Summer 2013

Geodes!!!! Logan has had a mixed bag of emotions this summer. He's bored grocery shopping, and there have been a lot of trips! With a new family restaurant, they go with their grandpa to the store every Wednesday and Thursday morning, and then often come with me on Friday mornings to get groceries for our family as well. He started summer writing a huge book report in his binder, and will do xtra math online. He's also breezing through the random worksheets I print out. I forgot to buy a workbook for him, I have one for Sylvie this year. But basically he has been sporadic on learning, reading and writing. 

So I enjoy the opportunity to think outside the box a bit. We did a Swiss Family Robinson unit and I had the kids write up what they would bring on their island adventure. Then we watched the movie, which was really fun. I love watching classic Disney movies with the kids and really chatting about them over the following days. At a trip to the zoo, Logan came across a geode that was sliced in half and polished. His obsession was strong and all-encompassing. When I checked Amazon, they had kits where you break open a geode with real tools. So it somehow found its way to our Amazon cart and to our front door. The excitement was high as Jorge was home and we got to do this cool project right away when we returned home for the day. Geodes are a lot of fun and it was great breaking them open. 

I love that Logan takes interest in things outside of video games. I know summers are good for relaxing, for exercise, and for fun. But sometimes he misses his friends, competition, and the thrill of playing against someone who is not related to him. Basketball has been a good fit, and today we're planning a water gun fight. We're all signed up for soccer in the fall- super excited for that! Between the new puppy and getting ready for back to school, these last 40 days of summer should fly by. 

Loganisms

Logan stumbles downstairs, barely awake..."Mom, do you think when Sylvie goes out for coffee as an adult, I should own a coffee shop for her to go to? So then she doesn't have to pay?" So far for his future he plans to own a gaggle of huskies, play with and babysit for Sylvie's 4 adopted children (especially the 1 boy), and start his own business that is a food/ Lego place or work at Legoland.

Thursday evening by numbers...

Life runs 200 miles per hour around here. Especially on the 3 days I work. Thursday right now is our "easy day" as we have no formal after-school activities. Tonight wasn't anything to complain to the world about but it was bus-y!!!!

Here is a rundown by numbers.....

5:00 I leave the office
5:15 I arrive to pick up Logan and Venice at grandma's
5:25 leave grandma's. Logan talks the entire way home. Barbie movie is blasting and we cannot reach the volume (it's on Sylvie's side)
5:50 arrive at Sylvie's friends house to pick her up from a playdate. Venice is crying at full-volume. She's mad we are not nursing. Logan talks right over here about  a game on his iPad.
6:00 get everyone and everything inside and run over to put the water on the burner and turn the oven on. Run interference between all 3 kids needs and making dinner. Pull 3 separate things out of Venice's mouth (she usually doesn't do that!)

6:40 sit down to dinner.
6:45 everyone is done with dinner and I have to be done as Venice is throwing things and making a mess. Jorge calls saying he's on his way out of the office.

7:00 get Venice settled playing with toys, get the tv off, and open up the folders. Logan's homework is hard so we work on it together. Meanwhile I'm pulling Venice away from 50 things she doesn't need to be touching, dealing with mini-tantrums, and her obsession with playing with the ice and water dispenser on the fridge.

7:45 Sylvie has been working on an art project that required my help, and she's downstairs so assuming Jorge is walking in the door any minute now (it's been an hour) I chance having 2 kids doing homework that require mom's help, and one very naughty toddler.

7:47 Venice goes over to turn the volume WAY up on the stereo and Logan's screaming and upset, Sylvie's trying to get my attention, Venice is crying and I'm in the middle of dealing with something in  that takes 2 hands.

7:50 Logan goes in the family room to read his chapter book for awhile. Sylvie and I finish up her homework while I hold Venice and she gets her finger stuck in something, rips open a packet of wet wipes she swiped with her teeth and gets us both wet.

8:00 We all move to the family room after making sure all that homework is in the folders. Still waiting on Jorge. Venice starts whining about the tv being off. Logan starts wanting to go to bed but we have one more assignment.

8:10 Start reading for the "One Book One Family" project. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE having the obligation to read and the kids have to listen. Love discussing the book, etc. But both years now Venice HATES this project!!!!!!!!! She whines. She bats the book away from me. She screams. She whines again.

