Camping!!! Fun???

Our first camping as a family!!!! it seems a crazy idea, and it was for some time, but at the end we had a great time with great friends and everything else was forgoten in some dark place in my confuse memory....

We got at this place at a decent hour, but the kids were so happy and distracted that we didn't start unpacking until late at night....

Emily was introduced to a hot/burn mashmellow, she didn't like it, as you can see!

That night i did try to sleep sophie for hours, she usually when to bed at 7-8 pm.....after trying for an hour i just give up an let her stay outside until she couldn't stand on her own....daddy rock her for a little while, and that was it...and for me too....

Next day we wnet to walk around, to find the pond and some other things....

Larissa and her husband Salvador and her daughter Marianna invite us to this place, as well as another couple and their 3 kids.....i am so sorry for not remmembering their names, that always happens to me.....

we had a great time "rowing", it took some time before we could move the boat where we wanted to go.....


At some point i was scare because Sophie wanted to walk around!, but once she was on my lap she got quite happy!

Then we had a water ballon fight!, it is amazing how long does it takes to fill does ballons and how fast they run out!

They really enjoy it because it was a hot day! even when it was the last month of the warm season...

We eat, we sing, we dance and talk for a while, i was such fun!!!!

After a while even Sophie was ready for a little nap on daddy's arms...then it was time to go home, i wanted to be early on our place because after all the little sleep i was going to have a big fight that night, and we still had to eat and take a shower.....

and to be sure not to carry all those crazy ugly little "daddy long legs", they just creep me out everytime i saw them in the tent....they made the little girls screem so many times when they got inside their tent!!!!!

late....

It has been reeaaally long since my last post, and many many things has been happening around....so i hope i get to remember something because right now my mind is all blank, but as always if i start writing i wont stop until is very late or my kids are hungry.....let see....

Sophie loves to try new things, foods and everything emily does...EVERYTHING, even if Emily cough or sneeze, Sophie will do it too...and to take anything Emily has on her hands (that is our big fight right now)....Sophie also likes to wear high heels! so she is not much of a tomboy as i believed....

I will start writing about my little car accident, then our 2 days camping outdoors WITH THE GIRLS!, and our trips to the museum, Local fair, and my emily's birthday of course!....i am so delay in my post, mostly because y decide to make my spring cleaning close to autumn, and then decide to do some rearrangements.....ufff all this months just cleaning, taking winter clothes out, washing them, looking every little paper around to see if i can throw it away.....not much fun....but i am almost ready! just few boxes more to enjoy it completely....ok, lets start before Christmas is here!

I really need to talk about this, and i think for some reason this part of my life i need to write and leave it on the paper, but of course the importance in my safe and others leave it very clear on my mind......On july i had a car accident, i didnt talk about it also because there were many things to do, fix the car, car insurance, doctors, pain, bad dreams .... so many things and i just had a very little accident, i "collide" another car at just at 25-30 max miles/h...could it got worse?, yes!, you should see the other car in front of me, it look like an accordion (it was a sedan model)...and i thank God for keeping us all safe, non of people involve in the accident had a severe injure...

i had my 4 year old on the back seat, on her car seat.....we were leaving the fireworks place for the 4th of july celebrations and some people couldn't decide which direction/exit to take on a 65 m/h highway, so they slow down all of the sudden, forgetting the cars coming behind, some of the cars could stop very close to each other and some of us just couldnt....there was a 3 car "accident" or "negligence" as a learn latter.

Emily on her gymnastic class....

Because this was my very first "offence" i went to an STOP class, a 10 hour class about driving. Over there, they told me i was negligent to stop, i fight that assumption with the officer but i was the last car on the line of the accident, so they say it was my fault....which i think still it wasnt....same as the 40 other people in the class, 90 % of them for speeding. When i heard their stories and how much they complain about the "stupid officers" who give them a ticket just for speeding from 5-10 miles/h, i start to think more about my case....

Watching TV......

This other people in the class believe they had no fault because there was no accident involve....in my case i stop thinking who's fault was it and think more how to avoid this situations, and that was why the class was for, to learn to be prepare for ANY situation, i think specially to watch out for those other 30-35 people in my class that feel speeding it is not an issue....i am so glad i took the class, i learn a lot, specially to take my time while driving, even when i am not a speeder, but for not to cross with one....

Double ride....Emily is not a good walker.....but Sophie is a good sharing...well sometimes....

