Pig Nose
“Dad, since your nose is so pointy like Aunt Katie’s, does it hurt to push it up, like a pig nose?”
“Mom, I think in the future, you should be able to say “God, I think heaven is a place you should be able to travel to.” That way people could check it out and not be so afraid of dying.”
Clever Girl
Adeline and Truman with the Christmas candle thing.
Proofpoint that we don't eat carbs?
Adeline: What is that bread called? The one that looks like a donut?
Mitchell & Jess: A bagel?
Adeline: Oh, yeah. A bagel.
I Heart Saturday
Last night we started our Christmas vacation by having dinner with some Swedish friends. They have small children so they came over (much easier than going out) and we introduced them to homemade hamburgers with minced bacon inside them. BAM!
Friday was basically a lost day at school. The kids got to wear pajamas, eat snacks and watch movies all day. In fact, it's now Saturday night and they are still wearing those same pajamas? Does that make us bad parents? Probably.
Today we slept in and shifted into Christmas mode. We spent a few hours playing games and putting together our North Pole Christmas Lego set. Then we grabbed a quick FaceTime with Mom & Dad before watching Christmas movies. My fitbit is telling me I've only taken a few thousand steps today. If it had a face I'm sure it would be disapproving.
Working on the Lego Christmas set:
Finished product:
Olive did not participate in the Lego fun:
Jess and Adeline making progress on the wrapping:
“It’s only one week until Christmas!?!?! It feels like it’s only November. It’s too warm to be Christmas time.”
Daddy Camp Comes to an End
Luckily Jess returns today (Thursday).
I'm so thankful to have four days to hang out with the kids but, it's ... thoroughly ... exhausting ... to do both "kid stuff" and "work stuff". I'm in no way a Hilary fan but as she says "It takes a village to raise a child". Earlier this week I told Jess that I was "Friday tired" and it was only Tuesday!
I've prioritized sleep over blogging so I've missed a few days of exciting, action-packed updates.
- Truman still having internal moral dilemma about whether to wear his uniform (and please his teacher) or to do what he thinks is right which is to wear his own clothes. Poor kid. You can see the struggle on his face when he's trying to decide. The debate inevitably devolves into him saying "I hate this school." and "I'm staying home today". He's been a real trooper this week. Very little freaking out and in general, we've left every day for school on time.
- Yesterday was (paleo) pancake morning. Pancakes on a school day morning. Insane!
- Fang made dumplings with the kids after school on Tuesday. They always love that. I had one (GASP!) and they were pretty freaking awesome.
- As a side-note, whenever I talk to siri and I need to leave myself a reminder for 'Fang', I have to call her "FAYNG" (like the wolf) or siri doesn't understand. Her name is actually 'Fang' like "FONG". In Mandarin it's 芳 which means fragrant, virtuous and beautiful. It's a pretty good name I think! :)
- On Wednesday at drop-off, we discovered that during the kids' school didn't have electricity during the morning. It was chaos inside the school since the kids were all going crazy with excitement. Eventually the power came back on but the kids got to have a modified morning lesson. I overheard a teacher saying that her entire lesson was on the Smart Board and she wasn't sure what she was going to do without electricity. First world problems.
Wednesday Morning Selfies:
Making dumplings:
Chilling outside his classroom door, waiting for school to start. #toocoolforschool
Tuesday Morning Selfies:
Good morning!
Addi and Henry's Christmas Concert (FROM HENRY)
Today Adeline and Henry are having a christmas concert. Henry is playing his trumpet and Addi is singing. Its weird christmas is next week but we are having a christmas concert a week before Christmas; so confusing. Also Mom gets back today as well so she will be able to come and see the concert! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Daddy Camp
We were the A-Team today. I got up as usual and did some work. Then got all the kids up around 7:00am. All three did great and were (mostly) helpful. We were out the door by 8:20. Record time for us!
The morning playlist for the kids to get ready to:
1. Roar - Katy Perry
2. Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson
3. Fun - Pitbull
We danced and jammed all the way to school.
