Hot Date - Check

Despite the chaos that is this Portuguese school schedule, Mark and I have managed to have lunch together (child-free) almost every weekday: at home, on the beach, at a restaurant along the boardwalk.
Time together - checkmark for the bucket list!

Last week, we spontaneously decided to hop in the car and drive 30 minutes to Portinho d'Arrabida. Here, nestled in a natural park, lies a tiny fishing village accessible only by car/on foot, with a stunning backdrop of cliffs and mountains.  The water is so clear, you can see the fish swimming from the shore!  We enjoyed a fancy lunch out of steaming clams and a cantaril fish.

We ate in marvellous silence.  Sigh. When we first starting dating (with time, energy and disposable income for weekly frivolities like romantic meals out), I remember seeing couples, seemingly older than us, who barely spoke the whole meal. I figured they had run out of things to talk about and I was sad for them. But alas, I am humbled!  I did not consider that maybe a meal out in peace, without the constant demands of children, could be such a sinful little treat to enjoy together!

Mark: when&where is our next hot date-lunch?!

Good-bye Bagged Lunches!

Just imagine not having to pack school lunches.
We're living it!

The kids' school

For ~$2 a day (this amount was determined by our income and is paid to the city by e-transfer), our kids get to eat lunch at school in a cafeteria. We pay the highest amount (1.46 euros a day); the next income bracket down pays .73 euros a day, and below that bracket, meals are free.  The menu is very typical Portuguese, prepared on site, daily.  The menu is posted weekly for parents to see, reviewed and signed off by a licensed Dietitian, and each meal includes:

• a vegetable based soup
• main course (fish or meat with potatoes/rice/pasta/beans, there is a vegetarian option too)
• salad/vegetable
• fresh whole grain bread
• 2 fruit options

The first week's menu

Not only are my kids getting a healthy, balanced meal for a great price, they are also trying new foods that I don't make at home.  And yes, we don't have to make lunches (#parentsdoahappydance). We do have to send a snack.  We can send nuts!  I guess they do not have the same rate of nut allergies as back home.

Gabi's first reaction to lunch "I felt like a princess in a castle!  We sat at long tables, set with nice dishes, with our friends, and they served us, like in a restaurant. They asked if we wanted more, and even cleared our dishes. I ate everything, because I thought there was dessert, but there wasn't."

As Jonty only starts school in the afternoon, his first activity is lunch. Thankfully, he really likes the food and that is a motivator to get him out of the house!

We could get used to this!

Full disclosure--I am an advocate for government funded meals at school. Through my work as a Dietitian in Public Health, I see the opportunity for universal school meals to:

• provide healthy food rich in vegetables and fruit (which Canadian children are sorely lacking), 
• promote equity (all kids deserve to eat healthy food every day), 
• have kids try new, healthy foods (thanks to positive peer pressure), and 
• ensure kids get enough food to keep them focused at school (this helps everyone). 

An environmental bonus: when less foods high in fat, salt and sugar are consumed, the amount of food packaging waste goes down too.

(Psst Canadians--Universal School Meals are on some party platforms this election).

School is in Session!

All 3 kids started school this week--Gabi and Jonty are at the elementary school, and Catarina is at pre-school in a building beside them. 

GETTING READY: 
On the Friday prior there was a mandatory 1.5 hour meeting, where all students and the parent "responsible for their academics" met the teacher.  Expectations for the year were outlined, schedules handed out and questions answered.  Then the kids went off for a little school spirit activity - Rah rah rah!

We expected some differences in the school system here in our little village--that was part of the appeal! But we didn't see this one coming:

• grades 1&2 go to school from 8:15am-1:15pm, with lunch until 1:45pm; afternoon extra-curricular activities (Music, English, Gym) 3 times week
• grades 3&4 go from 1:15pm until 6:45pm, with lunch at noon, and morning extra-curriculars twice a week (Music, Gym)

WOW.  The two kids schedules do not line up at all!  How can two working parents make it work?! 

This means a number of daily trips to school for me, albeit 400m away.  Hmm, I'm working through this big change in our trip's expectations...

Parents provide the school supplies, even the photocopy paper. So an hour and $150CDN later, with multiple questions to the staff and FaceTime calls with my cousin to figure out the lists, we were set.  Workbooks to be picked up at the board office the following week by the parents.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Over the weekend, there was much anxiety in our house: "I don't understand Portuguese! How will I know what to do?  I don't want to go!". My kids have never been hesitant about new opportunities. As this adventure is optional, I am more sensitive to their struggles than usual. To see them anxious has cast significant doubt for me: what the @#$* were we thinking moving here?! 

My kids amazed me Monday morning: after looking at the ocean and watching the sea gulls, Gabi and Catarina were ready for their big day.  Both even had a hop in their step as we headed off.  Gabi was so brave: at the moment where she had to go in alone, she gave me a hug, a dazzling smile with a twinkle in her baby blues, and said "See you after lunch"!  My heart flooded with pride for my determined, confident girl: she knew she was going to be ok.  One of those moments that gets burned into your memory forever.

Catarina marched into her school, hung up her backpack on her hook and marched into the classroom.  Could it really be this easy?! Haha, optimistic...it has not been like that since...

