H o n d u r a s ~ S p r o u t s

Land For Sale- Copan Ruinas / Ostuman - $35,000

2013-08-25T08:38:00.000-05:00

1,445 vrs2 (1/4 acre) lot for sale a few minutes up the road from Central Park in Copan Ruinas in a

little town called Ostuman. It is about 1/4 mile up from the butterfly garden. It is within reasonable walking distance from Central Park or a few minutes by taxi.

We are motivated sellers. We are asking L650,000 ($35,000) negotiable. We

have been working with the local realtor in town. Possible good investment

property. It is large enough to build 2-4 small houses on, apartments, etc.

Electric and water have been established and other homes are already built

nearby.

Serious inquires please send a private message and we will get back to you.

I don't have any good photos at the moment except for one showing the corn being grown on the lot by a local family friend.

What's cookin'?

2011-07-23T21:37:00.005-05:00

Here are a few things that I have in the kitchen that I enjoy:

Oh? Did you think I was talking about the bottle of "pop" in this photo? Can't you see the mango tree in the back?

Really Hot, Really Fresh and Delicious

I love that the packaging on these corn tortillas has one of my favorite bible passages.

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

This is like your standard summer squash. Always in stock.

Green avocados. They are called this because as you can see, the skins keep their green color as they ripen instead of turning black, although some green varieties I have seen will turn black. Their flesh is not as creamy as the Hass avocados more commonly found in US grocery stores.

Honduras version of cottage cheese. Basically curds and cream and salt. Its very thick and creamy. Cost = 75.99 Lempiras. Thats about $4. Kind of spendy, I think.

This is Papa's. He enjoys this one.

Polache!

2009-09-18T22:48:00.003-05:00

Polache is a favorite Catracho artist of my husband's. I don't think I have ever heard my husband sing with such passion as when he (attempts to) sing along with his songs. Here is a video of one of Papá's favorite songs.

I listened to the Democratic Leader Roberto Micheletti interview with Greta from Fox News tonight. Then, while listening to Polache it made me think back to when I watched him sing with Mel Zelaya on tv one day a number of months ago so I went searching. Lo' and behold- of course YouTube has the video!

Break Time

2009-08-31T22:34:00.002-05:00

I've decided to take a break from blogging for a little while. I may be ready to write more soon. But I just don't know when. I didn't want anyone to think that I haven't THOUGHT about blogging. Until I write again...abundant blessings.

And We're Back...

2009-08-07T00:09:00.002-05:00

We made it back to Honduras on August 4th. Barely slept for three days and was running on adrenaline. I feel like I'm settling in now and catching up on sleep. The kids too. The house is much better than the last one we lived in. The kids like the house, I think. At least they seem to. Sure there are the common things like the kitchen sink pipe leaks, there are ants in the house but at least they don't bite. The interior is painted a bright and cheery canary yellow but the floor plan is spacious enough. I have a brand new mop to make friends with and trying hard to not want the AC blasting all day long all over the house. We have two AC's and it's so hard to walk into a hot room. It only takes about 3 seconds before I start to sweat and 30 more seconds before I'm running for air if a fan or AC is not turned on. It is curious to me how in the world Hondurans live here and work out in the sun and play soccer and walk around and function. I'm just not used to it again, I know...but it's hard to understand.

Thought I just let everyone know we made it back to Honduras and I hope to have some photos to share very soon!

La Verdad en Honduras (The Truth in Honduras)

2009-07-06T00:18:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was an eventful day in Honduras. Even my grandmother was calling through the afternoon with comments on the news coming through her television. I knew there would be news happening, and was anxious to be able to sit down and get the scoop sans distractions and kids.

I distracted myself most of the day by spending it at the beach after getting my oldest daughter off to camp. I ended my day by giving myself a headache trying to catch up on the day's events. It's like an edge of your seat - what's going to happen next - drama thriller playing out. The surreal part is that Honduras is my home too and that is where I am trying to get back to. I'm sharing the below video as it is a good explanation in English pulled from here.

If you are looking for the facts and explanations, check out this website, La Verdad en Honduras (The Truth in Honduras), It has copies of the official documents, orders, chronologies of events in Spanish and English. Here is the "About" description of the website:

EL PROPOSITO DE ESTA PAGINA ES INFORMARLE A LA COMUNIDAD INTERNACIONAL LA VERDAD DETRAS DE LOS HECHOS ACONTECIDOS EN NUESTRA HONDURAS EN LOS ULTIMOS DIAS. ESTE ESPACIO NACE DEBIDO A LA CAMPANA DE DESINFORMACION QUE SE A TRANSMITIDO A TRAVES... ENGLISH: (THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAGE IS TO INFORM THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY THE TRUTH BEHIND THE FACTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN HONDURAS IN THE MOST RECENT DAYS. THIS SPACE IS BORN DUE TO THE ALARMING DISINFORMATION THAT IS BEING TRANSMITTED…)

Still Defending Honduras

2009-07-03T09:04:00.005-05:00

I've been burning the candle on both ends trying to catch up on the daily news of what's going on down in Hondurlandia (Yes, I just made that word up). The pace at which information is released is more than I can keep up with. Having lived there for a few years now and being immersed in the culture through my husband and his family, I can say that I've come to care about the little place and it's people in ways I didn't know I would. True, I often am confused by the people and the culture, but it is what it is and I find myself getting more and more used to things.

