Newest addition...

Capone.♥

Welcome to the family!

Back to Basics....

First off...
Feliz Dia de Madres to all my mexican (or relocated Mexican) mommies out there....
I hope you all had a fabulous day of REST (difficult, i know) and lots of love from the family. ♥

The last three weeks have been really, REALLY overwhelming... not only to post regularly (which i know that i haven't been so great at)but to stay up to date on blogger/facebook/twitter and find out what's been going on with all of you. The kids and I started out Semana Santa visiting my parents in Nevada.. and DAAAAAMN... the cold quickly reminded me how wonderful our Mexican weather can be. I quickly got to work... quilting and quilting... for my clients who graciously provided me with enough work during the two weeks to stock up on all the necesities. I really miss my old job and am really grateful that these wonderful women haven't forgotten me and send work whenever I come into town. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. Without these women, I wouldn't be able to travel home. :)

Also,thank you to my parents who ultimately make these trips possible. They go above and beyond... making sure my kids and I are taken care of, entertained and most importantly, loved. ♥ Happy Mothers Day, Mom.

We left a few days before Semana Santa because The National Tattoo Association happened to have a show in Sparks, NV where some of the heavy hitter tattoo artists come together for an expo and gala. I competed my uh... cock... and was able to bring home two awards for hubby. It was an honor to place in this show.... and to compete with some of these people was not only amazing, but inspiring. So to all you jackasses who like to leave stupid tattoo comments on my pics, this just means inspiration to get more... and more... and more. We're taking over the world!

I had a great time in Reno with friends and family. I got to spend time with my new little niece, who has earned the nickname "Pissy Face"... jokingly, of course (I call my own kids "ugly") She is the happiest baby. It was great to see her, my sisters, and my BFFs. The kids had a great time.... horseback riding, movies in ENGLISH, and Target. Apparently, I"m not the only one who it now infatuated with VARIETY.

The photos a little blurry, i know... but that was after a few.. well, you know. ;)

The ♥ perfect ♥ Easter ....

Since we've been back in the states....
The kiddos, with a little help from my parents, decided to give me a gift during Easter. A relaxing, HOT bath!!! Not only that, but with candles, my favorite wine, and Ron White on comedy central.

My kids are awesome. ♥

Life can't get much better than that. :)

The writing is on the wall.

I kinda felt this coming. In fact, I always joked about it when he was little ... never content to be in one place, barefoot and always running. I swear that kid never heard a word I said, but when he came up with all his love and a smile on his face, I forgot all about it.That kid could never EVER sit still. Always moving, always laughing. Always trying to make YOU laugh. But things have changed. He's having a hard time at school. He's having trouble with other kids. He's having a hard time focusing... and he's not so happy. In fact, little anxiety attacks are arising when I ask him to repeat exactly what I just said.

Little One, now 7, I'm pretty sure has ADHD.

I wish I would have taken it more seriously beforehand. Circumstances as they were, led my son at 4 to live with my parents while we were working on this whole Move to Mexico "thing". By five, he was living with my husband in Mexico while my daughter and I closed out our lives in the States and finalized the move. By six, he was in 1st grade. Complications then were presumed to be a major change in life, language, customs... And by seven, he is in a new school, starting again. All with a smile on his face... my little trooper. Through the last few years, Little One was the most positive of all of us.

And HIS problems, we made plenty of excuses for.

After receiving his report card this term, with surprisingly good grades, I received notes on his behavior as being "distracted and talkative", "disrupting classmates" "not finishing assignments on time" along with " he understands the material, but not following through". Little One had been spending his recesses in the classroom, finshing up work that had not been completed. I was told to focus on games on concentration etc... I replied back,filling a prescription for glasses, thinking that that would solve the problem and asked for more feedback. I didn't like what I had heard.

After an art project at a friend's home, she, previously being a nurse, brought up that Little One had a hard time doing a simple project. He did great if he was being monitered one on one, but if he lost attention, he wandered elsewhere. I knew where this was going...

So, Little One has ADHD. I wouldn't be surprised if his dad has it too. That man can't sit still for the life of him. The two of them are very similar. Very positive. Always smiling. They light up the room. They also can't stop moving.... being engaged at all times. They are passionate, animated, and loving. But they also have/had the same history with learning.

Damn it.

