Julian's First Week of School

This is coming a litle late, as we have been running around ragged these past couple of weeks. Julian started school on September 2nd at the Language Academy Elementary in the Spanish dual-immersion program. We found out that Julian was accepted the week prior to school starting. Thank goodness that we were able to do all of the pre-kindergarten orientations etc with Julian before we all started on this venture. There was a lot of info to take in! And it was all done in englich then in spanish so it took a little longer than we anticipated.

I will explain how the Lanuage Academy's curricullum works. He is in the Spanish program which is Dual-style immersion: half of the kids are english only speakers and the other half are spanish only speakers. He will be getting 90% of his instruction in spanish for kindegarten. The other 10% of the time will be taught in english, and it will be readingin and linguistics or what we used to call "language" lessons. In 1st grade it will be 80%/20% Spanish/English instruction, 2nd grade will be 70%/30%, and so on until 50%/50% is reached in 4th grade. He should be fluent by middle school (which will be taught 50/50 at the Language Academy...it is a K-8). Obviously, this will take strength from ELi and I. I put extreme value on literacy and work with Julian at home on his reading (he reads to himself and Gabi all the time now). Reading scores tend to be low on an average in immersion schools up to 2nd grade, then they go back up to average and above. I am in a mind to think that my son will be above average in that he already knows how to read and we stress the importance of that sort of growth in the home. I am so excited for Julian. He will go to San Diego High School which has a fabulous program, loads of opportunity and prides itself on scholastic excellence as I would like. ANyhow, it seems as though I am planning our children's education a little far in advance doesn't it? Gabriella will automatically be admitted to Language Academy because Julian was accepted, which is a good thing. It took a lot of advance planning, hoop jumping, praying, and phone calling to get Julian in this school!

This is Julian after he found his desk the week before school started when we went to the kindergarten orientation:

Posing before getting in line...My boy's first day at school!!!



He was all business when we got to school. He sat and waited with his class under the sign for his teacher's name (Senora Ortiz).

Julian on his way to class...the woman with the orange dress at the front of the line is Senora Ortiz. Julian is just to the left of her (at the front of the line like a good boy :) ). The principal is the woman to the right in the black. She is very nice and wanted all of the kindergarteners to feel welcome:

He takes the bus...yep! Julian LOVES the school bus! We did take him as a family on his first day, but he took the bus home that afternoon and every day since. I asked the woman in charge of transportation (along with just about ANYTHING else we had needed as new enrollees) if it was absurd to even think about putting him on the bus and she told me that t was not uncommon at all for kinder students to ride the bus to school...HA! Well, that took the whole argument about mileage on our cars and how out of the way it is for us out of the equation when we were weighing pros and cons of sending Juji there.

Julian's best buddy, Luca, is on his bus for the first couple of weeks until a stop is made for him at our local elementary school (just around the corner from us yipee!). Luca is in the French immersion program at L.A. but they look for each other every day at recess and lunch time! Luca's siblings are very familiar with the campus and take care of Julian like he is a little brother too. Here is a pic of them on the second day morning...they always sit in the front seat :)

Here is Juji's bus coming in to the bus stop after his first day at school!!!! I am such a stalker...

Julian getting off of Bus B after a long first day of school:

I did it all by myself, mama!!!


Senora Ortiz gives colored cards to send home with the kids to let the parents know how they did for the day. From best to worst the colors go as such: blue, green, yellow, white, red. Most days Julian brings home BLUE! His first day bringing one home, he said everyone got green cards...he was very happy! We now use this as an incentive for good behavior...although, I am proud that my little boy seems to have a great attitude in class with zero incentive (patting self on back lol). He will earn a squirt bottle on Friday if he brings home greens and blues only this week. The teacher called me the end of the first week because I had questions for her. SHe told me that she had wanted to contact me sooner to tell me that Julian was so charming and well behaved. She said he was so polite and she uses him as a positive role model for the class! I have to say it was so incredible to have that said about my boy...especially being that I wansnt there to remind him of his manners. My eyes filled with joyful tears...moreso than when he marched off to class the first day. I am very pleased with this adventure altogether, I think.

We got home and he did a little victory pose:


My proud little hambone:






ANyhow, this has been a long tale...and whoa, it is only the beginning isn't it? SO much has gone into getting him into the kindegarten that we wanted for Julian. And now we leave him in the hands of the teachers at the Language Academy. I leave him to forge relationships with kids his age. I trust him to use his manners, make sound judgement when necessary, study hard, and...

