A Very Merry Catalan Weekend

With mere weeks left here in Barcelona, we are creating a bit of a "last call" checklist of people and places we need to see before we board the plane next month.  We know we won't get to it all, and oddly enough I am OK with that...that little voice in my head always tells me this isn't it for adventures abroad and the Williams family.  But with my mother arriving two weeks ago for an impromptu "I-can't-stand-it-anymore-I-need-to-meet-my-newest-grandbaby" visit, we had that extra little push to get up and out of our little nook in Poblenou to see more of Spain this month.

Fresh off the plane, and glowing with happiness!  First snuggles!

Grammie snuggles

This month has started out busy, to say the very least...we had the movers come yesterday to load up everything we want to ship back to the United States, which includes most of our furniture, clothes, dishes, etc.  We are shipping everything we care to send home 6 weeks early to plan to have it arrive right around the time we do at the end of April at our new home, as the sailing time to cross the Atlantic and clear customs on both ends is around 4-5 weeks.  This leaves us living pretty bare bones on this end up until we fly out next month, but we figured we would rather arrive at our destination with everything we need to set up shop, and get livin' right away...besides, roughing it here isn't anything new for us.  The process was suprisingly smooth, actually...the moving company was phenomenal, super professional, and very fast.  About 20 minutes before the movers came, Chris and I were sitting outside having coffee...came home, they arrived, and we sort of directed traffic from that point forward.  That was it.  Four hours later, they were gone.  VERY thankful we were given a moving company, as it completely took a lot of the stress out of the entire process.

Yet, despite the ease of the actual packing and moving, this past week leading up to move day was busy continuing the relocation process...arranging rental cars, filling out customs and insurance forms, arranging moving times, separating "stay" and "go" piles...all nestled between the daily grind of breakfast toast, naps, and diapers.  It's been a godsend to have my mother here this week, taking Jordi on long walks down on the beach boardwalk while the big kids were in school and I cleaned out, organized, and prepared.  

We treated ourselves this weekend to a Saturday out without the big kids.  Our babysitter came to take the kids to the park, while Chris, my mother, Jordi, and I all went to Camp Nou to tour the FC Barcelona (Football Club Barcelona) stadium -- the biggest stadium in Europe!

It was super cool to see it...well worth the visit.  Despite the fact we weren't able to see an actual game while we were here, the stadium itself has a museum and self guided tour that was incredibly well laid out and very cool to see.  The tour leads you through over a hundred years of history, metals, trophies, and memorabilia...then winds through the press room, visiting locker room, out into the stadium stands, down by the field, and had a fantastic media presentation of some of the best moments of Barça history...and I won't lie, it actually brought tears to my eyes, despite the fact that I don't exactly follow the team all that closely.

This is REAL grass!  It was impeccable.  

Love this pic :)

The following day, Sunday, we were invited to go up to see some friends in their newly purchased home! Dario and Delphine are extremely proud new home owners to a gorgeous house up in the mountains, about 15 minutes outside of Barcelona.  It was a town Chris and I have been eager to see since we got here, so it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon, celebrating with our friends and exploring the town.  We took the local tram system, then the Renfe (commuter rail) to their house...a surprisingly quick and easy process...relatively speaking.  With three little kids, nothing is that quick and easy, but this came pretty close!

On the Renfe

Cheers!  Celebrating a beautiful new home! 

They love the view

Surrounded by gorgeous protected forest in the back

A view of the Mediterranean from their terrace!  Jordi is impressed!

After touring their new home, we all headed over to a wonderful little auberge-esque restaurant down the street for a Calçotada (description to follow).  The setting was something out of a picture book... just stunning, surrounded by mountains and framed by ivy covered arches.  The weather perfect, warm and breezy...the sun shinning, showing off the spectacular contrast between the orange stucco, green ivy, and blue sky.  

Surprise!  Mia is in the dog house.  

So.  The end of winter marks Calçotada season.  A Catalan tradition of grilling calçots (spring, or green, onions) outside in huge quantities on the bbq, peeling back the charred layer, then eating them (usually standing up) dipped in a red romesco sauce with a side of cava (sparkling wine) or red wine.  

I borrowed this pic online, just to give a visual...

Nothing fancy or mind blowing in terms of cuisine, but incredibly fun to eat outside, with the wine flowing and the sun shining down...a GREAT tradition. 

The calçots are served! hot off the bbq in a clay tray

Getting prepped!

