Post About a "Post-It" Tree

Due to my love of post-it notes it makes sense that I should have thought of this long ago, but this idea came from apartment therapy. Isn't it cool? I think next year this tree will appear in our house and what a perfect way to remember all your Holiday "To-Do" items...

Merry Christmas

Click on the image above to see it bigger.

Noche Buena

This was our 2nd Noche Buena in Maputo and I made a lechon (12 lbs.) and yucca. It had been two years since the last time I made these two dishes, but I looked for the recipes and got cooking. It took about 6 hours to make the infamous pig, but in the end it was worth it and I think everyone else thought it was very tasty as well.

The yucca is a different story. Here in Maputo we have mandioca or cassava. It is the same as yucca, but the only problem that it is NOT the season for it. I should have just scratched it from the menu, but I really wanted to eat it on Christmas Eve...Noche Buena wouldn't be the same without them. After going to a couple of markets we finally found them, but my empregada warned me that they weren't going to cook right. Well, she was right and the yucca dish was a little hard, but the mojito was delicious. I think I will try the same recipe in July (apparently when mandiocas are in season).

After the cooking was done we went to mass with Luka at the newly built Catholic Church. It was a rough time to take Luka to mass...7 pm is usually his bedtime, but we arrived at church and he was very restless and only wanted to sing the songs. As soon as the choir stopped singing he would yell, "One more song please." He also would clap and sing during the readings and the homily. I think I need to find a "singing" service for Luka and then maybe he will pay more attention.

I did manage to get through to him that tomorrow was Baby Jesus' birthday and he sang to him a couple of times today. Now I have to try a separate Santa Claus and Jesus. I think at this point he thinks that Christmas is more about Santa Claus than Jesus.

After mass we went home to prepare Luka for bed. After we had read him a couple of Christmas stories and left cookies for Santa we tucked him into bed and we were off to our Noche Buena dinner at our friend's house.

The photo above is of the spread...check out my lechon and yucca...and here is a photo of us enjoying our Latin celebration. We had food from Mexico, Peru, Cuba and the States.

OMG, it is so freaking hot!

It is like 110 degrees today and I had to venture out to do all the food shopping for Noche Buena, Christmas and Boxing Day (Dec. 26th)...we have events all three days and I thought I was going to melt out on the street!

This means I had to go to TWO outside markets and THREE grocery stores to find what I needed and in the end I had to come up with substitutions for many things. I really miss Publix and Costco right about now!

My Christmas wish would be for it to SNOW....ha ha ha.

Maxwell & Evan Meet Santa Claus

Look at my super cute nephews. Evan is so big. Can you believe that he is about to turn only four months! Seriously, Moqui...what are you feeding that kid?

And look at Maxwell's smile...precious. I can't wait to see both of them and actually meet Evan for the first time in January. I think Luka will be very excited to play with his baby cousin. Lately, every time he sees a baby he wants to change their diaper, pat their back or put them to sleep. Do you think he is practicing?

Moqui, where did you take a picture with that Santa? The North Pole...I think he looks like the real thing. Maybe it is the real Santa...I know he is out there somewhere.

Merry Christmas!

19 Weeks

(can you see the hands over the face...the baby is either praying or very pensive!)

Well, I am in my second trimester and I am starting to feel better. The nausea is still around and I find myself hugging the toilet a couple of times a week...but believe it or not I am feeling better. The first trimester was pretty awful. I know that some women love pregnancy and I hope I get there soon.

I don't want you to misinterpret what I am saying. I love that fact that I am going to have a baby and the fact that it is basically a miracle is HUGE...but my hormones haven't really been cooperating and for the first 16 weeks or so of my pregnancy journey I was nauseous all day every day, had every type of food aversion, lost about 12 pounds and had chronic migraines.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel...the nausea is less, I have enjoyed a couple of meals and the weight is starting to come back on (that is good and bad).

But being pregnant has definitely been an experience. The human body is an amazing thing. Your body goes through so many changes...some too graphic to discuss on this blog...but I guess I just didn't know how my body would react. Although I have had a hard time with many of the "changes," they all have a purpose and my body is preparing for our baby's arrival.

I think just yesterday I had what Oprah would call an "aha" moment after our 19 week scan. There is a big baby growing inside of me! I didn't call it big...the doctor did. She said he/she has big feet (what a surprise!) and is pretty large for its age. She said he/she was bouncing around and if I could feel it. I have been feeling something...but not sure what. I guess it is the baby moving...that is what she said. Very strange, but very wonderful.