So here we are. These past two weeks, I have begun reading with Little One everyday, a few pages at a time, and then asking him for a summary. The first few days were HORRIBLE. Put on the spot, he had an emotional breakdown. Slowly, Little One has been getting over the emotional part and able to completely read a book and sum it up for me. As for math, we've gone back to going over the basics. Multiplication for another day. (can you believe they learn times tables in 2nd grade here?!?) I'm also going to make an appointment with his teachers and hopefully come up with a better learning situation for my pumpkin.


Wish us luck on our new adventure.

Keg Stand anyone?

Cruisin' the Blog Frog the other day, I came across a post by MamaKat that drew my attention.... Can Mom's Get Drunk?

There's no correct way of parenting. Each of us mothers, from our own childhood experiences, or maybe what's happening now in your life, affect the way we raise our children. 

Don't let my profile picture fool you. Those weren't tequila bottles... they were, eh hem, good nite juice.


So here it is..... Are Mom's allowed to get drunk? how about drinking in general? Girl's nights out? After children? Taboo?

What are your thoughts?

Ay Dios Mio

This morning the kids were up before the roosters. At the kids' NEW AND BETTER school, they are allowed to celebrate not only Mexican holidays, but the American ones as well. Today was half day, costume contests, barb-q, food, games and DISCO! We're super excited that the kids' get to experience this holiday WITHOUT the fear of going to hell for dressing up. LIttle One was Iron Man, and Moosecake was witch/evil fairy/demon/angry teenager.

The look of adolescence sure scares the hell outta me. WITHOUT the costume.

Please tell me this gets better. :P

Lucky Me

Lucky for me I've got great parents.... Grandparents who enjoy their grandchildren immensely (sometimes a little too much) and want to help out hubby and I in our careers. Kids cut out of school early in July and my parents treated us to a week in Disneyland and Yosemite National Park. Lucky me, I stayed for another week or so and then returned to Mejico... sola!

While Hubby and I travelled quite a bit...expo to expo.... working so very hard.... my parents made sure to keep the kiddos busy. Knowing how important it is in Mexico to know how to play futbol, especially if you're a 7 year old extranjero who hasn't a clue, they made sure that Little One spent some time in a soccer camp. And while it didn't exactly teach him to be a world soccer player in two weeks.... it did teach him the basics and now he can confidently join in at school. :)

Moosecake jumped in tenis to stay occupied. This little rockstar picked it up in a breeze!!!

Also on the list, cooking class!!!  While it appears as if the kids would learn to cook simple treats...my mother had other plans. Along with cooking stews, cupcakes and other treats, came knife safety and kitchen awareness.....something that BOTH kids lacked.

In between classes they played at home, went to the pool, visited Bodie, the alpaca farm, the Monterrey Aquarium, the beach, the old cars at Hot August Nights, horseback riding, time with my beautiful niece, and well.... seeing their family that they've missed so much.

posing already... just like her momma!!! :)

does anyone else see a problem with this?!?  oh wait, phewwww. Just root beer.

Thank you Grandma and Papa. You made this summer the best ever. Miss you and love you. See you soon. XOXO

Pull up a chair....

I get excited when I find something simple, cheap, and healthy that I can cook. Even more so when my kids actually are force fed  enjoy my creation. A while back, (geez, has it been already been a year?)I posted about a wonderful book that I had come up on, The Mexican Kitchen, by Rick Bayless. A year later... it is STILL one of my favorite cookbooks. Although I'm still having a bit of trouble with the whole "bean" thing...I remade that same dish from the previous post, Tinga de Pollo y Papas. The last time I made this, I used the original recipe and after watching my kids guzzle down a gallon of milk during dinner, I realized that maybe I should make it a weeee less spicy.

So follow along.

Tomato- Chipotle Sauce.

2 stemmed, dried chipotles ( I used canned in adobo)
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 medium tomatoes, or 4-6 Romas.
2 tbs o.o or veggie oil

Toast childes over med. heat, Then soak in hot water and let rehydrate. Drain and discard water. (canned chiles... don't worry about it)
While chiles are soaking, roast unpeeled garlic on skillet or  (on foil) on a comal, turning till they become soft. (15 min) Cool and peel.
Roast tomatoes (on the same foil)  until blackened and then flip and do the other/s.
In a blender, add tomatoes/juices, chiles, and garles and puree.


*Sidenote... if you're too lazy/tired/just don't wanna roast tomatoes .... use a drained 12 oz can of  tomatoes. For the sake of my kids, I used the above recipe, but STILL added another 1/2 can of tomatoes to lessen the spicy kick.

