Apologies

I know I said I would write often, I know I said a sorry at least four times since I started this blog and I know I said I'd write to maintain sanity... Well, I guess I thought going back to work wouldn't take up all my "free" time but it did.

Now I'm settle in my routine... I'm not much a person of changes, I don't do well with the "new" so it takes me quite some time to adjust. 

I have planned ahead as much as I could with JL, the renovations going on at our house and me teaching at this new school and to toddlers and young children now! (I always taught high school, never pre-k to 3!) But I still can't feel confident saying I'll come back twice a week, every week, not even twice a month... Although I can state for sure I'll come as often as I can.

Let me start by saying there is still A LOY of work to be done at our house! My husband is doing it all by himself and he is not the most organised and proactive person in the world, haha... Hard working, yeah, proactive, no! 
He already changed our bedroom and our closet, put up a new window at our bedroom and finished the backyard. There's still our garage and laundry room to be done and then painting and wallpaper throughout the house... (Insert panicking emoji now!)
We decided not to make our own headboard since we have a friend that cut us a pretty good deal for it, we are considering doing our own curtains however and I am anticipating a major freak out moment when it's time to buy and sew it all! 
We also sent our sofa to be cut to the perfect size for our new tv room and be upholstered by the same friend who's doing our headboard. 

Today I dropped JL off at my mother in law so I could take all our China, clean it and organise it at our new buffet (it soooo pretty!)... That was about four hours ago. I still haven't touched one single plate! Hahaha I got lazy, ate too many pieces of cremme brûlée cake (3, planning on eating another one just now!) and started to watch a new series on Netflix... 

Perhaps I'll start doing what I have to do after that fourth piece of cake... 

Eat, drink, enjoy... (And some essentials.)

Hi! 
I know it's been a long time since I wrote but boy, was I depressed... Well, not clinically but truly (haha) if ya know what I mean!
We ended up not traveling. 
The fares were extremely high and also my husband got called for a few job interviews and so did I (mind you, I wasn't even looking for a job!). 
As it happens I start work next week at a really good private school in town, very close to our house and my husband got a partner and is starting a new business... Talk about turn of events, right?!? Hahaha
So we postponed our travel plans until next July or maybe even December, we'll see how things go.
But yeah, apart from the apology and explanations I had to give you (not really HAD to, but wanted to!) I came today to write about what and how JL has been eating and drinking...

We started with regular food when he was about eleven months old. I know some start earlier but I was really nervous about the whole "our food/baby food" thing! (We introduced fruits at about six months old and then I started making his lunch - and later dinner as well - separately!)
By his first birthday JL showed absolutely no will to eat by himself, which kinda frustrated me. A week or two after that he started picking his food from the spoon we were feeding him and a few days later he started trying to mimic our movements.
Now he's almost 14 months and he almost had the whole spoon-mouth movement fully working, haha He gets anxious when it's something he adores (like Moroccan rice or scrambled eggs with broccoli!) and just goes for it with his hands, which I think is adorable and allow him to do and most days it takes at least fifteen minutes for me to clean it all up after he's finished, but it's all worth it and really enjoyable to watch! 

He also always loved water and is always looking for his bottle, that I swaped for those 'take and toss' cups with straw two months ago. I know it was early but he always saw us drinking from a straw and did it by himself as well so I gave it go with the cups and loved it! 
They are one of my favourite things and I actually just bought a new set (it comes in packs of four or more cups!) to leave at my mother in law and my Nana's house. We always take one when we go to restaurants because it almost never let my son make a mess - even when he turns it upside down!!! - and is really handy to have nearby for juices and water! We still use his Boon bottle for water in the car because the Take and Toss straw is totally removable so he kept taking it away and tossing it under the seat! 
For food I used those Munchkin bowls that come in massive packs and still do sometimes, but since the whole eating by myself thing started I realised we needed something that would stay put so I purchased three new bowls and will review them for y'all soon! 

I'm so sorry if this post got too long and if it might not make sense at some point, I had to stop and come back about three times because of JL and am now too tired to proof read it! Haha

If you have any questions fell free to comment and I'll get back to you! 
Oh, and I'll leave you with a photo I took of the things I bought today (new set of take and toss included!)! :)


One photo a week, week THREE


I guess I got overexcited and anxious about our trip which led to overeating (junk food), which ended up with me at the ER... Oh well... Super ice cold water for me and some meds, and that's all!
Hopefully I'll get better soon and the pain will leave my freaking body. 
I'm still terribly anxious and I just don't know how to cope with it... Any tips?!? (Help, please!)

