Hay amor en mi ciudad

"There's love in my city" is what that means.

Almost a year ago lots and lots of people got together to walk 5 kilometers in the National Botanical Garden. The activity was trying to make conscience of breast and cervical cancer. The activity was called: Caminando por la vida (Walking for life), and it had a song written by a Dominican singer called Frank Ceara. It features several succesful dominican singers.

The first time I heard that song in the TV, I got the chills. It's a powerful song, that makes me feel proud of being a Woman, and being Dominican. I know most of my readers dont speak Spanish, but I wanted to share the video of the song.... At the end I put the lyric too, just in case somebody wants to translate it to try to understand a bit.

Hay Amor en Mi Ciudad
Caminantes por la Vida

Tengo una luz encendida
que alumbra por las esquinas
donde tu puedes pasar

Tengo trazado un camino
donde seremos testigos
de que lo puedes lograr

Un lugar lleno de vida
de esperanza y libertad
un lugar donde se diga
que hay amor en mi ciudad

Una sonrisa en el cielo
me dice que hay un consuelo
que de tu mano saldrá
y una mirada atendida
con su voz agradecida
por que un abrazo le das

Y serás llama encendida
y un lucero brillara
y curando las heridas
habrá amor en mi ciudad

Cuenta conmigo
yo cuento contigo
un mismo sueño
que de amor se vestirá

Un pueblo unido
y bendecido
por un camino
lleno de felicidad
hay amor en mi ciudad

Tengo millones de historias
de un pueblo que habla de glorias
de un dios que en el siempre esta

Tengo miradas de gente
que con orgullo en la frente
su ilusión florecerá

Y serás llama encendida
y un lucero brillara
y curando las heridas
habrá amor en mi ciudad

Cuenta conmigo
yo cuento contigo
un mismo sueño
que de amor se vestirá

Un pueblo unido
y bendecido
por un camino
lleno de felicidad
hay amor en mi ciudad

Un pueblo caminando por la vida!

Im heartbroken

One online friend (from Mia's birth board) after 10 months of battling cancer passed away on Monday. Words cant express how sad I feel. She had two boys, a loving husband, and she was an amazing woman.

Here is what she wrote to her online friends just two months ago, after receiving lots of donations:

Hello to many of my dear friends from BBC!

First, a special thank you to all of you who participated in sending me the donation! A little while ago learned of it through Trey and was in shock and disbelief at the amount of you who participated! So many of you ladies have opened your hearts to me as I've battled through this awful cancer and I've cried many tears knowing that my "invisible friends" care so much about me. If you care this much for me, I can only imagine how caring you all are to your friends and families! So thank you, from the bottom of my and my family's heart! A special thank you to Trey for arranging it and getting the money to me - what a great host she really is!

Secondly, to let you know where I am at......
I think Trey let many of you know that over a month ago, I learned that my cancer was incurable. Well, I haven't let that get me down. At first, it was devastating, but I decided that it was my will power that was going to decide ultimately how I would live my life so I decided to give it all that I've got. I am on a pain pump, which has helped loads with the pain. I basically don't have any! The only pain I have is in my right leg - one, because I have a blood clot there and two, I have had pain in my right hip for months - probably cancer related, but I'm working through it. The pump is annoying though - it goes through a "pick line" in my arm and I wear a kind of fanny pack where the the pump is around my waist. I think it's part of what's holding me back - I just don't feel the same having to wear it, but I'm trying to get used to it. It's better than being in pain! My ultimate goal is to not need it anymore! I am working on getting a new doctor - the one I have is a complete jerk. He's basically written me off, so my hospice nurse is working hard on getting him replaced. He is toxic for my healing, so he's got to get the boot! My Mom and Mother in Law take turns coming during the week to help me out with Griffin - he is 35 lbs now and while I still help in taking care of him, I can't handle everything, so they help me with him and some of the housework. It's nice to have there company! My mom is succumbing to her depression though, so I am currently working on getting her replaced with a nanny. It's hard, but it needs to be done, so my mom can focus on feeling better. Beyond that, I don't get out much, but I am enjoying each and every day that I have! I would like to start writing letters to everyone that is important in my life - a big undertaking, but I wan't to do it while I still feel well. I also have a goal of writing birthday cards for my sons for each birthday from now to their 18th. My mom's BF went out and purchased the cards for me - I just need to do it.
Well, if you got this far - thanks for reading my novel. Many blessings to you all again, I've really missed being on baby center and hope to get on here on a regular basis again. Thank you once again to those of you donated....it meant the world to me!

