Resolutions for 2009 - First Trimester

The first trimester of the year is going, so it is time for some "check up" on the Resolutions that I made for 2009, and find out how we have been doing so far....

FINANCES RELATED
1. To work out on the new budget with the new expenses we have starting this month NOTE: I now have to work on a new budget because of the fact that I left the school and so on.
2. To open an account for each girl and to put the same amount of money monthly in each account. It won’t be much because we are pretty tight, but at least 5 bucks on each account so by the end of the year, we can use that money to buy one Christmas presents for each. This is more to start teaching them to save.
3. To make food-shopping lists and to stick to them

SAFETY AND HEALTH RELATED
1. To get Mimi to get checked by the Eye doctor as I have the feeling she also has lazy eyes as Gaby.
2. To get Mimi to get checked by the endocrinologist this month.
3. To get Mimi to get checked by a dermatologist
4. To plan the girls lunch in a weekly basis and continue doing the snacks plan.
5. To get Gaby to get checked by an orthopedist for a second opinion on her bull legs
6. To go again to my OB this month for referrals to try to find out what is wrong with me and my inability to lose weight... I need to get checked from head to toes!
7. To buy my eyeglasses in the first 2 months
8. To finish Gaby's neurologist follow ups.

PARENTING RELATED
1. To resume with cloth diapers
2. To take the girls to play outside of the house at least one time a week
3. To make playdates at least one time a month
4. To go to the beach or another place for the family every last Sunday of the month
5. To have a day out with ONE girl at least one time a month (a different girl each month, starting with Gaby, then Mia and then Mimi).
6. To start the new reward program for the girls.

PERSONAL AND MARRIAGE RELATED
1. To have one night out with hubby in the first trimester of the year, and then at least 3 more before the year ends
2. To call my dad one time a week to check on him, and to visit him at least one time a month Note: This got better as he moved into my town, I now see him every week.
3. Be more patient as a mother, as a wife and as a daughter

BUSINESS RELATED
1. Set up new monthly goals for my biz
2. To get the new version of my web page running
3. To launch a new website that I have been working with hubby (in order to separate the family customers with the business customers)

ORGANIZATION
1. To sort all the toys that the girls have outgrow and that needs a new home
2. To sort all the clothes that the girls have outgrow and that needs a new owner
3. To make a chores schedule and stick to it
4. To buy a binder for each girl and organize all their papers (medical, school, identification, etc.)
5. To fully organize that medicine cabinet and label the medicines

SHAME ON US.... Mostly everything is unchecked, but that is why this check up is for... To get us in track..... I got a 9 from 28, so I FAILED the TEST!! LOL... Im sure we will do better for the next check up!

Gaby wants THAT theme....

Just a short post cause I dont want to forget about this.... I think that Gaby seriously wants to have a birthday party each month... Every time she sees me designing a birthday invitation, she gets excited about the theme and she NEEDS to have a party with THAT theme...

It is sooo funny, cause she starts planning to putting the party together... She tells me where we will do the party, who we will invite, the colors of the balloons, the colors of the decoration, the flavor of the cake.. Everything... And that is having in mind that sometimes (like today) she has seen me working with 5 different themes, and she has planned party with them ALL!!!!!!!!!!

I think that is just very cute, and I hope not to forget about it with the years...

Luis Enrique and Gaby...

Some of the photos that I lost the day that the camera got stolen were photos of my girls with Luis Enrique... That day, my stepmom wanted me to try their camera, so I took a few photos with it... Last Friday when I picked up the camera, I was very happy to find those photos, as I totally forgot about them...

I wish I could still have the ones of Mia and Mimi with him, but that will be at another time... Here is Gaby holding him...

And here is a closeup of how chubby and cute he has gotten:

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The girls missed school today and they cant wait to be there tomorrow... The main reason why I decided to leave them home was because they were very tired... The last time that Gaby was that tired (that was the Monday after the weekened to went to the Parade, Beach and Carnival), she spent a very bad day!! My mommy heart got a little hurt because of how the things got out of control that day, and I felt it was my fault, because I should have keep her home that Monday... I learned my lesson, and keep her home today. Tomorrow she will be a happy bird, and Im sure she will continue with her good behavior!

Hubby is officially 30, and the celebration continues...

