the Jardim Familia

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T20:13:00.001-06:00

What can I say, Valentine's Day, the day we express our love.

Ja ja, as per usual Valentines day just arrived without warning, resulting in dash to the store on Valentines Eve to buy something for Jaime to give his 20 friends and 2 teachers on Valentines Day "with love Jaime".

Ok so his gift consisted of: a pencil, eraser, stickers, and candy hearts. His teachers received a "you rock" guitar heart filled with chocolate. Jaime did help me pack his gifts and was extremely good with giving his favourite eraser shapes to his friends.

This morning, Mr Jaime was on such a high, all excited for school and just could not wait to hand out his gifts. On the way to school listening to love songs and the DJ talking about Valentines day kept his level of excitement on high. School was the best, just watching his excitment and sudden nervousness while walking into school was just unexplainable. He went from, "I wanna give it, all by myself" to "no no you do it" 20 times all in 5 seconds! Eventually on first sight of Ms Pam he grabbed the gift and gave it to her and immediately gave her a hug on her request as a Thank you. Ms Ashley (his favourite) well, this hand over was much more entertaining. It was a mixture of dangling the prezzie with a fully streched arm, then pulling it back when Ms Ashley would reach for it all while jumping and giggling hysterically. The Thank you hug, was a bit challenging for a pregnant Ms Ashley but eventually she got it, leaving us all giggling!

Some pics from this morning:

A Valentine for my teacher Ms Ashley

"YAY YAY YAY its Valentine's day!!!"

I love you!

I thought the tie was appropriate for such a special day!

Valentine's evening, a dinner from my gorgeous husband and beautiful boy! The table was set all in red with my "just cause I love you" orchids and Pasteis da Nata for dessert. yum yum! Love my boys!

Hope your Valentine's was as entertaining and filled with love just like mine! *mwah*

The Portuguese Fireman

2012-02-08T08:30:00.000-06:00

Steve Lopes The Portuguese Fireman -

the most famous Portuguese guy in new England

Yip we had to touch base with our local Portuguese blood. What we discovered ... A Portuguese in Madeira/Portugal or in South Africa or in United States ... she's all the same.

Its a good lag take a look - http://portuguesefireman.com/

Superbowl Sunday...Our First

2012-02-06T20:15:00.001-06:00

New York Giants vs Patriots

Since we have made Massachusetts our home it is only appropriate that we support the local football team, The Patriots! Not that we completely know what is going on in the game, and not that we actually followed the football season but be it as it may "our" team made it to the final the *drum roll"....

A Game recap:
Snacks and chit chat at Peter and Laura. Snacks ranged from Lime chips and bean dip, home made pita chips and cheese dip, chocolate and nuts and pizza yum yum.
Game started at 6:30pm. Basically we moved from the food to the TV (already a good game!). The boys decided that football tackle was way more fun... yes all 3 boy pile on! Surprising heavy - but so much fun!
Oh the game: It was a tight game but Patriots lead the way for most of the game.

The adverts during the game have become quite popular. Difficult to choose a sample to show you but I have... enjoy

Half time, 8pm: A show by Madonna

Pretty impressive, if you ignore the lip sinking but if I move and shake my boodie like her at the age of 55 then heck lip sink away!

We decided to head home as the boys were getting a little rowdy and with school the next day we just had to make headway. Ili and I felt like we were driving in a ghost town, for a whole 15min home we passed ..ummm ZERO cars! As we peeked into peoples houses (while driving past) every single person was watching the game...unbelievable!

Second half: Ok Jaime in bed, TV on and game on. I could attempt to give you a rundown or I could sum it up to: Tom Brady's two long incompletions in the final minutes, and several missed chances throughout the game cost the New England Patriots a chance at another Super Bowl victory.

And the State of Massachusetts falls silent.....

What I think Mom should do with her make-up

2012-02-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

First I have to catch him ....

Simply Gorgeous!

Note to self: If Jaime is quiet for more than 2 minutes he is up to something!

Sticking with sports

2012-02-04T21:37:00.000-06:00

I've been meddling with the idea of signing Jaime up for sports for a while now but just have not made it to the Y. Today we did! Its quite funny the whole system operates. They have 7-8 week programs that you sign up for and you cant join half way. I think its so the class stays consistent for the period, which is kinda cool. The next program starts on the 27th Feb so we have some time to decide.

I'd like to sign him up for the Mix sports program and for swimming. The mixed sports is pretty cool - its an introduction to a whole bunch of ball sports eg basketball, baseball, volleyball, soccer etc. I think Jaime would enjoy this. The swimming, I'd like to freshen those swimming memory cells before spring as all the kids do here is swim. I know he enjoys swimming, at least he loved it in SA, and its all round good for him.

Both programs run on a Sat and Sun. Am I ready to give up my mornings though? mmmmm and is Jaime ready to be hectic both mornings? Bearing in mind that our weekend mornings include being in our PJ's till late .... some days all day lol Also considering cutting his school a day so he can go in the morning. Is that bad, its not really school ...yet??