I am quite amazed at how all this seems to have brought out a side of Hondurans that I haven't seen before. I am equally confused at the way the US, the UN and media have been interpreting things at times. I'm no political scientist, but I'm guessing that things aren't always what they appear to be - especially when it comes to politics and corruption. I would think that the governing bodies of Honduras must have been privy to some kind of knowledge of the man and what he was up to, to act as they did. Check out the July 2 commentary by Octavio Sánchez, a lawyer, a former presidential adviser (2002-05) and minister of culture (2005-06) of the Republic of Honduras for an overview.

I'm still sitting up here in MN waiting to see how things play out. Anxious to see what kind of 6 degrees people come up with between Michael Jackson and now deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya over at CNN. Really? Sheesh.

On a serious note, I want to get back to my husband and "our life" and this puts a lot of uncertainty out there for us. A big part of me wants to buy our tickets and just go, but my husband says to wait. So I wait.

Below is a list of Honduras blogs I read that give much more political perspective then I am able to. They give lots of good links, even to Honduras tv! I encourage you to check them out to learn more. Their opinions are their own. Anyone know of a pro- Zelaya blog? (hehe)

La Gringa ~ US ex-pat in La Ceiba

Red Licorice and Jujubes ~ US embassy employee

Pensieve ~ Hondurano

Laurie's Blog Spot~ teacher in the capital Tegucigalpa

Defending Honduras

2009-06-30T10:08:00.006-05:00

I am getting many questions on how all the political issues going on in Honduras will effect our return to Honduras. The short answer is...I'm going to wait a few days and see how things look before I book the flights.

There has been lots to read about what is going on. Its hard to decipher fact from fiction, but it seems that the real facts are now starting to be acknowledged and understood. I'm hoping the white house will begin to acknowledge this too as the facts come out.

24 Sprouts Summer Fun Photos

2009-06-19T23:01:00.025-05:00

I am working on keeping the kids off the computer and the TV -or at least regulate it much more that I have been. I hate to admit it, but I've been so laissez-faire in managing the amount of media time the kids get. It's not like I can change things over night. I need to work into it a little and give the kids plenty of things to keep their brains and bodies busy. Games, puzzles, trips to the library, garage saling (of course), pizza and game nights, sleep overs, bike rides, walks, crafts, reading, etc, etc, etc.

Here are some photos of some things fun we've done recently not involving tv or computers:

It was somebody's birthday!

Sister's new favorite. Playing with the cell phone. Pictures, games and the most annoying - text messaging! Sitting next to her younger, influential cousin. (this is on the regulation list now, btw)

Her favorite subject to photo. Herself looking oh-so-haute!

Volleyball with the sibs and kids

Spending time with family. With my younger sis.

We took a day up to the North Shore! We just had to skip some smooth lake stones in Lake Superior.
Her viking pose
Baby had a nice nap on our lake stroll

Making our homemade Oreo cookies. They were actually really good!

Enjoying a push-up ice-cream treat with a friend on the backyard swings

Baby enjoying her first taste of watermelon

An afternoon at the zoo's fun park with friends

Getting some driver's training in early. At Como Zoo fun park.

End of the year school dance. Sister and some of her friends.

Sitting outside having snack time with a little buddy

Snack time with some bananas. Her favorite so far.

A beautiful day for a wedding

Out with a few of my BFF's for some girl time over a cocktail

His cool spiderman rollerskates

Setting his stick boat sailing (mama made). He was going to float it down the creek...but at the last minute decided he did not want his boat to float away permanently so filled his boots up with water fetching it.

Fun at the beach

Summer is here!

Mama's Blender Pancakes

2009-06-03T23:15:00.004-05:00

I can't help it, I want to share a recipe that I have now made three times with amazing kid success. What I love about this recipe is that it's super simple to make, clean-up is reasonable, and it has ingredients that are good for growing kids. Winner in my book!

This recipe makes pancakes so light that it's close to a crepe. Almost Swedish pancake-esque but without all the hassle of whipping up egg whites.

6 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil (I use canola)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a blender combine all the ingredients and blend thoroughly. Heat griddle over medium heat and pour batter straight from the blender onto hot griddle - about 1/4 cup for each pancake. Once bubbles begin to form, flip the pancakes and finish cooking on the opposite side.

