You know you've been in Guatemala too long when...

About a week ago, we were in the grocery and the kids spotted some "twisty" noodles to have with spaghetti sauce instead of the normal straight noodles. They were on sale and the packaging said they were good through 2013. HM asked for spaghetti tonight and HV asked for the twisty noodles. So, I got everything ready and cut open the bag to dump the noodles in my boiling water and guess what? There were bugs/ants in there! HV and HM said, "Oh, Mom. It's ok. We can just pick out the bugs and still use the noodles. Won't the boiling water kill the other germs?" So, yep. We picked out the bugs and still ate the noodles. I cooked them a bit longer than normal and so they were a tad bit mushy, but oh well. I guess if we missed an ant or a tiny bug (I don't know what it was), I guess we had an added source of protein with our meat sauce, right?
HG, I suppose, has never eaten ground meat except for an occasional hamburger. She has great difficulty, I think, with the texture of ground meat. I thought it was the taco seasoning the other day with the tacos, but after her dislike/disapproval of the meat sauce today, I'm thinking it's the meat. She's eaten spaghetti with me several times before, all with tomato sauce, not meat sauce. Spaghetti and tacos are staples in our house and so I guess she'll learn to eat it over time.
No accidents again today with her and the potty! Yeah! Again we ventured out, wearing her panties, and she did fine. She and I are both so sweaty, however, that when I take her out of the back pack, I always have to check and see if she is wet because of the sweat. She was dry again! She met her first doggie today too. Our neighbors have their doggie, Max, with them. The girls have enjoyed petting him and loving on him. HG wasn't too sure about him and definitely didn't like his "kisses" or wet nose, but it was rather cute to watch her check him out.
The dad of this family said today that watching her is like watching a baby learn and explore something new. He's right. It is. We see her 4 1/2 year old body and it's easy to forget that she has yet to experience so many things. It's difficult for the girls to remember, too, that even though she is as old as she is, she has no idea. While she is very comfortable with us, we are still "learning" each other. My mind can then begin to wander and think about all of those kids stuck in orphanages across Guatemala and the world. Many of those kids will never know a family. My heart breaks for them.