Flunked

Not yet
But I really NEED to go over math. The math they teach in elementary and middle school because... well... I have not made a single division in ages without using a calculator. And all my math concepts are dusty and forgotten in some remote corner of my brain...
My plate is full right now: kids to school, university, work, sometimes back to university and home to kids or school to pick them up. I'm so lucky that everything is within walking distance!
So I don't know if I'll be blogging much. I still want to post every other day at least but I don't know if I will manage.
Anyway, the truth is I'm so happy I decided to study. Most of my teachers make really interesting classes and I'm meeting new people, which is also nice...

I can ride a bike!

Today, Alicia learnt how to ride a bike... you know, without those small wheels attached... (How do you call them?)

Juggling

As I continue with my classes, I've come to face an old fear: speaking in public. I have always been rather shy, or had been, at least, until my job forced me to be bolder. But, speaking in public is still something that terrifies me. A group of nine year olds is one thing, but university students? With a teacher?? I think I'll need to practice and even videotape my "lectures" before speaking in front of the class!! Today we had psychology applied to education and social studies (if my translation is correct). Tomorrow it's pedagogy and English. We'll see... And it doesn't leave me much time for anything else! In the morning it's all about getting the girls ready for school, going to school myself, then to work, lunch, pick up the girls from school...

I'm making new friends, which is also interesting. Two women my age and a younger woman (I think she's in her late 20s) from Mexico.

Please, feel free to correct any mistakes, ok?

First day of school

Typical introduction, no classes. Mrs X explained to a group of 200 students what this career is like, its different majors and things like that. Most of the students were in their late teens or twenties except some moms, like me. We scanned the crowd and found each other as if we were trying to find aliens from outer space. A teacher (I'll call her Mrs X because I can't really remember her name) explained many details about our new career and then faced the questions from the students. One of the questions was particularly interesting. It came from a girl. I couldn't see her face from where I was sitting but I could see her feet: sneakers and socks with skeletons. "Is it really necessary to attend all classes?". Believe it or not, that's what Ms Skeleton Socks asked. Maybe she expected Mrs X to say "No dear, of course not, if that's too taxing for you, just don't ok? We just write down some subjects because they look good on your schedule, but you don't have to attend, dear..." That's not what she said, of course... Then the big group was divided, and I found that only 35 students plan to teach English in elementary schools. Among them were my "mom" friends. Good! Our first assingment was to write an essay about our stay in another country just to test our knowledge of English. The hardest part for me was handwriting. I'm so used to typing I feel I'm no longer "readable" when I have to use a pen...
Tomorrow, first day of real class...

Pictures of pictures

This is hubby as a baby/toddler


I think this was taken when I was 4 years old (like Cristina now...) I loved that horse.

That's me as a baby...
My father was taking pictures all the time. I started to hate it when I was 10 or 11. But it was no use, he liked taking pictures of me even if I was angry!

Families can be complicated

I once wrote about my MIL. She's changing, I don't know if it's because she retired or what, but she's softer. Easier to deal with, more relaxed. She's been taking care of my girls and some of my nieces and nephews during august and I've caught her sometimes just sitting outside, watching the kids play, which was unthinkable, say two months ago. "Oh, I couldn't do much today, I had to watch over the children" she says, as if she needs to apologize or something. Of course, the rest of the family thinks it's great that she can actually sit down and do nothing, but to her, it must have been a struggle! And she smiles now (no kidding, it was hard to see her smile when I first met her). And more than that. I told her about my plans to study and she was so supportive. She has offered to help me with the girls during the school year. I guess it's like hubby told me: to his mother, anything that means working or studying is good.

But things are not so good on the other side of the family, mainly because I just find it increasingly difficult to get along with my brother and his wife, J. There have been two “incidents” which are way too silly to post, but I will anyway. Because my brother chooses to think they're important. Last sunday my brother had a difficult time making Pau eat his lunch when Alicia showed up eating an ice cream. Seeing that she had alredy finished luch, my mother gave her the ice cream, but Pau refused to eat when he saw it and demanded an ice cream too. Sensing trouble, I told Alicia to put it back in the fridge and wait for Pau to finish so he wouldn't see the precious ice cream but according to my brother, she just took too long to hide it. And it was her fault that Pau wouldn't eat another bite. And, after lunch, when the kids were playing Alicia had a balloon and Pau started crying because he's afraid of balloons. My brother told Alicia to hide it, but she just stared at Pau and my brother. Until I told her to hide it (sensing trouble, again), she didn't do it. Too late, again, to my brother's standards. She just didn't behave properly, she lacked empathy. I just can't relax when I'm around them anymore. J has changed, she's distant, she barely speaks to us, and I know she feels we're just not a good influence for her son. She's trying to raise the perfect kid and I find it so annoying sometimes.

