The Last Three Weeks...

... have been relatively busy, dear friends. However, as pointed out to me (frequently and with much love, of course) by my fellow CVE staff members and bloggers, this is not necessarily a good excuse to keep from blogging. So... I posted an apology, and then proceeded to not post AGAIN for another two weeks... goodness gracious, what is the world coming to???

Um... sorry? Again?

Anyway... Jenna has returned from her sojourn to the Black Hole a.k.a. Bluffton, and these are some fun stories/events that occurred while she was away...

Los Gatitos (The Kittens):

"Fun, cute, and cuddly" are the normal descriptions I would give to baby kittens... "disease-ridden, mangy, scrawny things" are a more fitting description of the litter of three that live outside the house right now. The little kids love these "pets" and spent hours outside dragging the kittens from one endeavor to another (endeavors include: rides in the baby carriages and plastic dump trucks, "burials" under the couch pillows and in bags, sacks, suitcases, etc. and gymnastics while being carried around by the tail, ear, neck, etc.). However... a week ago I noticed a red circle on my arm that itched like crazy. Not a bug bite... ringworm. And now Candi has it too... and even some of the older kids have diseases from the cats.

Yuck-o.

So... I do believe the mother and family of three are going to take a ride out to the Ranch to find a new home... gracias a Dios! Ah well... a fun time while it lasted, but I definitely prefer non-ringworm-and-other-horrific-disease-laden kidlets.

Potty-Training 101:

... is not exactly what I had in mind when I first came to CVE. However, it was way past time for Gabs to learn... so Limón picked up a "comfy cushy for your tushy" training potty (we decided against a training potty that would clap when something went in, figuring the boys would be throwing toys, food, or Candi into its recesses just to make the sensor go off) and we got started.

Wow... it has been... an adventure. This picture was taken the first time Gabs used the potty. I brought in some books and the other three boys all crowded around. They all four sat in the bathroom for close to an hour, reading and occasionally pausing to check if any progress had been made on Gabs' end... ;)

Despite the occasional mess, Gabs is now doing quite well... but Momo has lately been eyeing the Comfy Cushy with a glint in his eye... lol

(Theme music from Ghostbusters... while screaming "Insect-busters!")

Yes, indeed... the boys are on the lookout constantly for spiders, cockroaches, and other creepy, crawly things that invade the living space. One night I came out of the baby's room to hear Diego, Gabriel, and Momo yelling, "Estefania, there's a big, big, big spider! Kill it! Kill it!" I hurried into the bedroom to find a little tiny spider (definitely smaller than a pencil's eraser), and told the boys that they could kill it and protect me if they wanted to. With completely serious faces, they marched out to get their sandals, and (in single-file) marched back into the room and took turns clobbering the spider with their sandals and yelling, "Matalo! Matalo!" ("Kill it! Kill it!")

It was really, really dead by the end.

Thanking my protectors with a hug & kiss, I then lined them up on the wall, and told them to make their spider-killing faces... this is what came out! ;)

A Walkin' Woman:

Candi has started to walk... everywhere! It was completely true that she was going to do it in her own time and in her own way (a woman thing, is it???). Now, if you take your eyes off her for a minute she could be literally anywhere... lol.

The older girls dressed her up in this apron the other day, and crowned her the Queen of the Baby Chairs. Delighted, she squirmed around, finally got down, and took off for the bathrooms to try to play in/drink the toilet water... again.

Kids... you gotta love 'em.

Pues, "I do Apologize..."

(said in an atrocious French accent-ah, courtesy of Monty Python a.k.a. "geniuses of quotable remarks")

Pues... it's been awhile, and contrary to popular opinion (and perhaps desire???) no starving lions have "et" me up, abduction by central intelligence units fell by the wayside, and my typing fingers have not literally (but perhaps metaphorically???) become glued to diapers and sippy cups rather than the keyboard on my laptop...

Cue for the song "O Shenandoah" but sung, "O Jenna dear, I miss your presence... you're far away... in Indiana... O Jenna dear, I miss your presence... come baaa-aaa-aaack... I need you baaa-aaa-aaack... or I shall spontaneously combust into millions of fragmented pieces and hit someone who deserves it like Limón" - which is not exactly how the song goes, nor does it fit perfectly into the right rhythm on the last stanza, and Limón does, I suppose, deserve some sort of award for playing "mom" for a night to our kidlets and changing several diapers... but bear with me here... ;)

Alas, life is normal. And no worries, Jenna... believe it or not, all is going well. Only a mild case of blogger burn-out... or burned-out blogger... or blogged outburner? Who knows... not me.

Pues... inspiration has re-entered my life (partially provided by Amy's attempt at serenading me into the blogging spirit with the lyrics, "You're my inspiration," and subsequent bear-hug-dancing around the escuelita) and partially from the half-frantic, half-joking tone of my mother's voice the other night on the phone...

"Hey honey... how are you?"
"I'm doing well, Mom."
"Really? Well, you haven't blogged in... well, let's see... 17 days, 15 hours and 25 minutes... I assumed you were eaten by wild animals or stolen by zombies or something."
"Hmmmm... close. Very close."

Pues... I promise to blog soon... with something more tangible, more exciting, and more up-to-date than the inability to blog... ;)

And for those faithful readers who have checked every day in hopes of an update only to be met with disappointment again and again and again... (namely Dad, Mom... and all the other "Dad, Mom" combos from our single staff down here)...

Again, "I do apologize."