Personal notes: My kids like it with peanut butter, but I bet it would be divine with fresh berries or anything else you might eat on a crepe. To cut down on the yolks I use 4 whole eggs and the whites from 3 eggs. I use 1% cottage cheese and milk. I use half whole wheat for the flour. I plan to try it with oatmeal the next time I make these.

The Big Quake

2009-06-02T21:45:00.003-05:00

Wow, it's been a month since I last wrote! I have got a few questions about the earthquake, but being in the states, I feel somewhat removed from the whole event/s happening down there. I will say, that I'd like all the aftershocks and little earth quakes to be settled down by the time I get back there. Which, by the way, I'm hoping will be the end of June or the beginning of July. I have so much organizing to do I don't want to rush back - especially now.

Papá called me about a half hour after it hit. I was so shocked to get a phone call from him at that hour, I nearly fell down the stairs heading down to get the phone. (I could tell it was from him b/c of the speaker called ID). I ran down the stairs in the dark and hit bottom before my brain told me there were no more steps and I landed on all fours and crawled the rest of the 5 feet or so to the phone. I could tell he was scared and even though he knew we were safe in our beds in MN, he needed to hear my voice on the other end saying that we were okay. I suppose it did have a "the sky is falling" - end of the world feeling. He said it was like "rocking in a hammock".

The blogosphere is full of great people that write about things going on in Honduras. If you'd like to read about some first hand experiences of the quake from people living in Honduras, written by some awesome bloggers follow the links.

On a Sprout blog sidenote - I started messing around with the background of the blog and never finished what I started (big surprise) and so it's just plain white for now.

Baby's Surgery

2009-05-05T11:56:00.008-05:00

So sorry it has taken me over a month to write about Baby's surgery. My days fly by and my nights get sucked up in other things too. I wish I could say I've been too busy working, but I haven't been very successful at finding work. It's so hard when I think about trying to leave the baby who will not, for anything, take a bottle. I just need to get more creative here and try and make something work so I can make some money.

Some things that have been keeping me busy: Garage sale-ing the past few weeks. I've been finding clothes and things for the kids and me. Yes, I have an extra 15 post baby and it's not really budging so I needed clothes badly. I have lists of things I want to bring back to Honduras, and of course I want to see if I can find things at garage sales. I've also been scouring Craigslist too. We just bought a bike from there and now I'm on the hunt for a good used printer I can take back to Honduras. Other things keeping me busy have been trying to teach myself to crochet (again). I hope to have something actually made sometime soon. Who knows what I might end up making, but I will tell you, it won't be scarfs or hats. I have also started researching info on homeschooling for Sister next year. After a lot of thought and waffling about what to do. Yes, I will try homeschooling my kids. Somehow, I feel I can make it work and it could be the best thing for my daughter. I hope to be able to try and hire someone to come to the house in the morning to do light cooking and cleaning while also watching Baby and Sister and I will do school. Brother will continue to go to preschool in the morning and if all goes well with homeschooling Sister, Brother will join us in schooling next year for Kindergarten.

I'm off track here so...back to Baby. She had her surgery on April 3rd and she did wonderful. I felt confident in what needed to be done. Minneapolis Children's Hospital is top notch and the treatment we got was wonderful. One thing that was interesting, was that the cyst in her neck had decreased in size very rapidly after I got back to the states. The doctor said this was normal with the cyst Baby had. Turns out though, that it had burst. When they went into do the surgery, they only could take out what was left of it and then they did the repair of the bone that needed fixing so the cyst won't come back.

I'll share some photos to tell the story. She is simply a happy, smiley, light up the room kind of baby.

In the waiting area before going off to surgery in her cute hospital pj's

Once Baby went off to surgery, we went to another waiting area and they have this computer screen where you can see exactly where they are in surgery with little explanations like "starting surgery" or "leaving OR". Really cool and helps a lot with nervous parents.

Sister waiting reading a magazine. I tried to read, but I just sat there and stared at the computer screen with the status of the surgery.

Just after surgery. She was really groggy but breathing and eating well.

She had an IV for fluids. It was in until she wet her diaper so bad the bed had to be changed. She slept A LOT until the next morning when she woke up and seemed to be much more alert. I was the nervous mommy watching her breathing and comfort level all night. The nurses kept her hooked up to the oxygen monitors so I could rest easier, but I still seemed to want to keep one eye on her.

This is Baby a few days after surgery. She had some swelling in her neck tissues. She had a triple chin practically.

It was hard to see the wound because of all that chin under there.

The stitches are disolvable and they are painted with a waterproof glue type stuff. The wound healed so well the doctors commented on it at her 4 week post-op appointment. She did great! I am so grateful that we were able to come to the states to take care of this.

Hanging Out My Laundry

2009-04-29T15:36:00.005-05:00

This is how I hang laundry in Honduras. And yes, I use cloth diapers too. The image on the right is our "backyard" and our huge blue pila.

