An afternoon with Dora and Mickey Mouse!

This show was from the same people from Elmo from last week, and Dora from a few weeks ago. Sadly, tomorrow is their last show of the season, so we wont be able to see them as frequently. This one was in a crowded place, and we wouldnt have gone, except that Mickey was going to be there, and the girls were dying to see him. Mickey is one of Camila's favorite characters, so we needed to go. I left my purse at home, and hubby took one card plus a little bit of money on his pockets.. We couldnt risk to be mugged or something for that matter.. and off we went.

We didnt spend much time there mostly because the games and activities they were doing were more for bigger kids, which was their main public at the moment... But the most important thing is that they got to see them and that they had a great time while it lasted... Mimi had the chance to sit a bit with Mickey and she was sooo happy... We even got a group photo of the girls with Dora and Mickey, even though Mimi was crying (not sure why)...

Here are Mickey, Dora and the animators singing and dancing a song from Lazy Town.

Here is Mimi in her alone time with Mickey...

Here are the girls with Dora and Mickey...

After the show we went to get some Ice Cream that I promised to Mia for helping me fix the playroom. Also, that was the excuse to leave the show.. They got into a Tom thingy (Tom as the cat from Tom and Jerry):

And here is what is going through their mind while eating icre cream:
It was a fun day.. We mange to leave with no crying and all 3 very happy! After the Ice Cream, they were asking to come back to see Mickey and Dora, and I told them that the show was over.. They say that it was Ok... I guess my girls ARE growing!!

The Purple Lunchbox # 2

Here it is our second Purple Lunchbox. This week had her ups and downs, but I just need to work out more creative ideas cause so far I havent been "decorating" it as I would like... Im sure that is a down point in Gaby's case. Im planning to buy sprinkles for decoration and maybe cholocate chips to make eyes and mouth, but havent been able to find them...

Anway, here it is what she got this week:

- Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich in whole wheat bread
- 10 Cherrie Tomatos
- 1 morazella cheese stick (cut in 2)
- Dip with light mayo (made with oregano, light pepper, and a pinch of garlic..)... Gaby's favorite
- 1 Banana
Results: The cherrie tomatoes came home intact... I find out later on that a kid was making comments about Gaby eating tomatoes.. Who knows is that has some inflence on her.
Comments: Took me around 10 minutes to get it ready. The dip is one of Gaby's favorite which is why I send it with the cherrie tomatoes as she had never had cherrie tomatoes before.. It didnt work. I need to find another way to get her to eat them...

- 2 spinach wraps with ham and cheese
- Apple wedges (half of an apple in total)
- 8 baby carrots
- Strawberry with skim cheese dipping
Results: She ate all the carrots except for 2.
Comments: Took me around 15 minutes to prepare.. I always boil the carrots at least 5 minutes.

- 7 pieces of grilled chicken nuggets.. Each piece spelling: Gaby I(love)U - The "love" was a heart
- A pack of wholemeal crackers
- 1 morazella cheese stick (cut in 2)
- Pink dip (catchup and light mayo)
Results: She ate everything.
Comments: I put the nuggets together the night before, and grilled them in the morning. Too me around 15-20 mins the night before plus another 15-20 to get it ready in the morning. Hubby helped with the grill, however the poor letter G became a C... Oh well.

- 2 cheese quesadillas
- 8 baby carrots
- Pineapple rings
- Cheese dipping
Time to prepare:
Results: She ate everything except for the carrots.. The pineapple juice got the carrots get and she said she didnt like it like that..
Comments: Those pineapple ring was from a can. I normally dont buy fruit in cans, however my mother in law gave us around 5 cans and we havent use them. So, I decided to give them a try with Gaby.. She loved them! Took me around 15 minutes to get the lunchbox together.

- Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich in white bread
- 2 Ham and cheese roll ups
- Around 8 strawberries (cant remember how many) with a bit of vanilla frosting
Results: Will edit when she gets back from school.
Comments: I actually put this together the night before and put everything inside the lunchbox (including the juice) inside the fridge.. This is way she is free of veggies... She has her first quiz today, and I wanted to focus on that in the morning, and not on the lunch.

BONUS:
Since the other day I was planning to start doing a Tin Meal... Im not sure if I will participate in that meme, however I wanted to post it as I know some people has comment about how to do it if the kids are home.

This is what I did for Mia and Mimi. I used a 12 cupcake pan, and each one got 6 different things... I wish I had two cupcake pans, but I dont (gotta go out and get some different options).. Anyway, this can be done in this cupcake pan, or in anything else that comes to your mind.. It can even be packed just like I would pack it to send it to school... Your call.

As the idea of the lunch is that is has to be fun, I decided to play a little game with them to get them to motivate them to eat everything. I got some Little People toys and each one was going to get to put the Little People inside each empty hole as they were emptying them... I was sooo fun. The bonus was a Little People horse (instead of a person) for whoever would eat the carrots.. It was motivating at first, but they really just used the carrots to eat the dipping by itself...

Here is how it looked when I put it together!! It is soo colorful.. They were thrilled!!


