When we got to Brasilia, before our stuff arrived, we lived in our apartment with just a welcome kit. The kit consists of the basics of what you need to live in your home: sheets, towels, and some basic kitchen supplies. The kitchen supplies do the job, but it's always hard to make what you're used to. I don't know, whenever I move into a new place and try to start up a new kitchen, it seems like I always have 80% of what I need, whether it's ingredients or kitchen tools or whatever.
So one day I decided to make cookies. I flipped through a cookbook I found at the Embassy lending library (thanks, whoever donated that one!), and this was the first recipe I found that we could make-- we had all the ingredients, and the welcome kit provided all the tools we needed (minus the lemon squeezer, but that's what Kevin is for).
So I now present to you, Welcome Kit Limao Bars-- modified and clarified enough by me that I'm going to call it my own recipe
(How's that for a title?!)
preheat oven to 350* F (or 180* C)
Crust:
2/3 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. flour (50% whole wheat is best)
Combine in a bowl and mix well until crumbly (I use the hand mixer from our w/k). Press into the bottom of a 9x13" pan. Bake for 15-18 minutes.
Filling:
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 T flour
2 T lemon or lime zest
1/2 c. lemon or lime juice
1/2 tsp baking powder
Combine ingredients. Beat 2 minutes. Pour over hot crust (after it's through baking, of course). Bake again at 350* for 25 minutes.
Cut when cool. (Putting it in the freezer speeds this process significantly.)
And enjoy! We've made these several times since being here. It helps that limaos grow on trees here, so they're super cheap in the stores, and many people have limao trees in their backyards. We need to make friends with some of those people....
Monday, May 26, 2014
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Housing
Today we went and visited our new house. Yes, because moving every two or three years wasn't enough, we've decided to try doing it more often.
Actually, it's been a long decision and an even longer process.
When we found out we were coming to Brasilia, one of the things we were super excited about were the houses-- with backyards! After spending 2 years in an apartment in the middle of the city in Shenyang, and then another 9 months in one in Arlington, we were excited to move somewhere with perfect weather year-round, where our kids could play outside, I could plant a garden, and we could enjoy God's green earth.
Then we got our housing assignment: because we were moving to Brasilia in January and because of availability, there were no houses for us at that time, and we were assigned a nice apartment in the city.
Now here's where the dilemma comes in: it is a nice apartment! It fits our family perfectly, with a couple extra bedrooms when guests come. We have windows along the entire length of the apartment, giving us a beautiful view of the tall trees outside. I can walk to the grocery store, which has been convenient, since our car still isn't available. There are two schools, each about 5 minutes from our house, for Penny to attend. There is a lot to be said about our apartment.
Having said it, though, the final decision was to appeal our housing assignment and move into a house. Even with the extra work and expenses associated with living in a house, it is the better choice for our family. We live in a beautiful city with perfect weather year-round. And as we are right now, I take my kids outside to play about once or twice a week. Usually they just play inside all morning, then we eat lunch. After lunch it is nap time, and Penny plays inside some more, or else watches a movie. Then it's time for dinner and then bedtime. Sometimes we go out in the mornings, but that requires packing a diaper bag, snacks, and generally making an outing of it. We can open our windows and get some fresh air, but it's still a shame to be missing out on Brasilia.
When we were in China, we had the opportunity to move outside the city. We weighed the pros and cons, and finally decided to stay in our apartment. The deciding factor was that I'd made some friends in our apartment already, and I didn't want to leave them. And I'm incredibly happy we stayed with them! But here it's exactly the opposite. All the families I've met live over in Lago Sul, so when we move over there, we'll be closer to all my friends and the kids' friends. I'll be able to have kids over and ask people to watch my kids much more easily and without it being such a burden. As it is right now, we're a 20-minute drive away. So we either ask people to drive all the way over here, or else we take a cab, which is about a $40 round trip.
I can hardly wait for our car to be here! (But that's another post for another day.)
So we're moving. It won't happen for several months-- mostly because there's already a family living there, and they don't leave for a few months. Then there are some repairs to be made, but then after that, we'll be moving... again.
I'm really excited, though. There is a beautiful yard-- but not so beautiful I can't do some gardening to make it better. They have mango, avocado, pina, and Brasilian cherry trees in the backyard. It will be awesome to have a place for the kids to ride their bikes and just go play-- without my having to pack everything and everyone up and go out for an outing. We have a baby monitor, and I intend on using it daily!
Actually, it's been a long decision and an even longer process.
