January Odds and Ends.

It has been (well, was, I guess) quite a month.  We arrived home from visiting with dear friends in Scotland and found our way back into our normal, what still feels like new-normal, routine.  

It's Monday night, I'm sitting drinking a great and super-dee-duper cheap glass of wine.  James is off to the equivalent of a PTA/PTO meeting, except he's gotta do the work in Catalan -- I'll get there one day, maybe ... and maybe not.  I went to dinner with 21 of the other moms from Aoife's class on Friday night, that was actually 90% in Catalan, 10% Spanish for my benefit, whew!  My brain was tired after an hour : ) but I hung in for two more.  Saturday James worked in the morning while the girls and I headed off to meet with our fantastic friends, the Corominas family, to see a kiddie play -- again in Catalan -- and then James joined us and we all hung out all day because of course they treated us to a yummy homemade lunch, again.  Yesterday we headed out to Lindsey and Francesc's to meet their sweet, new, little guy, Ewan.  We were treated to lunch again and, more importantly, that thing that real friends offer, a safe place to be yourself.  Last weekend we had a big Mexican dinner at ours with some people we love like family, namely Aunties Clare and Kirsty (and the food went over very well, very well ; ) ).  Life is good, soooo good, even if  'me cuesta un poco de vez en cuando.'

Here are some highlights from January:

She made the cutest ever birthday cake, if I do say so myself.    It has four candles because that's how old she'll be on her next birthday.  Love.

 Are you kidding?!?

 Thai dinner one night:  "See, I LOVE broccoli!" 

"Me too, Mommy!  Me too!"

I like more than just broccoli, so here's my version.  You know how we feel about food around here.

 We had an incredible Sunday last week, here's how it started:

 It's bound to be magical after that, right!?!

 Our girl, having the time of her life posing for the camera.

 Best friends.

This is what our persistent, little monkey did while here Daddy and sister collected shells and played model on the beach...

 ..and was she ever good at it!

 Ceee-utest airplane ever ... "I'm a little airplane now...I'm a little airplane nee-ow, nee-ow, nee-ow ..."

 These girls look good on their Mama.

 How I love them so.  I've a happy, happy heart.

 So I do.

Here she is again.  The pictures posted out of order ... but maybe there was some cosmically amusing reason for that because I think that little face and that wind swept hair tell the whole story.

Less windswept but still part of January, we've started braiding hair around here.  Here are some of our first attempts:

Earlier in the month we left our letters to the Kings.  We were sick but determined to deliver those letters.  When in Rome ...

...do as the Romans do and try and relish every moment.  You won't get them back.

We love you so.

Happy February!

Scottish Christmas

This year was our first year without family at the holidays.  Thank goodness we have lovely friends who invited us to Edinburgh for Christmas to celebrate with them.  They absolutely spoiled us and we had a great time!

German Market!  One of the things we share with Gary and Gary is a love of good food!  Proper Christmas gluttony began here with sausages and sweets and didn't stop until we were back in Barcelona.  Yum!

 Riding the "Big Wheel" and loving it!

 The view from up top.

Here are our little lovelies dancing and playing after tea at an awesome place called The Dome.  I really wish I hadn't been so shy about taking pictures while we were there.  The decorations were ornate and incredible, we had proper tea sandwiches, scones with cream, and (of course) a pot of tea each.  It was totally charming and made for a wonderful memory.

 Christmas haul.

 Santa brought just what the girls wanted, a baby sister for each of their babies.

 Christmas or not there's always time for ridiculous games with the kids ...

 ... or feeding the birdies.

The food fest continued with homemade pasta (yes, that's bubbly -- plenty of wine was consumed, too) ...

 ... and this a.freaking.mazing dinner!  This dish, smoked haddock with a crazy-amazing cream sauce, tons of wilted spinach and samphire (which is an amazing, salty, little sea veggie), and potatoes.  In the top 3 meals of all time!  WOW!  Do you think I could fit another amazing in here!?!  It was really that good!

 Best company!

 Happily helping Gary prep dessert.

 Sweet friends.

Typical tourists ... we did get a bit of that in, tourism that is: some nice walks, a nice pint, the Royal Museum ... we'll have to do more one day when we return ... in the summer.  (We've gotten to be quite wussy when it comes to the cold.)

 The girls loved Billie the terrier.

 Sweeties.

 More Sweeties -- and a little more "tourism."  It seems like the Botanical Garden would be a spectacular place to visit in the spring and summer.

 Puddle jumping in the new wellies!  Too.much.fun!

Peek-a-boo.  One of the girls favorite pastimes while in the house: snuggling up, entombing themselves on this cozy, little couch, and then giggling mightily while they played, "You can't see me," with Gary.  So cute!