Much love,

Jill

Here is a picture of her and her family from her siggy:

Jill: I never met you in person, but you will be truly missed!!

National Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden of Santo Domingo was founded in 1976. This beautiful park was named in honor of Dr. Rafael M. Moscoso, a Dominican botanist who catalogued the flora in the island of Hispaniola in 1943. The park serves as a center for educational and scientific learning, as well as a world-class recreational facility. The garden expands over an area of 500 acres with numerous trails and roadways designed for its visitors to roam free and enjoy the riches of the Dominican Republic's tropical flora. El Jardin Botanico is a true national treasure, a living reminder that beauty like this cannot be taken for granted. We must do all we can to preserve and protect our environment: This is the legacy of Dr. Rafael M. Moscoso (info from here.... Please, click on the link to see several great pictures of it).

It was an amazing morning, and Im really happy that I got to go with Gaby. The last time we went was when Mia was a newborn, and Gaby doesnt even remember about it. I was really happy being able to interact with all her classmates, and 3 more parents. Here is the picture overload:












The lady that is sitting in the same row as me on the train, is a really nice lady. She came to Gaby's party in November, and we have seen each other several times... She was born and raised in Jersey in the same town we used to live, and we have lots of things in common.

What do I know about rabbits?

Gaby has been working with rabbits since last week, and she has been talking non-stop about them. As hubby is the one that pick her up from school, I never get a chance to see the things they do in school, and the works that they put on the boards....

Here is a picture of what they have right outside of their classroom in the hall... It was about a story about rabbits, and the teacher asked them to write what they know about rabbits.

Gaby said that she knows that the rabbits HOP. Her work in the second one from right to left on the middle row.

A night as a mother of one!

Gaby has a school trip tomorrow to the National Botanical Garden, and Im going with her. As Ernesto has to be there by 7:30am, we both will be leaving with him.

I asked my mom to let me borrow her maid for that morning, so she can stay in my house taking care of Mia and Mimi, but when my mom asked her where she wanted to take care of the girls: here or at my mom's house, she said my mom's house. I was surprised because who in the world would prefer to take care of two babies out of their normal habitat, where there is no enough toys, playpens, high chair, walker, etc. etc. etc. But, she said that she was going to be more comfortable at my mom's house because of the stairs.

I knew that taking the girls to my mom house in the morning will mean to wake them up by 5:30am at the latest because we live around 40 minutes away from my mom's house, and the school is close to our house. So, it was at least one hour and a half going and coming back. We decided that it was best that the girls slept at my mom's house.

My mom came with the maid around 8:30pm to pick up the girls. They were already bathe and in pj's, so it was just matter of putting them to sleep. Mia was going to sleep with my mom with a bedrail, and Mimi on the crib we have at my mom's house.

It was late, and it was school night, but we took advantage and played with Gaby some things that we cant play with the little ones around. It was fun, but it's REALLY weird being able to turn lights on, and actually talk without being scare of waking somebody up!! We miss them already!!

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Cutest thing of the day: Gaby bathing Mia by herself, and actually doing it good while I was just "watching".

Toy of the Week: Spin & Sing Alphabet Zoo

Recommend Age: 6 months to 24 months

Mimi got this as a "3 Kings" gift earlier this month, and they play with it everyday. They LOVE the songs of the toy, and Mia always dance with it.

