Happy New Year!

The best part of 2010 for me was moving to Nicaragua.  I have fallen in love with this country and its people.  This brought on the most fulfilling part of my year and probably life to date:  our Christmas Eve Party for the local kids here.  Most of these children get nothing for Christmas at all.  They are lucky to even have toys or shoes for that matter.  When my hubby found out that the local clinic couldn't afford to give out toys this year, he stepped into action and even made it to where everyone was fed and games were played.  Here's a peak at the action that ensued:

kids lining up to get in...

waiting for grub...

Getting them served...

Pinata time!

 

 

 

And of course trampling people for candy!

Tug of war was played...

As was the sack race...

And they just LOVED bobbing for apples!

"lined" up for toys!

And then God capped it all off nicely with a double rainbow!

We also enjoyed an amazing sunset on our ride home to "Santa's workshop".  This event was the best Christmas present ever and a big thanks goes to my hubby and all who supported with either money, time or both!  Happy New Year everyone!!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Great news!  Chris got another donation of almost $100 last night, so now we'll have toys for almost 250 local kids!!!  These children usually get NOTHING for Christmas, so this is truly a blessing!  He is at the store right now stocking up.  He also has enough money to get some games for the fiesta.  They will be bobbing for apples (who says this is only for Halloween?!), doing an egg toss, tug of war, hitting a giant pinata and other games like drag the body (never heard of that one, but should be interesting!) and more.  We bought gifts for our nanny and housekeeper's kids as well.  This is the first year ever that we spent more on helping others than our own kids and each other, but it sure does feel good to give back!

We are off to Popoyo today for a week long stay-cation.  It's about 30 minutes driving time North of here.  Looking forward to combing some different beaches with the boys.  Ryder is excited because the little girl he has a crush on lives there.  Boys will be boys!  He is also excited because they are having a Christmas party at school today.  They will be singing for the parents (YAY!!!) and eating some sweet treats.  And you know I'll be stuffing my face, too!  Feliz Navidad!

Ryder's class (chica w/tiara is his lil crush!) and yes, he's the only boy!  =)

Merry Christmas Feasts...

Wow, has it really been SIX whole days since I've blogged?!  I have had a crazy busy week:  went to a fun Christmas party one night, worked an event here for three nights, made and sold lots and lots of jewelry and had a few play dates with the kids.  Not to mention, we are going to stay in Popoyo (about 30 minutes North of here) for a week (packing, packing, packing!) and getting ready for Santa! 

Speaking of Santa, we have also been preparing for a BIG gift to the local community.  I have to say, I am so proud of my hubby!  He raised almost $200 for a big Christmas Eve feast for the village of Limon, which is right outside of our community.  He is actually in Rivas right now getting all of the food and some games for the local children to play after they eat.  We are helping to cook and set it all up most of Friday, so we will have our own feast the next day.  I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than giving back.  Then we will relax to our own Christmas feast of lobster, mac-n-cheese, mashed potatoes, stuffing, brocoli and cheese and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  yummy!!!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!!!

Feliz Navidad!

Last night was fun!  I went to a ladies only wine tasting at the Rancho Santana restaurant and had some good laughs.  Before that, my little artist and I made some Christmas ornaments and decorations.  We now have our tree up, so we're FINALLY starting to get into the spirit.  (It's hard when it's 82 degrees outside!)  Here's some pics of our very first Nica Christmas:

Rio sporting his big boy pants!

The artist at work

My snowboarding chica

Feliz Navidad y'all!!!

Adventures in lava rock...

This is what they made us wear down the volcano!

 We left last Thursday for our anniversary trip to Leon.  (Here's to NINE years of marriage!  woo hoo!)  We stopped for one night and saw Paranormal Activity at the movies.  (not too impressed, but oh well!)  We also had a big mac attack and did our Christmas shopping.  Here's where I have to brag:  We got about $250 worth of American toys for $51 with tax!  Good ones, too.  Playmobil, Elmo, Tag Leapfrog, Thomas the Train, Elefun game, zhu zhu pets, and a play-dough kit among others.  We were stoked!  Next up:

Best wings yet in Nica!