8:15 she gets down on the floor to play.
8:16 she decides to hug Sylvie. And she gets her neck in a griphold and starts scratching with her nails. Screaming by both girls ensues.

8:17 Venice gets a time-out in the pack and play

8:18 We try again. Venice whines, I wonder where the heck Jorge is? We take a break from the book

8:24 We try again. I just read loud and talk over the chaos. I don't even know if the kids are listening. I just want this OVER. So do they. I try to summarize in meaningful ways so they understand it.

8:45 Jorge walks in the door, 2 hours after leaving the office. I'm trying unsuccessfully to put the baby to bed.

9:00 Get the kids to bed and try again for Venice.

9:15 Try again for Venice. Bring her to her room and rub her back and shush her until she finally. falls. asleep. Sylvie, on the other hand, is still awake in the same room. Sigh.

9:17 Do dishes, write a blog post, listen to Survivor.

10:00 Goodnight!!!!!

Tomorrow- is going to be even busier.

The one-and-a-halvsies are arriving!

What is our family up to? Venice is almost 17 months old and she's hitting the one-and-a-halvsies. Joy. She's turned full-on toddler on us and whiles she's still that sweet baby girl, she's voicing her opinion. As Jorge said today "sometimes it's about who is the loudest." and by girls are fighting to win that award! Venice is adorable and hilarious. Fiercely loves when Sylvie plays with her, especially "Ring Around the Rosie." Gives Logan big hugs. Begs Daddy for Elmo on his phone. And nurses like a crazy lady when I walk in the door from work. 

Just when I've been trying to wean, trying to get her to sleep better, and working with her on all of that, she's been running fevers this week. After a tempestuous 2 hour doctor visit it's looking like a UTI for Venice. So antibiotics it is, hopefully that helps her out. 

Logan, my man, passed out of SPEECH!!!!!! YAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!! So very proud of him. It's been 7 years, finally he can be so proud of himself for years of hard work. 

Sylvie is deciding to have her annual spring anxiety attacks. I have been working with the school psychiatrist and I have an appointment with her regular doctor to hopefully get a referral for some help for her. She needs it at this point. Tummy aches, school refusal, the works. It's not easy on any of us, especially her! 

We had a wonderful trip to Ann Arbor to see Joe and Emily's house and while it would have been nice to go further, it was okay that we didn't. It's been an extremely cold winter and even the warm places were not great in the weather department. We got a chance to see a show, which is where this photo is from. 

Thoughts

I work in a pretty urban area right now. Today I saw something that disturbed me and made me sad. A man who looked like my Dad about my dad's age, walked over to a guy who looked maybe 24 and gave him some money. That guy turned around and was yelling and fighting with the group of people he was with. I can tell exactly what happened. The guy went into Potbelly's and asked at every table if anyone had $ for lunch saying he was hungry. He does it all the time. He's one of a few and it's very unsettling to me personally if I see it. I hate for people to interrupt my personal space, put me on edge, and I hate worrying that someone is in need. And yet, I cannot hand over $. I just can't. This guy gives his every single day to begging. Every day I go into work, he stands on the corner and begs for cash and gives you flack if you don't give it to him. Why can't he work? Is he homeless? I wish I was brave enough to ask but he's very in-your-face and I don't feel brave enough to ask. And I feel guilty as a Catholic not giving to someone in need as well.

So anyway, back to my looks-like-my-dad guy, walking with his wife across the street. After he handed over his cash, that guy was causing a ruckus and looking like a fight was going to happen. It's spring break and there are kids everywhere. The gentleman who gave his money started getting mad at the guy's reaction. I mean, he went in begging for $ for food and he barely acknowledges the guy for giving him money and then starts causing issues right then. He got mad, started shaking his head and turned around in the intersection to go give Mr. Beggar Guy a piece of his mind. His wife grabbed him and said "don't you dare. You could get stabbed."

I couldn't get it out of my head. My dad's generation, born in the 50's- they learned to work hard. They had nothing handed to them but milk and cookies. All material things were minimal, with hard work for laundry, hard work for school (maybe even nuns!), hard work for college because it wasn't something everyone got to do or afford. My dad worked multiple jobs to afford college. They had a hard work ethic and I'm sure that guy handing his money over felt like that was a sacrifice on his part to hand over $20 or so.

