Category Archives: Kids

Girls, girls, girls

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Why oh why do girls have to be so difficult? For once, I am not talking about my own. While getting ready for bed tonight M came to me and was talking about two of her friends that are pairing up and sitting with each other and not with her.  The seating chart is two boys and two girls per table and she is feeling left out. Now this isn’t the first time (and I am sure it won’t be the last) that we’ve had to talk through these issues. Why are girls so thoughtless of how they hurt each other? 

This is such a difficult age to navigate, girls just get worse from here.  My boring advice as a parent, find another friend. Hang out with someone who wants to hang out with you.  Sometimes the more you try to hang out with someone, the less they want to hang out with you.  We’ve tried telling her that she shouldn’t allow others to dictate how she feels, but she is a delicate flower like her mother. I know how much it sucks to feel left out, it hurts as much at 30 as it does at 13.

I know this is really only something she can work through herself, and I’m hoping by doing so she learns what is and isn’t acceptable behavior from a friend.  It’s hard because as her mama I want to tell her ‘stop talking to those little brats!’ but it just comes with the territory of having a tween girl.

And here come all of the feria posts…

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Feria is the Spanish equivalent of a county fair. They originated from trading posts and have evolved into a big celebration with horse show, fair rides and tons of food. Different organizations set up casetas or tents and sell food and drinks as well.

At work we have our own feria for the kids. Each class has been working on some dance steps to the traditional Sevillana dance.  Everyone dresses up in feria attire, similar to what most people would consider flamenco dresses.

The day started out rainy and of course we were panicking over where we were going to hold it if it was raining, but the rain cleared and the sun came out and it ended up being a beautiful afternoon.

 

Some of the decorations we hung up, most of them made by the kids in the center. We put window boxes on every window and make about a million tissue paper flowers. Also draw some gypsy bars on the windows. Makes for a very cheerful center!

 

Setting up… Thankfully this is after the rain stopped. Each classroom also decorated one of those hanging triangles for their ‘caseta’.

Hanging out in O’s class with Miss Ana before feria starts. I had so much fun getting all dressed up!

Me and M. She loved getting all dressed up in her feria dress.  I ended up taking in the sides the night before as the dress was a size too large for her. Also pinned the front of the skirt up a bit so she wouldn’t trip because it was really long.

The babies. So stinkin’ cute! They pretty much just sat there and looked adorable in their tiny dresses!

Here is one of our one year old classes. They had maracas and were dancing all over the place with them.

A TON of parents showed up, it was so much fun!

Hello blue sky and sunshine!

O was a very serious dancer.

 

Once he was all done he was smiling!

M did great, lots of skirt swirling!

Me and my two kiddos, looking all Spanish!

Me and our assistant director, Patricia. I loved her dress, it was all embroidered, beautiful!

Me with my Spanish amigas! Cristina, Cristina, Maria del Mar, Maria Jose, Luisa, Aurora and Inma.

The start of Rota and El Puerto de Santa Maria’s feria’s is this week and I can’t wait to go and take a million pictures of our last feria. This is the first year I’ve had my own dress so I am very excited over that. Plus every year we feel more and more comfortable hanging out at feria.

El Bucarito! Our trip to the goat farm…

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(Prepare for pictures from ANOTHER class field trip!)

Yesterday we took a field trip to a cute little goat farm that is literally minutes from base. I am kicking myself for never visiting before.  The farm grown their own feed (organically) and uses the goat manure to fertilize the fields. Love that.  They also have a variety of other animals including donkeys, pigs (black Iberian pigs – the ones that get turned into famous jamon!), and birds of prey.  The owners live on site and they were super friendly and the entire staff was absolutely wonderful to our visiting group.

On to the photos!

The farm! The pig area is on the left, the goat fields are on the right.  The store is the building half cut off on the right. (Taken on a moving bus so not the best shot.)

Happy Bus Rider.

