clean up, clean up

Tonight, I found myself cleaning up the dinner meal mess by myself, AGAIN.

The kids were ransacking the house. Juan Pablo was at work. And I wondered how come I was the only one cleaning up. My good intention of creating, or heck, even copying, a workable chore chart just hasn't materialized.

Well, I was going to put my foot down, whether they liked it or not.

As I was rinsing off dishes, I yelled for the two oldest to come into the kitchen...they ran in, maybe expecting a treat or something.

I calmly said, "I need you two to help me clean up the dishes," fully expecting a barrage of protests on why they couldn't and shouldn't have to help.

Instead, they immediately started handing me dishes and putting them in the dishwasher! What?? I was shocked and awed. Maybe this was their plan.

But quickly the dishes were almost done, and I wondered how much more I could get away with. I offered the spray bottle to Joaquin to wipe down the table. Isabela immediately countered with, "But I want to do that!" What?? Were they actually fighting over cleaning up?

So I responded with, "Well, I have another bottle in the bathroom. You can wipe down the sink in there." And off she went.

Now you will absolutely not believe what happened next.

Joaquin runs to me asking if it's alright to clean the toilet! And Isabela is right behind him with, "But I wanted to clean the toilet!" Well, OK. We have two toilets. Go right ahead and clean them.

And I have to add, the fun didn't stop there. The night ended with a very clean shower as well, thanks to these two.

Now I'm not sure what was in the dinner tonight, but we are definitely having this meal again.

flashmob!

One of the greatest inventions of this decade has got to be the flashmob. Getting hundreds of people to do the same steps in wide open public places is SO COOL! But the hardest part is keeping it a secret.

Saturday, I was in one!

It was at the Science Museum of Virginia during their huge Cultsha Expo. My plan was not to tell the kids or JP at all and just start dancing when the time came....but I knew by Saturday morning I'd have to tell Juan Pablo in order for it to work...otherwise I'd somehow be stuck carrying all the bags and Diego and miss my big chance. But the kids still didn't know.

We were all given the same t-shirt to wear...they told us to hide it with another t-shirt, or something to take off right before we went out. I put mine on in the morning and the kids immediately started asking questions. Who gave you that shirt, Mom? Joaquin said, "It doesn't match your jeans, Mom, put on another one!" (How can a black t-shirt not match jeans?)

So here's a video of it taken by someone (goodluck trying to find me):


And this one, you can see me for a bit...then I bump into someone as we're moving off to the next part.

The kids' faces were not what I expected...they looked more confused than anything. Like, "Why is mama over there dancing with those people?"

But it was SUPER fun...there were all types of people in it, too. If you ever get the chance, definitely try it!

swim meets

I think I've discovered the new 'hell on earth'. It's called a swim meet.

I've heard moms talk about them for years. Usually of how fun they are and how they can't wait for it.

This year, we thought we'd try it out. Both Isabela and Joaquin are on the team. Practices are daily. I knew this ahead of time. That means a big commitment on my part...getting the three kids to a pool 25 minutes away from the house ....on time. Oh, and practice is at 8:25am. We actually haven't made the morning practice yet since the kids are in camp this week.

But last night was a meet. Really, how bad could it be?
Let's just see.

We arrive at the other team's pool at 4:30pm. It's beautiful! Colorful umbrellas surrounding a sparkling pool that flows under bridges and even has a high dive! There's a grill going and a snack shack serving up snow cones. My favorite!

Only everyone's already staked out their spot in the shade. The sun's beaming down and it's muggy. I've brought no money for snow cones. And YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED IN THE POOL. Even the part that's not being used.

We make our way over to the boiling sand pit for the last bit of shade up against a slightly rusty wire fence near some wild marsh weeds. We'd brought our own snacks, watermelon, string cheese, carrots, trail mix, and water......which we dive right into because it's SO hot.

We head over to see which races the kids are in. Just one for both. Events 10 and 13. (Figuring out when they swim is another whole post in itself, filled with words and terms we're still getting used to.)

Then the waiting begins.

