Halloween and Día de Todos los Santos

We love Halloween! It's a very fun celebration, don't you think? Even if you aren't the biggest fan of horror (Mama Monkey, isn't!), you can always go for the spooky cute theme, at least while you have toddlers and babies, I guess... Also, considering our toddler's love for pumpkins, every day has been a party over at the Monkeys' lately. After two visits to the pumpkin patch and several to the supermarket we've gathered up 16 pumpkins! If you want proof of his pumpkin-obsession check out the video below.

As we announced on some social media accounts, 'Madrileños por el Mundo', a travel TV show from Madrid came to Portland a few weeks ago and our family was one of the hosts. This is only a sneak peek they have posted on Facebook, and yes, it is our toddler and one of his many, many pumpkins! 

Spanglish Recipes {and Super Easy Halloween Cookies}

Have you ever tried to cook something from another country with a recipe in a foreign language? Have you ever lived abroad and tried to cook something from your country? Then, you will understand this post. It is never easy, is it?

We love cooking. We cook dishes from all over the world, but of course, many times we like cooking American or Spanish foods. Mama Monkey especially enjoys baking, and here comes the problem: in American recipes solid amounts come in volumes (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons...) and Spanish recipes come, generally, in weight. Measuring weight is much more precise, but, volume is so much faster and cleaner...

When we were living in Spain, we used to bake American recipes all the time. Until we bought American measuring cups and spoons in one of our trips to Oregon, we would convert from American measurements to milliliters and measure with whatever we had. Believe me, that wasn't easy or clean. Not at all! Now, living in the States, we miss Spanish seasonal sweets. Remember, recipes in grams, and we didn't have a scale till recently! Let me tell you, it has been ridiculous. We went crazy trying to estimate amounts, looking online... And we have had quite a few EPIC FAILS! 

Our Favorite Fall Songs

If we haven't made it clear lately, we LOVE fall! And we are trying to enjoy this season as much as we can: going to the pumpkin patch, playing with the leaves in the park, cooking and baking using seasonal products, reading books about autumn... Besides all of that, having a 22 month old, we keep looking for ways to keep him entertained that, at the same time, are educational. We have been making crafts, using coloring pages, and, as usual, dancing and singing a lot.

Today we wanted to share these songs and rhymes, English and Spanish, that we have been singing and reciting lately to celebrate this gorgeous season. Enjoy!

Welcome Otoño!

Our second Fall in the US is starting, and it is awesome! Mama Monkey has always loved it, although she didn't know how much until we moved to Oregon. The reason? You might ask. Madrid does not have a real Otoño. Yes, leaves change their color and eventually they fall, and it is beautiful. But, for some reason, it feels way shorter than here. That being said, Madrileños love fall and like going for walks in 'El Retiro' or one of the other nice parks during this time of year. Weather wise, the most common thing is to go from the mid 90s to the mid 50s in one week. Abuelita likes saying: "We go from wearing a bikini to wearing a coat" and locals say -we write it in Spanish, so you note the rhythm-: "En Madrid hay nueve meses de invierno y tres de infierno" (in Madrid there are nine months of winter and three of hell).

Here in Oregon, fall is an actual season. Leaves start turning yellow, orange and even bright, bright red around mid September and it goes on until way passed Thanksgiving. The temperatures slowly cool down. And it rains. Oh boy, does it rain! This is the not-so-awesome part of this season. But when you are a Portlander you -kind of have to- love and embrace the rain. Mama Monkey is still working on that...