meet maxwell: January 2014

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Todos Bueno!

We have officially been here for a week. What have we done? It seems like soooo sooo much. We arrived on Monday early in the morning. We got situated quickly and went exploring around noon. All the smart and savvy people stayed indoors. They knew what we didn't. That you should stay in during 11-4 if you don't want to melt. We braved the heat. Only for an hour. We walked a huge boardwalk called the Cinta Costera, meaning coastal beltway. In the evening it is littered with exercise junkies, families and dog walkers. There are play grounds for Max to play and explore, and pockets of people doing boot camp, yoga and dance. It is pretty packed but it is nice to get out and walk and stretch our legs.

Monday thru Friday we are in class from 8-12. (forgive me if I am repeating myself, as I have forgotten what I have previously written). Waking up at 6:30am isn't a joy, but it is worth it. Although I remind myself of that every morning. Class is intense and all in Spanish. Our class consists of about 4 people. One from New York, one from Thailand and one from France. Class is pretty overwhelming at times. I now dream in Spanish and have constant phrases floating in my head. Rob and I try to speak it at home too. It is pretty entertaining. I also try to speak to people that live here like taxi drivers, and waiters. I was surprised at how little English is spoken here since I thought I read that most spoke it. Better for us that they don't though.

We are staying in Casco Viejo. The old town and haven't spent too much time in the concrete jungle. I believe I heard that it houses about 350 different banks and many hotels like the Waldorf Astoria and the Hard Rock. We might go take a look see, but I feel like we have done enough big cities to get a good idea of what it entails. We have gone to the mall here. It is called the Multi-Plaza and it is huge. It caters to high end clientele with stores like Chanel and Jimmy Choo. It also has a Forever 21. We have gone there in the heat of the day so Max can run around. It also has a Chucky Cheese. We will be hitting that up as well. How could we not.

Last weekend we went to two beaches. Tobago, which is an Island not far from the city. We had to wait two hours for a ferry and that was no fun, and in the end not really worth it. The next day we rented a car and drove an hour away to a beach in San Carlos. This was much better, however we got lost coming home. We made it almost home when my GPS dropped off. Thankfully at a gas station was an English speaking man. We had him translate to a taxi driver who just happened to be there to let us follow him back to the car rental place. Thank god for him, as I was getting close to panicking.

So that is all so far. We are trying new restaurants every day at lunch and I am cooking dinners at home. We are drinking lots of Mojitos and crashing by 10:00. A pretty fulfilling trip thus far!

Disclaimer-lots of pictures ahead…..

San Carlos

On Cinta Costera

Tabogo

Mojitos

Ferry

Had to get my Seahawks fill-Super Bowl baby!!!

SLOTHS

on a train at the mall, keeping cool

at the mall :)

school workbook

Headed back to the city

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Casco Viejo

Setting out on a month long trip is not easy. Not that I am complaining because I am so grateful we are able, but yet, it had its stressors. One, finding a place to live for a month. A place that was central, safe and kid friendly. After weeks of looking we decided on staying in Casco Viejo. The old quarters or old town. This town is very much like where we live now in Pioneer Square in that the buildings are by law required to keep it's originally structure and appearance. This keeps the town historic and rustic. What I wasn't prepared for was the contrast between restored and abandoned. For example, our school. It is nestled in a building that in the states would for sure be condemned. There are no real windows, or doors. It is as if the building was bombed many years ago, yet locals decided to still make use of what was left of it. And this appears to be the standard for many buildings in Casco Viego.

Walking the streets you will see a gorgeous building, restored to all its glory with fresh paint and plaster, but next door will be a building that has half of it missing. And the crazy part is, you can see people living in there. The locals we have meet tell us squatters live there until they are told to leave. They aren't breaking any laws or causing any trouble so they are left alone. One time on our walk we walked by a building that looked as if it was to crumble to the ground at any moment yet when we looked inside you could see a flat screen TV and a huge boom box. A juxtaposition at its finest.

nice and restored

a peek inside

Mickey seems pissed

Agregar leyenda

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Panama-three days in

First let me say that I am writing this from my cell phone. Not the most optimal, but in a pinch it works. We are day three into our adventure and it is going fantastic. I will save more of the details for when I am at an actual computer.