While the other team's warming up, we piddle around in the sand, talk to some other moms about how hot it is, look for a coach to ask a question, answer a million questions from the kids about what's going on, most of which I don't know the answers to, and then wait some more.

Finally it's our turn to warm up. The kids are confused. "Which lane do I swim in?' they ask. I'm so HOT, I'm about to jump in and start freestyling.

Then they're done and Joaquin comes over crying. He doesn't want to swim. I can't imagine why, but it turns out he was scared of jumping off the stand instead of the edge of the pool. My daredevil Joaquin. But we work it out.

A little more waiting...then it happens...thunder. In the bluest sky you've ever seen. And more thunder. That means the meet gets pushed back...and back.

People are milling around. We're wondering what's going on. The kids are hot and bored. I'm holding Diego since he's started picking up random swim caps and throwing them around.

Sure enough, the skies cloud over and people start packing up. So we do the same and head to the car. Much better. We sit in the trunk and pull out some cards. By the time we figure out how to play the game, people start heading back in and the meet's on again.

So we start back up the little hill, which to me could have very well been a mountain, dragging our cooler. After Joaquin forgets something in the car, we finally make it to a better spot in the grass. But somehow in all the fuss, Isabela loses the rubber around one of her goggles! We head BACK to the car to search but don't find it. Now she could easily use her brother's, except he's a boy and she can't wear a boy's goggles. It's all I can do not to LOSE it in the middle of this heat, carrying a toddler, calming eight-year-old concerns, entertaining six-year-old boredom while WAITING FOR A 20 SECOND RACE TO START!!!

But it finally does. Oh, did you want to actually SEE your kid swim? Then be prepared to stand on your tippy toes and peek over shoulders. The edge of the pool is lined with adults. I did have a momentary vision of pushing everyone in front of me into the pool, but I didn't act on it.

Then, before you know it, it's all over.

And except for the ants somehow finding their way into the cooler, the rest of the meet is uneventful. We're home by 8:15pm. Eat dinner at 9pm and kids in bed by 9:30pm. It's late for us, but much earlier than the rest of the swimmers.

We learn a little more at each meet. The first one, it was bring snacks. This one, bring cards, games, anything to pass the time. Next one?

Now, I'm not a complete pessimist. I can see how a meet could be fun. Your close group of friends all have kids on the same team, you sit back and relax with a cold drink and the right snacks chatting away, while the kids are having fun playing and swimming. But that's not our meet. Right now. And every Tuesday until the end of July, know that I'm doing my best to keep out of that flaming land of fire.

father's day

Well, hello there!

Another adventurous day for the books. We thought we'd hit VA Beach for Father's Day. It's one of Juan Pablo's favorite places. But we hadn't checked the weather first.

Heading over, the skies looked pretty ominous. I pulled out his iphone about 20 minutes away to see what the weather said...storms starting at 1pm.... and it was noon.

I say all this just to show that you should never let the weather report deter you.

It was actually sunny when we got there. A little windy though...our two umbrellas immediately flipped inside out then started blowing away down the beach and sent people screaming. We quickly recovered them and decided it wasn't that sunny.


The sand man dove right in....with last years close talking to the sand and some plain ol' wallowing.


Give the boy a bucket, and he's happy.


Give this boy a boogie board and a wave...and well....he's happy, too.


There was a strange and very steep hill down to the surf this year...I'm not sure if 'they' made it like that, or if the ocean did. But it made for some interesting photos of Diego looking like he was buried in sand.


And I made sure to have JP get some pics of me this time. Nothing like seeing yourself in a bathing suit to rev up the gym routine...I've been working out hard, but still had to crop it.


I had fun catching some waves, too. That just never gets old.


Here's Diego pushing me away when I tried to get a nice shot of us.


This cool boat was riding by, and I managed to catch this shot of Isabela swimming out to it...it looks like it's just them in the ocean.


Diego was mesmerized by the aviones...he rarely lets one fly by without pointing and saying, "Avión!" Maybe he'll be a pilot one day.



