Paul wrote this a month ago, but it is better than nothing!! I'm finally starting to feel human again, so I will get some posts up....but for now, here's a short update!


Ok, so it's been almost a month since our last post. That's not good. But really, life's been moving along at a pretty normal pace lately, so I guess we just haven't felt the need to share so much.

Ok, I lied. Life is not moving along normally. Since our beach weekend, the following events have occurred:

1) I went to Nosso Recanto for the second time - the mountain camp retreat where the Brazilian international private schools all go to play their season-ending tournaments. It's really what we gear up for all year long. For our sports fans out there, I'll tell you how the tourney went for my boys basketball team. It was an 8-team tournament that was divided into two 4-team brackets. We had a round-robin within the bracket and went 2-1, losing only to the gigantic St. Paul's Lions. It was a nine point loss, but in many ways it was closer than that.

As the #2 seed, we had to play the undefeated #1 seed from the other bracket - Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro. We beat them by a few in a very close game.

That victory put us in the final against... that same St. Paul's Team that beat us before. Well, they beat us again. It was a bit of a disappointment, as we'd beaten them during the regular season and really felt like we could win the championship. But they have a 6'5" big guy who just dominated inside and we didn't have an answer for that. So we came home with 2nd place.

2) We signed a lease to move into a new apartment in less than two weeks. When we moved the kids into separate rooms a few months ago, we lost the playroom in our relatively small 3-bedroom apartment. Coupled with the fact that it's been colder and rainier this year than it was last year, keeping us inside a bit more and infecting us with a bit of cabin fever, we decided that we needed more space. So we're moving up the hill in the same complex (Portal do Morumbi) into a building with larger, 4-bedroom apartments. We'll be going from less than 1500 square feet to over 2100. This will definitely be more comfortable for us.

3) If moving into a new apartment in December of our 2nd year wasn't enough of an indication, we've decided to stay in Sao Paulo and at Escola Graduada for another year. The intial contract was for two years, but now we can go year-to-year. There are so many good reasons to stay here at this point. It's a great place to live for the kids.... they have a nanny and a gigantic park as their backyard. They can take swimming lessons, soccer class (Noah), ballet (Sophie) and play with their friends all day every day. After school, of course. The kids are getting a top-notch education. Abby and I have excellent jobs where we feel appreciated and valued (most of the time, anyway). Not to mention...

4) We're having another one.

No, not another caipirinha (although that's generally not a bad idea). Abby's pregnant! #3. The last one.

She's been to the doctor and we've seen it on ultrasound. We're obviously very excited and can't wait to meet the new little one. The only question now is whether or not we find out what we're having. Abby says yes, I say no. We found out with both Noah and Sophie ahead of time. The only experience we haven't had is not finding out. Abby's approaching this very practically and just wants to be able to shop in the States. But seriously... it's much more fun to wait and see, right?

So there you have it. We haven't posted anything in almost a month because, let's face it, Abby is the primary poster around here. And frankly, she's felt too sick to sit in front of a computer screen and write. She's been much more nauseous and throw-uppy with this one. Gross for me, but really unpleasant and uncomfortable for her. So while your tendency might be to feel sorry for me.... ok, not at all. But you should send her an email or give her a call and make her feel better.

Now we're getting ready to head off to Buenos Aires for a 4-day holiday (as they say in this part of the world. Or do they?). We're excited to get out of Sao Paulo for a few days and make some memories as a family. We'll let you know how it goes once we get back. Hopefully not a month after we get back.

Beach Weekend

Sorry for the delays in posting...the blog has just been at the end of a very long to-do list lately. Things have been rather quiet around these parts-work, school, and just life in general have led to full days.

