This weekend Mateo's school hosted a Valentine's Dance. There wasn't too much dancing, but there was a dessert buffet!

There were some games, too. Mateo had to stuff Rafi's shirt full of balloons.

I had to hold up some marshmallows for my partner to eat. We lost, but I still got to take home a pink Tupperware prize!

Rafi entertained the kids by showing them how to rub a balloon on your head and make it stick.

Hopefully we raised a good amount of money for the school. It's a great school, and Mateo loves it there.

Spring Fever?

It seems that I caught Spring Fever in January. For the last few weeks I've been hard at work, all day long, going through every single drawer, cabinet, box, shelf, closet, and room in this house. It's been a struggle some days to stay motivated, but I just keep thinking about how wonderful it will be this spring when all this hard work is already done! Then we can enjoy the good weather when it comes. (Hopefully it comes soon, as we need warmer temperatures to refinish our patio furniture, though since Phil saw his shadow this year, I'm not placing any bets.)

Mateo and Rafi are very excited about this:

Mateo is excited because his favorite buddies are in his room. Rafi is excited because now it gives purpose to him having saved them from a movie theater years and YEARS ago.

So, yeah... not much else going on around here; nothing too exciting to post about. I'm hoping to get the house all finished up by March, because in March I WILL have something exciting to post about. We're going to Peru!

One last mention - Happy Birthday to both Rafi's mom and my mom!

Birthday Heartburn.

Well, I'm 32 now. And if that's not enough to give you heartburn, the following will be.

This year for my birthday I really just wanted to cook. I wanted to cook things I've never cooked before. Rafi thought I was nuts, but I enjoyed cooking with the wind in my hair. Okay, no wind really, but I was moving fast. Well, I thought I was moving fast until I looked at the clock. Dinner was eventually served an entire HOUR after I had promised it. Sorry, guys.

These recipes are from various sources - my new cookbook, a television show, and a magazine. Warning: The photos are unedited, full size, and were taken as an after thought. In other words, they're pretty bad.

Asperitif: Saracco Moscato d'Asti 2009. We've been over this before. It's divine. It has half the alcohol content of a regular bottle of sparkly, so you can drink it like soda! Oh, wait, I guess that's a bad thing.

First Course: Baked Brie with Cranberry Habanero sauce; Gruyere with Honey; served with water crackers. My Brie didn't melt quite to the degree I like it, but it was fine. The cranberry habanero sauce was sweet with a mild kick. It keeps you coming back for more just to figure out what the kick is. The Gruyere with honey is always a crowd pleaser.

Second Course: Apple and Pear Salad with Toasted Pecans and Parmigiano-Reggiano on Mixed Greens in a Balsamic Vinegarette. I love a salad with fruit. This one had TWO fruits. I'm in. I must confess I made a mistake, though, in the making of this salad. It wasn't supposed to have Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. It was supposed to have Gorgonzola, which I do have in my refrigerator. Truth is... I forgot. Would it have added another flavor profile to the salad? Yes. Was it still delicious anyway? Yes.

Third Course: Paprika and Parsley Steak Skewers. I won't be making this one again. First off, cutting a huge roast into cubes isn't my idea of fun. Secondly, the marinade was lacking. It contains lemon juice, olive oil, paprika, parsley, salt, and pepper. What it's missing is garlic, onion, and some heat. I think I'll leave the steak cookin' to Rafi.

Dauphinoise with Pancetta and Gruyere. Hello, evil one. Nice to meet you. Please come back again sometime. Not only was this dish fun to eat (hey, it has potatoes, milk, heavy whipping cream, and tons of Gruyere), it was fun to make. I used two disc attachments on my new Cuisinart food processor (my recent Christmas present) to near instantly shred the cheese and to effortlessly slice the potatoes into thin slices. And I had my best friend Tina as my sous chef, so I didn't have to peel a one of them! After you crisply fry and then drain the pancetta, you simmer the potatoes in the milk and whipping cream. Then you drain it, reserving the milk. Layer the potatoes with the cheese, pancetta, and season with salt and pepper. When you finish, you top it off with more cheese and pour the milk mixture all over. Baking it in the oven lends it a bubbly brown crisp top that can't be beat. Next time (after I lose the 5 pounds I gained eating the thing), I'll switch up the cheese and add onions. Everything is better with onions.

Homemade French bread. Can I claim it's homemade if I technically just dumped stuff in a bread machine and turned it on? Yes, let's say I can.

Fourth Course: Baked Grapefruit and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with a Merengue Blanket. Now this one is interesting. Very interesting. Segments of grapefruit (I used a Texan pink grapefruit), are tossed with brown sugar and vanilla and then separated into ramekins. After making some merengue with a couple egg whites and sugar (way easy), a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream is added to the ramekin, which is then covered completely by the merengue. Baking the dishes for 6 minutes makes the merengue golden brown and pretty. It's a beautiful dish to present to your guests. But let's get to the eating part. There's a faint crunch when you put your spoon through the merengue. And then you get confused. The various textures are really interesting - grapefruit pulp, cold and creamy ice cream, warm and foamy merengue. It's a dessert that keeps you coming back because you can't decide if you like it or really, really like it. And I think my verdict is that I really really like it. The grapefruit's tartness offsets the brown sugar sweetness perfectly. I would imagine this will become a staple dessert for us, as it takes much less time than baking a cake. Plus it would be fabulous with raspberries, blackberries, apples... I wonder how it would be with "exotics" like mango or pineapple? I think Rafi will enjoy the experimenting.

