Spring Break - Day 3

Mar 29,

This morning, while I was on calls, Bella made me and brought me breakfast on the couch. In fact, she made breakfast for all 3 of us. I felt bad that I wasn't able to hang out, but the girls knew ahead of time I had to be on the phone. 

I worked until about 1pm, and then started packing for our trip. That took a while. 5:00pm quickly came, and by then it was time for Bella's gymnastics class, Sofia's gymnastics class, dinner, showers, and bed. It's amazing how quickly days off go by.

Spring Break - Day 2

Mar 28,

This morning I was very productive at work. I had several meetings and wrapped it all up by about 12:30. We then went to Ikea, to buy some things to better organize Sofia's closet. We first had lunch though as soon as we got there. The girls enjoyed walking around and looking at stuff, but we did a good job and didn't really do impulse buying.

When we came back home Sofia and I put together her storage furniture and she reorganized and folded all her clothes. Bella and I also continued cleaning - this time around tackling her desk and other stuff she had on the floor. It was very hard work. I was planning on doing a couple of work things after the girls went to bed, but I was so tired by then that I also just went to bed myself.

Spring Break - Day 1

Mar 27,

Today, tomorrow, and Wednesday I am working from home in the morning, but taking the afternoon off so I can hang out with the girls.

During the morning the girls entertained themselves, but after work we went to see Beauty in the Beast. We all liked it. It was a good movie and some good girl time.

Then, in the evening,  Bella and I cleaned her closet and took out all the stuff that no longer fits her or she no longer likes. That was not a fun part of the day, so there's no pictures of that.

Spring Break - Day 4 - Post by Bella and mami

Mar 30, 2017

We went to the national mall today 

We had a good dinner 🍴 .And I loved it

It was not fun in the morning that we had to be on the airplane because it felt so long

I love my mommy because she is the best mommy ever 👭. We had the best day ever oh yeah.

Another long run

Mar 25,

This morning was another long run. 10.18 miles to be exact. It was also very challenging, but for a different reason than last week. Last week it was the hills, but this week it was the weather. We have been running in 30 and 40 degree weather, but this morning it was already 57 degrees by the time we started running. It also felt humid, and made me wish I had started taking my allergy medication once again. 

After my run I came home, had a smoothie, stretched, took a shower, and headed back out to volunteer for a few hours. I then went straight to buy food and started to get really hungry. So besides buying the food on my list, I also picked up a few extra sweets at the Mexican store - including a few items that I wasn't even allowed to eat as a kid. It was a moment of weakness, but after running 10 miles in the morning I am sure it was all good.

Surprise celebration

Mar 22,

This morning our business partners threw a surprise celebration for our team. It was very unexpected, but very appreciated. We have been working very hard, so it was also highly deserved. 

Lunch out

Mar 19,

Today we had lunch with Gabi and Raj, and our friends Lara and Marcus. Oh, and all of our kids combined. It wasn't easy to find a place that would take all of us, but we ended up at the Grand Finale, all the way up in Glendale. It wasn't the closest place ever, but at least it was something different. And we had our own little section, which was good for when the kids started to go stir crazy. As we went back to our car we walked by a school called "Saint Gabriel", so we had to take a picture to send it to my dad. 

Disco Party

Mar 18,

Tonight we went to a friend's house to celebrate his birthday. Since their kids and our kids are friends, it was a family affair. Lionel didn't have a lot of fun, since he was battling a cold, but I appreciated how they had a disco ball in the basement, some laser-type lights, and even a dry ice machine. Sofia of course refused to dance, but Bella made an appearance and practiced her dance and gymnastics moves.

Toughest run ever

Mar 18,

This morning we ran 10 miles. 10 very long and hilly miles. We run a lot, and we run a lot of hills, but today's run was particularly brutal. Brutal, in fact, is an understatement. Those hills were plain evil. But somehow I managed to finish, and keep a decent pace throughout. I was so pleased with myself that I even tool a selfie at the end to show that after all of that I could still crack a smile.

Today's show

Mar 12,

This evening Bella was feeling silly and put on a dancing show for me - wig, sunglasses, and glow in the dark belt included.

Heart Mini 40

Mar 12,

I would be lying if I said that I was looking forward to the Heart Mini this year - or any year for that matter. The forecast called for really cold weather - like pretty much every single year - and we all know that I don't particularly like the cold. But I still got up and went, not only because this run is part of our Flying Pig training, but also because it is to support heart disease. I ran it with my running buddy Will, and we actually held a pretty good pace. As soon as the run was over I quickly went back to my car, changed into dry clothes, and headed back home. They always have some events after the run, but who wants to stick around in wet clothes and freeze their butt off!

44 Anniversary

My parents are not really into celebrations, but I must mention that today is their 44th wedding anniversary. At least they agreed to go out for lunch, so Sofia and I took them out for a celebratory treat.

Sabadito Alegre

Mar 11,

This afternoon Sofia and I went downtown to pick up my packet for the Heart Mini 15K. This year is the 40th anniversary of the event, so there were many "40s" decorated all over the place. They also had an inflatable heart that Sofia thought was pretty disgusting. We didn't stay long though. We got my packet and head back to Hyde Park to have lunch with my parents.

Renaissance Hotel

Mar 10,

This morning I attended an event at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. I had no idea this place was even there, but it is pretty nice. Very Art Deco. I enjoyed the couple of hours I was there.

Bella's Project

Mar 10,

Today Bella had to present her Great Barrier Reef project at school, and it was very important to her that I came to see her. So I did. Her research was about the Green Turtle. She was supposed to research 10 facts about her chosen animal, and either create a poster or a 3D model. She chose to do a poster, and made some turtles, sand, and water from felt. Sofia and I helped her a bit, but she did most of the work. 

As I suspected it would happen, after her presentation she asked to go home early with me. Her teacher said it was Ok, so we stopped by to tell Sofia - who was taking her class picture at the time- and left. Bella wanted a treat, so we went to a Starbucks to get her a hot chocolate and a pastry. We then hung out for a little bit before going back to school to pick up our Sofifi.

Lion

Mar 5,

Today I got to see Lion with Sofia and my mom. It was a great movie, but very sad. I cried, and cried, and cried. There are no words to express how sad it is to know that so many kids in the world go through even worse things in life.

Mardi Gras

Mar 4,

Tonight we went to a Mardi Gras party at Isabel's parents' house. The funny thing is that we ran into Sofia's former piano teacher because he was there playing with his band. How funny is that!

Time with my girl

Mar 4,

This morning Sofia and I drove to Lebanon to meet the photographer who had taken pictures of her a few weeks ago. We were meeting her to look at the pictures and choose the ones we wanted to buy. We met her at the cutest coffee shop, and from there we went to the cutest store right next door. We had fun looking around and bought a few accessories. We then had lunch at diner-style place before we came back down this way. I really enjoyed our time together. It was a rarely and lovely time - just the two of us.

Snowy morning run. Sunny afternoon

Mar 4,

And this is just how crazy the weather is in Cincinnati sometimes. This morning we ran in snowy weather, and I literally accumulated snow in my clothes during our 6 miles run. But in the afternoon the sun came out, and it got warmer, so the snow had completely melted by 4:00 pm.

Las Vegas Work Trip

Mar 1,

This week I spent 3 days in Las Vegas for a work trip. I was glad I went, because it was an important work event. But in general I don't really like going there. I don't smoke, I don't really drink, and I don't gamble. So it is not my happy place. I was glad I went for our work meeting, but I was happy to be back home.