Last Thursday afternoon I found a little inspiration when I checked the weekend forecast and discovered a large yellow ball (I almost didn't recognize it!) posted next to Saturday. Paul and I did a quick email exchange (since walking across the courtyard would have been difficult ;) ) and decided to take a last minute weekend getaway. We headed back to Guaruja but this time stayed at THE. BEST. HOTEL. Casa Grande was amazing! We arrived Friday evening and stayed through mid day Sunday. The grounds were beautiful, we were right across the street from the ocean, and the room comfortable. They also had a Casa de Criancas (Kids' House) that was filled with toys, a kids' pool, a dinner buffet for the kids, and monitors (babysitters) for the kids. We tested it out Friday evening and the kids couldn't have been happier! They stayed at the Casa de Criancas and we headed to the Thai Restaurant across the street. Saturday, after a full day of sun, the kids swam at the kids' pool and hung out for dinner. Paul and AGAIN enjoyed a slow, quiet dinner at the hotel's restaurant. It was so relaxing and the kids were so happy hanging out with other kids. Sunday, after breakfast and a few hours at the beach, we headed home. We were back in Sao Paulo by early afternoon. We will definitely head there again-we all had the best time!

Raise Your Hand If You Like Purple Potatoes

I made a super yummy dinner last night for the kids and me. Paul was doing some very serious work with some friends until very late into the evening. Or watching ridiculous amounts of football. Either way, yesterday's menu was salmon pesto burgers and sweet potato fries. Sweet potatoes here are purple! Yes, purple! Sophie still didn't eat them. Or the berry ice cream that followed. While I was cooking I said to her, "Sophie, c'mon purple french fries...you're no fun!". She replied, rather confidently, "Yes I am. I just won't eat purple french fries,".

Uh, at least she's cute. And she does eat an astounding amount of broccoli and ketchup.

I've gotten a little lazy about cooking dinner around here...I may use the blog to keep me honest as I've vowed to cook dinner every night this week. We'll see. Tonight? Pesto chicken, whole wheat pasta salad, and roasted zucchini.

Glee

Paul and I downloaded the show Glee from itunes. I totally loved it and was a big fan as well...but have you seen these kids? Incredible!

Spring Has Sprung *at least for one day

The weather here in Sao Paulo has been pretty bad since we arrived back in July. Most weeks are filled with rain with a random absolutely gorgeous day thrown in. Sometimes the day begins with promise only to finish as a soggy mess. And it has been cold. C-O-L-D. I know, people don't believe Brazil is cold, but without heat inside our apartment it can get rather frigid. Last year was apparently a random event, because it was sunny and warm almost every day from the time we arrived. Well, Mother Nature is making up for it this year. We,are though, officially in spring and today was a random beautiful day. I took advantage of the nice weather and snapped pictures for our Christmas card and these awesome shots from around Portal.

Not to Be Outdone...

Noah's definitely NOT the type to put on a song and dance show and let me record it (like another little person I know). So, to capture him on video I need to use secretive tactics and break into his room late at night as evidenced below:

Noah's Reading from Abigail Kasky on Vimeo.

A Sophie Medley

a.k.a. how I attempt to make Sophie speak Portuguese so that our extended family doesn't think I am lying about her skills

Untitled from Abigail Kasky on Vimeo.

We had a Visitor!

Last week we got an email that Paul's buddy Wes was flying into Sao Paulo. Wes and Paul went to high school together, Wes and I went to UVA together, and Wes was a part of our wedding. He's been living in Charlotte and New York for the last few years and finally moved back to D.C. just before we left for Brazil. Needless to say, we were super excited about this visit. Thankfully, the weather cooperated! Paul picked Wes up at his hotel just after noon and Sunday (yeah for Sunday traffic!). The blue sky and warm day dictated spending the afternoon at-where else-the Clubbe! It seemed like the perfect solution since we could lounge and visit and the kids could run free. Much more relaxing than dragging them through the city. Wes may or may not return to Sao Paulo soon, but we discussed meeting him in Buenos Aires in November and definitely catching up in D.C. in January. It was so good to see a familiar face!

Wes and Paul

Enjoying the Clubbe (and the caips!)

Soph and Mama

Another field trip

So I get to go on a few field trips this year. A couple of them are sports trips of 3-4 days each for the big Brazil international school tourneys. Another potential trip this year is a repeat of the trip to Petropolis that I went on last year. Then there's the big one coming up in January that I've planned. Nine days in Greece. I'm really looking forward to that one.