And now back to the topic of heartburn. You know what makes it worse? This mess:

But sharing my efforts with appreciative (and gifting!!) friends made it all worth it. Thanks to Tina and Greg for my arm weight thingy (ha!), and a HUGE thank you to my husband. Rafi helped me do the grocery shopping, clean up, and he gave me a few surprises - a key lime rum cake, a really awesome JBL iPhone docking station for the kitchen (also thank you to my mom for that!!), and a very generous gift certificate for massages. I do love him so!

So on that note I think I'll take my Pepcid and think about all the great things that my 32nd year has in store.

Mima's Vist.

My mom, Mima, left this morning after a long weekend visit. It was really cold, so we didn't exactly get out and do a lot. We did some shopping, but it proved to be fairly unproductive, aside from some turtlenecks. Mainly we enjoyed HGTV, and watching Mateo run around.

The big college football BCS game was on Thursday, and while Rafi went downtown to watch it with friends, Mom and I stayed in and watched it together with our new best friend - a bottle of the most delicious wine either of us had had, Saracco 2009 Moscato D'asti. The game had its ups and downs (still can't believe Colt McCoy's poor luck), but we had a great time. We had prepared for the evening by making some slow cooker Mexican posole paired with Asiago cheese bread and garlic bread. Oh, and bread in the shape of a football from HEB. The wine went perfectly with everything we ate.

Rafi and I took both Mateo and Mima to their first UT basketball game. She agreed with me that their burgers and fries are really good. We also enjoyed a most delicious bag of kettle corn together. Hmmm, are we going for the game or the food? Let's say both.

Mat was excited to pick out his own foam hand, which we put in his room later. He loves to say "Hook 'em, Horns!" and gives his own version of the horns sign. Rafi will definitely have a fellow game goer as Mateo gets older.

Mateo especially enjoyed his time with Mima. She made special pancakes for him with sprinkles! She also gave him a new book to read and awesome Buzz Lightyear pajamas (not to mention the laundry and dishes she did for me!).

On our last evening together, we all watched an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives where he visited a hot dog shop where they fried the hotdogs. When the host bit into it, it had an insanely appetizing crunch. So off Rafi went to HEB for some hot dog buns! We were slightly disappointed in our fried hot dog results, as they tasted just like they had been grilled - no real crunch. Perhaps we used too good of a hot dog? Ours were organic, all natural, and uncured. Maybe you need the cheap ones with the fat and fillers? Oh well. It was worth a try.

Thanks, Mima, for your visit! We all had a lot of fun!

Goals for 2010.

As you may have seen on the right side of the screen, I have a few goals for 2010. I hesitate to call them resolutions, as I want to make them more attainable.

1. Spend Less. This is pretty self explanatory. I want to be better about those itty bitty purchases that seem to sneak up on me. In general I am not a huge spender, but I can find more ways to make what I do spend go farther.

2. Explore culinarily. I've learned, finally, that I really do like to cook. And I enjoy tasting new things. I may not like everything I taste, but at least I tried, right? I have an itch to fry an entire fish, eyeballs and all, at home. I want to experiment with new cooking methods and ingredients. Rafi and I discussed making something new each month together. Sounds like future blog posts, no?

3. Practice moderation. Being all or nothing for most of my life is starting to wear me out. I want to practice moderation, especially when it comes to diet. I need to learn that I can eat heathily but still splurge now and then, too. I can be active without running a marathon. I can throw a birthday party without over doing. I can give a present without the pressure that it has to be perfect. Good enough should be good enough when it comes to cleaning my house. See where I'm going with this?

4. Make a vacation home plan. This will be a lengthy project; it's nothing we can afford to do now. But it'll be a nice project for Rafi and I to work together on, dream about, work towards. And how neat would that be to invite friends and family to our mountain home in Panama for New Year's Eve, 2020? That's our goal.

5. Say "no." Too often we moms (dads, too) become "stuckees." When there's a task to be handled, and no one else will do it, the stuckee gets it. That's usually me. I feel I must say yes unless I have a really good excuse, and even then I'll try to fit it in somehow just to make others happy. I'm beginning to realize that I don't need to justify my choices so often. Sometimes I'm just to busy to take something on. Sometimes I just don't want to. And sadly, there is some truth to "no good deed goes unpunished." I want to be more selective about what I choose to do.

Those are my top five goals. I have some other goals (potty-training Mat and reversing his "picky eater" syndrome, starting our spring garden and a few other home projects, reading more books, ridding our house of non-essential items, etc.), but those are for future posts.

Book Review: Julie and Julia.

Julie and Julia. If you've seen the movie, then DO NOT read the book. I haven't seen the movie, but after reading the book (which really wasn't that good), I want to. Sound odd? Let me explain.

The book is amateurish. The main character (the author herself) is annoying. She is mean to her husband, makes dumb decisions, and has a very foul mouth, which she makes fun of others for not "getting." She actually speaks very little of the food itself. She alternates between being self-depricating to self-important. In short, she's annoying. And to top it off, though it's presented as a memoir of sorts, there's a note at the beginning where she admits sometimes she "made stuff up."

But the movie... From what I hear and have read the movie is very VERY loosely based on the book. The main character in the film supposedly is sweet and earnest. The lives of Julie and Julia are paralleled. And really, I just want to see Meryl Streep portray Julia Child.

So for those reasons I give this book 2 stars. I hope to see the movie this week with my mom.

P.S. You should ignore my previous post where I said I was taking a day or two off from blogging. I just couldn't stay away!

Ahh... Home Sweet Home.