Today was hubby's official birthday and we had TONS of fun!!!! It is hard to believe that he was only 18 years old when we first met and fall in love.

As today was the day to go back home, we needed to cease the day. After breaskfast, we started debating what to do, and the girls had their ideas of their own... Gaby wanted beach and Mia wanted pool. Mimi was just repeating what the others too were saying, so she was Ok either way.

We spent a little bit of time in the beach, and then went to the kiddie pool... After a while, we wanted to go back to the beach for some kind of water sport, and Gaby wanted to stay in the pool... Kids 5 and above are allowed to stay in the kids club, and the same nanny from last night was there, so I decided to leave Gaby for a bit... We spent some time with the two little ones and it was fun.



Hubby even got to snorkel for a while:

Then, we find out about the water sports and decided to go into a motorized boat... They told us that only two kids were allowed, so we were going to go only with Mia and Mimi, but then I begged the man, and he told me that it was Ok to have 3 kids as they were so small... So, I ran, picked Gaby up and she was thrilled when I told her that we were going to get on a boat... Here we are ready to go around:

The guy assured us that we didnt need life jackets cause the boat was very safe... Hubby (who is the expert on the subject) agreed, so off we go and we were all having fun:


Camila was not having a blast, but she was Ok.. Here she is after a wave that got her wet....

This is the view of the resort we were staying at:

After around 20 minutes, Mimi was out:

Five minutes after that, Mia was out:

Then we went to one of the regular pools, and we had a blast...

While getting ready to leave to have lunch, I decided to try on Mia one of the swimming diapers I got for Mimi in Kelly's Closet... I was surprised to see that IT FITS her!! Of course, I had to snap a photo of her for a post that I need to make for the Cloth Diaper Whisperer's blog about this diapers....

Here is Gaby being funny:

Then we went to pick up the bedroom because even though we could stay around in the resort until late, we needed to do check out... So, we took everything to the car, and went back in the resort for a few more hours of fun... I dont have more photos, because I left the camera in the car... I was sooo happy to be able to take all the photos that I took and that my dad lend me his camera for the weekend!!!

Happy Birthday hubby!!!!!! We hope you never forget how we celebrated your 30th Birthday!!! We love you very much!!! =)

Hubby's birthday celebration continued…

As I mentioned on yesterday's post, one of hubby's gift was a weekend away with the girls and me... We went to bed at 5am, and we needed to pick up the girls before 9am at my mom's house... Needless to say, we were beat up! All the clothes were at my mom's house and I packed them all last Tuesday and her maid washed them for me... It was going to be suspicious for hubby to see beach clothes hanging and in a bag, right??

We put together a few things that needed to be done before our trip and then we left to the Coral Costa Caribe Resort. That resort is one hour away from the city, so it was just perfect for a short stay. The girls were thrilled and hubby and I were ready for our first family trip to a resort since we we became a family of five.

We got there, checked it, settle in the room, and got ready to have some fun!

The first stop was having lunch, as it was already available and decided it was better to eat now and then just leave to have non-stop fun... As always Mimi ate like there was no tomorrow:

After Gaby and Mia were done, they started playing around the table while hubby and I finished eating:

They even got ice cream and were allowed to make a mess:

Mimi just being cute in the table:

Then we were ready to explore! We walked around a bit to get to know the hotel and to let the girls do digest the food a bit... Then we headed to the beach....

As soon as Mimi touch the sand, she was in heaven:

Mimi playing more in the sand... Notice Hubby and Gaby already in the water... Check out Mimi's cloth swiming diaper I got from Kelly's Closet.

Then Mimi got in the water with hubby:

Mimi and Mia playing in the sand... As always, Mia stayed in the sand...

Gaby spent ALL the time collecting shells and cute rocks.. She has officially started a collecting (but that is another post):

Mimi kissing daddy... I have yet to meet another kid that likes to kiss more than Mimi!!

The Flowers in the kiddie pool after we FINALLY convinced Mia to get in:

Daddy and Mimi playing:

Gaby and Mia playing:

Looking at the fishes and turtles...

Walking around some more....

