A Funny Conversation II...

O.K. so you want to know how I got out of my bathroom predicament? {you can read about the situationhere)

It' wasn't as funny as being in the predicament but here goes...
I screamed loud enough to get my daughter off the computer and to the bathroom door. I asked her to take the knob outside and see if she could hand it up to my hand reaching out from the screen. {Screens are a luxury here in Costa Rica} This would have all worked smoothly except {for those meddling kids!}

1. Aiden was refusing to hand Paige the knob, "I can help you mom! I can do it!" Love those helpful 3 year olds.
2. Paige couldn't reach my hand.

How I fixed this situation
1. Bribed Aiden with a cookie. {or two}
2. Had Paige climb on top of a table to hand me the knob.

Ta Dah! I'm out!

Costa Rican Fruit...

Lesson number 2. The Passion Fruit, or granadilla {grah-na-dee-ya) here in Costa Rica.

Road Trip...

We live just under a mile from the beach, straight down our street. We could walk there but the sidewalk is hit and miss. Sometimes the cars miss it and sometimes they don’t. So we used the “little blue freedom”.
I might mention things that we have given up to be here. But don’t you think the trade in was worth it?

This is the view to the left.


Straight ahead.



And what we see when we look right.
I have circled the huge condo we stayed in the last time we ventured into this gorgeous country. It was a delicious treat, but really, you’re not in Costa Rica when you are there. You are in a gorgeous condo. I like being in Costa Rica.

Aiden studying the rainforest around us.


This is what we bring to the beach now. "Pure Life". No more hauling tons of toys and junk to the ocean. We brought these, 2 cups and 2 spoons. It's been a benefit to see the kid's imaginations grow more when they have less. Interesting how that works.

Sesame Street in Spanish...

Did you know you can download Spanish episodes of Sesame Street @ Itunes for FREE!!! This is so exciting! Go to Itunes, TV shows and then do a search “sesame street”. I imagine that the English version is free also, I’m not sure though. I’m so pleased!

I had to post this youtube video. This guy is amazing, and it correlates to the post because, yep, that’s the Sesame Street theme song. Am I good or what?

I Thought it would be fun to show you...

Some of my finds during my grocery store "adventure" today. First of all I'd like to introduce you to "little blue freedom". This is my SIL's golf cart that just became available to me. Whooo hooo! I have been concerned about putting my little guys on this thing to go out into the CR world of "crazy" drivers, scary bridges and craterous potholes. I had enough yesterday and decided to venture to the grocery store. We all survived.

I thought you might find it interesting to go through my grocery bags:



This is the butter I get here. Each stick is 1/2 cup and costs 490 colones {$1.00} So for those of you who aren't math geniuses {i.e. don't have children in 6th grade or higher} I have to pay $2.00 for a cup of butter. The butter is sold like this. It looks like they just took it out of it's regular packaging and set it on the shelf.
Mantequilla means butter.



It's been a challenge for me here to get a good brown sugar. Look at the first picture. The brown sugar is really just white sugar tinted dark brown. It doesn't compact like our beautiful brown sugar from the states and it sure doesn't taste like it. I made a batch of cookies using this and they were horrible. Every once in awhile when a batch doesn't make it, you haven't lost everything because you can still devour the cookie dough. Well not this batch! I even had to unwrap 50 Hershey's Kisses and then chop them up to use as the chips. {See how creative you have to be here?!?!} What a loss this was.



So the good news, I found this! Beautiful brown compactable sugar. It's not the same as our Costco C&H pure cane sugar, but I'm in love. My cookies are beautiful and I'm a happy domestic goddess.




This is the juice we buy here. It's boxed like this and I am quite pleased with the packaging. It pours easily and the expiration date is forever and a day away. The juice {jugo} is so sweet here, that I can get away with pouring water in to dilute it. More money saved. Did I mention that most milk is sold in this container. This is the best for short term food storage.




Aren't these the cutest little things? It's zuccini but about the size of my finger {If I had slammed it in my car door, the car that I don't have here in CR and have to drive a golf cart and worry about my babies falling out and drowning in the huge pot holes that are filled with water because we just had a monsoon! Sorry.}. They also have baby carrots the same size. How do they coordinate that? Do they grow them side by side so they can pull them out at the same time?!?! Hummm.
These are my favorite thing. Paige is the only one who will attempt to eat them with me. Oh and Wes, if the other kids are watching.




Today I picked up Honey Nut Cherrios. So good. You get the sweetness, but don't have that mommy guilt that attaches to the boxes of Lucky Charms. This small box cost $4.25. Not too bad.



Did you know that most homes here do not have hot water? The water here is supposed to be good enough to drink. We've had it many times and haven't been sick. But beecause of the lack of hot water everyone buys this brand of dishsoap. It kills bacteria better than the regualar soap from the states. You can think of it as handsanitizer for your dishes. MaryAnn, should I send you some??? {She always has hand sanitizer with her!! Always!!!