The Main Part:
4 medium chicken thighs (or chicken boobies, whatever floats your boat)
4 med. boiling potatoes
1 onion thinly sliced
1 tsp. dried oregano
a bit of salt.... pref. sea salt.
1/3 cup of cotija/fresco whatever your regions' salty cheese...
1 sliced avocado

I also added a handful or so of fresh spinach. Just cuz I can. And I can't get my kids to eat it any other way.

The Main Dish:
1 tsp. oil in a med. saucepan over med/low heat. Add chicken, s/p. Cook until meat is tender. Remove to plate.

Original recipe says to then shred the chicken. It tastes great, (and can also be used for taco filling the next day.) but I've also left it whole and haven't had a problem as a main dish.


Original recipe also says to coarsely shred the potatoes, but as a working mom.. i don't have the time nor patience. I thinly slice mine.

Heat the remaining oil in skillet. Add potatoes/onion.  Cook/stirring/scraping any brown bits off the bottom until browned. (about 15 min)

Add sauce, oregano, bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer until sauce thickens.

Add the spinach. Cook 2 minutes.

Add chicken.

Season with salt.


Scoop mixture into warming dish. Sprinkle with cheese n avocado!

Enjoy!

 

Off to a Great Start

We finally made it. Back to the Mothership. The Mainland. The fill in the blank.  Surprisingly, we made it from GDL to LAX without a problem (kudos to Volaris airlines who managed to ARRIVE n DEPART on schedule!!!) and wasted no time. We decided to play hooky the last two days of school and head out to Los Angeles instead. Arriving at 9 am and after a quick breakfast, by about 10:30, we were already posing for photos with, you guessed it, MICKEY!

Grandma and Pops had planned a day of Disneyland... and not only that, but the following day, California Adventure. It was a busy two days followed by ANOTHER two days in Yosemite National Park and Sequoia National Park. Can I tell u how difficult it was convincing 2 kids that big trees were just as cool as disneyland? Uh, you can't. Unless you find Bambi.  Little Monster transformed back into my Little One on rides like Indiana Jones and, believe it or not, Pirates of the Carribean, where he clutched on my arm, leg, chest, head, whatever part he could to keep him safe. he's such a momma's boy ;) and Demon Child emerged as my growing so fast-i wanna-go-on-the-fast-rides-oh-no-wait-i'm-scared little Princess who still loves going on the Carousel and maybe, Space Mountain. We had a blast. Pictures were mandatory.

and we filled three camaras.

Hats (preferably ears) were also required.

isn't this gorgeous?

And now that we've made it home, we've been busy little bees. So much to do, so much to write!!! 

Saludos a todos back home! 

Hot and Bothered.

Aaaaahhhh...... The rain has finally returned to Guadalajara. Temperatures have dropped, slight humidity has settled in, and I no longer have to scream remind my adolescent demon  princess that she needs to put on deodorant. Besides the daily mini-flooding, I love the rainy season. I love the fresh feeling. I love that I can begin making Tortilla Soup and Hot Chocolate. Everything is great.

Except that my mean, ferocious, intimidating pit bull turns into a damn pussy.

Every night, the clouds break and the sky lights up. The roar of the thunder shakes the walls, and the streets flood. Sounds like the beginning of a cozy night with hubby, right?

No.

I get rushed by my weenie dog, instead.

As soon as the thunder starts, puppers starts freakin out. He gets up in his crate and starts knocking the walls. So of course, to shut him up quiet his tension, we let him out and put him on his special pillow in demon's princess' room. BOOOOMM!!! The thunder hits again. Someone's breathing on me. Puppers is by my bedside heavy panting in my ear. Ugh.Fine. Lay down Pussy Puppers. BOOOOMM! He's back up in my ear EVERY 30 seconds to make sure I'm still there.

So much for a freakin guard dog. 

I'm gonna invest in a cat.

side note: Demon Princess has declared that she has copyright over the above fotos and required permission and recognition to use them. So there ya go.

How close is too close?

