Mis Pastores, My Shepherds

We got a note home a few weeks ago that the kids would be doing a performance on the 23rd, their last day of school.  The parents were asked to dress the kids in a shepherd's costume.  I started looking online at some ideas for a shepherd, but I started seeing shepherd costumes in the Christmas section at the stores.  Jerry said he did as well and found some that weren't too badly priced.  We wanted the kids to blend in, so we decided to purchase outfits.  They were cute.  A little woolly vest, bag and woolly material pieces you tie around your shins.
We were feeling pretty good that we were following suit and fitting in culturally.

That is until performance day.

The girls did not have the same outfit.

They all wore cute little head scarves and flowy long dresses or a skirt with the woolly vest.

I'll be honest, I cried!

I was upset that our attempts to fit in kind of backfired on us.  How could we have known that the girls wear a completely different outfit as Spanish shepherds?!

As kids walked into class and parents made their way around the building to the gym, I turned my back and cried.  Yes, I did!  I kept thinking about how it must be effecting Karis.  She even said walking in that we bought her the wrong thing...a boy costume!

I gained a bit of composure wishing for my big sunglasses on that cloudy day so I could cover up my blotchy red face! Ugh!  I continued to be a bit teary waiting for them to get started and parents are crowding in, wondering if my face shows the signs of my little emotional breakdown.  Jerry told a few parent friends of our mishap and they told us "no pasa nada!" (no big deal).  I appreciate that, but I still felt like the foreigner who didn't do it right!

I tried to gain composure and was somewhat successful until the kids start coming in and I got all teary again.

It's a being proud thing, I guess.  Seeing them walk in, looking for us and then waving big when they see us and then singing so big up in front of everyone.

Once I saw Karis' teacher I felt a bit better.  She had the boy costume on and I hoped it made Karis feel better.  Not sure that it did, but she didn't show one way or another during her performance.

Seems kind of silly now to be so upset, but I guess it was just the straw that broke the camels back, so to say.

Here are a few pictures and a video.  The video gets a bit long, but you can skip around and watch pieces of it if you like.

The parents waiting.  The blue signs say "Merry Christmas" (in English) and Feliz Año (that's how they say "Happy New Year."  They shorten it, leaving out "new" and it translates "Happy Year."

Here are each of them when they spot us in the crowd.

Karis

Reegan

Brennan

Blowing us kisses!  Awww!

 Brennan is under the "I" Reegan under the "Z"

 Karis right in the middle

Karis had a speaking part, in Spanish!  Several people commented on how great her Spanish is with no accent!

Gift Making

Well, Christmas has passed, but I'm still going to share about some easy teacher's gifts I made.

I was blog hopping and came across a recipe for homemade sugar scrub that included ingredients that I already had in my kitchen!!  Sugar, brown sugar, olive oil and vanilla.  That's it!  I added a little cinnamon just because I love it so much!

I have not looked to see if I can purchase canning jars here, but I had some applesauce and bean jars (beans are sold in jars in Spain) that would work and had a plain top, so that's what I used.

Also in my research I found a bunch of blogs that have free printable tags and one that even had a tag with directions on how to use sugar scrub.  I printed it out, then had my Spanish teacher help me translate it into Spanish that I printed on the back.

Aren't those cute?

It made such a fun gift and they were well received!  I will be filing this away to use again, for sure!

I hope everyone had a great time celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with your family and friends!!

Next time I have to share the kid's Christmas performance at school!  There's a little story among the fun of watching them sing and even a short speaking part for Karis!

Not So Hairy

A hair cut was way overdue!  We moved 6 months ago and it was probably 2 months before that when my hair was cut.  Even longer since it had been highlighted.  However, my hesitation was trying to communicate the kind of cut and color I wanted in Spanish.  I had a neighbor offer to go with me, but I really didn't want to inconvenience her.  So I put it off some more.  I finally decided I was going to google "English speaking hairdressers, Madrid."   And I found someone!

I found a guy and a lady, both that come to your home to do it.  That was a huge plus!  I opted for the lady since I never knew if I might be home alone come appointment time and really didn't want the awkwardness that might be present, so I emailed Sally.  

Karis was in desperate need of a cut and I decided to get Reegan's cut too.  

And again, HUGE bonus that she is a traveling hairdresser and I didn't have to go to a salon!  And, oh yeah, I got to speak English!  Maybe a little more pricey, but well worth it for me in more ways than one.

It is a bit short, but it is growing on me (ha, no pun intended)!  And I know it will grow.  Otherwise, the cut is just what I wanted.

Word Lense Ap

Jerry found a really cool ap for his IPhone the other day.  You are suppose to be able to point it at something like a billboard and it will translate it for you in the language of your choosing.  Right now Spanish is only available, but the plan is to broaden the available languages.

We decided to test it out at home.  We get a weekly magazine in our town called "Sietedias" or "Seven Days." Included was an additional flyer advertising things to do for the senior citizens in the area.  We decided to use that to test it out.
It take it a minute to read the words and will flash words around until it is still and can process.  It's kind of funny watching it.
 The heading says something along the lines of

"I Want to Be of the Elderly....