We then bought ourselves some tires for Christmas.  (not exactly what I had in mind, but life happens sometimes!)  Then we were off to Leon, a city filled with backpackers and university students.  We "roughed" it and stayed at a hostel for the first time in like 13 years.  I can't say I'll be doing that again anytime soon, but at least we had a private room with our own bathroom.  We saw an awesome live Latino band the first night and ate at the best restaurant so far in all of Nicaragua called Mediteraneo.  (so good, we ate 3 meals there!)  Then we took on the volcano boarding on Cerro Negro.  (Doesn't Chris look great in his D.O.C. uniform above?!  Don't worry, no arrests were made.  lol.)  Basically, in a nutshell, you fly down a mountain of volcanic rock on a wooden sled.  It was really fun and I have the cuts to prove it!  I ate it a few times, but each time with a smile!  Bottom line:  if you're an adventurer, you have to try this! 

Before (yes, we slid down this volcano!)

At the top!  (yes, this is an active volcano!)

 

 

 

 

Wah, wah, wahhhhh...

So I went for a run yesterday and had a coral snake crawl across my foot!!!  Coral snake = dead as a doorknob, or is it doornail (or does anyone really care which it is?!).  Not good, but at least I'm still breathing!  Then today I spent 6 1/2 hours making jewelry to sell and chipped my tooth!  (Yes, I use only the finest methods. ;))  It's not very noticeable, but geesh!  Anyway, the good news is here! 

Some of the fruits of my labor...

If you would like to purchase something for that special lady in your life (of course that maybe yourself!), email me at melputnam@yahoo.com.  I can give you more specifics on dimensions, pricing, etc.  All items ship from Nicaragua for $10.  (Of course you only pay this once if you buy multiple items.)  Paypal is preferred.  Please allow two weeks for shipping.  Happy Holidaze y'all!!!

How about a little piece of Nica for Christmas?

You can view my entire line of Sol Rojo jewelry here

Most pieces are made with shells found on the beaches of Nicaragua.  I can also customize a piece.  Items ship to the U.S. from Nicaragua for $10 and take about 2 weeks to get there.  Please email me at melputnam@yahoo.com for specific prices and dimensions of each piece.  I can also duplicate most items that have already sold. 

Love from Nica...

Rats, snakes and crabs, oh my!

I've neglected the blogosphere this week.  Believe it or not, it does get very busy down here at times.  I've been very busy with my jewelry business.  (13 sales to date!)  I've taken little Rio to the beach three times this week to go shelling for jewelry materials while Ryder was in school.  I also helped out at a Christmas party at an amazing house with the most amazing sunset.  I'll take that for an office any day!  We also had a little fiesta for Monday night football with yummy red snapper.  Ryder even had a play date with Neila on his day off so that he could play with her oh-so-cute bunnies, Rosie & Jack.  They were saved by one of the gardeners in the community before a stray dog had them for lunch.  And last night we took the boys up to the restaurant for sundaes because Ryder got a "shining star student" award this week at school!  Both boys had an awesome week!

With the good comes the bad... 
We have a rat!  Yucky!  The little monster has been sneaking into our pantry at night and destroying our food.  Three days and some rat poison later, I think we've solved the problem.  (fingers crossed!)  This morning, Ryder woke me up and told me there was a snake in the pool.  Upon further investigation, we found it in our pump and it's a coral snake!  Very deadly!  Yikes! 

On a funny note...
At the beach the other day Ryder says, "Mommy, come quick there are tons of homo-crabs over here!"  ha ha!  That would be hermit crabs to the rest of us.  Kids are so funny!

Ryder's been begging for this little guy since he met him!

My Black Friday Shopping Spree.,,

Best Deal in Town = All Free!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  I took a long walk on the beach this morning to walk off some of last night's feast and scored this huge basket of shells.  I'm addicted to shelling!  Gotta go~ time to go back to the beach for dinner.  (Life is rough down here!)  Love to all.

Feliz Dia del Pavo!

I've neglected all of you eager readers the last two days because I've been extremely busy.  Yes, I do get busy in NicaLand.  We met some new friends vacationing here this week and their sons absolutely adore Ryder, so that's added on some playdates.  I'm also busy making lots and lots of jewelry (I've sold six pieces so far!) and trying to be ultra organized on the business side of it via Excel, Outlook and Facebook.  So there's all of my excuses! 

I wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!  I already have some things to be thankful for today:  6 am surf session, a walk alone on the beach, and the yoga class I'm about to go to.  (Trying to burn those calories so I can truly feast on the turkey feast!)  The only thing that would make today better would be if all of my family and friends were here, but there probably wouldn't be enough homes here to put them in anyway!  Holiday Love to all! 