And there was no thank you from this guy who felt entitled or bored or annoyed or drunk or drugged up or whatever. He had no reaction but to go back to disturbing the peace.

It hurts my heart that some do not give but take take take take take. And feel entitled for more. And others give and hope the recipient will do good things with it but apparently is a user. User of people. User of substances. Who knows. But today.... it made me sad.

Sibling Love by Logan

Yesterday we had an impromptu playdate when Logan's friend Hunter called for him on the phone. That in itself was cool, but when Hunter got here he was asking "So you have 2 baby sisters? That must be annoying." By the middle of the playdate Hunter was also playing with Logan and Monkey in the middle was a blast with all of us.

That night Logan was talking about the money Hunter had, $8000. Extremely impressive to Logan. And all the toys since he was an only child. You could tell it was on his mind. Meanwhile I spent the morning stressed by houehold things- trying to plan for a week of meals with 5 different people, trying to deal with having the house ready while I work at Crate and Barrel too much. And doing it all while keeping a 1 year old out of trouble and on little sleep because she doesn't ever sleep. Needless to say I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed by our 3 kids myself.

Today Logan comes over and says "Mom, I'm glad I am not an only child, you know why? Because Venice and Sylvie are great sisters." Oh this made my heart sing! Between that and the fact that "Carol of the Bells" was on Pandora and I was feeling sappy about gearing up for Christmas this weekend, I definitely shed some tears!!!!

Who they are....today

Age 11 months- I have been looking through old videos and reminiscing about our older kids when they were young. It goes so fast, and yet so slowly, at the same time. Today, my Venice is a sweet handful. We call her "Venice the Adorable Menace." She reminds me so very much of Sylvie when she was little- she catches on to everything. Nothing gets past her. She just this week (at 11 months) has started saying words with meanings. "No" for Logan, "Mo" for Elmo, "Ga" for blankey, "Ayoo" for balloon, "Uh-oh" for well, uh-oh! She is a fierce hugger and will give them freely. She can and will walk, but not when you request such a thing. The other day though when I took this photo she decided she wanted something down the way and was just going to walk over and get it! She loves music and waves her arms and makes sounds until you turn on every radio, musical toy and cell phone in the vicinity. She is good at opening jars, and gets REALLY mad if you catch her after she's gotten the lotion or chapstick right to her mouth and is so very excited, only for you to take it away! She also raids the kids backpacks if you leave them nearby, she can open zippers in a flash and starts throwing homework left and right. She isn't a storybook baby unless you catch her at the right time. She would prefer to play on the floor with you, having you do things to make her giggle. She likes tub-time and is a good baby in the sink, doesn't try to climb out. She understands "help mama, " and takes pride in handing me silverware from the dishwasher one at a time, or carrying the coffee maker parts and pressing buttons. She is still an avid nurser and despite the fact that I am now working at Crate and Barrel part-time, she refuses to drink milk while I am gone. She just drinks water and waits for my return. She is doing well with grandma-babysitters. And she is trying to sleep better at night. Sylvie wants to pick her up and carry her around all day, and the girls fight over toys already. Venice wants everything Sylvie touches. Logan likes to be silly and a bit rough with her, but she adores him for it. They are definitely turning into a trio of kids and starting to enjoy the same things together. What an amazing little person this Venice is to add to our lives! 

Age 9- My handsome Logan- 9 years old!!!!! I can hardly believe it. I heard on the radio that age 9 is one of the prime years of our lives. I hope my Logan has a great one. Halfway through the school year he has made good friends with everyone in his class, and still has a few "best friends", especially Nick, who we do playdates with and he loves to be with whenever he can. He is in Flying High Gymnastics and while I don't think coordination comes easily to him, he works hard and has moved up the ranks. He is very muscular and likes being at the gym. His favorite though are the school fundraisers when he can use the giant inflatables with his school friends. He is learning a lot in Religious Ed. and is matter-of-fact about all thing spiritual. He still cooks on Mondays at the Rebozo and is starting to try new things. He really understands our life, our home and our routine. He's a rules guy and will wake up at 6:30 even on the weekends. He prefers his iPad over video games, unless Daddy is there to help, then Skylanders battles ensue! Homework isn't a battle, but he does not get excited to do it. He likes to do the bare minimum on anything he's not thrilled about. But will spend hours working on something he loves. He's still a very sweet person and will say things like "Mom, I'm sorry you had to deal with that." He has a lot of empathy for people and animals, and will get upset about someone in pain. Our sweet lovable Logan, he sure enjoyed his birthday this year. Liked being the center of our universe and especially the gifts!!!! 