As soon as we walked by the pasture the goats all ran over to us. (Because I am a nerd I immediately thought of the Jurassic Park line: “They’re flocking”. Yeah. Just me.)

Prepare yourself, this is a goat picture heavy post. But they are just so dang cute!

Ha. He kept trying to eat my camera. Goats are dumb. But very photogenic.

O admiring the goats from a distance. They were a little nibbley. (Also I think the kids necklaces should read: “If found please return to the CDC” but no one agrees with me.)

Budding grape vine. The farm had some vineyards as well as a small orchard.

Our guide and I couldn’t figure out what this was. I thought cherry (cerise is cherry right?) She thought not. Fruit tree blossoms look so similar. It was probably peach or plum. Or apple or pear. Who knows. My mom probably.

We pose in doors a lot.

I want this bbq area please.

This is the owners patio. What we would call a courtyard. I love Spanish patios. Especially plain rocks turned into something awesome with a little crapload of time.

Also red geraniums in old pots or barrels. Swoon.

All the ladies getting milked. Of the 2,000 goats they have on the farm, 1,200 give milk. Twice a day. It’s no wonder it’s all automated!

One of the babies in the kid room… They were SO cute!

Feeding pigs! We had to warn the kids to keep fingers off the fence. Those pigs will bite!  These pigs are the famous Iberian black pigs. The males who look promising are moved and fed acorns to give the Iberian jamon the distinctive flavor that it is famous for. (For which it is famous. Whatever.)

Also. These pigs are hard core. Nose rings for all! This actually keeps them from rooting and tearing up the pasture or fence line, but I prefer to think that they have punk rock pigs.

I love mules. That is all.

This farm also breeds birds of prey, including owls. So we got to pet this tiny, bitty, sweet, fluffy baby owl. “IT’S SO FLUFFY” (name that movie, if you can’t we can’t be friends)

O meet owl.

Tiny!

Not quite so cute and adorable but a beautiful bird.

Falconry demonstration. Please someone tell me, what the heck is keeping these birds from flying away? They aren’t domesticated dogs, they are wild birds with unclipped wings. Why do they come back? Are they just really well fed? I wish my Spanish didn’t suck ass so I could have talked to the trainer.

The kids all loved this cheese, it was sweet and creamy and mild. So good!

These were more for the adults, strong, firm and pungent.  The rosemary one was really good.

And the chorizo. Made from those adorable pigs we saw earlier.  Think of salami but better. This was excellent and the kids couldn’t get enough. I will be back for this as well as some fresh goat cheese!

Ana one of the teachers and a friend, got to get up close and personal with one of the adult owls.

So did Val. All the cuddling was freaking me out. I kept telling them the owl was going to eat their eyes. Get the damn bird out of your face!

Hello gorgeous!

Goodbye, el Bucarito! We’ll be back!

Directions:

Go out the Spanish gate (back gate on base) take a left. You should see the farm on the right in about 5 minutes. It is off one of the perimeter roads. Store is open seven days a week. Tours are available for groups but you have to call ahead. If you have a small group you can see the cheese making process.

Thank you Missoula Children’s Theater!

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Missoula Children’s Theater is a wonderful group that travels around the world and putting together children’s performances.  We are lucky enough to have them come once a year, but were EXTRA lucky because even though they were just here in August, they stopped by again over Spring Break to have the kids put on ANOTHER show!

Auditions for the show (Red Riding Hood) were on Monday, parts assigned and rehearsals began the same day. The kids rehearsed every day that week and everyone who shows up gets a part, from kinder-gardeners up to sixth graders.

Friday night they were ready for their performance, the kids all did great (only a few mishaps but they were entertaining) the script itself was pretty corny but the kids thought it was hilarious.

M had the part of a shadow, she had been practicing all week the week before so she could get a major role but they pretty much all went to the 5th and 6th graders.

Acting like a 'shadow'

The four shadows (they were supposed to be the bad influences along the forest trail - MORAL AHEAD!)

Now they had to change from shadows into fire... cause if you play with fire you will get burned! (It was just so so corny)

The cast, good job guys!