Well, here is the photo of our baby. We could have found out the sex by now, but JJ and I doing this "old school." We are going to wait until the baby is born to know the sex. Right now some of you are saying, "There is no way Melissa can wait...she has to plan for everything." Well people, I am really excited about the surprise and I think that moment when they tell us will be very special for our family. So, stop asking me what it is and get excited about the surprise.

We welcome any suggestions for names...JJ and I have heated debates over the subject. I have a couple of requirements:

- the name should be short, one or two syllables

- it should sound the same in Dutch, Spanish and English (Luka is said the same in all three)

- I love unisex names, but JJ is not so keen

In the end it will be really funny if the baby ends up with a name that violates all my "rules." But in the end we will go with a name that we all like and sounds good...but please send me your suggestions. Later I will post some of the contenders.

So that is what is going on with the baby for now. I will try and post photos of my expanding belly. It just expanded this week and I need to bring my nerve up to take a photograph. I really hate taking photos.

Talk about a White Christmas...

We are having a very HOT Christmas in Maputo. Yesterday it was about 102 degrees. We were so hot...but I got a little chilly when I opened these photos in an email I received from Marlotte, my sister-in-law in Holland. Talk about SNOW!!! The place is completely covered.

I wish they could send some of that chilly weather down our way. Christmas doesn't feel the same to me in this hot weather. For example it is just a couple of days before Christmas and I am about to put on a bathing suit for my water aerobics class...something is definitely wrong with this picture.

Happy Holidays and stay warm to our family and friends in Holland.

Modern Family Tree

I don't know if it is because my parents had to leave Cuba when they were little and I don't have many old family photos from generations I never met or if it is because I know live very far from my family, but I am constantly thinking of the perfect way to display our family tree. Well I found it...

Isn't this the most perfect family tree? It would look great in our living room! Click on the photo or this link and see the other cool designs this company has.

Check out this month's delivery...

Just if you are curious...click here to see what we delivered to the orphanage this month. Happy Holidays!

Luka's Art Gallery

Here are few of Luka's latest creations. The turtle is from school and the water color painting is from our painting sessions at home. He LOVES to paint!

Our Little Oyster

Today was Luka's acting debut. His school put on their annual Christmas Play and Luka and his classmates were the oysters. For weeks they have been practicing their two songs and Luka has been a star at practice. The teacher always told us that Luka would help the other kids with the "steps" and words.

JJ and I were very anxious on the day of the show and so proud to see our little oyster perform for the first time on stage. JJ was ready with the video camera and I was ready with the photo camera. I knew there was something wrong as soon as we saw Luka walk on stage. He was eating his shirt...literally. I think he was really nervous. Imagine...a room full of 300 adults just staring back at you. I would be scared too. Then it happened...he saw mommy and it was all downhill from there. He yelled, "Mama, mama," and ran off the stage to where I was. I tried to get him back on stage, but nothing worked.

Not to come up with excuses, but the toddler group was the LAST to perform and they had to wait outside in the hot sun for 1.5 hours before they went on stage. All the kids were a little upset when they finally got on stage. That wasn't very smart of whoever organized the play. But I guess you live and learn.

Luka now has his first performance under his belt and things can only go up from here, right?

But let me tell you that he redeemed himself just 30 minutes after we left his Christmas Play. I had to go to the American School to deliver some Christmas Cards and they happened to be having a Primary School Performance. Well our little Luka must have decided that it was his time to shine...As the Kindergarten class was singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" Luka jumped on stage and sang and acted out the song. It was very cute and I couldn't believe it...Just a few minutes earlier he was running away from the spotlight. I guess he likes this song better and doesn't care much for being an oyster. Unfortunately I don't have any photos of this as I wasn't really prepared to see my son on stage at this point.

Here is Luka with Amelia and Tristan as they waited to go on stage. He really loves these two friends! Aren't they the cutest twins...

To see more photos from the play click here.

My Mozambique

Here is something I have had for a while, but just got around to loading on the site. It is a collection of some of my photographs that I took from 2006 - 2008 while living in Mozambique. It gives you a little glimpse into "My Mozambique." Enjoy and feel free to post comments....

Happy Anniversary Luka

Dear Luka -

Can you believe that today it has been exactly two years that Mami and Papa brought you home? I can't believe how fast time has gone by. It seems like yesterday that I was looking at my 8-month old baby with all these questions and concerns and at the same time I had all this love in my heart that I couldn't believe was there just after a few days of knowing you. The day we brought you home we had known you for about 5 days and I swear when you woke up with us that first morning it felt like you had been with us for months and been growing in our hearts for even longer.

