Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year. It has two of my favorite passtimes: dressing up and candy. My mother has always been obsessed with it, and passed this obsession to my sisters and me. It’s something that I have also passed on to my own kids. My birthday is pretty close to Halloween, so that also helped as well. One of my first birthday parties was a costume party in Panama. This is when Halloween was non-existent there. My parents, who had been in the USA, brought it back with them. The whole neighborhood went to my party. Even now, when we meet someone from the old neighborhood, they still talk about how great the first costume party was that they ever attended.

Luckily, when we came the U.S., we were living in Ft. Belvoir, so it was safe enough for children to go out on their own and everyone celebrated Hallowen. We had a great time hitting all the houses, and actually had to return home to get a new bag cause the first one would fill up quickly.

In my teenage years, I went through the whole “I’m too old to trick-or-treat” phase, but that didn’t last long when I turned 17. I discovered wearing a costume and heading down to Georgetown. You would see all kinds of wonderful costumes, and my younger sister K. and I rediscovered our love for Halloween.

After that, we couldn’t be stopped. We loved it! Here are some of the costumes I’ve worn in the past:

Cebastian, at first, hated costumes.  He would take them off in a second.  It wasn’t until he was three that he realized what happens when you wear a costume.  I had to put on his Spiderman pajamas because he refused to wear one.  When we were trick-or-treating, he realized that iI get candy?  After that, there were no issues.  This year he wants to be a werewolf, so I am glad that we can finally stop being a ninja or Jedi.  

On the other hand, Isabelle never gave me any issues.  She gladly put her costume on.  The only thing is that I can’t leave her side.  She is afraid of any little thing, so if I leave her to go to a door alone (this really means with her brother and cousin), she will scream like someone is attacking her.  Even now, if we go to the Halloween store, she will not enter unless I am holding her hand.  I was shocked that she wanted to be a vampiress this year.  She is definitely taking after her mother.

This year, I have been so busy that I haven’t been able to fully be as excited for Halloween as I usually am because of the workload I’ve been having.  However, now that this project is finally over, I am going to get ready for the festivities.  I still haven’t gotten my costume, so I need to get going on that.  At this point, I’ll choose anything that looks good and not every single woman will have.  Even if I don’t, as long as the kids have a good Halloween, I’ll be happy.

I really loathe how people idolize celebrities. It’s been a constant battle in my own family to have them stop this obsession with people (exceptions are celebrities like Robert De Niro) who haven’t done anything to deserve it. These celebrities are usually doing something that do not make them good and healthy role models. I hoped that my children wouldn’t fall victims to this mode of thought, but I have seen tidbits of it.

There is hope. Younger generations are starting to see people, like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, as heroes and people who they should aspire to be, which my generation has failed to see. It’s one of the reasons that I love that Intel commercial where the celebrities are the people who have created something to revolutionize our way of life and technology.

Even though I am not 100% sold on Obama, I will have to say that I am glad that he is being seen as someone to idolize in this celebrity-obsessed culture. Last night, while the kids and I were watching “Recess,” Cebastian turns to me.

“Mommy! I forgot to show you what I got!”

He runs into the other room and appears with a picture.

“It’s Obama. He is the President of the United States.”

The way he said it was with such admiration that it made me smile.

“He’s awesome!”

This morning when we were leaving the house, I looked at the side table where my Cebastian’s picture is. On the frame, was the picture of Obama that Cebastian had shown me.

I know others might say that it’s because Obama has become somewhat of a celebrity due to the media’s influence. I will have to say that this is the first time that I like what the media has done.

The children and I visited the National Harbor after getting my son from sleepaway camp.  One of the main reasons that we headed over there was to check out the new National Children’s Museum that had opened up, or so I thought.   Unfortunately for us, they still had not officially opened up.  The girl told us that they were going to have a workshop soon in a bit.

