right?

I know that I am going to miss my five-hour days at this new job.  Working from 8:30-4:30 will be a big transition for all of us, so I have been savouring these lazy days by the pool.  I've got four books in this summer!  That's a record!  It has been over a year that I haven't read something that was directly related to my studies or childrearing. (kind of the same thing, really)  In just two months of shady afternoons between splashing in the pool, however, I've managed to fit in three novels and a book on psychology.  Not too shabby. ;)

The pool has also been really great for Emily.  For some reason she often says she doesn't want to go when I suggest going after it becomes clear during quiet time that she isn't actually going to take a nap; but once we get there she always has a blast. 

As you can imagine in a place like Southern Spain, the pool is THE social hub in summer.  The whole town is there.  Everyone brings their iceboxes and chairs and sits around socializing in the shade of the big, leafy trees that dot the lawn around the pool.  It's such a big area that even with lots of people it never feels very crowded. 

We bought month passes and so have gone nearly every day.  With such frequent visits, we've made friends with different groups of people we don't often coincide with.  Emily, being the social butterfly that she is, loves flitting from group to group chattering away about this or that, dancing for them, or mooching candy and other junk food I refuse to buy her.  The attention from other adults and the interaction with children of all ages has been great for her. 

As you know Emily's never even been to pre-school and so has very limited experience relating with her peers.  She always tends to get along better with (or at least to charm) adults, but these two months at the pool have helped her Spanish improve, which I think was a main impediment to relating with children her age.  Today she was happily sharing a squirty water toy with another little boy and they were both industriously watering (drowning) a little plant growing in the cracks of the pavement near the pool.  It warms my heart to see her enjoying these rewarding social interactions.  And I hope that these experiences have paved the way for her to be a little more open about going to school.

School begins for me on Monday (!).  I am not actually overly nervous...at least not at this moment.  Perhaps on my early morning drive into Granada I'll have a nervous break-down. ;)  This week, since Emily won't be going to school until the 11th, I am commuting.  The elementary students begin on the 6th and so Thursday I'll have real, live students in my classroom--how exciting! 

This past Tuesday when we were in Granada cleaning, I met with some more of the staff at the school to discuss the school year.  It is all very exciting.  I am unsure how or when I'll have time to study for my final exams, which are in October.  But I do suppose that having some access to REAL materials will be helpful.

Things will definitly be accelerating for us in these coming weeks, but I do hope I can squeeze in some blog updates.

Until next time!

Slightly Disasterous...

Slightly disasterous is how I would qualify our debute in the new home in Granada.  Never fear, I would like to emphasise slightly rather than disasterous, all the same it was a rough welcoming.

Our home-hunting at the end of July was rushed and frenetic.  We had two different appartments (our budget doesn't allow for house rental) rented out from under us!  When we lost the second one, we were desperate because it seemed as though everything was being taken up and if we waited any longer there just wouldn't be anything available come September.  Thankfully, the real estate agency that had shown us a few places had a flat open up that met our needs the very same day we were given the negative on that second apartment.  Sight unseen (if you don't count photos), we agreed to rent it and paid the 400 euro reservation fee.

Tuesday we drove to Granada to sign the contract and get the keys.  We had originally wanted to wait until September, but the owner of this particular place said we had to sign by August 15th at the latest or look for somewhere else to rent because he didn't want to have the place empty a whole month especially with the high demand for swimming pools (it has a pool) during these hot summer days.

We grudgingly agreed...and so now we're paying half a month's rent without much chance to even be in the place.  It's not, however, all bad news.  I asked to take vacation the last week of August since I was anticipating this move and now, there won't be any need to ask favors of the landlord to let us in a few days early in order to get settled before my work begins September 3rd.

Anyway, as I said, we drove to Granada after "quiet time" Tuesday to sign the papers, taking advantage of the fact that Wednesday was a national holiday (no work for me) and therefore planning to stay the night.  Our seven o'clock appointment to sign the papers ended up lasting over an hour!  Then we hurriedly followed the owner to the apartment, where he gave us a quick tour, after which point we dashed off to the school to meet the director and her girls (one of whom will be in Emily's group) and also actually see the school.

I had originally arranged to meet the director and her family at the school around eight o'clock...but it was about quarter to nine by the time we got there (!).  Thank goodness this is Spain!  They very graciously had waited for us and then proceeded to give us a tour of the school--no rush.

Norte, meanwhile had been a mess at the real estate agent's (we couldn't leave him in the car with the temperatures above 90º), and I am quite certain he caused a very bad impression on our landlord, who was iffy about the dog in the first place.  The last thing the man said to us before driving away was to be careful with the dog and the furniture. :(  Being the persnickety dog that he is, he also hadn't gone to the bathroom at all since around 5:30 when we loaded him in the car.  He will ONLY go in the empty lot next to our house.  Only very recently has he begun doing his business just over the RR tracks when we take him out on his walks, but even then, he has a specific place (now covered in dog turds) and he refuses to go anywhere else!

We let him run a bit around the school grounds, but Angelines wasn't comfortable with that because she was worried he'd break some of the things they had out for the children to play with.  She ended up taking him for a walk while Emily and I were given a tour of the classrooms, etc.

