journal of a wacky expat family
Back to work today. Luckily it was a slow-ish day but still plenty of action.
After giving the kids nearly three weeks of close contact inside our house, we are trying hard to find our polite, nice children. Towards that end ...
Read MoreYesterday as a family we went out for a 3.5 mile bike and walk. There is a section of the king's old hunting grounds called El Pardo that is accessible from a spot near our house. The walk was nice, except for the occasional fit from Truman where he would throw his bike down and refuse to go any further.
Read MoreI heard Truman say this the other night. We were not saying prayers or anything.
“Dear God, I wonder what you’re up to today? Why do you have to be up in heaven? I wish you could wear clothes like us.”
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:
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.
Wednesday Morning Selfies:
Making dumplings:
Chilling outside his classroom door, waiting for school to start. #toocoolforschool
Tuesday Morning Selfies:
Good morning!
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.”
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. :)
This week was not easy. Even though it was a short week (Monday was a holiday) it was pretty action packed and tiring.
The Truman school situation continues to deteriorate. He is rebelling against putting on his uniform every day and is more or less exploding in anger and frustration before and after school. Oddly enough he is fine at school. Jess discussed the situation numerous times with Truman's teacher but her concerns fall on deaf ears. Yesterday she met with the principal and he was super understanding and solution oriented. Jess was impressed. He gave a number of options to try this coming week.
Work is extremely hectic at the moment. I've experimented with getting up at 4:30 instead of the usual 5:00 to try and cover the difference but that 30 minutes seems to be very important so I've abandoned that experiment. :)
Next week is the last hectic week since Europe tends to get very quiet for 2 weeks around Christmas. I'm looking forward to the break but we wish we were coming home or that someone would come visit us. It's a little depressing.
Addi's Christmas party for girls scouts:
Truman being Truman:
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:
It's Friday again. :)
We'd like to live it up on Friday night be inevitably we run aout of gas by about 8:30pm. Lame I know.
On my way home tonight Jess called me in the car and told me she cut off part of her finger while cutting things up for dinner. Pretty gruesome. She lost part of her nail and a corner of her finger. She's tough though.
Truman practicing ukulele:
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:
Pull-ups and naps. He's my idol.
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. 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 ...
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...
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:
The week is flying by and we are all gradually wearing down from the activities of life. About this time every week we ask ourselves if we have scheduled in too many activities in our weekly lives. I'm sure families everywhere ask themselves the same questions.
Truman is learning to cook. He helped make breakfast the other day. He's taking after his sister in that regard. He's really showing interest. On the other hand, Henry is unaware the kitchen even exists until the food is prepared.
Poor Henry jammed his fingers playing basketball. He now gets to wear cool medical tape on his hand to keep his fingers together. He wore a bag on his hand this morning in the shower to keep the tape dry. It was a funny sight but not the best time for a photo. :)
There is one last Halloween costume opportunity for the kids. They get to dress up on Friday at school. You know what that means? Decision agony about what to wear? Henry was trying to go to sleep last night but he couldn't because he was having trouble deciding what to be: Thor or Hulk. Life is full of difficult choices ...
For some reason, Truman needed to wear cycling gloves with his jammies:
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:
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.