Here's a few things I'm thankful for:

Mommyhood & my Ry Ry

My loving hubby & good music!

My lil Rio

A beautiful sunset in Nicaragua!

Oh Crap!

So we decided to wait until today to start potty training little Rio.  That didn't stop him from taking off his diaper all weekend long and pooping on the floor TWICE!  Gotta love potty training toddlers~ about as much love as I have for the spare tire I was left with from having him!  Anyway, today hasn't been very successful:  one poop in his plastic pants and NADA on the toilet so far.  Every time he sneaks away, he comes back naked!  Oh well, say a little prayer for me that I don't go insane trying to get him trained. 

Our weekend ended up being great, though.  The short description would be:  new four-wheeler, freshly stocked fridge and pantry, beach and football!  The kids played with some local kids in the river at Playa Santana yesterday.  I love that even though they don't speak the same language, fun always equals fun when it comes to kids! 

Ry Ry & Rio on the riverbank

Rio in the rio

Stopping the yellow River...

"I don't want to wear diapers anymore!"

Speaking of banos, see my post yesterday, my two year old has taken his diaper off every night in his room for the past week.  One morning, my husband found him peeing on the floor of his room in the morning.  Today, I stepped right into a piss puddle upon entering his room.  I wonder if he's just marking his territory or do you think he's ready for potty training?!?  Last night I put p.j. bottoms on him and said, "Do not take your diaper off tonight!"  As you can see above, that didn't work out too well.  So now I ask my friends in the blogosphere, is he ready?  He will be exactly 2 1/2 on the 28th of this month.  I've never really known a boy who was trained this early, but I'm sure there are plenty out there.  He told me this morning, "Go potty like Ry Ry!".  Is this a common thing for a younger sibling to revolt against pampers because their big brother doesn't wear them?  Diapers are very inexpensive in Nicaragua (around $7 for a generic pack of 36.  Yes, the generic brand down here works great!).  Therefore, this mission will be pretty frustrating for not a lot of savings, but I'm sure worth it in the long run.  What do you think?  Should we begin operation potty on River to stop the yellow rio in his room???

Ahhh, the joys of an ecolodge...

Ever stayed at an ecolodge?  Me neither.  We stayed in one on Ometepe Island.  My first thoughts were ofcourse about how good the food would be.  (think really fresh fruits and veggies!)  Everything is grown right on their farm.  I'm definitely a re-user, but I'll have to admit I'm really bad at recycling.  They don't even know what that means in Nicaragua.  As soon as trash hits the dump here, they start to burn it.  (I know, pretty gross!)  When we stayed at Totoco Ecolodge a couple of weeks ago, I was pretty impressed with the work they are doing to reduce, reuse and recycle down here in Nicaragua.  (See my earlier post here:  http://mellow-dramatic2010.blogspot.com/2010/11/gotta-love-chillaxin.html)  The food was really good, too, just a little overpriced, but I guess organic always is!  Here's what took some getting used to:

But at least it came with this:

At least composting toilets don't overflow!  And you can put the toilet paper in the "toilet".  We can't flush any paper in the banos in our house because they will overflow.  (You get used to it.  Although, I can't seem to get my five year old to remember this!)  Ahhhh, the joys of third world living!

Introducing...

Sol Rojo Jewelry!  This passion of mine has been dormant and collecting dust under motherhood.  I love it so much that I'm surprised how long I've been able to suppress it.  But here goes:

How fun are these?!  The name for my line came from two of my favorite things:  the color red and the sun.  Just the other day we had a red sunset here in Nicaragua.  I will also use a lot of shell and earthly type materials, so I think it all fits.  Not sure if I'll sell a thing, but I know I'll have fun trying!

Gotta love chillaxin'...

After my Olympic training yesterday, I decided to pretty much take it easy today with a short walk to school and back with Ryder.  The interweb says I burned over 1,300 calories yesterday exercising!  Holy cow!  Not sure what got into me.  Oh yeah, I remember, all of that food!