My favorite part of this meal might have been the porrón (or porró in Catalan)...a wine bottle/vase with a long tapered neck that everyone passes around the table to drink from...you hold it away from your mouth so no one's lips touch the glass, allowing everyone to share the same bottle.  The boys had some impressive pours...I keep mine close :)

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Peeling the outer layers off

Dipping in romesco sauce

Mia preferred the olives

After the calçots, we all head indoors for the next course...a huge selection of grilled meats -- chicken, buttifarra (sausage) and rabbit (I think it was???).  Additionally there were trays of white beans, roasted potatoes, and bread with olive oil and tomato.  It was all delicious...and Jordi enjoyed spending time with his new Italian fan club :)

After dinner, we headed back outside to have coffee and let the kids run around...A four hour lunch that makes you wonder why you ever would want to spend a Sunday any other way...

Too much excitement

Overall, this was one of my most favorite weekends living here in Spain...next up, a quick three day trip to Seville - a city located in southern Spain's Andalusian region.  We leave on Thursday!  Very excited to be exploring more of Spain before we leave, and also to take Jordi on his very first plane ride.  The countdown continues, busy but good times!  

Out of Hiding

I vividly remember my first Mother's Day.  Evan was about 3 months old, and we planned a nice Sunday brunch out with just the three of us...Chris, Evan and myself.  At that time, juggling a meal out still felt like somewhat of a challenge.  In fact, this might have been our first restaurant experience as a family of three.  I had grabbed a frozen bottle of breast milk to feed him while we were there, remembered a change of clothes and diapers, and even managed to get myself squeezed into some presentable clothes.  Like most newborn-ish babies, Evan slept most of the time peacefully in his car seat carrier next to us in the booth.  We ordered our Eggs Benedict, marveled at what a great baby he was, and congratulated ourselves for getting up and out that morning to celebrate such a important day.

Somewhere between the first bite of food, and us patting ourselves on the back, Evan woke up.  Screaming.

Hiding my flustered spirit, I put on a smug smile, and pulled out the frozen bottle of breast milk that was neatly packed in its own little cooler.  Not to worry, I was prepared.  Then I stopped smiling.  This thing was solid as a rock, and was going to take forever to thaw out.  We frantically flagged down the waiter to ask for the hottest water he could find, while I bounced hungry little Evan up and down in my arms trying to calm him and ducking from the curious stares for everyone around us.  The hot water came, Evan screamed, and Chris tried in vein to thaw five ounces of milk in a little bowl that kept splashing all over the table.  It wasn't working, and the longer he tried, the more Evan screamed.

Red faced, overwhelmed, and on the verge of tears I asked Chris to please just ask the waiter to pack up the food to go, as I bumped and banged my way down the aisle of tables with Evan in one arm, a diaper bag slung over the other, and the stroller up on front of us, Evan's screaming echoing throughout the restaurant.

I think about this day, and I just don't get it.  Why the HELL didn't I just pull up my shirt, pop Evan on to nurse, pick my fork back up and continue my conversation with my husband???

Nursing in public.  This isn't a breastfeeding public service announcement, or some kind of repressed nursing mother's cry, it is simply an observation of life abroad.  When I arrived in Barcelona, as a mother of two kids already, I noticed something right off the bat.  Women nursed very comfortably in public.  They were discrete about it in that they were not exposing themselves to anyone, but there was no excusing themselves to another room during a dinner party, no hiding out in the restaurant parking lot in their car, no using huge sheet like contraptions to cover their babies and 3/4 of their bodies, or spending hours planning and scheming a pumping and/or bottle schedule so they can attend a public function without having to miss the fun.  And perhaps most importantly, there were no disapproving, uncomfortable stares of people around them while they nursed.  No stares, no cares.  Just life carrying on as usual...with a mother feeding her baby as part of the mix.

I remember sitting in the waiting room of my OB's office while I was still pregnant with Jordi.  A new mother was also in the waiting room, holding her one week old baby, happy and glowing.  Her husband sat next to her, and the four of us sat talking, sharing stories and tips for new parenthood.  Mid-conversation her baby started to fuss, so she spoke sweet words to him as she worked to get him latched on, still a bit of a challenge at this point.  Her husband helped her, and once the baby was settled nursing, they both looked back over to us to continue the conversation.  I was surprised and impressed by her comfort level, still new to nursing, and willing to do so in front of strangers.  I have to say, I was super proud of Chris.  He never gets weird about it, always includes the mother in the conversation looking her in the eye and smiling...when I ask him if it is awkward to see a woman breastfeed in public, he just laughs, "Why would it be?  People need to stop thinking so much!"  Amen my love.

