Tears

Some days I get so overwhelmed when nothing goes my way that I could literally sit down and cry. But I don’t.  That would not solve anything … and I just don’t have the time.

Sick kids

When a kid gets sick it is hard to tell who really gets the short end of the stick:

1)      The sick one, who obviously feels terrible and can’t wait for the disease to go away

2)      The parents, who worry sick and have to deal with the little tyrant the little one instantly becomes

3)      The sibling, who has to momentarily give up much of the attention and probably has to walk on eggshells as to not make the parents even more stressed

It is hard to figure out who has it worst, but one thing is for sure: Nobody wins.

Stages

PRESENT DAY

Me: Do you like this sweater?
Sofia: Do you?
Me: Yes, I like it.
Sofia: I like it too.

IN TEN YEARS

Me: Come see this sweater.
Sofia: Do I really have to?
Me: I think it is pretty. Do you like it?
Sofia: That's HIDEOUS mom. I can't believe you like it AND that you made me come see it.

IN 30 YEARS

Me: Do you like this sweater?
Sofia: Yes, it's pretty. I already have it in two colors.

Someday

Bella is at that stage when she wants to attempt everything that Sofia does. In some cases she succeeds, in some others not so much. This morning, during Sofia's tennis class, she insisted on standing right next to the other kids and holding her racket as if she was really having a turn. The good thing is that the coach did not seem to mind. Neither did Sofia, and I was also happy to see her standing there Vs having to chase her all over the place. Not that she really stood there for long. Soon enough she dropped the racket and managed to sneak underneath the curtains to leave the tennis court. Typical, typical Bella! Good thing that Lionel was also there so he could go after her while I stayed behind and helped pick up the balls.

Someday she'll also get to play. She just has to be patient and wait until she is a bit more coordinated and can at least keep her eye on the ball.

Back to me

As of today I am once again the happy owner of a Mazda CX9. We really liked it the first time around so we decided to go back - although this time we chose a black one. Since it is a newer model it has some upgrades that the other one did not have, but overall it is the same great family car. Not only do we all like it, but I feel comfortable and safe driving it around. I can't wait for it to take us everywhere near and far, from the beach to tennis class, to a girl's trip, or Abuelitos' house. 

Yes, it is great that the car is back. But even better is that sense of normalcy being back for all of us.

Faith

I am not a superstitious person. Even though I have faith, I am not all that religious either. There are things that were and are important to me such as having a religious wedding, baptizing my kids, and making it to church at least a few times a year. But I don't believe everything that my religion says and, quite frankly, there are many things I don't even know about it or care to learn.

But earlier this week something made me stop for a moment and reflect, smile, and remember that maybe, only maybe, there's somebody really watching over us.

On Wednesday we were officially informed that our car was being totaled, and that I needed to go get my stuff out of there. I was working from home that day, so I left my house at around 4:00pm and headed to the collision place. I remember it was a really cold day. When I got there the car seemed a lot worse than when I saw it last. Maybe, since they knew they were not fixing it, they did not make much of an effort to put it together after they had to evaluate it all over the place.

Once I got the keys from them I started to collect my stuff in couple big square plastic bags, the reusable type so popular nowadays. I looked everywhere, including the front seat, the back seat, underneath the seats, the trunk, and the side doors. I did not spend too much time deciding what to bring back and what to leave there. I pretty much packed everything. I did not want to leave them garbage, and did not have the presence of mind to sort things right there and then. I'll just take everything, I thought. I'll sort it later when I have more time and my hands are not freezing. When I finally finished I took my two full plastic bags and put them in the trunk of our remaining car. I stood by the truck one last time, mentally thanking it for its years of service and for protecting Lionel, and headed back inside.

Once inside one of the guys took the keys back from me. "We need to keep the key to the car but here, I will give you your key chain and all your tags back", he said.

It was at that moment, when I saw him separating the key from everything else, that I really paid attention to the key chain. I had completely forgotten about it, but it was right there in front of me. It was the shape and image of a virgin. A good friend had given it to me for my birthday couple years back. At that moment I think I just naturally smiled. Did she have something to do with the fact that Lionel was completely unharmed? We'll never know, but I sure like to think so.

Clase #2

Tennis night

Tonight Sofia was not home for dinner. She really enjoys playing tennis, so I signed her up for a Friday night event at our healthplex that included playing tennis, pizza, and watching a movie.