So today is Day One of being back home in Austin. Sleeping in our own beds never felt so good, though it surely feels very, very quiet here without background city noise and the night time air conditioners. Mateo has asked about his abuelos a few times today, as we all feel their absence. Rafi and I also both miss the escape from reality. It's been really nice to have Rafi with us for one more day, so we ran some random errands, got Mateo a much needed haircut, and had a "goodbye vacation" lunch at Chuy's. And with that, I think I'll take a day or two off from blogging, because my To Do list is really long and growing longer. A fridge full of old food, furniture covered in dust, a dog hair covered floor, and Christmas decorations all about is only the beginning.

Day 18 - Coming home.

Ahh, yes. We're coming home today. Our bags are packed. We're showered and dressed. We have tickets in hand. Time to go!

---

This morning we experienced the PITA that the new security rules were at the airport. The line was very long, and because Mateo was busying himself running around all over, we have deep gratitude for Rafi's parents staying with us to help out. Once we got our tickets (and paid and extra $110 - $60 in taxes and $50 for a bag that was 13 pounds overweight - yikes), we said our goodbyes (once again, we really thank Rafi's parents for all their hospitality!), and went through security. This part was the easy part - shoes off, stroller folded, etc. Same old drill.

Then we got to our gate. Holy moly. They weren't calling by groups. Everyone was crowded in this mess of a line waiting to board the plane. What was the hold up? Another security check. I waited in line while Rafi ran to get us some water and breakfast. More on this in a second.

And while we wait for Rafi to return, I'll entertain you with the story of the people in line with me. Behind me was a jovial man holding a Hello Kitty bag for his daughter. He asked if this was the line for the "regular people." I replied, "you mean shmucks? Yes, this is our line." In front of me was a large (LARGE) family of four. The father was Panamanian who had his first visit in 16 years. The mother was from the states, and they had two young boys. To hear them talk you would've thought they'd visited the pits of hell. "Too hot. No central air. Bad traffic. Crappy cabbies. etc.) I had to jump in and let her know that this year was actually milder than previous years. I asked what they did like, and they said "the beach." I did agree with them on the cabbies and traffic but hoped they would focus on the good things - friendly people, beautiful beach and mountain views, delicious restaurants, rich cultures and traditions.

And with that Rafi came back. With two bottles of water and chips. Because that's all he could find for breakfast in the shops that were open. One minute later those bottles of water (sans a few sips) were in the recycle bin. Because now you can't take any liquids at all on board - even if they are freshly purchased unopened $2 each bottles of water. Yet they allowed me to take two juice boxes and a sippy cup with water from home. Hmm...

The first leg of our trip home was relatively okay. They had lunch on the plane (hurray!), and Mateo was easily entertained with iPhone games and Finding Nemo and Thomas the Train on the laptop. And then the battery for the laptop ran out. Phooey. Thank goodness we had snacks that entertained him. By the way, it's really disheartening to think you've got 30 minutes left on a flight only to find out you have an hour and twenty left.

Once in Dallas (again, hurray!) we had hoped we could get an earlier flight home, but there was no way we could make it. As it turned out, our flight to Austin was perfectly timed, as we had just enough time to go through immigration, customs, security again, and to eat a quick lunch. Mateo, by this time, was starting to melt down. He was being very impatient, so we bought him a sucker to eat once buckled in his seat on the plane.

Now on the plane I prayed for God to get me through this flight. Mateo was screaming for cookies ("koooooo-kies"), and my patience was wearing thin. No book, snack, sucker, or toy would distract him for more than 15 seconds. And then the plane started to move. I turned to say something to Rafi, and when I turned back...

My prayers were answered! The flight was very enjoyable, as he slept until after we landed and most people had left the plane.

The weather was cold, but I welcomed it. It was nice having both beach weather and winter weather in the same few weeks. We packed up the car, and home we went! Pixel, Marley, and Pudge were all very excited to see us. The dogs haven't left our sides. Rafi brought home some Zorba's (Greek food) for dinner, and after Mateo went to bed (he got quiet reaaaaally quickly), we watched a movie - The Proposal. Sandra Bullock flicks aren't usually my first pick, but we thought it was really cute! It definitely had some funny moments.

The fresh sheets we put our bed were oh so nice. And our bed partners (all the animals) couldn't get close enough to us. Heaven. We definitely felt welcomed home.

Day 17 - Altos Del Maria

A handful of years back, Rafi and I invested in some land in Altos Del Maria, a mountain community in Panama. It's about 1.5 to 2 hours (including the necessary stop at Quesos Chela) to drive there from the city. The climb through the hills to get there can be steep and curvy at times, prompting Mateo and his abuela to scream "wheeee!" for the good ones. Okay, I admit. I did it, too.

These are photos of and from our lot. Isn't the view fantastic? Well, aside from this monsterous ant bed.

Every time we visit Panama, we visit our little plot of land. Santiago Apostol area. Number 628. With incredible mountain views. And no house with which to enjoy them. This time, though... This time our visit was different. We are inspired. We have ideas. We took photos of other homes that got our creative juices flowing.

So this year we have a plan. Now, it definitely won't get built this year, but we hope to at least figure out a plan. At the very latest we are hoping to invite friends and family to our vacation home by New Year's 2020. Doesn't that year sound space-aged? We can probably teleport there by then.

We also took photos of other pretty things.

Oh, I forgot to mention the playtime Mateo had. The swings were a hit, as was the sword fighting.

For lunch we ate at the new (and only?) cafe in the mountains. The strawberry smoothie is nothing but sweet, delicious strawberries pureed. Nothing added. Loved it. The views from this cafe were amazing. And they had wireless!