When we got this toy, Mimi was already 7 months old, but Im sure that even a 5 months old baby can make it spin, and it's one of those toys that you can leave in the crib or playpen because if the baby fall on top of it, she/he wont get hurt (it's plastic, but it's soft, and it's not big enough to hurt a baby).

Mia who is 21 months old loves this toy too. She has been trying to sing the alphabet with it, so it's also helping her with it. Gaby normally loves the toys the little ones use, but this time havent call her attention much, so I think the range of 6 months to 24 months is very good.

It has three modes: ABC's, animals and music. When you spin the toy while in ABC's mode it will sing a Song about letters, and when it stops it will say the letter sound of where it stopped. When in animal mode it will sing a song about the animals having something to say. When it stops it says the name of the animal where it stopped. Then, on the musical mode it will sing the ABC while in movement. It will stop when it's not spining and it will resume the song when you keep spinning. Another good thing about it is that the songs are not annoying, so you actually can enjoy listening to the songs over and over and over again.

I can be bought at Amazon for US$19.99. It has 4 stars from 12 customers. Here is also a video that I did the other day with this toy. Please ignore my "low patient"voice. Mimi was trying to play with it, and Mia wasnt letting her, lol.

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my 27th birthday!!! Im not a birthday person when it comes to my own birthday, but I do love getting cards and birthday wishes. Thank you for all the cyber gifts!! You guys are an important part of my life!

Gaby "made" me a birthday cake out of bread, cookies and melted ice cream, and it was the sweetest thing:

I asked my hubby for two birthday gifts: A nap and a family picture. I took a 3 and half hours nap and it was GREAT!!! When I woke up he got the 3 girls sleeping, so we set up a movie to watch. We couldnt watch the movie, tho, cause my mom called that she was on her way to pick us up for dinner, so we had to get everything ready to go out.

We had a great time, and the girls got lots of fun. There were a kids area in the Restaurant and we sat right next to it, so the girls were able to play and we were able to actually sit on the table to watch them. Even Mimi was looking at them happily.



My mom also got me a new scale (Gaby broke the one we got 2 weeks ago), so we wont have to buy a new one after all. It's the perfect gift. I also ordered a pedometer two weeks ago as my own birthday present and I have to pick it up tomorrow. When we got home it was time for my family picture and even though Mia started crying like always, and Gaby started to complain, I did got a picture where AT LEAST, they are not crying!! LOL ... It turned out perfect for what we normally get!!

Thank you girls for all the birthday wishes, and I will be posting as comments three emails that I got from some family, just to keep them as a memory. And thank you to those who called me and that sent me messages by the messenger!

My birthday gifts

Here are the cyber gifts that I got. For some reason when I changed it from the top into a message, the dates got all mix up and all the gifts are showing as received 01-28 (the day that I made the change), but oh well.... There are all the gifts that is the most important thing.

Also the little note about ppl having birthdays today:

Your Birthdate: January 27

You are a spiritual soul - a person who tries to find meaning in everything. You spend a good amount of time meditating, trying to figure out life. Helping others is also important to you. You enjoy social activities with that goal. You are very generous and giving. Yet you expect very little in return. Your strength: Getting along with anyone and everyone Your weakness: Needing a good amount of downtime to recharge Your power color: Cobalt blue Your power symbol: Dove Your power month: September

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

A Birthday party

Gaby was invited to a birthday party of one of her classmates.... She was one of the girls that came to Gaby's party in Novemember and one of her best friends. Last Tuesday she turned 5, and they celebrate it today.

As only Gaby was invited, I asked my mom to stay with Mia. I even told my mom with a week in advance, so she could plan her day around that. Gaby couldnt understand why we were not taking Mia, but taking Mimi. I know what is to make a party in a budget, and I know how much Mia eats. So, I just didnt want to have Mia eating everything and crying for prizes. Needless to say, when we got there, her classmates didnt bring their brothers or sisters, so she understood.

