journal of a wacky expat family
We are thoroughly enjoying a wonderful stretch of weather here in Madrid. The weather is regularly nice, but it is especially fantastic this week. So yesterday, after church, We decided to meet some friends downtown at a large park. It would be good to let Olive and the children play together in the sunshine and unleash some of the extra energy that has built up due to a little too much TV watching the past few days.
Read MoreThe kids had a fantastic week of school. Jess and I are so thankful that they all are enjoying their teachers and their classes. Instead of kicking and screaming when he's supposed to be getting ready for school, Truman wakes up, asks Jess if it's a school day, and whoops out a loud "YES!!!" with a fist pump if she tells him it is. It's just amazing.
Read MoreThis week has been a bit of a grind. I got home last night and it felt like a Friday night. Typically on Friday nights we have some wine, Spanish meat and cheese and just decompress from the week. By 10pm I'm usually asleep, either in a chair, my bed, or one of the kids' beds. I felt that same sort of way last night but unfortunately it was only Thursday; one more day to go.
Read MoreWe're taking a few days off and heading south.
[I wrote this a week ago but forgot to post it. Oops.]
Last night Jess and I went out for dinner with some our friends from our old neighborhood. Fang stayed and watched the kids. She made Chinese food (Kung Pao chicken and spicy beans) for the kids,which is always a big hit.
Jess and I took a taxi downtown and met up with our friends at a random bar near the restaurant. Even though it's not too cold (about 32 degrees F) the plaza was mostly empty. In the summer there would be people everywhere.
After a little foosball, Ms Pacman, and some wine (random, I know), we left and headed to the restaurant.
We don't go out often because it's expensive and pretty inconvenient if you have children. We didn't finish our dessert until nearly 1:00am, and then it's normal to sit for another chatting and then go somewhere after for drinks and chatting.
We're not that cool. :) We promised Fang we'd be back by 1:15 so we quick hopped in a cab and came home. Fine for me though, I was yawning the entire way home.
Despite being a complicated night, it was super nice to go out and act like adults for an evening. :)
On Friday night we finally got to eat our piglet. (I've always wanted to start a blog post like that!) ...
Read MoreLast night Addi was super quiet and grumpy. When I got home from work and I tried to talk to her she made the point of ignoring me. Hmmm, a bit strange, but we roll with it. Then when she wouldn't set the table and I got after her she blew up and stormed upstairs to her room in a huff. Hmmm again. Obviously this is not about setting the table. ...
Read MoreWe successfully made it through our short week (two days in school for the kids, and three days in the office for me)! For being a short week, it definitely seemed long but I suppose the first few days coming back from a vacation always feel long. ...
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 MoreYesterday we met a few friends in downtown Pozuelo (our town) to see the local Three Kings parade. Unbeknownst to us, the Three Kings are a really big deal here. In the US, the kings play small side part in nativity, but then are mostly forgotten. Their biggest claim to fame is that when the children perform the nativity play at church, even though both the shepherds and the kings weard the same robes, the kings get to wear paper crowns and the shepherds only get head wrap things. That's about it.
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