Saint Nicholas

Kind old man Saint Nicholas dear

Please come to my house this year

Pray put something in my shoe,

for I've been good the whole year through

Uau mami, Saint Nicholas also comes to Mexico!
And yes, to their surprise, Saint Nicholas and his white horse came.
 The horse ate the whole carrot the children had left the night before and Saint Nicholas was very generous leaving a couple of tangerines, some nuts and even a piece of chocolate!!

Otro proyecto de construccion para Santiago..y papi!

Daddy and the kids have been really busy lately with their new project.
Since going to parks around here is kind of tricky with traffic, we bought the kids a play structure for them to play.
Dad and both kids worked really hard on it.  Daniel loved bringing tools for daddy and Santiago worked right alongside screwing and using power tools!  This was his favorite activity!!

I could tell that Jose  enjoyed doing the work just as much as the kids.  He would come home from work early even on some days because he wanted to work on it and spent several weekends working on it.  The whole structure was done in record time because of this!!

Now Santiago and Daniel are happy campers, swinging, climbing, hiding and sliding!!

Ya llego diciembre

Time is flying around here!  December came and with it all the wonderful celebrations!  

Since the first week of December, we have been non-stop with all the merry making and various activities.

Here in Mexico, the Christmas bazaars at the schools start in November....most schools open their doors to the public to sell various things to help people get started with their holiday shopping.

Daniel's school had their bazaar on the first week of December.

I also had a booth there to sell some needle felted dolls and little animals along with books, advent calendars and things that we brought from California since so many moms had asked me to bring some waldorf items that are not found here.

After seeing how much people love all the needle felted figures, I will be teaching a class next year on how to make angels, dolls and little animals.

I was invited by some ladies that also had a booth at the bazaar to come to their school advent fair with my things at the Waldorf school in Cuernavaca.  I felt so happy because I also wanted to see the school and meet people from that community, so I gladly accepted the invitation and we all went during the weekend.

It was an amazing experience!!  The school is big, with lots of open space and the design is gorgeous...there is an individual little casita for each grade and they also have a wooded area for the kids to take walks.  The school goes up to 9th grade, and it is very established with a wonderful community, the people we met were very warm and welcoming.

Santiago and Daniel were delighted, they got to play storekeeper for real!!

Santiago helped me with handing out change, doing the math and even explaining to the customers how things were made. etc...   He had a blast.  Then, when he got tired, he went under the table to read..his  own little secret spot.

During the festival, there were all kinds of activities for the children, they made little pinatas, luminaries, etc, there were workshops for the adults as well and musical performances from the children of the  

school

At the end, we got to walk the advent spiral as a family,which was the perfect way to start advent.  Walking inside the spiral, lighting our inner light at the center and then finding the right place to light up along the way!  When we do it as a family, I see how we are all strenghten by this activity, how we all help each other out, walking in the dark, holding hands, slowly and thoughtfully while we listen to music that seems to come from heaven.  Such a healing, meditative practice!

El Dia de San Martin

This year, we celebrated Saint Martin's Day at Daniel's school.  It was a lovely evening.

Daniel was very proud to have all of us visiting his school and enjoyed playing with his best friend Wambli.

The puppet show was perfect for the little ones and adults alike!  It is always tricky to choose the right story for such a wide range of children; 18 months to 6 year olds.  The teachers made it so special with their handmade puppets and enchanting songs that all of them were very attentive and dreaming into the story.

After the puppet show, we all took our lanterns and took a magical walk through the forest.
This is one of my favorite celebrations of the year, the idea of consciously lighting our inner light to share it with others is a very powerful one.
It helps us stay connected and aware of the gifts we were given and make sure we share them and stay focus on service!
I thank God every day for the opportunity of sending my children to Waldorf schools, because we as parents are learning right alongside them and while we are rationalizing all this messages, they get to incorporate them into who they are becoming in the most magical way, thru fantasy and imagination!

Santiago made a beautiful lantern at school as well and was so happy that he got to use it since he couldn't attend his school's Martinmas celebration.

Danny was very careful with his lantern that he made at school and for the first time, his lantern stayed lit  for the entire walk!!

