Every night before I go to bed I have to check Owen’s blood sugar, he is a diabetic. I then visit the other three. I suppose I do it to check and make sure they are safe in their beds. But I also like to remember them this way, totally relaxed and soft and peaceful. It reminds me how much I love them and even though they spend much of their waking hours torturing me with perfectly age appropriate but still incredibly annoying behavior, I still love them more than anything. It also reminds me that tomorrow I can try to be more patient, be more engaged, be more present when I am with them. My children are beautiful and when they sleep they are even more beautiful.
Now to the cruel part..taking these photos. Henry would kill me if he saw this. Georgie actually woke up to avoid the reading lamp I was trying to use for light. Cal and Owen are use to my visits and lights being turned on, so they were none for the wiser. Do you think doing this was cruel?
The weather is changing. It feels like we have hit a threshold now where winter is has been permanently retired and spring has begun to leave behind the cool mornings and dry air. I can see it in the garden. Those early blooms of spring are tired and new hardier blooms are on the way.
Here you can see the jasmine waning while the roses have just erupted in the last few days
He is as dumb as a brick. But he is sweet, attentive, loving and lovable and as you can see, beautiful. He is also hopelessly devoted to his nutjob of a mom. What is not to love?
I think I have mentioned before that asado is a big part of life here. Typically the weekend is when most people are either cooking their own, have been lucky enough to be invited to another’s asado or go to a restaurant that specializes in asado. Yesterday, after an exhausting social calender this weekend, we were happy to go to a restaurant, specifically a parrilla.(parrilla is the spanish word for the barbecue or grill that you make the asado on) Yesterday was a gorgeous day so we wanted to walk to lunch meaning our regular parrilla (aptly named La Vaca) was not an option and we tried a new one. We were an abridged version of our family as the two older ones are mortified to be seen with us and basically dont like us at the moment. They stayed home and we were accompanied by the younger two, happy to walk hand in hand, excited to try a new place. Two uncomplicated children, how easy! What was I thinking?
This is how every asado starts...wine, bubbly water, bread, empanadas, provoleta (melted cheese) and morcilla (blood sausage)
Tira is similar to short ribs, very tasty. They were served with fried sweet potatoes.
Georgie usually opts for the fresh tallerines and tomato sauce. Pasta is good in Argentina.
Normally at home we have ice cream for dessert, the parrillas have extensive dessert menus. These brownies were very good, crunchy on the outside, gooey and fudgy on the inside
This is my personal favorite, Flan. The condiments are key, crema (whipped cream) and dulce de leche (milk carmel)
After a protein heavy meal like this, you experience a bit of food coma
Georgie trying to muster up the energy for the walk back
Here is the beautiful view from our table, city livin'
But he can play tennis and I like that he beat fashionista and sometimes tennis player Roger Federer. Vamos Argentina!
This epic win almost distracted us from the sport match that mattered last night , Yankees vs Angels. Yankees pulled it out a win again and are securely leading their division. This has been a magical season for the Yankees and their fans. While we will all suffer a bit of depression when the season is over, I cant take these post midnight bed times much longer. I am going to have to start napping. Here is one of the highlights of the season:
It’s a hard thing not to do. You want to give them everything they want or sometimes the things you wanted as a kid. You want to make them happy. It’s a powerful desire. But spoiling your kids has consequences. They aren’t pretty and you have only yourself to blame.
Living abroad alleviates some of the compulsion to buy stuff. You just cant. The newest hand held game system, not available for purchase in Argentina, the latest tennis shoes from Addidas, not sold here. A Mercedes SUV for a sixteenth birthday (yes that does happen in the States) will never happen because kids need to be 18 to drive here..ha!
That is not to say that my kids are deprived. Hardly. But sometimes they do have to wait and wish and want for something a lot longer than their contemporaries in the States. This is a good thing. And when their father shows up from the US with a big bag of marshmallows you would think that it was a Mercedes SUV.
Speaking of cars..We just got a new car, or actually new to us but a 5-year-old minivan. You would think it was a Mercedes SUV by the treatment it is getting from the family. It’s clean, no dents and the doors automatically open when you push a button. The kids had been talking about this new/old car non-stop for the weeks leading up to us taking possession of it. You would have thought we were going to Disney. It is refreshing to see them so satisfied with simply a car with operational cup holders and radio with speakers that function.
