Daria's Birthday!

The other day Daria turned eight years old and we decided to throw an extra special birthday party for her. We picked a topic..............Fairyland!!! Its original!!!! (note from Katya, who always dreads and avoids having to wear dresses or skirts or makeup or anything girlie:"It's not original! It's Marie Claireish!" Nevertheless, Fairyland it was, and so, with half the home gone on a faithtrip and almost no money, we set about trying to improvise and use our creativity to make it special.
The day before the party was spent with the girls making decorations that would give our house the fairy ambience. So I put them to work cutting out paper flowers and butterflies while I strained myself to make fairy wings for them all out of colored paper and glitter.
I had to constantly stress to them how important it was for them not to compare, but i must say I had some trouble with the birthday girl who changed her mind a few times about the type of wings she wanted, fretting that the purple wings she had picked, would not match with the dress she was planning on wearing s they would have to be pink. Thankfully, blessed Bia, accustomed by now to younger sisters, was willing to change wings in order to please the precious little birthday sister. Bless her! She helped me so much!
So then the other dillema was birthday cake. With hardly any money in the house for expensive or trendy ingredients we were at conflict what to do. Well, I thought after the usual chocolate recipe with almost no icing was suggested. How about we make the "pineapple upside-down cake"?............with apples. (available recipe in the Activity Book, if u have one.........we did not. And so I called up my mom and had her read the recipe in her german, step-by-step way to me. (Note: this was my second favorite cake with peaches and whipped cream and dulce de leche of course that my mom would make for my birthday before she discovered the traditional chocolate mayonaise cake..........also available in Activity Book. Dont miss it!)
So, we scrounged up some pesos to buy a little whipped cream, and butter and a few other ingredients (it wouldve been nice to have dulce de leche and canned peaches but oh well!). And we made the cake!
It took a few fear-instilling, thought-provoking signs that reffered to my unpleasant "german wrath" to keep the cake from being entirely mutilated overnight by hungry stalkers.
The next morning was spent prepping up the girls with their wings and clothes and makeup and hairdos, and flower crown (once again it was hard to keep them from comparing over the flowers i used for each one! Sigh!)
They had a wonderfull time with the visiting children, and had a fun lunch at the nearby MacDonals (bless you Vera for provisioning it!) .
Anyway, thought Id share some of the pics of this occasion! So purty my little fairies!!!!

I miss you!

Sigh! Some of you might think you have yourself all together, but I know that there are others who come in halves like me. And when your other half is away, you know the feeling I know of feeling completely lost and perplexed with yourself. One tries so hard to distract herself and nothing really works completely. Half of you is missing and you just simply will not rest till hes resting beside you again....I kinda know that feeling now again................I miss you baby!

Life is one big Cristmas present!

This morning there was hope again in my heart, like there has been for so many mornings... To look at my reflection in the mirror and smile with secret knowing.
Like a little child, I love secrets and hate to wait for them all at once. When anticipation is in the air, I can shiver with every conscious breath. Fleeting thoughts will make me break into a smile, and laugh aloud in oblivion. It seems God loves to hide things to make life a mystery. To help us treasure every new discovery, every new lesson. He hides treasure in the deepest caves, pearls inside oysters deep down in the sea..........butterflies inside dull cocoons.
Waiting is eternal, but every second of eternity is pleasure. I hold my breath till its over and yet I sigh with such complete satisfaction. Life is emotion, and one big Christmas present! I feel like I can't wait to open it up, and yet wait I shall, and every moment of waiting sends tingles down my spine. I love secrets. Someday I hope to surprise you....

Home dinner!!

Okay, this was for a special home dinner we had yesterday. Agu and my wife Gloria, treated us all to pizza while Agu, strictly restrained himself from indulging in the pleasures of sin for a season.....(hes on this nifty diet, no carbs alcohol or sugars for a month and then some)...........he was extremely cross at that acount and unbearable to everyone...Can you imagine???? NO pizza and alcohol??? Only this sick coliflour and tomatoes.
Ouch! It hurts to be beautifull!
Anyway, in the pics u can see Thiago harrases women and children alike............Aggie (my Jett) and Daria pose like ladies, Agu enjoys his sumptuos meal...MMmmmmm...
Agustina, Gloricetta (alias my wife), and me (las muchachas de torcuato!
The samakids.
AY! And the Poochofloveandaffection!!!! tugging on Daddys legs for him to pick her up while he poses for a group pic! Delicious rolls of fatness folding over her socks!
Such a beautifull family!
left to right: Daria, Aggie, Bia, toddler Nadia, Mommy Vera
under Vera: Katya, Cookie-boy, Daddy Dan, and Olenka................

A tasty smackerel!

Ok had to share these scandalous pictures of my tasty smackerel, rolling in a bed of cheese and sauce.

Hence on the left the senior, more experienced spoon-eater scowls with cold, desinterest and comtempt at the clumsy, though thrilling, first efforts of this first-timer, who blissfully unaware, helps herself to a tasty lunch of noodles and cheese-and-tomato-sauce.....enjoying every sensation (it looks good, smells good, tastes good and feels good too!!!)

Anyway, I dont know if any of you readers remember having watched a film during your childhood about a brave little pig named Babe....
well, if you were unfortunate enough to watch the traumatic part two of the movie, you might remember a certain, crazy, fat, face full of ice cream, clown, that lives with his cookoo sister. Somehow he was brought to my memory when I saw my smackerel painted like a clown with sauce