ES Pics - Por Fin!

Blame it on Christmas, El Salvador and the iPad

It has been over a month since I have updated here - definitely my longest stretch to date. I have no good excuses but my lame excuses are that I had too much to do for Christmas, I was in El Salvador for 2 weeks and I have been playing with my new iPad non-stop. (I know I can blog on my iPad but my typing skills are already horrible and only get worse when using the iPad.)

I have so much to write about that I'm not sure where to begin. It was Matteo's first Christmas. It was the first Christmas where the twins understood that they had gifts and knew to unwrap them. Hopefully next year they will know not to unwrap other people's gifts. We began 2 new Christmas traditions: Christmas pajamas (on Christmas Eve) and Christmas croissants baked by yours truly. It was my first time making croissants (used the bread machine to make the dough) and they came out OK: A- for taste, C for looks.

Three days after Christmas, we got on a plane (and then another) to head to El Salvador. I was really anxious leading up to this trip - I am pretty comfortable being outnumbered by my kids when I'm at home or out and about in familiar places but running through airports to make connections, not so much. In the end, the trip was fine. Sebastian and Collette were great, mostly thanks to copious amounts of snacks and the potable DVD players. Matteo did well but didn't nap as much as I would have liked. He did poop though, which may not seem weird but he only poops once a week. And he saved it for the plane. And then he did same thing on the way home. Figures.

Being in El Salvador was great. Billy has all the pictures on his iPhone and we haven't been home long enough to upload them all to my computer but I'll be sharing them soon enough. With so many adult hand around, it truly was a vacation. Next year will be even better since I won't be nursing a baby every two hours. The beach was so much more fun now that the twins are a year older. Last year they didn't even know how to play in the sand. This time, they could have done it for hours! The ocean was a bit overwhelming for them, even though it didn't have waves, but it's just as well. One less thing to worry about.

And now, we're back home, covered in 2 new feet of snow. Leading up to Christmas and New Years I had been very exasperated with life. But our vacation did its job and feel renewed and energetic. Lord knows I need it!

Friday Foodie: Not-really-refried beans

Since I met Billy, I have been on the bean bandwagon. Make all the jokes you want but beans are easy to cook, taste great, can be eaten any time of day and, bonus, are very healthy! In El Salvador, like much of Latin America, beans are a staple food. Beans and rice together form a complete protein which is a great substitute for lots of people who cannot afford meat. So, down there, its normal for everyone to eat beans every day, sometimes at more than one meal. When I'm there, I have beans at every breakfast and sometimes at dinner, too. When in Rome...

Anyway, today's post is specifically about refried beans. This is one of the two ways they typically eat beans in ES, the other being a pan fried bean and rice combo called casamiento. I had never had refried beans before going to ES so I didn't know how to cook them myself. We tried to get the recipe when we were down there but things got lost in translation and I was not able to really understand the steps. Google to the rescue. I found this recipe on my favorite recipe site, Allrecipes, and its so easy even a caveman can do it. You should probably go get your crock pot out now. This will only take a second.

Not Really Refried Beans

Ingredients:

3 cups dried back or small red beans
1 onion, peeled and cut into quarters
4-6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 small jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
5 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
9 cups liquid - any combination of water, chicken stock or vegetable stock will do.

Put everything in the crock pot. Set to high for 8 hours but check periodically to make sure that you haven't run out of liquid. Add more if necessary. When 8 hours is up, pour away any remaining liquid on top and reserve. Mash beans with a potato masher or put in food processor for a smoother consistency. Use reserved liquid to achieve desired texture.

Here are some great uses for refried beans:

Grilled beans and cheese
Beans and eggs
Breakfast burritos
Rice, beans and veggie bowl
Mexican Pizza
Pupusas (see recipe next Friday!)
Bean and avocado quesadilla

Buen provecho!!

At least there's one thing we can do on the plane...

