Iguacu Falls

We just got back from spending a week at Iguacu Falls in Brazil, Argentina, and a tiny little bit of Paraguay. We had an amazing time, I got eaten alive, and we will never forget it. I'm way too lazy to write about it again, but I did write about it here if you want to hear about my Honey Baked Ham feet.  Here are a few of the 650 photos we snapped:

 

 

Banana splits poolside were an afternoon ritual. For the kids, that is. I enjoyed my calories in liquid form.

Jack and Henry working on putting me in an early grave.

Coatis-Ick.

I'm wearing a bun because like an idiot, I flat-ironed my hair that morning. Everything was covered in a fine mist from the falls the moment we stepped into the park. I looked like I had a 3 foot afro.

Jungle Tour

Getting ready to go under the falls in a boat.  Way fun!

The marker where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet.

Caiman

Just a few of the many birds we saw.

Requitsite photo ops from the bird park

Jack trying to decide if he should get this stylish coat at a street fair.

Olivia. 90 degrees and extreme humidity, but alas, apparently she was feeling foxy.

Largest dam in the world!
 

Easter

Okay, so do you guys remember when I was whining about my kids' outfits when they had their photos taken with Santa?  I wasn't going to let that happen again, so when the Easter breakfast at the Ambassador's residence came up this weekend, I was ready.  The only problem was, I had to get there before the kids even woke up to help set up, but I gave Mitch strict instructions to make sure they looked decent.  Anyway, I was too busy to get a photo of them with the Easter Bunny, but I got some other pics so you could see what they wore: 

 

Too bad you can't see her shredded knees, and I don't think she even wore shoes.

Argyle socks plus orange and teal Vans are in for Easter this year. Apparently.

Meanwhile, my own traitorous husband hogged this beautiful baby while I was busy.
Did I mention that I think working is dumb?

 At any rate, I think everyone had a great time.  We have a lot of little kids at this post, and it was very cute seeing them hunt for eggs. They also had a great time doing the egg race, because egg races are for LITTLE KIDS.  Too bad most of the diplomats from US Embassy Brasilia didn't get the memo:




Look at all the sad little kids sitting down in the background, waiting for their turn at the egg race.  

Rio

From the moment we landed in Brazil in 2011, Mitch has been trying to get me to go to Rio with him. Without the kids.  He goes there all the time for work, but I've never been.  I've also never left the kids before, because I'm a little bit psycho.  Anyway, a few weeks ago, he walked into the house and handed me my non-refundable plane ticket.  I started working out a childcare plan and when Jack saw how much I was going to pay a Brazilian empregada to stay with the kids, he was all, "I'll do it for half that amount of money".  And, because I feel like he'd be doing all the work anyway, and because I'm psycho, I agreed. So, four kids, alone for four days.  Granted, one of them was more mature than me, but I'm at least a better cook. I made all their meals and packed my bags.

We had an awesome time.  Mitch picked a gorgeous hotel on Copacabana beach, a stone's throw from Ipanema.  And everyone at the hotel spoke English, but I found myself using my portuguese a lot, so I could set myself apart from the loud Americans.  Because, I'm native now, you know?  We hired a guide to show us around Rio (not the famous stuff, but cool, out-of-the-way places, and of course, tons of architecture) the first day, which was amazing and exhausting.  Then, we lazed around the rest of the time, gorging ourselves on seafood and caipirinhas.  One weird thing, every night at dinner (around 9:30-10pm because I'm native now, did I tell you?), I broke out in hives and my eyes glued shut.  Last night was the worst, because my throat kind of closed up a little.  Nothing a little lot of antihistamine couldn't clear up, though. I refuse to believe that I'm allergic to Rio.

The kids did great without us. Jack even organized a treasure hunt for chocolate gold coins left by the "Leprechaun" on St. Paddy's Day and played tooth fairy to Olivia, who had the misfortune of losing a molar.

More about our trip to Rio here, and here.

 I can't begin to describe how much I loved Rio, so here's a handful of pics from our trip:



Neimeyer's MAC Museum in Niteroi

Inside of Monastery of São Bento



Outside of Monastery of São Bento built in 1590!


 



View from Parque da Cidade



Jurujuba-fishing village



Selaron Stairs



Random cuties playing in front of their house.

We waited all day for Christ the Redeemer to come out of the clouds. Turns out, we had to get high enough to see that he was above the clouds! Rio below.






Street vendor



Our hotel balcony, where we had a three hour lunch while watching beachgoers at Copacabana



Art from the Hippie Fair

Pão de Açúcar



Our mom and dad went to Rio and all we got were these lousy  tank tops.

I'm Not Really Here, I Just Stopped By to Drop Off Some Links

Nothing much has been happening in Brazil these days, the kids are going to school and we're going to work (Can you believe I haven't been fired yet? And they don't even care if it's the same old crap I write on here).  I do have a little announcement coming up, but we're waiting until it's official, so stay tuned.  I mean, don't stay tuned by hanging around here, because it's boring, but go do fun stuff and I'll let you know.  How does that sound?  Like I've had too much wine?  WINK! ;-)

Even when nothing's going on, I still have to write for work, so I wrote about our car dying, a ring I bought but didn't deserve, and the shitty haircuts our dog has been getting.

School Uniform

Alternative title: How to Get Around the Societal Dictates of The Man.

5K.

Today all six of us went to the embassy bright and early.  Mitch went to work, because, duh, it's Saturday. The rest of us participated in our first 5K.  I don't mind telling you that I won the whole thing in my division (44 year-olds born in November with blonde hair, four kids and from the great state of Washington).  Don't hate me because of my physical fitness.

It was a charity event benefitting children with cancer here in Brazil.  The kids all had a great time.

