mother’s day – 3rdculturechildren

Celebrating Mother’s Day in a very ‘Brazilian Cerrado’ style – hiking to the Itiquira Waterfalls!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUEoCJ3heRM/?taken-by=expatmomof3

It’s about a 2 hour drive from Brasilia, in order to get to the waterfall, but it is definitely worth the trek![as described by Giddyforpoints, on First2Board – thank you for sharing!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUKT9xWBUBx/?taken-by=expatmomof3

Local name: Salto do Itiquira
Location: Formosa, Brazil

The Itiquira Falls is a waterfall in Brazil. They are located 34 kilometers north of Formosa in the state of Goiás and 115 kilometers from Brasília on a paved road. The falls have a height of 168 meters, making them possibly the highest accessible waterfall in Brazil and the second highest overall. The falls are formed by the drop of the Itiquira River from the higher central plateau north of Formosa into the deep Paraná River valley. The waters are unpolluted and a bottling plant is located on the river above the falls. The area is a municipal park and is protected from development. There are tourist facilities outside the park, near the entrance. (source: Wikipedia)

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BUIr0Ufh_r4/?taken-by=expatmomof3

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Snapshots of Mother’s Day in Brazil

♫ “I wanna know what love is…” ♥

Taking advantage of this being “Mother’s Day” weekend, and inspired by a recent Daily Prompt suggestion, I’ll try to answer this tough question, and yet, illustrate the ‘response’ with a few musical memories… See if you can catch them!

We each have many types of love relationships — parents, children, spouses, friends. And they’re not always with people; you may love an animal, or a place. Is there a single idea or definition that runs through all the varieties of “love”?

Obviously, I’m not the first one who thought about This Song when we saw the title for the prompt… and being a Foreigner myself, it couldn’t be any more fitting! 😮 Who doesn’t love a good play with words

Taking advantage of this being “Mother’s Day” weekend, and inspired by a recent Daily Prompt suggestion, I’ll try to answer this tough question, and yet, illustrate the ‘response’ with a few musical memories… See if you can catch them!

We each have many types of love relationships — parents, children, spouses, friends. And they’re not always with people; you may love an animal, or a place. Is there a single idea or definition that runs through all the varieties of “love”?

Obviously, I’m not the first one who thought about this song ♫ when we saw the title for the prompt… and being a Foreigner myself, it couldn’t be any more fitting! 😮 Who doesn’t love a good play with words?

But, in fact, What’s Love? ♫ – thought I “had a way“ on this, but still missing several connecting dots in order to finely tune down my ideas on love!

Here is my opportunity to try: I did not marry my First Love ♫, and because, like many, was always seeking for the perfect combination of Love, Trust and Honesty ♫, I was able to discover What Is This Thing Called Love ♫…

Love Changes everything ♫. We’ve become more than a couple, we’re a family, and with each child, we now wholeheartedly understand the meaning of Timeless Love ♫… There are different kinds of love, and we love each person in our lives, in a different way, no more, and no less… Simply different. Fortunately, there’s no single Meaning of Love ♫. But there’s definitely, Not Enough Love In The World ♫ to all the ones that need it!

That said, if I may leave a bit of advice, as somebody who’s constantly experience love, from my family, friends; from the one I chose to be my partner for life, the one who’ve given the most precious expressions of love – our children – here it is: “Put A Little Love In Your Heart“ ♫, and all will be well… ♥

Happy Mother’s Day, to all the moms out there! And much, much love to us all! 😮

For the "non-Portuguese speaking world", inside the heart you may find the word 'Mãe', which means, "Mom"... too perfect, right? :o — For the “non-Portuguese speaking world”, inside the heart you may find the word ‘Mãe’, which means, “Mom”… too perfect, right? 😮

Snapshots of Mother’s Week.

What is Motherhood? I’m still trying to figure the answer out… some days I just feel like we’re “getting by”, instead of living… other days, are simply wonderfully perfect…. and, most of the days, are plain regular, filled with lots of “mom!!! come here, please!!!” or “mom!!! she took something from my bedroom!!!” or even, a gibberish cry that could mean anything from hunger, pain, to simply: “mom, hold me in your arms…”

Anyway, here are a few shots from this past “Mother’s Day (weeklong celebration)”

Motherhood-First Do No Harm (lifeandcrimesofmistressrosie.com)
What Is a Good Mother’s Day Gift? (redenvelope.com)
Conception of Motherhood (mypajamadays.com)
‘Checkmate, Mom! A visit to the chess class. (3rdculturechildren.com)

‘Checkmate, Mom!’ A visit to the chess class.

Learning Math and having fun while doing it? Humm…

The heart on the wall saying: “MOM”…

School all decorated for the ‘mom-players’
Another activity for children, organized by our kids’ school. And why this? A different way to honor and motherhood, celebrating Mother’s Day, showing the children’s appreciation for all the heartfelt work and effort every mom offers freely…

Learning Math and having fun while doing it? Humm…

School all decorated for the ‘mom-players’

Another activity for children, organized by our kids’ school. And why this? A different way to honor and motherhood, celebrating Mother’s Day, showing the children’s appreciation for all the heartfelt work and effort every mom offers freely… This time, all the moms were involved, as well! First graders had the opportunity to enjoy quality time with their moms (it was Mother´s Day Week at the School!), show their knowledge of the ´strategy game´, creating links with real mathematical situations… all that while playing with their classmates! Could it be any better? 😮

Robot Chess Boards Let You Physically Checkmate An Online Opponent (gizmodo.com.au)
Chess & Poetry (johnlmalone.wordpress.com)

Mother’s Day Sunday is for…… Soccer?!