You are such a big, smart and beautiful boy. Who would have thought that our little tiny baby would have grown up so fast? I have a confession to make..the first couple of months you were with us I would do what every mother does, but shouldn't....I would compare you to other kids your age. Sweetie, you were so tiny and I would get upset when other people would say, "Oh, he is so cute...how old is the baby? Two months.." and I was like, "No, 10 months!!!!"

Well, you sure surprised all of us! Now at two years and 8 months you are blowing everyone away...including us and we see you everyday, but everyday you amaze us with your curiosity, intelligence and the way you see the world...not to mention your smile and great sense of humor (which I am sure you get from me...ha ha ha).

So today we celebrate your Adoption Day, Coming Home Day, Family Anniversary Day, Gotcha Day, etc. There are many things that we can call it, but it is the day that the three of us became a family. Adoption is a funny thing. If you haven't gone through it you can't imagine the bond you feel with this little person that you only met and had no idea was going to be a part of your life. It is truly special and Lukie this is something that we will always have just with you. Like I have told you before, your little brother/sis is growing in my belly, but you grew in my heart and when I saw you I knew you were my baby.

I love you Luka and remember this day (November 30) will always be Mami, Papa & Luka's special anniversary!

Mami

PS I know you were looking at these photos with me today and you were very surprised seeing yourself as a baby, but here they are for others to see. Here you are relaxing on daddy that first morning you woke up with us and the other photo is of you holding the bottle on your own the first week you were with us:

The video is really dark, but it was late and our lights are not that bright...But at least it documents this very special day and you can hear what great singers we are...NOT!

How I Survived My First Turkey

Yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner was a total success. The turkey was delicious and it was accompanied by home-made mash potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, stuffing (Thanks Laura!), butternut-squash pie (Thanks Paty!), salad (Thanks Ellie!).

Can I tell you I was a nervous wreck all day with the turkey?!?!? I couldn't imagine how this slimy ugly bird would turn into something delicious. For those of you that know me, well you know I am no iron chef in the kitchen. But I wanted to officially become an adult and make my first Thanksgiving turkey. Growing up I always thought that making the turkey on Thanksgiving or lechon for Noche Buena was for the adults. I had no idea how those things magically appeared on the table. Even as an adult living in Miami I only dared to contribute my homemade cranberry sauce for these family functions (damn good sauce by the way!), but never in my wildest dreams the turkey...the main event!

For those turkey veterans out there, you might be saying...come on it is not that hard. But trust me...I need a map to navigate my way around my own kitchen. Well, this will give you an idea of my culinary knowledge. Yesterday, as I was taking out my fresh herbs I ran into a problem. I took them out of the packaging...laid them all nicely on the cutting board...then as I started to chop and measure I realized that I wasn't sure which one was the parsley, rosemary or thyme. The parsley ok...I had a clue since at Denny's they always put a piece of useless parsley on your plate...but rosemary and thyme....NO FREAKING CLUE. I had to go online and look for photos. See I am totally useless and please try not to laugh.

But to make a long story just a little shorter, the Apple/Shallot (but I had to use red onions) Turkey was delicious and I think now I am confident and will offer to make the turkey at future Thanksgiving dinners. Rachel Ray watch out!

Oh, I mentioned what was on the dinner menu, but forgot to mention dessert. Oh, dessert! I made a pumpkin pie, my first as well, and boy was it good. It almost tasted like pumpkin cheesecake. I am actually enjoying a piece right now. Then we had traditional Dutch Apple Pie (that I ordered) and flan. My friend Laura made the flan and it was a special request from me since my mom always makes flan back home. Laura, estaba delicioso! Gracias.

Well enough about the food...the company was also superb. Let's see...we had the following countries represented: USA, Mozambique, Holland, Mexico, Argentina, Gambia & South Africa. How is that for an international Thanksgiving! Some of my friends were celebrating their first day of thanks. We were nine adults and SEVEN kids! They actually behaved really well and we were able to fit in some adult conversation. Here is a photo of the little ones...Baby Magdalena is missing:

A sneak peak into our dining room and set-up...we had another table. I wanted us to have plenty of room to eat until our heart's content.

This look on Luka lasted about 20 minutes, but he wanted to wear his tie. I thought it was really funny that he picked it out himself.

There is Baby Maggie and Luka trying to feed her. He really loves babies. He wanted to totally take care of her. I think he is going to be a great big brother!

For more Thanksgiving photos click here.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving and today is the final day of sharing what I am thankful for and of course I have saved the best for last.

Today I am thankful for the two wonderful boys in my life. JJ is the best partner I could have asked for and Luka's spirit and smile makes each day a blessing.

More later on how my first Thanksgiving turkey came out...