We had our first day of school today. It was harder than I remember. Some came back and some, not so mucho. I took Spanish in High School many moons ago. Thank god some stuck. Right now we are just learning our basics. I am not gonna lie, I am sort of not liking being put on the spot to answers questions, but I guess that is why it works.

It's super hot and humid so our days look like this.

Class from 8-12.

Come home and get Nicole and Max and walk to get lunch and try not to melt.

After lunch come home for Siesta. (and stay out of the heat) and I would like some one to explain Siestas to Max.

Then around 4:00, we venture out for more exploring.

More to come later….. But so far we are having a terrific time!

My hot lil monster

Our view while drinking Mojitos

ceviche is everywhere, a common staple.

From our deck

Friday, January 10, 2014

Potty Time!

I know that I am not the only parent who has uttered these horrific words, however it still pains me to say that yesterday I had to clean poop out of the bath tub. Max, as cute as he is, is refusing to poop in the potty. He hasn't really made peace with the fact that poop now belongs there instead of his diaper. I get it. It's scary. It's different. And apparently much harder to do than pooping under the dining room table fully clothed (as he prefers). The hubby seems to think it is a privacy issue, since he remembers it being an issue for him when he was little. I think he is too young for such privacy. I foresee entering the bathroom with poop smeared all over the floor.

However, the bath appears to be a private and warm spot for him to poop. I got the alarming yell last night....Mama, poop poops, ahhhhh, mama, poop!!

Shit I yelled and ran to the bathroom. Sure as shit, there it was. Gross. Thankfully it isn't my least favorite bodily issue. I much more hate vomit!

So we chatted. I told him that bath is not the place to poop, and that he must let mama know next time.

So tonight we were able to catch it before it happened, almost literally. He started to yell, I booked it to the bathroom, scooped him up and placed him on the potty!

Success. He did it. I did have to hold him down a little though.

And he was awarded handsomely with half a mini Reece's peanut butter cup. And don't judge the small, punitive amount. If you saw how this kid acted with candy, you would give it out in quarters too.

Baby steps right?

Thankfully I can report that potty training is going pretty well, minus the pooping. He keeps his pull up diaper dry during the day and most nights. I am a proud mama. Just a few more hurdles.

However, now when he see the bath tub, he says poop poo in the bath, and laughs. Ugh.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Currently {a link up}

Ya'll know the drill. I follow the above blog, you should check it out as well. Harvesting Kale

I used to be a big fan of resolutions. I don't think I really accomplished any but I never really made anything that could be "accomplished". Mine usually were pretty vague, like eat better, or cleaner. Or gratitude. I guess when I was younger I was more black and white. Like loose weight (which never happened, or hit the gym more (also never happened). I have since learned not to set myself up for failure So anyways, that was a tangent. Currently I am resolving to find gratitude everyday. I am resolving to learn how to be the best Mama I can be. And I am resolving to make 2014....amazing! And if we are lucky, add a new bundle to our family!!!!

Currently we are all anticipating our trip to Panama. We leave on Sunday and will be gone for 30 days! We can't wait. I told Max we were going to go to the Beach and now he wants the beach every day. I don't blame him.

Currently Max is eating corn. Like Mama like son. I do love me some corn. He is also eating lots of small pieces of candy as we are still rewarding him for peeing in the potty. I am trying to balance my diet with more protein (BORING)

Max is currently making lots of funny noises. He imitates cars, and animals. It's pretty cute. I am making piles of stuff to weed through. What will make it into our suitcase and what will not. I tend to be an over packer.

I am remembering my Mama this month as New Years was her Birthday. I am still very thankful for the Medium reading I had. I have never felt more closer to her. Max is remembering a lot these days. We went to the movies and he had popcorn, so now when we are about to watch a movie he asks for popcorn. Or when we are driving by what looks to be his school, he asks if we are going to school. A good lil memory he has.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

panama-mania

In a few hours we set off on a huge adventure!!! We are headed South to Panama. This will be our first International trip as a family. I am super stoked, and just a wee bit nervous. It is one thing navigating uncharted territory when it is just you or you and your partner, but throw a toddler in the mix and you have no idea what your gonna come up against.

