can you guess?

That's not an avocado...

THIS is an avocado!

Actually, they're all avocados. The ones on the right are the small/normal sized ones we're used to in Canada. The ones on the left are AVOCADOS ON STEROIDS. From what others have told me, the large (huge) ones are more mild tasting and nice for things like guacamole. 

I thought they were melons.

from Ottawa to Bogota, via Toronto

This post links to these great parties.

such an original video... watch it. you won't be disappointed.

I just saw this video over at Apartment Therapy. It's so much fun. Who could not enjoy watching and listening to this??

The only thing more fun would be if I'd taken a video of Simon and Andrew watching this video... hopping and bopping and clapping along. Too cute.

(And then inevitably slapping eachother afterwards. *sigh* )

Star Wars party ideas

I'm writing this post to add to the CSI project's Party Ideas Challenge. Those who've been reading my blog for a while will likely remember the series I did on the Star Wars Lego party we threw for Liam's 6th birthday. Although that series -aptly entitled "How to Host a Star Wars Party in 5 Excruciatingly, Painstakingly Detailed Steps"- has much more detailed how-to information, here's the nitty gritty:

Step 1: The Plan

My initial plan involved creating themed invitations, making pool noodle lightsabers, a Death Star pinata, kicking around a Death Star beach ball, and giving out Clone Wars kites in lieu of goodie bags, as well as letting each child take home a lightsaber. That summer, there was Clone Wars merchandise all over the place, so that made things easier.

Step 2: The Invitation

By taking and merging several screen shots from the Lego.com site, I was able to put together a truly awesome invitation, that I'm just now realizing was hosted on a photo site that I let lapse. Oops. But trust me, it was AWESOME.

Part 3: The Lightsabers

Truly a labour of love, these lightsabers took me hours to complete. Each was different. Each was super detailed. Each involved painstakingly cutting out tiny strips and squares of electricians tape and duct tape. But they, too, were awesome. 

From this,  

to this,

to this,

Part 4: The Fondant

This cake required fondant to decorate properly. It was my first try making marshmallow fondant and I loved not only the process, but also the result. It's much easier than it looks, and each subsequent attempt became easier and the result more impressive. Plus, you can't go wrong with kids and taking sugar (the marshmallows), adding more sugar and then covering a sugar-filled cake... AND THEN SENDING THEM HOME.

Part 5: The Cake
For a full step-by-step of how I constructed this cake, you'll have to click on the link above. For now, a few pictures will have to suffice.

next to my then 4 1/2 month old

Part 6: The Pinata

For the Pinata, we simply made a (wonky shaped) ball by covering a balloon with papier mache. We probably put seven or eight layers of paper on it, each time letting it dry hanging on the clothes line. I was most worried about how we would hang it and how to make it strong enough to let the kids all have a few whacks at it. In the end, it was plenty strong enough. We painted it with two shades of grey paint, then let Liam do the final detail. I love how it turned out!

In the end, it was a lot of work beforehand, but the day of the party was relatively stress-free and it was all worth it in the end. All of the guest had a super fun time and the birthday boy was made to feel love and special and celebrated.

TOTALLY worth it.

Thanks to the CSI project for hosting this party link up. If you want more info on how we did any of the above, here are the links:

How we did it:

pre-party planning and ideas

the invitation how-to

pool noodle lightsabers

marshmallow fondant

the cake (in less than 100 pictures)

the big day

room with a view

For having been in Bogota almost two weeks, I haven't spent much time describing our new life here. So here are a few tidbits...

the neighbourhood:

• In our neighbourhood, there is a crazy mix of homes with VERY traditional Spanish colonial architecture... sitting right next to the most stark, uber modern homes you've ever seen. There is no such thing as a developer buying up a whole neighbourhood and building cookie-cutter homes. EVERYTHING here is custom. From the home itself to the garage door to the sidewalk outside the home. I love it.

• Most appliances here run on natural gas, but homes don't seem to have natural gas lines. Instead, trucks come by, stopping every few houses and ring a bell on the back of the truck. It's full of huge tanks (think the size of those big helium tanks at party stores) that they exchange the empties for full ones. The other day, I saw the poor guys who have to unload these giant gas tanks from the bed of a truck... did not look like easy work.

• Everywhere I look, I see these amazing terracotta pots. They're huge and thick and worn and have this age and patina to them... they're everywhere. On balconies, in patios and courtyards, flanking doorways, lining walkways... and they're full of the most amazing plants. A few I recognize, but most are totally new to me. I want some. Both the pots and the plants. Our balconies (yes, we have two) are bare and bleak and boring. I want to be part of the Big Beautiful Terracotta Pot Club.

the food:

• Groceries here are so expensive! A 200g box of cereal is about $5, as is a small jar of pickles. A can of coconut milk (around $2 back in Canada) is over $4 here. And I paid almost $10 for a small jar of feta cheese! Bread, condiments, and dairy products are also about twice the cost of similar items back home. 