But I just got back from my first trip of the year. A 4-day trip to the Mata Atlantica Rainforest on the northern coast of Brazil with our 8th graders. For most of these kids, this trip would constitute "roughing it", although it really was a comfortable trip for the most part. Here's a recap:

Day 1:
We arrived at a the Quilombo Campinho near Ubatuba, a local beach resort area. Quilombos are runaway slave communities that are, in many ways, frozen in time. They tend to be very, very poor communities that existed for years without even being recognized or identified by the government here. Finally in the late 1980's the lands on which Quilombos existed were legally turned over to those communities. Of course, that hasn't gotten them electricity, roads or government assistance of any sort. But it does get them visits from 8th graders in the private schools in Sao Paulo! What a consolation.
At the Quilombo, we ate a traditional Brazilian feijoada lunch. Then we had a chance to learn from the locals: basket weaving, drumming and dancing were the main activities in which we got to take part. Then, it was off to the pousada for a good night's rest.

Day 2:
My group, which was about 1/2 of our 8th graders, headed to a local creche (daycare center). It was a full day of community service; we planted a new vegetable garden to help them to be more self-sustainable, we contributed to a massive cleaning effort to make the daycare more vibrant and attractive for the kids, we helped to make toys out of donated and recycled materials, and we generally had a chance to make life a little better for the young children in the local community. It was a rewarding opportunity for me, but more importantly for our students who don't often have opportunities to give something back to the less privileged in Brazilian society.
When we got back to the pousada, I played some barefoot basketball with a bunch of my kids (NOT recommended) while the rest of them played mud futbol. Nice.

Day 3:
We on a trek up to Saco do Mamangua, a fishing community near Parati that you have to boat into since there are no roads (or any other sign of civilzation) as you approach. In fact, the roads leading to our boat launch were so rough and unmaintained that our charter bus couldn't (or wouldn't) take us. We had to take a rickety old bus down the road to deliverance. Along the way, we passed a man raking his "lawn" with no pants (or anything else) on, which was a bit of a shocker to the right side of the bus.

Anyway, we got a science lesson about the mangroves, canoed around the bay, ate lunch, got a hands-on lesson on net fishing and generally had a chance to find out how this fishing community exists without electricity or any other convenience most of us can imagine. Pretty powerful stuff.

Day 4:
The last day started with a hike through the rainforest. We stopped to swim in the river near waterfalls and learned (in Portuguese, meaning I was educationally challenged) about the ecosystem. Good stuff.
Then it was off on our 4.5 hour drive home that took nearly 8 hours thanks to Sao Paulo rush hour.

Did I mention the food (or water?) poisoning? Six of the eight teachers ended up with some nasty stomach problems starting late on day 2. I was one of the six. Not cool. But the drug stores do sell some pretty hefty meds for that. We stocked up on our way to Saco do Mamangua on the morning of the third day, and started popping pills. We labeled them "big blocker", "slow blocker", "vomit meds", and the like. Big blocker is a miracle pill, although I'm still trying to get back to normal now, 4 days later.

So that's the story. As Abby's pointed out before, traveling with the school is such a nice, peaceful event. The contracted educational tour agency we hire does everything..... EVERY. THING. We teachers just follow along like kids, which is great for rapport with them. It's a chance to interact with them on a different level, and I found it to be very rewarding.

Next stop: Greece.

Paul Comes Home Tomorrow

We've had a good week, just the three of us. We had dinner with friends last night and a quiet night at home Tuesday and tonight. It is certainly easier having them on my own than it was just a year ago! Both kids are desperate for Paul to come home though. Noah's taken to sleeping-no joke-like this all week.



In other exciting news...Noah has his first loose tooth! He's been *thinking* there's been a wiggle for quite some time, but tonight I felt it actually move a bit. Noah predicted it will be out by October 10th. I better load up on some apples, carrots, and other crunchy foods-Noah's a pretty determined little guy. I wonder if the tooth fairy pays American families living in Brazil in dollars or reais?

Sunday Football

It looks a little different...but Paul loves it just the same.