On the drive home we stopped by a viewing point. Rafi and I decided it really must be the stairway to heaven.

We headed home, and then got ready to go out for a family dinner with all of Rafi's family. My peppered steak was very tender, though my patience was not. I had a very difficult time wrangling Mateo in, as he kept running around the table - something we do NOT tolerate at home. I spent part of my night outside with him in time out. Had we been at home we would've followed through with our usual plan - one person stays and eats and the other sits in the car with him sans dinner. They say it only takes a few times to work, as the kid quickly figures out he must behave or miss out on the special evening. Anyway, it was more obvious tonight exactly which cousin Mateo idolizes - Luis Raul. He couldn't sit close enough to him at dinner.

Back at the house I packed. And packed. And packed. How silly of us to think we were coming back with less than we came with? I had no idea how much the bag weighed. This would come back to haunt me. Meanwhile, Rafi and Mateo enjoyed time with family. Oh, and a BIG thanks to Tita and Monica for bringing me the things I needed from the store! That saved me a good 45 minutes of time, and I really appreciated the thoughtfulness.

Hugs and kisses later, everyone had gone home, and we were left to go to bed ourselves.

Day 16 - New Year's Day

Mateo greeted me in bed this morning standing there looking all cute in his pjs holding his blanket. He crawled into bed with us and vegged with some cartoons while Rafi and I continued to rest from the night before. That was a nice way to start the first day of 2010. Mid-morning we all ate brunch and hung around the house. Mateo had the priveledge of playing with Rafi's old train set, though I think Rafi might have enjoyed it even more.

Not too long later we realized that Mateo's, ahem, pooping problems had not come to an end as we previously thought. We ended up adding some items (pear juice, prune juice, etc.) to our constipation fighting arsenal late that night. We're crossing our fingers.

In the evening we went with rafi's parents to their church. The music was nice, don't you agree?

Music1.m4a music2.MOV

After church we went to Bennigan's. Yes, we came all the way to Panama to eat at Bennigan's. But hey, they all closed down in Austin!

After Mateo was in bed, we all ate some ice cream and watched Transporter 2. The movie was both entertaining and lame at the same time. As Rafi's mom said, "it's too much." If you haven't seen the movie, just picture a model-esque villan in racy lingerie packing automatic weapons, ridiculous slow motion car stunts, and a main character whose suit never gets a scratch. Sounds like a man's dream to me! Still it was a nice way to end the day.

Day 15 - New Year's Eve

The last day of 2009 was upon us, but Mateo was far from enjoying it. He woke up very early but ended up spending most the day with me in bed. The poor kiddo had intestinal cramps a few times per hour, painful enough to cry out and want me to hold him. He didn't want to leave the bed or eat all day. We did end up poking some shredded wheat (his usual breakfast), prune juice, and crackers over the course of the day. He felt better later that night thankfully. According to Dr. Google eating ice cream can cause constipation in toddlers, and he'd had some in each of the previous two days.

Later in the evening Rafi's parents threw a lovely New Years Eve party. Everyone was dressed in their best, aside from me. I'd already worn my white slacks a few times (the only slacks I brought), during which they acquired toddler-sized Cheeto fingerprints, so I stuck to party-pooper jeans. Oh well. Tita did a great job with all the food. I didn't taste one thing I didn't like.

Shortly before midnight, fireworks filled the air. Mateo wasn't too thrilled, however, as he claimed them "too woud.". So he and I enjoyed some quiet time inside together, him falling asleep in my arms on the couch. We made a brief appearance outside with everyone when the clock struck midnight, but then headed in to bed. He was out like a light soon enough.

For the rest of the night we enjoyed the company of friends and family.

Happy New Year! My resolution post is soon to come!

Day 14 - Palacio de Garzas and Cranky Cab Drivers

We woke early this morning, picked up Andres, and drove through Casco Viejo to the presidential palace, Palacio de las Garzas (Herons' Palace). A big thank you to Rafi's brother Luis for setting it all up for us! Before entering the palace we went through very tight security - he briefly peered into my purse and squeezed the bottom of it. No metal detectors or anything like we have in the states. Maybe the president wasn't there?

Here's some background for you.

• Construction of the building began in 1673, with the addition of a second floor in 1922 and the Official Presidential Residence, on the third floor, was added later.
• Previous presidents resided in the palace, but the current and previous two have not.
• The palace building has historically had many different occupants. It has been a school, a customs building and a bank before becoming the official residence of the President of the Republic of Panama.

Anyhow, we entered a marble courtyard with columns and a fountain where one of the herons was walking around. You could tell he was used to having fans. I think he was a he - just a gut feeling. Just like I have a gut feeling his name was Ernesto.

I enjoyed all the artwork, but this massive mola was my favorite. It is located in the Paz Salon, used for mediation meetings (hence its name). There were other oil paintings there, too, that supposedly were painted by students, as none of them were signed.

Up the stairs to the second floor we went. The floor is open to the courtyard below and features five statues representing the Five Virtues - Duty, Consistence, Work, Justice and Law. Also standing there was this guard. I couldn't help but think how boring his job must be standing there. Or heck, maybe he likes it. I know I couldn't do it. After thirty minutes I'd be asking for a stool to sit on. FYI, all the guards wear white shoe laces.

The next room, Salon Amarillo (Yellow Room), was... yellow. The chairs that lined the walls were all golden in color. At the end of the room was a chair covered in gold leaf. At the tops of the walls were many frescoes depicting Panama's history.