At the end of the walk, the children hung their lanterns on a tree for us to admire while we had a simple supper...lots of delicious mexican tamales, atole and hot chocolate!!!

"I go with my little lantern
My lantern is going with me
In heaven the stars are shinning
On earth shines my lantern for me"

Finding balance

Balance!!

 I know that's one of my first goals as a mother, wife and women on this journey.

Loving without smothering, setting boundaries while remaining flexible, giving and allowing myself to receive joyfully as well.

There are days when I feel completely off balance and then, there is the wonderful opportunity of a new day, to start fresh after a restful night and a wonderful meeting with my guardian angel!

These days, I have been debating if there is a balance in Daniel's life...he is still so young, yet so independent and sociable.  Was he ready for full time school?  For the first time?  All these time being away from mama and brother and yes....I know a lot of it is me...I miss him tremendously!

When we moved to Mexico, we decided it was time for him to go to a school to be with other kids and learn the language.  He is now pretty fluent and is loving school, but of course, I feel sometimes that 5 days a week is a bit much for him.

He comes home pretty tired and irritable most of the time, he is adjusting I know... so for most of the month of November, I kept him home on Fridays and even some Mondays.  It gave him the opportunity to rest, to play uninterrupted for as long as he wanted and yes, it gave me some breathing time to find that balance again!
As it turns out, I found out that he was also a little intimidated by a couple of kids at school who tend to play a little more rough than how he likes it.  I talked to the teachers and now he says they are still rough, just not with him anymore!!
He is also figuring out how to meet the other children, he spent the first couple of months observing and taking it all in and now, I feel that he is ready to go out, interact and participate in the play.

Fortunately Daniel is so flexible, and is able to ride along with a smile on his face...of course, after he lets it all out!! on some occasions.
Here in this picture, he is jumping to the rhyme:  "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jumped over the candlestick"
An yes, we did jumped over the lit candlestick.   After  a few weeks of  3 days/week of school and after spending time with him and seeing how he was adjusting to the school, I'm feeling ready to let go a little more and he is feeling pretty confident and is finding more and more friends to play with.

Mothering is the most rewarding and fulfilling jobs I've done in my life, but it is also the one that I have to work the hardest at because it is not easy to find the right balance so that we all feel like are being loved, respected, and accepted for who we are.

I thank God everyday for giving me the opportunity to hold these two souls so close to my heart and for all that they help me along the  way.  Without them, I wouldn't have been able to open my eyes to true love.

I should clarify that while I love Jose with all my heart, and I'm being really honest here, this kind of love is almost heavenly...it is what makes the world go around.   This kind of love and the teachings that come with, are life changing and allows me to open my heart to true love with others.

Dia de los muertos

The Day of the dead was a very memorable Day for us...we have tried to incorporate and learn as much as possible the wonderful festivals and traditions of this incredibly rich  and wise culture.

First of all, I had heard previously about this celebration, but never really quite understood as I do now, the meaning and the strong influence on the people of Mexico and all the other countries where it is celebrated.

Our first encounter with the festival was at the supermarket, where we found a delicious sweet bread called "pan de muerto", the lady at the bakery who noticed I was not from around here when I asked what that was, explained to me, that it is a special bread only made during this time of the year and used to decorate the altar.
I took a picture to remember and boy....do I wish I could it eat all year round...it is delicious!!

As the day grew closer, we started hearing stories about how different families celebrate the day differently.
The main ritual starts by decorating an altar with pictures of loved ones who have died or how it is commonly said here:  "nuestros muerticos"
 Much thought and loving effort is put into the preparation of elaborate meals such as mole, tamales, etc..to make sure that the altar has the soul's favorite dish carefully and lovingly prepared by the family...hot chocolate for grandma, a special brand of tabacco even if that is what grandpa loved to smoke.
My first impression at this was of awe...how important and rewarding must be to be able to invite your loved ones who are still very much a part of who you are into your house, into your heart and prepare that special date with joy.  
A very typical flower is used also to decorate the altar is an orange flower called " cempasuchil"  I heard that in some families, a trail of petals is made to make sure the souls know the way in to the house.
On the altar, one candle is lit for every soul you want to invite to the celebration.
Also, a little sugar skull is used to decorate the altar and a lot of times, it has the person's name on the forehead.

