Too Good to Let it Go

I've been working on school stuff these past two hours, but I cannot go to bed without blogging about today even though that may mean I'll be sleepy tomorrow...

Today and yesterday were days off school (Yippeee!).  Unfortunately, my parents left Thursday mid-morning and so we couldn't take advantage of my time off to be all together.  Emily, however, skipped school Wednesday to spend their last day in Spain doing something fun.  She and mamá took Ga and Papa to the Parque de las Ciencias in Granada--they spent most of the day there and had a blast. :)  It warmed my heart to get pictures of their adventures at school.

Anyway, the reason I'm posting is because Emily and I opted to stay in La Zubia despite not having school in order to go to ballet today.  For various reasons, we've only been to class once a week for about the last four or five weeks and I think the lack of routine is taking its toll on Emily.  She has started to hang off me and even has gone in crying the last few classes.  I know she really does like it (in spite of what she says) because she always comes out of class happy, but it's hard to know what to do when she hangs off my leg claiming she doesn't like ballet and she doesn't want to go. :(  I don't want to force her if she really, truly doesn't want to; but it is important, too to learn to uphold commitments and persevere when activities become difficult. 

Anyway, I thought that if she made friends with some of the girls in class, that it might help her feel more comfortable and look forward to going more.  In chatting with the mother of one little ballerina, we discovered that we're very close neighbors and swapped numbers to arrange a play-date.  Thursday we sent them a message, but they were busy.  However, I was not to be disuaded so easily, and immediately asked if they wanted to get together at our house for pancakes before ballet Friday (today). They agreed, and so the day's first play-date was scheduled!

Yes, you read that right: "first" play-date.  On Thursday afternoon, after my parents and mamá had left us to our devices in La Zubia, we began calling all our friends to get together...but all of them were busy or away.  However, one friend from school asked if we could get together Friday morning.  I had already arranged for a personal "play-date" with friends from work at a river nearby.  We were going to have a picnic and hang out from about noon on.  So I told Emily's friend that if she could meet up in the morning, we could certainly see each other.  Suddenly we had our whole day booked with activities from 10-18:30!

Although we did have a full schedule, everything was quite laid-back and nice.  I'm happy that Emily got some play time in both with a school friend and her ballet buddy.  She was still a little reluctant to go into ballet class, but was really happy when we left and I think that our pancake, pre-dance snack has opened the door to further get togethers.  I am sure that making a friend will make a difference in Em's attitude.  Plus, today we got her dress for the dance recital in June!  Emily was pretty excited.

Our picnic at the river was also fantastic.  The río Dilar is a beautiful, well cared for place, more of a creek than a river, with lots of picnic tables and shade trees.  Today, being a week day and during work hours, we were virtually alone.  Norte spent these two days with me and Emily, since I didn't have to work and could therefore walk him.  He was THRILLED to be free to run around, swim and explore at the river.  We just sat snacking, chatting and playing in the freezing snow-melt while he ran himself silly!  Needless to say he was a very calm puppy the whole drive home to La Roda.

Whew!  It's been a long, but wonderful day.  This was certainly just what the doctor ordered.  As the end of the year approches and we scramble to get everything taken care of before the term ends, it is nice to take a day to do everything BUT think about (much less do) anything related to work. :)

Tech Excuses

Aside from being busy and hectic, my computer has conspired against me and know my "n" and "b" keys often stick or just flat out refuse to function, which means blogging and tediously having to backspace or press keys for extended periods of time in order to get a properly spelled sentence out is just too time consuming.  (Please forgive any missing letters I don't catch in this post)

The school year is coming to an end and rather than winding down, I feel like the opposite is happening.  There are so many things to do to make next year's school year start smoothly, it's hard to see how they will all happen.  The school year has been crazy and challenging as you already know, but it is rewarding to see the progress the children have made.  I suppose those rare moments when you can see your hard work paying off, is what it's all about.  Anyway, I cannot wait for summer, but at the same time I am dreading the work to get there, and then the work I will most likely have to do during the holidays to get things up to scratch.

Other news: my parents are here! :)  I didn't even blog about my mom's January visit this year...  Now they have both come for just a quick two weeks before heading to the Rotary International Conference in Hamburg, Germany.  It's too short a visit, but we'll actually be seeing them again so soon that it's alright.

Emily is thrilled to have Ga and Papa here. Monday and Tuesday of this week she stayed home from school to be with them.  They have been painting, playing prehistoric people, building duck ponds, doing puzzles and reading LOTS of books.  It's wonderful to have them and especially to see how happy Emily is that they are here. Their Spanish is much improved, which makes them more idependant, and especially my mom knows our schedule pretty well after her frequent visits, so they both quite easily slip into our daily routine.