Playing MiniGolf:

Mimi was in her stroller while we played MiniGolf:

Hubby and I played a bit of basketball.. We have no photos of it, but it was really fun.. We ended up with a tie, but we sure need to play again with sneakers and not with Crocs.... Here are the girls back in the room: My 3 Blooming Buds.....

At around 9:00pm, we went back to the room, and the girls took a shower.. Just a few minutes later they were down one by one!!! It was beautiful!! We were suppose to have a nanny over at 11pm, but I called her to ask her to come at 10pm instead. She got there, and we got to see the show...

Then, we around around and waited for hubby to officially turn 30 under the moon! We stopped by the snack area, we played in the Casino, and made the money to pay the nanny (woohoo), and hubby even played a bit of video games.. LOL... We really wanted to play pool but it was impossible to get a free table.... Here is how my 30 years old hubby looks like:
We got an awesome time and it was another very nice kidless night... We promise to have at least one night out every month from now on!

Hubby's surprise birthday party

I have been dying to post about this here or on Facebook, but there was no way to do it without hubby reading about it... Now, it is OVER, so I can share it with you all.... I was thinking about doing something for hubby for his birthday but wasnt sure how I was going to pull it off. On Monday, I got a call from one of hubby's co-workers to ask me about it. I explained her that the only thing planned so far was a weekend at a resort, which was also a surprise for him (will blog about it in the next post), but that I wasnt sure what else to do...

She told me that several people from the school were talking about doing a surprise party for hubby. She wanted to do it on Saturday, but as we were going away, I told her that it was Ok with me to do it for Friday night. They pull out a list of things to buy, and all the people that wanted to go got something to bring... Everybody was planning happily and hubby didnt know ANYTHING...

One day he came home telling me that he saw a couple of his coworkers talking misteriously and he got the impression that they were putting something together for him... There is a lady that has a beach house, and everybody was making him think that we were all going to that beach house on Sunday... That way he stopped thinking about anything else, and thought that they were planning to do something special for him over there (something like getting a cake or something like it)...

I called my mom and by my surprise she agreed on staying with ALL the girls overnight, so we can go to the party, and actually dont worry about the ending time to pick up the girls... It was our FIRST night out since Gaby was born in October 2003!!!!!!! What I did was tell hubby that I was going to take him out to dinner and that his coworker was going to take care of one of the girls as my mom couldnt take care of all of them at the same time.

So, at the very last minute, I told him that my mom "just" agreed on staying with the three girls, so we needed to call his coworker to let her know... Minutes before that, I called her to ask her not to pick up her cell phone when I call her... We dropped the girls at my mom's house, and here is how happy he was about our "dinner":

So, she didnt pick up and hubby was worried that she was going to be waiting for us... I told him that we should just stop by her house to let her know in person... It took a bit of convincing, especially when we got there, as he wanted me to go upstairs by myself, but I got him to go and OH BOY! He was so SURPRISED that he got watery eyes!!! Around 20 people screamed SURPRISE when he got in, and he was just speechless... The only thing he could say was a very dominican Spanish slang that means something like: "you guys have really crossed the line" (For my Spanish speaking readers, he said: Ustedes estan pasados!!!).


Here is hubby's face when he saw his gifts from me and the girls, and the other from my friend Cara:


Here is what he was reading... A card that I designed with the details of the gift to the Coral Costa Caribe Resort.. He couldnt believe his eyes:


Eating some of the snacks:



There is no a group picture as some of them didnt wanted to be published on my blog, but here is the group that stood there until almost 4am (same guys from the beach day last Saturday)!! The only one missing there is the owner of the house:


Hubby and the dog of the house:


Hubby while we were singing happy birthday to him... It was already around 3am!!


Hubby and Dennis playing with the cake!


It was really a GREAT party and hubby was REALLY happy!!! We got home and ended up going to sleep at around 5am!!! Our first night without the girls and hubby's 30th birthday celebration were a total success!

Dad = Homework Maker, Mom = Shopper

I have been thinking about posting about this since forever ago, but always forgot about it... I think it is pretty cute, and I want my daughters to remember it when they are older and read this blog in their printed books.

Hubby is a frustrated Architect... I say frustrated because he really never plan about being an architect but he is really good at planning and designing and drawing stuff to build or put together. So, every time the girls come home with a family project to school, the first one to jump out of excitement is him. I honestly think he enjoys each one of those projects more than the girls themselves...

