Catch Up Part 1 - De Groot

WOW.  Looks like I have a lot of catch up to do!  After packing up in Michigan, the kids and I spent 5 amazing weeks in Utah visiting family and friends while the hubster tied up loose ends and traveled back and forth from Brazil.  This is part one of the "vacation" (if you can call packing up and saying goodbye to loved ones a vacation)...

I got to see my two best girls from the good ole HS days.  Man alive do I miss these girls!  xoxo

The kids of course had plenty of opportunities to be doted on by Grandma and Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles and cousins!  They are pretty cute I'll admit.. ;)

Our good friends and neighbors that live next to my parents have horses and were kind enough to let the kids feed them, swoon over them, and eventually RIDE them! :)

Miss B of course LOVED every second of it! ..both the horse, and the attention she got while on it! :)

Mr H loved the horses more from a distance and although was willing to ride them, he chose to pass on a 2nd opportunity to go again.

 

Little Princess P wanted a turn as well.. sadly she has mean parents who only let her sit atop the horse for a few seconds until a picture was taken and back off she came! ..best few seconds of her life or so it seemed!

And of course mister "go with the flow" was completely chill about the entire experience.  Even when he started falling off it didn't quite seem to phase him! lol

We went to Elko for a boating trip with the whole DG clan.  Gma had shirts made up which turned out SUPER cute!

My man rocked it out and got to show off a bit on the wakeboard.  He had a blast!

I would have shown off if I knew how.. sadly this was the best it got for me, but HEY!  I got up for the first time EVER!!!  Look at that concentration! lol :)

Princess P was content to just chill on the boat.  She probably would have enjoyed it more without the life jacket.. they weren't the best of friends..

"Chicken" DG style looks somewhat painful, but that didn't stop anyone!

Mr H went tubing with Grandma.  I was so proud of his cute little self! :)

I didn't know you could surf behind a boat until this trip.. it's pretty awesome.  Especially when a hunky man is the one on the board!

The shocker of the trip was when Miss B looked up at me and exclaimed, "I want to try that".. ummm, okay..  I agreed not thinking she would go through with it, but the littl thing got out there like a pro on the kneeboard and got up on the FIRST TRY!!!  Did I cry?  A little.. but they were the overly excited tears of a proud mother.. it happens! :)  Eventually we had to tell her to let go because she never got tired of holding on!

She was almost as proud of herself as I was of her!

Although the big man was out of town for Father's Day, and that was REALLY hard for me, we were able to spend it with my dad which made it a little easier. :)

 

It was so much fun hanging out with all my family before the big move to Brazil.  My brother and his wife and daughter were living there too and we LOVED getting to spend time with them too.  It was a GREAT trip! :)

Bring on the Beasts

A week in and already we're feeling adventurous!  The hubby and I have already been to the store twice together with the kids to get accustomed to the new varieties of foods available here.  Now it's up to me as homemaker to figure out how to use all the new ingredients!  Take this for example:

I didn't know that avocados the size of your head even existed!  In comparison to the avocados I've always known, which are quite small looking to me now, and a dark greenish brown, these are bright green and look almost more like a melon.  I was warned ahead of time that these were not to be thought of as one in the same!  No massive batch of delicious guacamole is coming from this beast. (*Sigh)  No, avocados here are more of a desert.  I know, I know, it's hard to imagine an avocado taking the place of a warm and gooey, melt-in-your-moth Ghirardelli chocolate brownie, but hey, don't shoot the messenger!

So what else was there to do than crack the bad boy open?!  I nervously tried a small bit, unsure of what to expect, and it was true!  The small "Hass" avocados are AMAZING with a pinch of salt.  I could eat a whole one by myself!  ..but these massive ones would taste just wrong with any salt at all..  It still oddly enough tastes like an avocado, but it's just different enough that what you really crave on it is (get this..) SUGAR! 