I picked her up around 5:15pm, we then went to get Bella at the daycare, and made it to the healthplex right at 6:00pm. The tennis courts were already crowded, and another mom told me that in total they had about 50 kids signed up. Since I had Bella with me we could not stay long. We said our good byes fairly quickly: Sofia gave us a hug,  grabbed her racket, and happily ran to her coach. Even though she appeared so comfortable staying by herself, as we were heading out part of me wanted to go back and check on her. But I did not.  We kept rushing to the car, before Bella insisted on getting down and starting to play.

Arriving home without Sofia at the end of the day felt really weird. I guess I simply felt incomplete. Even though Bella was playing around and talking to her toys, the house felt so quiet ... and during dinner I really missed having her sitting down right next to me.

But now it is almost 9:00pm, and Lionel already went to pick her up. So she should be home any minute. I just hope that she really had fun.

Ayudate que yo te ayudare

I will never understand why some people make bad decision after bad decision, yet they are surprised when those bad decisions yield negative results.

Feliz Cumple

Feliz cumple a mi mami!! Happy birthday to my mom!!

High Maintenance

Up to last Thursday, before Lionel's accident, we had a beautiful white SUV. I really liked it and so did the girls. But now the car is gone, and in the meantime Lionel has been driving a small red rental car. We knew the girls could tell that's not our car. What we did not know was that Bella would actually show a preference about it. Apparently today - when Lionel picked her up from daycare - she kept telling him: "No red car! No red car!". Then this evening, when he was telling me about it, she overheard him and started to tell me "No red car! No red car! White one! No red car!".

It was funny to hear her say that. She may only be two years old, but clearly she already knows what she likes.

Sick of being sick

There are good reasons why I am not a big fan of winter. For the last four days I've been feeling like crap. It never fails. Every year I get sick at least twice, if not three or four times. I always get a bad cold that lasts, and lasts, and lasts. If I am lucky it eventually goes away on its own. If I am not, it becomes a full blown sinus infection that takes extra time and medicine to treat.

Once again I spent my weekend wiping my nose every two seconds, struggling to breath, and with no energy to go out with Lionel - even though we had a baby sitter lined up - or really enjoy my time hanging out with the girls. So now my weekend is over and I am still sick, tired, miserable, and very much not ready to go back to the grind.

Sisters

I really like my brother in law, but in the last couple days I have been secretly enjoying the fact that he is away on a business trip. The reason for that is that Gabi and I have had a lot of sister time, and I really like having her around. We have eaten together, watched TV together, gone shopping together, and spent plenty of  time with the girls. Tomorrow we get to "give her back", but that's Ok. I know they missed each other, so I am happy he'll be back in town.

Crash

Today was an unfortunate and fortunate day at once. Unfortunate because Lionel got into a car accident, but fortunate because he came out of it unharmed. The car may or may not be totaled, but I am not really worried about that. The car can be replaced. What really matters is that our family is still intact.

The twice per day battle

Here is my 5 step program for brushing Bella's teeth:

1) Get the toothbrush and a cup of water ready. No mouth wash; she'll drink it.
2) Go get Bella from wherever she is at, as she is not likely to be close by.
3) Try to convince her to let me brush her teeth simply because that's the right thing to do. This usually does not  work, so I move on to step 4.
4) Try to figure out what she wants: A book, a song, a toy? Depending on her mood, this may take a while.
5) Threaten to take it away if she still does not let me brush her teeth.

If all fails, try to start from step 3 all over again.

Silence

I am pretty sure that growing up it was my Dad's favorite part of the day. Until very recently I did not necessarily appreciate it, but now that it constantly eludes me I am really starting to understand.

Acuarelas

This afternoon Sofia and I had an art session while Bella took a nap. We sat at the kitchen table and painted with watercolors which I very much enjoyed, as anything art is definitely "my thing". I love painting, and I am sorry I did not nurture those skills at a much earlier age. But that does not mean I can't have fun with it now. After all, there's no pressure around it, no need to perform.

Before we started, Sofia suggested that everything she painted would be for me and every I painted would be for her. So we wrote each other's names.

I started by painting some fruits, and Sofia followed my lead. She then asked me to draw a vase with flowers, and her standing right next to it. She also made her own version of it.

When we were almost done Bella woke up and  joined the fun. She made one quick drawing, and then we all moved on.

