Happy Thanksgiving.

Finally a minute to get to the internet cafe. It is actually the second minute I have had since May, but because I kept hitting the wrong key on the keyboard (its a different type of keyboard than I am used to) I kept deleting my post. I finally got fed up and just left, LOL.

Because I only have a minute, this is going to be a short post, but I figure short is better than none at all. Everyone here is doing GREAT. I will be back in the US for a couple of weeks in January, so I will be updating with some pictures then. My camera was eaten by ants, seriously it was, so I am trying to get someone to lend me one to take pics of the kids for my mom, and for updating here.

Ari is growing like a weed. She is so freaking fat. At 8 months she is 23 pounds. I dont know how long she is, but she is big. She is in size 18 to 24 month clothes and size 5 shoe. Looking at her is is hard to believe that she was 5 weeks early. She doesn´t crawl, but she loves to ¨walk¨in her walker. She will stand up by herself in it for almost a minute before she sits back down in it. But she is all over the house in her walker. She doesn´t like to lay down, which would explain why she doesn´t crawl.

Levi is now talking up a storm, in both English and Spanish. Out of all of my kids, he is the most fun. His personality is so much fun.

Lana is excited because in February she will be going to school (kinder) with the rest of her older brothers and sister.

Johan had a hard time adjusting to school, but after a bit he did well. Hopefully next year he will start the year with no problems.

Isa graduated kinder this year, and next year she starts school. Along with homeschool, she will be attending school with Mickey. She likes school, and can´t wait to go to the big school.

Mickey did great this year. On her end f year report card the lowest grade that she got was a 94%. She was a sobresaliente on everything from her behavior, to her appearance, to everything.

Jordan is heading back to the US to spend the Christmas holidays with her father, but she is doing well. She starts collegio (high school) next year as well. She too will be homeschooled. But this way she gets to be around other kids her age. We don´t let her out to much in our neighborhood because most of the kids her age and a bit older are boys. And well, that can become a problem, LOL.

Sendy is doing well as well. If you remember, Sendy is my stepson. He lives with us now, and has been with us since June. Its funny to watch him and Andre together. They act like normal 14 yr old boys (Andre is 3 months older than Sendy) but Andre has a fit because he isn´t used to how other 14 yr old brothers act.

Andre also is doing well. He has lost his chunkiness, and turned it back into muscle from working. Its hard to believe that he will be 14 the end of December. Where did my little boy go? He is coming up with me in January, and he is looking forward to visitng family and friends in the US as well.

Well that was the quick version. When I land in the US, you will know because I will be posting updated pics of the kids and more blog posts.

I hope everyone has a GREAT Thanksgiving, and know that I miss you all :)

No longer a baby - and please vote...

Yeah I know at 18 months, he is still a baby - but he had his first real hair cut today, and he looks like a little big boy, and not my baby. These aren't the best pictures, but he is sick, and cranky and not really willing to take pictures for me.

Here is my baby boy.

Sorry its so small, but here he is getting ready to be buckled in the car seat, looking like a little big boy.

Andre wants me to let him do something, and I am having a hard time allowing him to do what it is that he wants to do. So we made a bet, and its up to you all to see who wins the bet. Here are two pictures of Andre. One before his haircut, and one after his haircut. Which one do you think looks better - with his hair shorter or with his hair longer. (And usually when I get his hair cut, it is alot shorter - as in skin on the sides, and almost skin on the top - but because he has had it long for so long, this was a huge shock to him, so I let him keep it longer).

Depending on what the comments say, that will determine what Andre will be allowed to do. And I know that I am being vague, but that is because I don't want to throw the voting either way. I will take comments until Midnight Sunday night (EST) and post the results as well as who won the bet, and what that person has won. (Am I making sense here??)

Long Hair Andre

Short Hair Andre

I will say though that I think he looks so handsome with his hair short. I mean he looks nice either way, but I love it when his hair is short - he looks a little less Farrah Faucet-ish - you know with the feathered hair ;P

Oh - and did you notice? What you ask. Did you notice that little shadow the is under Andre's lip - but above his mouth. Thats right, its a mustache. And it is about stinkin time. I mean after all, he is 13 (and almost a half) you know. Whats that you say, you didn't see anything there - well thats because he has shaved it off. Yes you all, Andre now has mustache hair (albeit maybe only 4 peices of fuzz, but still, its there) so he must shave. And not only must he shave, he must do it EVERY MORNING, becuase if he doesn't his upper lip is prickly. This according to one of the girls at his school. I do need to ask how she knows if his upper lip is prickly or not though.

Anyways, leave me a comment letting me know which way you vote - Andre long hair, or Andre short hair, and help us settle our dispute.