Our annual pilgrimage to the homeland (El Salvador) is fast approaching and as it does I am getting more and more concerned about how Billy and I will get through two flights (each way) outnumbered by people who still crap in their pants. Our best idea (other than drugging them, which is frowned upon despite its effectiveness) is to set each twin up with a portable DVD player and let them rot their brains for each flight. This plan will only work if they will wear headphones. So, the lovely and generous Mommy Esq. loaned us her pair. And here are the results:





Now I just need 10 hours worth of Elmo and Wiggles DVDs and we'll be all set!



PS - if you have other suggestions for airplane travel entertainment, I'm all ears. We have magna-doodles and tons of books. Coloring has been big lately, too, so we'll take some crayons along. Other ideas?

New Year's, El Salvador Style

First off, let me just confess: I did not make it until midnight on New Year's Eve. Sun and beach and two 13-month olds will wear you out, no doubt, and add to that all the energy my body is expending trying to sustain yet another life and I need me my eight hours of sleep!

But still, it was a very enjoyable New Year's. We got to the beach on the 29th and left on the 1st - a nice chunk of time to spend sans TV, computer or phones. The kids had a great time although they definitely preferred the kiddie pool to the Pacific.

We did lots of relaxing, naturally. And Billy tried to get the kids to join in, too, but they only have two speeds: full and off. However, he did manage to read them half a story in the hammock before they started wiggling around like little piglets.

The high lights of New Year's Eve were watching the sunset while we were in the ocean with the kids (last sunset of 2009!) and the food. That night, a cousin of our friends made a huge and delicious paella, with seafood that was mostly caught that morning from the town we were in. Here's a peak:

A lovely minivacation indeed. And to clarify from my last post (FavAuntie!), we will not go to El Salvador every Christmas - just every New Year's. And every other year, we will go for both. It's the best time to go because it's their "summer" - not because they are in the Southern Hemisphere (they aren't) but because they consider summer to be the dry season (although it's cooler) and the wet season is winter (although it's hotter). I don't try to make sense of it, I just go with flow. And enjoy the sunshine every day.

I'm Back, Biatch!

Yes, I'm back. Back to reality and freezing temperatures and a painful 1:2 adult:child ratio. 15 days in El Salvador truly spoiled all of us. After 2 days there, I was almost in tears at the thought of coming home - sorry Mom!! Life down there is just so much easier. No cooking or cleaning or laundry. All the beans and rice a pregnant girl could want. Beautiful weather. But when the 15 days were up, most of me was ready to come home. I missed Lola. I missed my family. I missed speaking 100% in English. And now that we are back, I realize it's not so bad. We all fell right back into our lovely routine as if we had never left and things just feel right.

I have so much to write about the trip and plenty of pictures to go with it. My new camera is great and I will be able to upload all my photos tonight when I install all the software. Without any pictures for this post, I will just share with some quick highlights/interesting things from our vacation:

• Collette learned to walk. I know I said she has been taking steps but by Christmas, she was walking full time. Sebastian is just now showing signs that he is ready, taking more steps by himself to get to his favorite toys.
• In Spanish, they have a special word for "to hold" when you are talking about holding a baby/person. I think it's because they do it so often. Seriously, it's amazing Collette learned to walk considering how much time she spent in someone's arms.
• I found out that kids in El Salvador start preschool (they call it "kinder") at about 18 months old, some even younger! And its 5 days a week, 8-12!! I won't even tell you how little it costs. Lucky bastards.
• In El Salvador, it seems that they don't know what ear infections are. I was quite worried Collette had an ear infection because she had a very bad runny nose, fever and was just so cranky - very unlike her. When I mentioned my hypothesis to Billy, he thought it was his fault because she dunked her head underwater in the bath while he was washing her. When I mentioned it to someone else, they looked at me strangely and asked when Collette had gone swimming. The only ear infection they are familiar with is "swimmers ear", not the inner ear infection I was referring to. Weird, right?
• The beach was a complete disaster. Well, the sand, anyway. How do people take their kids to the beach at this age? The sand-eating and sand-in-the-eyes caused a complete meltdown for poor Sebastian. Collette didn't seemed to mind as she just kept eating the sand, non-stop. She also eats dirt. Is it considered pica when it's a baby doing it?
• My kids are totally bilingual!! Well, you know, in receptive language. They're not talking just yet. But they understand so much in both languages, I was so amazed. I think it really helped to have so many people around them talking and interacting. Another reason I was scared to come home - they are all alone here.

