More on the school dilemma

So we had the interview at the Bigger School 2 weeks ago. We were there for about 3.5 minutes. I must admit I was expecting more, both in terms of time and in terms of substance. I thought we were going to hear about the school’s project, the facilities, the programme. But I guess they don’t need to “sell” the school, since they have way more candidates than openings. But still, its was rather… disappointing.

Yesterday we got a call saying that R was accepted. We had pretty much decided that she would go to the Smaller School, regardless of whether she got accepted at the Big School or not, but I confess I was/am shaken. I mean, this school has been our plan since the beginning. We have always said that she would attend this school (mainly because it’s close to our house, which was the #1 criterion). If we had known she would get accepted for sure we wouldn’t even have enrolled her in the Smaller School.

But, we did go to the Smaller School, and we loved it. I remembered the good times I had there and ZM felt right at home, if you know what I mean. At first we enrolled her just to secure an alternative should she not get accepted at the
Bigger School, but then we started warming up to the idea of having her in a smaller, cosier school. And now we find out she got accepted at what had been our first choice…

We have until tomorrow to enrol her in the Bigger School or someone else takes her place.

Withdrawal

Things are kinda slow at work. This should be good news, taking into consideration how swamped I have been for the past year or so. And sometimes, during those busiest days, I actually longed for a day when I had nothing to do.

But it was just because I didn’t remember what it was like anymore. I absolutely hate not having anything to do. I would trade a day like this for one of those when I don’t even have time to eat, anytime!

Anyway, it’s that time of year again (Lent, I mean), and I have been chocolate-less for 17 days. I swear I am going through some kind of withdrawal here. I’ve had a headache for 4 days straight now, the kind I usually get when I don’t drink coffee before 9 am. I’m seriously convinced it’s the lack of chocolate. Which means it will last for another 30 days. If I don’t get busy soon, this is going to be a bad month. And I hate it that I won’t get to drink a nice cup of hot chocolate at the end of an exhausting day spent skiing.

Oh well I shouldn’t complain right? It kinda loses it’s meaning if I complain. So I’m done complaining.

LIfe is good

So I did start covering Victor’s cage with a dark cloth and it works great. He doesn’t make any noise until we take the cloth out. Thank you!
Now I only have to convince the kids not to uncover the bird until mom gets up. They have learned how to get up from bed, put on their robes and slippers, make their own breakfast (actually, R makes both their breakfasts) and turn on the TV. Now they only have to understand that the bird needs to remain covered until I wake up.

Although my desire to have another baby is clearly increasing (particularly after my sister asking me to babysit my 2 month old niece), this phase we are currently going through is also a great one and I intend to make the best of it while I can.
Both kids are pretty independent now (though M is still in diapers, which is distressing since R was potty trained by 20 months), they eat whatever we eat and at fairly flexible hours, they entertain themselves, they sleep well and they even let me sleep in on weekends. I am starting to take these things for granted, and that’s also why I know it’s time to have another baby, which will most likely be the last. I want to get used to these small luxuries when I know that they will last. If I get too used to them now it will make it that much harder to go back to the small baby routine. But meanwhile, I’ll enjoy it as much as I can.

And to fully enjoy this phase, we are going on a sky trip again this year, in March, and once again we are taking R with us. This time we’re going with two couples friends of ours who are also taking their kids so it should be even more fun than last year. I can’t wait.

Pictures

ZM didn't take as many pictures as I thought he did and they didn't come out as good as I expected so we'll have to wait for the pictures taken by the photographer. Meanwhile, here is one of the kids during Carnaval, which is when children here get to wear costumes (we don't do Haloween... yet)

The Wedding - Season 3, Episode II

I realize now how small this “wedding season” was, with only two episodes. This is due as much to the lack of drama this third season brought as it is to the lack of time I’ve had to write about it.

Everything went pretty much according to plan. On Saturday I woke up at 7.30 am and called the bride to wake her up and tell her I would pick her up in half an hour to take her to the salon. Of all the people who could’ve taken this task apparently I, the mother of two young children who also needed to be woken up, dressed and fed before the event, was the most appropriate one.

