La Menu de los Castros

A little over a year ago, I found the most amazing thing at Target (I think). It was inexpensive and perfect for what we needed. It was a dry erase menu board, with magnets on the back, and an area for a shopping list. Plus, it was super cute with teal and orange swirlies. I fell in love.

So, we have used it for the last year or more, week by week, to plan our meals. Throughout that time, I began to think about it's shortcomings. We rarely need to plan lunch throughout the week because the kids are at school or the sitter's house. When we change our plan last minute, it's hard to erase just one small area. If someone walks too closely and slides across it, our menu is gone.

Then I saw some blogs about menu boards. Like this one. And this one. And I follow and love this blog...so ultimately this one gave me the idea...

Last week, I sprung the idea on Jose and then we decided to make it while the kids were at my moms. We had a whiteboard hung in the kitchen that was used for a to do list, but was rarely updated. By chance, we figured out that it was magnetic. So, we took a trip to the dollar store (stones) and Walmart (magnets).

First, we made a ginormous list of foods that we love...both main dishes and sides. We included desserts too! (Ya can't forget dessert!!!) Then, we used the larger round stones for main dishes. Cut the paper to fit the back, write/draw what it is, elmers glue, let it dry, then add magnets to the back. Super simple. We used the smaller oval stones for side dishes. Same process.

My photo isn't the best quality, but you get the idea.

And, T, do you see what we're having tonight?

Then, we did a trial run with the whiteboard. We waited a few days to see how it held up, if the magnets fell off, if the board fell off the wall, what size squares we needed, etc. Then, last night, I decided to paint the board. I got out my acrylics and finished up just before dinner. I snapped this photo as it was drying.

After dinner, I grabbed it to write the names of the days on. That's when I learned that acrylic paint and whiteboards aren't really that good together. The kids enjoyed spending the next chunk of time with me, peeling the paint from the entire board. That's when we decided to allow a slightly more ghetto approach: permenant marker. So, I colored the board with red and black markers. And the result was a little less pretty, but much more functional. And, viola!

The bottom area, is where we can stick recipes or notes to the board. The panel on the right side is a shopping list area to use dry erase markers. Plus, we made 2 Saturday's and 2 Sunday's - one for lunch and one for dinner.

We love the flexibility to switch things around, to have a reminder of things that aren't the same ole' foods, and to have an entire months worth of meals planned. We have another junkier board where the extra foods are chilling right now, but I think I'm going to convince Jose to buy a strip of flashing to hang on the wall and use it to keep them. Plus, we have enough stones and magnets to double our menus as we try new things or realize that we've forgotten something.



Plus, at the end of each week, we can just move the magnets up, and there ya be. Isa loves it because she can help us "make" dinner and know what we are eating ahead of time...she had a hard time with reading our old dry erase one. Jose hasn't stopped singing the boards praises this week, plus we've made meals that we've been forgetting about: sliders, calzones, chili mac, taco casserole...and haven't had to eat the same ole' meals like hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and PB&Js....

 In case the cool menu board wasn't enough to convince you, let me use my photos of our dinner to help.

Hehe...

Added bonus: If you have picky eaters, this way you can always arrange it so that at least ONE item on the menu is something they will eat and love.

Movie Night

Last Thursday, Isa wanted to "buy" her movie night with popcorn. I agreed, so after dinner, we packed Teo into the stroller, walked to Walmart (see, I'm serious about this walking stuff), and she picked out a movie from Redbox, which she has named Bluebox since it's blue.

We returned home with Gnomeo and Juliet in the basket of the stroller and with Isa too tired to walk, so I pushed both of them home.

Once home, I parked momentarily in front of the A/C to dry my sweaty body cool off and popped a bag of popcorn while Isa got the movie started. I pulled the recliners together so Jose and I could be side by side, and the kids crawled into our laps. About a quarter of the way into the movie, Jose was snoring. About halfway through the movie, Isa decided to lay down on the floor. About ten minutes later, she moved to the couch. Immediately after, she was asleep too. So, Teo and I stuck it out and watched the entire movie, then they headed to bed.

It was nice. I honestly don't remember a time when we stopped what we were doing here at home, put down the laptop and the cell phones, pulled together and spent time with one another. It was awesome!

I am loving the "No Bummer Summer" concept. And it has helped (slightly) with her attitude and mouthy ways. We'll keep working at it. What's your favorite family together time activity?

Sock Monsters.

One of the items on Isa's "No Bummer Summer" list was to make sock puppets.

So, we chose to make them last Wednesday.

We also were blessed with guests: 

My bff, Jamie, and my sister, Jillian, joined us in the sock puppet making.

Teo and Jose even joined in, momentarily.

Here Teo shows me how the buttons are eyes...

And here is my beautiful sissy, working on one of her puppets. 

Jamie taught Isa the dangers of squiggly scissors. 

And here's Teo's completed puppet... 

Jose made puppets too, but he didn't use a hot glue gun at all.

He just doodled. (He's so handsome though!) 

Isa drew on a sock for her puppet too.

She glued hair and stuff on though, so she is still more creative than her daddy... 

Ahhh! These two sock puppets, who were lovingly named after family members, were on attack. 

And they. kept. kissing. me! 

Isa's princess puppet gets to know Teo's puppet, who has been determined to be a prince. 

Here's one of Jose's creations... 

Jamie and Piggy Princess pose for a photo op.

(Sorry for the sweaty Jamie...did I mention that we don't have central air?) 