These are my newly found snack. They are platanos fried. Platanos are like bananas except they are hard. They are fried and can be used as desserts or in main dishes. I don't like them any way but as a chip. Yum.





And for my newest addition to our big family, I have Henry our microwave. Isn't he beautiful? He is to me. Not having a dishwasher, I'm good. But how do you live without a Henry? When I use him I break out in "...you are so beautiful... to me."

So that is about it. I've had to improvise on many items that I'm used to buying in the states {and with a coupon!}. I need buttermilk for Dallin's {no wheat diet} bread. They don't have it here, so I found something in a baggy that was yellow and thick like sour cream. I water it down with milk and their you have it. It works. I love that part of living here, I truly do.

So next time you are out getting your groceries {with coupons} grab a bag of sugar snap peas {my favorite and I will never see them here} and think of me. Or don't! :)

Paradigm Shift...

In an attempt to tell you where I was the other night, I’d like to start with this.
Stay with me, it might take me a few posts to do so.

From Wikipedia
The term "paradigm shift": a radical change in personal beliefs, complex systems or organizations, replacing the former way of thinking or organizing with a radically different way of thinking or organizing.

This is the “buzz phrase” that has made it’s way around town and back these past 10 years. Lately I have been pondering the “big” learning moments in my 30+ year existence. (I won’t tell you how many pluses belong there!)
These moments all fit inside the paradigm shift category. I believed one way, strongly, until I was shown the light.

I’ll briefly describe one “learning” Shift.

Our oldest was only 10 months old and he had been teething, cranky and was cranking out the dirty diapers with amazing speed. My husband and I were even surprised to find out he could easily scale the walls of his crib and get out of his room. My little guy still wasn’t sleeping through the night and things were stressful. There isn’t a mom out there that can’t see how deprivation of sleep could be a source of torture. During this, one afternoon after naps I turned the knob to his room and I will never forget what I saw. His little body was inside his crib, but his head was outside. His neck was caught between the sliding rail and the headboard of his bed and he was slowly strangling. His eyes were swollen shut, he was barely breathing and his lips were blue.

I won’t say more here other than after we got to the hospital and I was able to leave my husband with him to have a breather in the bathroom I had my “paradigm shift”. No longer was the crankiness, dirty diapers or sleepless nights an issue. I wanted my little one back. Like the icons on an iphone, my mind had instantly rearranged my priorities. My finger had dragged, stinky diapers, crankiness, no sleep and the talk I needed to give at church the next week to the insignificant area of concerns within an instant. The icon of a healthy baby to raise became large and the only thing on my screen. In fact I will share one part of my prayer to my Father in Heaven; “please let me change more of his dirty diapers, please!” What before was becoming a chore, now I saw as a blessing. I was pleading with all my strength to have that opportunity again.

I am pleased to say that this sweet baby is now a thriving 11 year old. I’m not the perfect mom, he will tell you that I’m sure. And I’m not suggesting that after that things weren’t tough. But I will tell you that with my “learning shift” difficult situations were easier to handle with my “icons” in order.


{and no, I don’t have an iphone}

Costa Rica Rain...

Here I go again with the !!RAIN!! comments. No this time I will just show you! It's been raining for 3 days, with barely a break in between fronts. I thought this was how rainy season is, but alas, it's not. We are having a monsoon. Whew, that's all it is.

WHAT!!!

It's just a little one. So I can't wait to get back to our normal rainy season, sunny until about 4, then beautiful big rain clouds, thunder and lightning. Yummy. The best of both worlds. Did I mention the average rain fall here is 160 inches. We got 2.5 inches in 30 minutes the other day. O.K. enough rambling. Enjoy the show!

A Funny Conversation...

My Little Guy: {on the bedroom side of the door} “Mom, when are you coming out?”
Me: {on the shower side of the door} In a few minutes, I’m almost done.”
My Little Guy: “Mom, can I come in?”
Me: “O.K., I’m coming out. {wrapped in a towel} Oh, the door knob is off. Let me get it and I’ll be out.”
My Little Guy: I’ll get the handle for you mom. Here it is!”
Me: “You have the handle?”
My Little Guy: “Yep, [enthusiastically} I got it for you mom!
Me: thinking, “dang it!” Or did I say that out loud? I’m not sure. “Thanks sweetheart!”
I look out the small window, I could probably climb out that but I only have a towel. Oh and there is the gardener, he wouldn’t appreciate the view! Let’s see how do you say, “I’m naked, locked in the bathroom and my 3 year old has the doorknob, can you help me?” I haven’t learned this one yet. Why don’t they have Spanish for stay at home moms?