I learned to do not look for my daughter water cup while i am driving (even if it is just next to me), i dont turn to see what she wants me to see, i always secure her very well on her car seat even if we are going close to home.....some of those things just take seconds, like giving her some tissue to blow her nose, but i realize we loose a fraction of our attention to the road, and that fraction could mean to be dead or alive, or injured.....as i said, my was a very tiny accident, but i had pain for 3 weeks over my neck, head and eyes, and then my body.....and i was using my seat belt.

In Peru just not long ago they made a law for everybody to always use a seat belt....just no more than 5 years ago......still, there is not law for the use of car seats, but in the last couple of years i saw more people using it, it think just like a fashion thing (not everybody has one).....and when something is a fashion on Peru, locals start making their own imitation, most of the times a really bad one...two years ago i wanted to buy a helmet for emily to ride her bike while we were on Peru, and what i saw was the most terrible products i had even seen, because it was meant to be for the kids to be safe....this "helmet" had a strong white interior like any others but the exterior was a copy of the picture of some kids idol in a plastic just as hard as a bottle of water!!!!!...i walked away just sad, i remember talking about this to every person to came in front to me but as the time past by cowardly i try to think in something else....

Please be careful and safe....for your kids, your family, those others kids, their moms and dads, and also for your own sake, not because you dont have kids or they are somewhere else allow you or me to be negligent, dont forget we are also someone else child....and it will kill them if anything happens to us.... STOP!...i do.....

Pool time!

This summer we had enjoy the pool as never before, for a couple of weeks we had been in the pool every afternoon!, and the rest of the month every day or another.....First days i got tired of having Sophie in my arms, but after a couple of days it was so relaxing, i think i even got more energy after just 30 minutes in the pool that i couldnt stop going......
At the beginning emily didnt want to use her life vest in the water.... i try to brave her, i try to intimidate her and just got tears and screams.....

Every possible trick didnt work until i force her to use the vest and push her away....she cry again, but she learn the feeling of being in the water all by herself....and that was it....

like a fish in the water, she felt so happy!, but the next step was to jump.....again more tears....
while i was trying to convince her (push again!) to jump, she was learning to contain her breath under the water....why i didnt teach her that first?, it sounds obvious thats the first step before jumping.....

i could see she was getting better and better under the water, lasting longer and even kicking at the same time....

then, one day out of the blue, Emily and Armando were in the pool with Caleb and her mom, and Emily told her friend: watch me how i jump into the water!, Armando said she hesitate for few seconds and then.....SHE JUMPED!....

and now that is all she does in the pool.....

This other place is the Mahoney Park, the girls love it!, it has waves in one of the pools and slides, fountains, etc...

Sophie really enjoy it as much as Emily....but there where sometimes (many times) that sophie went into the water, and she refused to get any help at all....she wanted to stand on her own, or maybe she was just too scare and wave her hands as crazy....yea, that must be it!

The first time was very nice, just sitting on the edge, splashing some water, etc.....after they got use to it, one run one way and the other to the opposite direction.....

Sophie is very sociable, too much probably, she pass people over their legs, hanging their arms, clothes, etc...it is hard with her, specially to get into the slide, she doesnt know she needs to wait her turn, she goes pushing other kids, so i have to grab her really hard for few minutes until she gets in....

it is not surprising that daddy picks emily if he had to stay with one of the girls......and of course, next time is my turn....

At the end, the price is SILENCE, everybody is sleeping.....no nagging, no "I WANT CANDY", no "ARE WE THERE YET", no "WATCH ME, WATCH ME!"....

no CRYING, no MORE TOYS, no MORE MILK or WATER or SNACK.....

no YOU ARE SPENDING TOO MUCH MONEY, no WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE, no I TOLD YOU SO......

just quiet time for mommy.......shhhhhh!!!!!!

Emily's School day!

Everything has an end.....and a new beginning!!!!

A painful day for mommy finally has arrived, anxiety, fear, and most of all, emptiness.....who is going to fill my little Emily's place?....Sophie?, some i guess, but the "partnership" and bonding that lately has been amazingly growing?....i am going to miss her....

Somehow i feel it is not fair, after all the time, fights, non-sleep, psychology, and else; to mold my little one to be a respectful lovely girl......they take her away from me!!!! just NOT FAIR....