• Thankfully, fruits and vegetables are much more reasonable, especially given that most things that were expensive imports back home are locally grown here. Infact, I hardly recognize half the fruit at the stores. The other day the boys and I picked a few new fruits to try... with mostly amazing success... except for this thing.  I think it might have been a passionfruit. Whatever it was, it was AWFUL. I couldn't even swallow it. Maybe we weren't supposed to eat the slimy, greeny-orange gelatinous seed pod things, but I couldn't see a way to eat the skin. It was thick and hard. Either way, yuck. 

does this look normal, Patrycja??

• Most Colombians seem to drink ultra-pasteurized milk, at least that's what the huge aisle of un-refrigerated milk -compared to the tiny shelf of normal milk- would have us believe. Ultra-pasteurized milk?? Yeah, yuck. After finally finding a source of raw goat's milk in Gatineau, the thought of ultra-pasteurized milk makes me more than a bit squeamish. Unfortunately, the source of goat's milk we've found here is $4/L... almost four times what we were paying in Gatineau. Ouch.

• Not food, but toys are soooo expensive. SO. EXPENSIVE.  For example, this Bobba Fett ship Lego set is $89.99 US or  $109.99 CDN at Toys R Us, and just under 500,000 Colombia Pesos at a local toy store. That's over $277 CDN and $270 US. More than twice as expensive! In retrospect, I'm thankful for the ridiculous  (for us)  amount we spent on costumes/art supplies/Lego/other toys before leaving Canada. It will save us a bundle for birthdays and Christmas.

our apartment:

• Even though it's so empty that most rooms echo when we talk, we're really liking our new place. The windows are huge (the light is amaaazing), the rooms are big and the closets border on the obscene. 

• The furniture we've been provide with here is really nice. Too nice. I'm not sure whether or not the person who did the shopping for us knew that we have kids, or if they've just never met the likes of our boys. In the handbook we were given it states that the life span of embassy-supplied furniture is assumed to be eight years... well after less than two weeks the dining room chairs ALL have stains, one of the love seats was thrown up on (and the cushions don't come off for proper cleaning... who makes a sofa like that??), and the dining room table has all sorts of little dents from the end of forks, etc. Eight years??  There's no way. This is clearly not the season of life for nice things.

• We were supplied with a "Welcome Kit" of necessities to tide us over until our shipment comes. Included were bed and bathroom linens, a set of Corelle Ware dishes, some glasses, a few pots, basic cutlery... you get the picture. Well after 10 days, we've already suffered two casualties... a glass tumbler and a coffee cup. Welcome to life with three little boys.

• We have our own water heater, but it takes sooooo loooong for hot water to reach any of the taps, especially the ones in the bathrooms furthest from the heater. I feel guilty every time I run the water, but there are some things that you just can't do with ice cold water. But I feel so wasteful.

• Our kitchen has all stainless steel appliances AND stainless steel counter tops. While I think it looks pretty cool and the seamless countertop/skin is wonderfully easy to wipe crumbs off of, the brand new stainless appliances are not so wonderfully easy to keep clean. Sticky-fingered, running-nosed, dirty, slobbery boys LEAVE MARKS ON EVERYTHING. Is there a trick I'm not aware of??

• We have so much empty wall space -huge expanses of gleaming white walls that we're not allowed to paint- that I'm at a loss over how to fill it up. We have a massive hallway that runs the length of our suite (think bowling alley and you'll be close) that I have no idea what to do with, in addition to the huge living room and the separate family room. And there's also the boys' room and play room. I want to do something fun in both those rooms, but am really struggling to decide on a theme (even a loose theme) that would suit all three ages (7, almost 4 and 20 months) but that isn't too corny... and isn't Lego or Star Wars... or Star Wars Lego. 

Now want to see a picture of our building complex??

that's Peter walking in the bottom right corner

Our floor is the second from the top. The balcony without any lovely terracotta pots is ours... the door off it leads to the TV/family room. The huge expanse of windows to the right is the living room, and to the left -next to the tree with the lovely yellow flowers- is the window to the master bedroom.

It's pretty, right?

We were a bit jealous when we saw the huge patios that the folks on the first floor have. It runs the whole length of that side of the building! But for security reasons, embassy staff have to be on the third floor or above. So we'll make do with the little outdoor space we have. We'll fill it up with terracotta pots full of hibiscus and jasmine vines (a smell I will forever associate with Colombia now... one of my favourite smells HANDS DOWN) and succulents and some of these crazy tall grass-like things that are really common around here...

these grow 6-7' tall! any idea what they are??