Jonty got to spend the morning with Mark and I--we hiked up a mountain, saw pools of fish in the cove below, and ate some tasty fruit.  I then got a call from the school board saying his lack of Portuguese warranted his going down a grade. We agreed to switch to grade 3. At the end of the week, he got bumped back up to Grade 4 (#Jontyisasmartcookie), and the teacher noted that his comprehension of Portuguese had grown exponentially in just 5 days. Let's hope this move is for the best!

How many sleeps until Christmas holidays?!  

Fishy Fast Food

We took the train in to do some sightseeing in Lisbon.

On our way to the Marine Aquarium we stopped in a shopping centre food court to grab some lunch.  When asked what they wanted to eat, Jonty was the only one with an opinion: FISH! Jonty amazes me every day with his love for good food! So we walked by many familiar kiosks (KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, McDonalds -- all with fountain pop machines in front) until we found a menu board that met our demand. Our line was long, always a good sign!

For $10 Canadian per order, we got a Sea Bream fish, Sea Bass fish and "Bife a Cavalo" - steak with a fried egg on top. Each came with potatoes and salad, a choice of drink (100% juice, water, wine, beer or sangria), and a shot of espresso to finish. 

And yes, Jonty skipped the espresso ;)

Bom proveito! 

Moving Day!

Our first week in Portugal, we stayed at my aunt's house in Carcavelos, just south of Lisbon. We were spoiled with delicious food, great company and lots of yard for the kids to run around in.

With school starting, it was time to head to Sesimbra to our 3 bedroom apartment on the second floor. Going from our 4 bedroom house with a huge fenced yard in Canada to home with shared hallways, walls, a door that locks automatically when closed, and courtyard will take getting used to:

• The beach is now our yard equivalent (head out the front door and you're there). However, the kids can't go solo, and well, even our baby is used to more independence than that!  
• Our kids are loud, so being aware of neighbours is a skill we will be working on...
• Tile floors help keep us cool, but the amount of sand we track in is impressive.  It's like a beach inside too.

The apartment is spacious, and the view is: spectacular.  As I write this, I am watching the sun peek over the cliff, hearing the waves crashing and feeling a gentle breeze come in off the Atlantic.  This will be Mark's work space starting today!

Rise and shine!

Cake by the Ocean

My kids have never experienced the ocean before now.

Day 1: at the end of a long travel day...
Jonty - after running in excitedly, being promptly pulled down by the waves, beached up on the sand, and sits down grumpily beside me: "Yuck.  I hate salt water.  It's disgusting!"
Gabi - snaps on her goggles, runs in, swims past the wake underwater, plays happily for a while.  Comes out, dries off, then suddenly starts yelling: "My legs, they are so itchy, MOM, it won't stop, they're itchy!" (a side effect of salt water drying onto your skin; it takes some getting used to)
Catarina - refuses to put on her bathing suit.  Spends an hour filling a bucket with sand and sending my aunt to the water to fill her watering can.
Mark - walks home like a cowboy after a long ride, because...you guessed it, salt water dries THAT skin too!
Everyone wants to go back to my aunt's house.

Day 2:  we buy a little boogie board...
Jonty - rides a couple of waves, and his smile is huge.
Gabi - rides wave after wave after wave, and her smile is huge.
Catarina - suits up happily, and decides to fill the ocean with sand, scoop by scoop, running to the water's edge, throwing in a scoop, and racing back giggling before the waves catch her.
No one wants to go back to my aunt's house.

Day 3:
Jonty & Gabi - repeat of day 2. They discover that lovely ladies troll the beach selling fresh doughnuts called "Bolas de Berlim". A sweet piece of heaven.
Gabi - while changing into dry clothes "I like Portuguese beaches, you can be naked here and no one minds" (topless is common for girls and women).
Catarina - decides she wants to swim with daddy.  Goes in, her hand slips, she gets pulled under by a wave, comes back up and says calmly: "I didn't like that". Wants to stay in.
Mark - on the mend.
We all watch the sunset.

Point - OCEAN.

The Loons Have Landed

Nailed it. Our kids rocked the 7 hour night flight that departed at midnight, and landed in a time zone 5 hours ahead.  They revelled in unlimited screen time in the TO airport, and once we took off, passed out for entire flight. Yeah.

We were met with a balmy 32C. Customs was a breeze, thanks to a law in Portugal wherein all pregnant women, people living with a physical disability, and families with children under 3 are given priority in all lines (grocery stores, post office,  etc.). Thank-you Catarina. My family was waiting: I was flooded with memories of past trips being met by the same loving smiles :)  Within a few hours we were on the beach soaking up the waves and a sunset.  Sigh.



Then night hit. Oi. We passed out at 8:30pm. At midnight our youngest woke up and screamed "I want to get up!" for an hour.  Then Gabi woke up, 20 minutes later, Jonty...we lay in the dark surrounded by my silent prayers! I think we all fell asleep again around 3am. Whew. Up at 11am.  Then one puked, 10 minutes later, another...Maybe it was just the big change in time/meals/sleep/heat? Because we skipped along to the beach again that evening.

Best line of the trip so far goes to Jonty: I often discipline my kids in Portuguese--a trick I learned from my mom so that others don't know the infraction or the threat. Jonty was on the receiving end; he smiled mischievously and said: "mom, Portuguese isn't our secret language anymore!".  Noted.