(*vote for short hair Andre, vote for short hair Andre*)

Randomness

16 days from this moment I will be at the airport on my way home. Because of that, I have been having trouble sleeping. This past week I have had no more than 2 hours of sleep a day. One day I was up for 37 hours. Can I tell you something? It sucks.

Tonight is no different. The house is super quiet, and here I sit wide awake making lists. Lists of what I need to do before I leave, what I need to do when I get to Honduras, what I need to do over the next year. I am making wish lists, and goal lists and so on and so on. As much as I love lists, I need a break before I start making lists in double.

Instead I am going to try to clear out my brain some and share my randomness with you all. This probably wont make any sense to anyone - not even myself - but work with me here.

• I have so much stuff still to pack, and only 3 more buckets to shove it in. I *really* need to look for some space bags and see if I can make me some more room in the buckets. But seriously, where is everything going to go?
• 16 days left. Man the time is passing so weirdly. It is flying by, and yet it is passing so freaking slow. And they can't get here fast enough. I am going through withdrawels of my husband. It seems like everytime I talk to him now, I have tears in my eyes. But up until recently I wasn't really that emotional about it. Maybe its hormones?
• I went to The Wal-Marts today. I was looking for some clothes for me. I really need some. I was so frustrated. Thanks to the awesome recipes on PW's website, the insomnia - and the munchies that go along with it, I am not losing weight. Which sucks in and of itself. However, I am also in between sizes right now, and I am not getting the larger size when I already know that I will lose weight when I get back to Honduras. And why waste the money for a week or two. And I wont get the smaller one because how do I know it will look ok on me anyways. (if its a $3 clearance item, thats different, I will get that). And it is not to great on your self esteem when you go clothes shopping and cant find anything that fits right.
• My arthritis really has been bothering me this past week. There were a couple of days that I could barely move. And could barely pick up/hold Ari. My medication just wasn't working. Its funny though, because when it doesn't work, I can pinpoint out where exactly the arthritis is in my body. Its in my neck, both shoulders, both hands and wrists. It is also in my left knee, and my entire left foot. As well as my ankle and leg where I broke it last year.
• I bought seeds last night at Target. (ugh - I so don't like Target, and do my best not to go there). Lets hope that I can make it past customs without them being confiscated. Some people are lucky that they aren't detected, and some people have them confiscated. If mine are confiscated, I will have my mom send me a ton in the next box she ships to me. I will get the seeds that I want, one way or another.
• Ari still needs her passport. I am getting antsy because I dont have my appointment yet. But that is not my fault. I have to wait until no more than 14 day out from my trip date. I can call Tuesday to make her appointment. Hopefully I will feel more at ease after I make the appointment. (probably not - I will probably feel more at ease when I have her passport in my hands)
• I am reading Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Barthalomew and really like it. I got it from the library, but want a copy for myself. It is one of those books that I would love to have as a reference. Or maybe the All New Square Foot Gardening. I haven't seen that yet at the library, but I wonder how different it really is. My mom is on the lookout for both of those books at yardsales etc. If any of you have an old copy you dont want, I would gladly take it.
• I got a comment from someone the other day asking me if I would be interested in having old (used) magazines sent to me each month. I thought about it and said YES!! I'm not even gone yet, and I am already excited waiting to get my first package. (she is going to send them to my mom, then my mom will send them to me once a month).
• Along the same tokens, if anyone has any old hand me down books - adult or children - I would gladly take them off your hands if you want to mail them to me. (actually my mom - but then she would mail them to me)
• If you look on my sidebars you will notice that the links are gone. I am hoping to get some time and put my 2009 goals on there, then at the end of the year go back and post what I got done vs what I didn't get done. All the links that were there before are now in a post - with the link to the post posted instead.

Feeling Domestic

This past week I have been trying to get everything together. There is less than 3 weeks left until I am back in Honduras. And while it sounds like I still have a bit of time, those last 3 weeks will fly by. They already are flying by, LOL.


This time packing to leave is harder than last year. Last year everyone went down with me, so everyone had a ticket, which meant everyone had 2 suitcases - 100 pounds - that they were able to bring. This time instead of 8 people going down, it is just 4 of us (plus the baby, but she doesn't get a luggage allowance). Which means only 8 suitcases. Well my mom is going down too, and I told her I was getting one of her luggage allowances as well. So I have 9 buckets total, and in those 9 buckets I have to pack all of Andre and Jordan's stuff. As well as Ari's stuff, my clothes, Levi's clothes (he had none when we came up here, and now he has a bunch). Then I have to pack clothes for Lana, Johan, Mickey, Isa, Gisela, and Sendi. There is stuff that I bought for the house. Shoes and what not for the kids. School supplies and so much other stuff. I have 6 of the 9 buckets packed, and I dont know how I am going to fit everything else in the last 3 buckets.