I lived without a dryer for over a year; but a few months back we had to break down and buy a dryer. It was the rainy season and as you can see from the photos here, we have a wall that runs along the back and sides of the house. The wall is nice for privacy, but it is not so good for air flow. Without the sun and very little breeze circulating the clothes would never dry and we ended up having to make runs to a cousin's house close by to use their dryer. It really became a hassle to deal with. Sometimes we could get by with hanging clothes inside with fans blowing on them.

Electricity is beyond outrageous in Honduras too, but what really is the kicker is the tax you pay on it. It's more than the charge of what you consume! Does that make any sense? It's at about 120% right now. I don't know how that can even be legal; but it is what it is.

So here I am in MN and electricity is expensive here too, right? duh... we are in a recession. Being the good daughter that I am, I figure I'll help my parents out by breaking out their clothes line and help them pinch a few pennies by hanging the clothes to dry. I'm pretty good at it now that I've had a lot of practice. My parents have this really cool retractable clothes line thing that attaches to the side of their house and you pull it out and anchor it into a removable steak in the ground and ~ voila! A clothes line! So cool. Check out the awesome vintage clothes pin holder too. My mom kept it all these years and it was still full of clothes pins.

I've got to be honest...Sometimes when I hear people talking about how they love the smell of clothes dried on the line outside, I wonder...really? I think either it stinks way too much in Honduras because my clothes sure don't have that fresh scent when I take them off the line. Not in Honduras, and not here in MN. They just smell like dried clothes to me. But I also don't use huge amounts of detergent and softener either (to save a buck). I think many people use twice as much as they need and drown their clothes in softener to get those nice smells that linger.

I'm really not getting any tree hugging feeling by hanging my clothes out. It just feels like the smarter, wiser thing to do. It's a good example for the kids too. After a bit of grumbling from Sister having to go back to stiff jeans - she is also helpful in getting the clothes off the line for me.

I used to have many romantic visions about ways to live green and save the planet. A lot of these green dreams became more about the green in the bank. I'm all about saving a buck and if it's good for the earth - even better! Since I'm talking about this, I've got to give a shout out to one of my blogger friend who has a nice blog about living simply. I admire people that live environmentally conscious. I also used to read a daily bite on simple ways to live green called Ideal Bite. Check out these little green nuggets if you'd like.

When I moved to Honduras, I think being surrounded by so much...well, non-green living practices, the whole concept of green living lost it's luster. I don't think that it's that Hondurans don't live green, in a sense, or care about it. It just seems to be more of a necessity than a mission. There doesn't seem to be some romantic vision to save the planet in Honduras. Many will hang their clothes up to dry outside but throw their garbage in the street or burn garbage in their yard. You see what I'm saying?

But isn't that retractable clothes line cool?!? Happy belated earth day!

Brother's Snowy Welcome to MN

2009-04-22T08:50:00.008-05:00

We arrived in MN a month ago now, but I am just now getting photos onto the computer. We had told Brother that there was snow at grandpa and grandma's and when the plane was landing he was asking where the snow was. He wanted to see it! MN had just gotten some snow a few days prior and even though much of it had melted, there was enough to play in, in the front yard.

We arrived late at night on the 12th of March and brother was knocked out asleep in the car before we probably made it out of the airport and he didn't really wake again until morning when he jumped on Sister's bed, pulled apart the blinds and began to exclaim to his big sister, "Hey!! There's snow outside! There's snow outside!" Within minutes, the bundling up and pulling out of snowpants and boots began so they could get out the door to play in the last of winter's snow together. Notice in the photos his big red gloves. We had to source some that were more his size soon after this.

There was a heat wave a few days later and all the snow melted. MN had a few more cold days with some dusting of snow since then, but nothing you could play in. I'm glad Brother got a chance to play in the snow! I feel confident that there probably won't be any more snow until winter again. The forecast tomorrow (April 23) is windy with a high of 82...though we had a little sleet on Monday (April 20) and I did see a few stray snowflakes blowing around too. That's MN weather for ya! (Can you hear my MN accent getting stronger?)

On the flip side, I've heard it's been unbearably hot in San Pedro Sula. I've had more than one person - including my husband - say that I should be glad I'm not there.

A little snow fight action

Having a taste. Crazy kids.

Where, oh where...

2009-04-16T12:35:00.002-05:00

I am still here! Baby did have her surgery and things are going very good. I'm trying to find a job. I wish I could find more time to write, but with the computer down in the dungeon of my parents house and three kids to juggle...I don't get much face time with the computer. Baby should be waking up any minute so I just wanted to write to say hello and that I hope to have some posts and updates soon. LOVING the weather here in MN. It's finally warming up and guess what!....I have laundry hanging outside to dry!! It's beautiful. Now it just needs to turn green. Can't wait for the lilacs.

Cutest Baby Contest - Please vote!

2009-03-30T09:56:00.008-05:00

This is a shameless plug to ask you to go to this website and vote for our sweet baby in the Cutest Baby Contest that the talented photographer, Tiffany Rajkovich is having.