We had an "Open house" a day before school....it is a wonderful time to meet teachers, children, and the school itself (if you didnt went around before-like me) and have some Ice-cream at the end!....We had a meeting at the school before that day, but was mostly for parents to meet the Director and know more about the school, while the children went to play in the classroom..... that day i saw i lovely lady i meet when Emily was 2 years old (it really seems like a long time!), when she use to teach little children along with parents (like a pre-school) for a couple of hours....her name is grandma Judy.....I felt better to know that she will take care good care of Emily, she was so happy to see us and told everybody about Emily.....Judy has been volunteering at that school for a long time cause many kids went to great her, big hugs and kisses for "grandma judy"....from 6 to 10 years old kids.....i felt the love! Judy was so kind to show us around the school....and oh my God!, what a big school!....Holmes Elementary had something around 450 kids and just teach primary level.....and as far as i know they have 3 classrooms for kindergarten.....She show us the library, the music, computer, art classrooms, and the gym!....the lunch room too (my baby is going to buy her own lunch!!!) and we met all the teachers on our way.....and because they are not allow to bring money the kids use "security cards", they need to learn their password and parents can put some money in those kind of credit cards.i think i did great after all, i keep my cool and let Emily had an amazing experience at her first day...It was nice to see neighbors and they kids around...that is a rule here, is like a neighborhood school....we are going to Holmes school because is in our area....how lucky are we??......

We also could see parents crying...i wasnt, she was so happy and waiting so long for this day....everybody who knew she was going to kindergarten made a big deal about it, a marvelous idea grew in her mind, school was a wonderful place to have lots of friends to play and do stuff!

Daddy mention i didnt drop a tear because i was happy to get rid of her, SO NOT TRUE!......even little sissy try to follow Emily, they are such lovely friends.....but this is a journey Emily is going to start on her own....they will catch up later!Another great thing is i can come and visit her anytime i want, and become a volunteer too...i try to be by lunch time, but because this first week they are going home earlier, i missed it and had some time at recess....she was a little sad, ans when i approached to her she just start to cry really hard.....i couldnt understand what she was saying.....the i catch "i hurt my leg".....and more and more crying.....i hug her and she calm down quite.....but after the day was gone and i pick her up, she was happy again and told me she made 2 friends, Karen and Seven....yes seven!.....what was really funny was that her teacher is Mrs Ford, so for Emily to remember i told her it sounds like Four, so she is Mrs "cuatro"....she laugh so much about that (but she doesnt want me to say that at school)....and now she has a friend "siete"......

Later she explain to me that when the bell ring a kid push her from the slide and he fall bad.....i let her know she should tell the teacher if something like that happens again....

This is her 3th day, and already the sub-director, her assistant, and the teacher knows me well.....Today I let emily to walk on her own to the front door, while i waited some steps behind....She keep herself at the door and didnt went all the way through so i had to help her, inside we saw all the kids going in just one direction (probably to the Gym cause it was rainy), and when i ask if everybody was going over there (meaning all kindergartens include), the assistant told me yes, except from PARENTS......probably noisy parents like me! ha, ha!. they know me already dont they!.....and school has just started!!!!!

Family matters.....

In Peru (as in some other countries, i guess), we carry 2 surnames, the first one (and most important) from our father, and the second (the one is lost through generations) from our mother.....So, until few years ago, when you got married you could introduce your husbands first surname instead of your mother's (so you always keep just 2 surnames) and which i did when i got my first passport....but in one of my trips to Peru, the rules changed, and you no longer eliminate your mothers surname, and if you have to introduce your husband surname, that will be your third surname....

Having my visa and many other documents with my husband surname at the end, i had to get a new passport with the three surnames, lucky me i just have one first name, otherwise that would be such a pain.....
So, having 2 surnames make yourself kind of unique, i mean, here your can have hundreds of people with the same surname and not be related at all....In Peru if you try to find a person on the yellow pages, you definitely dont have much to look for or make a mistake calling the wrong Alipio Julio Ponce Huaman.....

In my family i have a sister/cousin, or what normally be call first cousin?... but for us is quite special because my mother's sister married my dad's brother, and for that my cousins have my same surnames, in the same order, just like me and my brothers.....

My sister/cousin is one year older than I, we grew up together as close as brothers and sisters can be.... she has a great memory for that, o my God!, she remembers every little thing, every little play, all the fights, our pets, our friends, school, etc, etc.....she usually tells me: "i am not sure you are my cousin!", because i barely remember things, and as times passes i remember even less....