I was desperate to not have it spoil now that I busted it open, so I got the creative juices flowing.  I cubed up the avocado and put it in some fancy shmancy glasses, added a spoonful of sugar and some milk (which also tastes VERY different here!), and we had ourselves a fun little treat!  Everyone LOVED it, and I was pretty proud that I was able to put together foreign ingredients and no one complained at the finished product.. even if it was overly simple! :)

After that success, I took it to the next level today and we made smoothies with the other half!  I put the avocado, milk, sugar, ice, strawberry yogurt and a banana in the blender whipped it up nice and good and I tell you it was A-MAZING!!!  I feel confident that this will be a new staple treat in this household for the next 3 years.. bring on the beasts! :) 

Não falo Português

It's official.  I am "that" woman.  You know when you meet someone who doesn't speak the same language as you and for some reason you think to yourself, "Hmm.. maybe if I speak reeeeealy sloooowly they will magically understand."?  Then the poor person nods and smiles in agreement and you think VIOLA!  I, am a genius!  News flash:  THEY NOD AND SMILE TO GET YOU TO SHUT UP.  The truth hurts, I know.  Now you're wondering all defensively how I can make such a statement.  Well, let me back up a smidge to help illuminate my amazing 1st hand knowledge in this predicament...

Yesterday morning we arrived (HURRAY!).  We finally made it and are officially in our new home for the next three years here in Sao Paulo, Brazil!  I feel sincerely bad for everyone who didn't get to see our 3 ring family circus making way through the airport with all this garbage - and 3 more kids somewhere underneath it all.. don't worry they're still alive.  I tried to construct my own photo shoot, but alas you can only see Sir L sitting on his luggage thrown.  However, if you google "crazy Americans with 4 kids", you might see one of the snapshots from some of the people who felt so inclined to take out their camera phones so they could post it on Facebook or who knows were.  Truly, SOO awkward to try to pretend like you don't see them when they are trying to sneak a pic.. Just make sure you get me at a good angle please.. Honey, do I have anything in my teeth?  Look naturally happy and at ease kids!  WOWZA.

Well, as today was our first full day here in the new pad, we unpacked like crazy folk then naturally headed out to explore our surroundings (the parks and pools here in our complex of course!).  We all shuffled into the elevator and headed down to "if you tumble, no worries you most likely won't die level" in search for a nice relaxing Brazilian moment.  It turned Brazilian very quickly as we turned the corner of our building into the park and a gorgeous woman and her kids were playing.  She sweetly asked me something.  I'd tell you but, wait, meu Português é MUITO ruim.  That means, my Portuguese is VERY bad!  We tried to communicate in a charades type manner before I lost all pride and slumped into a corner in fetal position.  All I wanted to know was why the pool cover was on and if the main club pool was open or if it's a seasonal thing, which wouldn't make sense because even though it's winter here, it's a perfect 70 something outside! 

I concluded that the Club pool must be open, and we set off to find it.. Our complex is very secure.  You can't walk 50 feet without another security guard greeting you with a smile.  But buyer beware, if you smile and say Hoi!, a question will soon follow and you are bound to start shaking your head in confusion once more.  We walked, and we walked, and we walked for what seemed like forever.  It wasn't THAT far I'll admit, but when you don't know where you're going, every step seems like 10.  So naturally we turned around and went back to our building.  I was desperate.  I told the kids they could swim and they were SO excited!  I approached the receptionist.  Você fala Inglês?  Não. (snap!) Hmm, não falo Português...  then it happened, before I could think about what I looked like I started trying to remeber everything Seniora Swartz taught me in highschool, because although Spanish and Portuguese are different there are quite a few similarities, and she was bound to understand me better that way!  "Agua grande?" (accompanied by ridiculous swimming hand motions).  I then started pointing like a bafoon to the pool directly outside the building trying get her to understand it was covered.  "Aqua.. não".  She smiled, tried to keep herself from laughing and opened the language floodgates.  I have never heard so many words come out so fast as she attempted to explain to me where we should go.  I apparantly looked confused so she tried again.  SLOOOWER.  Nope.  Then once more and I gave in, "AHHH! SIM!  Obrigada!  Tchau!"  What the freak just happened?!  I couldn't look like an idiot so I just started walking again.  Half way there and Sir L biffed it and wanted to be carried, but I was already carrying Princess P.  So naturally we turned back again to go and get the stroller to accompany our journey.  So we walked past the guards, again.  Into the building and past the now very exhausted looking receptionist.. yeah, sorry about that.  She looked very distraught to see me and asked if I got lost (or at least I think she did), I shook my head and made a pushing motion trying to tell her I had to get our stroller.  She looked at me like I had an infectious disease so I waved her off and we went up to get it.  She seemed to understand when I gestured to it as we walked out, again.