Age 6 1/2- Sylvie girl, our lovely lady in the middle and always the star of the show. She has settled into good behavior a lot of the time, but she still causes a stir as she dashes through life, spilling this, coloring through that, asking for this, begging for that. We call her our spunky girl. She's the most likely to yell out "boo-yah!" over something as simple as hot lunch. She is a fiercely loyal friend, if you're on her good side. And if you have a particularly rough afternoon, she'll write you an "I'm sorry" picture with you and her holding hands. She likes things to be just so, always notices if I vacuum, and cares about the specifics of weather, the earth, animals, the who what when where why of our world. She's a good listener in that she likes to have a conversation, but she may be on to the next topic and not really "hear" you. She is just catching on to reading and you will find her sounding out words all over the place, drawing letters over and over (still backwards sometimes), and making little books. She's learning to be more independent, and still has her creative streak. She is so much fun, so funny, and likes to jump in when things get crazy. Her ideal is loud music, with all of us dancing, going crazy. She asks for playdates on a daily basis and would love if there was a "Barbie hour" where I would sit and play with her every day. Clothing is her kryptonite and she never has enough. "Justice" is her store of choice. She does well with gymnastics and ballet and Religious Ed. Hardly ever says she doesn't feel like going. Lilia says ballet her "her time" where she pushes her own body to do it just so, it's not about friends, it's her own zen time. I love that and I'm so grateful for the opportunities these babies have had. Thank goodness for our Sylvie. Without her our family might be boring, and who would want that right? Love all three of you kids!!! Love, Mom

Palm Reading Questions

There is a little place with a psychic near where we ate lunch, and they had a sign "10 questions for $10" so I decided to give it a whirl. Here is what she said, it'll be interesting to see if it's true!

-Will I get a new job soon? ~ Yes, in 3 months
-Will it be in architecture? ~ Yes, strong yes on this one
-Will Jorge stay at his company? ~ Yes, it's a good place and he likes it there. He's due for a promotion soon.
-Will Sylvie be a ballerina? ~ For fun, but not as a career
-Will we stay at our house? ~ For now, a 5 year and 15 year decision.
-Will Jamie have another baby? ~ Yes, one more
-Will Mom and Dad move to Michigan? ~ Yes, they like it there

36

Jorge "Mommy is going to be 36 tomorrow." 
Logan "Well now she's on the wrong side of 30." Laughter. 
Me: "Logan, where did you hear that?" 
Logan." Mom, it's simple math. After 35 you round up." 
Thanks for aging me 4 years Logan. 
And when I'm 44, can you remind me to round down?

Explorer!

This little Venice is giving us a run for our money lately. Maybe all the kids were like this, but our house is so set up for older kids and adults it's been a challenge to say the least. She is 9 months, 1 week and getting into everything. She can pull herself up and down like a pro, cruise along furniture, use her pushcart or a random box to get herself from here to there. And her crawl is  still this fast little hermit-crab imitation. 

We spent the weekend a few weeks back making the back entry safe for babies so we could tie our shoes without pulling legos out of a baby mouth and she discovered the back door. She loves to hang out here and see the kids, trees, squirrels. Unfortunately, she also loves to mess with all the cords and outlets right next to the door, and manages to find half a crushed cheerio, dirt, and legos wherever she can. Sigh. 

She's such a good little explorer. She loves to take in everything, will help me push the button to start the coffee in the morning. She wants to imitate everything the kids do and will throw baby temper tantrums if she is pulled away from something exciting. 

I just gave her a little box with a few pieces of paper grass and she has been intrigued  right next to me the whole time I've been typing. She really figured the box out. Most everything makes its way to her mouth but she does take time to explore in other ways. 

