Birthday Parties...

Birthday parties in Mexico are extremely exhausting!

To start the year off, Maiya got invited to a classmate's 3rd birthday party. Birthday parties here are a family event--and it is expected that the whole family attends (not just the child who receives the invitation).

The party invitation said 12:00 pm, and I was so embarrassed to arrive 45 minutes late!

However, when we pulled up to the party we discovered elaborate birthday decor, and a clubhouse full of fancy tables and servers--and no guests.

Wait a second...you are asking, "but weren't you 45 minutes late?"

YES...but we were the first to arrive. We began to creep back towards our car (hoping we hadn't been spotted), and just then a friend of ours arrived--so we entered the party with her.

She explained that if the invitation says 12:00 pm, then they intend that you arrive around 1-3 pm (or later, as we discovered). I asked her how long the party would last, and she said, "Oh, probably not too long...maybe just until 5 or 6?". WHAT?...a 5 hour party?!!!

The 3 year old birthday girl greeted us, as did her well-dressed mother (who was also celebrating her birthday--although no one sang to her or gave her gifts that I know of!). Both of them sported several birthday outfits throughout the day!

There were so many tables set up without guests to fill them, and I worried out loud, "Wow, I hope people show up...it would be embarrassing if they had a bad turnout!" Little did I know that people would be showing up for the next 5 hours...until there were hundreds of people!

So, how do you keep children entertained for such a long period of time?

You hire face painters!

You hire a team of performers to do a Dora & Diego show...

And you have 3 gigantic life-size piñatas for the children to demolish:

You have an adorable child walking around in full pirate costume, saying "Arrrr" at anyone who looks at him...

You hire a crew to set up tents for crafts, games, etc....

You hire a 9 piece mariachi band to play for an hour (estimated to cost about $500)...

And you cater dinner for all of the attendees (we had birria, a Guadalajara specialty dish of lamb with a special sauce...quite good, actually...although I just stick to the sauce and rice!!)

Of course, a party this large means that there are a LOT of gifts. A gift table isn't sufficient for a party this size...you need to build a box and stack all of the presents inside, until it spills over!

The party took place on a beautiful property that had a swimming pool. No, it was not a swimming party...and one of my first thoughts was that if ANY child would fall into the pool, it would be Maiya. She is the most accident-prone child you have ever seen!

Sweet? YES!

Clumsy? YES!

So, when the mariachis were playing in full force, the kids escaped the noise with Jared. They were gone quite awhile, and I finally left the crowd to go hunt them down. Walking out of the clubhouse, I discovered Maiya poolside with Jared--soaking wet. It turns out that Maiya chased a balloon into the pool while Jared had his back turned. Another parent saw her fall in, pointed to Jared, and he was close enough to pull her out immediately.

Needless to say, we left immediately, and missed the tamales (so sad!) that were just arriving around 7pm...and the party went on for many more hours!

***Disclaimer: This was not a normal Birthday party. Most Mexican parties do have cake, often a meal, lots of guests, a piñata or two, and a rented jump house to keep the kids entertained. This was an extra-ordinary party, and the most elaborate party our Mexican friends had attended!***

We have been to 2 additional parties since arriving, and each one is fun, but exhausting!

My hard working husband...

When Jared and I were dating, I *knew* he was the one after he spent about half a day in front of my house alone, trying to unclog the gutter that ran underneath the driveway. (okay--I'm sure I knew before this, but it just solidified it!)

His parents say he has always been this way, and it is true--If you give him an outdoor project, he will not be done until he is DONE. And he is a perfectionist:

The weeds growing over the side of our wall BEFORE:



Jared purchased some clippers, and WA-LAH! The wall AFTER:

P.S. Jared would like to clarify that these "weeds" are more like "trees", but highly annoying, because they drop weird spiky seed pods onto our driveway. They grow in the empty lot next door, and are wild. While we would be happy to keep a beautiful tree hanging over the wall, "noxious weeds," such as this, must go!

Thanks, Honey!

The freedom to earn a living...

One of the many things I love about Mexico is that you are free to make a living and feed your family. Let's say you can't find a job. Are you going to sit at home and get welfare? No--you get off your rear, and get out on the streets--and make money to feed your family that day!

You can find just about anything being sold on the street sides. At most traffic light intersections in Guadalara, you can get an assortment of goodies and services. It is very normal to stop at a red light, and have some young men (or old men) start washing your windshield with a rag and then squeegie it spotlessly clean. Even if you ask them not to, they will often do it anyways.

They must assume it is better to do the work anyways, and hope that you will find their service worthy of paying for. If they sit back and don't do anything they are guaranteed to not earn any money.

Other streetside finds might include: Candy, fruit drinks, ice cream, tupperwares, flowers, sunglasses, windshield wipers (we've literally had ours replaced while at a red light!), and the list goes on!

How about a Valentine for your honey?