A glass of water is also placed on the altar for the souls to drink after their long journey back home and incense is burned to clear the area from bad spirits so the souls can arrive without any danger.

Some families, take a lot of the food from the altar on the night of November 2nd to the cemetery where they go to celebrate and have a big party a lot of times with mariachis and they sing and dance all night long with their loved ones here on earth and in heaven who are now rejoicing in this special day back home.

Wow...I am still impressed as I write all of these...what a ritual, how special and important to be able to relate to death in such a way, to learn from an early age about the importance of keeping that relationship alive, to acknowledge their presence and to be joyful when we think about them even though we miss them soo much.  What a gift!!

I will definitely take on this festival as one of the most important ones in our celebrations throughout the year.  I want my children to grow up remembering their great grandma whom they lost a year back, with joy in their hearts, to cook for her once a year, to look at her picture, light a candle and tell stories about all the special time we spent together.

And this is just what we did, we decorated our altar an prepared it a week in advance, and on the day of, even though Santiago was not feeling well, Daniel and I went downstairs while brother slept, and prepared tequenos for "bis", we lit a candle and talked about her for a while.
We love you so much Bis!
On a side note, next year we will choose a higher table for our altar because cookie was able to reach and ate the tequennos....:)  I'm sure bis was laughing from up high!!

Santiago was sick

I have been very busy nursing Santiago back to health since he fell ill the day before Halloween..., he was so sad about that!  He loves dressing up and doing all the activities that we normally do on that day, like pumpkin carving, roasting the seeds and of course going out, knocking on the neighbor's doors and asking for candy!
This year, unfortunately he did not get to do any of that.  He was with a fever and achy all over for 8 days...I had never seen him so sick before and boy did I miss our anthroposophic doctor who usually guides us along on how to help our bodies get well!

After a few days of not seeing any progress, I had to go to an allopathic doctor and have him checked.  It has been a long time since I had been at a main stream doctor's office and boy did I feel out of place.
It is funny, being the daughter and sister to a couple of doctors, I cannot seem to fit in that picture anymore.  I'm not saying they do not do practice medicine with the best of intentions according to the information that was given to them.
I just happened to have been dealt a different set of cards with a different language on them and I feel very blessed to have chosen this path, guided by my children especially who seem to need it the most.

It was clear to me, that what the Dr was telling me was not what he had.  A Salmonella infection comes with diarrhea and other symptoms that he did not have and antibiotics were definetely not needed.
I was reminded of how we as parents need to trust ourselves and our intuition no matter what the doctor says.
I know my son so well and know that he had been going thru a lot of changes and it was starting to take a toll on him.  New country, new house, new rhythm, getting used to being at school again, nine year change, etc...
Santiago is in the middle of his nine year change and I know that he is going thru a very hard and painful this transition.  I know he has been angry and frustrated.  Leaving the magical world of childhood is not easy.
All of this stored feelings had to come out somehow...his fevers, aches and pains along with his lack of apetite were what his body needed to release all of that energy.
It is amazing how our bodies can heal on their own,  without the need of harsh chemicals.  All we need to do is to help and support them in the most natural way posible.
It would have been so much easier to have given him antibiotics and have him better for Halloween....but that would have been and opportunity loss for his body to find the way out of the tunnel,to exercise his immune system and make him stronger.
Believe me, it was very tempting, but I could not make myself do it, especially with the certainty that his diagnosis was not right.  I guess those 4 years in college served well in this case!
 I 'm so inspired now to learn more about how to make remedies from flower escences.
 I know Mother Earth in her infinite wisdom has everything we need to stay healthy and it makes so much sense to me that if we all can control our feelings and emotions and channel them in a healthy way, we can stay healthy.
One more lesson my great teacher Santiago has taught me!   I feel so honored to be your mom and to know that you came into my life to teach me soo much and to put yourself in the position of the guinea pig:)   You decided to be the first one, the one who came to open my eyes and see the world through a different lens, you knew my shortcomings and you still chose me!
 I love you beyond words and please keep shinning that light along my path!