Giving birth here, I think I was most excited to take advantage of the freedom to nurse when and where I needed to.  And though it is hard to say if it was my bolstered confidence as an experienced mother, my lack of time to care, or the supportive environment where I live...but his infancy has been a breeze in comparison to my other two.  When he cries, all I need is a place to sit down (or not...a saavy experienced mom here even taught me how to nurse him in his Ergo carrier while walking!). ...and if someone had told me this while I was living in the USA I would have thought, "OH, one of THOSE mothers".  In-your-face-crunchy-mama, out to prove a point.  But it's just not like there here.  Feeding your baby when and how you choose is simply an extension of the live and let live mentality I think...a part of life, do as you please, we don't have an opinion one way or another.  Life goes on, and a mama needs to be part of it.  Bottles or breasts, it doesn't matter.  Women need to be included and supported in any parenting decision, period.  I think part of it also has to do with the love of children...babies are included no matter what, and if nursing is part of baby and mama's life, then it is accepted by everyone, no questions asked.

Man, I will miss it.

I was sitting by the window on the bus on day, nursing Jordi as we made our way back home.  An elderly Catalan woman sat down next to me, looked down at Jordi, and gave me the sweetest smile and gently stroked Jordi's head as he nursed, whispering little words of affection and offering me very heartfelt congratulations.

While Chris and I were out one afternoon, we stopped in a newly opened spice store to look around...Jordi started to fuss, so I found a chair in the corner and started to feed him...the shop keeper came over to me to chat while I fed him.  Asking me how old he was, and where we were from...all with a smile on her face.

No hiding.  No confinement.    

I will say it worries me a bit to go home to the USA, away from this very protected, supportive environment.  I'd like to think I have the confidence to continue to stay out of hiding and continue to nurse on the go.  But I don't know if that is the case.  I was so used to the openness of the Spanish people here, I didn't think much about nursing Jordi in the living room during a mostly American holiday function held here at a friend's house in Barcelona.  Sure enough, about 1 minute after people noticed what I was doing, the room slowly cleared out.  I was alone on the couch, the rest of the party was across the room, no one was talking to me anymore, until a friend noticed and came over to chat with me.  I felt like I was offending people, or doing something inappropriate...those familiar feelings from Evan and Mia's infancy all came flooding back to me.  I understood, to a certain degree.  It's not something many Americans are used to being around, so up close and personal.  A bit like the topless women at the beaches here, maybe it just doesn't translate in American life.  Not yet.

I guess my point is, there is a different way.  Feeding your baby doesn't have to be a breastfeeding public service announcement ...all it really means is that Mama wants to continue to live her life, and feeding her baby is now part of that equation.  No need to complicate things with hidden meanings or messages.  No need to complicate things period.  So many feelings and opinions about how women choose to feed their babies in the USA... guilt and pressure, judgement and anger...a need to defend choices, when really, it isn't any one else's business or concern.  New mothers have enough complicating factors, sacrifices, and challenges.  Finding a hiding spot or worrying what other people think how you are feeding your baby (via bottle, breast or a combination of both) shouldn't be one of them.  New mothers need support and encouragement, and to feel like they still have a life outside of their duties to feed and respond to their babies.  Life goes on, just smile and keep talking.

Lunch at Camp Nou :)

Completing the Puzzle

Lately life feels like the last few minutes before you complete a really big, complicated puzzle.  At first the puzzle goes slowly, you have to think hard to figure out where each piece fits.  You make a lot of mistakes, try to fit pieces where they don't belong, and just generally feel like the whole picture will never come together.  Then as you fit more and more pieces together, it all becomes so clear where each piece fits, and the puzzle starts to materialize... faster and faster...These days?  Pieces are practically flying into place.

For us, the big puzzle piece that set the rest in motion was finding a house to go home to.  It seemed a daunting task at first.  We had been vacillating back and forth between wanting to live closer to Chris's work in the Metrowest area of Boston, and wanting to go back to the North Shore, where we had lived prior to coming to Barcelona.  After months and months of combing through listings and ads, and a few heartbreaks along the way as places we wanted were taken before we could grab them, we stumbled upon a listing that looked promising.  It had the space.  It had the location.  It was in the budget.  The exterior was cute as a button.  After a couple emails back and forth with the current tenant one morning, I had set up a tour for my mother to take a look at the place later that afternoon with the landlord -- who also happened to be super cool, and just generally easy to talk to.  My mother brought her laptop, and Skyped with Chris and I the entire time, walking us through each room!  Amazing to be touring a new house from 4000 miles away!  After talking with the landlord via Skype, and coming to an agreement, we had a signed lease in our hands a few days later.  It was almost too easy, and after what we went through during our move overseas, felt like a dream.  The best part is, we are completely familiar with this area...which, to us, feels a little bit like the neighborhood we are currently living in here in Spain.  Lots of families, restaurants, Mom and Pop shops, beaches.  It is perfect, and has made the prospect of leaving Spain a whole lot more exciting, and, despite the fact we are familiar with the area, almost feels like a new adventure all its own!

