Home School Conference

We got a chance to go to a home school convention and book fair a while back. While we were "in town" LeCount did an open check at a movie theater. While we waited in the car for him to get finished, I gave the girls hamburgers and french fries. Morgan always amazes me because she is so tiny, but yet, she wants to do everything that the big kids are doing. So here she is with a Jr Bacon Cheeseburger. In her hand, it looks like one of those big adult sized hamburgers!!

After LeCount was done with the check, we went on to the home school convention. There were a lot of vendors and good information. Next time, we will have to get a sitter so that we get a chance to get in on some of the seminars. I found a lot of good books and materials for Jaden (and Morgan eventually). I will be blogging later about the ones that I decide to use. I will be picking up a textbook for Jaden later this week. Of course, she has plenty to keep her busy right now as she is working on 5 different workbooks (and several free printables). During the day when all of the kids are here, I use the free printables. It is easier that way to make several copies for everyone since I don't have a copier. In fact here are some links to more printables: http://www.coloring-book.info/coloring/ (this one has famous characters to color, including Jaden's favorite character for the moment~Franklin). Today, I used this link: http://printables.familyeducation.com/ to print off coloring pages for the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie". I read the book to them first, and then, they painted the 3 coloring pages. And, this is where I get my alphabet letter print outs: http://www.starfall.com/n/N-info/abcprint.htm?n=abc We started the letters on Monday, and we are doing a letter a day.

The downside of Mystery Shopping & other similar employment

Theater "open checks" are my favorite. For one thing, they pay well. The other reason is because you can watch a movie that you may have been wanting to see for free. I did several open checks close to Christmas time for Fred Claus. I saw that movie so many times that I could recite some lines even now. I can still tell you all about the movie, but I will save you the boring details. Even though LeCount and I have pretty busy schedules, I still try to fit in open checks when I can. When LeCount was working 3 days of 12 hour shifts, it was even easier to fit them in. Now, we can't do that many.
Anyway, the down side of this kind of work is the pay schedule. It is NEVER predictable, and you usually are wondering where your money is long before it makes it into your account. It, also, depends on the kind of work you have done. For example, with the open checks, since you have to mail in your original paperwork to New York, it takes even longer to get paid. They usually pay somewhere between 4 to 6 weeks after you have done the work. On open checks, the counting doesn't start until they receive and process the original paperwork. We did 3 open checks the weekend of 7/11/08 & 7/12/08. I have been waiting for that money to hit, and so far there is NOTHING. I called them today, and they said to give it at least another week before I check on my payment. Good grief!!! We, also, did a check on the 25th of that same month, so I guess I won't be seeing that payment for at least 3 weeks from now. LeCount did a small check last weekend, so that means we may get that money before Christmas!! LOL!!!
It's really not funny. I am grateful to have the opportunity to do those kinds of jobs and bring money into the house, but I would like to see the money REALLY soon. If any of you have seen my money floating around, let me know!!

Bored at home? Take a trip to the cemetary

When in a small city like Colima, it can get boring really fast. The malls are not really malls in the way that we consider a mall. They may have about 25 stores in them, and the stores aren't that great. There is usually a Sears in one of the malls, and that is their big department store. The movies don't play until at least 3 months or more after they start playing in the states. So, you can easily find yourself without something to do. When some friends called up and asked if I wanted to go to the cemetary with them, I thought they were crazy! And they were, but it was probably from lack of entertainment. At any rate, the cemetary was different than any I have seen here, so I took some pictures. There was a poor part of the cemetary that only had wooden crosses made of twigs or markers made of glass bottles.

Not funny!

While attending a small town festival outside of Colima (I forget which town we were in), I found myself atop a horse riding through the streets. Weird how that happens. I went with my Mexican family (the people I lived with for 4 months). One of the borthers-in-law thought it would be funny to pay one of thse guys on horses to ride me through the town. I'm sure it was funny to everyine else (as if I didn't stand out already~I had to be paraded through the streets). I tried to maintain my sense of humor, but I was glad when the ride ended.