The large wooden doors of Salon Amarillo led us to a dining room. This room was ornate with carved wood. The paintings here showed the importance of the tamarind plant. It was mentioned (ahem, I won't say by whom) that this room was full of Panamanian porn. There were indeed naked women in just about every scene. I'm sure the men love this room.

That pretty much ends our tour. Wanna know what my favorite photo was? This one that proves I have a very good husband to hold my purse while I play photographer.

Oh, and nearby is Ruben Blades' house - the yellow one.

The rest of the afternoon wasn't nearly as mentionable. We cruised the mall. Mat ate treats. I got in trouble for Mateo gently putting a book on the floor in a bookstore (oh the horror). He rode various rides, and all four of us enjoyed the bumper cars (I'd forgotten they were so much fun!). Then Mateo had a meltdown. He was overtired. I think we all were. And then, Rafi tried and tried, we couldn't get a cab to take us home. They all refused. So we settled for a cab to take us to another mall where we waited for Rafi's dad to pick us up. Mateo scored a train ride, juice box, and chocolate cookie out of this deal. We all scored ice cream. His little dirt/tear stained face showed the wear of how I felt inside - done. But Rafi's dad came to our rescue, and home we went. And we took nice calming baths. And ate pizza. The end.

Day 13 - The mall, dinner, and Avatar.

This morning we went to Albrook Mall. Mateo was happy, as we used M&Ms and suckers to bribe him into staying in his stroller. Once again, we're parents of the year. After purchasing a few shirts and a scarf and riding the mall train (notice he's wearing his Thomas the Train shirt), we had lunch topped off with an ice cream cone.

I'm not sure what kind of Christmas message this is. We tried but couldn't come up with anything.

Once home I started on some laundry. Mat pretended to nap (we knew otherwise, as we could hear him quoting Finding Nemo), and after he awoke, I took a real nap while Rafi entertained him.

We want to thank Odelie for having us over for dinner. The chicken lasagna, Brie, and especially the Blue Nun wine was great! Her new apartment is very chic.

Rafi and I caught the late showing of Avatar at the VIP movie theater. Wow. That was an amazing film. Admittedly there is some stereotyping and some futuristic/scientific implausibilities/improbabilities, but the special effects are outstanding. It's a great film. Eye candy is everywhere. We plan to see it again at the IMAX theater in 3D once we get home to Austin.

So speaking of theaters, just as good as the movie was the VIP room. We sat in large leather reclinable seats, had fold out eating trays, wide leather arm rests, and had a server to take and deliver our order - chai tea latte, key lime pie, diet Coke, and M&Ms. Can't get better than that!

Day 12 - Panama Canal and FIFA.

I simply MUST stop going to bed at 3am. We drug ourselves out of bed this morning around 9:15 to find Mateo wide awake playing with his toys. Of course. But we got ourselves together anyway and schlepped over to pick up Andres in order to take a tour of the Panama Canal.

As we got out of the car, I told Mat I wanted to take his picture because he was so handsome. Then he kept holding up his hands like this. (Get it? HANDsome?)

Then I told him to put his hands down and got this. That kid is a riot.

After Rafi nearly killed us by getting the stroller stuck on the escalator (ha!), we ate lunch at Miraflores, a restaurant that is on the Miraflores lock of the canal. This website has a live feed of the lock, as well as other points of interest in Panama. While there we ate their buffet lunch (good cheesecake, by the way) and watched a ship come through the lock. Mateo liked the "boat" and the watermelon.

Then we made our way back downstairs to the museum. Things have really changed since four years ago when we took my mom to Miraflores. They have some nice exhibits and even a lock navigation simulator, which we all really liked. It really made you feel like you were moving.

As usual, Mateo was in love with the fish.

They had a computer available for you to view the work records of those who had worked on the canal. Of course there were no Cadle records (I'm guessing the Scottish weren't too involved?), but there was one Campana. Rafi was happy.

At the top viewing balcony we watched a very large cargo ship (likely had 4,500 cars on it, I overheard) come through the lock with very little clearance on either side. I would imagine guiding that ship through must be very stressful.

Just about that time Mateo started to melt down, but cookies and iPhone games helped - thanks, Old Macdonald iPhone app! Then we watched a cruise ship from the Netherlands come through the lock.

And then we hung out at home. And watched football and cartoons. Not at the same time.

For dinner we had Chinese food from Don Lee (the best!), and then Rafi and his friends had a FIFA tournament at the house. As I'm writing this it is about 8:30, so I think I'll take this opportunity to shower and read a book. More tomorrow!

Day 11 - A day of rest. Almost.

Waking up at 5:30 in the morning isn't so bad when you fall asleep by 8:30 the night before. We had no power, so we got dressed by the lights of our iPhones. All hail the mighty iPhone flashlight app! After a breakfast of bread, jam, and coffee, we rode the boat back to the airport.

Once at the airport, the guys noticed something that excited them. Can you spot it?

Here's a closeup.

The Yandup Island Lodge owners were there with their kids, so Rafi chatted them up some more while we awaited our planes. After boarding one plane and then immediately getting back off due to lack of seats, we waited a bit longer and boarded our last plane home. After dropping Andres off at his "vacation home," Rafi and I headed to Niko's. Mmmm, Niko's. It's kind of like a cafeteria really, but it's better than that. I had patacones, salchicha, and a Panamanian tortilla. (FYI, Panamanian tortillas are NOT like Mexican tortillas.) So yes, my breakfast was a perfect example of health food.

Mateo was very happy to see us. From what I hear, though, he really enjoyed staying with his abuelos while we were away. He enjoyed some rides at the mall, a new toy, and not one, but TWO Happy Meals from McDonald's. Lucky kiddo!

