Daddy is learning Spanish too! (Bilingual Corner No.1)

Reading a Dora the Explorer book before bed

¡Hola! It's been a very busy weekend here. Saturday while mami was doing housework and daddy was watching cycling, I managed to get some time on the computer and catch up on my blogging. On Sunday mami had theatre rehearsals and daddy and I went to the park, and today we went to Battersea Zoo! I finally saw a real monito (monkey)! Mami always says that I'm her monito but I don't think I look like them at all!

As some of you know, I blogged about my Bilingual Corner to tell you about the funny side of being bilingual and to meet other mamis and daddies doing the same thing. Being bilingual means knowing another language, and sometimes that means that one parent does not know the other language. At least that is how it is with daddy!

See, daddy does not speak Spanish naturally like mami does. He has been learning over the past few years. But truth be told, I know more than him! He sounds a bit funny when he calls me over to sit down "Little M, ven aqui" because it doesn't sound like mami at all.

He sometimes gets his words confused like the time he mixed up the word for socks (calcetines) with the word for olives (aceitunas) when getting me dressed. That one really made mami laugh! But he is learning more and more each day.

I may not be able to fully speak to mami and daddy, but I understand everything she says. My two favourite words in Spanish that I can say to them are tete / dummy (absolutely essential to know this word) and mama (also, very important, especially to lay on the guilt!) Pretty smart huh?

I'm saving the rest of my words for a few months from now to keep them in suspense. From what I can understand, no is the same in both English and Spanish, but I purposely ignore that one all together. Eh.

So for all you other bilingual mamis and daddies:

1. How do you work around not knowing the other language?
2. What language do you mostly speak at home?
3. Do you have certain times or activities you do using just one language?
4. Anything funny, including mistranslations?

I would love to hear from you! (you don't have to answer all 4 questions, they are just suggestions!)

• Blog about your experience on your site
• Then come back here and leave a link to your site in the comment box so that we can all read it
• Link to Little M's Bilingual Corner on your site
• You can also just read it, enjoy it and leave any comments or suggestions
• Have fun!

¡Chao!

P.S. You can also find a review of my 3 favourite Spanish books at RedTedArt's blog

My mami at CyberMummy

It's just me, the computer and my bottle of milk

I have neglected mami for most of the day today to work on the blog. Oh, but don't worry, she is in good hands with daddy!

Over the past few weeks I have been trying to convince mami to attend the CyberMummy Conference on July 3rd at Earls Court in London. I can now happily report that the CyberMummy badge is on the blog, registration is complete and she is ready to go. Took her long enough!

This is the UK’s first one day conference for blogging mummies. It’s not just for the more experienced bloggers (otherwise we couldn’t go) but for newbie bloggers too! After realising tots where not allowed to attend, I quickly had to persuade her to attend on our behalf, and thankfully she took my advice!

We are so close to the venue it would be a shame for her not to be there, but more importantly to meet all of the nice mummies who have been reading my blog and talking to her on twitter.

I see from the schedule that the day will be fully packed with exciting presentations and more importantly vino time!

I hope everyone has a great time and gets a chance to meet my mami - she’s very friendly and funny too!

And just in case you still doubt who it is that writes this blog, check out the picture. It's just me, the computer and my bottle of milk.

Little M's Bilingual Corner

Hmm? What is a four letter word for poop in Spanish? C-A-C-A

The Funny Side of Being Bilingual

London is a terrific city, no denying that! What makes it vibrant and exciting is the wide range of languages you hear on the street everyday. After doing some very serious research at my local sandbox and paddling pool, I realised that there are a whole lot of us little ones not only speaking English, but another language too!

Remember my post about being bilingual? Well, it got me thinking, with so many mami's out there raising a bilingual family, why not start a little corner on my blog where all mami's and daddy's in a bilingual (or multilingual) home can stop by to post their thoughts, ask questions and more importantly, share funny stories!

So get your passports ready, because on the first Tuesday of the month I will pose a question/topic and feature a country to get you talking and we can learn from each other too! You do not even have to be bilingual, you might be a British or US expat elsewhere, etc. Because believe me, there are plenty of funny moments when more than one language is involved!
So what do you think? Why not tell your bilingual mami friends to join so we can get this going.

Let me know if you are interested in joining Little M's Bilingual Corner by leaving a comment below and a little about yourself, what other language(s) you speak, what country you are from twitter name. Make sure to follow mami too @verybusymama.

besos,

Little M

The Gallery - Mami's Amigas (Friends)

It just so happened that I was planning on writing about mami's friends when I came across Sticky Fingers  blog where the theme for the weekly Gallery was just that, Friendship. Bear with me as I have more than one!