All in all, we had a wonderful time and will probably go back at that time each year. Which means next year we will have 2 two-year olds and a 5 month old. Yikes!

We Made It!

After 13 hours, door to door, we finally made it to my in-laws home in San Salvador. That was on Friday so this post is obviously a bit late, but I´m on vacation so...oh well. Here is a quick overview of our travels, which went very well:

430am - snacks for the plane rides, times 2

520am - Checking in. I didn´t know it yet but Billy had upgraded us to first class for our Boston Miami flight. Merry Christmas indeed :) Also, I highly reccommend the GoGoKidz travelmate. It really amde getting through the airport a breeze.


600am - Chillin´in the first class lounge before boarding

700am - Sleepy but happy in first class

Our flight to Miami went well, although there were some storms so we were a bit delayed. But that didn´t matter too much because our flight from Miami to San Salvador was delayed an hour and a half. Then it was delayed another half hour because they were still loading bags. Thank goodness for Goldfish crackers.

300pm - Up from our naps and ready to play on the plane

430pm - Our final descent

We got home at 545pm (Boston time) to make our day a whopping 13 hours. The twins did great. They had tons of fun on the plane and were in good spirits the whole trip. Hopefully things will go just as smoothly on the way back.

El Salvador or Bust!

We are leaving in less than 20 hours for the airport to get on a flight to Miami, to then get on another flight to San Salvador. And, even though I started packing over the weekend, there is still so much to do. Mostly we are worried about how to keep the twins entertained and well fed on the flights. We get to the airport so early that I'm not sure any shops will be open to buy last minute snacks. And even if they were, I doubt we would have time. Also, our Miami layover is only 90 minutes so if we are late getting in, we won't have much time to stop and eat either. I guess I should ask if a mini-fridge is allowed as a carry-on.

But in all honesty, I'm very excited for our trip - definitely more excited than worried. Once you are on the plane, there is no turning back, no matter how bad it gets. So, if/when it does get bad, you just grin and bear it and think about how sweet it will be to have doting family and friends for two whole weeks. With 80 degree temperatures. And beach houses. And lake houses. And mountain houses. Have I mentioned that I love El Salvador?

Also, Billy got me a new camera for Christmas. Its a Nikon Coolpix and I think will be able to get some better shots of my ever-moving targets (Sebastian, Collette) than my Sony Cybershot. I will try and post as much as I can from El Salvador. Especially pictures of their insane birthday party and of Christmas. And of them in the swimming pool, because who doesn't like to see a baby in a pool?

So, I'm off to pack and pack some more and run errands and try not to pass out from exhaustion (thanks baby #3). Wish us luck!!

Birthday Party Planning: Take 1

More birthday stuff - lucky you!!

Billy and I decided that a nice, gender neutral theme for the twins' first birthday party would be bugs. I am no fan of bugs but I'll hold a lady bug or butterfly; they're OK. I won't kill an ant or caterpillar but I don't particularly like them. Anything beyond that - your centipede, cockroach, or (Heaven forbid!) spider - and I have to call in reinforcements (read: Billy). But, in a cartoony way, bugs are cute. And so a bug theme we have.

My MIL is throwing them an ENORMOUS party for when we visit El Salvador. Let's put it this way - it should be twice as big as my wedding. And she has found lots of cute bug themed things for the bash. A ladybug pinata (how do I do an n with ~ ?), plates and cups with cute bugs on them, bug balloons and other bug decorations. She even had someone design bug invitations:

Plus, she's getting a clown, a cotton candy machine, a popcorn machine, and if Billy has his way, a beer cart. Should be lots of fun for adults and children alike. And with about 150 people, I am just grateful that she is in charge and not me. Don't you just love doting grammies?? :)