Strange words

Newfangled

I had heard it just in a song (can't remember which). Never knew what it meant. I guess it means, modern, but being English my third language, I wouldn't be sure how or when to use it.

I'm going to post words that are new to me, once in a while.

Just because.

Oh, I start classes at the School of Education on the 22nd. Adventures of a middle aged student coming soon...

Some portraits

The crash...

Maybe you heard about this tragic jet accident in Madrid. More than 150 people died on the crash. It's been several days, but we get full coverage on the news everyday. Too much, in my opinion. There's an investigation going on, which will probably take weeks. But in the meantime, some tv programs just seem to dwell on the tragedy, and I hate that. We must hear about every single person who is somehow linked to the accident. And by linked I don't mean interviewing the mechanic who fixed something on the plane before take off. I mean a taxi driver who had relatives of a victim in his car, someone who happened to "miss" the plane in the last minute and is so happy he never made it on time... And then some programs choose the music carefully. How can they possibly interview a man who lost his brother on the plane with Beethoven's Moonlight sonata as background music?? Some programs are just sentimental pornography. Leave people to mourn alone, the only reason they're showing it is to have a morbid look into somebody's pain. Kind of like the way many people would just stop by a car acccident and watch with fascination...

Paris Hilton replies to McCain Campaign AD

Birthday cake??

Alicia chose this cake for her birthday. It looked so good on paper, and we tried so very hard to copy the design... But instead of this nice house-cake we came up with this:


An abandoned hansel&Gretel version of the house. A rather decadent and shabby home... snif... witches can't bake.

My witch's shoes

Complete with feet and moles (inherited from my mother)... what do you think? Should I get a broom?

Conversations with a 6 year old

F is a friend of my daughter Alicia, she'll turn 6 next week. I picked her up and we both headed to the cinema, where my husband was waiting with our girls. I had an interesting conversation with F while we were walking.

F -"You know, commercials on tv sometimes are not true."
Me -"Yeah, most of the time they lie..."
F -"But sometimes they tell the truth, my mom uses a shampoo that's on tv and it's good."
Me -"Which one is it?"
F -"It's that shampoo that's so good you can't keep your hands off your head.. (she says in all seriousness) It's only for grown-ups. I can't use it because my skin is too sensitive. My mom doesn't have sensitive skin."

And then adds:
-"I like your shoes..."
-"Thanks!"
-"They're witches' shoes"
(thanks??)

She wins

I hate yelling. I never yell. One of our household rules is NEVER to yell at someone. Yesterday I broke the rule, as I was making dinner and at the same time being asked for the 586th time to fix the wings on some "Butterfly Barbie" (they keep falling off) and having my three year old spill a glass of milk on my feet. So I yelled I CAN'T DO MORE THAN ONE THING AT THE SAME TIME; I'M COOKING, AND I'VE FIXED THOSE WINGS TOO MANY TIMES AND LOOK WHAT YOUR SISTER DID AND BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA

Alicia stared at me and asked quietly:
-Mom, would you like me to yell at you?
-That's not the point, you....
-No, really, would you like it?
-Alicia, don't ask me to do something when...
-Answer me, would you like me to yell at you?
-No, but...
-See?
I think I lost this battle, don't you?

Flying with children

We tend to avoid going through security instructions when flying. we see the leaflet, we kind of hide it someplace. We're not going to need it, right? Bad things only happen to other people, everybody knows that. But, on our trip to Austria, security instructions on the plane were posted literally on the back of the seat right in front of us. No hiding, no avoiding. And, we had two curious kids sitting with us.

-Mom, why is this man crawling like a baby?
-mmm... He probably lost something on the floor, he's trying to find it...

-Why does he have a mask?
-mmm... in case he feels sick
-Why would he feel sick? I never wear a mask when I feel sick



-What's this slide? Are we going to use it?
-No, it's just in case the plane has to land on water
-Oh, planes can land on water?
-Yes... (bullshit)
-Will we land on water?
I hope NOT.
-Mom, the woman on the slide has no shoes on.
-Really?
-Yes, why?
-Because shoe heels could pierce the slide



-But... why not glasses?
-mmm.... she'll hurt herself if she uses the slide with glasses on.
-But the earrings??
.....
-And what's the man doing?
-Just resting sweety.



-Why are the clouds beneath us?
Don't remind me, please, humans are not meant to fly, otherwise we'd have developed feathers by now. It's like having a fish learn how to drive!!!

When she's tired of security instructions she walks to the front part of the plane and comes back with a look of surprise:
-Mom!
-What happened?
-Nobody is driving this plane!!