EAT ALL OF YOUR LUNCH, SILLY GOOSE!!!

RECIPE: Pozole Rojo

Okay, so this blog is dedicated to Kim (Love) Pease!! She suggested I do a weekly recipe in my blog, and well, I am kind of savvy in the kitchen and enjoyed the compliment so here it goes...

This weekend I made a pozole for the family. Mom was here this long weekend so I opted out of the green version (since it promised to be hella h-o-t) and went for the red pozole instead.

The original white pozole was said to have been created in Chilapa, Guerero, in the 18th century one day when an important prelate came to visit. Legend has it that cooks had prepared huge quantities of nixtamal (corn kernels that had been soaked and softened) many days in advance...but ended up not having enough people to grind the corn into maize for tortillas. Desperate to make food for the guests, the maize was thrown into pots, with chicken and herbs and PRESTO! Pozole was born.

In Jalisco and Michoacan, where ELi's family is from, pozole ROJO was born. This stew is enrichened with red chiles. GREEN pozole is traditionally made by adding tomatillos and pepitas (roasted and ground pumpkin seeds), and other greens. ALWAYS serve pozole wth lime wedges please :)



POZOLE ROJO:

**1- 3lb. chicken, cut up into 8-10 pieces (don't cheat, it tastes better when you have cut it yourself)
**1/2 onion
**3-4 cloves of garlic (remember larger cloves are less intense...use to your taste. I use 4!)
**4 tsp. salt, divided
**1 sprig of cilantro
**2lbs boneless lean pork (I see whats on sale, but use a thick cut)
**1lb pork butt
**1 huge can of hominy, I think they are 3+lbs per can (or 4ish 25 ounce cans.)
**dried oregano
**chopped onion
**ground chile pequin (I use chili flakes in a pinch)
**a few halved limes
(FOR THE "ROJO"):
**10-12 chiles guajillos (these are dried & arent very hot but they have lots of flavor), seeds removed.
**1/2c water
**1/4 onion
**4 cloves garlic
**7TBSP oil

** Place chicken pieces in a large pot or dutch oven and rinse once. Add 1tsp of the salt, the half onion, and the whole cloves of garlic and the one sprig of cilantro to the pot. Cover with 10 cups (80oz) fresh water, bring to a boil and simmer, covered, over medium heat for 20 minutes. Skim and scum that reaches the surface...if you fail to do this, it turns to a grease film on the top and that is yuck. Once chicken is tender, transfer the chicken to a plate and cool enough to shred from the bones. Reserve the stock.

**Place the pork, pork butt, and remaining salt in a large pot and cover with 14 cups of water (112oz). When the water comes to the boil, skim scum from the surface and cook over medium heat for about an hour. Add about 3/4 of the huge can of hominy and a few pinches of oregano and cook for another 20 minutes or so...the flavors will deepen. Remove the meat and shred...believe me it wont take much work! It will be VERY tender.

**For the "rojo" sauce, soak the chiles in hot water to cover for 20 minutes to soften them. Drain. In a blender, puree the chiles with the fresh water, garlic and onion. Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat, add the chile puree and saute for 5 minutes to develop the flavor. Lower the heat and cook for an additional 10 minutes. It will be pastey but not too stiff.

**Place the shredded pork back into its pot with the stock and hominy. Add the shredded chicken and the chicken stock to the pot as well. Add your rojo sauce to the pot and adjust the seasonings. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.

**Serve with lime halves or quarters, dried oregano, chopped onion, dried chili flakes/powder as an accompaniment. Also, some like shredded cabbage, radish, and/or shredded iceberg lettuce passed around to add as needed.

Eli likes me to make pozoles and menudos the night before because they taste better the next day. This will make a massive quantity (serves 12), but will not be stored for long as it is quite easy to eat (my mom ate a couple of bowls so it isnt too spicy...she is a lightweight) and served with corn or flour tortillas makes a one pot meal.

Read the recipe through and decide when you do what. I personally did the chicken and let it cool and shred it while the pork was going. I gave the kiddos each a small piece of chicken since a 5-ponder was all I could get my hands on. Then I added everything as it slowly came together. ALSO, you can omit the rojo sauce and it will be considered "blanco" or white. It is tasty too, and is comforting and nourishing when you are sick when you want more of a bland diet. Keep in mind, DON'T be intimidated by those chilies...they are there more for flavor than for heat.

