Coney Island

This afternoon my friend Marian and I took our girls to Coney Island for the afternoon. The original plan was to go apple picking, but turns out that the season is over so we missed out. We were already planning on spending the afternoon together, and since Coney Island has a fall festival we thought that would be fun for the girls.

The weather was really nice and overall we had a good time, except for the few times when they whined about this and that "not being fair", about not having the same exact number of tickets to redeem , about being thirsty, etc. Those times were really annoying, and made us wonder why in the world we bother doing special things for them.

Zoey

Scary spelling aside, this is pretty sweet. No doubt our dog is loved around here.

Dieguito is 1!

Nevermind?

After making the very difficult decision to switch Bella to another daycare, yesterday I got a phone call from the Goddard school letting me know that they worked it out. That starting as early as next week, they will now be able to offer transportation for Bella before and after Sands.

In general terms that is good news because it means Bella no longer "hast to" switch schools. But it doesn't make me all that happy that it is only now, after I had already made other arrangements, that they are going to make it happen.

I told them I wasn't expecting to hear that, that I needed to talk to Lionel, and that we would let them know our decision sometime next week. But I do have a few questions they need to answer before we can make up our minds.

If we do decide to stay there I sure hope they don't change things on us later on, because as soon as I tell the other school that Bella is no longer coming after all, I will be losing my spot.

Heart

This week my Dad had to go to the hospital once again, to get some work done on his heart. It is always scary when he has to go there, but at least he is back home. Now he has to take good care of himself and follow the doctor's orders, so little by little he can get better and gain his strength back.

Dividend Day 2012

It is hard to believe, but last week it was already my 7th Kings Island day with P&G. Lionel was out of town, so Gabi joined me and the girls.

Terremoto

And another year goes by, but 27 years later I still vividly remember.

Bye Bye Goddard

Change is never easy, but in some cases it can be flat out heartbreaking. 

Earlier today I had to announce at daycare that after more than 7 years of our kids going there, Friday September 28th will be Bella's last day. I dreaded that moment ever since it became clear that doing so was the best for us, and I can honestly say that it took everything in me not to cry. I was close, very close, but I spoke slowly, giving myself plenty of time to breath. I was grateful that the Director was very kind but didn't extend her hand to me, nor did she give me a hug. Had she done so, I would have totally broken down and sobbed.

I have such strong emotions about it because that daycare is like my kid's home away from home. They saw Sofia go from a 3 month old baby to a 5 year old little girl before she moved on. And they have seen Bella go from that happy and chubby little baby, to an almost 4 year old full of personality, charm, and love for all her little friends and teachers, such as Mr. Mike. 

When I also broke the news to Bella's current teacher she said that Bella will be missed by all, but that she was not looking forward to telling Mr. Mike because he simply adores her.   That I knew, and I also knew that poor Bella will also be missing him - at least for a little while.

As of Oct 1 Bella will be going to a new school called "All about kids". It is only a few streets over - actually closer to home - but location is not what forced us to make this decision. The decision was really based on the fact that the new school offers transportation before and after school, something that right now is essential for us.  And I know it is also a good school, a safe place for my little girl, even though part of me can't get over the fact that "it is nice, but it is not the Goddard school". 

The truth is that the transition is probably going to be more difficult on Lionel and me - especially me. But Bella is so adaptable that she will probably be fine in just a matter of days. Still, it makes me extremely sad to leave our Goddard days behind. They have been very good to all of us, and places like that are simply hard to find.

Downtime

It is not too often that I find myself with nothing to do. In fact, it is usually the other way around, with too much to do and not enough time. So when I do find myself in that situation, that usually means that I am out ot town by myself. You might think that this is a welcomed break, and in a way it is. But my initial reaction tends to be one of panic - panic at the thought of getting bored, of experiencing the unfamiliar feeling of flat out wastimg time.

My friends from work and I have just arrived in Decatur, Alabama after a long but pleasant drive where the two guys sat in the front and took turns driving, and us girls sat in the back chatting and watching movies. I had never even heard of this place, but we are down here for the wedding of another friend of ours. He is actually getting married in another place called Cullman, but I guess this one is the "bigger town". 

Since the wedding is not until 6:30, that meant that upon our arrival we would have two to three hours to burn. Entering the cold hotel room by myself, and knowing that I officially had no plans, made my mind start racing throught potential things to do: I could go shopping - except that there is nothing around here. I could workout - except that I already did that earlier today. I could take a nap - except that I am not that tired just yet...

Luckily, one of my friends stopped by my room and we started chatting about the dresses we brought for the wedding, about our lack of big plans for makeup and hair, and about other random stuff. I also found a bit of inspiration to write this post, which I don't have very often anymore because while moving at a fast pace It is not easy to stop for a minute and hear my own thoughts.

Now it is a bit past 4:00 pm, and I may still have time for a quick nap, or to check facebook, or to randomly surf the web. But since I need to be ready by 5:30, and I still need to take a shower and get ready, I guess that doing something extra may cause me to have to rush. But that is ok, that is a familiar feeling, and one for which I am fully prepared.

Relax

Today I woke up late, and got up even later. I stayed in bed reading, even after Bella strolled in and sat next to me in bed. I felt super guilty getting out of bed at almost 10:00 am, but I really needed that to recharge my batteries after a very long week.