Mami and daddy have been living in the UK for 5 years and one of the difficult aspects about being away from your “home” is leaving behind your close knit group of friends and family. However, mami is great at making friends, and even more so, at working on lasting friendships.

She has friends from when she was a little girl that she still keeps in contact with today, and friends that live far away in the US, Canada and Chile. There are also her friends here in the UK, without whom her stay here would not be so much fun, and now new mummy friends. There are all sorts of friends, including old ones, new ones and even family!

Here are a few of mami’s closest friends or amigas:

Mami’s best friend since her university days Auntie Noodle was just here for a visit. They had just seen each other over Christmas, but that didn’t stop them from jumping up and down and squealing with delight when they saw each other. Same happened when mami's sister and number one BFF Auntie D came to visit in November. Despite being tired from staying up late, mami drank a lot of wine, talked non-stop and had a big smile on her face! Daddy and I just sat back and let her enjoy her “girl time” while we played and read together.

Mami, Auntie Noodle and Auntie D

A former expat herself, Auntie K moved back to Canada after 6 years in the UK. She actually hired mami for her first PR job in the UK. But aside from being a terrific manager, she is mami’s confidant, good for a laugh and vino partner in crime! Mami misses her a lot and they have weekly phone chats to keep up to date with all the gossip. Usually I am in bed when they talk, but I can hear giggles and laughter from the living room! She was also at the hospital when I was born when no one else was able to come and visit – and for that mami is most grateful.

Here they are at No 10 when I was in her tummy!

I recently realised that mami considers her mami her best friend! Every once in a while there is a bit of disagreement but they always manage to move past it and laugh over it. She says her mami is her biggest supporter when it comes to her life decisions and choices and even kept her cool when mami thought she wanted to drop out of university, move to NYC and become an actress. (I know, crazy, right?)

My mami with her mami!

As for me, my best friends are mami and daddy. They may be difficult at times, insisting on wiping my nose every chance they get, but we always make up with big sloppy kisses and hugs!

My best friends!

I leave you with a song by Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos “Un Millon de Amgios” (A Million Friends). Its a classic and its beautiful, just like mami's friendships (and please, disregard his mullet).

Sun, fun and blogs

Friday was a beautiful sunny day here in London and I spent my afternoon at the paddling pool and sandbox (there I am in the picture, cute huh?) But the events leading up to my big day included several bumps in the road.

My mami is not an easy woman.

The sun does funny things to people. Mami was really happy this morning, singing and telling me about all of the fun things we were going to do. After getting me dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and packing my bag, mami suddenly runs back into her room and begins digging through her closet.

After rummaging for a very long time, I wandered in to see what all the fuss was about. She was sitting on the floor going through bags of shoes and old dresses. Her face looked a bit worried, not the smiley face she had moments before and said to me "Ay Little M, mami has nothing to wear! Nothing fits and my toes are not ready for this weather!"

We just looked at each other for a few seconds, then I decided I needed to cheer her up and I opened my mouth and laid a sloppy kiss on her cheek. That did the trick! She quickly stood up and swooped me into her arms and spun me around laughing.

Not sure what she was so worried about, she found a comfy dress and summer sandals despite her toes. I don't know about her, but my toes are summer ready! :)

Just before heading out, I saw mami's blackberry blinking. She turned to get a bottle of water and I quickly grabbed it and ran into my room. And there it was, the tweet that made the start to our weekend even better:

"@verybusymama congrats on making it into the ParentDish UK Best Blogs Roundup"

Wow, wow, wow - I couldn't believe it! Such an honour! I clapped with delight and gave mami's phone back to her. She was very impressed at my willingness to hand it over. She looked down at her tweets and as she scrolled through her messages, I saw her smile get bigger and bigger. I couldn't have been happier.

We did make it out, and the mixture of the summer warmth and our recognition on ParentDish UK was enough to propel mami's legs to walk faster and make it to the park in record time!

P.S - She forgot all about her toes when we got there - all the mummies had theirs buried in the sand too!

Me... a Kreativ Blogger!

 

On Tuesday I received the Kreativ Blogger Award from Emma at Mellow Mummy! So a very big GRACIAS to Emma! She has been a great supporter of my little blog and my mami and I are very happy for that!