In the pipe line for sports: in the spring they have track which is great exercise and best of all its in the early evenings and soccer starts. Soccer is all Jaime wants to do, think it comes from watching his big cuzzie Tiago play?

Anyway we have time to decide. But since we are all hyped up with sports this weekend...

indoor catch became the game of the day

Catch

Throw

Pull
(Tamara the OT would be so proud)

Catch - his eyes close as the ball hits the mit

Then we discover that velcro sticks to things:

The couch
(this was accidental and hysterically funny, the shock and horror when the mit stayed glued to the
couch when his hand had left it was priceless)

The Mack ...No

My Cars?....No

Dad's sock??? YES!!!

Me on the other side of the throw, concentrating really hard to:
A: catch the ball (yes I have to concentrate) and
B: throw the ball at the right speed, angle, and power for Jaime to catch without causing bodily hard (trust me I hit him a few times, luck for me he found it quite funny, shoo!)

Friday Night Ice Hockey

2012-02-04T21:00:00.000-06:00

Friday night, at the Dunking Donuts Centre aka The Dunk, we were a part of it!

First ice hockey game for: Ili, Jaime and Robby

How did it go? The boys loved it! Jaime and Robby watched the game wide eyed, danced and cheered on cue and well went crazy!

Sharing ice hockey popcorn

Posing for a pick with Ah-Boo

The boys on the field

Cheering "Lets go Bruins..."

Sharing his Dippin Dots, thanks Tio Peter.
Yes thanks Tio Peter, Jaime stayed awake the whole trip home (45 minutes) including a car swop in Mattapoisett and a 15 min car trip to Marion to finally pass out at 11:30 PM.

When I asked Jaime what his favourite part of the night was he said:
1. The two trucks (Zamboni) "that clean the ice all new"
2. Watching the ice hockey boys in the red (the opposing team lol)

My favourite part: Watching Jaime's face when the first goal was scored and listening to the announcer tell everybody that the guy who scored was called "Jamie Arniel". For 5 minutes after he simply giggled saying over and over "ME? ME? no no same name as me... ME?" To precious!

Groundhog day

2012-02-02T19:08:00.001-06:00

February 2 2012

At 7:25 a.m. this morning, amidst mostly cloudy skies, and temperatures in the low 30s, Groundhog Phil saw his shadow in the little town of Punxsutawney, Pa.
According to folklore, Phil’s sighting of his own shadow means there will be 6 more weeks of winter. Had Phil not seen his shadow, it would have meant “there will be an early spring.”

Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil

The official video of the festivities today.....

Funny things these Americans do ... lol

When I think of Groundhog Day I think of the Bill Murray movie, in the classic comedy Groundhog Day, Bill Murray wakes up to the same day, repeating the routines of his life. Each morning, it’s the same tedious thing, over and over and over and over again. Feeling a bit like Bill Murray lately... thank God it's Friday tomorrow... Looking forward to the Weekend!

Sunday night dinner

2012-01-29T21:17:00.001-06:00

Masterchef material I tell you!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4

An update....

2012-01-29T14:24:00.002-06:00

It’s been5 months... almost 6 months here in the US and life has somewhat becomeordinary. With all the yearend festive celebrations over we begin the yearpretty standard... to an extent (always a but).

So hereis where we're at:

1. Jaime is settling in better thanever. His little personality is shaping and growing every day. Eating, a oncetorturous time, is now an absolute pleasure. He tells us what he wants; he sitsat the table, and best of all he eats! It’s fantastic! Along with the greateating, comes the growing. His quecas we brought from SA were once danglinground his waist, are now filled up by his little bum - to precious! Most of hisclothes we brought have been put aside as they just don't fit!

2. His vocabulary is expanding on aday to day basis. Now we hear words like: although, except, instead. He tellsus how to say words now, best of all he splits the words out in syllables andmakes us repeat each syllable after him so we get it right.

3. When we left SA, with a list ofthings from the OT to work on. Naturally things have been a bit hectic toconcentrate on any sort of list but with school and my kickboxing in themorning Mr Jaime's body strength as improved. He now stands on one leg for afew seconds (Good balance), can hop on one leg, does a perfect push up,attempting hand stands, speeds on his bike, his strikes and crosses achieve aperfect A+ with the virtual instructor.

4. Ili has started his computercourse, started last Monday. He seems quite interested and keen to startdismantling my laptop....note my laptop not his! Hey, maybe he can kill thevirus in it...??? Maybe. Well with his new tools (magnifying glass, twisors andflash light) he is bound to be a success!

5. Me, I start a very busy taxseason soon. Unlike in SA where we get a full year to file ( Feb 2011 close isdue for filing Feb 2012), here all companies file their Dec 2011 close on March15th (unless they request a different date, which isn't often) a mere 3 monthsafter year end and individuals on April 15. So the next couple of weeks aregoing to be stressful but I'm looking forward to it. hey I'm learning alot on adaily basis, plus these rich people and their technical lives are teaching meindirectly how to make money in this first world country.