Over the weekend Jess talked a lot with Truman about his uniform and they jointly agreed to wear the uniform shirt but he got to wear his own pants. He was pretty happy to go to school and I was relieved. After I dropped him off in his classroom, I was talking with one of our friends (who was going to pick him up from school) and I couldn't find Truman in the classroom to say 'goodbye'. I asked the teaching assistant and she said he was in the bathroom. Strange. I go into the bathroom and the poor kid has his pants half way off (they are european 'skinny' jeans so they aren't easy to get off) and he's trying so hard not to freak out. His assistant teacher told him he had to change pants (which is according to the teacher's policy). I told him he didn't have to but he felt like he needed to since his teacher told him. I felt so bad for him. I helped him get the ill-fitting uniform pants on and then he went back into the classroom. I told the teaching assistant he was going to wear his own pants for the rest of the week, and to please relay the message to the teacher. The poor teaching assistant was clearly uncomfortable but she agreed to relay the message. As a parent, you don't want to be a dick. Teaching is hard work and over-bearing and obnoxious parents don't help. But seriously, is it worth breaking a kid's spirit to force all 4 year olds to arbitrarily wear a uniform? I don't think so. Worse case, we pull him and teach him at home for the rest of the semester. I bet we can get through A People's History of the United States and Dying Every Day: Seneca at the Court of Nero before summer break. :)
He is not interested in going back to school tomorrow. Hopefully it goes well.
Morning selfies:
Bone Broth Breakfast:
More morning selfies:
Truman got a new for being brave while Jess is in London. He parked it on my gigantic nose:
Scheming ...
I couldn't keep up with Truman on the way into school:
Fang's payday. I love to butcher Chinese writing ...
We were so early that Truman got to read a book while waiting for his teacher to unlock the door:
Tonight at cubbies the kids made Olof (from Frozen) in clay:
Then enacted the Christmas story. Truman is Joseph. Henry was a wise man, Addi was a shepard (I think):
You can't really see, but all three kids, plus Olive are in Truman's bunk bed. As the only adult in the house, I got to do "fun prevention" and break up the party:
“I aspire to be the person my dog thinks I am.”
Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!!
In some respect, Sunday was a comedy of errors. Around 7am, the quiet house got a whole lot quieter as the power went out. Not a critical deal since the temp is in the 40s - 50s, but annoying none-the-less. And the sun doesn't rise until approximately 8:30am so it gets pretty dark in a house without power.
We had to call the power company twice. If you ever want to be put in your place, come to Spain and call the electric company. You get to talk in Spanish and feel dumb. It's a good way to stay humble.
We have been wanting to try out a new church in Madrid. We left a little late because a certain 4 year old (who will remain nameless, but rhymes with 'THRUMAN') decided to throw a tantrum and delay us. We took off with the GPS guiding us a little late but I hoped we could make up some time on the way. You never want to walk in late on your first day.
Driving in Madrid is a lot like sailing into the wind. There are so many crazy roads, roundabouts and one-ways that it's nearly impossible to go directly you to your destination. Instead, you get close, then tack to another direction, then get close, but can't make the turn, then get close, but you're going the wrong way and there's no turn lane, then you get close, and .... there's no parking.
We gave up once we were 30 minutes late for church. Truman fell asleep in the car anyway so it was for the best.
Picture of the candles in our kitchen:
As I drove through our neighborhood I discovered that a transformer in our neighborhood blew up. Smoke and police cars everywhere:
Henry being Henry. Addi and Truman look tortured...
Truman slept with Henry last night. Henry complained that he "didn't get to sleep at all" last night. He's sleeping with me tonight so tomorrow I can complain "that I didn't get to sleep at all" last night. :)
Kick-butt yellow curry we had for dinner. I told the kids it was chicken and beef curry. In fact, I used left over turkey (from Thanksgiving) and beef liver. I'm freaking evil. MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! They loved it. :)
Getting ready for Munich
We are in our usual pre-vacation crunch period:
- I'm stressing about getting everything in order at work and stable while I'm out
- Downloading and converting new movies for the kids' iPads
- Letting the kids pack their own suitcases. Then Jess secretly going back in and re-packing them because she's Type A. :)
Our flight is tomorrow at noonish. It's a direct flight to Munich. A little longer than to Paris but still a short, easy flight.