It was such a great trip that Aoife actually cried when we left, it can be hard to leave a place you've been so well cared for and loved, even when it means you're heading home.  We are so grateful to have been able to make the trip, hopefully we'll have the opportunity to return the favor and host a Barcelona Christmas for our dear friends in the near future.

XO

January? Already?

We´ve arrived on the other side of the holiday season around here.  With our mish-mash of Anglo-American-European-embracing-of-Spanish-and-Catalan-Culture it's quite a long holiday season.

Things kick-off with Thanksgiving and then there's a bit of a reprieve before Christmas with Tió, New Year´s -- an even bigger deal here than other places, perhaps because it's the first big holiday of the season celebrated by everyone -- and then finally, the capstone, Kings Day.  Last year we were trying to navigate everything being new.  Everything, not just some of the holidays and traditions, there was a sense of adventure, exhilaration, and growth mixed with all the exhaustion. This year the question is how to make it all work for us.  Put bluntly, the holiday season was a little long and overdone for us this year.  On the upside, we enjoyed many celebrations with new friends and old -- many people we love -- and I think we may have figured out how to work out a fit in the future.

Thanksgiving -- this one's important to us and we'll make it work every year:

 The girls with sweet friend Wren and one of their new favorite people in the world, "Auntie Clare!"

Not only did we make The Bird work but it was, I think, the best we´ve ever done.  Quite a pleasant surprise given the fact that we thought we might´nt manage at all.

 Classics and a bunch of vegan options.

Good food, wine, and friends.

Some shots I had to add:

 Tree decorating antics!  Ceee-ute!

She insisted on this picture.  We were celebrating after the kids Sant Nicolau pageant at school.

I'll add some odds and ends about our Scottish Christmas in my next post.  Goodness knows that was lovely!

Xx

Artsy Weekend

So, things might finally be settling out post the "start of term."  Well, it might be too soon to tell but I´m gonna put it out there.  Fingers crossed : ).  I didn´t get that new job, which was for the Primary Coordination Post at work.  While in some ways it's hard to swallow 'cause I'm used to getting jobs for which I interview, it's really for the best.  With everything else on my plate currently I didn't really need to take it on, plus I couldn't have "lost" to a better candidate who certainly has a longer and more proven track record than I do with the Council.  So, I can't be too upset : ).  There is however good news on the professional front, I have been asked to write my first article for a professional journal, that's exciting and a done deal, so I just have to get writing!  There is, also, good news on the home front.  We had a nice weekend and got back to some artsy fartsy bits, evidence that things might be settling out.

James is working Saturday mornings this year, so it's designated "girl-time" around here.  Usually we read, play games, do a bit of baking to ensure the kids take healthy snacks to school for the week, clean a bit, snuggle and have fun.  We haven't done much in the way of formal "art projects" recently until yesterday and boy did we have fun.

First we made spider webs with string dipped in white paint and then it was on to making spiders form hand prints.  Yes, that's laundry drying inside again, hello rainy season.

 Some extra post spider painting.

 Aoife putting finishing touches on her spider. 

This girl wears her heart on here sleeve.  What a doll!  And look at those hands, as big (bigger) than Aoife's, as her spider can verify.

Today we hit up the CCCB -- Centre De Cultura Contemporánia de Barcelona.  It's a great modern art museum and this weekend the were sponsoring a kids art competition and festival, for free.  Who could ask for more?!?

 Perspective.

 Cut, cut, hard at work.

 She´s also gotten pretty darn good with scissors and patiently waiting her turn : ).

 The mural to which they were preparing their contributions.

 Dang this thing is hard to peel (and yes, it's a bit of a rainy day).

 Stick, stick.

 There´s a happy girl!  This thing is turning out even better than we anticipated.

 Aine´s finished product.  : )

 Aoife placing her final petals with the help of Daddy.

 Ta-da!  This looked even more awesome from a distance.

Yes, we're cute.  Now let´s go eat some lunch!

Right after we snapped this photo we walked to an adjacent park, plopped down, and enjoyed our picnic lunch.  Yum.  Then, we headed home and I managed to fit in my first 5K in a while.  I have newish specialty orthopedic inserts and I've been working to strengthen my weak leg.  I felt jazzed while I was running and everything still feels great.  I suppose I'll know the true verdict in the next couple of days.  Here's hoping to get out again soon, it does my soul good.

Check back soon.  The holiday season is upon us again, lights are being hung and preparations being made for the Christmas market.  We're hosting Thanksgiving this year and then we're off to Scotland for Christmas proper.  It ought to prove a wonderful winter.  We'll work hard to keep you posted.  Until then ...

Besos,

Los Stuhan