Queretaro

On March 19th, according to Santiago's calendar which he is using this year at home to learn more about the months of the year, we all drove to a small town 2 hours away from the city, called Queretaro.

The drive was not bad at all, the roads were pretty good and the kids kept themselves busy drawing, reading and finger knitting. The scenery was pretty similar to California in the summer. Very dry since it doesn't rain here in the winter time and lots of the views were very similar to Central Valley California.

When we got there, the first thing we noticed was the amount of flowers blooming, especially the "jacaranda" trees which we have a lot of here in Mexico as well, but those and the bouganvillias that are just covered with flowers took most of our attention at first. What a spring show!!

It reminded Jose and I of the colonial cities in Colombia and Venezuela like Cartagena or "el hatillo" where the cobble stone streets and churches in every corner give you a feeling like you are stil in the 1800's. Founded in 1531, Santiago de Queretaro as it is officially known, has been protected in order to keep its appearance.

The churches were magnificent and they all had a statue of "La Virgen de Guadalupe". The sound of the bells reminded me of my home town. We used to live very close to the Main Cathedral in Ibague and you always knew what time it was!!

The kids had a great time walking around and of course finding an ice cream store was abig hit!!
Mami enjoyed her favorite coconut "paleta" and both Santiago and Danny just looooove chocolate. Daddy most of the time doesn't get an ice cream, but this time, he went all out and had a lemon "paleta" which he liked.

Now, in my opinion, these are the most beautiful women in Mexico...they are always sitting there in their beautiful hand made outfits, working on a sawing project and they just are so sweet to me.

We bought them one of their dolls which are very typical of Queretaro. We named our doll "Juanita" and she is just a work of art!! Her arms and legs move so she can sit down!

Besides the beautiful architecture and flowers, the weather was just perfect...not too hot an definitely not cold....just right!
As you can tell by now, we fell in love with this place. It has the enchanting feeling of a colonial town and the city itself, outside of the "historic" side is very well established and with lots of farms near by.

Daniel loved the fact that he could wear short sleeves "up and down" as he says it!

Santiago noticed they were advertising a show, late at night, 8:45pm which is way past their bedtime and takes place in a big house where the actors play and enact some of the most famous myths and legends of the town. From what we could gather, it was a bit scary for Santiago's age and we decided to skip it to keep everyone having sweet dreams that night! Needless to say, he was not very happy about our decision. But oh well....mami and daddy just love you sooo much!!

At the end of the day we were pleasantly surprised to end up in the main square where a classical music concert was taking place.

the rhythm of our home

I've been trying really hard for years to have a baking day at our house not just because we all love to eat fresh home made bread...but also because I really want to find a rhythm to our week.

I'm feeling proud of myself because now we have down a soup night, a pizza night and now a bread baking day!! yippie!!

The kids love grinding the flour, watching the yeast make bubbles and of course, the kneading and shaping of the dough! We all get to punch the dough and to let a lot of energy out...frustrations from the day and it just feels good when you hold it and squeeze it.
The kids also talk a lot about "bis" when they are working with the dough.
I think the smell triggers all those wonderful memories they have of working side by side with their unforgettable and beloved great grandma whom we all miss so much!

I felt more inspired to do it after the February conference where they talked about how important bread baking was to healthy development of the sense of touch.


I also think that the smell of fresh bread coming out of the oven is a great incentive for anyone...definitely an experience we will all remember forever!

Ok, now my next goal is to have a family watercolor painting day. Perhaps on a Saturday so papi can do it with us!! I'll keep you posted.

Storytelling at Daniel's school

I started helping out in Daniel's school since the beginning of the year and it has been an amazing experience!!
I've been telling them stories after lunch time and I think I have been the one who has benefited the most from this interaction. (Just kidding...I know it is soul food for them and for me!!)

The children have a huge smile in their faces when they see me coming and my heart sings with joy.
I tell them the same story for three weeks and they fully live into the story...it's amazing how entranced they are and how quickly they memorize the story.

The first week I tell the story without any props, just a candle, a calming song to help them get their bodies at rest and to spark their imaginations.

What amazes me the most is their little faces and expresions as the story progresses, and they don't get bored of hearing the same story over and over again.
I have to admit, at the beginning it wasn't like that, especially the big ones, the ones who are almost ready to go into first grade next year. But it was only the first time around.

The second week I bring puppets and do a puppet show for them. They love it and as I uncover the veils with the scenes, I hear a lot of ohhh and ahhh.
But believe it or not, I think even though they like the puppets and love the scenes, I feel they live deeper into the story when is just us and the candle. Their little minds are working hard creating the pictures in their mind and in a very unique and special way for every child.