The man, the legend, Doug Sharp arrives in Madrid this morning. Jess is going to grab him at the airport and immediately launch into her Madrid tour guide routine since it is his only day in Madrid and it would be a shame if he didn't see a few of the sights.
Adeline and I went to a Father/Daughter luncheon at a cool restaurant in downtown Paris on Saturday. Here she is sitting with her friends in the booth.
Paris - Day #5
Last day before our travel day back to Madrid, school and work.
After a repeat of our "supplemental English breakfast" we hopped on the bus to Disney Studios. Disney Studios is very similar to MGM in Florida, only so much colder!
Little T-Rex hands:
Waiting for Disney Jr. Class Cooper face:
Handy Manny:
Stopping for crêpes. Apparently needed the energy since Disney Studios doesn't sell popcorn:
Truman gave a convincing argument to get his own crêpe:
Stunt show had a real-life Lightning McQueen!
Pork knuckle and sauerkraut for supper! :)
Henry tasting a waffle and jam in Disney Village:
Henry at the hotel pool getting soaked by a bucket of water:
Related Reading:
A Little Weekend Fun
It's been a few days since an actual blog post since I'm still trying to post something from each day of our Paris trip. Let's see if I'm successful.
A few things:
- Back in our gluten eating days, we had a KILLER buttermilk pancake recipe. Seriously, it was awesome and we would make it all the time. Now we eat 70 eggs a week and very few pancakes. Jess has a good paleo banana pancake recipe and I tried a paleo pumpkin pancake recipe several months ago. Over the weekend I tried a new paleo pancake and it seems promising. Of course it needs a little tweaking but I have high hopes!
- On Saturday night we had dinner at our friend's house. They are one of the British families that we got to know closely in La Moraleja. It was great to sit down and spend a little time with them.
- My darling wife found fresh jalapeños in Madrid. We are so excited! We've been trying to buy fresh jalapeños abroad for 5 years now and have been unsuccessful! As with most treats abroad, we never know how long they'll be around so we will buy as many as we can use until they are no longer available.
- The kids and I took Olive for a bike ride/walk on Sunday. It was really nice to get out with the older two kids.
- Henry had his normal Saturday basketball game. This time he got to tip off.
- This weekend was full-on Christmas decorating. Jess has created her Christmas playlist on the Sonos and that's all that is playing these days. :)
Paris - Day #4
Fourth day of trying to find a proper breakfast. :)
The hotel informed us that they had a breakfast buffet but if you wanted to have a "English breakfast" then you had to order and pay extra. We weren't really sure what that meant but upon further clarification, "English breakfast" meant "hot breakfast". Otherwise, they offered cereal, bread, donuts, croissants, hot chocolate and cold cuts. The kids were in heaven with the cereal and donut options. Needless to say, Jess and I opted for the English breakfast of over easy eggs and bacon.
After breakfast, we took the bus to Disneyland. My ever-organized wife had the tickets printed off in advance (of course) so we didn't have to wait in line to buy new. The park was decorated for Christmas which was a really nice touch.
On our way to Disneyland. Truman not being a team player:
We road several rides and had a few fast passes. Addi and I road on the Space Mountain ride together which was probably my favorite. The November weather in Paris was cold but not terribly cold. We had to deal with many people smoking in line (despite the signs posted saying 'No Smoking'). Oh well.
We really struggled finding a proper restaurant inside Disneyland so we made a last minute decision to leave the park and try to wait in line for a table at Mickey's Cafe (a mostly reservations only restaurant where the kids get to meet five of the Disney characters). Probably the best food we had while at Disney.
Main Street:
The specialty of the day. I didn't eat it but I'm sure one of the unintended side effects is it induces vomiting. Gross.
Buzz Lightyear. Jess beat us all.