If Baby wins, she gets a nice professional photo...and let's face it...She's cute!
It was hard to pick just one photo to submit. Go and vote for baby! I believe she is baby #5 in poll #2. The picture is the one on this post.

p.s. Baby is set to have her surgery for the cyst on her throat on Friday, April 3.

Hello Minneasota - I brought you some warm weather

2009-03-17T22:53:00.005-05:00

We are having a heat wave in MN. I think it's up to 50 or so. You should see it. People walking around in shorts and flip-flops. I even saw a teenager with shorts, flip-flops and a tank top walking around outside! In Honduras you will see people breaking out hats and winter coats if it gets down to 70 degrees. Sister is even anxious to break out her summer clothes.

Being a mommy to three is not something that I'm used to. Juggling the needs of three kids is tricky learning overnight. It would be one thing if it started from birth, but I'm sort of jumping into this when Baby is 3 months old in my home away from home too- you know. The flights coming to MN were normal and the kids were fine. I was happy to fly on a newer Delta international plane from San Pedro Sula to Atlanta because it had tv screens on the backs of each seat. Brother could pick from some kid movies or cable tv channels too once we were close enough to the states. This made up for the fact that Delta is no longer offering in-flight meals.

We had a two hour lay over in Atlanta, but we barely had a moment to spare. Of course I am slowed down by two little children, 3 carry-ons, a purse, a car seat and a stroller. Trying to schlep all this through airports was not the best on my back. I needed help moving my luggage through immigration from the airport staff. The woman that helped me was not the nicest of people and barely helpful. I was flagged upon entering the US for the first time and had to have all my luggage re-scanned and one of them opened. There was a lot of schlepping going on and that airport helper person watched me do a lot of the work. When I got to the other side she put my luggage on the conveyor and turns to tell me in a rather monotone, unfriendly voice, "we accept tips". Sorry honey, your base pay is all you are making this time. I forgot and didn't have tip money anyway. I actually ran into a number of other rude airport staff along the way. I have had really nice friendly experiences before and all these rude people surprised me this trip through the huge Atlanta airport.

Brother had a small melt down on the second plane to MN because he missed his papi. I think a combination of all the excitement and then it being bedtime made him feel very emotional. He cried and cried in my arm. It broke my heart. I got him to calm down by drawing a picture of papi on a piece of paper. I tried to make it as close to what papi would look like as possible, including drawing in papi's whiskers. Brother held onto that picture the rest of the way. A funny thing - tonight Brother was drawing on the chalkboard a picture of papi - whiskers and all. So cute. Baby did really good on the flights too. She just nursed to her hearts content and she was happy with that. Well...both kids were kind of cranky on the decent of both flights, but that was manageable.

Once all the luggage was packed into my dad's car and I had baby buckled into her carseat I sat down in the front seat and in that moment that my butt hit the seat a searing pain in the back of my shoulder started that ran up my neck and down my arm and into the middle of my back. It took three days of constant ibuprofen for the pain to calm down and I still am taking it easy on using that arm.

Baby saw the doctor and the surgeon already and she is scheduled for surgery on April 3rd. Everything looks normal as far as that is concerned. I've also been making appointments for the dentist and doctor too for the kids and I. So now, I'm trying to figure out what I should be doing with my time while I'm here. It feels like such a long, long time that I'll be here when I think about it. I know I need to work and this can be an opportunity for my husband to focus on work too. But I miss my husband and strangely...I think I could miss Honduras too. I'm surprised.

Mi Pobresita

2009-03-09T21:07:00.006-05:00

It has been a little while since I last posted. It seems that my time these days is quite a bit more divided and blogging takes time and brain power that I just don't have much of. Have you heard about the "mommy brain" syndrome. Yeah...I have that. Big time. I can't seem to finish something I start without some serious effort and it might take me all day to accomplish. I forget what I'm talking about mid sentence on a super frequent basis. Oh! Is is time for dinner already? Oops, I forgot to get dressed today. That is how I work. I am not your type A personality mommy....unfortunately.

But, I will tell you that my life and my brain took a big hit a few weeks ago and it has set off a chain of events that is leading me and the kids back to the states sooner than expected. A few weeks ago we discovered a lump in Baby's throat. Right about where you would find the Adam' apple. It was a little concerning, but at first Papa and I dismissed it as just her throat. She has such a big (cute) double chin it was hard to figure where her throat might be. But when we leaned her back and tilted her head, there is was...a lump. Suddenly, my whole body became tingly and my breathing a tad labored and I just had to bring her back to the doctor - even though she had just been seen for her two month visit. I made it to the next day and got her in to see the doctor. From there things became a little blurry and this poor mama was kind of an emotional wreck for a few days roller-coastering from freak-out to calm. But I've calmed down quite a bit now so can tell you what is going on with a clear head.