Normally, Im the one looking where to buy the materials, and just help out here and there... I also buy 85% of the girls stuff online, which means that they see me searching around the web for stuff for them... They see me looking for clothes, toys, books, you name it...

It is really funny how everytime Gaby gets asked in school: Who help you out with the project?, her answer will always be DADDY... It doesnt matter if for that project he was sick, and I did it with her... She will ALWAYS say DADDY!!!! Even if you ask Mia: Who did that? She will say DADDY!!

However, if you ask any of them: "Who got you those shoes?" Or "Who got you that toy?", their answer will always be MOMMY!!! It doesnt matter if they went by themselves to the store with their daddy, and got it over there... If you ask them a few days later, they will answer MOMMY BOUGHT IT!!!!

So, in short: Dad is the Homework Maker and Mom is the Shopper!!

Interview with a 5 years old (Gaby)

I posted this on my Facebook, and I think it is cute to post it here too... I may do it again now that Im staying home and some things may be different...

1. What is something mom always says to you?
To go and play in the playroom (that is EVERYTIME she wants to use my room as a playroom.. LOL)

2. What makes mom happy?
To hug and kiss us...

3. What makes mom sad?
When I dont behave in school

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
By tickling me...

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Happy!

6. How old is your mom?
She first says: “I dont know”... Then she said: “Six”... (I guess that makes sense.. She is 5, Mom is bigger, so mom is 6... LOL)

7. How tall is your mom?
Taller than me

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
To work in the computer

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
To call me (LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
To share (Ok.. .She didnt understood the question)

11. What is your mom really good at?
The work that you do, mom ... there (pointing at the computer)... The cards...

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Nothing (awwwwwwwwwwww)

13. What does your mom do for her job?
To work!! (with this DUH face)... To make cute cards

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Apples, Yogurt, Sausages, Small spaghettis with cheese (that is Macaronis... and those are HER favorite foods... I dont even eat sausages!)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Behave very good at school (of course she understood that I asked what makes your mom proud of you)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
A fairy

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Arts and Crafts in my table... (then she looks at me) Can we go and do "Art class" now???????

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We are the same except that you have big breasts and I dont... (Oh my... what is this girl learning???????)

19. How are you and your mom different?
I told you already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (of course, she did)

20. What do you love about your Mom?
I love my mom very much! (aaaaawwwwwwwwwwww)

I short, I guess Im a tall 6 year old Fairy that works in the computer making cute cards and does arts and crafts and that only feeds her daughter Macaronis with cheese and sausages...

Improved Behavior Certificate

Gaby got an Improved Behavior Certificate at preschool today.... Im so happy about this and she is very proud of herself!!

Back in January I asked the psycologist that if she thought Gaby's behavior in school will improve if I quit my job, and she advised me to do it... Of course, she asked me if I could do that, and I said that I may work it out if she really thought it was going to make a positive impact on Gaby's behavior. I had been thinking about that since a couple of months ago, and it was great to hear reassurance from her.

My last day of work in the school was suppose to be on Monday 9th, but Gaby was sick that day and I stayed home with her. That day I explained her that I was not going to go back to school anymore, and that I was going to stay home to be able to work less during night time. She was thrilled specially when I explained her that I was going to pick her up when the classes were over everyday, and that she wont have to wait for daddy to finish his work for her to come back home... I also told her about how we will be able to do homeworks together everyday...

At the next day, like MAGIC, I got a comment that Gabriela behaved well in school and followed all instructions. I was really happy to hear that, but I was happier to keep getting the SAME comment EVERY SINGLE DAY... Not everyday it was written on the agenda, but I got the comment from several people. It was truly like MAGIC, cause even though there is a possibility that the behavior improved because she got suspended the previous Friday, I think the main reason is because Im now staying home, picking her up to school, and spending more time with her in general.

The funny thing is that her behavior at home changed. She was following all instructions and behaving very good. BUT, as soon as she started behaving and following instructions at school, she started to change at home. She is not out of control, but Im having a harder time getting her to follow instructions... Honestly, I dont even care. As long as I dont have to hear any other comment about my daughter's misbehavnig from somebody else, Im willing to take ANYTHING.

