Topics: Life

Dec 29

In which I attempt to catch up

Posted under All in the family, Around the house, Church, Clara and Libby, Life, School by MicheleP.

I keep thinking “Today I’m going to update the blog”… and then as I’m drifting off to sleep I realize my good intentions were just that. Instead of back-blogging, I’m going to give you the past month in laundry (at least some form of laundry is getting done) format (and for Mimi, some pics!)

My Birthday Week – this really deserves much more than a bullet – not just because it was my birthday week, but because my husband went totally and completely out of his way to make the ~~day~~ week special. I had 7 full days of birthday celebrations and presents complete with flowers, special meals, awesome gifts (hello new pink ipod) and even a Saturday morning all to myself with nothing but a box of Lucky Charms to keep me busy. It was: Blissful!

The girls had their Christmas program at school. Actually – it was much more than just a Christmas program. In addition to the standard Mary, Joseph, Angels & Baby Jesus we had many colorful butterflies as the little girls showcased their ballet “skills”. I guess it’s just easier and more economical to have the ballet recital alongside the Christmas program.

The girls also were in a Christmas program at church. However, no butterflies at this one.

We got to see Santa

Twice.

We hosted a visitor from Texas. He was by far the easiest guest we’ve had to date.

We had some special family times reading the Christmas story each night and making many yummy treats

The girls could hardly sleep the night before Christmas and were thrilled the next morning to find that Santa did indeed come to Puerto Rico!

And there you have it. Bring on 2009!!

Comments (12)

Dec 02

It’s birthday week – so how do I look?

Posted under Life by MicheleP.

Yesterday I got an early birthday present from Scott. Well, actually, it’s not early – as I’m a full believer in Birthday WEEK – why just celebrate one day?! Scott surprised me with a redesign of my blog. He took the header picture with a flower from our garden in our pool – pretty neat, no?

Now I’ve got all kinds of new fancy features to use – gosh, I love that man of mine

Comments (12)

Nov 26

Wordless Wednesday: Yard life

Posted under Around the house, Life by MicheleP.

[photopress:little_lizard.jpg,full,pp_empty]

[photopress:birdnest.jpg,full,pp_empty]

Comments (3)

Nov 25

Ants and other things

Posted under Around the house, Life, Puerto Rico by MicheleP.

There are a lot of things I like about living here – and a lot of things I ~~don’t like~~ haven’t gotten used to. There are things that I don’t understand…like why bananas cost more here than in Kansas, why they sell winter coats and boots, why there are no pay at the pump gas stations, and why you can’t find decaf coffee anywhere. All these things I can deal with – but the one thing that might just prove to the the straw that breaks my back?

The Ants.

Never in my life have I lived with a pest that is so incredibly persistANT (heh – I’m so punny, no?). These suckersÂ appear out of nowhere and are everywhere. One day, I openedÂ the microwave to find several in there. So I figured I’d just shut the door andÂ turn it on. A minute later, I opened it back up and guess what – the stinkers were still in there – and STILL alive. They love sugar – and it seems their favorite food item is granola bars. Problem is that my girls also love granola bars and cannot eat one without dropping something on the floor – which means within an hour of eating the granola bar, I’m gonna have a whole host of ants swarming that sticky piece of granola on the floor.

We’ve tried just about everything – and now swear by the best (and cheapest and non-toxic) remedy out there and I’m going to let you in on a little secret: White Vinegar.

Forget the expensive ant traps or chemical sprays or hundreds of dollars for an exterminator. Just find the trail and wipe it down with white vinegar. The ants will go crazy. They can’t stand the stuff and they can’t follow a trail that has been “blocked” by the vinegar. We have one spot in our house that the ants keep coming in – a hole under our (non functioning) air conditioner. So, we soaked a towel with vinegar and just stuck it up there – no, not the prettiest sight but it does seem to work.

Comments (6)

Nov 20

Clara’s turn

Posted under Around the house, Clara and Libby, Life, Puerto Rico, Sights & Sounds by MicheleP.

I posted a video of Libby a few days ago. We asked Clara to sing a Spanish song too but she wasn’t really interested. Instead, she sang about princesses. Imagine that?

If you listen carefully, you will hear a few things in the background…

1) Libby eating chips and 2) the sound of the coqui frogs. The frogs? Charming. The chip cruncher? Not so much.