Friday the 13th, A slightly better day (eating out that is)

Veterans Day brought a rarity, Fernando was off work. Mia on the other hand had school. Mia already convinced Fernando that family bonding time was far more important than school, but at least my in class room helping that day swayed her into half day attendance.

The day was planned as follows:

Family Walk Mia to School--too late, so we had to drive
Group trip to the gym---Talia was sick, so we couldn't leave her in the YMCA daycare
(saved me the pain & humiliation of trying to match workout pace with Fernando)
Read to kids in Mia's classroom---accomplished and enjoyed
Gracefully check Mia out of school for the day---checked out, secretary peeved
Library Storytime--skipped
Ride in the BraPark---beautiful,

bummer we don't all have bikes




Free Veterans lunch at Applebee's--avoided, bait and switch to IHOP (gag for me)

After that we just fell into normal 2nd Wednesday of the month routines with Dance class and Recipe exchange.

Fernando went back to work, but surprised us with an early return home around 4 pm. I was plumb out of ideas for dinner and hijacked the family for some TGI Fridays 2 for $20 deal. On the drive over, I explained how Friday the 13th fears are for those who lack faith and understanding of our Heavenly Father's plan. (ok, a bit of a stretch, but I thought that I could use their curiosity as a teaching moment) I explained that we have nothing to fear (not even fear itself) and so we were celebrating the day in a Thank Goodness style.

Have you been to this restaurant? I had been years before in Utah and this was nothing close to that experience. The restaurant was dark even for restaurant standards and the Bar was the prominent feature. You even could get cheaper appetizers for sitting there first. Luckily we had a window seat and the deal was too good to be true. We were all very much satiated for under $25. Talia went to town on the spinach artichoke dip appetizer and the kids were digging the cedar roasted salmon. I on the other hand was lapping up the gourmet 5 cheese macaroni that was smothered in blue cheese flavor.

How could I forget?

So I found these funny pictures from our Trick-o-treating adventures. Tiago had grown weary of his Darth Vader costume while waiting for our party guests to leave. He was barely willing to dawn the cowboy hat because we threatened no candy if he didn't at least try to dress up. Talia showed her true colors in the BYU cheerleader giddy-up and coordinating shoe/handbag fashion statement. And last but not least, check out the lashes Mia is wearing.

What's Bugging Me

Ok, there is this mythological idea that a being can spontaneously exist upon the death of another being. Such is the case with the flies in our house. I swear that I pre-count the number of flies buzzing around and then with any convenient rag, I set forth on a killing spree. . .ninja faces and sounds are often beheld by the innocent children. Then, when I gather the carcasses, low and behold more have spontaneously appeared! What is happening here? Five flies are rapidly swarming around me reading about the demise of their parents. Freaks, just leave me alone! (Talia has joined my quest on ridding our house of the filthy pests. I will often find her with some shirt or small hand towel saying "Uh-Oh, fly!" and then swatting the 'fly' area in a fit of uninhibited kung fu skill).

Another funny bug situation can be discovered on the underside of my deadbolt lock on my front door. This door is rarely used by any of our family except on the days I run to get Mia at the bus stop. Returning home via the front door one such day, I noticed an "egg sack". Totally disgusted and not fully rational, I found the nearest stick to destroy this nest of arachnid horror. (Didn't I remember the mass exodus of the hundreds of spider babies unleashed when I tried to fumigate the mother a few weeks back?) I turned out to be a fuzzy caterpillar luckily, but still a bit weird for me to remove by myself.

Today was strange bug encounter day starting with a random scorpion basking in the warm morning sunlight. Thank heavens Tiago missed stepping too close. Then extra thanks was needed when he resisted the huge temptation to touch it. He was assuaged when he found a mix between a grasshopper and a mutant green lady bug on our kitchen window and ecstatic when we went out to play and found a walking stick resting on our back door. Talia and Tiago alternated holding the fragile looking bug and giggling uncontrollably as the bug writhed around in attempts at freedom. Obviously this was its first introduction to a curious child.

Some Halloween

This year we enjoyed a church Trunk or Treat (Fernando was a farmer, Mia was a garden fairy, Talia was a flower, Tiago was a sheriff, and I was a ladybug). Talia found happiness on some kid's tricycle that was sitting in the parking lot.

Dance class allowed for dress up and Tiago dawned his new Darth Vader look.
Mia scored a free face painting session at the Doctor's office after hear ENT appointment. The lady's skills were awesome, her lack of clothing around her bust line wasn't. Ah, the price of freedom. (pun on our ability to choose and the price of the artistry). I know, funny!


So what can I say. . .halloween kind of came and went, but we did have some fun. Like a party that was the brainchild of Mia that exploded into a 90% committal rsvp list. (when does that happen) and Tiago becoming the masked man himself. Double bonus was a shopping venture that happened Saturday and surprisingly Target still had tonz of costumes at a whopping 90% off price tag. So we now have a full Star Wars cast for under $10. (BTW, I also scored some other pretty standard costumes for about $2 a pop which was very satisfying since the original price was in the $30-$40 range). I couldn't help but buy Tiago 2 Nascar
racer outfits, a Thomas the Train thing, some interesting illusion of a costume where it looks like your kid is riding a horse, a Zebra giddy up, and Princess Leia, a Storm Trouper, Obi One, a Jedi robe, and Young Darth Vader. (hopefully this will curb the amount of times I find Tiago playing cars or warrior in Mia's princess dress. Now the boy can dress up in some real dress up clothes for boys.)

Loopy Sue and her Primitive Friend

So I love my calling in the nursery. I have tried to find ways to make the whole nursery scene feel more like a real class then just a glorified daycare. The closer I have come to that goal, the more enjoyable the calling has been and the better behaved the kids are. Loopy Sue here is my creation to fill the void of the doll-less nursery. I didn't want to spend the money on plastic dolls that would be impossible to keep clean, but I didn't realize how challenging making rag dolls would be for me. I am up to 4 dolls and hopefully will have more soon.

Sundae Prayer

For FHE we try to make the lessons short but sweet. This particular lesson was derived from our concern for lack luster prayers in our home. The kids are still learning how to pray to their Heavenly Father, but the prayers are a bit more than repetative and shallow. So, we thought we would have Sundae Prayers. We asked the kids what things need to exist in a prayer. We sang the Pray in Faith Song which is an excellent reminder of such formats. For those of you unfamiliar with the song it goes a little something like this:

I kneel to Pray
Everyday
I speak to Heavenly Father
He hears and answers me
When I Pray in Faith

I begin by saying dear Heavenly Father
I thank Him for Blessing He sends
Then humbly I ask Him for things that I need
In the name of Jesus Christ Amen

The kids got a bowl, spoon, ice cream scoop, and the chance to use their mouths by just giving us the basic format. To get any of the good stuff, they had to think of things they were grateful for and the things they needed help from their Heavenly Father. Then for prayers that night we reminded them to give a ice cream prayer. It worked pretty well for awhile, but we still get the 2 second meal prayer that Tiago blurts out on a daily basis. I guess it is a work in progress.

The Closest Thing We Have. . .

San Antonio is fabulous this time of year. The temperatures are wonderful and the summer long heat is a distant memory/nightmare. We would love to be out exploring nature, but the closest thing we have is our YMCA rock wall





and the OP Schnabel nature trail located behind the gym.


There is quite a bit of exploring that we need to do. It's always fun to have Bambi and his family show up every now and then.