10 Years, 1 Day, and 7 Hours Ago

10 years, 1 day, and 7 hours ago,

I went into labor.

 

Lu was born on a Tuesday, at 3:50 am.

He was a month early, but strong

and ready to go home the next day.

Wednesday, noon.

I remember it was lightly raining when we got home.

 It was just him and me.

One month later,

I had us all packed up, and moved us to the country

where Lu learned to crawl

and walk with a bucket

and walk without a bucket!

and use his potty

and ride a tricycle.

 And when Lu was almost 2, we adopted Cha,

and then we were three - Lu, Cha, and me.

 3rd birthday

We had just survived a major hurricane and our house was a muddy wreck. The roads were blocked with landslides, so we couldn't get presents or balloons. So for Lu's 3rd birthday, we made kites and flew them, to brighten the gloomy mess that was our town after the disaster.

 A painting inspired by Lu

playing marbles with a friend.

 

by Guatemalan painter - Javi del Cid

Eating has always been one of Lu's

favorite things to do,

and being goofy.

4th birthday

 5th birthday

6th birthday

 

7th birthday

 8th birthday

  

New bike.

(now too small)

9th birthday

 

and in one day and eleven hours

my baby boy will be

10 years old!!!!

Thank you, my sweet Lu, for making me a mama,

and filling my life with smiles and wonder.

Goats, Chess, Healthy Diet, and an Award

Recently, some goats moved into town. The goat herders and their goats live up the mountain, just above us. So, every morning, they walk by our house selling fresh goat's milk. Lu hears the bells and likes to go out just to see the goats, and he chats with the herders. I'm not a fan of drinking any kind of animal milk. I think the idea in itself is kind of strange. Lu has tried cow's milk a couple of times, but we're both slightly allergic. However, he knows that goat's milk isn't allergenic (for us) and has been asking to get some for years, so he was very excited with the goat arrival. So, even though I don't fully approve, I let him buy some milk from the daily goat parade.

Coffee is also something Lu doesn't have often, 

but he had his heart set on making himself a cappuccino 

with the electric foam-making-thingy and his goat milk.

 

Cha and Lu have been playing lots of chess.

Lu is allowed to stay up past his bedtime for chess.

Hence, the craving for a cappuccino.

 

And I'll even let him get up later the next day,

because chess definitely counts as learning.

 

I'm on a fitness trip.

My goal - to lose 20 pounds 

and get my knees strong again.

Lu is being a great fitness buddy,

taking walks and hula-hooping with me,

and even having his diet changed up.

 

No more toast for breakfast.

Instead, I'm making yummy veggy eggs.

He loves them, and we get an extra veg serving.

(onions, tomatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, sweet corn, red pepper)

Lu's shoulder was dislocated last April,

and frequently pops back out of place.

We went to a chiropractor and got these groovy bandages.

The chiropractor also mentioned that we needed

to work on Lu's posture, so we came up with this...

We used to start our day with fruit, but

I'm learning that it's better to start the day with protein.

So we're having our fruit for snack time.

Sometimes Lu has two fruit snacks 

between breakfast and lunch.

And I'm trying to get lots of fish in our diet.

Here's today's lunch -

 Fortunately, where we live, there is abundant fresh veg and fruit.

So no canned goods for us - except olives and sweet corn.

 Today, Lu shared his good water-drinking

and fruit-eating habits with a little friend.

 And, last but not least,

Karen at Homeschool Atheist Momma has tagged me for a sunshine award.

Thanks Karen!

So the deal is that I have to answer these 10 questions and then nominate some of my favorite bloggers to do the same. So here goes!

1. What is your favorite Christmas/Holiday movie?  The Goonies or The Sound of Music
2. What is your favorite flower? Mountain wild flowers - all varieties.
3. What is your favourite (non-alcoholic) beverage?  Coffee, coffee, coffee.
4. What is your passion? I am passionate about the lifestyle we have chosen.
5. What is your favorite time of year? Summer. Hot with occasional rains.
6. What is your favorite time of the day? Mornings.
7. What is your favorite physical activity?  Dancing.
8. What is your favorite vacation? This one is hard for me, because we live in a vacation place. But if I could, I'd love to do have a history-packed vacation and visit places like Greece, Turkey, and Egypt.
9. What song is stuck in your head right now? Eddie Grant's Electric Avenue  
10. What are you reading right now? Lots of articles on nutrition and fitness. 

And I'll be nominating...

Melissa at Through the Wardrobe
Ingi at Defying Gravity
Kristen at Teaching Stars

Happy Hooping and Mama's homeschool boredom

We're getting close to the end of our school year. 

Only 6 more weeks to go.

All the workbooks are completed,

and all planned projects have been done.

So now we're in this weird place...

where Lu is doing everything on his own.

And I'm kind of bored.

 

He finished his 6-page report on Hawks

(with table of contents!)

an independent project from research to printing,

that I didn't even check for spelling.

He's working on his spelling in Spanish

through copywork, so... not much need for me there.

He did a Virtual Eye Dissection .

 An eye diagram (in Spanish)

Started a story.

Started on next year's math program.

He does, sometimes, need my help on math still.

It's strange but, it's like he either gets it right away,

all genius-like, or totally doesn't see it at all.

What we have been doing together,

which is lots and lots of fun,

is hoopin' up a storm!

with cumbia music blasting from the speakers

I can't imagine not homeschooling.

Just can't do it.

Nevertheless, TGIF!

My weekend starts.... right.....

................ now.

Nature Walks, Chuchitos, and Enjoying The Now

There's a new nature trail in our town,

so we've been taking lots of walks.

It's on a hill with beautiful views of our lake.

We got to the top and ate our chuchitos -

a very Guatemalan snack

 that comes wrapped in a dried leaf.

 

It's a cornmeal pocket

with a chunk of chicken and tomato sauce

at the center.

 

 When we got home,

there was a little friend waiting for us.

Did it come from the caterpillars on our ficus tree?

Maybe.

Lu has been working hard at earning patches with Khan. He's also finished 4th grade math (MEP) almost two months ahead of time, and has decided to go ahead and get started on the 5th grade stuff.

 With Mr. Q Science, he's learning more about the five senses.

 Today's activity called for a mirror and a self-portrait

 

Did you notice the haircut?

 

Lu got about 6 inches taken off.

mama sad :(

 

The rains have ended and, yesterday,

we spent some time with what was probably 

the last of our little river for this year.

It's all dried up today.

But I'm glad we got the most of its presence.

 

Next year, when the river comes back, 

my boy will be a year older, a year taller, and a year wiser.

So, since I can't stop time,

and keep the river season year-round,

and my son a little boy forever...

the only thing I can do is enjoy each moment while it lasts.