Baby has something that is called a Thyroglossal Duct Cyst and it's the most common congenital cysts in the neck. They are cystic dilations of epithelial remnants of the thyroglossal duct tract. Did you follow that? It's basically something that happens when the throat is developing as a tiny embreyo only weeks old. These cysts need to be removed surgically and also require some investigation to make sure the thyroids aren't effected and that the cyst is indeed non-cancerous (rare to be) and all parts of the cyst are removed. Baby had an ultrasound the day after we found out what the problem was, and the cyst in her throat is about an inch wide, but far enough away from her trachea and her thyroids look normal on the ultrasound.

So even though it's a non-life threatening problem, we felt because of the delicate nature of the surgury and the young age of our little one, we feel most comfortable having her treated in the states. In order for Baby to be able to travel, she needed a passport. We had been in the process of getting this already, but in order to gets things ASAP we called the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. A last minute trip to the capital was planned and off we went. We left Wednesday night, had a meeting Thursday morning at the embassy and we were able to pick up Baby's passport Friday morning on our way out of town back to San Pedro Sula. I realize how grateful I am there is a US embassy and that I am a US Citizen.

The kids and I will be flying this Thursday back to MN. Baby has a doctor appointment on Friday morning. Hopefully we will be getting Baby all fixed up very soon.

Now I'm off to pack some more and maybe bake a banana bread for Papa to enjoy.

A Reason For Everything

2009-02-21T23:25:00.008-06:00

It was a very hard thing to leave my little girl behind in MN while I headed off to Honduras. At first I convinced myself that I would either be back with her or would send for her within a few months of being apart. I cried and cried those first days back in Honduras without her. My heart ached for her. The days passed and I cried less. I loved hearing updates about her new school, her friends, her awesome teacher she had. She seemed happy. I was happy for her.

A few weeks into the school year, she went to the dentist. She had lost a tooth while I was there and I could see the tooth behind the lost one was starting to rot. Great. I can get her to brush, but I can't get the girl to floss. She had just been to the dentist in Honduras and had a filling done there. But I realized they had not done x-rays and I was worried about possible further decay between other teeth. I made an appointment for her at her old dentist and my parents brought her in. They did the x-rays and turns out 3 other teeth were starting to rot too! Fortunately these were baby teeth. The x-rays revealed that she was about to lose them soon too because there was no root and you could see the adult tooth behind. The following week she was numbed up and the rotten teeth were pulled. Because there was no root the procedure was cake. Easy and over within 15-20 minutes. Now if we could just get her to floss now!

A few weeks later she had an appointment with her general practitioner for a check-up. Sister inherited a condition from her father where she has high cholesterol and it can be a health issue down the road if not properly monitored. Well, her cholesterol keeps going up and up. We found out that it will always continue to rise because of her genetics, regardless of diet. Her father died of a heart attack at 35 years old. He did not live a healthy lifestyle though so dug himself an early grave, unfortunately. So, we have to monitor her levels and watch her diet somewhat. In to the doctor she went to get some blood work done. After the results showed a continued rise from the last level check, off to the heart doctor she went at the wonderful Children's Heart Clinic in Minneapolis to have a few more tests done and be evaluated for possible statin treatment. She also saw a nutritionist/ lipid counselor that discussed with Sister (and grandma) about her diet, which was very insightful. She goes back in a few months to check her levels again and will most likely start medications sometime this summer.

I was so grateful and relieved for her to have such wonderful care in the states. To learn about the things that she needs to live a long and healthy life and how to treat this type of thing. I also am so relieved she got her teeth taken care of too! Here in Honduras, I tend to worry and wonder if we are getting good care. I seem to view doctors as unqualified until they prove themselves otherwise. My husband on the other hand. If there is an "md" after their name...they are qualified. Very frustrating for the both of us. One thing that is really awesome is that we get these typed up summaries of her medical issues and findings from her tests. They are the communications that go between doctors and a copy is sent to us. Great communication! The care Sister has received is beyond anything I think she would have received in Honduras.

But wait! There's more! I knew with the above two issues that there was a positive reason for her to be in the states; but it gets better.

Sister also has some learning issues. Nothing major. The girl is bright as can be. But she struggles with reading and writing. I have thought that she has something called disgraphia. I believe she could very well have this, but it's hard to say unless she is actually tested for it. She also has hand tremors and struggles with dexterity which includes writing. It's like a double whammy. Her brain has a hard time telling her hand what to write and then when she does try to get it out, her hand is shaking and it becomes almost painful for her to write. She still practices cursive writing, but it is very difficult for her and she will likely adopt some form of printing as her way of writing in the long term. Fine by me. Her reading has struggled at times. She was below grade level in 2nd grade and had extra help to get her up to grade level. I always wondered why she had such a hard time because I always read her books, worked with her on her reading when they started in Kindergarden, etc.