Wow!!!

These pictures are of the kids stringing together colored noodles to make a necklace.
We had a busy week... Non-stop action!! The nine kids that were here for 12 hours a day were:
9 year old girl (my neice)
9 year old girl
8 year old boy
4 year old girl (mine)
4 year old girl
2 year old boy
18 month old boy
18 month old girl (mine)
8 month old boy
This week will hopefully be a little less chaotic since one of the 9 year olds was my neice Kasey, and she has gone back home. Also, the 9 and 8 year olds will be in school, so I will only have them in the moring and after school. I will still have all of the rest of the children here, and in one week, a 3 year old girl will start coming as well. It should be easier with the preschoolers because it was hard to have 3 different activities going at one time (one for the older kids, one for the preschoolers, and one for the toddlers). Grandma Leslie made a surprise visit on Friday, which is always nice. Of course, I wasn't great company because I was exhausted at that point. By the time the last child left at 5 PM, I just wanted to sleep.

The two four year olds got up from their naps before everyone else. Jaden cooked no bake chocolate cookies on the stove (I measured everything, and she put it in the pan and stirred). Then, Gabby and Jaden put globs of it down on wax paper to cool. It was nice having that time with them, and they enjoyed making cookies & eating the leftover stuff in the pan before everyone else got up~ Morgan watched on the sidelines because I didn't want her to burn herself.

Passing on the torture

After torturing Jaden by brushing her hair and putting it into 5 braids, she decided to do the same to her baby doll. While she was brushing her baby dolls hair, she kept saying, "ooooooOOOWWWW!!!" LOL!!

The older kids make a blanket

I am used to entertaining preschoolers toddlers and babies, but preteens are a whole different ball game. It takes a lot to keep them busy when they are used to playing video games and watching tv all the time. While the babies slept, I got them to work on a tie blanket. That kept them busy for about 30 minutes. Of course, it looks nothing like the ones adults make, but they did it on their own, so they were proud of themselves.

Dr. Jaden

Younger, wilder days~ Colima, Mexico

I can'r believe I was crazy enough to get in this water. It was so COLD!!! Everything was going ok, just a little chilly... Until, my arms and legs stared to go numb from the cold at the same time I was trying to swim to shore. Of all of the stupid ideas!!!

A day full of fun!

We had a very busy day! There were 9 kids to play with, and everyone had a playmate. This is the last week before school starts, so everything is starting to wind down (did I say wind down? I mean, the kids are playing like there is no tomorrow!!)

Jaden's first flower grows

Jaden planted some sunfloers from seeds a couple of months ago. Every time LeCount mows the lawn, he always cuts down the weeds, too. He has been accidentally copping off Jaden's growing flowers. Somehow one of them survived. It's not very tall, but it's alive!

Comala, Mexico~ Botanero

These two pictures were taken from the bus as I travelled through Comala. I saw houses more run down than these while I was in Colima, but I never took any pictures of them. These are my only pictures of the poorer side of Mexico.
I went to Comala a lot for lunch with my friends. From the university, we were able to get on the bus, and we would be in Comala in a matter of 30 minutes. The food there was "free". You only have to buy your drinks. So, you could get whatever drink you wanted non-alcoholic as well, and then, the waiter would keep bringing plate after plate of food. Here is more info:

The botanero is a type of restaurant that is found in the area, especially in Comala. Bottles of local alcoholic beverages may be ordered that come with an assortment of botanas a no additional charge. The drinks include ponche de granada (pomegranate punch) and drinks made from tamarind, dried plums and other fruit, as well as tuba, an alcoholic drink made from palm sap. Botanas may include fried tacos, enchiladas, ceviche tostadas, cheeses, and salads. However, the botanas have become quite popular and are more appealing than the alcohol to many of us so you can purchase an assortment of botanas and make a meal of it without the alcohol. The dishes come to your table a few at a time so you can work your way through the assortment.
( http://www.tomzap.com/comala.html )

My Family

Jaden made her first picture of her family yesterday during "school". As you can see I have big feet. At least my waist is small, I guess. LOL!!!