Today's chill vibe has me reminiscing about my recent girls trip with my best friend of over 22 years.  We had a blast and one of the uber chill places we hung our sombreros was Ometepe.  It's an island in Lake Nicaragua (the largest in the world on a lake) formed by two volcanoes.  We were coming from Granada, so we had to take about an hour long cab ride to San Jorge and then hop on a ferry that takes about an hour.  Once there, we took another taxi for about an hour high up on the Maderas volcano.  Here:  http://totoco.com.ni/   So worth all the transporting!  This island had Steph & I remembering our days on Maui, as it looks very similar in many ways.  Like here:

Oh, and a little bit of this:

Top it all off with THIS and you feel like you're in paradise no matter where you are in the world:

There's me trying to suck in the chicken fried belly!

Attacking the chicken fried belly

This little kindergartner lost his 1st 2 teeth last week!

So today started off amazing with a little surf sesh with a friend.  The water was the perfect temp and I caught several little (okay, barely visible) waves.  I didn't lose too much skill in my two month hiatus (probably because I didn't have much to start!) and was so glad to start the day this way.  I say start the day because it was 6:30am, but sooooo worth it!  I then got home in time to pack Ryder's lunch for school.  Today was the first official day of Kindergarten for him.  Chris & I walked him down and then proceeded to go on a 4 mile hike/run.  I leave for yoga in 20 minutes, so I would say today was a good attack on the old chicken fried belly I developed while traveling around the East Coast!  Most people who know me would say, "But you're so skinny!"  Well, it's genes my friends and nothing more because I am a pig when it comes to food.  Luckily, they don't have all the fried, processed deliciousness down here like we have in the states.  If you want fried chicken, you actually have to fry it yourself!  Imagine that!  I wonder how many calories you burn while frying chicken?!!! 

I'm Baaaackkkk!!!

I have so many fun stories to tell!  From escaping the flooding in Department of Rivas, Nicaragua to Hilton Head, DC, Charleston, the Bahamas, a girl's trip through parts of Nica and back, I have soooo many things to share.  Being that it's the weekend, I'll just say hello for now from Nicaragua and share more tales very soon.  I had an awesome time in the States, but very happy to be back in this most amazingly beautiful country that is now out of its rainy season.  Until next time, I'll leave you  with a photo...

My makeshift sun shade

I'm lovin' it!

Having a ball in the States!  No, I'm still not ready to move back, but lovin' it!  Yesterday was another awesome day.  I got my hair done via one of my besties:

Thanks, Jaime!!!

It was nice saying goodbye to my salt water & chlorine drenched ends.  My hubby and I then went over to another bestie's house and had the BEST shrimp & grits I've had in years!  (Thanks Jill & James!) Only in the U.S.:  great hair, old friends (yes, we're old, but I wasn't referring to age here people!), and shrimp & grits!  Oh, and I got a new camera today!  Life is still good.  (no matter where I'm hanging my hat!)  Next up is Charleston, DC, back to Chucktown and then back to Hilton Head.  Someone has to do it people, so I'll take it!  ;) 

What a wonderful world...

Who doesn't love Savannah?

 So my hubby and his mom & sis stayed up until 1:30am last night discussing whether America is the best country or not.  I love our country and I didn't move to Nicaragua to escape from it, but it's hard to say that we are #1 and the best without really knowing where we stand in the areas I would base it off of.  I think we've definitely been the best in just about every area at some point in time, but are we now?  After tons of help from good old google & a pretty heated discussion (I escaped to the bedroom and was happily asleep by 11pm :)), they concluded that we are definitely one of the greatest, but probably not THE best right now.  A little thing called the great recession and a big thing called war probably have something to do with this.  One cool tidbit of fact:  we invented the public school system. 

My hubby also concluded that we should probably make our next move to Switzerland.  It's been rated #1 & #2 based on education, wealth, living conditions, employment and beauty for years now.  The majority of its citizens speak FOUR languages.  (Too bad Spanish isn't one of them!) And ofcourse, they have the Alps:

How awesome would it be sleep in that cabin?!

 Don't get me wrong folks, I love the USA!  I didn't move to Nicaragua because I'm one of those angry ex-pats, far from it!  I just love to travel and experience different cultures.  Nothing like it!  But I definitely love being home for all of our country's awesomeness!  Today's beautiful Southern Fall weather is one reason why my heart is still in the South in the good old U S of A... ahhhhhhh!

Oh the things kids do...