At 8.30 we were at the salon getting our hair, nails and makeup done. By 11.30 we were at my in-laws, where my husband had already arrived with the kids and our outfits. The whole family was there to take pictures and accompany the bride in her last hours as a single girl.
This included Oldest BIL’s girlfriend, which was awkward, as expected. But all things considered, I think everyone behaved exceptionally well towards her and I think she felt as welcome as she would possibly feel under the circumstances.

The ceremony was at 2 pm. R was a flower girl and M was the ring bearer. They looked cute and very concentrated in their respective roles. (Will post pictures as soon as I have time to download them). The groom was nervous, the bride was radiant, there were tears and everyone was happy.

I'm about to kill my pet

R, has any other 5 year old child, I imagine, has been insistently asking for a puppy for the past… I don’t know, 3 years or so. Although I love dogs and have nearly brought home a 1 month old golden retriever a friend of mine offered last week, I do not think we can have a dog in a city apartment which is empty all day. It just wouldn’t work.

My parents, always the best grandparents in the world, have decided that the kids need a pet and if we won’t give them a puppy then they will take the matter into their own hands. So the kids got a canary for Christmas. A bright orange canary. And R named him Victor (no idea why, it’s such an uncommon name here). I actually like the bird, it’s beautiful and I like all animals, really.

But (you knew there would be a but right?), I think I may be starting to regret having accepted the gift. It started with M telling every one of our friends and family members he has a new “caraio” (you non-portuguese speaking people will not understand the seriousness of this, but it sounds just like a swear word for penis, which is really, really embarrassing). When he said that to my MIL I nearly died.
Then I realized I would be the one cleaning the cage (which I absolutely have to do every couple of days because I just can’t let the poor bird live in a dirty cage), but it’s really not that much trouble, to be honest.
The worse part is when the damn bird decides to start “singing” with the first light of dawn. This morning it was at 7.30 am. And I still had half an hour to sleep. It doesn’t seem to bother anyone else but it just kills me because I'm a light sleeper and no matter hown many doors I close I just can't stop hearing it. Especially on weekends. And what will happen when the days start getting longer and the sun rises at 6 am? This morning I could’ve have killed him, seriously.
What do I do? How do I shut the damn thing up? Help!

The Wedding - Season 3, Episode I

First of all, about the school dilemma, I think we have decided on the smaller school. We still have the interview with the bigger school scheduled for next Friday but we’re pretty much set on the other one. It is a bit further from home and more expensive but it makes me feel more… reassured, if you know what I mean.

Next Saturday is my younger SIL’s wedding. This time there has been no major drama around the wedding, except for the fact that she got engaged only 3 months ago so everything had to be arranged in a bit of a hurry. But it is the third wedding in 2 years so we’ve become quite the pros at it. I paid for yet another wedding dress which is also becoming a tradition. Thankfully there is only one single SIL left (excluding the nun, for obvious reasons).

But surely you noticed I said no “major” drama. There always has to be some drama in this family. This time it involves my older BIL.
I’m not sure if I ever told you about it, but my older BIL (the one who got the kidney transplant 2 years ago. yes, it’s been 2 years already!) has a girlfriend. This should be good news, since it’s his first girlfriend and he seems to be serious about it. But it’s not. To make a long story short, she is an illegal immigrant who used to be my MIL’s housekeeper and the family is just not happy about it. Not. Happy. At. All.
And why, I hear you asking, is the family not happy about this true Cinderella fairy tale? I know it sounds terribly prejudiced, but she just has absolutely nothing to do with him, in any and every way you can possibly look at it. And one really couldn’t expect my in-laws to be thrilled about their son dating the housekeeper, the non-catholic housekeeper to make things even better.

Anyway, this relationship has been going on for quite awhile now and BIL asked that she be invited to the wedding. He says its time for her to meet the family (of course, she has met the family, when she was the housekeeper) and to start coming to family events. And my MIL did invite her, even though you can see it makes her miserable. ZM doesn’t even like to talk about it and my FIL doesn’t acknowledge the fact that she even exists. This should be fun!