Project

The first few supplies of our upcoming house project.  I’m excited about this one!  I’ll share more details once the first phase of it is completed, but let’s just say this project is much more so on the practical side than on the décor one!  We can’t wait to get it going!

Hersey Kisses

 

I love getting this pair of them up from their nap!

Habits

I lay by sweet babe down for his morning nap.  Poor kid is tired out and more than ready for some shut eye. I look at the clock. It reads 9 am. 

9 am!? 

Seriously? 

It feels like the middle of the day!  How can it only be nine in the morning? 

Then I remember. After a full night’s sleep my little man was up and ready to conquer the world before 7 this morning.  He’s an early to bed {8:30ish}, early to rise {6:00-7:00ish} type kid.  And while that takes some time to adjust to, I’m sooo grateful for it.  ‘Cause if baby’s awake. more than likely mama is too. 

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen more sunrises in the past seven months than in my entire 23+ years before them.  All thanks to my sweet bundle of joy.  And on top of that, a lot can be accomplished in the first two hours of the day.  Baby feed and changed.  Family time.  Husband sent off to work with lots of kisses and hugs.  Beds made.  Myself dressed for the day.  Dishes put away. Dog, cat, and chickens feed and watered.  Patio cleaned. Floors swept.  Chickens chased out of the garden and back into their pen.  Trash taken to the street corner.

It’s good to be up early. And thanks to my little boy, I’m learning to be early to bed, early to rise type kid too. 

Bugs and Critters.

Growing up in the South, I saw my fair share of bugs and such and I was not your typical girly-girly who would run away screaming at the sight of them.  My sisters took on that role for me.  Not that I particularly care for such things, but it was not big deal to kill them and get it over with.  Spiders?  No problem.  Cockroaches, just grab a flip-flop and they’re done with in .5 seconds.  I even have battled it out with a mouse or two. 

But that was there.  This is here.  Mexico is different.  Here I don’t know what these critters are.  Are they harmless?  Or deadly?  Do they bite?  If you touch them will the prick you?  Do they jump?  I really have no idea.  And it scares.me.to.death. whenever I find something crawling here or there.  That and the fact that I have a curious, active 7-month-old boy to look out for.  What could be more frightening?!   Our house is also surrounded by fields.  There are houses near by, but we do not have any next-door neighbors.  Nor neighbors in front.  Nor behind us.  So it makes for lots of interesting-unknown-to-me critters looking for water and warmth.  EEEeeeeeeeeekkkkkkk!

When I am home alone with Job, I follow my old strategy--Kill.it.as.quickly.as.po ssible!  But I feel the fear creeping up my spine as I deliver the death blow. 

That’s when I’m home alone and have a baby to protect.  When Rafa is home, home, however, the scene changes.  {I completely gave up my “I’m independent and can do it myself” card when I married him!} When a bug enters the scene and Rafa is near by I  jump. And scream.  Loudly.  “RAAAFFfaa!  VENTE.  Que es eso?!! Matalo porfavor! Pero rapido!”  And he usually does. ‘Cause he’s nice like that.  Either that or he tells me not to worry because the critter is innocent and harmless and then he describes to me what it is, what purpose it serves, and what its probably looking for in the house. It’s *a little* comforting.  I’m getting better.  Slowly but surely

On that same note, I’m so grateful for chickens who love to eat bugs and a cat who hunts.  Between all them, unwanted creatures rarely pass through the door! The picture below is our cat a couple of days ago. I’m not sure what he has in his mouth, but I’m glad it’s no longer alive! 

 

Oh the excitement of living south of the border!

Papas

Known in the English language as potatoes. {Yes, this whole post is about about potatoes.  Feel free to stop reading now!

I love them and we eat a lot of them around here.  They are a great filler food and are very versatile.   Often times I will cube them up and throw them into whatever meat dish I’m making.  Ribs in salsa seca, for example.  I stir the cooked cubes in with the ribs, making sure they are good and covered with salsa. When it comes time to eat the potatoes and the ribs taste *almost* the same and a few pesos of ribs is stretched a long way. 

We also like empanadas de papa. Sounds fancy, but it’s really not.  When tortillas have been in the fridge a couple of days, they are not taco worthy.  But heat them up a bit, place in some mashed potatoes, double to form a taco, and then fry in vegetable oil, until both sides are golden in  crispy.  Let your empanadas cool off a bit and add cream, lettuce, and your favorite salsa.  It makes great Mexican comfort food and uses up your leftovers!  {If you have cheese and leftover shredded chicken, those make great fillings for fried empanadas as well. And if you make all three and some soup, you can get away with calling it a meal! At least that’s what I tell myself!}

We also like fried potatoes and scrambled eggs, the classic French fry, I’ll add potatoes to just about any soup, and well the list could go on and on.  The point is, we eat a lot of potatoes and enjoy it. 

As in most parts of the world, potatoes are cheap….a very attractive characteristic! We have found that they are even cheaper here if you buy them by the crate and not per kilo. A crate, I’m guessing is probably over 10 kilos, or enough potatoes to fill up two 5-gallon buckets.  So my suegra and I buy a crate together and each take home a five gallon bucket of potatoes. 

The other day when Rafa came home from work, I excitedly told him about our latest deal on papas. He then told me that a guy had stopped by their shop and left a lot of papas as well.  {Not an uncommon thing.} Potatoes are always welcome here!  So that night he came home with a backpack full. 

A five gallon bucket and a backpack full of potatoes = a lot of potatoes.  More than several months worth for our family of three. 

The trick to keeping potatoes for an extended amount of time {you don’t want them turning green or growing roots} is keeping them in a cool, dark, and dry place.  Think root cellar. It also helps that the potatoes that we buy have still have dirt on them. So I dug a hole a shady spot in the garden, put a black trash bag lined bucket inside and filled the bucket with potatoes.  I folded the trash bag ends on top, topped the bucket with a lid, and then filled the hole with dirt, only leaving the lip exposed.  I then put a cement block on top to help keep any unwanted critters out.

When I want to get a few potatoes out, I’ll just take off the block and the lid, open the bag, pull out the potatoes and then close everything back up again.  Ingenious, I know! And more than a little redneck!  I come by it rightly! Now just to go through all the potatoes before planting time!

What’s your favorite way to eat potatoes?!

The Helper.

My darling little boy is at a very fun age.  He can’t quite get anywhere on his own yet, but he is full of personality, wonder and excitement, and wants to be involved in everything!  Of course setting up the house for this Christmas season was no exception!  I’m pretty excited and beyond blessed to be sharing this baby’s first Christmas with him! 

Decked Halls

Or the beginning of them at least. I *plan* on doing different crafts and projects over the next few weeks to add to the few decorations that we have.  Nothing big, everything should stay simple, functional, and homey.  

“…He who promised is faithful.”

Hebrews 10:23