A few weeks ago the kids in her school were given a survey to screen for possible reading issues. And sure enough Sister was flagged as needing further testing. She was tested for something called Irlen Syndrome and found to have this. It is a visual perceptual disorder affecting primarily reading and writing based activities. Somewhat easy to treat with the use of tinted lenses in glasses and colored overlay sheets. Sister's color is purple. I truly, truly hope and pray that this will help her. It's hard to see your child struggle. I used to get so frustrated with her, not understanding what she was going through. When I finally realized what was going on and told her I was sorry for pushing her and not understanding her, making her feel badly...she got down on her knees and said, "Thank you, mommy! Thank you, thank you!" I gave her a big hug. She was validated and I was humbled.

Again...I realize that the Lord had reasons that she should be in the states and I am at peace with it.

Sis and I have been spending a lot more time on the phone lately. It's nice to spend time with her every day talking about everything and nothing, singing songs, telling stories, but I can't wait to see her face-to-face. I think I'm going to hug her for three days.

I am gearing up for our trip back to MN sometime in April... hopefully. I'm in a wedding and my presence has been requested. We are trying to get Baby's US citizenship registered so that she can get her passport and travel; but we will be on our 3rd attempt at the consulates office on Monday. That's a whole other story....

All Work - No Play Makes Honduran Kids Burned Out (and not any smarter)

2009-02-17T10:42:00.003-06:00

I started tutoring a young boy on Monday. He is in 3rd grade and 10 years old. He's a nice, sweet little boy. On Monday he had homework in four subjects with instructions to also study his math for an upcoming test. The mother has trouble helping her son in the harder English language subjects such as social studies and science, as well as language (English). I am happy to help out as well as help make a little money for me. I'm really needing a haircut and a new pair of shoes!

On Monday we worked for an hour straight and still didn't get done. I wanted to relax and be able to talk a little, but after 30 minutes and seeing how much we still had to do I felt a little pressured to keep working hard. I don't think the teachers really understand what they are assigning and how much work it is for the kids to get things done, especially when they are not 100% bilingual and not understanding every word.

This little boy is barely communicative in English. He understands what I say for the most part, but I have to explain many words and I can tell he really needs help with comprehension.

By the end of the hour, he was yawning and obviously ready to be done. We completed 3 subjects. I sent him home with more homework to do. In total we probably worked for an hour and 10 minutes and the last 20 were pretty painful for him. I felt bad for him. I felt bad for all the kids (and parents of these kids) in Honduras overloaded with homework.

We had some of the same problems last year with Sister. We also noticed in Sister's class that a lot of parents were just doing the homework for their kids. It leads me to ask why are these kids getting so much homework? Has this been the norm for homework in Honduras for a while, or has it just come to this recently as education is getting more and more competitive with all the bi-lingual schools? Is there any standard that teachers could be instructed on?

I looked up some info on the internet (as I always do) about homework and what the guidelines are on what is appropriate for homework for elementary age children in the states. I found this website How Much Homework Is Too Much. Here are some interesting excerpts:

~"The 10-Minute Rule" formulated by the National PTA and the National Education Association, which suggests that kids should be doing about 10 minutes of homework per night per grade level. In other words, 10 minutes for first-graders, 20 for second-graders and so on.

~"We found that for kids in elementary school there was hardly any relationship between how much homework young children did and how well they were doing in school, but in middle school the relationship is positive and increases until the kids were doing between an hour to two hours a night, which is right where the 10-minute rule says it's going to be optimal."

~"I give one subject a night. It's what we were studying in class or preparation for the next day. It should be done within half an hour at most. I believe that children have many outside activities now and they also need to live fully as children. To have them work for six hours a day at school and then go home and work for hours at night does not seem right. It doesn't allow them to have a childhood."

This homework issue is one reason I am seriously considering homeschooling Sister when we are all living together again in Honduras.

Things I Like

2009-02-14T10:50:00.010-06:00

Baskets!

Papa picked this woven basket up along a roadside near the house. I believe he paid about $10 or $12 dollars for it. I think that is a great price and I love it! There were a bunch stacked up that I saw. I'm not sure if they are hand made but they seem to be made pretty solidly. We've had this one for 6 months now and it's holding up pretty good. We use this for a laundry basket. I want like three more. I see these as end tables. Put a little glass top and a lamp and there you go! It could also double as storage for extra pillows, and blankets.

There is another little person who likes this basket too. See pictures below.

This Is A Hot Dog....

2009-02-11T10:27:00.002-06:00

This is a hotdog....

...For whatever reason, hotdogs and most other kinds of processed sausages have plastic wraps. Does this replace a casing? Not sure.

This is a frog...

...I found in my sink. He is a sticky frog so don't touch him. It feels like snot. Even though he is little he can jump really good.

This came special delivery...

...from the states. We got a DHL delivery the other day with some paperwork I need to register for Baby's US citizenship and it came packed with some extra love for me and the kids.

This is a big kid...

resting in the baby swing.

This is my little chunk...