These are the puppets I used for the story of "The frog Prince" which we all absolutely loved!!

The third week, we act out the story. Using very simple props...sometimes just a silk or a piece of cloth as a cape or a crown. The children absolutely love this week and they all participate even if they are not one of the main characters of the story...just being a tree from the forest, a gate, the well, etc...the fact that they are in the play, playing a role is enough for them to feel like they are a very important part of the story! Children amaze me!!


I also help the teachers with keeping the room tidy and decorating the nature table in alignment with what is going outside in nature in our region. I make sure there are fresh flowers from the beautiful grounds and these is what our spring nature table looks like right now:

aventuras con papa

I've been taking classes once a month at the Waldorf school....continuing the Foundation Year I had started last year in Los Altos.
My goal is to earn a Waldorf teacher certificate and become a teacher in the future.
More and more, I can see how being with children in a classroom setting helps me come alive and makes me feel like I'm doing a service to humanity.
The children of today need us to be authentic and to truly be present when we are with them.

Anyway, since Jose is with the children then during that time, they have been exploring different places and they keep telling me they will take me there one day.
From the pictures and the stories, it sounds like they are places I would love to go to.

El "reino animal" is one of them.
It had lots of farm and zoo animals and they kids had a blast.
They still talk about the length of the buffalo, cow and giraffe's tongue and how big a buffalo really is since they got to feed one!

Of course, Santiago found his beloved friends, the horses and Daniel had plenty of baby lambs and bunnies to cuddle with.

At the end, Santiago got to milk a cow and brought some yummy milk home, which we used to bake and just plain with cereal too. Delicious!!

This was just the perfect outing for Santiago who just finished reading the whole Little House in the prairie series and is now in the farming block at school.

Snow Trip to Tahoe

In February, we all went to California to take a little break. Mami went to the Teachers Conference and got some soul nourishment while the boys went to the snow and had a great time together.

Here's Jose's attempt to win an oscar this year...hehehe




And here is the real deal!!

El desierto de los leones

We started a new tradition in our house. Sunday is "Walking Day"
Now that we are here in Mexico, we want to explore as much as we can while we are here.
We found this amazing place almost by mistake....the kids and I were by ourselves, since daddy who is better at finding directions than I am, was not around.
I decided we would go to a place I already knew...but as it turned out, when we got there, looking for a place to walk among some pretty trees, a guy told us to keep on going up the road because it was a much better place and longer hike.
I took on the challenge an kept on driving...asking for directions along the way and finally we got to this amazing place. The kids kept saying..."mommy, it feels as though we are going back home in Los Gatos Mountains" and it did feel and smell the same. The smell of pine trees filled the air and we all had big smiles on!!

It was a long hike, the kids and I loved it and we also got to see an old convent and its amazing building and beautiful gardens. Definitely a good find!!

There were many places to hide and the walls really impressed Santiago, especially the fact that all the materials used to build were natural and everything was done by man power.

At the end of our walk, we rented a horse and a donkey for the kids to ride on the trail.
Unfortunately, the donkey was very stubborn and decided to stop in the middle of our way.
Daniel got tired of waiting for him to move and got down. Since the donkey was determined to stay there, I tied him to a nearby tree and went to tell his owner where he was.....
That sweet and stubborn burrito reminded me of Mary's little donkey!
We had a good laugh and kept on going on our adventure!

On the walk, we found many trees that we could climb on and Daniel showed us his new tricks that he's been learning at school....he is quite a tree climber!! When I got a little nervous, I just looked the other way...he looked pretty confident and I know my fear of heights is not something I want to pass along.

We also discovered that there are lots of gnome homes in the forest and the kids spent a long time gathering sticks and decorating the entrance to some of the homes...a brand new carpet (leaf) for one, a new chair made out of sticks, etc...It's very sweet to watch them work together!

Wood working class

In February, Santiago started taking woodworking classes with Federico. He is a wonderful carpenter and has a great disposition and a good dose of patience to work with kids. His very first project in class was a blackboard with its frame. It took them a couple of hours, but Santiago was so excited he did not want to stop. They made the cuts, sanded the wood and painted it with chalkboard paint.
The blackboard is now hanging in Santi's room and will be used for homework and lots of free drawing.

He also helped in the making of the bunny's cage and has even been using power tools to make trees for the nature table!

Daniel, of course also wants to participate and do whatever brother is doing. Fortunately, Federico and Santiago have been kind enough to allow him to hammer a few nails and do small "jobs" for them.