Anyway - to give myself a break from the stress of packing, I have been cooking. (I know I mentioned it in the last post). I thought I would share some of the recipes of what I made this week.


I am sorry that there are no pictures. My laptop is having issues (it turned itself off the other day, and now wont turn on) and I still havent gotten a card reader, so I can't upload pictures with my moms desktop.


On Wednesday I made BBQ meat for sandwhiches, mashed potatoes and spinach. YUM. This recipe is one of my favorites. It is easy, its cooked in the crock pot, which means dump it in, and forget about it until time to eat, and it is just so good.


On Thursday we had Baked Soy Lemon Pork Chops, PW dinner rolls, and butter noodles.

On Sunday we are having PW Brisket - but I am more excited about leftovers on Monday. PW Cowboy Nachos. I have been wanting these for awhile.

Lets get started shall we?

Barbecue

• 2.5 pound boneless roast
• 2 medium onions
• 1 (12 oz) can cola (Coke/Pepsi)
• 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 TSP beef bouillon granules
• 3/4 TSP dry mustard
• 3/4 TSP chili powder
• 1/4 - 1/2 TSP ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 TBSP butter or margarine

Place roast in a 4 quart crock pot/slow cooker. Add onion. In a seperate bowl combine soda and next 7 ingredients. Remove 1 cup of sauce and chill covered in the fridge. Pour remaining sauce over roast.* Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours, or LOW for 9 hours or until roast is super tender. Remove roast with chopped onion from cooker using a slotted spoon, and shred meat with 2 forks.

Combine reserved sauce, ketchup and butter in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thoroughly heated. Pour sauce over meat and stir.

I also have made this recipe using chicken breasts. I just threw some boneless skinless chicken breasts into some seasoned water and boiled them until they were done. Then I shredded the meat, and added it to the sauce and let it heat through. Then I took the meat out and added it to the reserved sauce/ketchup mixture. I don't know why I didn't just throw the chicken into the crockpot to cook. Maybe I didn't know that was what I was going to make, and had to do a rush version?

I have used the left-over BBQ chicken meat and made BBQ pizzas for the kids too. I just take some pizza dough, smear it with cream cheese, put on some of the BBQ meat, top with cheese and bake. The kids love it.

*I usually make an extra batch of sauce to add to the crockpot, but thats just me.

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Soy Lemon Chops

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TBSP lemon juice
• 1/2 TSP ground black pepper
• 1 TSP vegetable oil
• 4 pork chops

In a large ziploc bag or shallow dish stir together the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, lemon juice, pepper and oil. Add the pork chops, and turn to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour, up to 8 hours. The longer they marinate, the better they taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the pork chops in a dish and bake in a pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes*, basting often with the marinade.**

*I use those thin sliced boneless pork chops, so my cooking time is alot less than 35-40 minutes. Your time can vary too depending on the type of pork chop and thickness that you use.

**Even though the recipe says to use the marinade, I made an extra batch of marinade to baste with.

A Day In The Life Of

One of my first posts that I had planned to write about was what a day in my life was like. Then I got here, and promptly forgot. Now that 3 of the kids are in school down there, and then Andre and Jordan will be added to the school mix, PLUS be homeshooled, I have begun to think about my schedule and think about how am I going to get everything done.

My schedule, once I go back, will be adjsuted probably for the entire month of May until I get everything under control, but I think I have a basic schedule down.

Below is what my schedule was (before I broke my foot and couldn't do anything) and the stuff that is in blue will be what I have to add on.

3:20AM - the alarm goes off for Lale to get up to go up the mountain. I get up, turn off the alarm and wake up Lale. I lay back down complaining to myself that 3:20AM is just to freaking early to be waking up.

3:30AM - I again wake up Lale. I let him know that I am not waking him up again because I am going back to sleep, and if he doesn't wake up, or if he is late getting back with the milk, well its his own fault. He *usually* gets up.

4:00AM - Lale heads out the door to get the horse, and get him saddled. I get up go into the kitchen and make a cup of coffee for him to either drink before he goes up, or on the way. I also will make something for breakfast for everyone so that when the time comes it is already made and just needs to be re-heated. Unless its a cereal day.

4:30AM - Lale leaves to go up the mountain to milk the cows. I lay back down, but dont go back to sleep. I just lay there and enjoy the quiet for a bit.

