Please Forgive Me!

Oh man oh man! So, while excuses are just excuses, and there is really no justifiable one at hand, I will simply begin by saying Sorry.
Finding our footing with our new family roles, taking on transformations of paramount importance and trying new ideas on for size, have kept us busy little bees. Though I am sure none of this surprises you in the very least.
So, hmm, where to begin?
Claudio is officially working at the School with me. He is mostly in charge of doing anything and everything I can't get to (administrative things like accounts payable and whatnot) and besides being the sexist secretary/accountant one could home for, he has also become the soul of our home, keeping it clean and tidy and making sure all of us eat 3 meals a day. (Thanks to this I have finally put on a bit of weight!)
Juani is going to school each day for 3 hours and he absolutely loves it. He has 10 little friends that he talks about nonstop, yes, he is my child, haha, if there were doubts before, now that his speech skills have come into play, there is no need to go on questioning. He is a chatty Kathy just like his Mommy. hehe
Before getting ahead of myself, I think it is high time I sent you some updated photos...

This when Juan had to go to school dressed as a fisherman and we made him a bamboo fishing pole and a wire-plastic-bag-look-like-a-net-thing.

 Hehe, look closely, he is already an artist, yes, he is walking around our house in my boots, taking pictures with his digital camera.

 The first time we went to a plastic ball playland. I think he would have liked to stay there forever!

 This could be the most amazing photo I have ever taken. The wood box he is climbing into says, "Prince Products."

 A day at the park!

 My boy!

 Pinwheels...

 Eating kettle corn at the park after a short bike ride.

Ok, so back to other news. I have started a few side projects to help make ends meet. I am really excited about them. One is called Rosario Free Tour. It is a donation only walking tour of the city that we give once a week. The tour is 2 hours long and because it is "free" tons of people go, hence making the total amount of donations quite a bit more than if it were a paid tour.
I have given one so for and it was AMAZING!
The second side project I am doing with one of my teachers. It is called Barlingual and it is a monthly language event in a bar. We put together trivia night and different games and conversation topics for Argentineans who are learning English to be able to practice with native English speakers who are learning Spanish, and vice versa. We sell tickets for the event and at the first one there were roughly 40 people, so, I guess what I am saying is, Claudio quitting his job was quite possibly the best decision we have ever made as a family. It has allowed us to get creative, to spend much more time with each other as a family and we are now putting all of our energy into the same projects.

Soooo, I guess that's the rap. Loads of new ideas, dozens of creative endeavors,  loads and loads of love, and time to enjoy it all. (just not time to write about enjoying it all hehe)
I love and miss you all so very much and I hope you are all happy and healthy and well. We are still planning to arrive to the US around mid December. As soon as we get tickets I will let you all know.
Thousands of long distance kisses to you all!

along the coast

Just to make you jealous...

A bit more...

We have been here now for 3 whole days, 3 whole days is perhaps all you need to set in to a relaxation mode. Hmmm let's see, what have I done today...I have walked barefoot along the beach, bathed myself in the ocean's waters, read an amazingly written book, I have eaten a fantastically prepared lunch, and enjoyed a beautiful red wine...that, my friends, is what vacation is all about.
That and this:

Long Needed

VACATION!
That's right folks, nothing but changes around here! After months of high level stress of high season work hours, Holidays, Birthdays, changes in lifestyle, and just one week into Claudio's change of profession, we decided to head to the ocean. I have lived in Argentina now for a bit over 6 years and it is hard to believe that I am only now becoming acquainted with the Argentinean sea!
Juani, on the other hand, is getting his first taste!

We left on Saturday afternoon, contrary to gut feelings and worries of leaving the school in the hands of the professors during high season but knowing that my personal health was contingent on taking some time off, we drove 7.5 hours south east to a small place called Mar de las Pampas.

It is a fairytale. I have never in my life seen anything quite like it. All dirt roads, tucked away cabins in the woods, all in front of a huge sand bar that one must climb to the top of to then look out over the amazing and breathtaking Atlantic ocean.