Past the guards and the honey-maybe-you-ought-to-stay-inside onlookers we went.  We walked very far and started to curve around the pathway when I saw yet another guard talking on his walkie.  He saw me and stood up, cut off the person he was talking to with a gesture to me and called out "Não fala Português".  It wasn't a question.  It was a statement.  From that point on guard walkied guard to point us all the way down to the pool.  I suppose we weren't hard to miss, and really, I'm sure we made their day so much merrier as they sat during their breaks and reminisced in laughter.  "You'll see a tall blonde American woman pushing a stroller with 4 kids in swimsuits.. they can't talk to you and she has no clue what she's doing, but please get her to the pool before she loses her mind."  Huh, you know, when thinking of the mark I could place on Brazil, this one never really crossed my mind!  But alas, WE MADE IT!  And the water was just lovely :)

Here is a view looking upward from the pool.  There are about 15 of these buildings shaped in a crescent in our complex which give you an idea of its sheer massive size!  With an oasis taking up the middle of it all, you really can't tell we are in the middle of one of the largest cities on the planet.  With so much to do right in our own backyard, I am sure I will have plenty of opportunities to be "that woman"! ;)

**Disclaimer:  if there are typos from here on out it isn't my fault.. according to my computer which now apparantly speaks the laguage I can't seem to grasp, EVERYTHING I write is mispelled!

Patience is a virtue.

Brazil is special.  Not just because they produce sickly beautiful people, have some of the most sought after beaches in the world, and their famous holiday "Carnival" makes Mardi Gras seem like a quite Sunday afternoon...  They are special because they are patient in Brazil.  We US citizens worship our schedules.  We plan things by year, month, week, day, hour, and even minute.  Showing up 30 minutes late to a scheduled luncheon is just plain rude in the US, but in Brazil?  If you don't show up a good hour late they may look at you funny or deem you inconsiderate because they aren't ready yet!

This has been confirmed to me by NUMEROUS different sources, including current US expats who reside in Brazil, and our intercultural trainers.  So why was I so surprised, and even frustrated when our Brazilian Visas took their good ole sweet time to grace us with their presence??  Our Passports were in hand the beginning of March, but in Brazil, you have to have what is called a "Work Visa" to reside and be employed there.  Everything was riding on this stamp (well actually it's a sticker) in our Passports.. The original plan was to be in Brazil the end of May and for my sweet hubby to start on June 1st.  With the long and relaxed processing of our documentation on the other side we ended up suspending our move and were forced to move my hubby's start date back to July 1st.  That almost didn't happen either, but ALAS.. they have ARRIVED!!! 

I was starting to think this day would never come!  The day when we are FINALLY legal and ready to start this new adventure abroad.  Shall I laugh or cry?  Perhaps a little of both??  I haven't decided yet, but whatever I deem necessary to do, we are officially going to Brazil, and I CAN'T WAIT!!! :)  11 days and counting!

Round Two

Not every woman gets to be proposed to twice by the man of her dreams.. so when my handsome hubby of seven years popped the question the other night, I FLIPPED! :)
Round One: 
January 11, 2004.  At 3:30am I hopped in my car bound and determined to make the 3 1/2 hour drive from Salt Lake City, Utah to Rexburg, Idaho to surprise my then-boyfriend with a little face time.  Sadly, I didn't make it far as my tin can of a car slid on black ice and ricocheted us off the median of the freeway. 

I don't remember the two saintly women who pulled me out of my car to safety.  I wish I had gotten their names..  I do remember it had started to snow, because it was my one bare foot, freezing while dragging through it, that momentarily brought me back to consciousness.  I wondered where my other shoe was, but couldn't form the words to ask.  The next time I woke up I saw a few men attempting to push my car out of the middle of the freeway before a snow plow truck demolished it even more.  I never did see the fate of that moment..  I don't remember dialing my then-boyfriend's number to tell him that I had crashed and didn't know where I was.. apparently that freaked the poor guy out because he jumped in his car to race to my aid. 

I wasn't coherent enough to ask for my collection of 200+ CDs, my wallet, or even my shoe, but I was somehow able to ask the paramedics for my snuggly white bear wearing a blue bathrobe that my sweetheart had given me.  Next thing I knew I was woken up by him, and before the Loratab could wear off and I could grasp what was going on, he popped the question in a room full of anxious family members who grew more anxious when it took a good while for my connectors to tell me that I wanted to say "YES!". 

The scare of a totalled car with a loved one in it sent his original plans to propose the following weekend in a flurry.  He couldn't secure our future fast enough, in the hopes that I wouldn't almost get myself killed again any time soon..  I'm happy to report that I have no more incidents to report since that day! 