Mostly, I just wanted to post SOMETHING so you all know I am still here... It's difficult to gather my thoughts for a blog post, when so much time has gone by and so much has happened since and even BEFORE my last post.  Blogging and writing is something I really enjoy and it helps me process all the craziness...some how I need to find a way to work in some more blogging.  Maybe I'll have to start with getting my keyboard looked at!

Just do it!

That is what I am telling myself as I sit here: "Just DO it!"  It's been too long since you've all had word from me, and if I continue to put off blogging until I actually have time to sit and write... you may not hear from me until well into July!

I will appologize ahead of time for the scattered nature of this post.  I have so many thoughts running through my head that this will very likely lack a narrative thread.  Sorry.

First on my mind:  I have never hated Daylight Savings more than this year!  Jumping forward has never been a favorite, although since living in Spain, I have come to savour the long, light, evening hours in which to sip wine on an outdoor terrace and snack on delicious tapas.  Those lovely evening hours make up for waking to darkness.  However, this year has been AWFUL! 

I suppose that Emily's not being in school was a luxury I took for granted.  Getting used to having a real schedule to follow has been hard from the beginning, but pushing everything forward an hour has been a nightmare!  Emily is a rare case in Spain, as she goes to bed before 9pm every night and really closer to 7:45-8:00.  With the time change, Angelines (in true Spanish fashion) was proclaiming a necessary change to her schedule...but I argue (and she has concieded) that the hours of sleep remain the same regardless of a 9pm sunset! 

We changed the clocks on Sunday, the same day Emily was diagnosed with pink-eye.  That kept her out of school until Wednesday, which meant that there was some lag time changing her biological clock.  Sunday she cried and cried at "bedtime" because it was not "night" and only close to 10:00 (new time) did she finally fall asleep.  That same story has repeated itself all week...and I am one fed-up mama! 

All of this is particularly distressing when considering our upcoming visit to the US (yoohoo!).  If my daughter freaks out with an hour difference in her daily schedule, what will happen when it's nine!  Gone are the days of chest pack wearing and breast-feeding through museum visits, subway rides or long chats over coffee with friends.  I am suddenly confronted with the reality that my daughter will most likely be a crab who refuses to sleep, and therefore visits with friends will be truncated by crying or calling for attention...

Tonight, for the first time in seven days, Emily went straight to bed  at around 8:15 with no tears and no problem.  Let's cross our fingers that the trend holds!

Other Emily news is that we have signed her up for ballet classes (take two).  She went to her test class to see if she liked it on Friday.  Although she was very eager and even chatty when we went to speak to the director of the municipal music school last Tuesday, she was suddenly tearful and resistant come 5 o'clock Friday.  She insisted that she didn't want to go, that she didn't like it...  It took all my powers of persuasion to connvice her to get dressed--this from a girl who would kill to wear a tutu!  We talked about how hard it can be to start something new, but how important it is to try things and keep learning.  On our walk to the casa de la cultura she was swinging between being okay and pulling me the opposite direction saying she didn't like ballet.

We got there early and shortly after arriving a mother and daughter pair came up the stairs, the little girl sporting a pink leotard and dance skirt.  I jumped at the opportunity to make a friend and asked if she was there for ballet.  She was and we introduced ourselves.  I explained that Emily was a little nervous and the little girl was very happy to show Em some pliés and jêtes when I asked what kinds of things they did in class.  Emily warmed right up to little Claudia, and soon the two of them were dancing around the hallways together. :)  A friend from Emily's school is also in the class, and so when she arrived, the deal was sealed.  She gave me a big hug and kiss after ordering me to stay just outside the door of the dance room, and then headed in with her friends.  The teacher was chatting with some parents still and so I was able to spy on her in the reflection of the large wall mirrors through the open door.  She was happily, running and jumping and engaging with all the other little girls.  My heart was happy.  I then spent an hour reading--a true luxury!--until class was out at 6:30.

What a difference from last year when we tried classes at a town near La Roda.  She is, of course, a year older, but also the confidence she's gained from being in school and social skills from all the peer contact, make a world of difference.  I think, especially as an only child, that these kinds of extra-curricular activities will be really important to her.  I am not a fan of those parents who book their kids' after school schedules from 4-7 every day...but I do think that for Emily, spending two hours a week with different children learning and doing something that she really does love, will be wonderfully enriching for her.  Oh!  And the icing on the cake is that the end of term recital will be Swan Lake!  Emily was thrilled to find that out. :)

Now I am going to wrap up.  Although it is Sunday and I would normally be in La Zubia, I have stayed in La Roda because once again Emily is sick with a really runny nose and horrible cough.  She won't be going into school tomorrow so that means I get to make the 1.5 hour drive from here tomorrow morning so she can stay with mama.  And as I type, I can hear mama pulling in from work, so it is off to have dinner with my wife and then to bed with me...6 o´clock comes all too fast!