Why Panama you ask? Well I traveled all over Central America when I was in my early 20's. A girlfriend and I packed our backpacks and headed down for about 5 weeks. It was a pretty amazing experience. Hard at times, yes, but mostly amazing! While down there, we came upon a quaint city, Antigua. This city was different from the rest. It was like a tourist hot spot, except all the tourists were speaking Spanish. I was super inspired. People from all over the globe came here to learn Spanish at the various Spanish schools. They stayed for about a month and lived with a host family. "I am so doing this", I said.

Well it only took me 13 years, but I am finally making it back. Now with hubby and baby in tow.

We will attend classes M-F from 8-12. Rob's sister is joining us to help out with our monster which is the best thing ever. I am so at ease knowing she will be there to help out.

And after class, the hubby will go off to work a bit (he can work remotely from any location) and after he is back we will go off exploring. Weekends will be for the big adventures. I look forward to updating the blog with all our journeys.

Wish us luck,
Adios!

#grateful 365

I did it, I jumped on the grateful band wagon. Did you see the video? I tried to upload it, however I am not savvy enough to figure it out, so here is the link #grateful365.

Anyway. The idea is that we can get bogged down by the negatives in life. The negative friend who has nothing joyous to say. Or the news that only seems to report tragedy and horror. Or the negative self talk that lingers in our own brain. This challenge is to find something everyday that brings you inspiration/love/happiness or gratitude. The idea is that once you start focusing and looking for these things, the harder it is to gravitate to the crap out there.

So I started on New Years and I post it on my instagram feed. Feel free to follow. http://instagram.com/violet90

grateful for naps

grateful for coffee

grateful for beautiful days to run in.

Monday, January 6, 2014

sweet dreams

Ok, so I feel like I get my fair share of venting out on this blog. What Max is doing now that drives me bonkers or how I never get to wear cute clothes anymore. So, to balance it out I want to share a sweet story about our day out together.

Just a normal day. A lazy morning. Max decided that waking at 5:00am was a suitable time to get the party started. Mama, on the other hand was not so much in agreement. So after I gave him his milk I tried to coax him back into bed with me. This usually works and is our usual routine, minus the 5:00am madness. Well Max wasn't really into that idea this morning, so I plopped him back into his crib and wished him luck. He was out in 5 minutes.

So naturally he re-woke again around 8:45am. It was a little too late to hit the cycle class at the gym so I decided we would go to Gymnastics. I am so glad we did. It has been a while since we had been and a longer while since he had my undivided attention there. So we jumped, rolled, and wiggled all over the place. Towards the end he had me lay down. He wanted to snuggle right there on the mat. Pretty sweet I thought so I didn't hesitate. Then he pretended to cover me up, give me milk and his favorite snuggle companion, "Q". He is sort of embarking on that pretend play right now. As he tucked me in, he touched my face so sweetly and said, "sweet dreams". My. Heart. Melted.

Oh my goodness. Did my lil monster just put me to bed, and did he really say, "sweet dreams". I could of welled up with tears right then had it not been for Katy Perry blaring over the loud speaker.

It was a validating parental experience. One he will never remember but one that I will hold close to my heart forever! It validated for me that my monster knows what love is (because we are teaching him) and he is now modeling that back onto those he loves. This parenting stuff is all starting to make sense now. The highs and lows. The snuggles and kisses. It's freaking amazing!

The end.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Another year in review

I did this last year, and all though time consuming, totally worth it. I tend to forget what we did throughout the year, and days becomes months and you get sucked into a time warp. So it is nice to look back and reflect. To re-cherish the moments that past to quickly. To smile at them again as you remember being back in that moment. That is why I blog, so that I have concrete memories that I can relive any time I want. I can't wait to see what 2014 holds.

January-

I participated in my first cleanse. Wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but wasn't a breeze either.
We went Sledding, which I think Max had a love/hate relationship with.
Max had his first and hopefully last taste of poop.