Jeitinho Strikes Again

This picture is my own fabulous photography. Mad skills, I know.

So we went to Plebeu in Botafogo for lunch today. AMAZING food! Anyway, I totally forgot that they don't have highchairs.  Why, I'm not sure.  So we were at a loss for a moment. How were we going to enjoy the holiness of their divine Picanha with a wiggly toddler on our laps.

That's when genius hit!  On our way upstairs, we passed the stacks of plastic chairs they use outside. Since the place wasn't full enough to stick people on the sidewalk, the chairs were just hanging out in a corner.

When approached about the chair stacking/highchair making plan, the waiter was not impressed. It had so been done before.  Still, we feel pretty damn smart.

So 5 plastic chairs later and the tiny toddler had his own place at the table.

Gold Star for creativity! 

Herding Cats

Adaptação/Adaptation.  That is my life, at least for this week.  My youngest, 18 months, is starting school.  Cheers and Amens all around people! Momma is going to have some free time!  Woo Hoo! 

So let me explain "school" for 1 year olds. My son is in group 1, or Groupo 1 in Portuguese.  They have their little classroom and special classes. Today was aula de corpo (body class). It's like a fancy gym class where an expensive private teacher comes and teaches our 1 and 2 year olds how to tumble.  What it really looked like was an expensive teacher talking to children like adults while our kids ran around like lunatics.  But everyone had a good time and that's what matters.

They also rotate activities about every 20 minutes to half hour, going from the class room to the patio to the art room, etc.  That's where it gets entertaining.

How do 2 or 3 adults transport 12 one and two year olds from one place to another? 

If I had to describe it, I would call it the herding cats method.  Have you ever herded cats?  Probably not. You'd have to be insane to do it. That just confirms my theory that all daycare teachers are slightly insane. 

Hey now, just because they're insane doesn't mean they aren't nice and that they can't take good care of our children. Just look at Grandma for heaven's sake.

Anyway, the kids meander around, here and there and everywhere.  Then you call them over and BAM they are gone, the opposite direction.  That's what a group of one year olds are like, herding cats.  

Of course, the vast majority of the group have been domesticated already. Rafa is such the little wild Tom Cat of the group. He had his first stand off with the teacher on his first day of school.  Made his Momma proud.

So I'll be spending the week hanging out at my kids' school. That means I sit there and try to look invisible. Very difficult considering I look like a giant to a 1 year old. 

It's not too bad though. I get a glimpse of what a day at school is like for my kids.  I would like it more if they'd give me snack.  Mom likes bananas too. Wait a minute, that sounded kind of dirty didn't it...

There's a hex on this house

My toddler has diarrhea now.  Maybe I've been Candomblé-ed.  Most likely it's a virus.  So we have two little typhoid Marys running around here. 

While this too shall pass, I realize that my husband and I may be the next victims.  The saddest thing about our society is it's lack of understanding for adult diarrhea.  It's faux pas to even talk about it, much less go into your work bathroom and bust out a round. 

So what are parents of young children supposed to do? Do we suppress our body's need with a bottle of pepto or do we put our head up high and say "I have Diarrhea and I am proud!"?

Spinach does a body good... you only have to eat it

So I'm a big fan of getting my kids to eat healthy stuff but I hate forcing things down their throat. I'm all about tasty food that goes down easy. 

Spinach is a hard one. For starters it's green. A 3 yr old digs anything and everything green except for food.  Hell, I can't even get him to eat oregano.

Point being, I've found another way. They're big on smoothies in Rio and so is my family. Our normal pick is a papaya and banana smoothie with milk and a bit of sugar to taste (not always necessary but makes it go down even easier).

Well guess what I'm doing now.  I'm adding a cup of spinach and chocolate milk.  One cup of spinach, a half of a papaya, a banana, and a cup of milk. Blend for a minute.  Pass it through a small strainer. 

That one is important. Nothing turns a kid off a smoothie like chunks.

My super picky eater 3 yr old sucked it down like a treat.  1 point for Mommy!  Ok, that's 1 to about 372 but I'm getting there.  I threw some, minus the chocolate, in a bottle for my one year old and the green goodness went down like ice cream.

Yummy, nutritional, and easy. I'm having one every morning now.  Also try beat, carrot, and apple juice.  Surprisingly good.

Keep in mind this comes from a cookie, white sauce, meatballs, pizza, and over all junk food lover. LOVER