HEY!

Whatcha doin?!

You are NOT raiding the fridge, are you?

You are not a little sneaky monster…right?

Angel?

I am good, mama.

I am good.

I am not raiding the fridge.

Nah.

I am after THE FREEZER!

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Life with loved ones, Quicky Post tags: fun

I mentioned in the last post that the little man needed some clothes to hide his nakedness, to which we are exposed daily, constantly, without a break. We are not complaining, mind you, but people out there find it worrisome, even at the beach he has gotten looks and I have seen people point at him look, he is naked, silly weird people. For, what is a beach without bare bottomed children running all around it, I ask and expect no answers because if you are one of those people, I dont want to know about it. Keep your dirty secret.

Since I refuse to throw good money after insanely expensive clothing, the first stop I made is at the local thrift stores. There is one particular one that seems to never disappoint: Good Sammy, it has everything one wants in a charity/second hand shop – good prices, big selection, and my favorite is that they provide jobs to disabled people (about 10 for each store they have).

On top of all that, it was 50% off, which meant that I went a big crazy and when I came back home it was like Christmas.

The Dod went a bit crazy seeing so many clothes and wearing his new outfit – just started laughing, jumping and rolling about like a mad man. See, clothes dont have a good effect on the boy.

What did I get?

For the Dod:

2x shorts
2x t-shirts
1x long sleeved top

For Little B:

1x denim skirt
1x beach pants
1x dress

For Miss Fab:

1x pajamas
1x fishermans pants
3x tops

For myself:

4x pants
6x tops

For Mr.Blab:

3x t-shirts

____________________

Total of 26 items of clothing!

I told you it was like Christmas.

How much for all of that, you ask?

It was a whoooping…mind boggling…$40.70!

Really. In the pile I had a 100% silk top, a Mambo shirt, made in India top and pants, Marks and Spencer t-shirt and so on.

I am attaching the evidence.

Everyone liked everything, which in itself is an amazing accomplishment.

I had a few favorites, including the silk top, the fun flowy pants, the fisherman’s pants and the denim skirt. But I think my most favorite find is this dress, which I stumbled upon in the womens section.

Little B has been wearing it nonstop since yesterday. I didnt even have a chance to wash it.

One more thing gets crossed off the to do list. Phew!

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Life with loved ones, Preparations Post tags: kids, shopping

Little B, the poor little thing, seems to have chosen the least suitable month to be born in, as it seems we always have to do something on her birthday, like travel or getting ready to travel. She should have chosen wiser, but it wasnt meant to be and we just roll with the punches of time.

The house is below any level of acceptability for a roof for festivities, and despite that, I just could not pile a huge party on top of all the things that need to be done around here. So simple it was.

Gifts, though, gifts you cant just ignore. So, what does a parent give a little girl that would not require storage, would not cost the earth, would, if possible, disappear in a few days, would be substantial enough, impressive enough to lift that birthday girl off the ground in a spasm of happy jumps at the sight of it?

As a bonus, some squealing and clenched fists would be even better…

Food baskets, of course!

One with fruits, just for her, because she just loves the things and I could never buy enough for the house, it seems.
Another with chocolates, crackers, nuts and other sweet/savory yumminess.

Present – accepted.

Now to the food and party. That had to be uncomplicated, so the guest list was limited to only her favorite kids. She ordered nachos and sushi for her lunch. I added a few little things to spice up the table and the guests brought a few nibbles as gifts, because if they had come with big presents, I might have pretended we are not home.

Food went ok, except the kids didnt eat much, as usual. The nachos were saved for left overs, as a lot of the food that was laying patiently on that table.

The birthday girl had ordered ice-cream cake. In the dig out of the house, we had found a cake/jelly form and that is how the plan was hatched to make the cake. The execution went something like this – 2 tubs of our favorite vanilla ice cream. One layer of that went on the bottom. Next layer was mixed with honeycomb. Then I made the chocolate wafers from Christmas again and after bashing them with the rolling pin, they became the dry layer and made the cookie and cream bottom of the cake.

This is my first ice-cream cake and I can say that it was fun to make. The pulling out of the form was a bit tricky, but the result was worth it.  Sprinkled with bright green crushed pistachios. Yum.

I believe there was a comment that flew to me through the air and went something like, This is the best cake ever. I dont know about that, but it was pretty delicious, especially on a hot muggy day, in the midst of a dirty, messy house.

The cake didnt last long..

After some playing, running around, constant eating from baskets that were carried around like golden eggs, the day passed and the night took over. Not before we stuffed ourselves on pizza, made to order of the special little-big girl.

Hopefully next year we will be somewhere more exciting and far away from here for her birthday. Maybe getting authentic nachos from somewhere in the Americas….

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | Still a monologue | Add to del.icio.us
Life with loved ones Post tags: birthday, cake, kids, Little B

Painting is fun, a lot of fun, especially if you dont have to clean up after it. So, it pains me to admit, that the kids dont get to paint as much as I probably would like them too. Or they for that matter.

But once in awhile,  the newspapers come out, in a futile attempt to contain the mess, and artistry flourishes before our eyes.

Its probably in bad taste to rant about all the ruined brushes in the house, while showing you glowing pictures of my little man deep in his creative juices, but I will do it anyway. Ok. We had a few sets of brushes around, some for the kids to do their thing, and a select few for me. The reason being is that brushes need to be nicely cleaned after use and then dried up, so they stay supple and are pleasant to use. Well, guess how many supple brushes are in the house? One. And its not one of mine either, rather a forgotten one that had fallen in a crack of the drawer. All the other ones you can stab your eye out with, if that is your desire.