Oh what a day!  Rain all day + two 2 year olds (no, this is not a typo!), a 4 year old & a 5 year old makes for some crazy happenings.  The 2 year olds keep stripping down to nothing in their separate cribs during nap time.  River is now sleeping on the floor because he kept getting out of bed to play & finally passed out.  Well, at least he finally fell asleep, I guess.  Then I caught the older boys throwing toys and food out of the upstairs window onto the cars in the driveway!  Before all of that, Ryder poured milk into the cable box.  Thank God for Lexapro!  LOL.  And comfort food!  Nana's making homemade chicken & dumplings for dinner. (mi favorito!!!)  I think I could actually eat a whole pot of this stuff myself. 

We're going to see our boy Jack tonight after we put the kiddos to bed.  Good times!  Tomorrow I'm getting my hair "did" from my wonderful friend Jaime.  She is one of those people who is so much like you it's crazy, so that should be fun!  Then we'll be crossing off the Japanese steakhouse from the old Operation Pig-Out list.  We are then going to see a Grateful Dead cover band and do a little dancing~ can't wait for that!  Friday sounds like a great day for the beach.  (Please stay away tropical depressions!)  Lovin' me some Estates Unidos!  (USA for all of you non-Spanish speaking folks!) 

P.S. But I miss NicaLand more every day!!!
P.P.S. Still no camera.  =(

There's no place like home!

We are back in the US of A & loving it!  Don't get me wrong, Nica is amazing, but gotta love being back!  We've crossed a few of our fave food locales off the list this past weekend and have enjoyed spending a lot of quality time with Chris' family in Hilton Head, SC.  The journey home began last Wednesday when we were forced to drive to Managua a day early due to the heavy rains expected the next day because of the lurking hurricane.  We enjoyed some American cuisine and a nice hotel room and then flew to Florida the next day and stayed in another nice spot and enjoyed some Outback...yummy!  Next stop:  South Carolina!  There's nothing finer than Carolina!  (and relaxing with family and football all weekend!)  One thing we had to get used to about being back in the States is the fact that people are very cautious.  When you are pulling up to a red light and need directions, they just stare at you like you're going to rob and murder them.  That would never happen in Nicaragua.  People are jumping to help you there.  (Which comes in handy being that there are barely any street signs in their country?!)  It's still AWESOME being home, though!  Gotta love paved roads, grocery stores and ATM's within a mile and good service!  (but don't worry Nica, we'll be back! :))  We are so happy to be enjoying the 3 F's:  Family, Food & Friends!  The friend part is up next!  So, what, when & where are we going guys??!!  Can't wait to see everyone!

P.S.  My camera took it's last beating from my 2 year old, so no pics for now.  Anyone have any recommendations on a good digital camera?

Realization Recognition

Don't we look so happy?!

I came to a few realizations last week.

#1:  I NEED to exercise regularly.  Not only for my ever-aging tush but for my mental well-being.  I think I've know this for a while, but I'm finally willing to embrace it and actually execute the idea!  Last week I did an hour hike, two 2 mile runs, lifted weights twice & played tennis twice.  Oh and danced for about 30 minutes at Rumba, although in white girl fashion. 

Recognition #2:  I like tennis!  I haven't played in AT LEAST 18 years, but we played on Saturday & Sunday and Chris (who has never played before) loved every minute of it.  We're both pretty competitive, so it's a good game to play together.  Ryder went with us and really loves it as well.  (No big surprise there.  I think my 5 year old was born an athlete!)  I almost broke my neck playing yesterday because it rained the night before and EVERYTHING is different in Nicaragua.  The rain turned the court into a slippery obstacle course.  Although, we tried to aim around the neck breaking puddles, we're beginners, so you can only imagine!  No falls, though!

#3:  I LOVE it here more every day!  Most women I know don't get my love of living in Nicaragua being that the nearest American-like grocery store  or any other "real" store for that matter is 3 hours away.  I love not focusing on all the commercial driven fun I used have in the U.S.  Here, I'm embracing things like hiking, running, surfing, horseback riding & tennis!  And I'm not spending $100 every time I go into Target.  (This alone is saving us TONS of money!)  Although I can't wait to step into a Target when we head back to the states for 6 weeks on Thursday.  I guess you can take the girl out of Target, but good luck taking the desire for Target shopping from her!  Lesson of the day:  the simple life is a whole lot cheaper and more fulfilling!!!   Cheers to everyone in the blogosphere & operation pig-out will begin in T minus THREE DAYS!  (I think I might just take a bath in cheese!)  Can't wait to see everyone!