6. We still are looking at houses.Ili scours the Internet on a daily basis comparing location, price, size,taxes, heating systems ai yai yai so much to think about! Basically everyweekend for the past 2 months has been looking at a house or two, drivingaround the areas looking at neighbourhoods and facilities. We have found a fewhouses that we like, but each one has something we don’t like or will have tochange or upgrade. It’s tiring. I hope the "one" that is meant for uswill come through for us. Besides we really are not in a rush because we havethis place till June. So plenty of time to wonder this sleepy part ofMassachusetts.

7. With the pending house purchasewe've been trying to save money so that when we move we'll be able to kit thehouse up with the basics. This has forced us to stay home more - now if you'veever been to the US you'll understand why I say we need to stay home. Ok let meexplain. Here most stores, clothes, shoes, technology, food, are always onsale, giving out deals etc leaving just window shopping an impossible task todo. You thinking, ja ja, it’s really not that hard not to shop TRUST ME whenthings are going 50-60% off marked price you get very tempted! With the temperatureas it is going to the playground or walk on the beach for more than 15minutesis difficult. So we stay home. We play lego, playdough, read, talk,laugh...just be! I love it!

8. The winter has been a mild oneapparently, so it really hasn’t been a big event in our lives (ignoring myprevious point lol). We have had one snow storm (as you notice all my posts)that came and went over one weekend and washed away in the rain on theWednesday. Nothing to fun about that. So all that is left is this icy chill inthe air and sunny skies. The chill, let me define it - it’s like walking outside mid July at 1am in the morning, all day. Once you get used it you can weara sweater and a jacket and feel comfortable. Of course our shoes and jackets areslightly different to what we would wear back in SA!

9. Ili has become as excellent cook.His grilled chicken reminds us of home (his mom's chicken), his burgers remindus of Nandos, his butternut remind us of my mom's Sunday lunch. Every day issomething new, always simple to create but great to consume and enjoy!

Mmmm thats all I can really think of on this sleepy Sunday Afternoon. I hope everyone is well, missing everyone lots!

Forward and onwards to February we will go..

I look just like ...

2012-01-29T13:37:00.000-06:00

So the ultimate question... who's genes do I have...?

Ok ok lets take it a little tid bit closer....

The jury is deliberating...

Just cause the camera was out

2012-01-29T13:25:00.005-06:00

Sledding - the first experience

2012-01-23T17:54:00.000-06:00

Sunday Afternoon was spent at the Duarte's - sledding and Pancakes! We arrived a little after lunch time, Peter and Robby had already started working on the sledding slope. Just packing it in and building it for speed! Laura had made some yummy pancakes (banana, almond and chocolate chips) with a little butter and maple syrup, yum yum yum!

Time for the real deal....

Baby Josh ready for his first experience

And he is off! How is that face!

Robby decided sledding down on Mom was way more fun and alot more comfortable.

Jaime, pretty much walked around the garden in areas no one had walked before pulling the sled along. Think he was enjoying the sensation of his feet sinking in the snow.

Occasionally he would "join" us on the slopes

Time for Good idea:Bad idea

Good Idea: Ili making his first snow angel
Bad idea: falling backwards into the snow from the standing position - the snow is not that soft and fluffy and wont necessarily break the fall of a heavy weight

Sunday SnowScape

2012-01-23T17:33:00.002-06:00

Sunday Morning walk on the beach

The coast line

Jaime just walking through the soft snow

My gorgeous boy

The high tide cleared some of the snow leaving beach behind

Jaime just exploring the snow

Snow Ball sneak attack

All bundled up!

Car Crazy

2012-01-23T17:21:00.002-06:00

The height of the Snow Storm

2012-01-21T19:21:00.002-06:00

I thought I'd try and share our first snow storm with you. The pics are meant to be progress pics so keep an eye out on the banister as well as the Man Truck.

This morning: 9am

Late morning: 11am

Early Afternoon:2pm

The snow on the back cover is almost at the cabin roof level

Mid Afternoon: 3pm

we just couldn't keep Mr Jaime inside any longer

Flashing off his measuring stake

Stepping off the deck into a sea of snow

The front yard

The front steps are completely covered
The snow kept falling on my lens so the pics are a little blurry.

Why not a walk to the beach

Standing on what was the beach

The ocean...very different to a few weeks ago

Looking back at the houses

Snow angel

Back in the back yard

Measuring the snow on the banister

Cleaning the banister

Forgetting about the stairs and baling down them...still laughing!

How much snow did we get? Think about 10" the very bottom of the snow man is 7"

The snow man is completely covered

What next....build a snowman of course!

Packing on the snow

And TAAH DAAH...

Look how proud he looks

"Wait Mom, it's missing something"

His hat of course

Finished product!

Ok ok its just his head. Building a snowman is harder than it looks. The snow is all soft, just like icing sugar, so packing it to make a snowman takes some skill - which we will master before the end of winter.

Looking forward to tomorrow - weather forecast is sunny skies and warmer weather. So we get to play outside all day!

Ever wondered what snow tastes like?

2012-01-21T16:42:00.002-06:00

Now you know!

And the storm continues

2012-01-21T11:19:00.001-06:00

Trying to capture the snow falling

zoomed in...