The Most Important Thing I Haven't Told You

Way back before Christmas in the craziness of the end of the year and also managing the classroom solo, as my co-teacher was hospitalized, I took my final exam for my Montessori 3-6 training.  In the end it was a lot less stressful than I had feared, and really did end up being more of an opportunity to show what I'd learned as opposed to fretting about trick questions meant to fail me.  It was a practical exam over skype with one of the course teachers.  We had to present four different materials (selected at random from a pre-established list) and then also orally answer some theory questions.  I was worried that I hadn't extented myself long enough in my answers to the theory questions, and I did make a few mistakes in my presentations; but I passed!  And just a few weeks ago I finally got my diploma--It's official!

It's feels strange to have a diploma certifying that I am a trained 3-6 Montessori educator when in my day to day there are so many things that I struggle to do propperly.  So much of being a Montessori educator is about personal growth, reflection, self-control and patience...all things that are still so difficult for me.  I am still growing into this role, and I suppose it is probably something that will conntinue to develop and improve for many years to come.  The diploma is only the very tip of the iceberg, but I am so happy to have begun this journey.  I know there is so much good in it for me, for my daughter and for the world. 

Merry Christmas

December has gotten away from me (what else is new?).  As usual much has happened, but I want to write a Christmas post before anything else.

Today was the third time in these three weeks that my Christmas tree has been knocked over--Emily two times, Norte once.  Miraculously, my grandmother's glass christmas ball has survived intact... most of my hand painted salt dough ornaments, however have been glued and re-glued.  Today I put away all the breakable ornaments because I'd had it up to here.

Emily is in love with the Christmas tree and it's pretty cute.  She kisses it good night and hugs it.  She hangs all manner of strange things on it and has tied ribbons of some of the boughs.  It is easy to see how all the love and affection has lead to more than one accident.  As for Norte, he pulls the Christmas balls off the tree to chew them and thus pulled down the whole tree!

Our Christmas was a strange one to say the least.  Toward the end of dinner Christmas Eve Emily began complaining that her ear hurt.  I gave her some tylenol and put her to bed.  She woke up at about 11:30 screaming in pain.  So we spent Christmas eve in the ER (thankfully, there was no one there and we were seen right away).  Emily was diagnosed with an outer ear infection!  She still has her cough and is using an inhaler morning and evening for that... The poor kid is has to go around with an entire drugstore in tow. :(

Santa wearily prepared gifts when we got back from the ER, but our Christmas morning was a near fail because Angelines and I have had zero time to buy each other (or ourselves) gifts.  I was proud of myself because we had purchased Emily's few gifts weeks ahead of time...otherwise, she very well might have had nothing!  But my sweet, considerate girl observed sadly as she choked back tears, that Santa didn't bring anything for Mommy or Mamá. :(

I am not a present person.  Don't get me wrong, I love finding the perfect gift for someone and seeing the look on their face when they open it; but I do not like giving for giving's sake.  If I can't come up with a gift that I think will actually be appreciated and used, I prefer to give nothing.  The pressure at Christmas to get a gift for everyone is just annoying most of the time.  Really, here in Spain, there is less of that consumerist take on things: or maybe it is just Angelines and my family here; but we don't fret about gifts and hardly give Christmas presents.  It is such a relief, honestly to just enjoy the season without stressful last-minute shopping.  If I get one little thing and Christmas, I am happy, and I do my best to get something small for Angelines, but this year was impossible.  I won't rule out a King's Day gift, but Christmas was too soon to get anything lined up.

Of course, I couldn't explain any of that to my four-year-old who was visibly effected by Santa's lack of consideration for her parents.  I did my best to explain to her that my very favorite gift at Christmas is spending time with her and Mamá...but that didn't comfort her much.  I think part of it was lack of sleep.  She was out of sorts all morning and wouldn't even eat pancakes for breakfast.  Around 11 she began crying that her ear was hurting again and when the medicine finally kicked in, she fell asleep on the couch and slept for a good three hours.

I confided in Angelines that I was very sad because of how sad Emily had obviously been for us.  As I was tidying up the house with a sleeping, sick baby on the couch, my Christmas elf snuck out and went down the road to the gift shop at a truck stop near town--the only thing open Christmas day!--and bought a gift for me and herself. :)  When she arrived home with the presents, I sent her back for one more little thing for Emily just because.

When Emily woke up, she found a second note from Santa who explained that apparently he had got all the way back to the North Pole only to discover that he had forgotten to give Mommy and Mamá their presents...and one more for her!  He claimed it was his age... ;)  Anyway, since she had fallen asleep again, he'd snuck back in the house to leave the presents in our stockings.