I took a long nap that afternoon while Rafi diligently (and successfully) recovered our corrupted/deleted photos from our San Blas trip. Good thing, too, or I might've thrown up. Can you imagine taking a near trip of a lifetime only to have your photos disappear? Whew!

That evening Rafi's parents took Mateo for another Happy Meal and to a park to play (once again making for a very happy kid). Rafi and I had dinner with our friends Percy and Karen. We had some delicious Italian food (cheese tortellini for me) and white sangrias, which were so good I've decided to try to make some for my monthly Girls' Night In once we get home to Austin. Over dinner I discovered that in Panama I could get a haircut for $5, and the works (shampoo, cut, conditioning, color/highlights, blow dry) for $25. I don't even want to say what I spend, though I do admit for Austin I think I pay a reasonable price for my wonderful and talented hair stylist. (It's wise not to tick off your hairdresser - Hi, Jodi!! Yes, we share the same name.) Anyway, I pay about ten times as much for my dog's haircut as a person's haircut here in Panama. Sheesh!

Once we returned home, I put Mateo to bed and stayed up WAY too late working on the blog and editing photos while Rafi played FIFA with his brother and a few friends. Some things never change.

Day 10 - Yandup, San Blas, Panama

After a mere 2.5 hours of shuteye, Rafi, our friend Andres, and I got ourselves to the airport, checked our bug spray (the only luggage we checked), and boarded the plane. It was a tiny island hopper, and that's exactly what we did. Sitting directly behind the pilots on the second leg of our flight did calm my anxiety a little bit, as the tail (where we sat on the first leg) whips you around a little more. Plus I figured if the pilot is at ease enough pre-flight to put his feet up, maybe I should relax, too. The second island on which we landed was our destination, Yandup.

After we arrived at the airport (yes, that first photo is the airport) , we took a boat ride to our living quarters.

We stayed at the Yandup Island Lodge. Only Kuna people can own land in this area, and this island was owned by a Kuna man and his Spanish wife. (Incidentally, they met in Spain when he was studying there, which is quite an accomplishment for a Kuna person.) The island of Yandup is tiny. I mean really tiny. Like a city block.

Once on the island, we ate a pancake breakfast (Rafi and I both had coffee!) and then went to our cabana to settle in. We all three packed in backpacks, so it didn't take long. The cabana itself was marvelous. Everything they make by hand. You can see the craftsmanship in everything from the bed to the joints in the walls. Even the bathroom, though minimal, is beautiful.

What were really useful were the hammocks on the porch. Later after lunch Andres and I enjoyed our naps in them. Rafi napped on the bed.

A couple of hours we were feeling refreshed, so we took the boat to another island to snorkel. A couple of leaky snorkels for me later, we were enjoying the ocean life down below. Lots of sea urchins. My favorite part was this little blue fish that circled around Rafi's bathing suit and waist like an orbiting planet. He stayed with him from beyond the reef all the way up to the beach where the water met the sand. Cute little guy, he was. I kick myself for not bringing an underwater camera. After a rock skipping competition (I lost), we returned back to Yandup with only mild snorkeling sunburns.

Lunch awaited us after we took quick showers. What a lunch it was! And I mean that in a good way. We had fish soup (delicious), fried pargo, potatoes, and salad. Now I'm not a huge fan of seeing a face on my plate, and at times I did cover the teeth up with a napkin, but that fish was good. Very tasty and not fishy at all.

After our previously mentioned naps (Rafi napped inside on the bed), we felt refreshed and ready to go on our second outing. The scheduled tour was of the Kuna cemetery, but we didn't have the required hiking boots and jeans (where was that memo?), so we got a special tour of the community where they actually live. From the boat it looks like a tiny island cram packed with palm leaf covered huts. The homes are side by side along most of the edges of the island with the walkways on the inside. Some Kuna were in their kayukos fishing or traveling to different islands.

Wow. It was so informative and amazing. I am now really glad we got to see the real thing up close and personal. I did take a few photos, but as we were walking through the town (which again, is in total the size of a city block), it dawned on me that this was very personal. We were seeing their homes, their children, their personal moments. Kiddos ran playing in the streets - sometimes sans clothing. Moms breastfed their children. A family held a birthday party. The albino kiddo that tried to sell me a wind chime had lots of personality. He had a baby brother, too. As it turns out, albinism has high incidence among the Kuna, and those with the condition are considered special. Anyway, it just didn't seem right to take photos. So I didn't.

Our guide Uti (Oo-tee) was very kind and patient. He showed us their churches, their "congress" house (the three heads laid in hammocks while a man stood and plead his case for his issue), their ways of life. Some Kuna women sold their hand stitched molas on their main street. One woman really captured my interest. Because Spanish is their second language (their first being Dulegaya), her Spanish was very precise and slow. I understood her perfectly, and somehow she understood my Spanish perfectly. I regret not asking her name. From her I purchased a mola headband, and down the road I got a new mola for our collection and a "wini" (Win-ny). It's a long, single string of beads that is carefully tied tightly around the wrists or ankles. I got a small one, but as you can see they were long, intricate ones.

This little guy scavenged for spare bits of coconuts. I witnessed one man with a small dog like this one on a leash as they went out with machetes to the forest, so I'm under the impression they don't see them as a hindrance. Since they scrounge for their food, they may help to keep the community clean.

That said, I'm not sure what's going on with this.