Rules:

• You must thank the person who has given you the award.
• Copy the logo and place it on your blog 
• Link the person who has nominated you for the award
• Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting
• Nominate other Kreativ Bloggers
• Post links to the blogs you nominate
• Let the nominated victims bloggers know they have been tagged

Seven things about mami and I that people might find interesting:

1. Mami has German nationality. Yes, you read right. Deutsch. I go on and on about being Chilean, but both my Great Oma and Great Opa are German. Although mami does not speak German, she does know how to count, bake delicious kuchen and most importantly, say "Ich liebe dich" ( I love you). I'm very proud of her.

2. Mami has run a marathon! Yes all 26.2 miles of it. Before getting married to daddy she trained for 6 months and in October 2004 ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C... and survived!

3. Mami has always wanted to be a professional actress, but settles for being a good storyteller, doing funny imitations, (she does a great impression of daddy!) singing very loudly to me, watching Glee over and over and OVER again and being part of Theatre West Four amateur dramatics group. Come see her on 9 - 12th June when she makes her London debut in two Joe Orton plays, "The Erpingham Camp" and "Funeral Games" at Questors Theatre in Ealing.

4. Mami has an undergraduate degree in International Relations from James Madison University and an MA in Public Relations and Public Communications from The University of Westminster.

5. Both mami and daddy spent 3 months in South Africa in 2006. They saw lions, rhinos and hippos on their safari adventure in Kruger park, went into a cage and went shark diving, and got chased by baboons at Cape of Good Hope!

6. She absolutely loves Cath Kidston. The girls in the shop already know me and think I'm cute! Daddy and I just don't get it - doesn't she have enough stuff?

7. She secretly loves boy bands! Her latest favourites are JLS. She was very upset when New Kids on the Block performed in London and she missed them because I was about to be born. Years ago, she won tickets to see the Backstreet Boys through a radio competition where she had to write a love song for them and took my auntie D to see N'SYNC and loved every minute of it!

There you have it. So, what surprised you the most?

And in order to fully accept this award, we would like to nominate Elisabeth at Nordica In London for her new blog about an Expat Norwegian in London!

Sweet 16's

Since leaving the waters and coming home 16 months ago I have spent all of that time discovering my new life. It has been nothing less than adventurous, and each day the world around me is becoming more and more clear.

None of this would have been possible without mami and daddy's love and milk, of course! Thankfully they have given me the freedom to explore a little bit more each day - even if it meant getting hand, foot and mouth disease, falling off the bed, and chipping a tooth!

Today on the 16th of May I have put together the 16 discoveries I have made in the past 16 months.

Here they are - in no particular order:

1. I'm not British! This one confused me also. Turns out I'm half Chilean, half American but I was born here in the UK. Oh, and I also speak Spanish; ¡es verdad!
2. My smile is my secret weapon. No matter how upset I've made mami, I just smile at her and its all forgotten.
3. Mami and daddy are not morning people - In fact, I have to wake them up every day.
4. Daddy pretends not to smell my poopy nappy and leaves it for mami to change.
5. Best defence is to have teeth! I can chew more and mami is not as quick to stick her fingers in my mouth.
6. Speaking of teeth, teething bites! Nothing more painful than that.
7. Some mornings mami is just too tired and we stay in our jammies into the afternoon - then tells daddy we've been out all day!
8. When mami is really tired, she tells daddy she's given me a bath - when she's only used a wet cloth.
9. When daddy is not around, mami voluntarily gives me the remote.
10. Lint is yummy, so are ladybugs and other random pickings off the ground.
11. Sometimes when we are out and mami gets hungry she eats my rice crackers and takes half of my banana.
12. I can nearly outrun mami and daddy, mostly because she has to stop tweeting and put down her blackberry.
13. I can climb on top of the coffee table and slide off on the other side - this one really makes mami nervous and daddy laugh.
14. Mami lets me chew on daddy's blackberry, but when I'm about to get a little taste of hers, she quickly takes it away!
15. Books are an excellent source of fiber.
16. The bit between my legs is my willy! I discovered it in the bath. Mami was serious at first, but then smiled and said "Yes, Little M, you are a boy."

So there you have it - I'm a boy, I love lint and I poo way too much - its been a fantastic 16 months!

What have you discovered in the past 16 months?

Super busy week!

It's been so busy this week that I have not been able to sneak onto the computer and mami hasn't been around for me to grab her blackberry!

I am working on a new post for Sunday when I turn 16 months, so come back then.

But I want to thank everyone who has been reading the blog and leaving nice messages. I am working on re-designing the blog but its still a work in progress.