Actual snow flakes

We just had to get outside... PJ's and all

Making footprints... just like Bambi (the latest favourite book)

His little prints

Enjoying the feeling

Pure Joy

The road to the beach... compared to yesterday

Will keep you posted on the progress.. its getting thicker as we speak.

School Project

2012-01-21T11:09:00.001-06:00

3" people

Our First official snow fall

2012-01-21T08:54:00.000-06:00

Friday January 20 2012.

This is what we woke up too....

The house across the road

Back yard

Our First Snow fall! It started around midnight last night and reached 1-3". Apparently just a dusting (according to the locals). Hey we dont care its snow!!!

But needless to say, it is Friday and life continues, i.e. school and work, so someone has to clean the cars...

Jaime all kitted out ...still eating his breakfast

Some scenic pics...

Our place

The driveway...and Jaime

The Michelin Man

Road to the beach (simply beautiful!)

Ili still cleaning the cars

The drive to work

Its beautiful. All white, the sun shining...I just cant capture its beauty!

Virus

2012-01-09T20:02:00.001-06:00

So my laptop has a virus - a pretty nasty one! So my update are going to be staggered till I get this monster sorted!

Hopefully Ili's new computer course will get it fixed..for free!!!!

Snow Day

2012-01-08T21:08:00.001-06:00

A little dusting....

One day we'll have enough snow to build a snow man!

New Years Day

2012-01-01T22:24:00.001-06:00

First day of the year,
Although nothing was planned it turned out to be a pretty awesome day.

Start with a Christmas movie, a 5km run, some races on the beach, building sand castles, and a hearty breakfast. Whole grain pancakes, syrup, cinnamon and strawberries...yum yum!

The afternoon was spent with the Duarte's at the races, which included:

Bikes, helmets and tons of laughing

Lets Race

Setting up the boundaries

And off they go... "I am speed..."

Including mom and son races...

Some falls and bruises

Some mini cooper time

The parentals entertained themselves as follows:

Peter with the turbo

Laura with the horse power

Ili the shoot capturer

and me...need I say more?

And to end the first day of the year..

An Ili pile on!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!

2012 - a new start

2012-01-01T19:42:00.001-06:00

January First, Two Thousand and Twelve

This is our year! We start with a wall of fresh paint. From today onward we are our own artist and we draw our own fate.

I know you cant plan to much as they never really work out, but I know that 2012 is going to bring us everything we wanted. It wont be easy but I know we'll get what we desire.

I hope that your dreams will become reality just like ours will...one day...before 2013!

Every year Better and Better!

New Years Eve

2011-12-31T20:45:00.006-06:00

My last post of the year, need to put something down right>>???

Anyway Ili, Jaime and myself spent the last day of the year in our PJ's watching a marathon of movies. To make our decision rational it was quite cold outside and raining. We did manage to chat and catch up with some friends and family which was cool.

To everyone out there, we hope you have a fantastic New Years, may the best of 2011 be the worst of 2012!

"Boas saidas e melhores entradas"

Until next year....

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T21:28:00.000-06:00

To all our Friends and Family, near and far, may you have a blessed Christmas filled with love, happiness and family!

This Christmas, our first in the USA, has been very special. We are very fortunate to have part of our family here, being adopted by my sister in laws family and the convenience and intelligence of Skype, whats app and facebook, all of which helped us connect with family in South Africa.

Mr Jaime was old enough this year to enjoy the "magic" of Christmas-giving presents, good food, snow (sort of), love of family and of course Father Christmas.

Every year Better & Better

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Christmas Morning

2011-12-26T20:21:00.000-06:00

No words will every explain this....

Santa's gift

2011-12-26T14:32:00.001-06:00

'Tis the season to be jolly

2011-12-24T14:03:00.000-06:00

Fa la la la la la la la la.

My Favourite time of year

The day before Christmas...

Ili and I jazzed up our little abode for the up and coming feast. Ham in oven, chicken marinated, couscous ready to go, tick tick tick. I think this dinner will do my mother proud ;-)

Christmas Mass: 4pm

Jardim Duarte Familia Christmas Eve Dinner

While dinner was being finalised the boys got to decorate some cookies for Father Christmas and his reindeer

Hard work!

Dinner is ready...lets feast!

Party is on!
The nativity on the table took severe abuse by the toddlers lol

Cheese!

Present frenzy... everyone loved their gifts!

Jaime got an awesome Chuggington train track, Ili got a seat warmer for his car and I got a crock pot (slow cooker). Robby also gave us each some special gifts - Jaime a magnifying glass, specifically a pink one, Ili got a 0andX game and I got a heart shape soap "so i can wash Jaime"... too precious

Whats up?

Craft Number 2...Jaime's gift to Robby and himself

Painting his "Welcome" Reindeer stake

What you doing Josh? ..... is that the tub of ice cream in your lap????

So proud

Christmas Day preparations

Ok now the hard work... building the bike that Avo gave

Looking for clues... think his screw is loose..?

Reading instructions.. the yawn... you bored Ili? tired?

Ok ok looks like he knows what he is doing

And voila...All done!

The test drive

Now off to bed....