When we found out we were coming to Brasilia, one of the things we were super excited about were the houses-- with backyards! After spending 2 years in an apartment in the middle of the city in Shenyang, and then another 9 months in one in Arlington, we were excited to move somewhere with perfect weather year-round, where our kids could play outside, I could plant a garden, and we could enjoy God's green earth.
Then we got our housing assignment: because we were moving to Brasilia in January and because of availability, there were no houses for us at that time, and we were assigned a nice apartment in the city.
Now here's where the dilemma comes in: it is a nice apartment! It fits our family perfectly, with a couple extra bedrooms when guests come. We have windows along the entire length of the apartment, giving us a beautiful view of the tall trees outside. I can walk to the grocery store, which has been convenient, since our car still isn't available. There are two schools, each about 5 minutes from our house, for Penny to attend. There is a lot to be said about our apartment.
Having said it, though, the final decision was to appeal our housing assignment and move into a house. Even with the extra work and expenses associated with living in a house, it is the better choice for our family. We live in a beautiful city with perfect weather year-round. And as we are right now, I take my kids outside to play about once or twice a week. Usually they just play inside all morning, then we eat lunch. After lunch it is nap time, and Penny plays inside some more, or else watches a movie. Then it's time for dinner and then bedtime. Sometimes we go out in the mornings, but that requires packing a diaper bag, snacks, and generally making an outing of it. We can open our windows and get some fresh air, but it's still a shame to be missing out on Brasilia.
When we were in China, we had the opportunity to move outside the city. We weighed the pros and cons, and finally decided to stay in our apartment. The deciding factor was that I'd made some friends in our apartment already, and I didn't want to leave them. And I'm incredibly happy we stayed with them! But here it's exactly the opposite. All the families I've met live over in Lago Sul, so when we move over there, we'll be closer to all my friends and the kids' friends. I'll be able to have kids over and ask people to watch my kids much more easily and without it being such a burden. As it is right now, we're a 20-minute drive away. So we either ask people to drive all the way over here, or else we take a cab, which is about a $40 round trip.
I can hardly wait for our car to be here! (But that's another post for another day.)
So we're moving. It won't happen for several months-- mostly because there's already a family living there, and they don't leave for a few months. Then there are some repairs to be made, but then after that, we'll be moving... again.
I'm really excited, though. There is a beautiful yard-- but not so beautiful I can't do some gardening to make it better. They have mango, avocado, pina, and Brasilian cherry trees in the backyard. It will be awesome to have a place for the kids to ride their bikes and just go play-- without my having to pack everything and everyone up and go out for an outing. We have a baby monitor, and I intend on using it daily!
Monday, May 12, 2014
A Miracle
Despite my going to bed by 8:30 every night, I'm still spending my days pretty much exhausted. Maybe it's something about being up for most of the night-- I don't know.
This morning was particularly painful. By the time I got up for the day, I was feeling horrid and particularly cranky. I wasn't sure how I'd make it through the day, or even until naptime. Prospects didn't look good.
Somehow, though, the girls decided that they wanted to curl up on their bed after breakfast. Penny settled in, read a story with me, and then snuggled into her blanket. Naomi graced us with a lot more whining and generally being annoying, but then, miracle of miracles, she snuggled into my arms and FELL ASLEEP! This is the girl who has been struggling against and boycotting her afternoon naps for the last couple weeks, and here she was sleeping at 10 AM! She slept for 2 1/2 hours, and I got to rest for the entire time. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
We're making it through the rest of the day. I wasn't sure we would. I'm incredibly grateful for today's miracle!
This morning was particularly painful. By the time I got up for the day, I was feeling horrid and particularly cranky. I wasn't sure how I'd make it through the day, or even until naptime. Prospects didn't look good.
Somehow, though, the girls decided that they wanted to curl up on their bed after breakfast. Penny settled in, read a story with me, and then snuggled into her blanket. Naomi graced us with a lot more whining and generally being annoying, but then, miracle of miracles, she snuggled into my arms and FELL ASLEEP! This is the girl who has been struggling against and boycotting her afternoon naps for the last couple weeks, and here she was sleeping at 10 AM! She slept for 2 1/2 hours, and I got to rest for the entire time. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
We're making it through the rest of the day. I wasn't sure we would. I'm incredibly grateful for today's miracle!
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Monday, May 05, 2014
First day on my own
I have had some incredible support from home these past few weeks. First of all, my mom came to visit and help for a couple weeks. She wondered what she should do at the delivery, and we told her just to bring a book or something to do while we waited and waited. Ha ha ha! That's the new joke of the century. She was incredibly helpful during the delivery and my time in the hospital. Then Kevin took a week off during the first week at home. Between the three of us, we had a pretty good handle on whatever the kids would throw at us.