Program of activities for the senior citizens of Alcobendas"

Hmmm, I think they have some bugs to work out of this program.  It was translated to "Of More I Being..."  Hee hee!  The rest is almost on, but for some reason is translating the word "elderly" to "more."
This next one is what really gets me.
"Program of activities for the morels of cows"
Ha!

Ok, here we go!  I think it actually worked this time!  Except for the title.  Anyone know the English word "fluttered?"  Ha!

Ok, so the part in white is at least readable and kind of makes sense.

Although in English we would translate it "The Business Park 'Valdelacasa' opens the doors to a future of opportunities."

And there you have it.  The Word Lense Ap.  It has great potential, but I think they still have a ways to go! 

Now you see some of the ways we spend our time after the kids go to bed!!  Hee hee!

Happy Birthday to My Hubby

It's hard to believe we are hitting the big 4-0!!

Well he is!  I still have another few weeks and a year in my 30s!  Ha!  I feel 40 looming though.  Hitting 30 was not a big deal to me.  But I'm having a harder time with 40.

When I hit 30 I always said "It's just a number!  Age does not define me!"

Hmmm...I'm having a harder time with that statement this go around!

Ok, enough about me and how I'm feeling about being almost 40!  Ha!

This is about Jerry!  He doesn't seem to be phased by it and it helps that he doesn't even come close to looking like 40!

We didn't do a big party or anything.  This was his last day of Spanish courses and we could not be happier to celebrate his big day and the last day of these dreaded courses he's taken that have just about done our family in!

Ok, not quite that bad.  But courses 5 days a week with an hour and a half of travel EACH way and him not getting home until about 8:30 three evenings a week, 6:30 on 2 evenings!

It is cause to celebrate!!

I always fix the dessert of his choosing and the last few years he has chosen Cranberry Bliss Bars!  They are sold this time of year at Starbucks and a few years ago I found a copycat recipe.  They are easy, just a bit time consuming!

So happy birthday, Jerry!  Love you!

Am I A Servant Leader To My Kids?

  "Mom, can you get the ketchup?"

"Mom, can you get my clothes?"


"Mom, I need salt?"


"Mom, I need more toilet paper!"

"Mom, you didn't put my socks on right!"


"Mom, you need to put my shoes on!"

When my son said to me " YOU get my water." the other day I got to thinking about my role as a mom.  How often I feel like a waitress or a maid or a taxi cab driver.

Just so you know, I didn't get his water.  I made him get it!

It is really important to me for my kids to learn independence.  Of course I'm going to help each of my kids when they need it, but when I KNOW they can do something I want to encourage them to do it.

But then I got to thinking about servanthood.  Am I being a servant to my children?  Honestly, that word makes me cringe sometimes, does it you?

Didn't Jesus show servant leadership?   Why yes, he did!

Wow!  Am I showing servant leadership to my kids??  I can honestly say "not always."  I probably come across as a tyrant most days when they talk back or do something they know they shouldn't do, like marking on the entertainment center, jumping off the bunk bed, peeing on the couch or using a ton of soap when washing their hands.

The Lord gave me a little lesson through my son.  The importance of being a servant to my children while teaching them to be respectful.  Does the respect not come from servant leadership?!  Hmmm, I guess it probably does.

Have I done a 180 and instantly changed?  Unfortunately, no.  What can I say, I'm a work in progress!  But it made an impression on me and with the Lord's help I can begin to work towards an attitude of servant leadership in my home.

Can I get an "Amen?!"

Christmas Tour of Homes

I'm joining in on two different Christmas Tour of Homes, Kelly's Korner and Nesting Place.  I love sharing Christmas in my home!

Our eclectic tree!

One day I'd like to have a more grown up, formal tree and make this our kid's tree.  But, right now apartment living in Spain doesn't really allow the space for that.  I'd also like to replace this tree with a taller, skinnier tree, but that hasn't happened yet.  What matters is that my kid's love it!

 Some of my favorite ornaments!

The ball and snowflake are crystal from Czech Republic, our home for 9 years.

The blue one below is too fragile to go on the tree, so it sits on the bookshelf where it is safer! It is from Kazakhstan.

The angel is very special because my hubby picked her out!  Many years ago he braved the after Christmas sales, when I had to work, and picked her out all on his own.  I just love her!

I found this wooden Santa here in Spain just a few weeks ago and I just love him!  He came at an incredible price too!

The top of our bookshelf in the family room.

I love this guy.  He was given to me by a friend from Finland.

  "S novem godem" is how you say the Cyrillic letters below.  It is translated "With the new year." We bought this when we lived in Russia about 11 years ago.  They do not celebrate Christmas on December 25 as we do, but on December 31 along with New Years Eve.

Some of the items on our bookshelf.  These are stacking dolls from Russia.