Like Logan she still likes to drum on everything, banging with her arms straight in rhythm and making herself giggle. Like Logan is fascinated with all things outside- grass, squirrels, trees, shadows. A neighbors cat came for a visit and I had both girls outside for quite awhile playing with her. She follows the little dogs around at the grandma's houses, and always has to know where her siblings are. 

We have kept busy so far with the school days starting, including lots of biking. Yay! I love biking. She keeps falling asleep though so I am trying to time it not to ruin a real naptime with a catnap. She goes with the flow of dropping the kids off at school. Dinnertime is not easy, and homework is a 2 adult project because she is not having it that mom plays with the big kids. But so far we're doing okay. 

I keep waiting for her to decide to just take a step away from the couch. She's definitely steady enough and her legs are strong enough. She just has to get brave enough. Time will tell! 

Favorite Board Books

Having a third child makes you reminisce on the other 2 as babies!

This is Venice's favorite book by far. It's a touch and feel book and she adores the "grass" page especially. "Little Feet Love."

This was Logan's favorite book by far as a baby. It was a lift-the-flap book. He loved it! "Dear Zoo."

Sylvie likes Silly books. She got a kick out of "Five Silly Monkeys."

Mmm..... Turkey....

Venice has these pretty little curls. She gets lots of compliments on them and a lot of attention for them when we are out and about. Sometimes they are super curly, sometimes they are unruly. We went through a "curly mohawk" phase that was quite comical. I try not to feed into the attention too much when Sylvie is around because I know hair is her thing, and if everyone thinks curls are great, she's going to be jealous.

She has tried to comb them flat after a bath, but hasn't said too much about them. Today she got upset about her sister's curls. I was combing Sylvie's hair and telling her how lucky she is that she has such shiny hair. She said "I think Venice will have straight hair like me." I said "She might not, it might be curly or wavy. But your hair will probably be shinier." She got upset, saying she always wanted wavy or curly hair.   I told her everyone has things they love about themselves, and envy about others. And had a little "love thyself" conversation.

I said "For example, remember you have those long skinny legs that I always wanted."

She said "Yeah, let's hope Venice gets Turkey Legs instead."

For the Record, and an Interview....

Recently Logan has made some blanket statement on his beliefs. I've been pretty open telling the kids some people don't believe in some things we believe in.

Logan believes the world will "happen over again." Has mentioned it multiple times. Kinda not sure what that means- reincarnation on this same earth or end of the world and a new beginning.

Logan does not believe in Aliens or any other life on another planet. I was trying to describe Area 51 and such and he just dismissed it and said "it doesn't exist."

Logan and Sylvie believe there are multiple Bigfoot guys in multiple locations through the USA.

Logan does not believe in ghosts, Sylvie does.

Logan thinks the world will go on forever and ever, Sylvie believes there will be an ending.

Sylvie emphatically believes in angels, Logan is wishy-washy but says "yes."

Sylvie is going adopt '2 girl kids.' Logan does not think he will get married or adopt a kid.

Logan wants to work at Legoland when he grows up. Sylvie wants to do homeschool and be a teacher and teach kids.

She who shall be renamed

Driving in the car....
Sylvie "Mommy, I'm going to rename Pink Blankey."
"Her name is going to be 'Stephanie.'"
"And Green Blankey, she will be named 'Ed.'"

Oh wow these kids crack me up. Logan got a blue blanket that we have no idea who gave it to him so when he started asking we said "Paco gave it to you when you were a baby." he LOVES this blanket. And Sylvie, well, when I found out she was a girl, I went out and bought a pink version just for her. And Venice, she got a purple one.

So here are my kids Logan with Blue Blankey, Venice with Purple Blanket, and Sylvie with Stephanie!

Fortune Teller

We had a great day at the mall. We went bowling and Sylvie ate a lot of different foods she hadn't eaten yet. Sylvie was brave and decided to get her ears pierced! She's been wanting it for a long time and was feeling especially brave. I wanted to finish up things like getting the baby settled in case we needed to make a quick exit.

When I was 8 my mom and I got our ears pierced together. Mine hurt like a bee sting for 2 weeks! So I was worried for Sylvie but she did great. She was surprised and worried and it hurt, but after, it was like no big deal. She wanted to buy more earrings for when she can change them out, and we continued walking the mall for a bit.