Okay, so make a pot already!! ~Jeni

*******NOTE: I am adding directions for a spicy Pozole Verde!!!*******

If you want a hot version do the Verde Pozole...instead of adding the Rojo sauce add this:
2 cups hulled, raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
3-5 chile serranos (don't be afraid to nip one with your teeth before you buy them so you know if you need more)
1 lb. tomatillos, husks removed and washed
2 leaves of lettuce
3 small radish leaves
1/4 onion
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 TBSP oil
1 tsp. salt

Toast pumpkin seeds in a dry hot pan. Keep your eyes on them so they don't burn. When they start to pop they are done. Transfer to a blender and wiz them up until they are a paste that is smooth. Scoop into a bowl and set aside. Rinse out your blender.

Bring large pot of water to the boil and add the chiles and cook for 5 minutes. Add those tomtillos and cook for a further 5 minutes...drain and set aside. Puree your chiles, tomatillos, lettuce, radish leaves, onion and chicken stock.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add pumpkin seend paste and saute for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the pureed tomatillo blend and boil for 2 minutes. Add the salt, lower the heat and cook for 7 minutes, stirring constantly. Adjust seasonings to your liking.

Add this sauce to the pozole INSTEAD of the Rojo sauce for something different. It will be hotter and you can add as many serranos as you like to adjust the heat. We use mexican crema or sour cream in this version as an accompaniment.

Julian's Dentist Appointment

Julian had his 1st dentist appointment. I know, I know...why did we wait so long!!?? My personal dentist told me that now is the perfect time. I had friends who were taking their kids to the dentist super young and I thought whats good for them is good for them, but it isnt necessary.

We will just say that Gabi has a dentist appointment and will be seeing the dentist in a preventative measure from this day forward!!

We went to Clairemont Pediatric Dentist and as soon as you walk in it is a kids wonderland. They had a mini waiting room for kids with video games on Flat screen LCDs hung on the walls. They had Alvin and the Chipmunks playing in all of the waiting areas. They had flat screens hung on all of the walls playing the movie to keep the kids happy. Even when he got x-rays done.


Julian was a STAR during the entire appointment. He did everything asked of him without grumping. Of course, he had his eye on Alvin the whole time...

Gabi was a treat for about the first 30 minutes...then she got a little irritated and annoyed about not being the one in the chair getting all of the fun stuff done to her. One of the assistants took her to get a balloon and that made her happy for a while. She got a little goody bag to play with that had a toothbrush and a few toys. She was content to brush her teeth for several minutes...what a bright smile!!

Of course Julian disliked the taste of all the "yummy" flavors they used to polish his teeth with and the flouride that was supposed to be grape flavored made him winge a little...probably reminiscent of the medicine he takes when he is sick hahahaha. But he did it without complaining like a big boy and that made me proud. Actually, I told the hygenist that she should come to my house and be the one to give Julian medicine because it is a production indeed when we have to give it t0 him.

We went home with a whole new outlook on dental hygene. We have always brushed Gabis teeth once a day and Julian has to brush twice a day...before bed and in the morning. FLossing has been intermittent for Julian and nn-exhistant for Gabi. I floss both sets of teeth in the evenings now and then Julian flosses himself. Just one more thing to do in our evening routine, right?

LOOK at those pearly whites!

Gabi enjoys eating lizards for a white smile!!!

The Kid's First Reggae Concert

I was asked a couple of weeks back if we would be interested in meeting at Standley Park for a free reggae concert. I have never really been a fan of reggae music, but figured she had a point when she mentioned that the kids would love to hear it and dance a little. It took little to talk Eli into free evening entertainment.

I prepared a picnic for us to take: fried chicken (yes I said "fried") that I had soaked in buttermilk and then seasoned before frying, a couple of rounds of french bread that Eli picked up, and a handful of plums. Of course I had to pack jalapenos for Eli to crunch on with his chicken! Jugs of water and a couple of little cookies for the kids and we were set.

We got there and Jill, Jeff, and the kids were already there. They had GREAT seats on the grass right in front! There was a stage and then plenty of grass in from of the stage for dancing...then we were right there so we could watch the stage and the kids and other people dancing :) We laid out our picnic and got comfortable. I made plates of food for Gabi and Eli. It seemed so rustic! I loved it! Gabriel and Julian were off pre-partying in the grass, jumping around and catching up.