The Kuna are a very self-sufficient people. They sleep in self-made hammocks. They live off the land, fishing and gathering for their food. Thanks to the Panamanian government, they have small solar panels to help them with their electricity needs, as well as radios. When I first saw the pile of trash (plastics, aluminum, food bags, etc.) all along a shoreline I was saddened. But then Uti explained that that's how they build up the island. In fact, the opposite shoreline that now had a solid row of huts was their old landfill. They are now adding their refuse to the new site in order to build the island outward.

And then we saw the oddest sight. I never in a million years would have expected to see it - Mormons. In white shirts and black pants. Going hut to hut. Doing the same thing they do here in the US. As we were walking they spoke to our guide (interestingly never to us), so as we walked back to the boat we asked Uti if he was converted. He politely laughed, smiled, and said "No."

Our ride back "home" for dinner was more quiet. The tour had given us lots to think about. Dinner, however, was different. We played dominoes while we ate and after. Rafi won most of the games. Boo. I hate to lose. Our dinner was a pasta/coleslaw salad, yucca, lagostine (I traded mine with the guys for more yucca), and green beans. Quickly our energy level went downhill, so we drug ourselves back to our cabana and were in bed by 8:00. The lights out by 8:30, we slept to the sounds of ocean waves crashing a mere 30 feet away. (I shouldn't mention that these same crashing wave sounds might've been what made all of us potty two times each during the night, but I must for the sake of full disclosure.)

They have such beautiful sunsets.

And beautiful other things, as well.

Day 9 - Christmas Day.

Christmas morning didn't start until 10am for us, as we were all recovering from the previous night's festivities. Mateo opened his Santa gifts (toy fishing set, some Thomas trains, books, etc.) after sitting and eyeing the gifts patiently.

We had a visitor that morning - this guy.

After getting dressed we had a wonderful buffet lunch (dare I say gourmet?) at a hotel with Rafi's uncle. Shamefully, this is the best photo we got of us at lunch.

During Mat's nap I made some banana pudding, and that evening all of Rafi's friends came over with their families. We ate ham sandwiches con fritas that Tita (Rafi's mom) made. The kids all played well together. Mateo was enamored with the older boys. They were really good with him.

And then there was this face. Adorable.

Some things never change. This photo could've been taken in Austin.

After everyone had gone home, Rafi and I stayed up until past 2am only to get up 2.5 hours later for our trip to San Blas. More on that in the next post!

Day 8 - Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve started off nice and slow but got busier as the day went on. Until about 3pm we had no water, so that put showering and all that good stuff on hold. Basically we lazed the day away and played with Mateo. Well, I did. Rafi was very busy with his dad delivering gifts to friends.

On a funny note, Mateo got into some cookies that Rafi had purchased. With Rafi there I asked Mateo if he had asked Daddy if he could have one of his cookies. Mateo's response: "Sure I can!" Man, this kid is slick!

Rafi's good childhood friend Yiyo and his wife Yariela came by for a visit with their little girl. I really think their daughter Camila has to be one of THE cutest babies I've ever seen. And her personality is so bold. She was curious about everything, wasn't shy at all, grinned with all four teeth showing, and showed us how strong she was by carrying this chair around. Can you believe she's only 14 months old?

Christmas Eve was spent at Rafi's brother's house. After taking turns saying a group prayer (I'm hoping my American accent didn't sound too funny as I read my piece), we ate our Christmas meal. Two interesting items on the menu were Panamanian tamales and Venezuelan pan de jamon. We drank wine and the kids danced to music (I'm bummed I didn't get a photo of the break dancing) and played with flashy starfish necklaces and the Wii.

The highlight of the night was a visit from Santa Claus! He was a very good Santa; he spoke Spanish, English, and French. He was very lively as he passed out gifts to everyone. Even Molly the dog got a gift from Santa! Mateo was not, however, thrilled about him at all. He clung to me like a baby monkey. He did muster up the courage to open his gift, though.

Speaking of gifts, thank you to everyone for all the many wonderful gifts that were given to Mateo, Rafi, and myself, especially the cinnamon candle holder that Maria Sofia, Nicole, and Luis Raul made for us. Everyone was much too generous! Mateo was in love with his new barn and animals, Luis Raul seemed to like his new watch and Spider-Man stuff, Maria Sofia was into her fancy microphone, and Nicole.... Well, let's just say Nicole is in luuuuuv with the Jonas Brothers. And because of this I now know all of their names. :)

Also cute was how attentive Maria Sofia was toward Mateo. She'll make a great baby sitter someday.

Now this was a testament to Luis Raul's patience. Mateo kept hitting him up for Cheetos. Initially it was innocent enough with a please and a thank you, but it quickly went south with the elimination of spoken words and just the hand motion for "gimme." Luis Raul was very kind to oblige Mateo's requests.

Midnight struck and so did the fireworks. We watched them from a balcony upstairs. Mateo had a love-hate relationship with them. He loved them on the 4th of July, but these were much closer and louder. He liked watching them but didn't like the loud noises, so we watched at times from the safety of the bedroom.

Around 1:30 we got our tired selves into the car and came home. Mateo was such a trooper to stay awake so late (though he did crawl into their dog's bed a few times and announce he was tired and was "schweeping"). Everyone went to bed exhausted but happy.

Day 7 - Goodbye, DeCameron,

The wee early morning hours of Day 7 weren't so great. Mateo woke up every few hours saying he was "scared of sumping," so I ended up struggling to sleep next to him with knees and feet in my back. Add to that a queasy stomach (I know what you're thinking, but I only had one margarita) and a dream about Mike Tyson giving everyone the Vulcan grip (don't ask, it's nuts), and it all added up to miserable sleep. For me. Everyone else seemed great in the morning. Mateo enjoyed his muffin breakfast.