So we had to go down one elevator, to a different corridor and up an other elevator by the bowling alley. We got to the second elevator and this teen girl was flipping out a bit about the elevator not coming and not wanting to take the escalator. Then she left and the elevator door opened and we were kind of giggling because here she had waited for the elevator and it was here and she was on the escalator.

So we're about to step into the elevator with the stroller and Sylvie freaks out "no no no I don't want to go in there, it's going to get stuck!" I thought she was actually upset that her ears hurt because her hands were by her ears. But we kind of just said "it's fine" and stepped into the elevator.

Sure enough, it got stuck! It got to the top and the door just started shaking instead of opening. UGH! So after pressing the door open button, we pressed the fire alarm and intercom buttons and talked to the lady telling her we're stuck. Over Sylvie's crying. She was so upset and saying "I knew it would get stuck, I knew it!" The teenagers at the top were trying to help us out by pressing buttons at the top and bottom to call the elevator and eventually it did decide to go down to the ground level. We took the escalator up and were getting our coats on shocked that Sylvie had predicted the elevator crisis.

Logan said "Sylvie, you're like a Fortune Teller. You knew it was going to happen!"

Pretty crazy huh?

First comes love, then comes marriage.....

Logan: "Mom, how old do you have to be to marry?"
Me: "Usually 18."
Logan: "I'm not going to get married."
Me: "You could marry a boy."
Logan: "I'm going to marry a boy."
Sylvie: "Do the boys have to kiss?"
Me and Logan: "Yes."
Sylvie: "Logan, will you kiss a boy."
Logan: "Yes, I will kiss the boy I will marry."

It's funny in this day and age I try to be a bit open with kids on various family types. Not all kids have a mom and dad. Some have a mom and a sperm donor, or live with family or are adopted. Some have two moms or two dads. I tell the kids all babies come from a woman's belly, but some kids are adopted. Sylvie has decided she would like to adopt a kid. Not a baby. A girl kid. Like 5 years old. She freaked out at the damage done to my poor belly while pregnant.

I do spare telling them a few things. Like explaining that there has been a man who was pregnant. And a dad who breastfed. In the news today. It's like telling them some babies are born with 2 heads. Yes that can happen, but the chances of them running into that in the next 5 years or so, is so minimal it's definitely not worth saying "yes" to that question if they ask.

Imagination Station

With my high-energy, high-imagination Sylvie we have found a niche that makes her so happy. She discovered the Bigfoot series on tv and fell in love with it, obsessed over it. And then there was Infested, which is also scary, reality tv of sorts, and there is the creepy factor of course! Now we just watched "Mermaids" on Animal Planet. The show was long and drawn out but we were watching on the computer so I was able to fast forward to the good stuff. However, there was a lot of info about scientific evidence, exploring and hypothesizing, and it was great to introduce her to something "real." I think the scary factor, plus the "inquiring minds want to know" factor satisfy her inner inquisitiveness and love of a thrill.

It's so fun when we find something so fun to keep this lady interested and occupied. And while these shows are not quite "kid appropriate", watched with an adult and skimmed through they have been fun.

Unfortunately this also leads to some of the issues we've been having lately. Since our trip, Sylvie has been going through some eating issues. After time and some visits to doctors, the conclusion is that this is a psychological issue. I'm shocked and I'm not. She's a strong-minded lady and is capable of so much. The specialist thinks her fear of eating started with a choking incident and was spurred on by the anxiety involved in us leaving for our trip, a return to school after spring break, and the day to day anxiety of a new baby and friend issues. So this has all led to my little lady who refuses to swallow anything solid.

The plan of attack right now is to keep her happy and anxiety free of course, but to gently encourage her towards solids and not turn it into a battle of wills. She's compensating with plenty of Pediasure and milk. But it makes me sad that her mind is capable of not eating. So far we haven't involved any real experts but I suppose that will come in due time.

Sweet Sylvie. You sure keep us on our toes. In a brilliantly awesome way.

Baby Phases

There are a few things that Venice did that I completely forgot about until she did it! Or that I don't want to forget

-The Stretchy phase. Where you lay them down on the changing table and they stretch for a good 5 minutes before you can change their diaper. So sweet.

