The World Needs More Leons

The other day someone said to me, "the world needs more Leons." They were responding to my fatigue and worry that something's not quite right with my child.  Why does it seem like I have the loudest kid?  Why does he growl like a bear or scream like a dinosaur at strangers?  Why does he have to yell MAMA all the time?  

(And it seems to be catching (or its just the wonderful genes)...cause Elsie screams (giggling mostly) so loud and responds to Leon's energy with 100%.)

But then he is super sweet.  He shares.  He speaks two languages.  He plays with new kids with ease.   He talks and talks and talks.  He sleeps through the night (and has done so for over two years).  He potty trained himself practically  (ok but he does wear a diaper at night) before two.  And I could go on and on about all of the things that make Leon special.  

So what if people always say to me "you've it your hands full."  And I know I will probably never hear "you have the best behaved kids."  But I do get "you have beautiful children"..."he has the cutest hair"...and always..."wow he has a lot of energy!"

Cheers to my unique and an amazing son (and his growing more and more like him everyday sister)!

If I had a hat

Staying at home and being a full time mom is hard work.  It is the most challenging job I have ever had.    Both of my kids require (demand) quality time all day long and I am trying to balance,  keeping the house clean, with rebuilding our new life in the U.S., cooking healthy meals, using every opportunity to teach, along with potty training, cleaning up after and managing our pets, with minimizing TV watching (by Leon), and arranging and attending play dates and parties, etc.

So if I had a hat (I can never seem to find ones that are comfortable, stylish, and fit all my hair) I would take it off for all the SAHMs (Stay At Home Mom)s.

It is not easy to spend the day with your kids.  LOL  that sounds so crazy and If I was not living it I would think a mom was crazy to say that.  I would probaly add, "Man, she didnt need to have kids."  But its true. It's hard to do it all.

But I am up for the challenge.  Whenever I think I should go back to work I remember the people who said this was impossible.  The women (yes I can think of three) who looked me dead in my eye and said LWOP (leave without pay) sounded horrible and they wouldn't want to be me.  I also think about our morning walks around the lake, picnics, playing in parks, and all the  smiles I see first hand.

I've got 11 more months left, or more :).

Ps I was trying to use both hands to iron and I had to put Elsie in the pack n play and she didn't like that.  

Going off the Venezuelan Deep End

So I was this (imagine fingers close together) close in buying Leon a life size Captain America (not sure how that made it past the Chavistas) piñata today. It cost close to 2,000 BSF (nearly $300 using the official rate). Yesterday I hired a photographer. I am tittering off the deep end. I am contemplating paying four guys to dress up like Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and the Hulk. Leon said (in Leon Spanglish) he wanted a birthday de Pow Pow (means a Super Hero themed birthday party).

I've got two piñatas, 50 goodie bags filled with organic candy and super Heroe themed toys, table cloths, banners, ballons, and cup cake toppers (super Heroe of course).

When I went to my first Venezuelan birthday party I was astonished about how much time and money went into a toddlers party. Now that mom is me! Trust me it's so addictive. If I didn't work full time I would have painted the superhero backdrop I thought about. I would have sewn my own outfits for Jeff and I to be superhero parents. I contemplated hiring a band and seriously considered fireworks.

But I guess we will settle for the trampoline, bouncy castle, hamburger stand, hot dog cart, ice cream man (all of those things were rented), 75 cupcakes with superhero toppers, piñatas, and the 40-50 (not sure how many will show up....I've invited every kid in neighborhood, everyone I know under 5 with a dip passport and all his classmates) screaming kids!

Ps...I still might get the real live super hero guys :)

Nine months, again

Elsie just turned nine months. Here is a photo of her and one of Leon when he turned nine months. She's already pulling her self to standing and ("Army" style) crawling. I think she might even walk before one year. Leon (yes, I know you can't compare your children...but actually you can) was barely sitting up unassisted at nine months and he crawled much later. Elsie is over 95% in everything (head, weight, and height) and Leon too was a big nine month old. Both of their hair started getting curly at this age and Leon's started turning blonde (funny thing, Elsie has new blonde hair too). And we sleep trained both at nine months and Elsie is finally sleeping mostly (amen) through the night.

Two is Plenty

Here's a picture of Leon and Elsie from Easter morning before church. We are blessed beyond measure to have both Leon and Elsie. So blessed that I think (and I think, we think) that two might be just enough. Let's face it, once you go past two, they out number you (and Leon feels like a little army all on his own). Right now we have to buy three seats on an air plane and in a year and a half that will be four. With two of the opposite sex, at some point we will need three separate bedrooms with a fourth one preferred. And honestly with Elsie starting to sleep thru the night I can't imagine going back to no sleep (prob too soon to talk about this since last night was the first night in 11 months that I slept the whole night). But in the end you really can't say never until, well, you physically can confirm never (and I have not crossed that bridge, yet).

Bad mommy

No mom wants to be a bad mom. I joke and call any visible mark on Leon (thank God gordita has not had any falls etc) the "bad mommy mark.". Meaning, it shows that I wasn't doing my job and my kid got hurt in my care.

The other day Leon fell of his bed. He was jumping on it. I have told him before not to jump but of course on this day I was trying to be the free spirit mom. I mean who doesn't love to jump on their bed? Isn't that the all time kid favorite?

Once I was over a friend's house and Leon joined her kids in jumping on the couch. I told him to stop and she said, "oh it's ok I let them jump on the couch.". Awkward. On one hand I admired her free spirit
and her kids seemed really happy. On the other hand I couldn't let Leon jump on the couch at her house because he is not allowed to do it at home, mostly because if he falls he will hurt himself.

After seeing him (and hearing the crack....sounded like he split open his...can't even say it w/o having shivers) post fall, I've decided that I'd rather be the "don't jump on the couch" and "don't run near the pool" etc mom than the one explaining that the huge egg is from falling out of the bed.

Ps. I took the pic only so I could show Leon what his forehead looked like and why it was important to let me put ice on it. That didn't work.

Gordita

Elsie is eight months old! She is a chubby lil thing. She's grown into her cheeks, a little. But they are still quite kissable. She's almost crawling and mostly sitting, though she can fall (timber!) when distracted.

People here call Elsie Gordita (literal translation, little fat girl) or Negrita (little black girl). Gordita has caught on and I use it interchangbly with Elsie. I doubt I would ever feel comfortable calling her (or any one) Negrita. I know it's a term of endearment but I just can't get the hang of it. By the way I also don't call Leon Catire (Venezuelan slang for blonde/blue eyed male) and EVERYONE calls him Catire.

I guess it's an American (United States of) thing.