The new Category Stories prompt is up and the theme is "Pampering Me." Of course this was a fun one because the theme lends so many fun possibilities. But truly, I feel like I'm pampering me when I just have some quiet time. I took this picture awhile ago in my house in Philadelphia. I had been reading a magazine, drinking tea one afternoon, the sun coming in through the big bay window when the girls were gone with Dave. I remember feeling really tranquil, really peaceful...Since I homeschool, I rarely have more than a few minutes where I'm ever alone. I love being with my daughters and spending so much time with them, don't get me wrong, but who doesn't like a little down time?
Journaling reads, "I love manicures, pedicures and massages, but sometimes the best pampering to oneself is time to sit alone quietly..." Come play along, there are fun prizes from Fiskers!
This past week was a good week. The girls finally made 4 new girlfriends after weeks of feeling rather lonely here. When it comes to kids, Mexico City is dead in the summers. Most children in our area go away for the summers to vacation homes, summer camps or in general are just gone. The girls had befriended a couple girls here in our apartment building, but they left for vacation in Acapulco. And honestly, the area we live in is pretty affluent, and with that comes a certain, ahem..."attitude." Finally through the Newcomer's Club (an organization for expats here in Mexico) we met 2 families, each with 2 girls around my daughters ages. I'm so happy for them because moving in general is hard (even while they are pros at it now...sad...) add the language barrier and it can make for hard times. But both sets of girls attend the small, private school down the street where we hope to get the girls into that's bilingual and is supposed to have a good curriculum. I am half heart-broken to think I won't be homeschooling them anymore, but homeschooling is not the norm here and I worry about them socially since it seems playdates and such are not common here. Moms are not as hands-on when it comes to arranging playdates I've noticed like Americans or other countries. If they cannot get into the school this year, I will happily homeschool one more year and try to get them into the same classes as other kids their ages (swim, tennis, art, dance, etc. at the club we belong to) and hope for the best.
In the mean time, we have been trying to keep ourselves busy... we spend a lot of time around here crafting...
the view from our office/craft room
playing Calico Critters...so addicting...
community garden...
welcome to the cafe...
waving bubbles around at Chapultepec Park (and watching the Veronica's shot a music video)
playing in the apartment's playground (or swimming)...here's the treehouse...
or learning to make traditional Mexican food, like REAL handmade tortillas from Areceli...
and trying to make bento box art...
This is a long one, so I'll sign off now and write more later...have a great weekend!