I took advantage that Mia was not going to dress Mimi and Gaby with matching dresses that used to be to dress Mia and Gaby matching (I still dont have any dress to match the three of them). Gaby's dress was a bit short for her (it was 3-4t) but she looked cute that we couldnt resist.

Here are a picture of each of them (I couldnt get a cute shot of both together, but oh well), and then a picture of Gaby and her 3 best friends from school (including the birthday girl on the pink dress).

Happy Birthday to my big bro!!

Today is my big bro's 29th birthday. He is my only full brother and the best any person could ask for. Growing up with was my best friend in the whole world, and to the day he is on top of me. He is the best uncle my girls can ask for, and the best brother in law my husband can ask for.


I found this poem online and I even though I know he wont read it, I want to imagine he is reading it too:

As kids, we lived together, We fought, we laughed, we cried.

We did not always show the love, that we both had inside.

We shared our dreams and plans, and some secrets too.

All the memories we share, Is what bonds me now to you.

We grew to find we have a love, that is very strong today.

It’s a love shared by our family, that will never fade away.

You are my brother not by choice, but by the nature of our birth.

I could not have chosen a better one, you are the best on earth.

Ariel, I love you dearly, and Im thankful because you are my bro!

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Best thing of the day: Spending the night with my brother for his birthday and sharing a heatly carrot cake with skim cheese toping!

Like brother and sister!

The more I spend time with Ariel, and the more my SIL tells me how he behaves, the more Im sure that he and Mia are like lost twins. They are both 2006 and as he was born in September, he will be going to the same grade as Mia while growing up. Mia is 5 1/2 months older, which is a lot in baby time, but in a few years they will be considered the "same age". I kinda think that he is quieter than Mia sometimes, but he is a boy, so Im sure he wont be later on.

The Three Wise Kings present to him from us was still in my house, so we give it to him... They were both playing today as brother and sister.... He got the Zoo Crew from Megablocks, and the loved it. Of course, he was more happy with the little block with wheels that came with it and he was playing "vroooooom vrooooooom". Mia was also having fun with the blocks, and trying to put them together..... They look so cute together.

Gaby's Pre-K Evaluation - August to December

Today was Gaby's evaluation from her first semester. Her teacher have been telling us that she is behaving extra great since the classes started again a couple of weeks ago, and that she is very proud of her. Gaby was so excited showing us all her hard work, and al the things that she have done since her last monthly evalation. This is a looooooong post but east to read.... I appreciate to those that are going to take the time to read it in full.

Here are the list of objetives that says that Gaby already ACCOMPLISHED. Have in mind that all this is evaulated in English, while her first language is Spanish.

SOCIAL ATTITUDES
- Waits patiently for her turn in class
- Takes part of informal conversations
- Is getting along with classmates

WORK HABITS
- Accepts responsability for cleaning and picking up
- Participates in class
- Works independently
- Shows appropiate attention spam
- Takes care of personal and school property
- Listen when other talks

MOTOR SKILLS
- Follow lines when cutting
- Respect limits when coloring
- Is able to draw a line from left to right
- Is able to draw a line from top to bottom
- Is able to draw a slant line
- Traces over lines, letters, numbers
- Creates detailed pictures
- Handles the pencil correctly
- Handles crayons and brushes correctly
- Has adequate coordination

LANGUAGE ARTS
- Speaks clearly
- Retains and applies new vacabulary
- Undestands and follows directions
- Enjoys literature
- Retells stories in sequence
- Recognize and names the following colors: Red, Pink, Purple, Brown, Black, White
- Recognizes and names shapes
- Able to listen a short story
- Draws conclusion through observation of details

MATH
- Identifies numbers 1 to 5
- Writes numbers 1 to 5
- Counts up to 10 (and it says that she actually counts up to 12)
- Recognizes patterns
- Recognizes position of objects
- Recognizes similarities
- Recognizes differences