Mami is home today and we are spending time with my auntie FO visiting from New York. She let's me do whatever I want and she even let me climb on top of the coffee table when mami wasn't looking!

But when she did see me - oh! You should have seen her face, hahaha, classic mami.

Her eyes got really wide, and rushed up and said "Little M, ¡bájate de ahí!"\"Get down from there!" in a high pitched voice. Don't believe me? Here's proof - good one, huh? (Although she wasn't as impressed).

That is all for now, its nap time for me. 

See you Sunday when I post the 16 things I have discovered in the past 16 months.

¡Chao!

Run mami run

“I need to workout!” I hear her tell daddy, followed by “but I’m soooo tired!” and plopping down on the sofa.

“Definitely tomorrow, promise” she says. And daddy just smiles and says “okay then”.


But I know that is not going to happen.


I know for a fact that mami isn’t always happy with how she looks. I've seen her squirming around when trying to button her jeans, only to quickly take them off and look sad.

Even though she has always been fairly active, she gained 50 lbs when I was in her tummy! But don’t blame me - I weighed a mere 5 lbs pounds when I came out and the rest was because of high blood pressure, those “yummy biscuits” she likes and daddy’s Sunday lunches.


It took her a good while to get back to exercising because she was spending all of her time with me (I admit, I was even more demanding before) and I believe was still in a bit of pain.

When I was around 5 months, we began going to Parent and Pram at the park. It’s an exercise class where all the tots come with their mummies. It was a huge effort for her, and while she jumped around sweating and out of breath, I sat comfy in the buggy (see pic) watching her make funny faces. That was exactly one year ago. Fast forward to today, and mami has lost all of the extra weight she put on.

Despite really struggling to find the time and energy to exercise, mami does really try. But it’s never easy - no no!

On Wednesday after lunch instead of going to the park as usual, we went downstairs to the garage. Smiling at me, she sat me in a new buggy I had never seen before. She seemed really cheerful as she strapped me in. The seat was a bit bigger than my usual buggy and when she starting pushing me it was extra bouncy!

Suddenly mami said “hold on Little M” and before I could turn to look back at her, we had picked up speed and we were running down the road...weeeeeeee!

I threw my hands in the air, the wind hitting my face and sang out “ah ah, eh eh eh” as I bounced up and down with every fast step she took.  I couldn’t believe it – it was so much fun and I got to spend time with mami. We continued down to the river taking short breaks every once in a while (mami was tired, but she would always start up again). I could hear her breathing hard, but she still managed to sing to me and point out the boats and birds along the way.

This new buggy is made especially for running. It has bicycle wheels and it may look massive, but it is very light and easy to push. On that same day, mami registered for the 10km Boutique Run in Battersea Park for women only. I guess a lot of mummies get together to run and enjoy some much needed time away from us while exercising and indulging in a bit of pampering.

She says she “will always be just a little bit fat” (a lady named Bridget Jones said that and mami says it applies to her) and that sometimes she just can’t help herself and eats delicious chocolate biscuits with her tea. She even eats some of my food when she thinks I’m not looking. But I can’t blame her because I love food too! I can’t image having to contain myself when there is something yummy to eat.

Either way I love her just the same. I know it’s hard for all mummies to find time to exercise, but mami recommends it for staying happy and healthy!

She also likes:

Chiswick Bootcamp

Zumba

What do you like to do to keep fit?

P.S. If you want to register for the Boutique Run email us for a discount code!

It's gross, but it happens...

"Oh, its only hand, foot and mouth disease" they said casually. 

"Wait. Whaaaaaaaat?" said mami, then thinking for a moment and wiping away a tear.

"Um, er, isn't that for animals?!" she stuttered back.

Chuckling, looking at me, the doc replied "no, that is foot and mouth – humans cannot get that. This is HFMD disease, so no worries"

Shocked, and mouth open…"huh? No worries? I've been at the A&E all day and I'm not supposed to worry?"

Those where mami's exact words to the docs at the A&E – and let me tell you, she was not happy! After a full day at two different hospitals, we were sent back home the same way we had arrived – tired, in pain and no solution.

It had all started a few days earlier when I had spent the weekend with a very high fever and refused to eat, and had a small spot around my mouth. I tried telling mami that my throat hurt, but she kept trying to feed me. Sucking on my dummy, eating and swallowing was an absolute torture and I spent my days screaming out in pain.