Guanajuato, Mexico~ Festival Internacional Cervantino

El Callejon del beso

There are several kids around the site of Callejon del beso. They tell the story of the kiss while leading the tourists through the mazes of houses, and everyone gives them some pesos for their hard work.
We are all being led by our small story teller to the place of the kiss.
One of the streets that cars can drive on in Guanajuato. There are a lot of streets that are so narrow, you can only get to the house by foot.

The university. You have to be dedicated to go to this one. They built it with about 250 stairs. I guess they figured if you can get to the top of the stairs, and you still want to go to school there, you can be admitted.

If you look behind us, there are building, but the other blurry things are people. There were tens of thousands of people.
Guanajuato is a fun place to visit. I have never seen a place like it. The houses are colorful, and attached to each other (like most of Mexico), but unlike most of Mexico, the city is built into the hills. If you live at the top of the hill, you must walk up to your house, as most of the residential streets are not make for cars to drive through. I was there for the Cervantino Festival. There is more info on it below. I am, also, going to include the legend of the Callejon del Beso after.

The festival takes place every October (specific dates vary) and features world-class performances by international and Mexican acts, in music, dance, theater, visual arts, and street-performance. Every year the festival invites a different country of honor, as well as a specific Mexican state, to bring traditional and contemporary performances from that region. The attendance is very wide, drawing spectators from throughout Mexico and the world and often tickets to performances (as well as local hotels) are booked months in advance.
In recent years, the festival has become a magnet for a younger generation, more interested in the party atmosphere that accompanies the festival than in the performances themselves, and the streets are often jam-packed. In recent years (1998-2006 approximately) this young partying affluence affected in certain degree the festival reputation because many just went to excessively consume alcohol and some drugs. However, in 2007 edition, the Festival Internacional Cervantino was renewed and alcohol sale was regulated (making it illegal to consume it in the streets); besides, police increased its presence in the event, making its cultural sense to prevail. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_Internacional_Cervantino )

Legend of Callejon del Beso

One of the most surprising legends, given its tragic and romantic flavour, is this one.The story is told that Doña Carmen was the only daughter of an obstinate and violent man, but as tends to happen, love wins out, unlucky as it might be. Doña Carmen was courted by her beau, Don Luis, in a church near the maiden's home, where first he offered her holy water with his hand. On being discovered, she was subsequently locked up, threatened with being sent to a convent, and, worst of all, with being married in Spain to a rich, old noble, a marriage which would help to restore her father's dwindling fortune.
The lovely, obedient creature and her companion, Doña Brígida, wept and prayed together. Then, before the young girl submitted to her sacrifice, they decided that Doña Brígida should take a message to Don Luis with the unfortunate news. A thousand plans occurred to the young lover, but of all of them, there was one that seemed the best. A window in Doña Carmen's home gave onto an alley so narrow that it was possible, leaning out the window to touch the wall on the other side with a hand. If he could get into the house on the other side of the alley, he would be able to talk with his beloved and, between the two of them, find a solution to their problem.
He asked who the owner of the house was and bought it for a fortune. One can only imagine Doña Carmen's surprise when stepping out onto her balcony, she found the man of her dreams so close.
When a few moments had passed since that indescribable lovers' conversation began, and the lovers were deep in thought, violent words were heard from the back of the room. It was Doña Carmen's father shouting at Brígida, who risked her life trying to prevent her master from entering her lady's chambers. The father pushed Doña Carmen's protector aside with ease, and with dagger in hand, with a single blow he plunged it into his daughter's breast.Don Luis was shocked into silence. Doña Carmen's hand, still in his, slowly went cold. Resigned to the inevitable, Don Luis left a tender kiss on that smooth, pale hand, now lifeless. This is why this spot, undoubtedly one of the most typical of our city, is called the Callejón del Beso (the Alley of the Kiss).