Much better than expected

Whatever I expected from this holidays has been surpassed, by far... the first two days in Viena were fantastic: great sigthseeing, superb parks for children and adults and good food. Just an hour ago we arrived at the next destination, a quiet little town in the mountains, with so many things to do. I don´t think we´ll need to get out at all, the house and surroundings are so good!

Nervous, restless, excited...

One thing is to plan something and another to actually go ahead with it. the more I come close to my goal of studying for the next three years (because I plan a career change in the future) the less sleep I get! It's almost done now, just formalities ahead. My boss wasn't so thrilled. He suggested I work less hours. I'll do that, but it's going to be rough on our pockets too (we can't have everything can we? ;-)
My co-workers weren't so supportive. They made all sorts of questions, but mostly just looked at me like I've lost my mind. Not that I really blame them. I have two small children, a job and a husband with an epileptic disorder. It's easy to get used to good times, he's been free of seizures for eight months and we're hoping it will stay that way but I'm also hoping our new situation doesn't take a toll on him... but we've talked about it and he says I should at least try. Through all this I've realised once more that my husband is also my best friend. It may sound corny, but it's just the way it is.
By the way, we're going on a trip to Austria this afternoon, if you don't hear from me for the next days it's just that I don't have the time to blog from our destination! I'll try, though...

Take care, all of you!

I don't like parties

Well, most parties. It's my nephew's birthday. There are about 20 people, most of them adults, friends of my brother and SIL's relatives. It's been more than three hours since it started, more than enough for me...

btw, I've been accepted at our university! I'm so excited. I'll talk to my boss tomorrow to tell him about my studying plans. Hope he doesn't object. Most of my classes will be in the morning, which is when I'm working, but I can make up for lost time at home.

Dear brother

Pau (3 years old) comes to play with my daughters (3 and 5) because his mom (J) and dad (my brother) are busy working. They play all afternoon, hubby is watching the Tour de France on tv, I'm reading. Sometimes we check on the kids, they just run around the house playing games, dressing up, stuff like that. We hear Pau crying. His nose is bleeding, which is not unusual for him. The bleeding stops, the kid just forgets... we agree to tell his mom but not make a fuss, we know both his mom and my brother tend to worry too much. However, when Pau's mom (J) comes to pick him up, Alicia blurts out "J, Pau's nose was bleeding soooo much, the blood was running down his lips, on his chin!! Soo much blood" She's exagerating, we know it, J knows it, when they see so much as a drop of blood my children get all excited.
The day after the "incident" I go see my brother.

Me -hi
B -hi. Did you see where Pau hit his nose yesterday?
Me -No, I was reading, maybe he didn't even hit his nose...
B -We'll check with the pediatrician, because he had some breathing difficulty...
Me -Really? It didn't seem like a big deal...
B -Yes, and he has a bruise too.
Me -A bruise? (I'm beginning to sound alarmed)
B -Yes... well, not much, just a little...
Me -Are you sure it's worth a visit to the pedi?
B -Yes. So you didn't see?
Me -No, you know I'm not constantly over them...
B -I know, I don't like people who are all the time on their back, but I don't like it when people never check up on kids when they're playing...
Me -Oh, that would be me? (why do I ask, I know the answer??)
B -Yes. You're so relaxed. Your husband keeps a better eye on children, doesn't he?
Me -You mean he's a better father. (I'm beginning to sound irritated)
B -No, I didn't say that. But you could check on the kids
Me -I did. Just not every two minutes.

Needless to say, the conversation didn't end so well. Maybe I should have watched over them more. They say there are no perfect parents, but maybe some are more perfect than others. I feel hurt. Even if there's some truth in my brothers words. It's a silly argument, I know... but this is not the first time he does that to me... In his eyes, I neglect my daughters. And it hurts.

School again...?

I've been thinking a lot lately about my going back to University... I will know on the 16th if I'm admitted. And then... I'll have to talk to my boss, because all classes are in the morning which is when I'm working, but since all I do can be done from home, I'm hoping he'll agree to let me work in the afternoon/evening/night from home to make up for lost time in the morning. The good thing about my workplace right now is flexibility. So I don't think he'll say no. But, once he says yes I'll have a hard year ahead: classes in the morning, work, pick up the girls from school, take them to swimming, home, dinner and work from home. Study. And exams from time to time. I applied for a degree to teach Englisn in primary school (kids from 6 to 12 years old). It will certainly be a change... but we only live once, and I don't want to see myself working in the same place all my life... If I don't do this now, I feel I'll always regret it. That I never had the guts to try... What do you think?

If you're reading this (or any other post) and see grammatical/spelling mistakes, don't hesitate to tell me!