Here's Piggy Princess' close up. 

And my sister made a dancer from Vegas... 

This was my table during the festivities.

We are not organized crafters! 

This is Baby.

She's a baby puppet, in case you didn't realize... 

Here Jill attempts to match the facial expression as the puppet... 

And the award for coolest hair goes to this guy... 

It was super fun and I strongly encourage anyone to save their matchless socks

and spend a day making sock puppets!

Isa is already asking when we can do it again.

She has found a home for all of her puppets and is wanting me to create a stage of some type for them.

It was so cool...

Weekend In Wisconsin

A couple of weeks ago, we made a 6 hour trek to Wisconsin. The highlight (or, as it were that Friday, nightmare) of the trip is Chicago. It's traditional for us to snap a photo as we approach downtown.

We arrived really late Friday night, but nevertheless, the kids were bright eyed and bushy tailed early on Saturday morning. After a quick breakfast, we headed to a nearby park to spend the morning playing.

After the park, we ran to the ShopKo to buy a new shirt for Jose (the one he packed was crazy stained) and to get dress shoes for Teo. Then, we dressed up and headed for the wedding ceremony. Unfortunately, between the insanity of the trip, the invitation that was forgotten at home, and the issue of time change...we were late and missed most of the ceremony.

They had a few hour time span between the ceremony and the reception, and since the kids were already dressed, we decided to "sight see" which is a slight joke since we were staying in a fairly small town. We did find their namesake fort (which was interesting, because we are from a fort city too) and explored there for a little while.

(By the way, the outfit above was what I was wearing when I was asked when my baby was due...)

After the fort and some driving around, we went to the reception, where we had a fun time. The kids ran around like crazy and we were able to celebrate the new unity of my father-in-law and his wife. Here they are, cutting the cake, Art and Amy.

And, we tried to get a photo of the newlyweds with Jose the kids, but Teo wasn't very cooperative. 

After the wedding, we went back to the hotel and swam, hung out, and slept. The next morning, we went swimming again, checked out, and went to spend the day with Art and his new family.

Amy has four kids (together, between them, they now have 12 kids) and it was good getting to know them. The best parts were Isa playing with her new aunt, Lilly, who is four. And Jose's new brother sitting with us at lunch, asking Art if Jose was his cousin. When he told him that he was Jose's dad, the kid didn't miss a beat before asking Art, "Why are you so short?" Haha! It was great and we really enjoyed it. I wish them the best of luck in their marriage and their life together!

Late Sunday night, we drove home. There was only one near mishap when a car swerved into my lane on the expressway in Chicago, but I managed to miss getting hit and miss hitting the car on the other side of me. Jose insists that I should take a stab at being a stunt driver.

We arrived home around 4 AM and I slept all day the next day. It was a great weekend, all in all, and although it didn't work as planned, it was good to get away.

Card Tricks or Treats?

Isa spent like an hour this morning, telling my why Teo isn't allowed to play with her cards. [She is this, like, card collector - playing cards, baseball cards, pieces of cardboard tags of new clothes, domino game pieces, etc. You name it, she has it.]

Her reasons included: "He will tear them up", "He will put them in his mouth", "Teo will chew on them", etc.
She even stressed to me that Mamaw Sue said that Teo's not allowed to play with cards.

Finally, I told her to give Teo another chance to show that he's a big boy and that he won't tear them up. That lasted about 20 minutes, which was a success in my book. Then, I took his card privledge away.

So, can someone please explain to me why, about a half hour after Isa went through this whole ordeal to keep Teo from tearing up her cards, I look across the room where both kids are sitting, watching Hey Arnold! and see Isa, with a half eaten card in her hand and the rest of the card in her mouth!

Oy vey!

Cousins

Last week, my cousin and his girlfriend came over for dinner and some conversation. It was nice. It was really nice.

Last week, I also had a phone call from another family member who is fresh out of jail and with whom I have not spoken with in years. It was a step towards a new relationship over a broken one.

I'm not close to many members of my family. I'm not close to many members of my husband's family. We really have had to distance ourselves from many people because of drama, and time constraints has created a disconnect between many others.

In our conversation, we talked a lot about the dysfunction of our biological family and it caused me to think: where does the change get made? When do I know that I have overcome my past and my heritage? At which point do I create my own path and not fall into what I know? How come I am not more screwed up?

In honesty, I'm not certain what determines success and what determines failure between members of the same family. Why did I not end up in a drug addiction (aside from smoking) when it seems to be such a hereditary thing? Why is Jose not in jail when all signs point to him being a habitual offender?

Is there anything more than personality traits that determine our outcomes?

I turn to my faith for answers, as I do many other things, but looking into my beliefs make it seem more muddy. Did God choose this path for me and Jose, but not for other members of our family? Can we even point to God when looking at our bad decisions and the bad decisions of others? Should blame be pointed at temptation? Or is that dangerously taking away responsibilty?

Uncertainty of why different paths are taken when faced with similar choices is always going to be there, and I am not sure that I will ever know why there is such a difference, but I do know that there is always hope.

Hope that people can change. Hope that relationships can be saved. Hope that love, a love that begins at birth into a specific family, is consistant, despite circumstances. Hope that forgiveness can be given and hurts can be healed.

Hope that one day, we can all reunite in a family gathering and it is as if nothing has changed from when we were young kids, playing and laughing together, loving one another wholeheartedly without our shortcomings hanging over our heads. Hope that our children can overcome our downfalls and be cousins together into adulthood.