We arrived with no reservation and stopped off at one the first places that had caught our eye online, Calamaresco, and there is where we planted our base for the next week, just one block from the ocean.

These are the highlights thus far:
There are so many more highlights to come and many more stories to tell because, from this point forward, life will be different. I am no longer running and raising a child on my own but rather with the love of my life by my side 24 hours a day rather than 2 (and 8 sleeping hehe) It feels great, sometimes scary, but wonderful to wake up to a new routine.

Things that make us smile in the day are as follows: having breakfast TOGETHER, being able to ride our bikes to work (though Claudio was given the car as a sort of severance pay) eating lunch together, taking Juan to school TOGETHER, picking Juan up from school TOGETHER, cooking and cleaning TOGETHER.
Really, I think all my wishes in life have now come true.

So, I am going to now, finish my glass of wine, lay on the couch, ready my book and enjoy life the way it should be.

Hope you are all well and that you plan to read far more posts from this day forward as I plan to write a great deal more.
I am sending you my love from perhaps the most southern part of the hemisphere I have ever inhabited.

Juani turns 2!

This year I was not the super mom that I was last year. There were few preparations, meager decorations, zero party favors, and last minute invites, but, we ate well and drank plenty.
We had a good time nonetheless and Juani was thrilled to have received a fleet of new toy cars, of which, he is completely obsessed with, to the point that, he goes to school with one in each hand, goes to bed with one in each hand and tries to take a bath, holding as many as his hands can hold.
I can't believe he is 2!!! He even blew out the candle all by himself! Here are a few photos of his birthday party at school and then his birthday party at home.

Loves his mommy and daddy!! Can't believe he is already 2!

Summer time...

If I tell you I haven't written because I haven't had even a split moment of time to catch you all up on our busy lives, I am lying. I have moments...in fact, it seems that this month I have had quite a bit of extra time to do things that in the past had gone undone. But the truth is, while I have time, rarely is it quite. To write, I need quite. I need birds singing before the excruciatingly hot day arrives. I need breeze blowing the sound of passing cars in the distance, I need the rising and falling of my little boy's chest as he inhales and exhales his morning breaths and I need Claudio to be busy doing something of his own.
Each day I long for this silence, each day it seems harder to come by. But when it comes, I cherish every minute of it. I sit and drink my tea, read the blogs I follow, write in the blogs I keep and more than anything, I enjoy me.
Part of why the blog has fallen by the wayside this year is Santa's gift to me has been keeping me busy. (I must have been a very good girl this year!) This year, Santa brought me a serger sewing machine. For those of you in the dark, sergers are used to finish ends and sew stretchy fabric like Lycra and Modal. I absolutely love love love it! Every free chance I get, I am drawing up patterns, cutting fabric, and creating new designs.
Another little something that kept us all occupied this last month, is, as it turns out, Juan had parasites and so did I. We ended up treating the entire family, just in case, cat and dog included, but the only two that seemed to have had them were Juani and I. This has gotten me to thinking. According to most medical journals, parasites are extremely common and a large percent of people in the world live their whole life with them, never knowing why they have insomnia, why they are moody, why they grind their teeth, amongst other symptoms, and why they feel lethargic.
Well, I pay close attention to detail. A few months back, Juan began to change. He became aggressive, he was hitting me, he would scream and turn red. He began waking in the night. Everyone I talked to just said, "Oh, must be the terrible twos." I tried to accept that this was just a phase, but I felt intuitively that it was something more. After searching the net, talking to his pediatrician, chatting with friends, I just decided that it couldn't hurt to treat the whole family for parasites. (There are parts of Brazil that do it as an annual cleanse, even when there are no symptoms, just in case) Sure enough, not two days into the treatment, my sweet boy returned to me. He was gentle and sweet, he was eating again and taking longer naps. I too noticed a difference in myself. For months I felt like I was drowning in a glass of water. The slightest thing was enough to bring me to tears. I felt like I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. After two days of the 21 day treatment, I felt calm and collected again. I was problem solving without loosing my head or stressing out over the small things.
Sooo, now we are all back to normal. Juani is eating, he is happy and sweet again, I am working and enjoying life without feeling overwhelmed. (even though I have a lot on my plate) and Claudio is counting down the days until he is free from the chains of being an employee.

