Thanksgiving, Belizean style

Today was a bit of an unusual Thanksgiving.  Belize doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but we are lucky to be included in the big Thanksgiving meal Daniel's school hosts for the American volunteers every year.  Normally there is roast chicken or turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, salad, pie-- the traditional stuff.  Everyone contributes a side or desert, and everyone stuffs themselves to the brim.  This year, for some unknown reason, we had barbecue chicken, mashed potatoes, and baked beans.  While I am quite thankful for a nice meal that I did not have to cook or clean up after, I now need to make stuffing this weekend to fill the Thanksgiving stuffing hole in my psyche.

BBQ

The babes brought his own seat.  He travels with staff and accessories.

My contribution today was cupcakes.  I like to stick to a few desserts that I do well.  I've never made a pie, but I've got cupcakes with delicious frosting that doesn't melt in the heat (KEY) down pat.
I added some festive sprinkles to make them Thanksgiving-y though.

Pinterest says you can dye sugar to make sprinkles.  This kinda worked, but not really well, fyi.

Grace from Camp Patton is doing a what-did-you-wear for Thanksgiving link up, which I decided would be fun to participate in.  However, when it came to the actual picture-time things got a bit complicated.  My husband was confused (you want me to take a picture? of you? and your shoes? right now??) and the baby decided that moment was a good time to throw a fit because those rocks over there needed to be in his mouth, dang it, so let him go!  Hence the very odd leg position and sun squint.
 

Outfit:

top: thrifted dress tucked into my jeans

jeans: old navy

shoes: Born

bottle: gerber baby (high fashion)

Happy Thanksgiving!

one day

A lot has changed in my days since the last time I did a day in the life post.   A link-up on Hollywood Housewife  inspired me to carry my camera with me, and document all the ordinary things that I see.  I love reading about other people's routines,  head over to her post of you would like a glimpse of other days-in-the-lives

****

1. discarded diaper  2. what the table always looks like now  3. in-house fashion consultant

1. sunny day  2. no paparazzi please  3. laundry lines

6:45-8am

able to sleep in a bit this morning as the baby is playing contently in his crib.  When the bottle banging on the crib rail gets insistent, take the baby down stairs and set him up in the pen with a bottle and some scattered cheerios. It’s sunny outside after 3 days of rain, so I start a wash.

Quickly check email, and hear a curious squelchy sound.   The baby has removed his diaper and tossed it.

1. sleep  2. lists by us, bite by destruct-o-baby  3. beans

8-11 

Put on beans for dinner (eventually will be chili), do dishes, have chocolate-banana shake for breakfast, rinse baby off after he experiments with eating baby powder,  take out trash, hang out laundry, clean up spilt milk, put baby down for nap, finally bathe and get dressed, sweep, pick up house, sit.

1. BEANS!!   2. car distraction  3. chocolate fail

11-12:00 

Baby wakes up.  Feed beans to baby (the only thing he’s guaranteed to eat right now), get things together for road trip, wipe down and dress baby, get out of house! A little nervous about running errands in Spanish Lookout, cause it is farther than I have ever driven by myself with the baby.  Fingers crossed!

12:45-2:30 

Arrive at Spanish Lookout with only about 10 minutes of whining/crying.  Stores are closed for lunchtime, so buy some snacks and have a car picnic.

Realize chocolate bribe-cookies  + warm baby hands was a bad idea.  Rookie mom fail.  Wipe down baby, quickly stop into store and get vanilla flavor. 

1. Lots of big machines around  2.  The main street  3. Feed mill

Spanish Lookout is probably the most developed community in the country.  It is the farming center of Belize, and mostly populated by Mennonites who have immigrated over the last 50 years or so.  It reminds me a lot of rural Pennsylvania, only with palm trees.  You can find most anything here.  Today  I stop at the tin smith, feed mill, agric supply store, and car parts store.  I'm the only woman at the car store, and I get a lot of funny looks.  

1. favorite stretch of highway  2. new grocery store  3. robbery

2:30-3:30

Heading home,  and decide to stop at a new grocery store.  Wipe vanilla cookie crumbs off the baby's hair, eyelashes, and back of neck before going in. This store is pretty clean and well stocked... and I even find some ginger ale, which is hard to come by and a huge treat.  Not a treat: stopping for gas.  $50.00 for 4 gallons of gas, enough to fill 1/4 of my tank.  

1. racing the rain  2. chasing the baby  3. Daniel is home

3:30-5
Rain is coming, race to get laundry in when I get home.  Put away groceries, and sit for a few minutes to drink my ginger ale.  Then start dinner while chasing a hysterically laughing baby in circles around the table.  Daniel comes home!

1. off to do chores  2. sunset  3.  sign for more food!

5-7
Daniel takes the baby in his carrier while he feeds the goats.  This is the highlight of the baby's day!  Then dinner.  We've taught the baby some sign language, and the most-used is "more." Still working on "please."  The baby gets a bath and a bottle, then off to bed a little early cause he is a bit cranky.  I put away leftovers, and wash the dishes.  

7-10
Sit down to edit pictures and check my email and google reader.  Maybe l will read a book later, although I don't have anything interesting lined up.  Then off to bed...

And to end, my favorite picture from the day, taken at sunset.

switch

The annual temperature drop has arrived.  It is my favorite time of year in Belize.  I can bake apple pies and pretend that it doesn't still get up to 85 degrees at noon, cause it was cool enough to wear a sweater for about an hour yesterday morning!  A few days ago I put a blanket on my bed, and today I switched out my warm clothes for my cool clothes.  This consisted of putting away my light pjs and taking out 1 pair of jeans, 2 long sleeve t's and a cardigan.  Then I looked at winter coats online at Old Navy for a while.  Ah, memories.  On the coldest day of the year here, a sweatshirt and a pair of socks works fine, but I can still dream about layering and mittens.  

little steps

Things have been a bit quiet on this blog because things have been quite busy at home.  We have a little guest who will be staying with us for a few months, and he has quite taken over.  Daniel and I call ourselves slave number one and slave number two.

Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook know a bit more about our situation, but for privacy reasons I won't be going into detail on the blog.   Instead, I will probably be talking about things like how a toddler who throws food + crawling + ants is a bad, bad combo.  This was not something that ever crossed my mind before.  My floors are cleaner then they have ever been, which is still not clean enough some days.   Most babies learn No! really quickly, this one will probably learn Ants! Ants! Move!!