Sorry…

…no time to blog.

I’m feeding an army.

The puking

I spent Sunday night and early Monday morning with Kate who was throwing up all night long. She is better now, it was a quick bug, but it did make for a tired mom on Monday.

We did the basics in school, skipped gym time, managed to get groceries done (yay for superhero husbands) and had visitors over who played with the dog and jumped with the girls.

I had to let our girls know about one of their friends who will be moving soon and so began the tears. Pray for their little missionary kid hearts and all the goodbyes they often have to say.

Daddy bought them pizza and we all curled up on the couch for a family movie. It cheered them up, the day ended, and I finally got a full nights sleep.

I hope your Monday involved less puke than mine did!

Birthday cake for breakfast.

Years ago, I would go to the gym every morning for my spinning class. I remember once I blogged about having a birthday party at the gym and eating cake for breakfast. Now, years later, I have rejoined the same gym, different instructor, different group of people, but there was still birthday cake for breakfast! Happy birthday to my spinning instructor, Lorena, and no, I did not have cake! Today is Kate’s birthday and I am saving the calories for my homemade chocolate beet cake (recipe later).

Dentists and Pretzels

Today was Dental Appointment Day.

A day that I have been putting off for about 4.5 years.

It was time.

Thankfully, these girls passed with flying colors. Only two small cavities, on baby teeth, so basically, who cares?  Leave them be, the dentist said. This too shall pass.

Since the dental office is so close to our favorite German grocery store we thought we would reward ourselves with by spending $2.00 on 6 freshly baked pretzels. That’s better than IKEA prices!

 

We are in the stage of life where going to the grocery store by ourselves is considered a date, and we often do jus that. So, I had the girls take a picture of us, for posterity. (Brian thought that was lame, but went along with it to humor me.)

(For all our Paraguayan readers: this is the new Casa Rica on Molas Lopez, not the one on España! It’s bigger, with better parking! Go check it out!)

Summer Shenanigans

I hope you didn’t think I had forgotten about the blog already…not at all! We have just been busy building yet another blog (and homeschooling, and cooking, and working, and living…) My girls and I started doabledinner.wordpress.com and you can follow them on Instagram @doable_dinner.  So far my evil plan is working…they see now why they must learn to type, and I get extra willing help in the kitchen. #winning

The two older girls help run the blog, the instagram account and with the cooking. Lexi and Kate are taste-testers (and they excel at it!)

Happy eating.

P.S. I joined a gym! More on that tomorrow.

(Pray for my sore muscles.)

 

Week Recap

Highlights:

Hemming a pile of jeans while maintaining the original hem

Teaching Abbie how to sew her own black (yes, black) Star Wars curtains

Eating ice cream

Fun fact- two blocks from our house is an ice cream factory where you can get two scoops on a cone for fifty cents. So…out of curiosity, do you think getting an ice cream cone every week is over doing it? (I’m asking for a friend, of course).

Not a highlight was when Kate cried for about 20 minutes because she didn’t finish her lunch in time to get an ice cream.

How was your week? Did it involve ice cream at all, or is it just too cold where you are for that sort of thing?

Fri-Yay!

Drawing cartoon faces, and coloring while listening to Wizard of Oz on audible.

(One little person may have been fresh out of the swimming pool, therefore, in her birthday suit. Our apologies.)

Dinner, thanks to Nana!

Paraguay is home to some pretty tasty food, and one of our favorites is a steak and chicken sandwich wrapped in pita bread. Called a “lomito arabe” it is one of the foods our visitors remember most fondly.

Last night, thanks to Nana Cantrell’s Christmas gift, we went out to eat with my sister, brother-in-law and niece.

Samantha just slept.

The rest of us inhaled the amazing steak bombs slathered in a creamy garlic sauce while gently nudging away the stray kitten under our chairs. (Sad.)

Thank you, Nana, for the yummy meal and good time. Christmas continues for us here in Paraguay!

Goals, dreams, wishes

We spent New Years Eve with dear friends who have been with us through thick and thin.  We said we would only be there till 10:00, no way would Kate make it till midnight. No way, jose. Not possible.

She made it. By 10:00 there were already fireworks going off and Kate’s eyes were lighting up and her dimple was popping. No way could we leave. So we Just Danced, we Farkled, we laughed, we ate, and we oohed and ahhed at the sparkly show in the sky.

We went home,  and tucked everyone into bed but my head kept spinning with all the goals I had been pondering since August.  I looove setting goals, knowing full well there are some I won’t keep, let’s be real. But, I need to have a plan to change. I have to start somewhere.

(One goal that I have already decided to fail: Do not buy books until you have read the ones you already own.)

I’m baaack.

A few months ago we were sitting around a friend’s table for dinner and he told he had recently gotten in touch with a friend from his years in high school. This friend of his had left Paraguay and moved to the United States, but had returned for a quick visit. During their time together he mentioned us vaguely, an American family (I’m not sure how the topic even came up) and she said…”Wait…the blogger??? With the little girls? I used to read her blog everyday!”  We laughed a lot at that. Me? A “famous” blogger! But it reminded me of dusty little neglected blog and I remembered how much I used to love it. So, let’s try this yet again, shall we?

The “blogger” is back.

I am not sure how to segue this into a Christmas post, so let’s just jump in, okay?

Tia Jayde and Tio Hugo..the engaged couple to be wed in March!

“Soccer” tournament.

Tiny house, lots of people

The king of pie pastry.

Baby Sam and her Mommy

Abbie and my Mommy

The half-way done Christmas tree

Thank God for an engineer uncle to help Abbie with her solar powered rover!

Kate’s Christmas was Barbie themed.

New dog, lots of cuddles

My Dad and I lived in the kitchen. All others must stay out of our pie-making way.

 

We had a lovely Christmas where I received mostly Pioneer Woman kitchen items (LOVE.HER.) and we lounged around watching Elf (one of the most quotable movies ever) and not much else.

How was your Christmas?