So yeah. All in all, life here is good so far. It'd be nice to be able to call and talk to my family and friends a bit more easily, and we will all be super excited when our shipment finally arrives (it should have been here by now, but some mix up with paperwork that needed to be completed has delayed things by about three weeks), but other than that we're settling in quite nicely. 

Thanks to those of you who are joining us on this adventure. It will be fun to share this next year with you all.

Oh and for those who are still wondering about the pictures I posted yesterday, THEY'RE FOR GARBAGE! People put their garbage bags in them and garbage is picked up several times a week. For something so... um, utilitarian... I find them really interesting and kind of pretty. 

sights of Bogota: can you guess what these are?

Theres things are everywhere. I had no idea what they were for at first... any guesses?




If we go for a walk today, I'll try to get a few pictures of ones "in use"...

first day in Bogota

I seem to have acquired whatever pleasantries that Andrew was dealing with yesterday... you win this round Montezuma. Andrew has been sick again this morning, but is much more himself. He had an early nap, but has been playing quite normally since then. We'll just take it slow with him.

I, on the other hand, have been preparing this blog post from the makeshift sick bed we set up when Simon was sick earlier this week. Not-so-patiently waiting for my pictures to upload between frequent trips to the nearest of our four (four!) bathrooms.

So here are some pictures we took during our walk around the building we live in. This is our "backyard" so to speak.

see the sign for the electric fence that surrounds the property? 

the court yard fountain

should have straightened this

This last picture is the first of what I plan to be monthly family photos. Tara Whitney started it with her "Six People Twelve Times" project, and my friend Angela took it up as well. And, well, sometimes I like to be a joiner. 

Anyone else want to play? There aren't many rules, just take and post one family picture each month for a year. That's right moms, get out from behind the camera and get in a shot with your fam. Not too hard. And what a fun way to look back at the year.

twill be a long night, me thinks

Instead of pictures of our amazingly huge apartment and views of the lush vegetation that's everywhere we look, here's a shot I just took a few minutes ago... 

You can see one of our pair of love seats! That should make you happy, mom!

Liam wanted a snack, but I've been confined to the couch all afternoon by a miserable baby who's been sick twelve times in the last 2 1/2 hours. So big brother cuddled him long enough for me to throw together some crackers, cheese and fruit. 

(Well almost long enough... just as I was setting the plates on the table, Liam started yelling that Andrew was throwing up again... "BUT I GOT HIM OVER THE BOWL!")

I'm not sure what has caused this bout of stomach upset. Simon was sick all day Monday thanks to some kamut milk that at first we thought, "Cool! Kamut milk!" but now know WE WILL NOT BE FEEDING HIM AGAIN. But Simon's issue was clearly food related. This? Maybe food (although I can't figure out what it might have been)? Maybe altitude related?? Either way, this babe is exhausted from all the effort. Poor guy.

So the snack has been eaten, but the plates and crumbs remain on the table while I hold my sweet boy who every so often sobs in his sleep before being sick again.

And Peter has a reception tonight at the American (I think?) Embassy and won't be home until around 9:30pm...

that was quite the bloggy break!

While not an intentional break, it seems I just couldn't get on the computer to blog this last month. My last post was about Peter's first day in Bogota (the day of the car bomb) and he's been here over four weeks! And although I know this post will have limited appeal, I did want to write down some of what we did (although I know that dozens of funny/touching/charming/memorable and blog-worthy moments have already been forgotten.

So to summarize:

I spent the first week in Regina babysitting my nephews to cut down on my sister's childcare costs. A week with five boys (ages 8, 7, 5, 3 1/2 and 1 1/2) was a little exhausting, but the boys (mostly) had a ton of fun. During the week, however, a new form of play emerged -at least new for my boys- in which life starts to mimic video games and it's all "this is my home base" and "you do this or this to get an extra two lives" and "if you do this you lose a half life" and "pause" and "game on" and "you're dead". Liam (7) and Xavier (8) seemed to change the rules to suit whatever their whim of the moment, Rowan (5) only wanted to play with the big boys and be on either of their team, and poor Simon (3 1/2) usually ended up confused, crying, or just completely left out. He was at a bit of a rough age this visit.

Thankfully, we also spent some time with my friend, Saffron, and her two sons who are four and two. Much better ages for Simon. He and Jake hit it off immediately -even though all the home bases and points and "lifes" and pauses and you're-deads had him turning to his mom and saying, "Mom, I don't know what he's talking about...". I had the chance to photograph Saffron and her family along with the family of some other friends, Geoff and Tree, as well as reconnecting with an old friend from high school (likely even before then) when I did a session with her family also.

