House Divided.

The night before the big game (USA vs. Brasil) Rafi and Andres made their famous ceviche again, this time using our home grown ají chumbo peppers and onions. Twelve hours later some friends arrived to partake. It was very tasty. They did a great job. The house was divided - some (like Rafi) rooting for their favorite soccer team (Brazil) while the rest of us (including myself) rooted for the good old US of A. We had such a good start, but sadly (or happily if you were sitting on the other side of the room) Brazil came back to win 3-2.

After the game the guys played a rematch on FIFA. And once again Brazil came out on top. Seems they are the better team whether it be on tv or through the PS3. Mateo wanted to play, too, though his controller eventually turned into a camera. ;)

Mateo didn't nap, which was my fault. I meant to put him down early so the crib would be available for Baby Connor later on, but he was having so much fun that I decided we'd push through the day. And this was the result. I should add that he fell asleep while Rafi, Andres, and I were loudly playing Rock Band 2. He actually fell asleep with the cracker hanging out of his mouth, but it broke off while Rafi was getting the camera. I carried the sleepy boy up the stairs to put him to bed, but as soon as I laid him down he sprung awake and asked for his cracker. So cute!

Fire.

This weekend there was a fire, actually three of them, near and on my parents' property. Thankfully the really big fire (seen in the smoke photos) moved away from them, but their front gate area was burned in a smaller fire. The pipe fencing was filled in with cedar stays, but most of them are gone now. Mom said that neighbors kept the fire from spreading, and the fire department put out out the blaze. My father and others stayed around to put out flare-ups. The big fire was so large that multiple fire departments came to put out the conflagration (always wanted to use that SAT word!). Rumor has it that the fires were started by a truck that was on fire and pulled over somewhere, but I don't think there's an official ruling yet.

Below are photos of smoke from the large fire at noon and then again later that evening. My mom took them from their backyard.

This is the front of my parents' property. I wonder if their solar gate is working now?

And this is my dad in his 15 minutes of fame. He was on the front page of the Stephenville Empire Tribune that Sunday.

Mateo Update

Hmm... when was the last time I did a Mateo update? I'm not sure, so I'll do one now. I'll start with the photos of us from Chucky Cheese last night. It was his first time, and he loved it.

Mateo is now 29 months old, so almost 2.5 years. He's 35 inches tall. Loves to jump, run and kick soccer balls. He knows all of his letters, upper and lower case, and the sounds that they make. He can count to 9 on occasion, though not very routinely, in both English and Spanish. Some things he says decidedly in Spanish (si, agua, te quiero) but mostly he speaks in English. We are having difficulty finding good Spanish language materials aside from books, and of course Rafi speaks to him in Spanish, but it's hard to overcome all the English he hears from me during the day. I do speak Spanish to him sometimes, but little kid Spanish is more difficult for me, as my Spanish is more academic (hello, sex ed in Spanish anyone? haha). Still I read him books every day in both English and Spanish. Speaking of reading, he can recognize his name and the word ball. He will put his beloved magnetic alphabet (thanks again, Pagan family!!) together to "build words", and though they are nonsense "words" he will still sound out the letters all together. I'm trying to build on this concept so he will learn to love reading like I do.

He's still not completely loving his 3 hours of school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Some days go okay and others do not. It really makes me sad that he makes frowny faces when we pull into the parking lot. But when I pick him up he's always so happy and excited to tell me what he did that day. His classmates always shout "HI, MATEOOOO!!" when he walks in the door and "BYE, MATEOOOO!!" when he leaves. He says "Bye, Friends!" back to them. Very cute.

Let's see, what else. As mentioned earlier he still is in love with his alphabet letter set. He has a basket for them and takes them everywhere... even grocery shopping on occasion. He loves "caves" (tents). He talks about how things are dark if the light is off in a room. He loves to point out mailboxes if we drive by one. Recently he likes to point to himself and say "dat's me!" to you or to a mirror. He also sings a lot, though most people probably wish for him to not. I think band might be in our future instead of choir. But of course to me it's like an angel singing. Well, no, not really. ;)

He has typical toddler eating habits - eats one day and not at all the next. What concerns me is that the child doesn't like pasta. How can this be, I ask!! I still give it to him frequently in hopes he'll change his mind. After all, what quality of life can one have without macaroni and cheese?

Tita's Pasta Primavera

Rafi's mom sent me this really great recipe. I made it last night and will definitely be making it again. First I'll post her recipe then I'll comment on how I made a few changes.