 

 I got lapped by each of my spawn. Whatever, I didn't want to make them feel bad by passing them.

 

Henry and Grace both ran much of the way.  I was very proud, resting in the shade and taking important photos. Henry dropped behind his buddy Adam, but fortunately found a new friend to run alongside. 

Olivia on the right, and I totally saw her skip a couple roundabouts. 

 

Jack sure has cute friends.  

 

Last week was carnaval, and we went to the Samba Parade, but I didn't write about it and I have very few photos, because my camera fell about thirty feet off the bleachers to its death.  Anyway, there were tons of butts and fancy costumes and it was totally worth going, even though my car died.  Dead, as in, I need a new alternator and I have to wait weeks and weeks for the part to arrive from the U.S.   If you want, you can read all about it here, because if there's one thing I enjoy doing, it's spreading my misery to as many people as possible.

 

 

That camera took crappy pictures, anyway. 

Bom Carnaval, Brazil

It's Carnaval here in Brazil, and do you know what that means?  Well, yes, it does mean boobs and butts, but that's not what I meant. I'm talking about another week off of school for my darling children. Since my husband works seventy days a week, the kids and I will be enjoying spending a lot of time together at home instead of partying in Rio. But I'm not bitter. I welcome the opportunity, because it's been WEEKS since my kids were home for the long summer break. Jack's band has barely had a chance to practice since school started back up, so they're planning on catching up during the break. Don't hate me because I've got free live music at my house 24/7.

The end of Carnaval on Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, and even though we are no longer practicing Catholics, it's still kind of fun to think of things to give up for Lent.

Mitch:  What are you giving up for Lent?

Kate: My sunny disposition.

Mitch:  You cannot give up that which you do not have.

Kate:  Shut up, as*hole.

Mitch:  **crickets (and a smirk)

Valentine's Day is also coming up, and although I think Valentine's Day sucks, I wrote about it for work and even made up my own special valentines, which you can print out and use for yourself, if you're so inclined. They're very romantical!

Math

Grace:   "Jack!"

Grace:  "JAAAACK!"

Me: "What is it Grace?"

Grace: "Nothing.  I just need Jack."

Grace:  "JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"

Jack, from the depths of the house:  "What?!"

Grace:  "I need some help with my homework!"

Me:  "I can help you, Grace."

Grace:  "No, that's okay, mom.  It's math."

So, that's nice.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

I know, I suck at updating this blog.  Being chained to a desk and forced to write and do other stuff day in and day out has taken some of the joy out of it (cobblers' kids have no shoes and whatnot), but there's one thing my work blog doesn't have, and that's profanity!  So, I'm back, if only to drop an eff bomb on y'all.

The summer break was loooooong, like six weeks or something, but it may as well have been six months. That jerkwad, Santa, brought my kids a real drum kit and a super-loud guitar amp and Jack decided  it was time to start a garage band. I spent most of the break with bleeding eardrums. Also, teenaged boys eat a lot. It probably didn't help that  I kept making them food to try and entice them out of the practice room.

Because my husband works nine days a week, we didn't go on any vacations, just a few day trips. We spent one day checking out Oscar Niemeyer's famous landmarks around Brasilia. 

 Catedral Metropolitana Nossa Senhora Aparecida,
or "Church of the Standing Rib Roast"

This is weird, not sure what I'm doing with my hair, but
Grace is definitely rocking her Brazil Look.
Anyway, what is with that fried egg in/on the window?

The National Museum




I call this piece: Four Children: Happy On The Inside

Here we are in front of some of Niemeyer's other buildings on different day:

 We also spent a day in Pirenópolis, a town about two hours away. It's known for it's colonial architectcure and cobblestone streets.  For you Washington State peeps, it's like the Leavenworth of Brazil, complete with river rafting and zillions of souvenir shops. I loved it, and wrote about it here.



These freaky cow-people thingies are all over the town.
Pay no attention to my hair. The humidity was at 90% that day.



There was lots of stuff to buy. That's Olivia on the left with her two friends. 
Guess what they bought?



First Church of Our Lady of the Rosary

 Quaint and cobblestone-y



A real live vaqueiro (cowboy)! You won't find those in Leavenworth.

 On the way home from Pirenopolis, we stopped at a waterfall, because, duh, that's what you do in Brazil on the way home from places. It was very waterfall-y.

And FINALLY, on Wednesday, the children went back to school. Here they are waiting for their corrections officer the bus (it looks like Jack is beating Henry up for his lunch money already-so adorable!):

YESSSSS! Fuck, that was a long break  (You didn't think I would forget, did you?).

Summer Break: Part One Zillion

My kids are still on break for another week (plus a day, but at this point, who's counting?  Me. I'm counting. And eight days is a long time, yo.).  It's the rainy season, so there's not a lot to do besides jump on the wet trampoline.  Still, the kids have found a few ways to keep themselves occupied that don't involve xBox or Netflix.

Meet Karol. She will come to your house and give you a massage or a mani/pedi for a very good price. And yes, I am well aware that moving back to the US is going to be difficult on my pampered little ladies.

 

Click on this pic if you want to see some adorbs polka dot nails.

 

The boys have been super busy doing important boy things:

Other things we've been doing include.....well, I can't think of anything right now, but we've been terribly busy, I know, because I'm pretty tired at the end of the day. Oh! I know. Every day I like to see how many hours are left until school starts (as of this minute, it's 184).  I've also made the happy discovery that if you drop a baked-yesterday chocolate chip cookie onto a  hot nonstick frying pan for a minute, wonderful things happen to it.  It's even better if you drop FIVE chocolate chip cookies onto a hot frying pan, because then, when you are thinking you'd like to eat one more, there are four all ready for you.