Joyce, Steve and the family showed up right before the music started, if I remember correctly, and laid out their picnic. SHe had a fabulous arabic lentil salad she was nice enough to share that was quite delicious. It was neat seeing Zoe get happy when she saw Julian and Gabriel...and Julian and Gabriel get all happy when they saw her. They all ran to each other and said hi and gave hugs (how dignified, eh?) and then ran off to play in front of the stage.

Once the music started all of the kids went nuts! It was neat because a lot of the songs were covers of songs we already knew so Julian would get excited if he recognized a version of a song he had heard before. The concert was from 5:00-7:00 and I am sure you will believe me when I say that the kids danced the entire time. I think there were a few nibbles here and there, but for the most part, it was dancing and tag-playing. There were loads of families there and some brought coolers with food and drinks and put up umbrellas and everything! There were groups of people who tastefully drank wine in plastic wine glasses. There were older couples who were cutting a rug (er, eh "cutting the grass" rather). There were LOADS of kids on the playground. Lots of friendly people smiling everywhere. It was just a really nice family sort of environment with something for everyone.

The kids LOVED intermission time when they gave out free ice cream cups! YOu know, the kind with the little wood spoon? DANG!! Take me WAYYYY back to elementary school!! ANyhow, Julian and Gabi got about half through theirs when we interceded and confiscated them so they would eat their dinner! THAT little touch by the community made ELi wonder why we hadnt go to more of the concerts in the parks this summer. But we had no idea they did them all over San Diego on the weekends during summer! Lesson learned!

Start to finish...a fabulous Sunday. I love this city. I love Eli and Julian and Gabriella even more! :)

Julian doing his signature pose when he is dancing:

The kids having fun during the concert:

Julian and Zoe dancing the evening away:

Breakin' it down:

My kid has some serious moves:

Catching Up with the Barajas'

Where to begin...

Julian has as much preschool as we could possibly squeeze in for him this year. He really enjoyed the class he was in, and Gabi enjoyed going with him. The preschool class doubles as early childhood development and parenting classes for the mommies...half of the moms help run the activities in class and watch the playground while the other half of the women have discussion on childhood development issues (i.e. age apropriate toys, discipline, pre-k prep, etc). Then after mid-class circle time and snack, the moms switch roles so we all have gone through discussion for the day. I did this with the kids for 2 years. Julian was very shy before he started this class (he was 3 when we started together) and now he is Mr. Extrovert! And Gabi, well, she was practically born in this class and has been going since she could breathe so she has been quite the social butterfly since she could scoot. I saw neither of them during class times, as they had forged such great relationships with the other kids and adults that if they needed anything they would just go to the nearest person! What am I, chopped livah??

Julian graduated. I figured "whats the big deal, its only preschool"...then they started playing that gosh darn graduation march song and I was all tears. GREAT. WAAAAAAA!!!!!! Julian wanted to do a dance in the talent show, so we chose a song ("Cantaloop [Flip Fantasia]" ~US3) and he practiced a little. He is quite the street dancer...a little breaker...little pop locker...little funk. It was great. ANd the icing on the cake was that I put little hambone Gabi up on stage to see if she would dance too and the two of them were show stoppers! I figured they both would tire out of dancing but they would have stayed up there all night. Julian was doing acrobatic flips and poses that blew me away! People came up to me after and were asking me where he took classes lol. "The Dance House of Barajas"...heh heh...

Here is Julian and Gabi getting ready to tear up the stage:

Julian had me make a quilt tote bag for Teacher Marina. He chose the colors! SHe LOVED it!

We went ahead and did the summer course which lasted 6 weeks. I juiced that class for all I could get out of it. There were a lot of field trips at the end.

Julian starts kindergarten September 2nd. That is my deadline to have a job going for myself, as well. September will be a doozy of a change for all of us. Julian will be in school all day, Gabi will be in preschool at least part of the day, I will be working part-fulltime, and we will all probably be dog tired at the end of the day.

ELI should be elated right about then. There is usually a lot of energy going through this house! The first early night is likely to be pure bliss for him. He will quickly wake out of that when I remind him that he is now responsible for half (YEP HALF!) of the chores, and they have to be done in a timely manner...no piling up until Friday!

ANyhow, there is a start. I will write more tomorrow, perhaps...