So, Mother’s Day is for family. It’s a family day, for decades making Hallmark’s top sales, because, people need to say how much they love and cherish their moms – in writing, if all possible! Give it up to the greeting cards’ industries – they’ve got it down. And they’re right: Mother’s Day is for fathers, and sons, and daughters, and… for soccer! Again, this year, Mother’s Day Sunday will be celebrated with… soccer??!

That’s right. Our city, Recife, is completely immersed into the whole “soccer team passion”, and the two most important clubs are playing today, for the championship…

Last year, Mother’s Day was the first-legged game. This year, it’s the final match, so, here are my “motherly impressions” of this not-so-common way to express their love for their ~~Mothers~~ Soccer Teams!

😮 😮 😮 😮 😮 😮 😮 😮

Impressions from last year’s Mother’s Day Weekend: the two teams facing each other… We stayed at home… safely watching the matches!

After a full week of ‘motherly celebrations‘, the weekend arrived. A dry weekend – the rains, which recently have scared and confused the population, seemed to have ceased. Good news. The city needed to get back into its routine. And with the arrival of weekend, came the excitement of enjoying quality time with the kids, watching them perform the little songs learnt in school, find the opportunity to have that long-lost face time with husband to chat and catch up… That’s right, here in Recife, Brazil, Mother’s Day Sunday just happened to be the first game of the “two-legged” championship final. Here is an idea on how exciting things may get when we’re talking about soccer in the Northeast of Brazil. The two competing teams arrest Sport Club Recife, the favorite, and the bearer of five previous championship victories. Its opponent: the Santa Cruz (“Holy Cross”) Soccer Club, the underdog, who today tried to pull out a miracle: win at the opponent’s ground.

Santa Cruz Futebol Clube, or simply Santa Cruz is a Brazilian football club in Recife, Pernambuco. On February 3, 1914, eleven young men aging from 14 to 16 years founded a football society. Because the boys used to play football on the streets by the yard of the Santa Cruz Church, the club was named after that church, which is situated on Santa Cruz Street in Recife. The first official meeting of the members was at 2 Mangueira St. In this meeting they decided the position of each member, the name of the club “Santa Cruz Football Club”, and society’s colors. Sport Club do Recife was founded on May 13th 1905, when Guilherme de Aquino Fonseca, from Pernambuco, returned after a season estudying in England. He got deeply interested in the British football, so, with some associates in Recife, he had the idea to create the club that would eventually become the greatest club in Brazilian’s North and Northeast Region. Sport Club Recife’s clubhouse is located in Praça da Bandeira, in the Ilha do Retiro, district in Recife. The club’s big structure has a number of areas, such as tennis courts, volleyball and hockey quarters. There is also a big aquatic complex, a training center and the house of all “rubro-negros” (red-and-blacks): the Adelmar da Costa Carvalho Stadium, commonly known as Ilha do Retiro.

Today’s match, the first one of the 2-legged final, happened at Sport Club’s home. It was a home game for Sport – who lost! This small victory tonight made the Santa Cruz’s gain new hope: hope that everything is possible, and miracles may happen – at least in Brazil. At least in Soccer.

And, if my Mother’s Day celebration had to include a couple of guest friends home for the game, so be it. If the price (if any!) for having a peaceful in-doors Mother’s Day Sunday was to rejoice my two boys during the match, I’ll take it. At the end, Mother’s Day is about family, and being together with the ones you love. Even if surrounded by loud screamers and over-excited kids.

Next week is the “final-final”. The second final game. And it’ll be on Santa Cruz’s grounds. I hope I have the same pleasant Sunday I had today: surrounded by my “amateur soccer fans”. Won’t care for the full house. Won’t care for the screaming at every wrong or crazy pass… Won’t really care for who wins or looses – just wanna hold on to this “Mother’s Day” feeling for another Sunday. Happy week to us all and good luck to both Santa Cruz and Sport Club!

Mother Day’s (daphnegan.wordpress.com)
Sport Recife defender Tobi gets booked, does the Moonwalk in protest (101greatgoals.com)

On your fingertips: stylish mom in a snap… and on a very low budget!

How to be a full-time mom of little kids, capable of helping them with homework despite the baby’s high pitch crying, not forgetting to devote some attention to the hubby, and yet trying to look good and stylish according to the Brazilian trends? ? I know, pretty hard, right? We all try to be the “perfect woman-wife-mom”, fully committed with school activities, extra-curricular schedules, reserving some quality time for the growing family, keeping up with friends, being a committed professional…

Sometimes, it’s just too much… And then, you remember: you’re still a girl, and you’d like to (once in a while!) to look good, trendy, fashionable, stylish… not for your friends, your partner, your colleagues at work – but for your OWN SELF.

The question: how? You don’t have a whole lot of time for any pampering, and you’re not willing to spend a lot of money. Hummm… The answer: just give your hands/nails a make-up… a few minutes later and, voilá! The beauty of living in Brazil is that one is over-exposed to whatever is trendy/hot…. Why not try something new? And, I gotta say, I went for the nails thing… why not a different color a week? Why not try something metallic (see the pictures below, thanks to Lu Tranchesi, and I’m in love with it! Easy, quick, simple, and very, very affordable! Why not go for something different, just for the fun of it? And be a “very trendy & cool busy mom”, even if it’s only for a week! 😮

How to do it? Simply get your favorite nail polish (or the one you’ve got handy!), borrow some glitter from your kids, and sprinkle a gentle layer of glitter powder over the freshly coated nail… Just like that! Was it easy? Absolutely! Wanna try it? Let me know how it goes! 😮