Henry driving cars:
Remember, when you're on a ride at Disneyland, you can sit holding hands but spontaneous dancing is STRICTLY PROHIBITED!
This is my favorite picture from one of the rides. You can't see Addi, but look at Henry and Truman's faces. Compare that with my face and Jess's face. We look like we're sitting at a bus stop. :)
Eating Disney popcorn, waiting in line.
Christmas parade.
Dinner at Mickey's Cafe.
When we lifted up the carafe of water, it left a smiley face. Life is good.
We saw Mickey at Mickey's Cafe. Go figure.
The park closing show that night was a Christmas themed show. It was pretty cool.
Related Reading:
Tired already?!?
Tired already. Not sure how that can be.
Getting ready for vacation in Paris Wednesday - Tuesday! That means lots of logistic work for Jess and lots of work planning for me (to be away from the office). It should be worth it though.
Luckily there is no time change and the currency is the same. Awesome.
Truman threw a huge fit about wearing his uniform yesterday. After I convinced him to put it on, he just threw himself on the floor in defeat. He was in complete denial that he'd have to go to school in his uniform (last week he refused and he got to stay home with Jess ...)
Addi reading to Truman for bed last night:
Saw these two super cool and hip people last night while we were putting the kids to bed so I needed to take a picture. I'm not sure who they were, but they sure looked awesome! I bet they are famous ...
Great Stay-at-home Weekend
Lots of down-time this weekend. It actually felt like we all got to hang out for a few days. I can't remember the last time that happened.
Henry and I rediscovered our love for Star Wars Monopoly. The weather is still nice here so we played outside on the terrace.
Now that Adeline is getting started on the piano, I thought it was a good moment for us to start learning Apple's Garageband software. We didn't know anything about it when we started so played around with it for a while. We still don't know much but we recorded our version of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth". You can listen to our little experiment here. Be gentle. :) I can't carry a tune to save my life but I'm hoping if we get the kids started singing they'll be great later on.
See if you can hear Addi's piano track in the background...
Teaching life skills:
Our professional "on-the-floor" recording studio:
Yes, they were all cheating...
TGIN: Thank Goodness It's November
It's not too often that I look forward to the arrival of a new month quite like I've been looking forward to November.
The last two weeks of October have seemed like a never ending Halloween party. We counted this morning and they celebrated Halloween five times with five different costumes!
What a difference a year makes.
Last year we drove across town to a village/town called Humera (south of Pozuelo which is where we live now). There are about 15 houses there that put on a trick-or-treat event. Nothing in our neighborhood. Nothing at the kids' school.
This year there were multiple activities at school. Multiple trick-or-treat nights (on different nights) plus Addi's Halloween birthday party.
On a side note: our house and car got egged last night. Silly Spanish kids.
On the way home from trick-or-treating last night:
It was Truman's day
Truman straight up refused to go to school today. Jess got him all the way inside his classroom but he refused to stay. Had his teacher stepped in he probably would've, but Jess didn't get any support. So... he got to stay home and help Jess out with her stuff.
Adeline and Henry are both feeling a little sick. I attribute the fact that they are like morons for 48 hours but it is possible there is a bug going around.
olive chillin like a villain:
More Halloween Fun
Today we tried to recover a little bit from yesterday. We enjoyed an extra hour of sleep thanks to the daylight savings clock change. Around 1:00 this afternoon we had a Halloween party at ASM.
The kids continued to enjoy their weekend of free eating and had candy and donuts for breakfast. Luckily, they all felt a little sick tonight. :)
Candy coma:
Candy heartburn:
I know I look like Hannah Montana but I'm actually dressed as Thor.
I feel like Taylor Swift
Last night we had Addi's birthday at a local Mexican restaurant. The dinner was lackluster but the 45 minute ride home in terrible Madrid traffic was awesome; Addi and I lipsynced to Taylor Swift all the way home.
Best part of my day by far!
It was a bit scary how old she seemed, sitting in the front seat singing about boyfriends...
Happy 9th Birthday Adeline!
Opening a few gifts before heading off to school.
Over easy eggs and new boots. The perfect breakfast combo!