Oh hang on look...

Prezzies under the tree

Stockings are filled

Milk finished, salad and grapes all over the floor and cookies eaten...

And a special note for Jaime

We were so distracted with building the bike we completely missed Santa!

Can you believe it!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Santa Claus...do YOU believe?

2011-12-20T20:10:00.000-06:00

Thought I'd share an extract from a blog I read recently. Thought it was well written and straight out my heart... enjoy!

I’m rather convinced that modern parents have forgotten what it means to have a magical childhood.

Nowadays, we’re all in favor of the Very Serious Childhood—full of flashcard drills and tofu sandwiches on organic, squaw bread. We have collectively decided that frivolous things like fairies, imaginary friends and Santa Claus must be banished.

I’m pretty sure all this uber-functioning, over-scheduled, Very Serious Childhood stuff breaks poor ol’ Santa Claus’ heart. What he must think of all these highly-literalistic children running around shouting that he isn’t real? And also: parents have lied–LIED–to their own children!

I’m a terrible parent because I play make-believe and pretend and dress-up and dance through the garden singing songs to elves and fairies!

How dare I? There are more IMPORTANT things to do like learn Latin root words and algebraic equations! And how DARE I lie to my children about Santa Claus? Won’t they stop believing in Jesus now?

Well, I talked with Santa Claus about that he laughed a very big HO HO HO and assured me that if I’ve only done one thing right as a mother it’s this: I’ve delivered my children from the clutches of a dark, cold, SERIOUS childhood and given them the ability to dream. To behold.

To embrace the mystery without needing to unveil it, explain it, understand it.

I’ve made it safe for them to be wonderstruck and awestruck and to hear sleigh bells on the roof.

Let others have their literalism and facts.

We have Santa Claus.

A HUGE thanks to my Mommy and Daddy for sharing your belief and giving us a magical childhood.

5 more sleeps...

A gift for Mom and Dad

2011-12-19T16:58:00.000-06:00

A gift from my big boy Jaime... how cool is that!

Made in South Africa

2011-12-19T16:46:00.001-06:00

Today we were surprised to find a package in our post box and guess what was inside.....

Made in South Africa shirt

Showing our other gifts off

Deciding what to do with our gifts

Our gifts you ask....

African decorations for our tree!!

The angel

our African American tree

Thanks Carmi... extra special package!

Our Nativity

2011-12-16T20:36:00.000-06:00

Its Christmas and its the time of love, joy and of course the day Jesus is born. We thought we better get our Nativity scene up so we can teach Jaime the Christmas story.

Problem: we left our one in South Africa ;-(

Solution: We make a plan...

Grab some colours, glue and paper.

Colour colour colour

Cut it all out, put it together and ...voila!

Our own Nativity!

The final product! Excuse the drunk donkey on the left, think he got high on the blue khoki tee hee

Close up

Top view: Baby Jesus has subsequently been moved. To return on Christmas Morning.
Dont you think the roof is "simply beautiful" (Jaime's comments on his hard work), "very pretty, hey mom, very pretty!"

Finishing off the Christmas Tree

With an angel - every tree needs one watching over us

The finished product

O' Christmas Tree

2011-12-11T20:24:00.000-06:00

After 2 days of searching we have our tree..actually two tress. One for inside and one for outside. We found our perfect Pine tree today - a gorgeous big full tree, best of all its real and will keep on growing. The idea being that we can one day plant it in our front yard as a memory of our first Christmas.

However as per usual we don't read instructions and only after loading the Man Truck and paying for the tree, we realised that you cannot bring a live tree into your house straight away you have to give it 3-4 days in the garage and then when in the house cannot be close to any air vents or rafts. Our house is so small we dont have a garage and every corner has a vent. So what do we do off we trap to Lowes another tree we get.. for indoors. A real one but one that is already "broken in".

And here it is...

The boys did some decorating

Even Josh got involved

And very proud of their work

With the lights on.

Now we got to work on getting the table and surrounding decor...one day at a time I suppose...or maybe one Christmas at a time ;-)

Otherwise around the house...

Stocking Holder 1

Stocking Holder 2

Stocking Holder 3

And the stockings

Will keep you updated with our second pride and joy.

Confessions of a Cranio Mom

2011-12-11T19:48:00.001-06:00

I Cry.

It might not seem like I do because most of the time I wait until everyone is asleep. Then I use the darkness of the night to hide my tears. Like a baby I cry myself to sleep and I silently wish the tears will wash all of this fear away.
...
I Obsess.

I research and I read and I blog until my eyes bleed. My poor eyes. I can't learn enough... can't know enough. I keep on searching for a different/better answer when I know I have already found it.

I Hate.

I'm not a jealous person but why is this happening to my precious baby and not yours. It isn't fair, it isn't right, and I hate the fact that you are so happy and I am so unbelievably scared.

I Doubt.

I doubt my decisions, I doubt my surgeons, I doubt my motives, I doubt my faith. It's amazing how someone who once was so strong can crumble into a million pieces so quickly.

I Wait.

For answers... for appointments.... for surgery..... for acceptance... to finally shout from the rooftops "we're on the other side".