My drawings are on the left, and Fifi's on the right

My drawing in honor of Sofia's first ski lesson

Bella's drawing

My house

And this is how our living room usually looks. Also featured below, the lovely little girl who ALWAYS makes the mess.

Snow Angel

Today was Sofia's very first ski lesson. I was excited for her to go, but wasn't sure what to expect with her being kind of a whiner and such a girly girl. So when they came back, I was happy to hear it went really well.

I wanted to go with Lionel and her but Bella still has a cold, so somebody had to stay with her. Besides, skiing is Lionel's sport so giving those two their space seemed like the right thing to do. It worked well that way, as both girls had some undivided attention at least for part of the day.

Also, the good news is that she is eager to do it again. So maybe next time we will make it a family affair.

Exhausted

On the surface today was a really low key day. After all, my only activities were playing tennis for an hour, going to Target to get couple things, and buying groceries for the week. In reality, this was just one of those days. It is 10:00pm at night, and it's a small miracle I am still awake.

Isabella is sick. The poor thing has a cold and spent all day with a very runny nose. She did not really complain about not feeling well, but barely slept during nap time and spent all day making a mess. She probably pulled every single toy out and spread them all around the house. And given how sick she is, my guess is that the toys were not the only thing she was spreading around.

Sofia, on the other hand, was full of energy from beginning to end. She played, danced, sang, jumped, fought, whined, and constantly demanded my attention from the moment she woke up to the moment she went to bed.

I am not sure which one made me more tired. All I know is that I am ready to go to bed.

Trueque

I love Sofia's willingness to trade things with Bella. Curiously though, that willingness more often than not comes across when Bella has something Sofia really wants. How about that?

Feliz como lombriz

Me encanta cuando mis hijas se carcajean, sobre todo cuando se carcajean juntas. Pura felicidad!

Genius!

Sofia: Mami, I gave Bella my two dollar bills.

Me: Why? That is real money you know? That is not for Bella to play with.

Sofia: Don't worry mami. I only gave her the bills. I have the pennies right here with me.

My Book

Tonight I was very excited to go get the mail.

In the last couple weeks of December I was really looking forward to making my last blog entries of the year. A few months before I had decided that I would print all my 2010 entries and make them into a book. 

So I spent time putting together the collage that would become the front page, and selecting the one picture of the girls that would be in the back of it. I carefully wrote the dedication, selected the colors, and anxiously reviewed it again and again to make sure it did not have any mistakes.

Tonight I finally received it and I must say it turned out great! It felt wonderful to have it in my hands.

Hopefully one day my girls will like looking at it and either remember those good old times or, if they have forgotten, to re-learn who we all were back in the day.

Mexico

For about a year now I've been trying to get Sofia interested in going to Mexico. It is not that she does not want to go per se. She just doesn't want to go without Isabella and Lionel, which most likely would have to be the case. But today I saw a little bit of light, something that tells me she has been listening to me.

As we were making our way to the girl's schools, driving extremely slow because of all the snow on the ground, Sofia spontaneously said: "If we were in Mexico, we would not have to worry about the snow".

"You are absolutely right", I said, with a big old grin on my face.

Hairstyle

A few weeks back Sofia announced that she no longer wants her bangs, so we have been letting them grow. Although they are growing slowly, they are now to the point where we can put them up.

She rarely lets me do her hair, but today she allowed me to make a braid for her. Maybe it's just Lionel and I, but we think the new hairstyle makes her so grown up.

Sofia and the frog

Sofia really surprised me earlier today. When we arrived for her swim lesson her teacher asked her if she wanted to see their new pet.

“Did you get another dog?”, I promptly asked, looking forward to seeing their cuddly, furry new friend.

 “No”, she said excitedly, “We got frogs!”.

Eeewww, I thought. That's not at all what I had in mind. But Sofia was interested so we headed to her teacher’s office to see the little creatures. Once there, Sofia asked if she could hold one. Guacala! Yikes!

“Sure”, said her teacher. She then opened the door of the small aquarium and reached in to grab one of the bigger ones.

I thought Sofia would change her mind as soon as she touched the slimy little guy, but she stood there happily holding on to it for a few minutes.

I was standing right next to her, so all along all I could think of was "Please, God, don't let it jump on me or I'll freak out”.

