Costa

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The boys had a blast at the house in Costa!

Gotta love Costa!  We had a blast returning to where this little love affair began.  So you can put this visa run in the success pile.  We found out you are supposed to leave Nicaragua for at least 72 hours, so a Thursday to Sunday trip was perfecto!  The kids were great.  (besides the fact that Rio jumped into a big mud puddle at the  border, but that's another story!)  We had amazing food, met some fun new friends, and even enjoyed some luxuries like gold fish and cheetos (mind you they were $6 a bag each, but who's counting?!) and the BEST ice cream treat ever called Trits.  (A Costa Rican cookie and ice cream delicious concoction that we've only been able to find at one store in Nica so far.) 

But River got this in return!

And Ry had a blast zip lining with Daddy!



I really love Costa, but don't get me wrong, for a cheaper place to stay, eat and cruise around where the wind always blows the right direction:  Come to Nica, it's like Costa 20 years ago (without the proper wind direction of course!)!!!

Crazy Contenta!

Via:  Bits of Truth

I just love the quote above.  It's so fitting for my life.  Speaking of happiness, I was beginning to think that Oprah's final season was just one big tear jerker until last night.  Oprah comes on here at 8pm.  (Just one more great reason to live here!)  Her show was on happiness and all that joyous stuff.  Apparently, you control about 50% of your happiness and the rest is genetic.  Kind of scary that you only have 50% to work with, but I guess you just have to make the most of it.  Our family got hit really hard by the recession and we are still trying to pick up the pieces.  Many people thought we were crazy moving to a third world country in the midst of it all, but you know what?  WE ARE HAPPY!  Sometimes it takes losing it all to realize that what you still have left is what really matters:  family, health, happiness, adventure!  (Yes people, the kind of car you drive or the designer duds you drool over may make you happy for a moment, but what happens when the car breaks down or you can't afford those clothes?!?!)  I may not be wealthy, but I am so very rich with all of the things that really count in our lives.  I know, blah, blah, blah, but it's so true!  Sorry to disappoint all of the "Debbie-Downers" out there, but I'm very happy right now! (and not just because I'll be in Costa Rica in less than three hours, but it does help!)  HAPPY early weekend to all!!!  By the way, Oprah says if you just take ONE minute for yourself and have some quiet time breathing, you will definitely be happier.  (Because you know Oprah's the next best thing to Confucius!)  So don't forget to breathe people.  Okay, I'll stop my happy rant now!  =)

Come to me Costa...

Watch out Costa, the Putnam clan is coming your way!

Headed to Costa Rica tomorrow for a border run.  We were going to take the bus, which I've never done in Central America.  It wasn't a chicken bus or anythimg, but I'm happy to report that we are now taking a taxi because it's cheaper.  I've gotta get on Lonely Planet and find out what to do from there.  You have to leave Nicaragua every three months unless you are a resident, which apparently isn't that difficult to become.  I've been told many different answers to the question of how long you have to be out of the country.  Some say if you have small children, they'll stamp you out and right back in, but others say you have to stay at least over night.  We decided to stay for three nights in Tamarindo.  I haven't been in seven years, so I can't wait to see what it's turned into.  We started going there about 12 years ago and it was such a cute, quaint little town back then.  Seven years ago it was getting a little dicey, but luckily we're staying at Playa Langosta which is not right in the town.  (See picture above and drool away.)  It should be pretty interesting.  Tomorrow won't be the fun part because we have a two hour drive to the border, a stop there to get our visas stamped through to Costa and then another three hour drive to Tamarindo.  (All of this with two most-likely screaming children.)  We'll reward ourselves with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.  :)  Well, time to do some border crossing research!  It will be so nice getting off campus and I'm going to enjoy my mini vacation, so I'll report back as soon as I'm back in Nica!  Looking forward to some pura vida tico time down in Costa! 

Don't mess with Spidey!

Yes, I'm still alive.  I did a bit of a digital cleanse last week due to our internet being on the dicey side.  It was still a very busy week.  To sum it up:  met new friends, bartended at a marketing event for three days, survived our first earthquake (although pretty scary!), cleaned up after two very sick little boys, surfed, did yoga, sold jewelry, play dates galore, phew...by the end I was exhausted, but mostly all fun! 

We started this week off with a birthday party for three adorable little girls on Sunday.  The kids had a blast and got very sugared up.  The highlight for me had to be the Spiderman pinata.  When little River saw the other kids bashing his favorite bud Spidey, he lost it.  He was running towards "him" and screaming and crying, "No!!!!"  He literally thought he was real and just had to "save" him!  It was too funny!  The look on his face was like, "How dare you beat up my Spidey?!"  Take a look:

Hope this didn't traumatize him too bad!

After wards, he insisted that we take him home and has slept with him every night since.  He's since lost both arms and an eye.  I wonder what he'll think when we finally throw Spidey in the trash?!  God help us then!

Green dreams...