I Stare.

At your head, at their head..... At the waiting room wall..... At the Ct scan... at the surgeon when he says "craniosynostosis".

I Deny.

I make yet another appointment in hopes that someone will reverse the original diagnosis. This can't be happening.

I Worry.

About everything. Developmental delays.. ICP... what other people will say.... your vision...Your blood count... Anesthesia... Second Surgeries... will it ever stop?

I Pray.

For guidance, for peace, for my life to return to normal. For a successful surgery for you and a successful surgery for all.

I Cry Again.

I never knew that happiness could bring so many tears. You smile at me behind all of your bandages and wires and I melt into the floor.

I Grow.

Not only as a mom but as a person. Your journey and strength changed my life for the better.

I Overcome.

The fear, the anxiety, the tears, the hate, the doubt, the worry.

I Love.

My baby. My cranio family. Your successful journey and the beautiful life it's become.

By Lauren DiIenno Hassinger

ABC's

2011-12-10T17:00:00.000-06:00

After many months we have it down...

Helping out at home

2011-12-04T11:13:00.005-06:00

The task: Check all is out the tumble dryer

Open door

Check inside

Oh heck climb in

Check Mom I fit

Ok nothing inside

All done Mom!

La Salette

2011-12-03T11:13:00.000-06:00

Christmas at The Shrine of La Salette

The Festival of light

Its officially the Christmas season so the next 3 weeks we going to be doing a lot of "Christmas". Its really cool, my favourite time of year and even though America has changed its approach to "Happy Holidays" we still going to celebrate a "Merry Christmas"

"CHRISTMAS...is a time to reflect upon the birth of Jesus! Jesus is the reason for all of these lights because HE IS OUR LIGHT OF LIFE. In good times and in bad times, Jesus is always the LIGHT OF "our" LIFE! "

All bundled up and ready for the lights

The boys

The outside manger

The inside manger.. this nativity is from the 1800 its almost adult human size

And then the outside, as far as the eye can see, over 300 000 lights. Absolutely breathtaking!

Story boards lined the walk ways - about Christmas, St Nicolaus, Clopper the donkey and more

Around the "Rosary" pond were these boards each board with a letter of the alphabet...

J is for Jubilee

R is for Robby and Rose

Love Christmas, Love the lights, Love the songs!

The Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette is a beautiful place, reminds me alot of Schoenstatt in Bedfordview. I think its the big gardens, little corners to sit and be/think/pray. The Church is alot bigger but all wooden and solemn. I think we need to come visit when its less busy.

Merry Christmas!

The American Accent

2011-12-03T08:59:00.001-06:00

Its a short movie but besides him being 6 months older his accent is very different.

The South African Accent

2011-12-02T17:48:00.001-06:00

Plymouth

2011-11-30T11:13:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving weekend. 4 days of nothing to do besides eat. Pure Bliss!
Well we did add to the weekend by meeting up with Joao and Rene Carapinha in Plymouth for a bit of a South African catch up and whats up lunch.

Plymouth, the place where pilgrims arrived...thus appropriate for us to visit the site

Some pics of the day...

The Mayflower 2 - a replica of the original

The anchor

Busy busy boys

The Rock - or rather part of the rock.
It symbolises the disembarking of the Pilgrims.

"Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, [we] fell upon [our] knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought [us] over the vast and furious ocean."
- William Bradford

Catch up Session

2011-11-29T07:00:00.000-06:00

A little catch up session... grab a cup of coffee....and cake, if you wish.
We are a week short of 3 months in the USA and life is starting to become routine. A lot of the issues we experienced along the way are starting to iron themselves out. So some +'s for us.

The Routine, a day in the life of the Jardim's: wake up, run, breakfast, get dressed, work, school, admin, dinner, bed. Nothing to extravagant or different.

The issues:
Medical insurance: we managed to nail down how the system works and now have medical insurance *yay*. Its law in Mas that everyone has insurance, however new contracts can only be opened during the open enrollment period, July - August.  As we fall within the "special circumstances" they were able to open up a short-term contract till July 2012. This last part took lots of research, on-line and telephone calls, to figure out but thankfully we did. Now we can rest at ease.

Cars: we managed to get our drivers license and after plenty searching, found good deals on a car and a man truck.   So both Ili and I are mobile and independent.

Work: Work is going well. Its all a bit overwhelming but incredibly thrilling when I learn and apply it practically.

Running: Im back into gear with my running. Lucky, we in a really good neighbourhood so I get to go running on my own before work. I'm into a 3 days-a-week routine. Think I need to increase my km's though, as these American cookies are just to dam tempting and are now causing a weight issue!

Cleaning: Thank God we have a small place and the dust is minimal. This topic we thought would be alot more difficult but it seems as if we coping with the daily cleaning. The only issue we have is the laundry, Ili keeps shrinking my clothes, this is fact, my pants which I had hemmed to just above the ground are now just above my ankles. The waist I cannot close. He is learning, as am I, with what clothes to wear more than once before washing lol

Not quite an "issue" but always a concern, Jaime. Jaime is loving school, the American accent is coming on.  He is learning so much and is constantly changing.  All of his clothes from SA are officially to small and a new wardrobe is in order ( Thank God for Black Friday). He is eating up a storm - really enjoying this part. His favourite snack, among others, is a bangle (bagel) with cream cheese. Other snacks include PB&J dinosaur sandwiches, pineapple, McQueen Pretzels, strawberries and Goldfish.