One photo a week, week TWO


Week two (I'm a tad late, I know...) of this project. 
We are still avid looking for tickets to our eurotrip! It's insane how prices can go up 2k in a week... L got a job interview (this man can't stand still for a month!) and was between him and an older dude. He didn't get it! Bummer. It was the first time in a while that he had gotten really excited about work, I felt so bad for him. Not for the money (it was great money!), but for him, his hopes... Oh well, que sera, sera...
The weather in Brazil has being insane! Yesterday was about 36 Celsius! That's hot... Thankfully our neighbour invited us to her pool and so JL and I went, it was amazing. Boy, I want a pool! 

Hi! (and the ticket saga)

So remember when I said one of my goals for 2015 was to travel?!? Well, a few days ago we decided it was time. 
We are def really fast around here, haha.
Even though my Mr. L (that's my husband btw!) and I are both unemployed at the moment, we get by and have some savings, so, we decided to be adventurous and just grab life by the horns and go. :)
Easy said, haha... Finding a flight that suits our needs (time and money wise) has been a real nightmare! 
But I won't give up! And I'll come back soon to tell you all this story! Haha Just not today, it was an exhausting day and I just wanted to say hello.
So, hello, and goodbye.

One photo a week, week ONE.




You don't know it, yet, but a long time ago, when I found myself lost in the world and didn't want to go back to my B.A. In Australia, I decided I wanted to be a photographer... And so, I bought my first "pro" camera. (I still use it, cos, you know, to upgrade I'd have to pay a few thousands and I just can't be bothered spending money on a new camera that I really I don't need. Haha)
It was a Canon Rebel XTi and I loved it! (Still do.) I also enrolled at Senac and attended a photography course in São Paulo - and enjoyed a semester there taking my 'oh so heavy' cam everywhere I went! 
Every since I got an iPhone tho, I have not taken my Canon  out (or any other camera, I have a nice starter collection!) and that's fine, I love iPhone picture just as much as I love IG filters! Haha
I told you this just to tell ya how I will not post professional looking photos here, haha. Instead, I intend on posting a picture a week, of anything that catchs my eye (or heart)... 
So, let's start week ONE with a picture of JL having a picnic in the park with me <3 (because, I mean, who can resist?!?).

New Year, new goals.

First of Happy New Year! :)
2014 was an amazing AND very challenging year for us... We start off '15 with two new pets, a toddler, a half finished house and two stay at home parents. My husband left his job with the promise of a new one that didn't really happened in the end, so, instead of winning and going insane we decided to take a step back and enjoy being both at home. It is, most of the time, great... He got to witness our son's first steps and is over the moon. We do bicker sometimes, due to being so close together but overall we're happy.
As a couple we try to make all life plans together and this may seem easy to some of you, but let me share my experience: it can get really bad, and loud. That is, before you talk for real and make compromises. :)

For this new year we have two "family plans":
1. Find JL a good bilingual school 
2. Travel together

At home we speak mainly in Portuguese to each other and to JL but I only read books in English to him and try to talk at least one hour a day in English and Spanish. (Our tv - thought not much used - is set to English and iPhone and iPad apps are set both in English and Spanish.) These three languages are all (roughly) latin rooted and so I want my son to have something different to be introduced to him while he's alphabetized... In the city we are living at the moment there is a strong Japanese immigration so I was thinking Japanese maybe. Any thoughts?!? 
And we have never traveled (for real, like overseas and all) as a family, we've being together for almost four years now and we have only gone to the beach max. Haha I'm planning an European or NYC + DC trip, not sure yet which we'll choose or even if we'll actually get to travel but I'm really excited about it! Let's see. :)

Ok! Now for my plans:
1. Exercise! (I hate exercising and love cooking/eating, as a result I went from a size 10 to a size 14 in less than eight months, looking at my son's bday party I got worried. Since I won't stop eating not cooking, exercising is a must! Lol)
2. No shopping for at least three months. (I know many people are saying no to shopping at all but I'm realistic, and I know I will shop eventually so 3 outta 12 seems reasonable to me!)
3. No more sodas. (I don't want my son to drink it, and I have gone without it before - pregnancy also - so, why not?!?)
4. No more fried stuff. (French fries not included! Haha All the rest is!)
5. Cut back on sugar. (I'll still have my  cookies and my midnight ice cream, but with moderation!)
6. Enjoy my family. (I know that's basic BUT people tend to put a lot of pressure on how you should/must conduct yourself, your life, your everything... And 2014 was intense because of those pressures, those talks and those people... Not anymore! Our lives, our decisions, ours. Not anyone else!)

I was thinking about doing the whole #whole30 and #capsulewardrobe thing but I'm still sceptic about both and since I'm not really good at keeping goals (yet!), I decided to go slow for 2015. 
Moderation.
That's my word for 2015: moderation! 
What about you? What goals did you make? :)