I am not going to write much about this because it makes my head hurt thinking about what a royal waste of time it is even trying to engage these people in meaningful conversation. My new strategy is to ignore them completely and maybe they will go away. Or at the very least, have a good laugh at their expense. These photos are from yesterday’s big 9/12 Rally in Washington DC. By any account this was a more significant turnout than the April 15 Tea Bagging Rallies, however there were considerably less than the 1.5 million some organizers were claiming. When the DC Police released their estimates of the crowd at 50-60,ooo, the right claimed suppression of the real numbers by Obama. God, I am so tired of the hysterics. But again, let us find the irony and humor in their ignorance and stupidity.
This guy needs a refresher in basic math principles, dont believe "&" is a mathematical operation.
I would love for her to explain this one to me
I googled Obama/Small Pox/Vaccination, I got nothing, What does this guy know? Nice printing though.
And my personal favorite:
WTF is this suppose to mean? Babies dont give a shit about fiscal policy. Believe me I know, I had four of them, and none of them cared at all!
Its not a long weekend here…but it has been a relaxing one. Yesterday was a usual Saturday of driving around children to different activities and friend’s houses, but GM is quite helpful that way so between the two of us it was manageable. Listened to a lot music and radio news, watched a baseball game (Yankees won! YEAH! and Boston lost:)), watched a horrible loss by the Argentine National Soccer team, made GM dinner and fell asleep reading some short stories Henry needs to be studying for an English test on Tuesday.
Dragged my ass out of bed at 10:30 and have had a cup of coffee with my online newspaper reading. Missed reading Franch Rich this morning, must be on vacation. Not much good news. Here are some fun links for the family.
I have had a really nice last few days. The 16 hour car ride across desert and plains should have been optional, but it was all worth it. It rained or snowed the entire time when we were at the house in Junin. Which for someone like my hyperactive husband can be problematic (although he made himself busy and useful by doing some painting inside). I on the other hand, busied myself by sitting by the fire and reading numerous books. I did get up periodically to cook or go out to eat. I also got up to go to bed. I was in heaven.
Here are some photos I took. The outdoor ones I captured when the sun was out for the 5 minutes it was out during the entire 72 hours we were there.
Well, that is not actually true anywhere in the world. It is especially true not here in Argentina where we are beginning the equivalent of February here. But break is over and the kids start a new year at school tomorrow. So no matter how many years we have lived here, in my mind August feels like the end of summer and its time to get back to school.
I always feel conflicted about break being over. I am not a morning person so I have relished the late lazy mornings. But the kids miss their friends and since most of them leave for the break six weeks of hanging out with siblings has been sufficient. We all can use some structure in our lives. I just wish it didn’t have to start so early in the day…
The kids are excited. I could tell tonight when I was trying to get them to bed. Georgie had her uniform (and the non authorized embellishments) out and ready for the morning. Owen was busy packing and repacking his backpack, double checking the contents with the supply list. Callum has come downstairs no fewer than five times with various physical aliments and random thoughts, I know he is excited. Henry took a shower tonight which is as good as any indication that he is preparing himself for his first day of High School.
And while I am excited for them, I remember those nights before the first day back, I am not excited to set my daily alarm for 6:45..Yuck!
Apropos of nothing I have watched this several times and I don’t know what is more amazing, her eye makeup or the pregnant pause when responding to the claim she had a problem with the car driver who had a Muslim name..
We have had a spectacular winter. Hardly a gray day in the bunch and maybe 1 or 2 days of rain in the last six weeks. Its made our very quiet winter break more bearable with sunny afternoons that have been perfect for walks, bike rides, various ball activities or trampoline marathons. But that all changed last night at 8:00 when it started to rain, and it hasn’t stopped. We have had thunderstorms and borderline hail. The streets are flooded and the natives restless. We have 2 rules during break, no kids media between 10am-8pm and you must be dressed before lunch is served. Well I don’t have the fortitude to enforce the law today. Its such a crappy, gray day that after I took these pictures of the kids getting soaked, I relented and they are now spaced out watching episodes of Get Smart probably for the next several hours. After posting this I am going to get into bed with some tea and read my book until I fall asleep.
What is better than playing in the rain? Playing in the rain in your pajamas at 1:30 in the afternoon!
Never turning down an opportunity to accessorize, Georgie sports the practical and fashionable unicorn umbrella
There are news cycles when stories just telescope on each other and things get weirder and wilder. The last few weeks have been like that, so action packed with political revolutions, coups, a slew of celebrity deaths including one super icon and another, regular icon, and then for dessert you get an extremely large serving of inept republicans bordering on bizarro world. Its enough to make your head spin and while exciting, as a voracious news consumer, its exhausting, and I am watching/listening to a Yankees baseball game almost everyday too! Not to mention, as well, several meals a day for the childrens.