The school is going great! We have had a rather slow month, but English classes have grown in size and I have added a few workshops that are fun, crochet, photography, etc. We are preparing for a big marketing investment for this year, targeting private language schools in Australia, the US and England mostly.

I guess I should also bring you up to speed on other fun things like, Juani loves going to school (playschool) He goes everyday for 3 hours. He LOVES it! They play in the water and learn to do all sorts of fun creative things. In the morning I say, "Ok, it's time to get ready for school" and he grabs his backpack and waits for me at the front door anxiously waiting for me to gather everything up.

He loved Christmas this year. He didn't quite understand how to open the gifts but every time he walked into the dining room and saw the tree he would say, "wow!"


We also bought a child's seat for Claudio's bike so now we can all ride bikes together. (helmets are on the way!) which is soooo fun! We have only ridden to the parks close by but he loves it!!!


He is an aquarius, that is for sure. Though he acts like a little fish. We can't seem to get him out of the water, be it the pool, the hose, the river, or the bathtub, he would be content to grow gills.


And here he is, already trying his hand in skateboarding, (he looks like his daddy but he takes after his mama!)

I'm sorry, so sorry...

Whew! What a whirl of wind we ride! Please forgive me for not communicating on a more regular basis! I have been so extremely busy since my return from the states, that I have guiltily placed the updating on the back burner!
So here it goes, finally a free minute while my two men are fast siesta-ing.

I have opened the doors to my very own school! A dream come true. For the past 4 years strong we have been sub-letting rooms in hostels around town to give Spanish classes to travelers, and finally, after 4 years strong we have decided it was due time to have our own space.

Upon returning to Rosario after my last trip I put to my nose to the job and began looking for a suitable space. It needed to have at least 3 spaces suitable for classrooms and at least one bathroom...well I looked and looked and really hated everything I saw. None of them "spoke" to me. All of them were over priced due to location, most of them needed work, and none of them had what I was looking for; the whole kit and caboodle.

Then, Claudio, ingeniously called on a place that had been for rent for close to 3 years. This is a place I have passed nearly twice a day, tattered FOR RENT sign hanging by a thread, big bay like stained glass windows with balconies overlooking the avenue, and not once had I called on it. Why you might ask? I simply assumed it would be a fortune...
Well I was wrong.

When I went to see it, I fell in love, my eyes filled up with tears and I saw it as my own. I knew it had been waiting for me. In less than a month we have put together the money necessary to sign the 3 year lease and I opened my doors after 3 12 hour days of hard cleaning.

Now, 3 weeks later, classrooms are full, students are rolling in for high season and I am busy busy busy dedicating time and energy to making, each day, a little bit more mine.

And that is not the only new change, we, as a family, have decided to make a big shift in lifestyle. Claudio will be quitting his job at the end of the year and will begin working at my side. He is going to start managing all of the administration for the school and will be able to spend more time with Juani and I and we have decided that he should go back to school to finish his accounting degree. All of these changes mean downsizing in things like having a car, but up-size our quality of life in things like family time. So we are happy with the decision and are sure it is the correct one to take.

Also, Juani is going to start school on December 5th! I found a great little pre-school that is right down the road from the Spanish school where he will go 3 hours a day. I chose it based on the selling point: "He will learn to make friends, to share, and to do everyday things like, wash his hands." I don't want him to be pressured to learn things too fast or in too stimulus an environment, so this will be perfect. It will give me a bit of time without him attached to my hip and it will give him time to make friends and begin socializing with other kids.

Now, I know that, while you love reading about all of these new changes, what you really are waiting for are the photos, so I will detain you no further. Enjoy!

Juani at 20 months

Juani at almost 21 months
We fall a bit more in love each day...
Stairs of encouragement; opening doors both literally and figuratively
One of our 4 classrooms
Me in my favorite room with one of my favorite students

Ok, so now that you know what I have been up to, do you think you will find it in you to forgive me for disappearing on you all for so long?