Noah makes a statement...

Noah loves to draw and leave notes all over the house. Sometimes we'll return home to find upwards of 15 pieces of paper scattered around the house with various messages, stories, and information scrawled on them. The other day I came home after work and found this:
For those not familiar with the art and craft of deciphering four year old writing, it clearly states:

Boo VT Go Virginia!

All the way in Brasil, he remembered the important game this weekend.
Go Virginia, beat Tech!

Happy Thanksgiving

This is about as much Thanksgiving as we will get tomorrow.

It is really just another normal day at school. Lucky me, I'll be leading an inservice just about the time we'd normally be sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner. No festivities tomorrow, but a few planned for this weekend. It is a bit depressing. Everytime I begin to think about it I just focus on the positive-2 1/2 more weeks until Summer (Winter) Break.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ibirapuera Park

We're on the the tail end of a four day weekend! Even though the weather hasn't been great (which is why we didn't head to the coast in the first place) we've managed to have a good weekend.

Thursday morning we headed to Ibirapuera Park. This park is very well known (probably because it is over 1.6 million square meters) and we'd read and heard lots about it. We were anxious to see what it was all about. We managed to find the park in a timely manner without getting lost-this in and of itself is a major accomplishment. The weather was sunny and cool, and because it was a holiday, the park was packed. After a picnic lunch, we went out exploring.

We saw some baby geese,

a good view of the city,

rusted out playground equipment that was fun nonetheless,

and this cute family.

On Friday, after such an exhausting Paulistinoesque day, we recovered with a few comforts of home...

Starbucks,

pumpkin muffins,

and a trip to Sam's Club!

We got a package...

Packages are very exciting around here! When we brought home a box on Wednesday afternoon the kids couldn't wait to open it.

There were holiday decorations,

books,

and, of course, peanut butter!

But the best part of the package...

the bubble wrap!

Adventure!

Adventurous is a word that has NEVER been used to describe me. Never.

Until now...

I decided to join my friend Mary on a trip in a little under 4 weeks. We are headed to Foz do Iguacu!



I'm a little nervous, but very excited.

What a way to spend a Saturday...

After a quick visit to the Santo Amaro markets this morning I arrived home to find the house in total disaster. You know, every single dish left wherever it was put down, peanut butter without a top, jelly across the counter, and Sophie looking worse than ever. So horrible that when I gave her a bath she kept asking me why I looked so sad. It was only her horrible blisters that were making me wince. Paul made his second trip to Einstein to get Sophie checked out. I, on the other hand, had the tough job of taking Noah to the pool to enjoy our beautiful day. Turns out Sophie has impetigo and is on antibiotics. I know it looks more horrible than it actually is, but I really hope she feels better soon.

Poor Sophie

Poor Sophie. Sophie who wears 10 outfits a day. Seriously. Sophie that steals my $18 lipgloss and applies it like crazy. Sophie that has our baba wearing purple everyday because she loves it so much. Sophie that could have had this song written about her.

Our poor Sophie woke up this morning and looked like this...



When we were trying to explain she couldn't go to school today she demanded to know why. When Paul showed her herself in the mirror she immediately burst into tears. I don't blame her. This picture doesn't do it justice. A friend commented, "She looks like she has a favela on her face,".

I thought maybe it was the sandpaper like tissues that we've been using to wipe her nose. Unfortunately, I really think it is this.
Poor Sophie.

New Purchases!

We did some shopping this weekend. We attempted last weekend, but the horrible maps and directions made us abandon our plan not once, but twice. This weekend, however, we were very successful!

In order of importance from least to greatest...

Yes, that's a television. No, I'm not really proud of this purchase. I sort of feel like it was inevitable and I guess I'm glad to have it-despite the fact that I woke up to Paul and the kids playing NCAA 2009 at 7:30 this morning. We do have a firm no television during the week rule though...

A new, cordless phone. The school gave us an old fashioned corded phone and we really felt the need to upgrade. Or at least be able to move further away than six inches from screaming children when necessary. The phone is being charged in the photo-we don't usually keep our phone on top of the stove :)

Next up, a rug to cover the white floors. Our previous rug (now relocated to the playroom) was just too small and shed constantly. This one is MUCH better!

Finally, our most important purchase...liquid hand soap in a pump bottle! No more bars of soap! It cost a pretty penny and I don't know why, but this makes me VERY happy!

Christmas Picture Rejects

This one is sort of cute...except Baby Olivia looks like she's passed out after a long night...
Evidence of the chocolate bribery wasn't supposed to show up in the picture...
That squeeze was just a little too tight...

In the end, I think we got one. Now, I just need to figure out a reasonable way to get the cards mailed out from Brasil!

And the verdict is...

So there's the answer to the questions about how Halloween is celebrated here. Although I understand that it's not universally celebrated in Brazil, I can guarantee that it's taken quite seriously at the Escola Graduada. This parade was led by percussionists throughout the entire school. Sophie was a bit overwhelmed, but for good reason. Now we can push on toward a Thanksgiving in Spring on a day when we'll be teaching rather than feasting. Who said international teaching was perfect?