The letters spell "collector."  My oldest daughter and I have a little game where she likes to move the letters around to see if I notice.  Silly girl!

Crystal tree and snowman from Czech Republic and a Polish pottery tea light candle tree.

Can't forget my kid's Little People Nativity!

 Various items from my snowman collection I started several years ago.  It was my reminder of Christmas' in Alaska growing up.

 Snowman from Germany.....

and Czech Republic.  It says "Merry Christmas" in Czech.

I had to add this next snowman because it has become a funny for me now.  My hubby says he looks like he's been hung on a noose.  Ha!

 I just picked these tin signs up here in Spain.  I like the old world look to them.

This little guy welcomes you as you enter in.  He's about 2 feet tall.

My mom made these stockings.  Mine was given to me in highschool.  Jerry received his our first year of marriage and my kids' followed when they were born.  They are so special!

I got it in my mind several years ago that I wanted to quilt a tree skirt.  I commandeered my mother-in-law to help.  Actually she did all the measuring and I did most of the sewing with her helping me get it all set up on the machine.  I loved it so much that I couldn't cut a hole in if for the tree.  Ha!  Now it just sites on the back of the couch.  I just love it!

Items in my kitchen.
This is Polish pottery that I picked up while living in Prague.  We were only about 4 hours from the town the Polish pottery factories were located.  I went on occasion and picked up these plates on one of my trips.  I only have 4 of them, that's all they had.  I'm not sure if these are still made, but I'd like to get more some day.

The plate on the right is also Polish pottery.  I picked up 2 of them to have 6 plates total.  The other plate is from a set my mother-in-law gave me when she decided to get a new plate set.  So now I have an 18 piece Christmas set of plates.

Can't forget the drink ware!  I loved these when I saw them at Target a couple of years ago while in the US.

I couldn't leave my kids out when it comes to dinnerware!  Ha!  They love these plates that I also picked up at Target a couple of years ago!  Here is a lunch of champions!

I like to keep this mock eggnog around for eggnog lattes!  Yum!

 And my new addition (as of last year) that I've enjoyed keeping around, Cranberry Punch.  More yumminess!

 The hallway to our rooms is decorated with another set of stockings.

 And last but not least our home would not be complete without Christmas tunes playing as often as possible!

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Baking

Have you started your Christmas baking?

First, let me show you my kitchen again.

This is the first time I've done a large amount of baking since moving.  As you can see I am counter space challenged.  Not only that, but there is only one plug for the WHOLE counter, ONE!  And not only that, but the one plug is all the way down there by the fridge.  Crazy!

 I do most of my mixing here:

Of course the cord on my mixer is not long enough to reach all the way across the sink to this counter space and the plug is behind the toaster, so there is hardly any space to put a bowl down by the plug, which means I'm mixing on the sink area and usually there are clean dishes there that I haven't put away yet that end up getting dirty again.  That wouldn't happen if I'd put them away first, huh?  Ha!
 I'm hoping to get some type of extension cord strung up under the counter or something.  This has got to change and soon!

A few weeks ago Jerry asked me to make some peanut butter balls.  I hadn't made them in ages!  He doesn't request much, so I knew he had a craving.  I made some with dark chocolate and some with milk chocolate, since we are a family divided.....by our choice of chocolate.  Heh, heh!

 

My friend Mary Ann (Hi MA!) was kind to bring me some dried cranberries (I can't get any form of cranberries here, unless you count cranberry juice or cranberry shower gel.  I can get those!  Ha!) from Prague when she visited in October.  I really wanted something cranberry-ish and decided to use some of the dried cranberries for muffins.  They were good, but I'd like to search for another recipe to try for next time.

I was excited when I found these little squares that resemble Chex.  The difference is these are already salted and are found on the chip aisle.  They are horrible, in my humble opinion, by themselves but Poineer Woman's Chex Party Mix gives them a nice flavor!!  Pioneer Woman used like 12 dashes of Tabasco in her recipe.  Yikes!  I toned it down to about 4, which was perfect for me.  I like spice, but not spicy.  This was so yummy!  Jerry and I have been plowing through it.  I think I'll be making another batch soon!

 Russian Tea Cakes!  Or Mexican Wedding Cakes!  Or whatever name you have for them!!

I'm still in the process of figuring out the right ingredients to use here when baking.  I realized a few months ago that they have a flour specifically for baking.  I thought that would solve me flat cookie issue, but no.  So I thought maybe it was the vegital /margarine type stuff I was using so I used butter this time.  When I did that my muffins and the tea cakes came out kind of hard, dry and chewy.  Grr!  I am going to try another brand of butter and hope that will solve my issue.
I plan to make some other things, maybe sugar cookies, pecan brittle and fudge.  We'll see.

So what are making this Christmas season?

Here's some randomness for you!  Reegan's book is on the left and Brennan's on the right.

I was a little taken aback to see the very detailed anatomy in their book, especially for a 4 year old class!   Just proves I am still a very modest American girl!  Ha!