Fabulous! That's a fancy word for Great!

This morning after Audrey had finished eating her breakfast she looked at me and said, "You wait here squirt- I have to get dressed". Squirt? Where did she learn that? It wasn't from me, I swear! I stick to normal nick names like Little Miss or Goofy head or Sparky, but squirt? This kid seriously has me laughing none stop.

I followed her into her bedroom even though I had been instructed to stay put.

"Well honey," she said, as she pulled one of her three favorite dresses out of the drawer, "Mommy has to go to work now, okay? You better be a good girl."
"Am I the daughter today?" I asked.
"Honey," she answered, "You don't need to ask me that, you know I am the Mom."

As I write this I am laughing out loud. There have been so many funny things that have happened with these girls over the last few months- they are such little characters.

I have done a pretty good job thus far at preserving my dignity when it comes to the parents. Although the girls are constantly asking for "embarrassing stories from [my] childhood" or begging me to speak in a funny accent, I try to refrain when in public or in front of relatives as that can get awkward. Last night however, I had to give in.

Jill got home from work, tired but really excited to see the girls. Maddy and Audrey thought it was about time to show Jill, what we have named, "Our Family Tradition" which is actually dancing like lunatics to the song "Hey Ya" by Outkast. We like to act out different part of the song, so when they say, "you think you got it? oohh? you think you got it?" we ask each other that very question. And when the lead singer asks "how cold is cool?" we shiver and says "ICE COLD!" And then at the very end, when the lead singer declares "SHAKE IT!" all three of us do just that!

Sometimes Audrey get distracted and bends over laughing at herself with her bum in the air. Other times she gets really itchy and that is why she has to take off random articles of clothing. Last night was no exception, but this time, she bent over and pulled her pants down explaining as she did it that she was hot and needed a rest.

Maddy and I are really excited because we are actually starting to work on her book, which she hopes will be published sooner that later, "It is going to be about my life" she says. For show and tell she is bringing in some of my notebook doodles which she has deemed "beautiful and amazing". I hope that the class is equally impressed :)

p.s. if you are in the mood for something fun to read, try one of the Fancy Nancy books. They are so great! Short and sweet and, yes for children and primarily girls- but they are our favorite!

Spanish boots of Spanish leather

Being in Spain stuck that song into my head like glue, and so Bob Dylan and I walked around Madrid and Barcelona...

Oh, I'm sailin' away my own true love,
I'm sailin' away in the morning.
Is there something I can send you from across the sea,
From the place that I'll be landing?

No, there's nothin' you can send me, my own true love,
There's nothin' I wish to be ownin'.
Just carry yourself back to me unspoiled,
From across that lonesome ocean.

Oh, but I just thought you might want something fine
Made of silver or of golden,
Either from the mountains of Madrid
Or from the coast of Barcelona.

Oh, but if I had the stars from the darkest night
And the diamonds from the deepest ocean,
I'd forsake them all for your sweet kiss,
For that's all I'm wishin' to be ownin'.

I wanted to upload more pictures so you could see some of what I saw, while I was in Spain. Unfortunately, despite my past and most recent attempts, I can't seem to get more than this picture on the website, so this will have to do until we see each other and I can show you more :)

It has been fun for me to experience different cities around Europe, just like in the US, every city has its own flavor, its own energy. Madrid was HIGH! Full of color, and people, people, people! Music everywhere. Graffiti and dancing and dreadlocks- I loved it! Madrid does not sleep, at 1a.m the streets were FILLED, PACKED, SLAMMED with people going this way and that. I went to a Mojito/costume party with my friend Paz (Paw-th) and it was such an experience. I didn't realize that that was only the beginning. I was only there for 2 nights before going to Barcelona for an entire week, but my time in Madrid was definitely sweet.

I arrived in Barcelona early on Sunday morning. I took the metro to my friend's stop and began dragging my bag down a street laid with gray bricks with flowers etched into each square. The friends that I was staying with are all going to the Cinematography School of Barcelona which was so much fun for me. The first day that I was there Miguelangel and I, went to his classmates house for traditional Brazilian food and wine, and then enjoyed a casual premier of their latest short films. It was a lot of fun for me. I was happy when one of the students showcased his silent film, I understood that one the best :)

80% of the time I was communicating in Spanish, and about 95% the people around me, in the house, at the parties, were speaking in Spanish- makes sense, but sort of inconvenient for me- being that my Spanish experience is a faint memory waving to me from High School. Luckily, the friends that I was with were extremely gracious and didn't laugh too much when I would blab on and on in some rather interesting Spanglish. "Gracias- Yo pienso tu are mucho nice. para mi, this has been, muy bueno holiday." (BLANK STARE, SYMPATHETIC SMILE, PAT ON THE BACK).

One night, I was invited to a Flamenco show. When Teresa and I arrived at the venue, we were surprised to find the opposite of what we were expecting. It was as if we had been thrown back into a party from the mid 90's complete with grunge hair, clothes and attitude. This seemed to be the general vibe of Barcelona- if it looks weird, doesn't fit right, smells funny, well- then wear it! We walked into the room where the flamenco show would be, and there wasn't a stage. Just a small little platform with microphones and a drum set. On the wall behind the platform hung a red cloth with white polka-dots. It was clear that there would be NO Flamenco dancer and this confused me, as my friend Cristina had invited me to the show for just that- Flamenco. We waited, Teresa and I, in this room filled with smoke of many kinds and bodies pushing and crammed. A hush came over the ever growing crowd as a few scrawny men walked onto the platform, the lights went down and then one of them shouted "UNO, DOS, TRES!" and just like that everyone went wild. We were suddenly enveloped by amazing Flamenco style music, dressed up in bass and trumpet and guitar. The music was loud and stuck to me like sweat, as I danced like mad with people who I didn't even understand. Everyone in the room knew the words to all of the songs, and at one point, one of the singers became really quiet, and I watched the crowd around me crouch down to the floor and then suddenly, all of them POPPED back up and started cheering. It was SO MUCH FUN!

I got a letter on a lonesome day,
It was from her ship a-sailin',
Saying I don't know when I'll be comin' back again,
It depends on how I'm a-feelin'.

Well, if you, my love, must think that-a-way,
I'm sure your mind is roamin'.
I'm sure your heart is not with me,
But with the country to where you're goin'.

So take heed, take heed of the western wind,
Take heed of the stormy weather.
And yes, there's something you can send back to me,
Spanish boots of Spanish leather.

(for more pictures and stories from barcelona you can go to Teresa's blogsite: www.teresainswitzerland.blogspot.com)