Here are the list of objectives that it says that are IN PROCESS:
SOCIAL ATTITUDES
- Undestands and follows safety rules
- Shows self-control
- Shares and take turns
- Adapts to new situations

WORK HABITS
- Works without disturbing others
- Works neatly
- Completes work in reasonable time

MOTOR SKILLS
- Writes first name (She does it sometimes but sometimes she needs reminders)

LANGUAGE ARTS
- Uses complete senteces in English

MATH
- None

Here are the list of objectives that it says that MOST BE ACCOMPLISHED. This is the things that she is suppose to know by now, but she still needs to work on:

SOCIAL ATTITUDES
- None

WORK HABITS
- None

MOTOR SKILLS
- None

LANGUAGE ARTS
- Identifies letters (it says that she only identifies F and S)
- Recognizes and names colors: Green, Blue, Orange and Yellow
- Recognizes lower case letters

MATH
- None

Im not 100% satisfied with some things that she havent accomplished. I will be having a meeting with her teacher next week (God willing), to discuss those things, because she does recognizes some lower case letters, and she identifies way more letters than F and S. Im surprised that her teacher didnt even put letter G, because I have to hear her saying ten thousand times a day: Look!! My letter G!! Along with: Daddy's letter E, and lots of others that she relationates with the first name of her classmates (like: Look: There is Daniella's letter D).

With the colors, I know she gets confused a lot with green and blue, but this is just in English. Another thing that says that is in process is counting. She counts up to 50 in English but she misses some numbers, so she really counts up to 12 in their correct order.

On the recomendations from the teacher, she recommended to work with her at home with her fine motor skills, especially modeling with clay. I must confess we hardly let her play with clay because of Mia. Mia wants to eat it, and this just starts a battle. We will start working that out. We will be working more with the letters too.

GABY, WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!! KEEP ON WITH THE GOOD WORK!!!

More Mimi!!!!!

Today was Mimi's 8 months check up and she is doing great! Her ped is so proud of her, because she actually looks like a "real" 8 months old, and not like a preemie with adjusted age of 6 1/2 months old. And even though she looks tiny, she is actually average!! Im not use to have an average baby, because Mia and Gaby were always over 90% percentile after they catch up with their peers (Gaby at 2 monthsh old, and Mia at 4 months old), but Im soooo happy!!
So, her stats are: Her weight is 18 pounds & 8 ounces which is 54th percentile for her age; and her height is 27 inches long which is 41th percentile for her age

As a plus, the pediatrician discovered ANOTHER TOOTH!!!! So, she now has both bottom front teeth!!!

He asked me to keep trying solids with her, but she really just wants finger foods. For some reason my three girls LOVE finger foods right from the beginning and are not big fans of puree food (or maybe Im just a bad cooker, lol). Im all for homemade baby food, and I just use comercial baby food as a dessert after they have a regular eating pattern of regular food.

Poll of the week

This is the first poll of lots to come!! Im going to try to keep it on a weekly basis....

So, the goal of this week's poll is to know how important is for you to make a birthday party.... It's not about being happy about your kids turning one more year, or how proud you feel that day. The question is looking to find out how important is to actually MAKE A PARTY because of the birthday of your child.

After the poll is done, I will be making a new post with the result so everybody can comment what they think about it.

Mimi is 8 months old!

I still cant believe that she is actually 8 months old. Her adjusted age is 6 1/2 months but I think her development is right of track for her actual age. She is standing up, "walking" while holding up to something, doing army crawling, clapping, and saying Papa all day long (still no news on Mama!!). Im so proud of her. I cant wait to take her to her check up to see how much she weights, and how big she is.

Happy 8 months old to you!!!!!