So I was looking forward to the weekend when not only is there generally less content but its the weekend for God’s sake and a long weekend in the States. Since I am living in Argentina, and the one Fourth of July celebration that was happening in BA was canceled because of the swine flu (another post), I don’t have picnic and parades to keeping me off the internets… Sarah Palin resigned!
What is it about Sarah Palin people see her as a viable political leader? I just don’t get it. When she opens her mouth its beauty pageant Q&A..no substance AT ALL…. I see her personal story compelling and soap opera like at times so I get the media’s interest in her, but how does that translate to a politician with policy credentials. I think our society is getting dangerously close to equating a telephotogenic person with a buzz, as a leader. OK, sounds a bit like Obama. But please, he has cred, street and policy. He did not need to be jacked up by some Eliza Doolittle operation to make him substantial. I think that’s what we are looking at here. I think Bill Kristol needed a job and now he has one as Henry Higgins. This would all be so delicious if it wasn’t so frickin scary.
Paul Begala, me hearts him, wrote a piece that nails it. I love reading him because he witty without being satire. This is a solid opinion editorial that understands the historical and political context of what he writes. Excellent and Funny.
Here is a thoughtful and measured piece by a student on the ground in Tehran, while clearly depressed about the lull in participation by the masses, clearly this isnt over.
Bob Herbert wrote this interesting op-ed about how Michael Jackson’s weird reality is analogous to our culture’s inability deal with society’s real problems head on.
And finally, the Yankee’s play of the week, chosen, by Owen, the O’Connell Family’s MLB expert and archivist of all obscure baseball stats.
The above was the reference line on a Spam I received today. I didn’t bother to open it and find out what they were selling but I was curious about the wording. Bad grammar aside, what does “need an Asian wife?” mean. Wouldn’t be better or at least less desperate and crude to say “Want” or “Desire” a wife…needing a wife sounds like you are shopping for a power tool for a carpentry project.
In the last 72 hours I have been battling every digestive disorder known to man. While I can conquer the run of the mill flu or sinus infection in 24, I was laid out by this stomach bug for the last three days. I slept through most of it but lets just say, it sucked. Nothing worse than working through fever delirium with kids screaming in the background. But I am better today and back into the game tomorrow.
I always go first to Frank Rich, this week is no exception. Which came first torture or the Iraqi War?
In case you havent heard, Wednesday is the 100th day of Obama’s administration. There are lots of articles about what he has done and hasnt done.The Nation has a series of articles. Its obviously complicated, they like him and they dont…their editor has her say.
This is a photo from last year’s Halloween parade at the kid’s school. This spectacular costume is being worn by a 7 year old. While this child is totally fluent in English, clearly the parents aren’t. It happens. Only the native English speaking people over 13 years old were stunned by the reference to oral sex. What I still don’t understand is why this came in a child’s size.
I have been thinking about really committing to writing. I have thought making this blog part of the process of writing better. I have thought about how to make this blog more fun. I dont know how exactly you would characterise this blog. Political, cultural, and personal.
I thought about what blogs I enjoy reading. I read expat, house, political and mom blogs. I also read several newspapers and new magazine websites. I am thinking about broadening what I write, perhaps this making it easier to write everyday. We will see. It is worth a try.
As soon as I have had my coffee, I am going to kill you
We are going to drive you out to the desert and leave you there*
This is not working out for me, we have to send you back to the orphange
Four is just too many, one of you has to go. I will let you guys work out the details.
What the worst thing you have said to your kids? Please make me feel better about myself.
* This threat was actually used against me a in a contract GM and I have with our oldest regarding behavior, priviledges, grades. I had to promise to not make these kinds of threats in future. I guess thats fair.
Most who know me would describe me as relaxed, laidback, unflappable or in my husband’s opinion, sleep-walking. I am in reality, anal and neurotic about a few things. There needs to be the appearance of order, it doesn’t have to be real, but I want it to look nice and neat and have continuity. Its has been months since I have written and I cant pretend tons of stuff hasn’t happened but I also don’t want to get bogged down in a ponderous blog entry about lots of unrelated events, hence bullet points!
• I am still soaking up the beauty of a democrat being in the White House again, Yeah!!!