Then my mom and dad overlapped for 2 days, and my dad came to stay for about 10 days after my mom left. Kevin took the last week of that off, too, and everything was great and fantastic.
My dad left on Saturday, and Kevin went back to work today. (The original plan was that he would take this week off to help out, but he got a new assignment at work in a different division for the World Cup. It started today, and you can't really take the first 5 days of your new assignment off. So we dealt.)
We started out great! The kids got dressed, and we headed out the door to see the veggie guy. The girls ate bananas and watermelon, William slept in the Baby Bjorn, and the longer we stayed, the more produce I bought. It was a great morning. Kevin called shortly after we got home, and I cheerfully told him how fine we were doing. Life was good.
Turns out, though, this mom-of-three-kids thing is much more of an endurance race than a sprint. I'd just left the blocks running with the wind, ahead of the game, and on top of the world. Then at about lunchtime, I hit the wall. Naomi gets pretty grumpy before her nap, and Penny does too, since she has a slow-burning cold that zaps her energy by about midday-- removing my cheerful helper and replacing her with an ornery, self-satisfied stinker. When I sent her to her room (the first time), she came out at the end and started lecturing me on how I wasn't being very nice, because it hurt her feelings when I made her go in her room. And she wasn't to be convinced otherwise.
This was only about 1:00 PM, and suffice it to say, it was a long afternoon.
At 4:00, I sent this email to Kevin:
I'm so frustrated I want to scream right now, but instead I'm going to tell you about it. When Naomi took her nap, I dozed with her for about 5 minutes before I woke up and fed William. He was then awake for the next 2 hours or so, until about 20 minutes ago. Penny has been getting more and more ornery, so I talked her into a resting time. She told me she was "too scared" to choose a room, so I chose one for her and sent her into it. She was grumpy, and she slammed the door as she went in... waking up Naomi.
So now, instead of the moment of silence I was anticipating-- where three kids would be napping or resting and I could nap, rest, or finish a few things I started today-- I have a screaming Penny (she didn't like the spank I gave her in return for Naomi's waking up), a whining Naomi, and a fitfully napping William.
Tomorrow is another day.... and I can't imagine it will be much worse.
Then my mom and dad overlapped for 2 days, and my dad came to stay for about 10 days after my mom left. Kevin took the last week of that off, too, and everything was great and fantastic.
My dad left on Saturday, and Kevin went back to work today. (The original plan was that he would take this week off to help out, but he got a new assignment at work in a different division for the World Cup. It started today, and you can't really take the first 5 days of your new assignment off. So we dealt.)
We started out great! The kids got dressed, and we headed out the door to see the veggie guy. The girls ate bananas and watermelon, William slept in the Baby Bjorn, and the longer we stayed, the more produce I bought. It was a great morning. Kevin called shortly after we got home, and I cheerfully told him how fine we were doing. Life was good.
Turns out, though, this mom-of-three-kids thing is much more of an endurance race than a sprint. I'd just left the blocks running with the wind, ahead of the game, and on top of the world. Then at about lunchtime, I hit the wall. Naomi gets pretty grumpy before her nap, and Penny does too, since she has a slow-burning cold that zaps her energy by about midday-- removing my cheerful helper and replacing her with an ornery, self-satisfied stinker. When I sent her to her room (the first time), she came out at the end and started lecturing me on how I wasn't being very nice, because it hurt her feelings when I made her go in her room. And she wasn't to be convinced otherwise.
This was only about 1:00 PM, and suffice it to say, it was a long afternoon.
At 4:00, I sent this email to Kevin:
I'm so frustrated I want to scream right now, but instead I'm going to tell you about it. When Naomi took her nap, I dozed with her for about 5 minutes before I woke up and fed William. He was then awake for the next 2 hours or so, until about 20 minutes ago. Penny has been getting more and more ornery, so I talked her into a resting time. She told me she was "too scared" to choose a room, so I chose one for her and sent her into it. She was grumpy, and she slammed the door as she went in... waking up Naomi.
So now, instead of the moment of silence I was anticipating-- where three kids would be napping or resting and I could nap, rest, or finish a few things I started today-- I have a screaming Penny (she didn't like the spank I gave her in return for Naomi's waking up), a whining Naomi, and a fitfully napping William.
Tomorrow is another day.... and I can't imagine it will be much worse.
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