With the new place, we were able to give Jaime his own room. Before this stage of our lives, the amount of times Jaime has slept alone in a bed, in a room separate to ours is minimal. This change has been coming for a while and I think Jaime was wanting it too. Bed time routine of dinner, bath and story is really working and temper free (most nights). We do still however get the night time, sorry, early morning, visits. Luck our bed is huge so it fits all 3 of us, plus the Rhino, a turtle, McQueen, Francesco Bernoulli and the school bus. Yes they all make the journey to our bed at 3 in the morning!

Potty training: Oi a contentious issue! As you know we have no.1 down and now the no.2 is under control. We have managed to time his movements to early morning or just before bed time. In addition Jaime is now asking for a nappy when he feels the urge to go. Much better!

Jaime and Robby are becoming great friends - is cool to see them together.

Otherwise, we carrying on. Enjoying every moment and looking forward to new adventures still to come.

Black Friday

2011-11-28T20:20:00.001-06:00

Its called Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving. It's the biggest shopping weekend of the year, and it marks the busiest day of the entire holiday season. Black Friday has become the default shorthand for retail’s most important day of the year, a day when sleep-deprived shoppers with enough coffee, organizational savvy and willpower can — for only a few hours!!! — get amazing, never-to-be-seen-again deals on everything from flat-screen TVs to the latest must-have toy.

Our Black Friday started on Thurday night 9pm at our kitchen table in front of our laptops. Some shoppers, the crazy ones, were lined up outside of the stores waiting for the doors to open. In MA there are blue laws that state that no shopping is permitted on Thanksgiving i.e. all stores need to close. Its really good in a way as for one day, everyone (except the Nurses, Doctors and hospitals) are home with their families.

As we didn't personally witness the mayhem we thought we'd share the following clips just to give you a feel. This is in Walmart Michigan - the product "Straight talk cell phones"

The Target in North Buffalo... check the big guys crawling out from the stampede... they hurting bad!

Here in Mass, people were lined up outside of Best Buy (electronic stores) for up to 24 hours. ALl with camping gear and plenty of team players to maintain their positions. To be honest, Im not sure a TV or memory cards are that important.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T09:25:00.000-06:00

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

In 2011, the Jardim family, the Bertrand family and the Duarte family shared an autumn harvest feast at the Duarte Colony. A meal consisting of roast Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoe, sweet potatoe, carrots, broccoli casserol and gravy.

Our first official Thanksgiving dinner went down something like this...

The greeting

Jaime and Robby. Jaime flashing off is "Dancing shoes"

A pose

Just being boys

Big boy Josh looking cute as per usual

The dinner

Table setting (sorry its a bit blurry)

Our place markers:

Ready to eat

The Turkey - how yum does that look

The dessert:

Pumpkin Pie (our first)

Pumpkin cookies and Pilgrim cup cakes (talented Mrs Bertrand)

Thanks Laura and Peter for hosting our first Thanksgiving - good memories!

Creative play

2011-11-26T16:16:00.001-06:00

A little recycling happening in the house... all you needed is two big boxes, some koki's (ie markers), sticky tape and some creative thinking.

Hard at work

Taking a break.... looking for inspiration..maybe

It felt like Christmas morning when Jaime woke up. He took one look at the castle, giggled, and wasting no more time climbed in.

Jaime showing his castle off

The front entrance

Back window

Jaime also contributed to the look and feel of the castles decor..

Getting good!

Dad's version was just lacking the shadows

The Man Truck

2011-11-26T09:24:00.001-06:00

Introducing the Man Truck...

The Man Truck... a Nissan. Ili has been dreaming about getting a Man Truck ever since we started planning our move to the States plus every household needs a truck. So we investigated it for a while and finally a good deal was offered and we took it.

Its quite big inside, comfortable. Jaime's car seat fits nicely with loads of leg room for him and us.

It works and Ili loves it!

Hide and seek

2011-11-20T18:10:00.001-06:00

Can you find him?

I still giggle every time I think about this....man it was funny.

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Bowling...well kinda!

2011-11-19T11:31:00.001-06:00

A little bowling anyone? The Mattapoisett Bowling alley, a little different to what we used to but loads of fun none the less ;-)

Balls Jaime can actually hold and play with

Ili taking a stab at it...with Robby coaching on the side

Jaime keeping score...thank God this was't a serious game cause we have no idea how to keep score! Actually come to think of it, Jaime seemed to have it under control.

Managing the seating area. Doesn't it remind you of the old sitcoms?

The boys

Can you see the rails at back, its all semi manual, kinda vintage ;-) The pins would reload after a push of a button, the boys of course took over that responsibility. With the push of another button, the balls would shoot back to the bay via those lanes. Its amazing how it all works.