Liam, Simon, Xavier and Rowan camped out in a tent in grandma's backyard. They played with glowsticks and sparklers and fought for elbow room in a 4-but-should-be-2-man tent. 

We visited the Royal Saskatchewan Museum (Natural History), the Saskatchewan Science Centre, and listened to the Regina Symphony Orchestra perform at the park.

My sister, Heather, and I took the five boys swimming at a local rec centre, where all the boys had a blast and Andrew even swam on his own (with water wings) for the first time. Terrified and clinging to me at the beginning, once he learned to trust his floaties, HE LOVED IT. I didn't take my camera, but I hope I'll always remember his tiny self swimming around the pool.

That same trip to the pool, unfortunately, also lead to my getting a wicked bad ear/throat infection that, after three days of suffering through it and trying to give my body the chance to heal itself, turned out to be a pretty bad case of strep throat. It was full on ear ache, fever, chills, shakes, headache, swollen glands, inability to swallow or even talk (!). It was awful. And while I usually like to give my immune system the opportunity to take care of things on its own, it clearly needed back up. I was losing the war. Reinforcements were called, in the form of antibiotics. They worked like a charm. Normal activities were resumed.

We drove to Calgary for a family reunion of my mom's side of the family. It was very unpleasantly cold for most of the weekend (like, they were forecasting snow in the mountains!), but it was such a neat time with most of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and dozens of kids. I also had the chance to photograph the families of two of my cousins. SO. FUN. 

After the reunion, we drove 45 mins to meet up with Peter's sister and her husband and their sweet little girl (who we'd never met before!), as well as Peter's dad who was in the country for a medical procedure. Since we usually only see Peter's family once a year if we're lucky, this was an amazing gift. We also saw two of his uncles and aunts and his grandparents -the boys' great-grandparents- who are two of the most special people I know. I'm so thankful for the time we got to spend together. Unfortunately my plans to get Matt and Sara and wee Bella in front of the camera were spoiled by all day, soaking rain. This was really disappointing since I have no idea when I'll see them next.

The whole weekend, we stayed with my good friend (and blogger drop-out), Heidi, and her four awesome kiddos. I've truly missed her the last two years we lived in Gatineau and loved the chance to visit, catch up, and spend time with her family. She's an amazing mom, a beautiful woman and a loving friend. And even though her hubby was off in Uganda (I know!), I had fun getting some shots of Heidi, Sadie, Telly, Mabel (I seriously love these names!) and man-of-the-house, Sloan, as well as Heidi's new nephew Bodhan.

To top it all off, Monday morning we had a play date with three friends who I was in a bible study group with when we lived in Calgary. They lived through Nathaniel's pregnancy with me, as well as his birth, and the questioning, anger, and grief I went through after his death. These gals loved me and blessed me more than I can say. I didn't get to see everyone who helped me through those years, but loved seeing the ones who were able to come... and taking their pictures of course.

The drive back to Regina was BRUTAL. A huge storm and awful driving conditions, heart-stopping hydroplaning, crying babies, and a trip that took almost two hours longer than it should have... but we made it home safely. No pictures of the drive or my white-knuckles gripping the steering wheel for the last three hours of the drive.

Back in Regina, we squeezed in as much bonus play time with Xavier and Rowan as possible... even though they'd already started school. We had a nice "last supper" with Adam, Karen, Jack and Julie after a quick and efficient photo shoot in Heather and Joel's backyard. After supper, I got in a big fight with H&J and finally succeeded in guilting them into letting me take some family pictures of them. It was quick and painless and the results are awesome... yet you'd think I was forcing some the most awful and disagreeable experience of all on them. But in the end I got my way. Yeah me.

Oh, and my sister found out that SHE'S PREGNANT. The very day after proclaiming that they were 100%, unequivocally DONE with babies! HAHAHAHA! Hopefully the shock is wearing off and they're beginning to be rightfully excited about this new little blessing. AND IT HAD BETTER BE A GIRL. My sister and I have had seven -SEVEN!- boys between the two of us... and my mom has a basement full of Barbies and My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake and Cabbage Patch dolls. It's a veritable time capsule to the 80's. However with her being in the process of selling her house and downsizing, I'm not sure we'll be able to convince her to hang on to it all if this is another boy.

If you made it to the end of this picture-less post, well done. You must really love me. I promise to upload some pictures now that our internet it hooked up (woohoo!)... as soon as I find my camera cord in whatever bag I stashed it in. Unfortunately, the majority of the pictures will have to wait until our shipment arrives and clears customs, which we were informed this morning will likely not be for more than two weeks. Ugh.

Thanks for sticking around, everyone!