So the other thing we forgot was quarters...for the meter. So when our two hours were up, it just so happened that the skies clouded over and the wind picked up even more. Yes, a storm was definitely coming.

But I came across a review of the nearby park, Mount Trashmore, when I was worrying about the weather, and we decided to stop by on our way home.

It's a giant hill....that used to be a landfill. Steep going up....


....and coming down.


With a great view around it....there was a cute carnival that we kept saying NO to.


And wide open spaces to run around in....


...and, of course, a giant hill to roll down.


Diego's a mama's boy right now...so he didn't make the father's day picture.


Some loud clanging attracts us to the other side of the hill...and what should we see??? but some knights sword fighting in full body armor!


So we head over...and they invite us to come and try out some stuff. They were friendly knights, the round table sort, and told us all about what they were doing.


The day just keeps getting better and better.

Because then, we look over in the distance, at the most amazing playground we've ever seen.
It's huge.
It's on spongy foam.
It's got a million things to climb on.

So while we were impressed with the plain, giant hill when we got there, and surprised by the fighting knights below.....we're now speechless at how we just happen upon the coolest things.




This little sprite was hard to keep track of. Running top speed all over the place.


And he got a little help from sis' on the harder parts.


Oh, yeah....and remember that storm I was talking about? It finally hit. And we had a long trek back to the car. We were soaked, and loving it!! It turned out the storm was the coolest part of the day.

last days

For our teachers this year, we made these cute tote bags that look like looseleaf paper. The kids drew their design on with pencil and I copied it with a black sharpie. You can find instructions here.


Joaquin always does his best work in his underwear...so he's not in the picture.


Getting ready for the annual squirt down when they get off the bus. Friends let us participate in their neighborhood...it's much better with lots of kids.


Joaquin always gets pretty soaked....


...and this year Isabela tried to get me and ended up shooting Diego right in the face. He was not happy.


But an ice cream sundae can usually cure any unhappiness. Happy end of school!!!

i heart faces....bright and vivid

I love this memory from when we lived in Bolivia. Isabela was a flower in her preschool show...it was the parents' job to find a flower costume for the performance. Luckily, Juan Pablo knew a lady that made costumes. It was very interesting, since they all were different. Turns out Isabela's was the biggest and brightest, and she didn't like it one bit.



You can check out more entries at i heart faces.

DIY water toys

I am not sure what I've been doing lately that crafting and making things have been put on a back burner. But I'm looking forward to summer and getting back to finding cute things to make and do..... and actually making and doing them!

Thanks to my Pinterest pin board, I found one, and whipped it out in about a minute. The original idea is at One Charming Party. It's just a couple of sponges and dental floss.... I'm sure you can find lying around the house.


Squishy, fun, and pretty all at the same time. And we can't wait to try them at the pool. (We did use them in the bath tonite...I recommend not cutting the floss too short after you tie it, or it might pop and fall apart. Lesson learned even in the simplest of crafts.)


Want one?

pinterest

My new obsession.

PINTEREST.

Have you already heard of it? You'll like it if you're like me and find great ideas on a blog or website, bookmark it, then never look at it again.

It is like a cork inspiration board but online. And it's SO SIMPLE! After you are signed up, all you have to do is click "Pin It" when you see something you like, and it's on your board. You can sort them by categories....like crafts, outdoor, kids, home decor, whatever you like. And they automatically link back to the original post, so if you want the directions on how to make it, it's right there!

Here's a link to my pinterest so you can check it out. I'm just getting started, so there's not much there, but you'll get the idea.

K-I-pickle-I

Our first camping trip has got us hooked.

I have to admit...any time I cross the bridges and tunnels in Chesapeake, I get a flutter of excitement in my stomach and a relaxing smile across my face. Seeing the barges and that great blue expanse of water, I know beaches and surf are right around the corner. And when that group of dolphins popped up beside the bridge to welcome us, I was the one yelling, "Dolphins! Dolphins!" like a preteen at a Justin Bieber concert.