Hubby has been having some bad feelings lately about Moosecake. She's 11 now and really doesn't understand what appropriate and what's not. We've had little chats here and there but she keeps us on her toes. Her 5th grade teacher is always calling her "his favorite student". Great. I'm happy for her. and random crap....  He asked her to borrow/burn  one of her cds. Fine.  He took the kids' out on a separate field trip for ice cream. Outside of school hours. Hmmmm..... Moosecake took photos of all the kids in her class messing around. He asked her to borrow her MEMORY CHIP. what the fuck? Maybe I'm overreacting a bit, but isn't that a bit personal???? If the teacher wanted those photos, we can print them.... or better yet, he could bring his OWN f*ing camera!!! Well, Moosecake gave him her memory chip and when we found out about it, we were, well, pissed. She takes pics of her family, her brother, funny faces, our personal life, etc.... all of which I DO NOT find necessary to share with her teacher. Am I blowing this outta proportion? In the fotos, the teacher is hugging each one of the children without a smile on his face. Creepy!!! And then there are all the fotos of the other kids.

I feel that this pushes past the teacher/student boundary. Hubby went in this morning and had a little meeting with him and requested the memory chip. He also made it clear that this was not an appropriate request from a student and in future, if he needs anything, borrowed, copied or whatever, he needs to speak directly to us. period.

Appropriate? Overreaction?

Maybe. But when it's your kids, is it ever enough?

Officially Integrated.

Who would believe that this could blind you?

Or maybe it was mixing pomegrante, walnuts and 100% RUBBING ALCOHOL that would do it.

Somehow I feel that I have been officially integrated into the mexican cultura. We headed out to Pueblo Magico, Tapalpa, on Sunday to meet up with some friends from San Jose. It's funny to think how many friendships GREW by us leaving the States and how many new ones we have made. The family and I were greeted by Jesus and his family.... with Tapalpa treat. I've heard you can lose an eye from this punch, so I was a bit weary. Ponche de Granada.  Pomegrante juice, some nuts, and straight rubbing alcohol. I had always heard stories from back in the day, that rancheros here used to drink rubbing alcohol... so common that you could buy it from any mercado. Ahhh... the old drunken stories, campesinos couldn't live without it and passed out from it on the ranch.... The stories from the viejitos. And now, I get to try it....from a plastic gallon jug. 

We stopped in a little restaurant that had been recently built by a friend of Jesus... who was from Texas and recently released from the Army. He joined our dinner and we had a blast. or maybe it was the booze catching up with us... but we definitely found a place to visit when we return to Tapalpa. (I'll post the name when I find the card!)Time passes quickly when you're having fun, and as the sun was setting, we had to  head out to see the toros and the charreadas.

I love small towns. Here in GDL, everything is so modernized that sometimes it's hard to imagine that you're in Mexico. Ohhhh... but in Tapalpa, you remembered quickly. The Bull Arena was half-built, or half-finished, with the ramps in place, but no rails, pipes and rebar unfinished, and random holes in the concrete... but it had a full Marachi band playing on surround sound!!! No one cared. Everyone had smuggled in their OWN ponche and were drinking, dancing and enjoying the show. Or what you could see of the show. There were lighting fixtures all over the arena, but only one was working. The paramedics turned on their lights to help light the arena. It turned into hide and seek with the bull after sunset. When it was no longer possible to see and the bull had the upper hand, the show had ended. Everyone was happy. Moosecake was chummin with Krystal, Little One was dancing with his new friends, and we, were feelin good..... Tapalpa was awesome.

We're tourists again.

Everytime my parents come to visit, we become tourists again. We explore the city, check out all the tourist hot spots and forget the usual daily grind.
 We started out our adventure by heading BACK to Tonala, an artisan paradise on the outskirts of Guadalajara. You can find beautiful vajillas, paintings, glassware, crafts, floral arrangements, and other unique pieces of art within a reasonable price range. And check out the glass blowing artisans while you're there!

Tlaquepaque came next, which has similar items to Tonala, but presented a more bourgeois and directed towards foreigners. It is a little pricer, but there are little treasures to be found. The food there, is AMAZING. Casa Fuerte has always been our go-to restaurant. Chicken with Huitlacoche and the "El Dorado" medallion are favorites. An artisan community accented by pedestrian-only cobblestone streets and some of the finest art in Guadalajara. Sites to see include Sergio Bustamante's gallery, The Parian with daily mariachi shows, and  Museo de Ceramica.

We also visited  El Triunfo, a gallery of some sort, displaying many "unique" pieces. Midwesterner From Mexico  mentioned this store a while back in Mexico City and after seeing one right here in Guadalajara, it became a featured destination. Like Julie had mentioned, there were a few "diamond in the rough" pieces, but more, Galerias El Truinfo was an overpriced side show.

If you live near one of these other locations, please feel free to add some of your own unique finds!