Emily was thrilled!  And so happy for both of us.  Angelines had found some cheesy stamp pens for her, but she was obvioulsy much more excited about OUR presents than her own.  What a sweet girl.  It was a true Christmas moment.

I hope your Christmases were merry and bright.  I promise another more newsy post soon.
XO and happy holidays!

Thanksgiving :)

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  As always, we celebrated turkey day on the nearest available Saturday to the actual holiday.  This year that meant yesterday.  Our gathering was a bit smaller than other years, just 12 of us total.  I had invited my co-teacher and her son, but she is still not well enough to do much, although she is, thankfully, out of the hospital.  She is muslim and so I had specially ordered a halal turkey for this years celebration.  I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but the bird this year was the best I've ever cooked...and I have cooked some good turkey in my time abroad (if I do say so myself!). ;)

On Thursday, Emily came home from school absolutely beat and so I fed her some oatmeal and sent her to bed.  She was asleep by 6:30!  That is an unbelievably early bed time by Spanish standards, as some of you may know.  Anyway, her early retirement left me with plenty of time to do some Thanksgiving prep work as I had warned my friends that I would only be doing the turkey, stuffing, cranberry relish and "pumpkin" pie this year.  I made the pie crust and baked the sweet potatoes (remember I have taken to making sweet potato pie and passing it off for pumpkin...).  I even got the cranberry relish out of the way.

Friday all that was left to do upon arrival in La Roda was bake the pie, make the stuffing and brine the bird.  This year I brined in my own special concotion of herb-infused salt water, broth, vinegar and orange juice (oranges from our own tree).  The brining is the trick for a really moist turkey.  This year it was absolutely succulent!  Even the breast was tender and juicy.

Since Emily was so well rested, she woke up VERY early on Saturday and helped me get the turkey prepared.  She stuffed it all by herself and had a great time rubbing oil and salt all over it. It was adorable how excited she was for Thanksgiving.  When she saw the turkey she giggled giddily and exclaimed, "it's a BIG, fat turkey!"  And all morning she kept asking when our friends would be arriving. Thanks to my little chef's help, we got everything set and in the oven quite early.  This was the first year that I've had everything baked and ready by the time my guests were arriving.  The turkey was actually getting cold because some of them were particularly punctual, as Spaniards are known to be.  It was a nice change not to be madly stirring gravy or burning my hands carving a scalding turkey while my guests were hungrily snacking on jamón and cheese. ;)

Our dinner was delicious, but most importantly we had a really wonderful time all afternoon and evening.  Among the guests were a 6 and 10-year-old boy who really thought Norte was the best.  The three of them were playing wildly in the patio for most of the evening.  Norte was in heaven...and so worn out when they left!

I am so grateful for such wonderful friends who so willingly collaborate to help me celebrate the very best of American holidays.

Sea legs

So as long as I'm up, at the computer and with my blog open...I may as well go for another post, right??? 

I wanted to post briefly that I feel I've finally got my sea legs under me in the classroom.  The first month-and-a-half at school I was working with a substitue teacher (who was fantastic!) while my teaching partner from South Africa was getting her visa details sorted out.  It took far longer than anyone anticipated, which is why they had to call in a long-term sub to start the school year.  Although he was a fantastic teacher and a calming presence in the classroom, it was stressful knowing that everything would change once the "real" teacher got here.

Now that she has been here for a full month, I am really starting to feel like I have direction and I know what I'm doing.  She is incredibly knowledgeable, very kind, gentle and soft spoken with the children, but also firm and demanding in her expectations of excellence from them.  I love her!  We are very much on the same page and I feel we make a really wonderful team.

Sadly, the move to Spain has been extremely stressful for her and a combination of stress and strange European viruses have got her feeling so bad that last Wed. she was admitted to the hospital!  I was not entirely alone in the classroom as the teacher coordinator was assiting me; but I was the one who knew what the kids' routine has been, what they've been working on and what they should continue, what new things could be presented, etc...

I was so proud of myself for being able to calmly take over the classroom and really keep the kids generally quite on track.  Of course, that is due in a very large part to all the groundwork laid jointly with my co-teacher in these past weeks, but still, if this had happened in the first weeks of school, I probably would have fainted on the spot or run home crying! 

Friday is art in the 1.5 hours after recess before going home and I felt so in control of the situation.  The night before I had the brainchild to experiment with color gradation.  They had previously done something similar with black and shades of grey.  So during the 30 min. of recess, I was madly making up an example, marking white cardstock so they could quickly draw a grid using a ruler, setting up the tables with palettes, brushes and water...  It went smooth as silk, and some of our most "difficult" children were completely absorbed in the activity.  I even had them finish in time to get the classroom cleaned up and in shape for them to go home on time. ;) 

I am very concerned for my co-teacher and hope she's back very soon, but I must say that Friday I was feeling pretty smug: large and in-charge! ;)