So guess where we went after that? To swim, of course! Again. Well, I only half swam. I chose to bask in the heat rays again for a while. Mateo practiced his whale calls a la Dori on Finding Nemo, and Rafi let him ride on his back in the water.

It was difficult, but we did manage to get Mateo out of the pool and back up to the room. There we showered and rested while Rafi went to check us out. We ate our last DeCameron lunch and ran to the car in the rain. So much for our earlier baths. The ride home was nice and quiet. Mateo slept a good portion. We stopped at Quesos Chela again for empanadas, and enjoyed the scenery for the rest of our journey home.

This is a typical bus in Panama. Actually, they used to have more and larger artwork, but Rafi tells me that the city has mandated they all be painted in a more similar fashion. This one portrays the Virgin Mary, but in the old days it was fun to see a (slightly off) portrait of Madonna (as in "Material Girl") painted on the back.

I mentioned before the Centennial Bridge. On the way back I managed to get what I think are some pretty neat shots of the cables.

Once home I began a gift wrapping marathon. This year I actually brought gift wrap from home, and I'm so glad I did. It eliminated my usual last minute "I need wrapping paper" panic. Mateo played around the house with his abuelos and Rafi.

And then.... then came the WORST bath we ever gave him. Here in Panama it's not very common to have a bathtub, especially in older homes. So here we use a kiddie pool in the shower. Well, Mateo was NOT having it. He screamed bloody murder the entire time. We tried to be gentle, but I finally reached my limit and got in the shower (fully clothed) with him. I might've ended up a mess (no, no pictures of this one, thanks), but at least it got the job done. As suspected, he was just over tired, and fell asleep almost immediately after getting in bed.

And then Rafi's and my work begun. My only job is to make banana pudding for the dinner on Christmas night, so I needed to get the ingredients. The grocery stores were PACKED. And apparently you can't get plain vanilla pudding mix just anywhere. Three stores later (which includes a quick run to Arrocha again for a few small items), our mission was accomplished.

By the time we got home my feet and back were a mess. I didn't mention it earlier, but either Rafi or I had to carry Mateo a majority of the time at DeCameron, which my back didn't like. Crawling into bed felt nice.

Day 6 - "I wanna da ocean."

I woke up to Mateo's smiling face this morning saying "I wanna da ocean." We were happy to oblige! After a breakfast of watermelon and cereal, we walked down to the beach.

The little boy who talked about the ocean all morning wasn't too confident when he saw the waves roll onto the sand. So we thought we'd show him seashells first to warm him up. BIG mistake. Apparently he is terrified of seashells! Who ever heard of such a thing? When we picked one up to show him they were pretty, the tears began. Yikes. So we returned our focus to the ocean again.

As we walked closer to the water Mateo stopped short and said, "It's kinda yucky." But with Mommy's coaxing he soon let the water rise up to meet his feet. This he loved, thank goodness. As we tried to keep our balance while our feet sunk into the sand each time the water receded, Mateo said it was like "a skateboard." Such a smart one, he is.

The now very brave Mateo said, "Deeper!" So deeper we went. He licked his lips and tasted the salty water. He made a funny face (I braced for the worst), and he said "It's kinda yummy!" Ha! His little floaty vest/suit was perfect for the occasion. A BIG thanks to our friend Miles for letting us borrow it.

After we tired of the ocean, we headed to the pool again. Later we dried off for a lunch that finished with ice cream and cookies. This is our view from our lunching spot.

Back in our room we had some down time. Mat quite enjoyed the telephone. "The phone is ringing! Hello? Where are you? Okay. Bye." Hmm... Perhaps someone has been listening to me talk to Rafi at dinner time? Rafi and I laid down to "fake nap" hoping it would entice him to lay down, but we both fell asleep and ended up having a real nap. Oops! Eventually Mat must have laid down next to me, as he was completely out when I woke up - THREE hours later. Guess we were more tired than we thought.

And off we went to swim again! It's becoming evident that Mateo is starting to really use his imagination. He was pretending his hands were fish, dolphins, octopus, jelly fish, and starfish. (He may have learned to do this at school, for his class name is the "Starfish Class.") Rafi pretended to be a whale and practiced Hook 'Em signs with him in the pool as I sunned myself. I know it's bad, but it feels so good!

Later as we walked to dinner Rafi noticed this. Do you see it? A little hand print sunburned into my skin. I'm guessing it was from when we were in the ocean. Guess I didn't do a good job with the sunscreen.

Mateo said these were not in fact crocodiles but spiders on the wall of the restaurant.

Dinner was DIVINE! So good we had to take photos. My dish, top left, was a blue cheese fettuccini with the tenderest of beef medallions. At the top right is Mateo's plate of tandoori baked chicken on a bed of mashed potatoes and eggplant. Rafi's dish was the fish of the day (he didn't know what it was) with steamed vegetables in a sweet glaze. I don't claim to be a big lover of seafood, but even I thought his fish was really good.

Mateo, of course, just ate bread. Sigh... And because he just ate bread, he ended up with a Cheeto lips later on. This is our submission for a parents of the year award for 2009.

We tried to watch the UT basketball game in our room, but it wasn't on ESPN here. So we went down to watch the kids' show already in progress.

At nine o'clock we put Mateo to bed, and we had a repeat of the night previous - margarita and diet Coke on the balcony with iPhone games. We really regretting having not brought a deck of cards, but the game "Unblock Me" became good fodder for competition. And that was the end of day 6!