Luckily it did not, and it did stay still long enough for me to take a quick picture before the teacher put it back.

Easy come, easy go

After a two week visit, my cousin went back where he came from today. And even though I still do not know him that well, that makes me kind of sad. I'm sure my parents are happy to get their space back, but I tend to believe that somehow they are also going to miss having him around. After all, It is always strange when someone leaves, particularly when you don't know when they are going to come back.

Rosca de reyes

Yesterday it was "Dia de Reyes" and once again Tia Gabi came through and got us our Rosca. Not only she got it, but she and Tio Raj also brought it all the way to our house. Unfortunately Abuelitos couldn't come, and we did not get organized well enough, but at least we honored the tradition once again.

Boliche

When it is cold outside it can be difficult to keep the girls entertained all day inside. But we try, and sometimes it really, really works out.

La Petite Chanteuse

Lately Bella has been singing a lot. Here is a little sampler of her amateur but cute repertoire.

The little things...

The other day Bella was playing downstairs when all of a sudden she started to say: "Tissue. Tissue". This basically meant we needed to wipe her nose. Both Lionel and I were in the middle of something we couldn't just drop, so we told her to hang on. Next thing we knew, she had already walked over to the restroom, opened the door, turned the light on, grabbed a tissue, and cleaned her nose - to the best of her ability - all on her own.

This evening she started to say: "Pupi. Pupi", which of course meant she needed to go poop. She then walked to the bathroom, pulled her pants down, and with the help of a plastic stool climbed onto the toilet and sat down.

As adults these are things we do every day without even giving it any thought. However, for somebody who just turned 2 these are pretty major milestones.

We are proud of you Bella and are excited to continue to see you grow.

Sofia’s first poster

Today somebody at school helped Sofia print a photo of her and Bella's favorite character in their [By far] very favorite TV show. When I picked her up that was the first thing she showed me, and asked if she could put it up in her room. I of course said yes, with the condition that she puts it high enough where Bella is not going to get to it. Kiki is a beloved character in our household, so we don't want her to start a fight.

For the first time

Right now my favorite song is “For the first time" by a band called “The Script”. It is kind of a sad song, but there's some sweetness and hopefulness to it that makes me want to hear it over and over again.

Firework

Today Sofia and I learned that Bella can say "Firework". Clear as water, she said it in the car a number of times. Of course she forgot about the word later on and started saying "Fire Truck", which is still better than what many kids say at that age because they can't say "Truck".

A day in the life of...

Nowadays, for me, a typical work day usually goes like this:

6:00-6:30 Wake up. Or, if I am working out that day, come back from working out.
6:30-7:15 Make the bed, get myself dressed, do my hair, put some makeup on, etc.
7: 15-7:45 Get the girls up, help them choose their outfit, get them dressed, do their hair.
7:45-8:30  Give the girls their breakfast, make Sofia's lunch, prepare Bella's snacks, and have my own breakfast standing, while I do everything else. Also check email in blackberry as needed. Feed Rusty.
8:30-9:10 Load the girls in the car along with all their stuff. Take Bella to daycare, and drive back to Sofia's school to drop her off.
9:10-9:30 Commute to the office, and start conference calls if applicable.
9:30-5:30 or 6:00  Work/Office.
5:30-6:00 Commute back home. Maybe pick up girls right before school closes.
6: 00-6:30 Unpack girl's school stuff, change into non-work clothes, have the girls put shoes away and wash hands, etc.
6:30 - 7:00 Help make dinner, unload dishwasher, setup dinner table, etc.
7:00-7:45 Dinner and post dinner cleanup.
7:45 - 8:00 Shower time for the girls.
8:00-8:30 Girls bed time routine.
8:30 - 9:30 Put away the girl's toys and organize stuff for the next day.
9:30 - 10:00 Shower - if did not already shower earlier in the day.
10:00 Sit down on the couch with the computer on my lap.
11:30 to midnight Bed time.

By the time I sit down at night there are so many things I need to or want to look at that I have a difficult time figuring out where to start. Or maybe it is not that I can't make up my mind, but that I am too tired to even think about it. So more often than not I end up wasting my time on Facebook, Twitter, and checking my work email. At least the first two count as the entertainment of the day before I go to bed and the routine starts all over again.

Tortugas

When I ask my kids to do something, I wish they had the same sense of urgency they have when they ask ME to do something for them. Just saying.