Catching Up on My Pledge

I had promised to share something that I was thankful for everyday until Thanksgiving. Well I have been doing it, but posting it on Facebook. Here is what I have been thankful for:

On November 20th...I am thankful that it is Friday and I am looking forward to the weekend full of activities...photo show, Luka's first school party, catching on shows with hubby and who knows what else. I just hope it stops raining in Maputo.

On November 21st...I am thankful the rain stopped in Maputo by the end of the day. It had been raining for days.

On November 22nd...Today is Sunday and I am VERY thankful for my hubby that let me sleep in until 8 am. Yes, that is considered sleeping in when you have a 2 year old!

On November 23rd...I am thankful for my dad. Thank you for always being there for me whenever I needed you. Whether it was homework, making campaign signs, picking me up in SoBe after drinking too much or pretending to be awake when I call before 7am from Mozambique. I love you Papi!

Yesterday I was thankful that I found a good size turkey in Maputo. I thought I wasn't going to be able to find it.

Oops, I guess I skipped November 24th.

I am in FONT heaven

Okay, those of you that know me know that that I love fonts and I love to write. Some people say I have nice handwriting. I kind of owe that to my dad...he always had and still has spectacular penmanship.

But now everyone can have thier own font in their own handwriting....This is the awesome and the best part is that it is free. Thank you to my friend Susana for sending me the link.

Click here to access the program.

Happy typing! And you are so going to get emails written in my handwriting now...ha ha.

Elizabeth Rocks!

Today...Melissa van Herksen is thankful for Elizabeth (our empregada). This woman is amazing and she is a little older so she has been the one to give me the advice that my abuela/mom would have given me in Miami when it comes to kids. She is the best. Luka loves her and having her allows us to have lots of quality time. She rocks!

Luka's First School Picture

My first reaction when I went this morning to pick-up the photo was one of total disappointment. I mean come on...not for nothing, but if Luka is one thing...he is photogenic...and his first school picture!

Once I had a few minutes to mull it over I realized that school pictures aren't supposed to be fabulous, right. There is something inherently dorky and nerdy about them. Who ever said that blue was a nice background, and I can just imagine what they were trying to do to make Luka laugh...He was probably thinking this is totally silly and my mommy says that candid shots are much better anyway...ha ha ha.

Well, it is what it is and here is our son's first school picture. But if you want to see Luka in his photogenic glory you can click here, here or here.

This is his class photo. If you click on the photo you will see the larger version. Look at Luka...I think he is purposely trying to make himself not smile...pretty funny!

Thankful for My Mami

So far it is not hard to think of something everyday to be thankful for...the hard part is to just pick one thing...so here is what I am thankful for today:

Melissa van Herksen is thankful to her mom for all that she does. She manages to be a great mom and abuela even from thousands of miles away. I am especially thankful she convinced me to go on match.com after my 29th birthday or else I would have never met my husband, ended up in Mozambique and adopted Luka...talk about a chain of events. Gracias Mami, you are the best!

Today I am thankful for...

I have pledged to give thanks for something different everyday until Thanksgiving. This is what I am thankful for today:

Melissa van Herksen is thankful for her "Maputo" family. I don't know what I would have done without our friends here these last two years. You know who you guys are...some have gone off on other adventures, some will stay and some of us will go soon...but I love all of you.

What I am thankful for...

Recently on Facebook I started to notice that everyone was saying what they were thankful for. I was like...did everyone get together or is it a coincidence. Well I must have missed the status updates of one of my friends from high school when she said she was going to list one thing she was thankful for everyday until Thanksgiving. She also said that it would get harder as the days would go on. I don't think so...do you? Well, I am going to try it. From now until Thanksgiving I will post something I am thankful for in Facebook and I will also try to post it on the blog. This was today's entry:

"Melissa Vigues van Herksen is thankful for her growing family. God blessed us with a pregnancy. Do u know someone trying to have a child...tell them not 2 give up. It happened 2 us after 3 yrs of trying and the doctor telling us it would prob never happen. We just had to embrace parenthood and let go of the idea of getting pregnant. We adopted Luka and I think he was truly our lucky charm with this last attempt."

So yes, we are preggers. I am 14 weeks now and so far so good. The picture above is from 12 weeks or so. I have every symptom possible according to What to Expect When You are Expecting and as my doctor so eloquently put it when I told him I was having every symptom in the book...he said, "Well then stop reading the book." I have and I am starting to feel a little better. Now JJ reads it and updates me on any pertinent and vital information....ha ha ha.