5:00AM - I get up and start to gather the dirty clothes, soap and other clothes washing items that I need and head out the door. I also wake up Jordan and send her to my bed in case the baby wakes up.

5:15AM - 7:00AM - I spend this time (hopefully no one wakes up) washing the clothes out back - by hand. It would make it so much easier if we had a pila, and not just a cement/rock table that is to short for me. But I don't complain to much because believe it or not, I enjoy washing the clothes by hand. It gives me time to myself to think, and as silly as this sounds, I enjoy seeing them clean, and knowing that I did it.

6:15AM - time to wake up the kids to start the day. They make their beds, and clean up for breakfast. Jordan can make breakfast for Isa and Johan if I am not done with the clothes in time.

7:00AM - Kids sit down to eat breakfast, and I come in. Andre will go hang up the wet clothes. I take a quick shower and change my clothes.

7:15AM - I get Lale's breakfast made so that it is ready when he comes home. Once he gets home, I will get the milk ready to either be boiled if we are keeping it, or I get it strained and put in the right container if we are selling it to the milk man, while he gets the horse taken care of and put away. If he is working up the mountain and send the milk back with a moso (helper) then I have his breakfast and lunch already packed to send back with the moso.

7:20AM - Isa and Johan have to get ready for school.

7:30AM - I take Isa and Johan off to school, while the other kids finish up breakfast, wash the dishes and Andre and Jordan begin their schoolwork. Mickey and Lana also have 'school' to do for an hour. Then they can play.

8:30AM - I should be back by now and I check over schoolwork and to make sure they know what they are doing for the morning. I finish cleaning up the kitchen and begin to clean the house.

• sweep the entire house
• mop the entire house
• make my bed
• clean the kitchen counters
• do the weekly/daily deep cleaning
• work on lunch for the kids

11:00AM - have the older kids put away their schooling for now, eat and get ready for school. Get lunch ready for Lale.

11:30AM - drop off Mickey, Jordan and Andre at school. Pick up Isa and Johan and go home.

12:30PM - feed Johan and Isa lunch.

1:00PM - put little ones down for a nap. Johan and Isa can begin their homework while I finish the daily cleaning. (While the list doesn't look that long, it sort of it. The daily/weekly deep cleaning tasks take a while to do). Clean up after lunch, wash dishes.

3:00PM - begin dinner prep if there is any.

4:00PM - begin dinner

5:00PM - go pick up Andre, Jordan, and Mickey.

5:30PM - eat dinner

6:00PM - help the older three with their homework if needed, get the kitchen cleaned up from dinner, dishes washed etc. etc. Little kids to take a bath and get ready for bed.

7:00PM - older kids finish homework, and take a bath, little kids have play time for awhile

8:00PM - little kids clean up and in bed by 8:15PM

9:00PM - older kids in bed. Probably make a snack for Lale, as he usually is hungry again this time of night.

9:15PM - I take another shower (I have to go to bed clean, or I can't sleep), do last minute straightening of the house.

10:00PM - usually I am heading to bed about now. But it depends on the baby and what time she is up to eat.

After I finish cleaning up from dinner, I will sit down for a bit and watch a movie, or read a magazine (for the 500th time - because I only have so many books/magazines there) and will get up to do things as they come into my head.

On Sunday evenings I plan out the menu for the week, write out what needs to be done each day for the meals. For instance, lets say that friday we are having lemon soy pork chops, and on Sunday I want to make the Pioneer Womans Brisket - which takes 2 days to marinate (and you can make her Cowboy Nachos with it YUM!!). And on Saturday morning I want to make the Pioneer Womans Cinnamon Rolls. So on my paper, I have it listed that in the AM I will throw the pork chops in a container to marinate. I will also throw the brisket in a (different) container to marinate. Then in the PM I will make up a batch of the cinnamon rolls, and put them in the fridge, so that Saturday morning all that has to be done is they come up and can be thrown in the oven to cook. But I have my plan for the week.

I also would like to take a day - not sure if it is going to be Saturday or Sunday (am leaning more towards Sunday) and I will be baking rolls and bread for the week. Thats the plan anyways, but we will see how that works out, LOL. (I would make bread on a daily basis BUT I sold my bread machine before I moved down there last year - and making bread by hand daily, well that just seems to daunting to me.)

*The Pioneer Woman has a page listing her recipes if you are interested. I would highly suggest that you check it out! Just to see the pictures of the awesome food is worth it. While you are there, check out all of her other parts of her website too. (I have her to thank for me not losing anymore weight since having Ari. I have been making her recipes making sure that they are something that I can make in Honduras.)

Her cooking page is here.

Her recipe list is here.

I *heart* Pioneer Woman