Tita's Pasta Primavera

1 cup of whole milk
6 Tbs of margarine 250 grams of spaguettini uncooked 4 cups of brocolli
2 peppers (green, red of yellow) cut in big pieces
2 cups of frozen petit pois (cooked)
2 tsp of ground basil 2 garlics (cut in small pieces)
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp of salt 1/8 tsp of black pepper

In a pan, pour 3 cups of water, the milk and the margarine.
Add the spaguettini and let them boil for 5 minutes.
Stir every once in a while.
Add the brocolli, green pepper, petit pois, garlic and basil and cook in medium heat for 8 minutes until the brocolli is done.
Sprinkle the cheese, salt and black pepper.
Serve immediately.

I didn't have broccoli or peppers, so I replaced all the vegetables with 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables and 1 cup of peas. I also wanted to add some protein to the dish, so I cooked up some chopped venison summer sausage and added that. It was delish! Next time I might add some parsley to top it off.

Happy Birthday, Tina!

Tina's birthday is today. Happy birthday, girlie!!

Ceviche.

Rafi and Andrés made ceviche this weekend. They made it with tilapia and one of our homegrown ají chumbo peppers, which proved to be so hot the guys had to pick it out later. I had some, too - quite tasty!

Sweating in San Antonio.

We sure know how to time a vacation! We picked the hottest week of the year so far to spend some time in San Antonio for a mini vacation. It was 101 and 102 every day we were there. Even still, we managed to have a great time at Fiesta Texas (where we rode every kiddie ride that Mateo qualified for and not one big person ride... which made us want to weep). The water park gave sweet relief at the end of the day. Mat really didn't want to leave.

We also spent time on the River Walk (which we found not to be too stroller friendly), took the boat tour (extra fun when your two year old sings "la la la LAAAA!!!" really loud during the end), and ate at the Rainforest Cafe (also fun when you have to face said two year old towards the wall for a time out). However, Mat enjoyed the "thunder storms" they have there every half hour and scored some neat loot - flashing drink glass, huge rubber snake, and a little lizard.

Attending the Texas Folklife Festival is what we enjoyed best, likely due to it being in the evening when it had cooled down to 96 degrees. The Lebanese, belly, samba, flatfoot, and Aztec dance demonstrations were really fun. We would like to make attending this three-day festival an annual event because it really does have so much to offer. Despite not being interested in the countless types of foods available, Mateo chugged lemonade like it was the best thing on Earth, so we didn't have to worry too much about keeping him hydrated.

Oh, and we spied a Lebanese Mr. Bean. We tried to get a better photo, but this was the best we got.

Since we left earlier than was planned on Saturday to go home, we thought we'd drop by and shop the San Marcos outlet mall. There is where I confirmed that a strange thing is happening to me - I don't enjoy shopping anymore. We walked through Crate and Barrel and Calphalon (purchasing a grill pan, pumpkin carving set, salt and pepper grinders, and mandolin slicer), and when we tried to decide what to shop for next we realized we'd rather just go home. Didn't seem to make any sense to purchase things we didn't need or necessarily want. So home we went.

The trip was made all the better because of our new car. Having OnStar to send directions to our navigation device saved a lot of "map stress." We didn't have to research anything really. We just called, told them where we wanted to go, and then it was right there in our car telling and showing us where to turn and when. Very nice. Also the DVD players in back made the ride much more enjoyable for Mateo... and us parents, too!

Luigi.

Mat was painting today when I picked him up from school. My little Luigi!

Pecan Pie Mini Cupcakes

1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients and mix well.
Spray a miniature muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
Fill each 3/4 full.
Bake in preheated oven for approx. 18 minutes.

I used this recipe but also added about 1/4 cup white sugar (probably a little less) and grated some fresh nutmeg, too. Next time I think I'll drop the white sugar (which I added because on the website someone mentioned it wasn't sweet enough), but the nutmeg is a keeper. I also think I'll add close to double the pecans, but then again I really like 'em! Coffee lovers will likely love this recipe.

Back from Stephenville.

So last week Mateo and I were in Stephenville house sitting for my parents. They were in Fort Worth while my dad had surgery for his prostate cancer. (Everything went well.) Mateo and I kept barely any schedule at all - sleeping and eating whenever our hearts desired. Mat was definitely spoiled with having a tv in our bedroom, something we don't allow at home. It was a nice break actually, as I'm usually pretty schedule driven, as most of you already know. I especially enjoyed having my friend from high school JoBob and his wife Caris (also a friend, not just the wife) over one evening.

We returned home in time for the weekend, during which we didn't work ourselves too hard. Rafi worked on the sprinkler system (he's been tweaking it lately), and I barely worked in the garden. Gosh it's so hot lately! And summer has only just begun.

We did managed to take our amassed recycled goods to Texas Ecology Action downtown. It's really easy and quick, so if you live in the area - even the surrounding ones - it's totally worth the once a month (or less) trip to recycle your goods. And if you don't live near Austin, find out what's available to you in your area!