Technical Difficulties and...um...Tummy Issues

Tummy Issues? All you need to know is that I am an avid drinker of Activia recently! ...And, well, I've been extra tired due to the, uh, reasons I'm drinking so much Activia. ;)

Technical Difficulties? It's true, our camera is being really weird and not wanting to upload pics. So I'm going to work on it, but until then, I thought I'd tell you about our day today.

So we got up at 7:30am (me and Levi) and made some yummy french toast over the gas stove top. After getting dressed, etc (including giving Levi a sweet mohawk with the "virgo gel" I bought in the market for $0.60), the teenage girl from the family we lived with 5 years ago (Chela) came to get Levi. She took him to play at her house for a few hours, while Lucy and I made some homemade granola (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vanilla-Granola/Detail.aspx). Before we could really proceed though, we went to the little family store around the corner to buy some more oatmeal. They only use oatmeal as a hot drink here but we know some extra tasty ways to prepare it! So Lu helped me with that, stealing "raw" granola any chance she got.

Levi came home and, while the granola cooked in the oven, we separated some black beans--i.e. we took the one pound bag we bought in the market for $0.85 and took out all the wilted/discolored beans and some pieces of corn (they plant the beans right next to the corn so the corn stalks act as a pole the beans can grow up). And we got them going in the slow cooker, covered with water and seasoned with red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. By the way, all this cooking with the kids is really good for their gross and fine motor skills--that's something I've been made to think about a lot since both of our kids Early Intervention/Special Ed evaluations show that they are behind in their gross motor skills and Lu is behind in fine motor skills too. Since I'm the special ed teacher while we're away, I look for daily ways to have "school" with her and fill in what she's missing while we're away.

Then we made lunch and Levi fell asleep eating his tortilla! Guess he woke a little earlier than normal! So we got a good nap (me included, yay!) and when we woke up around 3 pm, we got the kids ready and walked to town. John wrapped Levi on his back with my homemade Mobi wrap and Lu walked. It was a little chilly so we wore some light jackets. Walking to town is actually fantastic for their gross motor skills because we have to walk on a dirt road filled with tons of rocks and gravel and that helps them develop their muscles. And it's good for me so I can be in semi-decent shape when baby comes. (P.s. only 5 weeks to go!). We picked up some spaghetti sauce at the only store in town that sells American stuff (like cheese and yogurt). Then came home, lit the fire to warm up the kitchen a little and made some pizza with a side of coleslaw (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/the-ladys-coleslaw-recipe/index.html).

After dinner, the kids and I went to look at the stars and Lucy sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star over and over while we waited for daddy to get into the shower. You see, it's shower night (every other night, not practical to shower daily) and we hold the kids in the shower with us to get them washed off. They love it. We have an electric shower, meaning you turn on your electric box and as the water goes through, the electricity heats the water--should we feel nervous mixing water and electricity? Maybe, but millions of people throughout the world shower this way, since hot water tanks are a real luxury, so I'm not worried! The only trouble is when the electricity goes out (which happened to me about 2 weeks ago while I was totally soapy--oh, that water is cold and you're in the dark, no fun, no fun at all!) So that's our day. Hope you enjoyed!