Big Decisions

When we started this international teaching journey two years ago we had visions of taking a little break from the monotony of our life and returning shortly there after. In some ways it seemed like such a short period of time, but in other ways I remember thinking Oh my goodness! I will have a four year old and a six year old when I come home! For some reason the jump from a 2 and 4 year old to a four and six year old seemed huge-much larger than just two years. And suddenly we're almost there. Now, we're approaching the time when we'll have to decide whether to pack up and head home, stay in Brazil, or explore another teaching opportunity. It's a hard choice. Our school forces us to make this decision very early-usually between late October and early November. Definitely before we've had a chance to secure another job. The year flew by-just now, after selling our house and settling in here-are we starting to see the bigger benefits of being overseas. We still have lots of South American traveling we'd like to squeeze in. I love, love, love going to school with the kids (and Paul too!). However, we miss family and the pure ease of being in the United States. Truthfully, I miss Target too. I've always been horribly indecisive which does not bode well for large, looming decisions like the ones in front of us. Paul's super logical and I'm more of a "gut instinct" type girl. I feel like so many other decisions ride on this one...I hope we feel the same when the time comes to commit.

Saturdays

This is the second Saturday in a row that Paul's had to spend the entire day coaching. I think that's hard on both of us. He has a long day on top of an already long week and I have my hands full with the kiddos. The good news is when the weather is good (like it was last week) we can spend the day like this:

The bad news? That was last Saturday. Today is gray and cool and we're trapped in a small apartment waiting for Paul to return this afternoon.

Adventure Recap

We enjoyed a three day weekend in honor of Brazil's independence this week. We weren't sure we were going to travel-traffic is horrible when the whole city is off- and the weather isn't certain enough to risk a beach trip just yet, but Leca and Peter invited us to Campinas for the weekend and that seemed to be the perfect short and sweet trip we needed. So Saturday, after a relaxing breakfast during which Sophie requested broccoli with her french toast rather than any type of fruit I had prepared, we headed out to Campinas. Leca is from Campinas and her entire family (think many, many cousins, aunts, uncles, etc...) pretty much still lives there. Paul traveled there in December, but I was in out of town, so this was my first trip. Campinas is about 90 minutes from Sao Paulo and we arrived mid afternoon Saturday. From the moment we arrived I knew I liked Campinas better than Sao Paulo-it is smaller, cleaner, greener, and people seem to drive normally-not like the maniacs around here! The streets are a bit wider and many are paved with cobblestones, adding to the charm of the city. Saturday night we arranged for a woman to watch Noah and Sophie at the hotel while Peter, Leca, Paul and I headed out to a nice dinner and then to a chopperia (bar) to watch Brazil play Argentina in a big, much anticipated soccer match. The weather was pleasant and it was really relaxing to hang out! Leca's cousin, Caca, joined us later in the night. It is really fun to have everyone together and I find it fascinating to figure out how we all move from English to Portuguese back English without too much thought. Well, Leca and Peter do that. I listen intently to the Portuguese (and understand a fair amount) but nearly always speak in English. Paul's pretty good at going between the two and he gets the award for the best effort of the evening.Hippie fair Sunday morning

Sunday we headed out to the Leca's family sitou (farm) for a chuhasca. Leca's family lives in this little Swiss colony outside of Campanis. It was really beautiful even though the weather was pretty damp and gray. The day was fun, but tiring. Trying to keep up and be personnable in a second language takes a lot of work-I have a renewed respect for what my students do each day! The kids were amazing. The way they interact with new people is so refreshing-they switch from English to Portuguese and back again without a problem. By the afternoon they were playing Brazilian children's games with all the other little cousins running around. Sophie especially feels at ease in these situations, but even Noah was comfortable and making friends. Late in the afternoon we went for a walk-oh, how I wish I had the camera! At one point the kids were walking ahead to look at some roosters (LOTS of roosters) on another piece of property. Suddenly, out of nowhere, these black dogs come charging towards us barking loudly. Leca quickly closed the gate to keep them inside the property and away from us. Just as we were catching our breath we turned to see many cows coming down the road and a bull! There was no gate separating us this time. I started to get really nervous at this point-but over the hill came the man in charge of the animals. I don't know what he would have done had the bull charged-but seeing him made me feel better and they passed by without any further excitement.
Monday Leca's mom invited us over for lunch. We had a fun time and Noah and Sophie had fun playing with Julia. We left midafternoon and made it back without hitting too much traffic.
It was lots of fun-I'm sure we'll head back another time.