Luckily, the kids dont care much, which I adore, unless they get their grubby little fingers on my supple brushes. Then, I dont like it as much.

The girls were actually painting… mostly.

The boy…

What is he looking at so concentrated…

The mind blowing artistry of his siblings?

Nah, he was learning how to make goo quality mess.

Also known as: making bubbles with the paint tubes.

Then he put it down on paper, because he is an artiste.

Even without a supple brush.

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | Still a monologue | Add to del.icio.us
Life with loved ones Post tags: create, fun, kids

The viewmaster was pulled out of the bulging boxes and taken to the only cool and dark room, our bedroom. One thing let to another and we ended up goofing off… as usual.

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Life with loved ones Post tags: create, fun, Little B

The other day, in order to cool off a bit from the heat that was engulfing me, I went outside and sprinkled myself with the hose, then to complete the process, entered the intentionally dark bedroom and laid in the bed under the fan. Aaaaaah.

Closed my eyes and enjoyed the chill that the moisture was sending through my body.

Not long after, I hear thumps and the door opens. A sneaky giggle follows, sort of like “He-he-he, gotcha”, “He-he-he, all my Christmases have come into one”. Its the best giggle ever and always makes me smile.

A butt naked boy climbs into the bed, lays next to me and still giggling with anticipation says “Tzi-tzi” (boobies).

And there we are, under the fan, in the quiet dark room, enjoying our own things.

Few minutes later the boy is fast asleep.

If you are a parent, I dont have to explain how the sight of your child sleeping feels.  Its like no other, its unique type of joy, a quiet and mysterious one.

I am still not sure what makes it so good, but its probably knowing that the thing that is most precious to you is safe, satisfied and content. It doesnt need anything, it is not uncomfortable and you can take a few completely free breaths.

I could feel the warm gooey pleasure spread through my body and relax a lot of the hidden corners around it.

If I could bottle it…

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 1 comment | Add to del.icio.us
Life with loved ones Post tags: Dodman, moments

It has been as dry as a old smoker’s throat around here. While the east is battling floods, here, we are performing dances to call on the rains, to no avail.

Until the other day.

It started slow and unpleasant, with just a short bit of rain that made the air heavy and warm like an uncomfortable blanket. But then, then things turned and guess where we were?

Rains, soaking into the thirsty soil and washing away the sticky sweat off our bodies, poured out of the sky.

It was a bit cold even, but not cold enough.

After it stopped and towels soaked up the extra moisture, I spread some dry materials on the front porch and Mr.Blab prepared little bowls of mango sorbet to be enjoyed by the wet haired monsters.

(I love this picture)

There is a rare pleasure in watching your children happy. Not just any happy, but raw and wild happy.

We were not the only ones enjoying the splash of fresh air and drips off our bodies. The garden, half dead, felt alive and happy too.

And this is what happens, when the rains come in.

The End.

overly processed to protect the fella's dignity

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Life with loved ones Post tags: fun, moments, outside, play, rains

I have saved one of my favorite sets of pictures for the eve of the new year. The new year that we hope will bring us a lot of adventure and wonderful experiences.

It was the dawn of a summer day and we had opened up the house to get some air in. I took my cup of coffee and got out in the front veranda to enjoy the view. Two naked kids and one big one followed.

Flowers kept on collecting next to me – gifts.

Those make a perfect…snow too.  So I grabbed a few handfuls and threw them at the little one.

He liked it.

He liked snow a lot.

My coffee was getting smaller and the piles of gifted flowers was growing, about as quick as the smile on my face.

It was snowing – the girls were bringing it, the boy was loving it.

When you want snow, make it.

When your hair calls for white speckles of fun and wonder, dont pretend you dont hear, deliver.

There was a saying that life is not measured in the breaths we take, but in the moments that take our breath away.

Happy New Year!

I want to wish everyone a lot of breath taking moments for the incoming year.

And for every year that follows.

__

Its easy. Let it snow!

©Snaps & Blabs, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Life with loved ones, Photo Blabs Post tags: fun, moments, new years, outside

©Snaps & Blabs, 2010. | Permalink | Still a monologue | Add to del.icio.us
Food pleasures, Life with loved ones Post tags: fun, mess, mulberries, outside

The living room was turned into a creative hub, read ‘upside-down”, and we joined in the fun of cutting up and making characters from what we can find in the otherwise useless publications.

Here are the submissions by Little B:

___________________

Next, Miss Fab took the stage.

________________

I had a lot of fun. I have been meaning to join in the new cutting addiction, but never got around to it. So I was enjoying finally getting my hands in the pages and thinking of what I can come up with.

My models were ready and entered the scene.

And, my pride and joy:

_____________________

Mr. Blab, having hidden behind the tree, shows up and wows us with his take on the brief.

This one, took my laughing breath away!

Savor in the genius of this work of art.

To finish up the parade, we made quick collection of each of our favorites.

Me and Mr.Blab:

Little B:

Miss Fab, who after seeing what Little B picked, wanted to add the Fish Cat Woman to her selection too, so just imagine its there:

$5 worth of magazines = much appreciated gift  + hours of laughter and priceless family fun time.

You have got to try this!

©Snaps & Blabs, 2010. | Permalink | Still a monologue | Add to del.icio.us
Homemade, Life with loved ones Post tags: christmas, creative, fun