While we waited, we went to check out the man who is coming out of the Earth.  This was something that I remember when I was a kid, so I am glad that my children are also able to experience this amazing sculpture that is part of my childhood memories.

After we left out of there, we headed to get some gelato.  Cebastian got strawberry; Isabelle got lemonade; and I got french-vanilla cappuccino.

It was time for us to go to the National Children’s Museum for the class.  It turned out to be about fireflies.  If you don’t know already, fireflies are disappearing.  There is a program called Ready, Set, GLOW to teach children about how fireflies are going extinct and enlist their assistance.

“Ready, Set, Glow! has its origins in NCM’s commitment to creating experiences that engage kids with the outdoors in fun and exciting ways. NCM Manager of Science Programs, Linda Coulombe, participated in a meeting hosted by the Museum of Science, Boston to discuss ways in which the National Children’s Museum could collaborate in the public dimension of anentomological research project led by Fitchburg State College and Tufts University. With the help of the Museum of Science, Boston, the research would result in a Citizen scientist project.”

I am definitely going to have my children participate in this effort.  If they are part of volunteering in helping the Earth, then maybe they will make have more of an initiative to make a difference when they are adults.

causeway Panamá

Originally uploaded by Seracat

While I sit here waiting for my family to pick me up to go to the Causeway and realizing that I am getting a heinous heat rash, I am thinking about the five reasons that I am glad that I came to Panama.

1. Seeing My Family – Being that my immediate family are the only one who are in the U.S., I am glad when I am able to return and see the rest of the family who are still in Panama. Also, I am glad that my children are able to hang out with their cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmother, etc.

2. Visiting the Places in My Childhood – I am returning to all the places that I spent my childhood. It´s great to be able to share that with my children. It makes me kind of sad to see where I spent with loved ones who are now gone, but I am glad that I at least had them in my life to have those memories.

3. Being Able to Escape the Cold – It has been super cold in the DC area, so I am glad that I am able to escape to a place where it´s always nice and hot. Even though I now have this itchy heat rash, it´s well worth it.

4. Time With My Little Sister – I am so happy to be able to share this great time with my little sister who is going to be deployed. Hopefully she feels the same because I am so happy we are here together enjoying the fine weather. =D

5. Able to Think – It is always great to get away and start thinking about what is really important in your life. I have been thinking like crazy and now that I have been away from my every day life, I now understand what I want when I return.

Before the sunset, the kids play in the sand

Originally uploaded by joaobambu

I am currently trying to figure out what I’m going to do with the kids in the summer. It’s strange to me now that I am in the school-aged phase that it’s a huge deal what summer camps you choose for you kids. Every mother I speak to always adds “And what summer camps are you putting your children in?”

I know that Cebastian is going to an overnight camp for a week, and Isabelle might go to the one at her school. We might go to Italy (or definitely, a public beach). However, after that, i am pretty much clueless. The problem lies on how much these camps want. The cheapest camp is $340 a week. Let’s do the math:

$340 * 2 (kids) * 4 (weeks) = $2,720 a month

This is close to $3000 because this doesn’t include supplies and activity fees they love to add to this number. Also, my ex isn’t the type to really help. I can just see that conversation:

“Eric, I probably need a little extra for the kids’ summer camps.”

“Ummm…I give you child support, so sorry, take it from there.”

My coworker says that our neighborhood has a half-day summer camp that has tennis, pool, and walking on nature trails. However, I am pretty uncomfortable paying lifeguards to watch my kids until I get home. They are watching everyone else, so what happens if they miss my kid? I don’t know…maybe I am paranoid. I think if all else fails, the kids will go to Isabelle’s school, which is Cebstian’s old school.

I want my children to have a fun summer, but do I really have to pay this money for them to have fun? These summer camps know that working parents need to place their kids in something, so they are upping that price like crazy to kind of screw us. I really don’t know what people are living paycheck-to-paycheck do.

For school-aged parents out there, what are you doing with the kids this summer?