I will try and keep you updated on the pregnancy and this incredible journey. Here are some picks of the earlier scans:

This was the scan we had right after we found out the IVF really worked. It was taken when the baby was 5 weeks...well sort of a baby...you can see the gestational sack. He/she is just a bubble at this point. On this day I still couldn't believe I was really pregnant.

This picture was taken at 8 weeks. Okay, on this day we heard the heartbeat and God was telling me, "Melissa, you are freaking pregnant....for real."

Some of Luka's Latest Creations...

Dad, this is for you. My father has been asking me to see Luka's latest creations at school. As you can see there is a big Halloween theme going for October. The ghost above was put on a little stand and he was able to display it when his friends came over for the Halloween Cookie Party. He was extremely proud!

Here is the Halloween Card he created at school for JJ and I. He especially wanted to show us the inside with the spider. He is obsessed with spiders at the moment!

He also colored this plane in school. Luka loves to pretend he is flying. I think it is from me telling him about our upcoming trip to the states in January. He actually puts his car seat in the middle of the living room and pretends he is buckling his seat belt on the "avion." In this drawing he said the black lines were clouds...

Luka & His Ice Cream

Luka recently discovered ice cream. I can't say that he loves it, but he loves to ask for it...take a couple of licks and then give it to mommy. So I guess it works out for everyone...Luka doesn't overload on sugar and I get an ice cream cone!

Thank you Paty for the great photo!

Happy Halloween

This year Luka dressed up as a Lion. He was really into character scaring everyone with a big roar. Thank goodness the weather behaved and he was able to wear this "warm" costume. You see, it isn't fall in Maputo. It is actually supposed to be pretty hot these days, but I guess we just got lucky.

This year's Halloween festivities started with a Halloween Cookie Party at our house on Friday, October 30th. Luka's closest friends came over and they all made delicious cookies in the shapes of ghosts, pumpkins, witches and moons. After that fun (it lasted about 20 minutes) they all played and showed off their costumes and ran around the house eating all the candy in sight (except Luka of course, he just had cheetos).

Here you can see Luka the Lion...

Luka helped mommy make each one of his friends a personalized Trick or Treat bag...

On Halloween we went to the American compound for a Trick or Treat extravaganza. This is Luka's 2nd Halloween with us, but it was the first time he actually sort of got into the Trick or Treating. He managed to say the words, but was a little scared by the mob of older kids running from house to house as if they were grabbing the last pieces of candy left on earth. We found a group of toddlers going door to door and Luka enjoyed that a little better.

Luka doesn't eat candy (not that i don't let him, he just doesn't like it), so going Trick or Treating with the Americans was mommy's master plan to score some real candy. You see you can't buy real candy in the store here...well, at least not the ones you are used to back home. My American friends can order Halloween candy in the mail...so I knew there would be some winners. I scored Skittles, Reese's, Starburst, Sweet Tarts, Tootsie Pops, Kit Kat....I think JJ and I will have to visit the dentist next week.

For more Halloween pictures click here. I didn't have my camera this year...thanks to my friends for sharing their photos.

Opening Night

Here is a photo of Kupfula - our photography group. We opened Mocambique Ao Vivo this night. We had a great turn out. For more photos from the night click here.

Photography Exhibition This Week

My photography group Kupfula will have its 4th exhibition this week! If you are in Maputo I hope you can make it....

Luka Visits Orphanage with Grandparents

This month Luka's grandparents came to visit from Holland. While they were in Maputo Luka took them to his orphanage and we made a special delivery. Read all about the delivery here.

The Whole Family Heads to Kruger

We just got back from a three day trip to Kruger National Park with JJ's dad and stepmom. They came to South Africa and Mozambique for a holiday. After spending a week in Cape Town with JJ they headed down our way and the whole family headed for a couple of days of safari adventure.

Truth be told....Luka wasn't allowed to go on the safari. Young kids aren't allowed to ride the open air vehicles. It is kind of dangerous for a two year old to yell, "LOOK MAMA A LION." And since Luka doesn't really know how to contain himself yet it was a good idea for him to stay at the house with Elizabeth.

It is a good thing he stayed home...we saw about 15 lions in one day...and some elephants, wild dogs, crocodiles, zebras, monkeys, a leopard...it was a great viewing day. But don't feel bad for Luka he got to see his own share of animals right outside the house we rented. The house was in an area adjacent to Kruger National Park called Marloth Park and he saw elephants, implala, warthogs, zebras and baboons.

So I think everyone had a great time. You can see all the photos from our trip here.

Here is a sneak peak at some of the snapshots....this lion was right next to our "open" vehicle. I was so freaking scared.

This was the house that we stayed in...