...she is getting so big. Already 8 weeks old.

My Lunch Guisado Recipe

2009-02-01T09:38:00.007-06:00

I decided to do another food posting here. One of my jobs as a stay at home mother (SAHM) is to feed not only the kids, but also my husband lunch and dinner. Some days my cooking is nothing but a sandwich and some chips but some days I do actually cook. I didn't know what a "guisado" was until I moved to Honduras. I was struggling to find things to cook with my new role as a SAHM. My husband says, "why don't you cook a good guisado?". Huh? What's that? The following day my dear husband showed me how to cook his version. It was good. Very salty, but good. Hondurans have a way of making things very, very salty in my opinion.

Okay, so I found out that "guisado" is "stew" in Spanish. I have made stew before. The kind that you might want to eat on a cold day with dumplings on top. But that is slop to my husband and he pretty much refuses to eat it. Now this other kind of stew - aka guisado - is acceptable.

I have played around with making this since I learned of this dish and kind of follow the same kind of recipe all the time now. You can make it with chicken, which is very delicious too. Sometimes I throw in different kinds of veggies. Corn is a good one. Below is a recipe for my beef version I made for lunch the other day. I'm not the best at writing out recipes and usually my measurements can vary. That's the beauty of guisado - it's very flexible! Maybe you will want to try it too.

Mamasprout's Carne Guisado recipe

Ingredients

1-2 pounds top sirloin (cut into 1-inch cubes)
Adobo seasoning
1-2 tsp salt or to taste
pepper to taste
3 garlic cloves minced or pressed
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup tomato sauce (I use regular pasta sauce)
1/4 cup sofrito (can sub with pasta sauce)
1/4-1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 c chopped fresh spinach
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro plus some for garnish
water as needed

Directions

Cube and season meat with adobo. Heat a little oil in a lg skillet over medium heat and place meat in when hot to sear. Cover and simmer until meat is about 3/4 cooked. Next, add 1 tablespoon of oil to meat and add onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, and potatoes. Let cook until onion and pepper are soft. Add spinach, oregano, cilantro, and stir in 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, sofrito and a little bit of water and simmer for approximately 20 minutes over low to medium heat or until potatoes are done. Add a little water and cover if it becomes too thick. Salt and pepper to taste as it's cooking.

Serve with fluffy rice. Good with cheese on top too and of course cilantro to garnish. Buen provecho!

p.s. if you use stew meat or another tough red meat, a pressure cooker is invaluable to speed cooking time.

Would you like a scone with that strawberry?

2009-01-30T09:52:00.004-06:00

We picked up a big package of strawberries a few days ago at the more expensive grocery store in town called Los Andes. They have more hard to find items and imported types of foods. I sent Papa over there in search for some bread flour to use with my new (used) bread machine my friend gave me. (Thanks Joy!) Papa picked up some all purpose flour not remembering why I needed "bread flour" when I had explained to him that bread flour has more gluten and makes better bread in the bread machine. Doh! So I have an abundance of all purpose flour and a bunch of strawberries. So like the saying, "when life gives you lemons...."

I made strawberry scones! Yum! I think the baking bug is starting to come back for me.

The strawberries Papa bought were not Honduran like we usually buy. These were imported from Guatamala and boy are they huge. Really big and nicely colored. Usually it's a mixed bag when we buy the Honduran kind and can be half molding already and they are about half the size too. The Honduran strawberries cost us about $1.30 but these really big, pretty ones from Guatamala were about $5! Papa didn't realize their cost until he was paying for them. Brother just had strawberries and yogurt this morning for snack. I really like these. Great treat!

Speaking of yogurt...notice anything wrong with this yogurt container?

Yard Work

2009-01-17T18:51:00.006-06:00

We live in a different house now from the house we lived in last year. The exterior of the house is really nothing to brag about and the lawn had pretty much been taken over by weed grass. Overall the curb appeal was awful and it was plain ugly. Just outside the front door was a lot of dirt, sand and rocks and it ended up in the house. Papa decided that we needed to give the house a little more curb appeal and to help keep the dirt and sand outside rather than in the house. He reasoned with the home owner and came up with a deal that she would pay half the expense if we could have the work done. It's not that expensive to have concrete work done. Papa is having some of the front yard worked on too and already the curb appeal has gone way up. I also am liking less dirt in the house.

We had a sidewalk paved up the front yard and around the side of the house. Mixing concrete is very often done by hand and mixed in not very conventional places. Like in the street. I snuck a few photos of our concrete mixer through the window.

I thought I'd sneak in a few photos of the Sprouts here too....

Baby Sprout - photo taken by webcam so it's not good quality.

Sister Sprout - on her way to school on a -20 degree morning back in MN.

Brother Sprout - On a trip to the park. This is his new favorite t-shirt. He loves the dragon and asks to wear it everyday.

He falls asleep like this watching tv.

...and sometimes like this even.