Poor mami and daddy! They just stared at me with sad eyes, confused as to what to do. They tried all sorts of things to make me feel better – like giving me lots of hugs and kisses, and even letting me have the remote, but I just wanted to be left alone. They had no idea just how much pain I was in.

One of the nights when the pain was especially too much to bear, I woke up screaming and mami came and held me close. She whispered softly “¿qué pasa Little M? ¿Dime cómo te ayudo? No llores mas, te quiero mucho mi niño”/”What’s wrong Little M? What can I do? Don’t cry anymore, I love you very much my baby” It broke her heart to see me this way, so she held me close, and rocked me gently as hot tears rolled off her cheeks onto my head.

The next morning, still not knowing what was wrong with me, as she was cleaning off my hands noticed they were covered in bubble-like spots very similar to chicken pox. Right then is when she had that "ah ha" moment and we were off to the A&E.

 spots around my mouth

Turns out, HFMD is a viral infection most commonly found in kids under 10. Not painful or itchy on the hands or feet, but ulcers do develop after a few days in the mouth (I had them all over my tongue, cheeks and throat) making it reaaaallly painful and uncomfortable.

Where did I pick up this nasty little infection?

Chances are it was at nursery. We all share toys and I'm guilty of tasting everything once it's in my hands.

Infectious?

Yes – I couldn't see my friends for a week! Mami had to ask to work from home to be with me for a week. (they weren't very happy, but who else will take care of me?)

However, I can say that all's well that ends well – once the ulcers cleared up in my mouth I was back to my old self and mami was back to chasing me! The blisters looked really gross, but at least mami and I were happy again.

Note to mummies 

We don't mean to scare you with our crying and screaming, but watch out for these signs:

  

 - Very high fever – 3 nights for me

 - Spots on face (around mouth) then chicken pox like blisters 

 - Not wanting to eat, swallow or use dummy

 - Can be mistaken for chicken pox – that's what mami thought at first

 - Not my most flattering pictures, but I've included them for you to see just how it looks!

And given what mami had to deal with, she did a great job in remaining calm – it helped me feel better.

Read more on HFMD and get in touch if you have any questions.

Salsa Sunday!

It was rainy all day Sunday and while daddy was busy in the kitchen cooking a delicious dinner, mami decided it was the perfect day for crafts, drawing and my personal favourite, dancing!

We coloured and danced while we listened to the mix CD mami made for me with songs about lions, zebras and hippos in South Africa, Latin music for spinning around, and of course, songs from GLEE! I am so happy music is one thing we fully agree on. Frankly, if I hear Ba-Ba Black Sheep or Wheels on the Bus one more time, I’m going to poop my pants!

So funny to watch her dance!

She then picked me up to try out her salsa moves (not impressed) and I showed both of them my new “bootie shake” while wiggling my bottom to Imvubu the happiest hippo. It was funny to see mami enjoying herself, despite clearly needing work on her dance moves. If you don't believe me, the proof is in the picture!

Showing mami how to draw with crayons

However, I was impressed with her drawing skills - not bad for never having used crayons! Tired of dabbling and dancing, I voluntarily went to bed. I figured I might as well give mami and daddy a break by taking a very long nap. After all, they did a great job playing with me!

Mami's first crayon drawing!

When I woke up an hour and a half later daddy was ready with dinner and boy was I surprised! I am so tired of eating mami's chicken and spinach mix that daddy's yummy beef wellington was a welcome change (he's a foodie too!)

Daddy's yummy beef wellington

Mami's plans did not turn out as she expected (she never got around to doing her crafts - she may have to try the paper flowers RedTedArt suggested next week). Truth is, I get bored easily, but she never gave up. Bless her. As much as she drives me crazy sometimes I can’t help but love her. She always manages to get a smile out of me no matter how hard I try to resist.

Today she really won me over with her funny drawings and her funky dance moves. What more could I ask for?

It was a perfect Sunday.

My Music Mix
Las Avispas - Babies Go: Juan Luis Guerra
Don't Stop Believin' - Glee: Volume 1 (mami and I are Gleeks!)
Lady Gaga & Beyonce - Telephone
Lucas the laziest Lion - Beautiful Creatures (our new favourite CD!)
Bust Your Windows - Glee: Volume 1
La tortura - Shakira & Alejandro Sanz
Proud Mary - Glee: Volume 2
Imvubu the happiest hippo - Beautiful Creatures
1, 2, 3 ¿Que hora es? - 1, 2, 3, Salsa: Songs for Learning Spanish
Open your Heart - Glee: The Power of Madonna


Want more Latin tunes? Just ask!