I was up most of last night tending to a sick little Rio.  He was throwing up all evening and night so I'm a bit of a zombie at this point.  I've been tending to him all day and my nanny called in sick so a nap was not an option.  I think I'll be in bed by 8pm tonight.  River is feeling much better and I was able to slip away for an hour this morning to go to the organic farm here in Rancho Santana.  My friend Kim is the eco-director there and she showed me around.  I ended up with a free bag full of different lettuce varieties.  The old iceberg was getting just that!  I also got some fresh beets, lemon cucumbers, butternut squash, yellow tomatoes, dill, basil, edamame, bok choy, white radish and cilantro!  You can't find ANY of this stuff here.  Even cilantro, so I was very happy and even happier when I ate this for lunch:

Grilled chicken organic salad with creamy balsamic dressing

Ex-Pats Love Pats!!!

My soon to be six year old was a Super Bowl baby back in 2005.  My husband and I had no real emotional ties to any particular NFL team so we decided that whatever team won that year would become ours.  It was the New England Patriots versus the Philadelphia Eagles.  Luckily, the Pats won.  (Brady's a lot nicer to look at than Vick! ;)) 

LOL!

So here we sit, almost six years later and guess what?  The Super Bowl is on my baby's birthday for the first time since he was born.  And boy would it be nice to have another W on his birthday!  Today we play a big rival the Jets~ yucky!  They are going down!!!  Take us to the Super Bowl, Brady and Bilicheck!  In Bill we trust!  My boys and I are ready!!!  We'll be screaming loud from all the way down here in Nicaragua!

Take that Jets!

Nuff Said!

There's my beautiful Super Bowl baby!

Over the rivers and through the dust...

Not to worry, Rio was just practicing!

A couple of days ago, I took the boys to another successful play date here.  On the drive I got to thinking about how different it was to drive to play dates in the States.  I mean, how many ox and cart set-ups do you see there?  Unless you live in Amish country, probably none.  On this drive alone I saw one filled to the brim with plaintains and one where its driver was helping himself to dirt from the now almost dry river bed.  Filling the cart scoop by scoop with one shovel!  Now that's Nica time!  We also had the pleasure of viewing a dust cloud that literally engulfed the entire car.  I was yelling at the boys, "Close your mouth and eyes!" as we encroached upon it.  The next not-so-pleasurable site was a pile of burning trash.  (They're not too advanced here with sanitation.  lol.)  There was a small pick up truck selling butter, chicken and lettuce and using a megaphone to pitch their wares, four giant pigs (We almost had bbq for dinner because one almost hit the car!) and a stand with five local women making a local favorite called nacatamales (the Nica take on a tamale).  Oh and we crossed over two rivers along the way.  And this was a slow day on the road.  My favorite part would have to be boths boys with their heads out of the windows screaming "Hola!" and "Gasolina?" (I was trying to fill the old clunker up to no avail.).  They loved every bit of it except for the burning trash smell.  That didn't go over too well, but it is REALLY gross, so who could blame them?!  All in all, it was so worth the drive.  The boys and I got to hang out with some new friends!  Happy weekend everyone!

School days, pool days!

I think both of my boys have little crushes now!  We had a play date with cutie pie Ava this morning.  When I asked River if he wanted to go to the pool, his response (with a huge smile of course) was, "Ava!".  Priceless!  We went over there for dinner the other night and when we were driving away he stuck his head out of the window and said, "Bye Ava!  I love you!".  Of course it sounded more like, "I wuv ooh!".  Wish I could bottle up the cuteness.  Ryder is having two girls from school spend the night on Thursday and he asked if one of them could sleep on the couch and the other in bed with him!  They are sisters and I swear one day he has a crush on one and the next the other.  Boys will be boys!  Here's a couple pics from River's "date":

Aren't they just too cute?!  River just upgraded to arm floaties from his life vest too and of course he's showing off!  Hasta manana!

Weekend round-up...

Busy weekend = happy boys & mommy!

Another successful weekend in paradise.  Went to a friends for an impromptu barbecue, wicked sunset, play date with the new gringo boys in town, pizza party at a friends with the kids, finished another book, a day at the pool and football.  We were there EIGHT hours yesterday!  My boys love it at the Rancho Santana pool.  Needless to say, we were all in bed by 8pm last night.  We were without internet and phone most of the weekend.  Even in a developing country, it's still weird not to have technology access.  Last week was spent mostly trying to get over a cold.  Thank goodness I was feeling better for the weekend.  This week's mission:  exercise, organize and adventure!  I started by doing an hour long hike and some weightlifting after dropping Ryder off at school this morning.  There was a wonderful breeze the entire time.  I was definitely enjoying it after reading all the "icey" posts on Facebook.  Our cook is sick today.  I know you all feel sooooo sorry for me!  lol.  Thought I would try my hand at making a little pesto cream sauce and pasta for dinner.  I guess I earned  it after my work out.  Stay warm my American friends!  Stay cool Nica ex-pats!

Hi My Name is Mel and I'm a...