Good buddies

For now we have our sights set on our four day weekend in November-we're traveling to Buenos Aires-and our trip back to the U.S. in December-we've built in a short side trip to Bogota, Columbia. Lots of travel to look forward to!

Papaya Boy

Picky Eater Girl

Worn Out

Weekend Fun

This weekend was gorgeous! It is still considered winter down here-but the sky was a cloudless blue and the weather warm. Saturday was busy-Paul and Noah headed off to teeball and Sophie and I enjoyed a mani/pedi together. That girl was made for pampering! She ordered up fuchsia nail polish with a glitter top coat. She politely asked the boy working the coffee corner for ice water on a tray-delivered to her while her nails dried! Sophie was so much fun, but I'm afraid this can't become a routine mother daughter activity...sometimes feels a bit ahem, entitled to things and doesn't appreciate them so much. I want to reserve this as a special treat!
Following the morning chores we headed out to a birthday party. I know I've mentioned how these parties go before, but once again I was blown away. The birthday girl is a friend of Sophie's and her mom is our co-worker, so I felt we needed to attend. The place did not disappoint! The kids enjoyed an indoor roller coaster, huge ball pit, amusement park rides, and a trampoline/jumpy aparatus. Each activity also has a monitor to help the kids-so the first part was fairly relaxing (the waiter bringing beer around didn't hurt either). The second part involved an hour long puppet show that was super loud and annoying. By this point, we were ready to go home, but of course, we hadn't sung "Happy Birthday" yet! The new three year old came out (escorted by her four year old brother) in a full Cinderella outfit and make up. Sophie was totally blown away by this and I am doing everything possible to deprogram her before her fourth birthday in January. I had planned something slightly smaller!
We ended Saturday with a dinner out with our friends Peter and Leca. It was so nice to go out, just the four of us, for the first time! We thoroughly enjoyed our selves and the kids were happy to spend the evening with Katty.Sunday...hmmm, we pretty much lounged by the pool and caught up on school work. A much needed, relaxing weekend!

Sophie's Classroom

Since I posted about my love of the Montessori program a few days ago, I thought it would be fun to post a few pictures of Sophie's new classroom. Both she and Noah are in a mixed age classroom. All 3-6 year olds are in one class, though the 3 and 4 year olds leave at noon (Sophie) and the five and six year olds stay until 3 o'clock (Noah). I love that Sophie has a chance to play with different aged kids and I love that Noah has a kindergarten class of 7-8 kids in the afternoon. Both kids attend P.E., music, and library throughout the week and Noah also attends art class. The Montessori program was a huge reason why we chose to come to Graded, and we haven't been disappointed! Both kids are just "down the ramp" from my classroom and I love to stop by while they are at the playground or eating lunch (Noah) to say hello. It is such a relief to feel so confident and happy about our school decisions. I love how it has shaped the kids!

Outdoor space for dish washing, painting, scrubbing, etc...

The dish area and drying rack...useful skills here!

The scrubbing rock

Montessori Love

One of the reasons I love, love the Montessori program that Noah and Sophie are a part of is that "practical life" is one of the centers the children spend time working on every day. All of that pays off at home:

Tee Ball

Noah started his first tee ball season on Saturday. The American Society sponsors Saturday morning sports teams at our school and another local private school. Noah was happy to take on an activity that included instruction in English-he's been getting frustrated with swimming lessons because sometimes he doesn't quite understand what the coaches are asking him to do. In reality, both swimming and soccer amount to a sports lesson and a Portuguese lesson, and after a full day of kindergarten, perhaps that's asking a bit too much! Noah loved it and next weekend Paul will join him as his coach!