Winter Break Shenanigans: New Year in Cambodia 2018

Winter break in Cambodia has been a mixture of busy and relaxing.

The kids got money from Grammy this December. They’ve been talking about learning ukulele, so it was the perfect time to get one. (It’s also a small enough instrument to fit in the luggage.)

We put a rear-facing car seat in the tuktuk. Sometimes she likes it and sometimes she screams. It’s a good thing to get used to.

The kids have been out of school for almost two weeks now. They enjoyed getting things like French toast for breakfast since we’re usually too busy for that (and it has too much sugar! Here, Ezra is licking the powdered sugar spoon.)

It wasn’t all sugar, though, Ben made this awesome supper of chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and asparagus one evening! Delicious!

We were able to take the kids to Kid City for the first time! The older ones loved Clip ‘n Climb and Zoe enjoyed Toddler Town.

We visited the “park” and since there were no play places, the kids invented their own. We enjoyed being in the green!

December Happenings: Wrapping up 2016

2016 is drawing to a close and, though we are on "winter" break, it doesn't really feel like winter here, though it is cooler. The rainy season is mostly over, with only an occasional outburst and the weather is low 80s and high 90s each day.

We tried a traditional Khmer restaurant because of their excellent prices the other day. It reminded us a lot of Abu Dhabi's traditional way of eating: dense cushions on the floor with really low tables. Of course, I doubt these cushions were filled with camel hair, like in the Middle East. (I'm not sure how Cambodians in their third trimester comfortably sit that low!) The drink was jasmine flower tea and we had a chicken curry with rice and a beef soup with a dominant kafir lime flavor in the broth. The menu included things like frog, snake head fish and other things.

The kids have been playing with a neighborhood cat since it was a tiny kitten. I think Talia especially has it almost tamed. It belongs to a neighborhood store, so we don't care for it, but it's the perfect pet for expat children: you get to love it but not worry about it if you have to leave or pay for the medical/food and other expenses.

The kids were really excited to open presents from their teachers at school. We hardly ever buy candy, so finding chocolate was very exciting.

We've been chopping it up a little at a time and using it in recipes to make it last longer. Talia made chocolate chunk, oatmeal cookies with part of it.

I'm at almost 35 weeks with our little girl on the way. We are all getting really excited to meet her next month. Looking back at all of the changes that have come from moving from Mexico to Cambodia and the new cultures and challenges associated with that, we are content to close this year feeling it is stuffed as full as it could be. And, as 2016 comes to a close, we already have a lot to look forward to in the New Year!