We got to pick any open tent site we wanted, too. That was a hard decision. We ended up picking a good one, across from the bathrooms, but not next to them, and a quick walk through the woods to the beach. We went through the usual tent set up bickering, which I happily stayed out of and they got the thing up in no time. I heard that the sun sets three and a half times faster when you're trying to set up your tent, and I'd agree with that.


(We were next to some camping pros. They had music, games, bikes, you name it. A great tip we saw them do...bring a rake and clean up your site. They probably could have eaten off their ground, it was so clean. We did remember a clothesline though. Great for wet clothes at the beach.)


Diego stayed occupied picking the bark off the pine tree.


This was actually his preferred activity when we were at the campsite and he spent a lot of time doing this.


And speaking of sunsets....I convinced Juan Pablo to wait on starting a fire so that we could catch the sunset at the beach. Spectacular!






Little feet were eager to feel the cool water.


We walked almost to the pier, but decided we better get back and start a fire before it was completely dark.


Isabela was our wild fire woman. We had a hard time with the fire because of the wood being slightly damp, so Juan Pablo had her collect pine needles and cones to throw on it. She had a hard time knowing when to stop.


Breakfast was great....and early...we were all up by 6:15am! This cast iron pan was a great investment. Juan Pablo cooked bacon and eggs on it, along with steak and peppers, onions and mushrooms for dinner. I was fine with the powdered donuts and cereal I had brought, but JP doesn't think that is breakfast.


We were there for the annual clean the bay day. One day. Thousands of volunteers all along the Chesapeake Bay. Our group at Kiptopeke had about 25 people in it.


This was Joaquin's great find of trash. All in all, they collected 359 lbs. in three hours. We lasted for one hour. (We did have one casualty. Juan Pablo. He disappeared for awhile, only to return with a giant bandage on his arm. It was a rusty sign stuck in the sand that beat him. Did it have to be rusty?)


Here's what we did while he was gone...sand and waves...


...where Isabela found the largest clam shells I've ever seen.


This was our walkway to the beach. Kiptopeke is known for its bird sanctuaries. This was the osprey boardwalk.


Luckily, Diego was more than happy to walk it on his own. And most of the time barefoot!! The poor thing....his mom forgot to pack him socks.


Kiptopeke also has this amazing barrier made out of old sunken barges. It makes for great stories about pirates. (That's Joaquin acknowledging the ocean in the red shirt.)


Diego was so funny. He would lag far behind, then slowly walk to catch up with us, saying, "Mom. Mom. Mom." with each step. Sometimes, his caring big brother would go fetch him.


We spent most of the second day on the beach. I debated about bringing my camera, but thought I'd take a break as well, so I don't have pictures of that part. But there was an incredible sand bar....the kids were able to sit in inches of water a hundred feet out from the shore. Rippled sand glistened beneath the subtle waves of the Bay and it was amazing. I even said, "This is like a vacation!" Juan Pablo looked at me and laughed. The kids built huge sand castles with crazy colored sand. About an inch down, it was black. Juan Pablo tried to steer a school of fish into his man made puddle trap, and just when they were about to swim in it, some kid would come splashing through and scare them away. Quite funny.


Isabela, Diego and I went geocaching, too. (The other boys were wiped out.) The treasure was near the pier. All the state parks have special geocaches hidden for the 75th anniversary this year, so if you're in one, make sure to look.


These are calling us for our next adventure.


Kiptopeke was a great first camping grounds. The bathrooms were very nice...especially if you ignore the hundreds of daddy long legs perched on the walls staring at you. But, really, it's hard to go wrong with a beach this beautiful.

We did catch some rain the last night. It held off until we packed up and got on the bridge, then it let down a torrential flood. But....the kids declared this the best trip ever. You can't beat that.


(About the title...The kids play a hand clapping game and the ending goes: K-I-pickle-I, pickle-I-K-I, humble berry, wally wally whiskie, chinese chopsticks....chow mein!" I was slowly spelling the name of the park for Juan Pablo. I said, "K-I" and Diego quickly added, "pickle-I". We laughed and laughed.)