• Had a big birthday party for GM and two friends at new house… Was successful in that a lot of booze was consumed, several lambs and suckling pigs eaten and we were up until 7:00 AM. Although, GM I think is right when he says when you stay up that late, nothing really compelling is happening, you are just staying up for the sake of staying up. (more…)
I really need a break from the world and all the bad news. It would also help if this election was over and won already. I am feeling confident that it will be won by Obama and the progressives. If only we could fast forward to November 5th and this never-ending electoral process would be over (the Founding Fathers werent perfect) and maybe there would be some clarity in the financial situation. Here is some suggested reading that really hasnt helped my state of mind. Maybe it will help you.
He might be little but Robert Reich gets the big picture
I am feeling a lot less in exile these days. But my blog is still a mess of political and personal thoughts along with experiences of living in Argentina. While I can't promise, I will try to balance talk about my kids with something more universally relevant. And sorry if salty talk is offensive but I was a derivatives trader in another life and it cant be helped.
Now to the cruel part..taking these photos. Henry would kill me if he saw this. Georgie actually woke up to avoid the reading lamp I was trying to use for light. Cal and Owen are use to my visits and lights being turned on, so they were none for the wiser. Do you think doing this was cruel?
The weather is changing. It feels like we have hit a threshold now where winter is has been permanently retired and spring has begun to leave behind the cool mornings and dry air. I can see it in the garden. Those early blooms of spring are tired and new hardier blooms are on the way.
He is as dumb as a brick. But he is sweet, attentive, loving and lovable and as you can see, beautiful. He is also hopelessly devoted to his nutjob of a mom. What is not to love?
I think I have mentioned before that asado is a big part of life here. Typically the weekend is when most people are either cooking their own, have been lucky enough to be invited to another’s asado or go to a restaurant that specializes in asado. Yesterday, after an exhausting social calender this weekend, we were happy to go to a restaurant, specifically a parrilla.(parrilla is the spanish word for the barbecue or grill that you make the asado on) Yesterday was a gorgeous day so we wanted to walk to lunch meaning our regular parrilla (aptly named La Vaca) was not an option and we tried a new one. We were an abridged version of our family as the two older ones are mortified to be seen with us and basically dont like us at the moment. They stayed home and we were accompanied by the younger two, happy to walk hand in hand, excited to try a new place. Two uncomplicated children, how easy! What was I thinking?
It’s a hard thing not to do. You want to give them everything they want or sometimes the things you wanted as a kid. You want to make them happy. It’s a powerful desire. But spoiling your kids has consequences. They aren’t pretty and you have only yourself to blame.
I am not going to write much about this because it makes my head hurt thinking about what a royal waste of time it is even trying to engage these people in meaningful conversation. My new strategy is to ignore them completely and maybe they will go away. Or at the very least, have a good laugh at their expense. These photos are from yesterday’s big 9/12 Rally in Washington DC. By any account this was a more significant turnout than the April 15 Tea Bagging Rallies, however there were considerably less than the 1.5 million some organizers were claiming. When the DC Police released their estimates of the crowd at 50-60,ooo, the right claimed suppression of the real numbers by Obama. God, I am so tired of the hysterics. But again, let us find the irony and humor in their ignorance and stupidity.
Its not a long weekend here…but it has been a relaxing one. Yesterday was a usual Saturday of driving around children to different activities and friend’s houses, but GM is quite helpful that way so between the two of us it was manageable. Listened to a lot music and radio news, watched a baseball game (Yankees won! YEAH! and Boston lost:)), watched a horrible loss by the Argentine National Soccer team, made GM dinner and fell asleep reading some short stories Henry needs to be studying for an English test on Tuesday.
I have had a really nice last few days. The 16 hour car ride across desert and plains should have been optional, but it was all worth it. It rained or snowed the entire time when we were at the house in Junin. Which for someone like my hyperactive husband can be problematic (although he made himself busy and useful by doing some painting inside). I on the other hand, busied myself by sitting by the fire and reading numerous books. I did get up periodically to cook or go out to eat. I also got up to go to bed. I was in heaven.
The above was the reference line on a Spam I received today. I didn’t bother to open it and find out what they were selling but I was curious about the wording. Bad grammar aside, what does “need an Asian wife?” mean. Wouldn’t be better or at least less desperate and crude to say “Want” or “Desire” a wife…needing a wife sounds like you are shopping for a power tool for a carpentry project.