Lizano-holic!  This stuff is soooooo good~ I just can't get enough.  It's the best thing ever made in Costa Rica!  (I'm sure some surfers would probably argue with me on this one.)  I just discovered you can actually buy it in the good ol' US of A now online via Amazon! 

Unfortunately, I think you probably get about a week's worth of sodium in one serving, but who's counting?!  This sauce literally makes pretty much ANYTHING taste good.  I put it on eggs, tacos, rice, beans, veggies, and any meat or seafood.  I also just recently found out that it's one of the main ingredients in my favorite Central American dish:  arroz con pollo.  (That would be chicken and rice for all you non-Spanish or Spanglish speaking folks!)  You'll find it on nearly every table in Costa, but it's not always there in Nicaragua.  Not spicy at all, just pure deliciousness.  It's brown in color because it's made with several different vegetables like carrots, onion, celery, cauliflower, just to name a few.  You can even marinade with this crack-in-a-bottle.  Gotta love crack that doesn't kill!!!  (or does high sodium intake kill?  oh well, at least I'll die happy! :))

A typical day in the life of a stay at home ex-pat...

One of the questions I get asked A LOT is what my typical day is like.  Now, don't hate, but it is pretty awesome!  I am living my dream and very excited to do so.  November and December were pretty hectic for me because I was making tons of jewelry for Christmas, which you can view here!  I ended up selling almost every piece, so it was well worth it, not to mention I LOVE doing it.  When things are more laid back, as they are right now, my schedule is very relaxed.  Sometimes I think about my life in the States and wonder how I got it all done!  Something as simple as kid's birthday parties seemed to take over my life at times.  Although, I loved being in the States, (I'm not one of those ex-pat haters!), I felt torn in a million directions.  Anyways, here's a snapshot of my 'typical day' in paradise:

7am-  Ryder wakes me up and we watch a little tv and I make him something light to eat or drink and of course coffee for me!
8am-  Our housekeeper/cook comes in and makes a real breakfast.  I make Ryder's lunch for school and put a bathing suit and towel in his book bag.
9am- take Ryder to school, usually River tags along.
10am-  catch up on emails, blogs and any business.
11am-  play time with River (at home or a play date at the pool)
12pm-  lunch by Catalina
1pm- exercise by myself and pick up Ryder on the way back
3pm-  hang out with Ryder while River is taking his nap
4pm- read books or blogs
5pm- dinner cooked by Catalina
6pm- clean up from dinner, homework, baths for the boys
7pm-  kids go to bed
8pm- watch tv with the hubby
9pm- bedtime

And of course, on the weekends we usually go to the beach to surf and play with the kids.  Sundays are usually spent here all day: 

Come on down, the water's mighty fine!

They have a restaurant and bar with the nfl ticket (a must!), bocci ball, a horse shoe pit and it's right on the beach if you want to do a little exploring.  Some people try to say this isn't the "real" Nicaragua, but I don't care where it is, I'll sit by this pool any day!  Wouldn't you?! 

And what to my wondering eyes should appear...

My nanny just found this furry little creature making himself right at home in our jungle house...

Looks real cute and cuddly, right?  Until the gardener picked it up...

Yikes!!!  I thought for sure this was a rat, but they kept saying, "zorro linse!"  I googled it and apparently it's in the fox family.  I don't care what the heck it is;  I still don't want it in my house!  Thank goodness I didn't find it!  Otherwise, nothing too exciting is going on right now.  The winds are pretty heavy, which is causing a little irritation because I have a cold that goes away and then comes back after a day or so...ugh!  It's also causing what the locals call "pica pica".  It's a wheat-like crop that gets blown around this time of year and causes severe itchiness.  Very annoying!  Oh the cost of living in paradise...I'll take it because so far it's worth it!!!

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Resolutions, smesolutions, blah!  Every other year I try to actually 'resolve' something and it never fails:  I fail!  lol.  This year I think I'll stick to something fairly simple.  I want to be a bit more organized with things like emails, phones, paperwork.  I may even start blogging in the present instead of the past!  You know, all those boring necessities in life.  I started a bit early by clearing out the 6,000 emails in my inbox a couple of weeks ago.  I swear that unsubscribe button just makes them email you more!  Oh well!

On a positive note, one thing I won't be resolving is my love for good food.  (I'll just resolve that by exercising more! :))  So.... here's what we had for New Year's Eve dinner:

First time cooking lobster and it we amazing!

The unidentifiable carb products would be stuffing, mashed potatoes and brocoli and cheese~ so yummy!  (For those of you who follow my blog, yes we were supposed to have this plus mac-n-cheese for Christmas dinner, but we were so pooped after our charity event on the 24th that we opted to go out for pizza instead!)  By the way, we got 6 tails for a whopping $5! 

And for dessert...

Homemade strawberry shortcake!!!

Can you tell I'm missing the South a little?!  Happy New Year to all!  And God, could you please make this one a little better, pretty please?!