Katie, one of the Missoula leaders. I don't know how these guys do it!

The four shadows/fire/bad plants! They were so excited they had costume changes!

My little star!

M and one of her good friends who was 'Sister Hood'

And then they packed everything up to fly out the next day to do it all over again. We gladly bought a tshirt to support them because they really do make the kids feel special and offer them a chance to be onstage.

For more info: Missoula Children’s Theater

(Sorry about the crappy auditorium pics, these are the best of them!)

Zoo Botanico Jerez

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So this week I got to go on a field trip with my son’s daycare class to the local zoo… While the zoo isn’t huge the kids still had a great time.

We left base around 9am  with cloudy skies overhead. I was just praying it wouldn’t rain, especially since I forgot to grab my umbrella.

Here they are sitting all cute on the front steps of the zoo: (blurred to protect the not so innocent)

Right when you walk in the flamingos and peacocks are putting on a show.  This is also where the zoo personnel did a group shot and individual shots.

The kiddos with their teachers. I LOVE my kids teachers.

This little monkey was the first animal exhibit we stopped at and I kid you not, one of the kids went running toward it and smacked face first into the glass. Bloody lip and crying – fabulous.  Thankfully his mom was there and he was all patched up and go to go in a minute.

I can’t tell if this is a peacock or a peahen, I’m not really a fan of the white ones, the colorful ones are so much prettier.

This big boy was making rather rude noises with his mouth. The kids were in hysterics they thought he was farting, but really I think he was flirting with the female? He would blow this big pink bubble thing out of this mouth. I have NO idea, I have never seen a camel do that before.

Hey there pretty lady, I will take your eyelashes!

These storks nest all over Andalucia, it’s pretty cool. Their nests are HUGE. You can hear them clatter their beaks together when they are talking to each other.

Random flower photos? Yes, Please! I love this flower and I have no idea what it is called. It grows facing the ground and is so pretty.

O and two of his best buddies.

The color on this guy was amazing! This pic is blurry because he was pacing back and forth but it was crazy how close we were. I could have stuck my hand through the fence if I wanted to. Love European zoos!

After we had seen most of the animals we stopped for lunch just as it started to sprinkle. Perfect timing!   We were under a pavilion so we stayed nice and dry.  After lunch the kids got to go get their faces painted while all of the parents had to sit and wait at the coffee shop.  Ordered up a cafe manchado (cafe con leche is still a bit to strong for me) and sat and chatted with the rest of the parents while we drank coffee and stayed out of the rain.

End of the day being silly.

Back onto the bus we went and those kids all managed to stay awake until 1:30 when we got back. Of course by then they were all so overtired they were cranky pants! O even took a nap even though he NEVER takes naps anymore.

I was happy to finally get a chance to go to the Zoo since we hadn’t been the whole time we’ve lived here! Both of the kids had gone with school but the one time we tried going was a Monday and they were closed!

If you’re here take they kids, they’ll love it!

Zoo Botanico Jerez

Up the hill from Area Sur mall, closed Mondays! 9 euro adult entrance fee, kids 6 euro, under 3 free.

Homemade Pizza Lunchables

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My daughter LOVES me! My best friend saw this online and had mentioned it to me one of the last times we talked on the phone (she knows how crazy I am!) She said she was going to give it a try and I just had to as well… Super super easy and cheaper and hopefully a bit healthier than the prepackaged junk!

Make pizza dough and cut it into individual pizza size. I went with a shape that I was hoping would fit into her lunchbox.

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Please make sure you take it in the dark like I apparently did (also ignore my ugly pizza crust!)

Bake the pizza crust and let cool. I then stored them in the freezer until I was ready to use them.  When I packed her lunch I packed two pizzas which I think was plenty.

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I also packed a little spreader for the pizza sauce.  Homemade granola bites also made an appearance. Let me just say that her lunch was the talk of the lunch table and she was one happy girl!

Try this!