Or a newspaper?



Or let's say you want to go relax on the malecon for the evening in Ajijic, but you need to make a bit of extra money? Why not pack the trampoline, set it up in the public park, and put up a sign that offers 15 minutes of jumping for $10 pesos? Now you are in business!

In Mexico, you will find many streetside setups where an entire family is contributing to the family business. Below, these ladies are weaving some fabulous tote bags that we used to purchase for our store. I just wish we still had an excuse to buy more and support all of these entrepreneurs!

MEGA of Mexico...

How did I miss this the last time we lived in Mexico? It is scattered all across Guadalajara!

We finally had a bit of spare time in Guadlajara without child #1 and #2 (yay for school!), so we "rushed" in to see what Mega was all about. It seemed to me to be the most "American" style grocery store I have seen here--it's Mega big!

Step #1: Park underneath. Get your cart, and put it on the flat escalator to go up to the store on the 2nd floor:

Step #2: Browse the largest oil section I have ever seen in my life. Mexicans looove their oil...!

Step #3: Choose your favorite hot sauce. You are not short of choices...that is, unless you are looking for American-style salsa. Tough luck!

Step #4: Purchase a few odds and ends you have not found elsewhere in Mexico, as well as a nice fan (which we have been SO appreciate of, with temps rising up to 90 degrees lately--ahhh!). Pay, and then go DOWN the escalator with the shopping cart. Jared's not holding on this cart with the groceries, and Ethan. No, our child was not in mortal danger. This escalator is constructed with grooves that lock your cart into place, so it doesn't move during transit. Genius!

Why NOT to shop at Super Lake in Ajijic...

The Americans frequent a grocery store called "Super Lake" in Ajijic. I have only been there once before, and decided I should check it out again, so that I can know what they have. They bring in more imported items than the other stores in the area, and therefore their prices can be a little crazy.

For example, in Mexico they have VERY limited cereal brands. But Super Lake carries MANY American cereal brands, at a whooping $99 pesos each (generally, it is safe to assume that the US equivalent is 10% of the MX Pesos...although the exchange rate is a bit better). $9 for a box of cereal? I think not...



How about $170 pesos (~$17) for a small jar of yeast? (Thank you, Marilyn--for bringing me a giant bag of yeast from Costco when you visited us last month!)

Peanut butter is no longer the rarity it used to be. However, you can only find it in small jars (except for at 1 of the 3 Costcos in Guadalajara), for $53.90 pesos (~$5.39). I'll stick to Costco (I'm also very thankful that Jared has given up his peanut butter and jelly obsession for now. He seems to just be hooked to toast with jelly right now!).

And last, but not least...Jared's past time of sneaking chocolate chips won't pass here (sorry for the "misappearing" chocolate chips this past year, Mom & Dad!). $78.90 pesos ($7.89) for a normal sized bag of chocolate chips? No chocolate chip cookies here!

I will stick to Costco, Walmart (yes, I'm ashamed), and the local markets. Oh, and my other new love...MEGA. More on that later :-)

El Dentista

We made our way back to Ajijic Dental for a fast and delightful cleaning. Kinda cool that we can say it was "delightful"...because ultrasonic (water) cleanings REALLY ARE!

Ella was excited that she got her teeth officially cleaned for the first time. We all passed the cleaning with flying colors, and no recommendations! Whew!



Cost per cleaning? $300 pesos (about $25)

SWEET!

Remember when I said I would share with you some of my tried-and-true favorite vegan recipes? Chances are no one cares, and the people who have asked for this in the past no longer read the blog...but, oh well! I have found it helpful to look up my recipes online when I am out and about, and can't find it!

Do you want to know how many photos I've taken of vegan recipes in the past 9 months? A lot! But I haven't posted that many. Maybe I'll reform myself? Or maybe not...

This one is from 1,000 Vegan Recipes, a cookbook I dream about, but don't actually own! Why? I don't know...



Coconut-Peanut Chickpeas and Vegetables

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp hot or mild curry powder
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 (13.5 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
3 cups cooked or 2 (15.5 oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
3 cups fresh baby spinach
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crushed unsalted roasted peanuts, for garnish. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper, cover, and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and curry powder, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the peanut butter and gradually stir in the coconut milk until well blended. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, and spinach, stirring to wilt the spinach, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until how and the flavors are well blended, about 7 minutes. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the peanuts.

My changes? I like to add a lot more peanut butter. Seriously--who doesn't like more peanut butter?
Also, Jared won't eat food with crunchy nuts in it. I absolutely LOVE nuts in things. Darn.

And for those of you who can't buy or handle cooking too many fresh things (::clearing throat:: You know which sister you are....), I'd like you to know that a package of frozen spinach works just as well. (However, fresh is amazing--so you can buy a pre-washed bag of it to throw in, if you must)!! This is a seriously delicious recipe that I happily enjoy as leftovers for several days!