With the house details set, so began the cascade of plans to follow...enrolling the kids in public school, booking plane tickets, organizing the dog's plane details, booking movers, giving notice, packing up...But, again, it feels nothing like when we came here, which was just an onslaught of confusing, never ending red tape.  Rather than the uphill mountain climb the move to Barcelona was, this is practically a sleigh ride downhill, moving along without much effort on our part at all.  The thrill of calling up people, or filling out forms, conducted ALL IN ENGLISH -- it feels like someone just took a 40 lb. weight off my back during a jog.

Cleaning off the Molly's chariot, getting ready for her flight home!

The movers have come to survey the scene...they will be packing everything up for us (yahoo!) and shipping it out, HOPEFULLY leaving enough time for it to get there before our May 1st arrival date in the US.  But with Spanish customs, and US customs, involved in the process you never do know.  Shipping our stuff prior to our move will leave us pretty bare bones here during the last 8 weeks...but ultimately we wanted to have our big furniture there on the other side waiting for us so we could move in and get settled right away.

We've been talking about the move more often with the kids.  Evan completely understands all of this.  He knows that our extended families are back in the US, and talks quite often about wanting to see his cousins again especially.  Mia talks about it also, though I suspect the move will impact her the most, as she seems to be a little more sensitive to change in general.  I'm still trying to think of ways to make this transition a smooth one for her...I'm thinking we will do little boxes we pack together ourselves, filled with important toys or items she knows for sure she wants in her new room, so she can participate in the process and have something to look for once we arrive home.  Today she had to say goodbye to her first "best friend" -- a little girl from school who is moving with her family back to her native Norway.  Mia was quiet about it tonight...she didn't say much, but I can tell it affects her, more so than it does with Evan, to have the people and places around her changing so quickly.

Mia and her first BFF at our house playing last week

Overall, though, I'd say they are excited at the idea of moving.  To have new rooms, meet new friends, and be close to their families once again.  I'm already day dreaming about Sunday brunches with family and friends, BBQs (on a GRILL!), weekends in front of the fireplace, corralling all the toys into their own special playroom, and trick 'o' treating in our new hood!  Feels like a fresh start.

We celebrated our two boys this weekend.  Little Jordi was 5 months exactly on the 22nd.  Jordi celebrated by finally giving Mama a nice 8 hour stretch of sleep - whoHOOOOO!!!!  Also, showing off his new trick of rolling across a room to get where he needs to go.  One of those, "Whoa, we're there already?!" moments.  He continues to be the house sweetie pie, full of smiles and now likes to shriek like a little baby dragon when he gets really excited (I pretend I'm Khaleesi).

With his trusty sidekick, always by his side :)

Mid roll...

He gets a lot of lovin' :)  

And Evan.

Five years old.  I'm going to love five, I can tell already.  His little personality, and independence, has exploded lately.  He's making jokes, helping out as my right hand man, and now officially has a better memory than I do -- key, when you are suffering from baby brain.  Suddenly he is making his own breakfast, getting himself dressed, entertaining himself when he wakes up in the morning...we've turned that corner from needy toddler, to Kid, and it is pretty exciting to be entering this new phase of parenting.  Feels a little more like the house is filled with people and personalities, and not just a list of needs that should be tended to.

My little artist.  I love this picture on the left, he didn't like the first person, so he crossed it out and started again...so cute.

We celebrated his birthday with some presents, a cake (double chocolate with rainbow sprinkles and a strawberry on top -- just as he wanted it to be), balloons, and a pizza dinner at his favorite Neapolitan pizza place in our neighborhood, O'Principe.  It was low key this year, but he was happy, and especially excited about his new Spiderman toy, that does all that obnoxious lighting up and talking that only fathers know how to pick out.  Evan LOVED it, and is currently sleeping with it in bed.  

Getting ready for the arrival of Grammie tomorrow morning!  Beyond excited for Jordi to meet his first relative, and to see my mom for the first time in almost 9 months.  Besides a lot of family/downtime, I'm hoping we can do some of our "last call" outings over the next month while my mother is here...a trip to Montserrat, Carnival, possibly a trip to southern Spain to see Andalusia, and a visit to Dario and Delphine's new house up in the mountains!  The countdown continues...