-The giggler. She's a pretty quiet little person and it take a bit of work to get her laughing. But sometimes, you catch her just the right way. The first big giggle came from when Logan was in the living room twirling a crinkly metallic ribbon on a stick. We caught that one on video!

Another one that sticks out in my mind was a particularly annoying morning where I had a doctor appointment and Sylvie and I were just done with the hospital but Venice needed to eat. I sat down to feed her and the lady chased us away to a "mother's room" which turned out the be a blood-letting chair in a dark cold room, not so much fun. I was annoyed and ready to just get home with a sour face and Venice was propped on my shoulder. Sylvie did a little tap dance when we got out of the elevator and the baby started giggling and giggling. It was so nice. And she kept laughing right through the lobby I had been chased out of. All the families waiting for their patients had big smiles on their faces and some lady waiting for her ride with an eye patch was just thrilled to have this bit of joy in her day. So next time someone tries to shoo us out of a public place, I'll just say "no thanks" because babies are joy.

Infested

After watching episodes of Infested with Sylvie, when there was a lot of scratching at the window last night, I woke Jorge up to go check aka 'close the window'. I knew it was rain, but couldn't handle the possibility that it was bats, ants, rats, or other such nastiness. Sylvie's gonna love horror movies someday- she loves to be scared!

Amsterdam- Anne Frank House

This tour deserves its own post. I will forever hold with me the feelings I had visiting this monument to the survivors and dead from the Holocaust. I know there are others more knowledgeable and I could do more research but I will write what I felt visiting this place. The museum itself was well-done architecturally and as an experience. They were orderly and helped us move along unpacking ourselves downstairs, and chaining the stroller in a specified location. I wore the baby in her carrier through the tour. The entry is a new piece of the building but the tour (self-guided) goes through the original house where Anne and her family and friends were hiding.

The steep staircases got steeper and steeper as you ascended and the rooms got smaller and darker, especially with the blackout curtains. They had voice-overs, movies and mementos of the time period. You really got a sense of the nervousness that Anne had coming into hiding and the sheer terror by the end. They lived in the building where her father had a business and by the end he could not even eat for the nervousness. Her employees were in on the secrecy though someone tattled at the end and there was a raid that ended everything.

They interviewed a friend of hers who did survive the camps. She was in a slightly better camp because of her citizenship status and had gotten word that her friend Anne from preschool was over the fence. This friend had received little packages from First Aid, and when she told the people in her camp she was putting together a package for her friend, they all gave what they could. She hoisted the package over the fence to Anne, but another woman caught the package and ran. I cannot imagine the generosity and the horrible nature that people had in the face of death. This would be when I started crying. Feeling the rooms and how small they were and hearing Anne's words on how desperately she wanted to go outside and experience the seasons knowing there were children allowed to be outside hurt in a deep way.

It felt good to decompress in the cafe after that experience, and watch normal life carrying on outside the windows. Venice was particularly interested in the street sweepers. What had looked a bit dingy suddenly looked clean and pretty outside. I am so glad I was able to visit this memorial to Anne and get a sense of what horrible things people are capable of when they allow hatred in their hearts. I hope someday to show my children what happened with the Holocaust in my own words, with the books we brought back and teach them acceptance and love. Coming into Amsterdam I, as a Catholic white kid who grew up in the sheltered suburbs, was a bit put off by the prostitution and drugs that were allowed. But seeing it in a different light, I understood. Through the visit to the Anne Frank house and some articles I read in the magazines there, I saw the government overlooking these things as more of an idea of acceptance and openness rather than condoning them.

I will always have a special place in my heart for Holland, for Amsterdam, for all things Dutch. It's a beautiful, intense place to visit, and I loved every moment of it. Coming back home took awhile to get back to reality, to want to re-join daily life. Experiences can change us and help us grow. I hope this helps shape who I am and who I want to be. Thank you Jorge for being brave enough to dream big. No, dream huge. And grab life by the reigns and jump on this wild ride. Thank you Mom, Dad, Lilia, Paco, Josemanuel and Reena for taking care of 2 pieces of my heart at home so we could go experience this great wide world and we could know they would be safe and loved.