Needless to say, diamonds are a rare and foolish commodity in Sao Paulo, a city where poverty and affluence live side by side.  It is pretty well understood that if you dress flashy, you're asking for it.  No bling. Especially on an easy to snatch ring!  So when my man saw an opportunity to play out his original plan, he pounced!

Round Two:  Kids with Grandma? Check.  A Sunday stroll through temple square in SLC? Check.  One surprised and ecstatic wife?  PRICELESS... 

We toured the LDS Conference Center which was a first for me.  It was amazing of course, but I was just happy to have some alone time with my hubby!  The grand finale was a tour of the roof top which is 4 acres of gardens, fountains, and pure Utah beauty.  With the mountains surrounding you, and a front row seat to one of my most favorite buildings EVER, my sweet husband got down on one knee and asked me to continue to be his wife as we take our journey to Brazil, with a Brazil appropriate ring.  This time, my connectors were firing at full speed.. umm "YES!!!".   

Now I am VERY ready for our new adventure to begin.. left hand and all!

Is my man smooth??  Like butter baby :)  And I must say.. he's got pretty darn good taste too, I couldn't have chosen a more perfect ring myself!

Intro to reality

"Mom? Mommy! Mama?!".. I can be out shopping alone (a very rare occasion indeed!), yet the siren of a child's voice calling still sends me reeling.  That's when you know you're in deep.  REAL deep. 

Who am I?  Just your average housewife.  Wife of seven years, mother of four, ages five and under:  Miss B (5), Mr H (3 1/2), Sir L (2 1/2), and Princess P (14 mos).  There's no turning back now!  But somehow, amidst the endless dirty diapers, runny noses, broken dishes, dramatic episodes, destroyed rooms, stained clothes, sibling rivalries, and Dora the Explorer episodes, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I am the luckiest mama around, and "my minutes", if I want any.. start at 1am when the house is finally quiet.

As many moms can attest, it is far too easy to let days slip by without changing out of your jammies.  I could spend an entire afternoon shopping on amazon for nothing in particular while my kids watch countless hours of cartoons to pass the time until dinner when daddy comes home to save the day.  But, having experienced a day or two like this, it usually ends with a pound or two of chocolate and overwhelming remorse for doing nothing of real worth, failing to create memories for your kids that will shape them into some of the best adults this world has to offer!  They grow up so fast after all, and you just wasted an ENTIRE DAY! 

That's when the blogs and facebook start egging you on with everyone's picture perfect moments plastered in your face, screaming at you for your pathetic incompetence.  Sound steep?  We all play the same game..  We post the pictures of our children posed perfectly, holding hands and smiling lovingly, while we gaze on with picture perfect make up and salon fresh hair.  We share our success stories and talents, hardly recognizing the efforts and failures that accompanied the journey.  Then so many of us look on longingly at the lives of our fellow bloggers and facebook friends, wondering why our days aren't so perfect.  Well, my days may not be glamorous or "perfect", but they are still great!  Poop on the walls and all, they are GREAT! 

Now we are uprooting our little clan and heading to a world completely unknown to us.  Brazil.  For the next 3 years of our lives we will reside in Sao Paulo.  From a quiet suburban house in Michigan to a 14th story apartment in one of the largest cities in the world.  A new language, new friends, new school, new life.  Forget perfection.. here's to survival!  I am a planner.  A scheduler.  A call before you head over-er.  The only surprises I like are typically scenes coming straight out of  a mushy romance movie.  Hence, I have spreadsheets.  LOTS of spreadsheets.  I have spreadsheets for the family budget, important dates to remember, movies we own (by name AND rating), school loan payoff plans, things I would like to try someday, and of course daily schedules.  As we are entering a new chapter and my eldest two children will start school this coming August, I of course HAD to plan out a mock week to make sure I could get everything that needs doing done.  Check this bad boy out:

Granted, I know things will change as I gain more confidence to venture outside the protective gates of our Sao Paulo community, but, you get the basic idea..  For me, schedules = productivity.  What works for you?

Keeping it real, one day at a time.  I'm out.
-Mama E

Wall Photos

My amazing friend Sharon took some pictures of my kiddos for me to display on the entry wall in our home. I am ashamed to say, I haven't had a picture of Princess P up yet, so this was a LONG time coming!!! 3 cheers for uber talented, and amazingly sweet friends! :)

Now I just have to choose my favorites! :)