Something we still getting used to ...a coat hanger! People just leave their stuff hanging around and collected when they done. Its awesome!

The bowling balls. You cant really see their size but they are small, well smaller than what we used to (first thing we have found in the US that's smaller than back home). No holes for your fingers either. You basically have to grip the ball with one hand and bowl. It takes a bit of practice.

Domesticated Ili

2011-11-05T16:09:00.000-05:00

Friday Night....

A little bit of mixing

A little bit of getting your hands dirty...

A little bit of pitta patter...

And there you go, some blobs of cookie dough on a tray, ready to cook

and 7 Minutes later ...yum yum

Walking Wednesday

2011-11-02T06:37:00.000-05:00

I love you more than any words can say. You have made me a complete person. You are everything to me. And I cannot think of living life without you. And I love you forever.

7 years...

2011-11-01T18:18:00.000-05:00

Its been 7 years, and oh how things have changed... but one thing has remained constant, our love for each other.

31 October 2004

Us...7 years later

Our biggest and most loved change...

Our Mr Jaime

To many more years together as a beautiful family!

Halloween ... the real deal

2011-11-01T17:46:00.000-05:00

Halloween 31 October 2011

Always wanted to know where Halloween originated from or means? I googled it, and thanks to Wikipedia this is what I found:

"Halloween (a contraction of All Hallows’ Evening), also known by Hallowe’en or All Hallow's Eve, is an annual holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night preceding All Saints Day. Typical Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, attending costime parties, carving jack-o-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, watching horror films, as well as praying and attending vigils or church services."

We chose the typical activity of trick or treating! Jaime chose his monkey outfit (with a bit of influence from mom, come on the monkey suit is padded ie warm! its cold out there), anyway let me show you:

All ready to go..

And we off...bagel in one hand and treat bag in the other

Walking in amongst the other kids... interesting costimes. We saw swamp monsters, angels, harry potter, ghosts, dragons (Robby), Snow White (Laura), a kid as a table and settings, kid in an army tank, crayola box, hot dog stands with the pet dogs dressed as the hot dogs ah and many more.

This is how it ran... literally

Robby and Jaime chasing each other

Getting treats

Then running wildly to the next house

At the beginning Jaime started off pretty shy and "scared" but he ended off the evening shoving the other kids, asking "can I have 2 please" with a show of 2 fingers and then saying "are those chocolate ones", "Thanks" ....

Walking in the parade, the boys in their chariot with Snow White as the driver.

Cheese...ie I got sooo mannnyy sweeettiiesss!

After about an hour of walking,

Monkey and Monkey man were done

Halloween trick or treating - what fun!

oh walking to the car Jaime suddenly went quiet...

Jaime what you doing???

Checking my messages of course!

Now that was fun - to next year...

BOO!

Housewarming

2011-10-30T21:05:00.001-05:00

Sunday afternoon lunch, with the familia, sharing food, stories and a few laughs and all in a new place.

Cousins having such a good time together

Everyone in their Bokke caps...thanks Avo!

After lunch some fresh air... really enjoying the short walk to the beach. Guess we have to before the cold sets in!

Sand Angels

The boys jumping on the rocks just enjoying each other.

Good day. Great Housewarming. Nice to have family around to share it ;-)

It’s a moustache mom...!?!

2011-10-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

Halloween at school

2011-10-29T20:50:00.000-05:00

So Mr Jaime had his first dress up, Thursday morning was Jaime's first Halloween celebration - at school. For the past week Jaime has been talking about his Monkey costume. So first thing we do is try it on, see if it fits. All excited the costume goes on...out comes the camera and this is what we get...

So we tried again Thursday morning.... this time in his Rex costume..

Much better! He did't actually wear it to school, so it just hung on the hook. But according to his feedback Ms Ashley helped him put it on. So I think he did flash it off sometime during the day.

We'll see how it all goes down on Monday night...keep you posted!

Our Home...the insiders view...

2011-10-29T20:27:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the new home of the Jardim familia. Now sit down, grab a coffee, get comfortable and enjoy the virtual tour...

The front of our cottage

Come on come inside...

Our front entrace... the door behind Jaime is the front door.

And to the left our TV lounge area

Our SA wall...do not comment on the SA flag...we know we've changed it ;-)

Turn to your right and walk right in..

The kitchen

To the left is the laundry and back entrance

Our new coffee machine, of course this is a necessity in every kitchen... we can have a Latte after the tour

ok back in the lounge turn right...

The fireplace and our formal lounge area...

Continue walking through the passage, keep with me we dont want you getting lost, ok.

To the right Jaime's bathroom

To the left our bedroom

and finally Jaime's room

Alright come along lots to see...

To the left our main bathroom

And lets take a walk outside...

Turn left outside the house, lets walk to the beach...

Our private beach. We can play here for a bit ;-)

And that's it, the place we call home.

Its a good space for the Jardim familia and we loving it!

Writing skills...

2011-10-20T22:32:00.001-05:00

Colouring and writing was never a favourite pass time for Jaime, but lately things have changed and he is getting pretty good at it!