Visit from my mom

Last Sunday, my mom came and we didnt took pictures, so today she came with a pizza for the girls, and I took some pictures..... Please, ignore the diaper drying on the back with the fan!! LOL

Toy of the Week: VTech Activity Car 1 2 3 - Spanish

Recommended Age: 9 to 36 months

My youngest got this toy as a Christmas present from one of her godmothers. It has been a huge hit in our house. As her godmother got it in this country, it talks and sings in Spanish. I browse around for it and I couldn't find an English version, so maybe it's just made in Spanish (curious how everywhere the name is in English, not in Spansih).

For non-walking babies it has a detachable panel that can be used while the baby is in tummy time or sitting down. It can be placed in the floor, or even in the crib or playpen WITH adult supervision (we dont want the baby to felt on top of it and hurt herself, right?). The dashboard has lots of lights, a buil-in-cell phone, steering wheel, turn signals and horn

Mimi LOVES to play with it. She gets so excited everytime she hears the music or the "beep-beep". As far as learning value, I cant judge it for a baby so young as she is, but she sure has lots of fun.

Here is a mini-video for you guys to see it in action with an almost 8 months old baby.



When the baby gets a little bit older, the panel can be attached to the body of the toy. It can be converted to a Rocker (for toddlers who can walk without help), or converted as a car (for more independent toddlers). For babies over 15 months old, I think it has lots of learning values. It teaches numbers, ABC's, shapes, colors, up-down, right-left, and it has several catchy songs. If you are looking for a toy to introduce your child to Spanish, I think this is a great option. It can be bought at the Spanish Toys store.

Here is a video of Mia playing with it the other night. As it was at night, it's kinda dark, but you guys get the point. Even Gaby enjoys playing with it, because the songs are really cute, and I can hear her singing them while playing with another toy.
(the video keeps failing to load.... Maybe it's too long... I will try to make a shorter one in a bit to post it).

Another Major Milestone!!

It looks like we are in Milestone Week, because we have more great news!! After being miserable since she was 3 months old, drooling and chewing everywhere Mimi got her first pearly white!! Just before turning 8 months, and exactly in the middle of Gaby and Mia. Gaby had her first one at 6 months old, and Mia got it at 10.5 months old!!

You can hardly see it, and this is the best shot I got!!

More Family Time!!!

As I wrote last Sunday, the principal reason that bring us to live in this country was family. As I have been working so much, it gets really difficult to actually *plan* to go visit family, but that is one of our New Year's resolution as a family.

Today, one of my uncles (one of my mom's brothers), called me around noon and asked me what kind of ice cream the girls like. The call by itself made me feel super good, because this is the first time in my almost 27 years or life that this uncle calls ME and plan to visit ME. Of course, it wasnt just me, it was more for the girls, but you guys know what I mean. So, I explained him that Mia is allergic to strawberries, and that anything else was fine. Then, he asked: "Do you guys like chinesse food??" We are trying to lose weight, and chinesse food was not in my list, but I was so happy that he actually asked, so I said yes.

So, half hour later, he came by himself (no wife, no daughters, nobody, just him) with two bags full of chinesse food and a big jar of ice cream. The girls were really happy to see him, especially Mia. She actually got so excited when she heard his voice, that she started shaking, and wanted to throw herlself throught the stairs!!

He sat down at the table with us, and we all had a great time. I ate just a little bit, but it was bitter sweet how he was all worried about the girls eating, and he was even cutting the roast chicken for the girls. We hardly sit together in the table and we really need to start doing it. Normally we feed the kinds, and THEN we eat. We have to start eating together at least one time a day.

And here are some random pictures of the girls:

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Worst thing of the day: Mia was touching the Sesame Beginnings DVD, and we cant find it anywhere. Now, they have been demanding to watch it, and it just cant be found!! It breaks my heart to hear Mia crying over: Hi Eo (Elmo), and not being able to put the DVD.

Cutest thing of the day: Gaby calling my mom after my uncle left and telling her how happy she was with my uncle here!