Happy New Year 2014!!!

Girls new year resolutions

If I could, here are the top new resolutions that I would put on each of my girls' list:

Bella

1. I will stop pushing my sister's buttons
2. I will listen to my parents, the way I listen to my teachers at school
3. I will stop my bad behavior when  I am asked to do so
4. I will stop waking up my parents at night
5. I will not leave my clothes on the ground when I take them off

Sofia

1. I will stop overreacting about everything (especially things my sister says or does)
2. I will stop getting in trouble at school because I talk too much
3. I will stop asking the same question over and over (and over) ... and will listen to the answer
4. I will stop constantly humming and making noise during dinner ... because it is annoying to others
5. I will be less afraid of trying new things

Thank You 2013!

Looking back at 2013 I must say that I think it was a pretty good year for me. I enjoyed a good job, a stable family life, safety, health, plenty of good friendships, and even achieved several goals that I never thought I would, like running not one, but two half marathons.

There were definitely difficult moments here and there, but the fact that I can't pinpoint them right away - from the top of my head - means that they were not significant enough and therefore have faded in the background not to be remembered again.

So Good Bye 2013, and Thank You again!

New year resolutions

As we close out 2013 I didn't necessarily spend a ton of time thinking about my new year resolutions, but a few things did come to mind:

1. Go to Church at least once a month
2. Continue working out regularly
3. Don't let work take over all my time
4. Be patient with Lionel and the girls ... just in general
5. Spend less on clothes/random stuff
6. Continue teaching French to the girls
7. Really spend time planning my sabbatical

I am sure I will come up with a few others, but for now that is the starting point.

Papi works harder?

Today Lionel had to work again, even though the girls and I were still on vacation. So we went out and about without him. On our way back home, Sofia told me that poor Papi works too much ... more than me. "Mmmm...", I thought, and asked her to say more. She then told me how Papi gets up earlier than me to go to work at 7:00 am, and comes back home at the same time as me. Hence, he has a really, really long day.

My initial reaction was to tell her how "Mami works every night, until very late, so she ALSO has a long day". But I then quickly remembered that this is exactly what I want.  I have never wanted the kids to feel that they are competing with my job for my attention, nor I really want them to know that working at night to keep up is what buys me the freedom to go into work late, and leave at a decent time.

If as far as Sofia is concerned I have all the time in the world to hang out with them, I am ok with that!

Krohn Conservatory

This afternoon the girls and I made it to the Krohn Conservatory for an exhibit about trains and historical buildings around downtown Cincinnati. It was pretty cool, and we particularly liked the P&G buildings and the suspension bridge. It was a stress-free, no-pressure visit, a good way to spend our penultimate vacation day.

When I grow up...

Me: "Sofia, what do you want to do when you grow up?
Sofia: "I am going to try to be an artist. That is what I want to do the most. But if I can't, I am going to build things"
Me [in my head]: "Awww, she wants to be an engineer like me"
Me: "Bella, and what do you want to do?"
Bella: "I am going to be a Princess!"
Me [in my head again]: "Geez ... couldn't she come up with something more practical?"

Stay at home ... No! No!

Today the girls and I spent the entire day at home. Somebody was coming to install our new ceiling fans in the middle of the day, which didn't give us enough time to do something in the morning, but I was still hoping it would give us time to do something afterward. Unfortunately the installer spent almost 4 hours here, and by the time he left it was almost 5:00 pm. And he wasn't even able to finish, so he needs to come back another day.

I don't normally enjoy spending the entire day at home, but doing so during a vacation day makes it even worse. All I did was feed the kids, clean the kitchen, feed them again, clean the kitchen again, and then clean some more. As I kept cleaning during the day, and hoping the guy would soon finish the installation, I started thinking about how bored I would be if I was a stay at home mom. I am not criticizing by any means, as staying home is hard work. It is just not for me.

Fortunately the girls were not bored, and together entertained themselves all day long.

Two records

Today was a record breaking day for me: First I had my longest and farthest run ever, and then I happily sat around pretty much the rest of the day. Lionel went out shopping for a while, and the girls and I stayed in, and watched a movie with popcorn and all.

Perseverence and Doubt

Today I ran 18 miles, my longest and farthest run ever. The first 13 miles were fine, but the remaining 5 were a real struggle. I was still able to maintain my pace and finish in 3 hours and 12 minutes, but it wasn't easy. Multiple times I thought that there was no way I was going to be able to finish. It is not that I thought about quitting, I literally thought that my body would do it for me.

Perseverance is the only thing that got me through, but even though I finished, the struggle did mess with my confidence and put a seed of doubt in my mind: How in the world will I ever be able to finish my 20 miles run in couple weeks? And if I don't finish that one, what are the odds that I will do well during the actual race? I just hope I feel stronger during the next couple weeks. We will then go from there...

Busy Friday

Yesterday the girls and I had quite a busy Friday. Our first stop was a quick visit to the Cincinnati Museum Center, to meet another family and buy a membership for the year. We then had lunch with our next door neighbors, who we hadn't seen in a while, and ran several errands before we stopped by Abuelito's house for a quick visit. We then still managed the energy to go out for dinner with Tios, before we settled for the night.

Christmas Day

Today was a lazy day. We made it to Church, did Laundry, and did other chores around the house. But other than that, we didn't go anywhere. It was good and all, but since I can only take one quiet day at the time, tomorrow I should definitely go somewhere.

Bella's Potato

Bella wasn't all that amused about getting her potato this morning, but she quickly warmed up to it. It was intended to teach her a lesson, but turns out she quickly found and explanation: "Santa only brought me a potato because you and Daddy told him to" ... so as far as she is concerned, she had nothing to do with it. She also asked later in the day if we could decorate it with sprinkles!

Christmas Morning

This morning the girls got up early to open their presents from Santa, and besides their toys they found a special letter for each one of them next to his half eaten cookies ... plus Bella's potato! ... We had been telling her she would get one instead of toys if she continued to flirt with the naughty list, so we figured she definitely earned it!

Sofia also got $20 from Grandma and Grandpa, and Bella got $10. Lionel and I are trying to make sure they save it instead of spending it, but we know the odds are not all that good...

Christmas Eve

Following our newly found tradition, yesterday afternoon the girls and I made cookies for Santa. This time around we went the easy route and bought ready-made dough, as we figured Santa wouldn't mind. After the cookies Bella walked away, but Sofia offered to help set the table, which she was really proud about.

Right before 6:00 pm my mom arrived by herself, since unfortunately my Dad caught a bad cold and wasn't able to come. Gabi, Raj, and Diego arrived shortly thereafter, and we had a nice quiet evening with good food, good company, a short Christmas show by the kids, and gifts for all our special guests.

Last, but not least, right before finally going to bed the girls left cookies and milk for Santa.