At the school, things calmed down a bit.  Emily and the director's daughters warmed up to each other and began playing.  They fed the rabbits kept in the playground (a BIG hit with Emily!) and watered the flower pots.  Emily kicked off her shoes, seeming quite comfortable and just enjoyed exploring about.  I was especially pleased by all that because several times now she has unexpectedly broken into tears at bedtime crying that she doesn't want to "go to school".  Seeing the building and meeting some friends I think will help a lot toward changing her mind, although I'm sure there will still be many tearful nights (and mornings/days) when the day actually comes.

It was exciting to see where I'll be working.  It was also, honestly, a bit daunting to think about because suddenly it was all so real: thrilling and scary all at once.  I am really looking forward to beginning and I think that it will be perfect for me that my actual job description is as a teaching assistant.  I'm looking at this as a very well-paid apprenticeship. :)  I cannot wait to start!

Finally, around ten, we climbed back in the car to head "home".  In our hurry to leave the house I had been quickly throwing food and dishes into the car, but despite planning to make omelettes for dinner, I realized only once we'd got everything unpacked, that the frying pan had been left behind! Luckily, I had thought to throw in some leftover rice and so Emily ate that, but neither Angelines or I even felt very hungry.  With the stress of the evening, we'd both completely lost our appetites.  We snacked on some chips I'd quickly bought at a corner store, chinese-firedrill-style, as we idled at a red light when Angelines had suddenly decided she needed ice to put on a nasty bee sting she'd got earlier that afternoon before leaving the house--her whole wrist was getting quite swollen.

My little hikers :)

And just to top things off, Norte STILL hadn't gone to the bathroom. For fear of him barking and/or doing his business on the small balcony, we opted to leave him in his kennel overnight.  He whined and yipped some, but quieted down after not too long.  I was woken up around 2 am by his crying and took him out for half an hour...to no avail.  Then again at 6 am...same story.  Only when Angelines left him out on the little balcony at around 7am did he finally let loose.  ...I only hope this doesn't become a habbit.  We cannot have him peeing and pooping out on the terrace!

Wednesday morning after breakfast, we all took a hike in the natural park area at the top of town (about 3 min. drive).  It's a lovely pine-covered area with wonderful views of the entire vega granadina and the capital city of Granada.  The town we're living in is just at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the whole town is therefore built on an incline.  It really is a beautiful area...I wish we could have found a piso a bit closer to that natural park.  In any case, it's fun to think of getting to really explore and know the area.  And the vegitation is a welcome change from the monotonous beauty of the olive groves in La Roda.

After our walk, we did a bit of shopping for the piso (bathmat, stool for Emily, silverware, etc.) and then decided it was best to just head back to La Roda for lunch.  Emily and I took a very quick dip in the pool, which is nice, and then we packed our things and wearily headed home.

I had originally thought we'd spend the day in Granada...but the apartment doesn't have AC and Angelines had had it up to here with just about everything.  Staying there certainly would have been a terrible way to spend the holiday.  Coming back was a wise decision--there's no place like home.

...I just hope we can make that little place in Granada feel like home away from home in not too much time.

A few more Emily-isms

I finally skyped with my mom for the first time in about 2.5 weeks Thursday evening and after we jointly got Emily to bed (Ga read her a bedtime story), I called her back for some quality mother-daughter conversation.  Emily may be small, but she really does have a magnetic personality and also a demanding presence.  When she is awake, Ga is all hers and I can't get a word in edgewise!  Of course, even without her in the room, our conversation gravitated toward the subject of Emily.  As I was retelling all the anecdotes, my mother asked if I had written them down... I decided that to write them down, I may as well share them with all of you. ;)

Enjoy!

***

Today arranging to pick up abuelita and go clean up at the bar I hung up saying, "hasta ahora".  Suddenly Emily asked, "Mommy, what's astora?"  I told her in meant "see you in a minute" or "see you later" and after a slight pause she piped up with, "Astora, Crocodile!"

***

The other day at quiet time we were reading books and she asked me to read her Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, Said the Sloth by Eric Carle.  This particular edition has a forward by Jane Goodall, who apparently also loved sloths.  There is a picture of Ms. Goodall and Mr. Carle heading the forward.  As I was about to turn the page to begin the story, Emily suddenly asked me, "Why Grandma Laura is in this book?"  (She never inverts the subject and verb when making questions)  I hesitated for a moment because I didn't know what she was talking about.  Grandma Laura is my childhood best friend's mother...

I didn't immediately see the relationship with the book, but sure enough upon a closer look at the picture of Jane Goodall--hair pulled back in a grey bun, smiling face and decidedly "hippy" looking clothes--I realized that Emily was confusing her for my second mom!

I was impressed by my daughter's memory: we haven't seen Laura (not even on Skype) for at least six months, and unfortunately we don't have very frequent contact, at least not via video conference.  Very funny, indeed and I am sure that Grandma Laura will be pleased by the comparison.

***

Lately she is curious about weddings.  This all hppened because, as you know, our anniversary is the 4th of July and I explained that to her.  She was very interested and a few weeks later asked me some of the same questions again (what do you do in a wedding? why do you give each other rings?) as if to double check that I'd give the same answers.  When she seemed satisfied with my answers she began to tell me about her wedding, when she "married herself" :)  

On another ocasion she explained that in her wedding she married her friend Defnonna (an invisible friend who coincidentally lives in Visible--her imaginary land).  I have no idea where the name Defnonna came from...  Mommy, when Defnonna and me got married, we gived each other rings and ballet dresses and crowns and... (the list went on).  Cool wedding, Emily!