But most of all, i remember how great she was drawing, i may say i am pretty good at that too, and i believe it comes from our father side, my grandpa was an Artist.....however, there was a big difference, i was good making copies from pictures, she was creative in many ways....i specially like and recall her passion for dresses, she was maybe 10-12 years old, and she did draw and draw, designs after designs, dresses for our barbie dolls....and i remember we did sew those dresses for our dolls, and even a couple of her designs my mother did sew then for me (she was great with a sewing machine).....

So, when i was growing up i dream to become an Interior Designer, which had no future in my parents eyes, so i had to choose a University career in order to get my "Titulo" (like a second degree after you get your bachelors)...i guess that is every parents dream in Peru, and it is so common i didnt fight it, i just had to find something else to go for.....

My sister/cousin choose Architecture, maybe because her father was a civil engineer, but i guess mostly because she was born for that....

Having nothing to loose i had one of those famous vocational psychologist test, to see my inclinations.....test after test the results came: doctor, biologist and ......(dont remember last one), maybe because a new word open with the word BIOLOGIST, which was far from being an accountant, a lawyer, or even a doctor (the "favorites" of any parent's mind) .....a b-i-o-l-o-g-i-s-t....ok, lets see!.....and in one of my searches i found something like this: "being a biologist you need to have an artistic eye to look what no other eye can see"......lately i think you need that in any profession, but at that time i thought that my path was being connected in front of me....and that was my future....

My sister/cousin never loose her touch, such creations, and even her style, her strength.....She is my role model, she is my best friend.....i specially like the last one because she can be sensitive and impartial......she can even slap my face throw the phone!, but most of all, she is always there to hear me and she will never lie to me, not even "to make me feel happy"......
In one of our talks, she send a picture with a beautiful dress for her cat that she and her daughter made.....but then she mention they use silicone to stick the stuff together.....so i was remembering one of my few memories, and how much we enjoy making dresses for our dolls, etc, etc....and then it got me thinking about how much technology (if i can call it like that) has change through years....not that i complain, cause it is great to have a car or a plane instead of a horse or else....or o my God, what will i do without a washing machine or dish machine????.....and then i though about the rice cooker uhmmmm????.......in my time, we cook rice in conventional pans, use a little bit of oil and fry some garlic until gold, then little toast the rice with that, add the water and salt till boil, move, add water, move, water in the middle and decrease the temperature for cooking......so you are probably stick to the pan to see and taste and add water, etc, etc....probably while you are cooking something else....i always wonder how our moms did that and watch her kids!....well i know my mom had and assistant, but what about others mums???....i mean, why i cant, even with all the machines!

Emily has learn how to make rice on the cooker, she loves every step on that, from counting the cups of rice, to wash it, to add things and stir, and finally to turn it on to cook..... not to mention she loves to eat rice......

but then i thought, as other things, they had become mechanic.......will she be able to "survive" without "machines"....what will she do if her rice cooker broke? (buy another? probably..) just to mention one little example.......

When i was growing up, my mom had help in the house, so i didnt learn how to cook, or maybe i just didnt like since the beginning, and i didnt care to ask about it.....but then my mom retire from work when i was around 15 or so, and she decide to teach me some, which i complete refuse to do it, it was too late for me.....my dad, more determined to chaining me to the kitchen if he had to, told me i had to learn at least how to make rice and how to prepare spaghetti, just as a survival skill.......and because no one says no to my dad, i learned it.....then by 25, when i leave my home, or better say, when i got married, those where the only two dishes i knew how to prepare.....

So now, sewing was part of my child "hobbies", and i definitely like it better than cooking....we learn how to sew from school, and how to stitch buttons and zippers (which was the hardest for me) and even to knit and crochet.....it just make me think, besides for a good education, good manners, and to be a good sister, i will have to teach Emily and Sophie how to sew....and cook rice and spaghetti, and 10 other dishes i learned over the past 10 years......(maybe just 7, but by the time she is ready it could be 10!).....

So, it doesnt stop, growing is a constant learning...from walk to be a good person, to be kind, to be confident, to care, from people, animals, the planet.....now, little by little but non-stop.....we will make sure my little Emily learn now while she is little and quite obedient....and for sure she will be a great help when Sophie needs to learn those things too, because oh my God, we are going to need all the help available with that little one!!!