Preschool Evaluations

Mia and Gaby's preschool gave out the evaluations on Friday. As the kids are not allowed to go to school in that day, I stayed home with the girls, and hubby picked it out by himself. I plan to share the results as I always do, but that would be a very long post that I cant do right now... I promise to do it ASAP.

Dejavu... and not a nice one!

One of the most traumatic experiences of my life happened last October. I was mugged and my purse with so many important things were lost, including our camera. I was always paranoid in public places before that, but after that incident I was overly paranoid about my belonings in public places...

How paranoid? Yesterday, when we went to the beach, I left my purse AT HOME, which is something I do frequently. I take insurance card and debit card in a pocket, and take the camera always around my neck inside on the camera bag. I also dont go to the best beach around... The main reason we go to that beach is because we can actually park the car 2 meters away from the table, which means that the important things can stay in the car. Also, it is never crowded, because people prefer other nearby beaches...

The last few times we have been on the beach, I havent been able to "be free" because I always had the camera with me, and it was too big to hide it... We were in the hunt for a small camera that fits in my hands for those beach days.

Today started very good... We went to eat at my mom's house, and then we went to my dad's house because my nephew was there. We spent a really nice time with them. Then, we went to a fair where my dad has an exhibition. It is a very crowded place, and as I knew we were going over there, we left my purse at home. Hubby also put his wallet on his front pocket, and we had nothing in our hands except for our daughters. We took the camera with us, and I put it on my neck as always, resting on top of my belly.

There was a place with very cute leather bracelets from Ecuador (my hubby's country), and we stopped by to see if we could get one for the girls... In a matter of 5 minutes, my camera was GONE. I had it in front of me at all times, but in a moment it got too crowded and two ladies pushed me, and looks like one of them opened the camera bag and took the camera away.

We wasted around 30 minutes trying to find them... Ernest look everywhere, and let know every security guard around. The thing was that I never laid eyes on the ladies, so I really didnt even notice what clothes they were wearing or anything.

I feel frustated, upset, angry, and I simply think it is NOT fair. I didnt lost that many photos, because I had downloaded all the photos from yesterday, but we lost of the photos that we took at my mom's house, at my dad's house with my nephew and also a few photos that we took of the girls and me while watching a house exhibition a few minutes before the incident...

Gaby is also freaked out. She was present when my purse got stolen, and was present now. I was calmed at all times, but she KNEW and undertood what happened. She havent stop asking HOW are we going to take photos now??

Blogging will be very boring without photos, specially since a few important things are coming soon and I just wonder when we will be ablet o afford ANOTHER camera!! We will, but it is VERY frustating, specially since Im soo paranoid and SO ALERT... Sigh!

Another Beach Day....

While we were together with our friends last night, we decided to go to the beach. It was very nice to be able to go to the beach with other people and we knew we were going to have tons of fun....

Mia had an alergic reaction on Wednesday, and still has a rash on her neck and arms... So, we decided to leave her at my mom's house because I didnt want the sun to make any damage of her skin... It was very sad to leave her, and we were thinking about her all day long, but we know we made the right decision.

We went with the two friends from yesterday's photos: Briza and Massiel, and also with Briza's boyfriend. Mia is the one that loves spending time at the sand... As she stayed at my mom's house, there was nobody that was actually pushing to play in the sand... This lead that Gaby and Mimi spent TOO much time in the water and under the sun and they are both RED.

Hubby got a comet kite, but the wind didnt cooperate much:

Gaby and Briza in the water:

Mimi running to see Gaby in the water:

Now, Mimi with Briza in the water:

Gaby trying to be by herself:

Hubby and Mimi:

LOVE this photo:

We saw this dark skin little girl and I wanted a photo of Gaby with her... I think this is the darkest little girl that I have seen in my life, and I found her SOOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!! I love this photo:

After a bit, Mimi felt asleep...

Gaby playing with Massiel in the sand:

Briza's boyfriend, Dennis, playing with Mimi

Gaby went we were about to leave... Notice how dark she got with the sun, even though she used TONS of sunblock

Dennis was taking photos like crazy to trees, boats, other people, and this one was my favorite from all those "non-sense" photos he took... It looks sooo good:

We all had a blast and we really hope to do it again... Of course, next time: With Mia!!!!