Las Vegas Mama

I was recently contacted by a French reporter named Maxime Souville for a travel show called Echappes Belles . They were planning on doing a show about Las Vegas, and they wanted to find a family they could follow around for a day to see what life was like for families living in in this city. Contrary to the image Las Vegas has as a giant adult playground, there are actually plenty of families here hanging out at the regular kid playgrounds. They asked me if we could be the family they focus on. We said yes, because what the heck, but I made them sign a waiver that I would not be held responsible in the event their viewers died of boredom. Monsieur Souville and his partner Jeremi showed up bright and early on Monday morning, followed us to daily Mass, followed us home again, watched me homeschool the girls, followed me to the grocery store, then to recess, home again for lunch, and then out to the District to watch us hang out as a family when Phillip got home. It all wen...

Rose has been holding me hostage at night lately. I love her, she is an adorable imp, but she is killing me right now. For a while from about 4 months to 8 months of age she slept almost entirely through the night. But the older she gets, the more frequently she wakes up to nurse. I think every time she rolls over it wakes her up. And she wants to nurse. I think this qualifies as elder abuse and I am considering calling Adult Protective Services on her. So I get up about every 2 hours all night long (last night it was every hour). Eventually, I lay back down in bed with her to nurse because I am so exhausted that its all I can do just to get up and get her out of her crib yet again. And whenever I try to shift my position in bed, she wakes up and wants to nurse again! So the options are to lay stock still and never move, or to have her permanently grafted on me. Neither of which I am interested in just now, thanks. Last night was worse than usual. She woke up every hour, al...

We went to the Springs Preserve for the Dia de los Muertos celebration this past weekend. I forgot to recharge my camera battery, so I only got a few pictures before it totally died. Ha! It was a fantastic event, with so many altars that I am pretty sure I never actually saw all of them. A few things stand out in my mind. First of all, you need to get there early or you can forget about doing the awesome crafts, like decorating sugar skulls. Plus a lot of the altars aren't well lit so you can't get the full effect unless you are there before it gets dark. Secondly, pack a sandwich or a snack - or prepare to stand in the hungry line for a really long time. I don't mind standing in line for delicious food (pupusas and Sonoran hot dogs!) as long as I am not starving while I am waiting. Also, later in the evening we tried to get churros, but just 4 people away from my sweet, sweet churros they ran out. Get your churros early, people.  Third of all, make sure your camera...

I have finished my altar in celebration of Dia de los Muertos. Although I had special ordered marigolds for my altar, I walked into Fresh and Easy this morning to find that they were selling bouquets of marigolds for $4! Sheesh. As I had mentioned in my last Dia de los Muertos-related post, I had gone to a swap meet and happily found sugar skulls and papel picado. This All Souls Day I am honoring my sister, my grandparents, and my husbands grandparents and his aunt and uncle. Here is the end result for my home altar. Oh hey, who is that brave little soul going exploring? Since yesterday was All Saints Day and a Holy Day of Obligation, today was the homeschoolers All Saints Day party. Here is Violet as St. Clare of Assisi as she wards off invaders at the city gates with nothing but prayer, the Blessed Sacrament, and faith in Jesus! I made it out of one of my dresses, one of Phillip's t-shirts and a piece of black cloth. The monstrance is just foam core, a p...