And here is AFTER they finished eating: (By the way, the chubby blond people that is where the dipping was, it is one of my OWN Little People when I was their age).


This is what you see:
- Honey Bunches of Oats cereal (one for each)
- Apple wegdes (for each)
- 4 little ham rolls (for each)
- Prunes (for each)
- Chocolate milk (for each)
- Baby carrots and cheese dipping (same for both)

They ate everything very equally, however, Mimi ate more ham than Mia; and Mia ate more Honey Bunches of Oats than Mimi. Also, the only one that took bites of the carrots was Mia.. Mimi used the same carrot over and over again to eat cheese dipping (Mia was doing it too)...

So, were you able to take photos during the week?? Do you mind sharing them with us?? Just make a post about it today (dont forget to add our buttom with your post)... And of course, if you forgot to take photos, a description of what you sent is welcome to! Dont forget that you can participate even if your kids are home and dont go to school. Looking forward to read your comments (cause you were not thinking about posting the link and not posting a comment, right? wink wink)

Post your links here:

Back to School Night

Last night was Back to School night for the parents at Gaby's school... My mom kept the girls, as no kid is allow to go (kids always go, but I prefer to be stress free to be able to focus)... It was a great meeting, and Im pleased with everything I heard.

This school year truly promise to be an AWESOME year for Gaby and us... Tomorrow is Gaby's first quiz ever... Im honestly nervous, because Im not ready to move on from the "comments and check marks from Kinder to having GRADES.. That is something HUGE for me, and I still havent been able to figure out a reward system for her report card (the first one will be Sept. 16th.. Just around the corner).

Wordless Wednesday #4 - Mia combing Mimi's Hair: Priceless

For more Wordless Wednesday go here and 5 Minutes for Mom.

A day as a SAHM!

Im suppose to be a WAHM (Work at home mom), but there are days, like today, when I cant work and those are the days that I become a SAHM (Stay at home mom)...

A lot of people wonder how is it that I can work at home, take care of the girls (which also means spend time with them, play with them, read to them, etc), do my part of the chores, cook, help Gaby with her homework, and still have time to spend with hubby everyday...

Well, my secret is LACK OF ELECTRICITY! Yes, that is... If there is a reader from this country, they know what Im talking about... For those of you living outside of the "jungle" and have no idea what Im talking about here is what happens: There is a deficiency in the electric area, and mostly everyday I spend at least 10 minutes without electricity.. That is on the good days of course... There are days like today, when they decided to make a maintenance on the electric lines, that we spent 8 hours WITHOUT electricity!! Yes, that is right, EIGHT!!

Everyday, I know the electricity will go out at some point and I try to work while there is electricity.. As I never know how long it would be, I cant even take a nap, because what about if I nap while there is electricity, and just at the second I decide to start working, the electricity goes off for several hours??

So, that is my secret... At the second the electricity goes off, I run to do the chores.. I do this, here and there... Im grateful that I dont live in a hot house... The windows are open, and the girls can play without complaining for the lack of the fan. I do hate to cook without electricity, but I open the kitchen door and windows, and it is totally Ok... There are days where Im blessed with electricity the whole day, and I get to make my chores with electricity, but normally those days I try to work more on my business and less in the house...

I also try to do stuff with the girls everyday, even though I confess I hardly take them to the backyard... But, in days like today I spend MORE time with them than usual.. Of course, we LOVE it. Today I even did something for them that I have been wanting to do since the other day: A tin meal (I will talk more about it on Friday.. On the next Purple Lunchbox).

We got to play more than usual and we talk a lot.. Today I realized how much urge of learning how to read Camila has... Probably she is going to be like me.. I adores books since I was a little girl... Since I learned how to read and until I was around 12 or so, I used to hide a little lamp inside of my bedroom.. My mom will send me to bed and minutes later, I used to turn on the lamp under my sheets and READ and READ and READ for hours and hours... Needles to say, 3 or so years after I started doing that, I was precribed with GLASSES... It was because of the poor lighting. As an adult, my mom confessed that she knew about it, but how do you tell a child not to love reading!!


At one point I was trying to get a cute photo of Mimi with her cloth diapers but she couldnt stay still in the position that I wanted her to be...
Another thing that I did was more chores than what I get to do in a regular day, so GO ME! :) It was a fun way to show that you dont need electricity to have fun, which is why I wanted to post about this: To remember it!!!

Fluff Talk Thursday#1 = 10 reasons why I use cloth diapers

Yes, Im aware is Monday... But better late than ever. Beth at Happily Domestic is having a weekly meme about cloth diapers. I get cloth diapering questions all the time from my family and friends, so even though Im not a expert this could probably enlight somebody out there.

This week's question is WHY CLOTH? And I decided to go ahead and write a TOP 10 of why I prefer cloth diapering versus disposables:
1 - Because it makes my family to save money
2 - Because there are no piles of dirty diapers to throw out, with a terrible smell (a cute wetbag solves that... and when have you seen a disposable diaper thrown in a fancy wetbag like this one?)
3 - Because my daughter's bum stays chemicals free (free of sodium polyacrylate, dioxin, and tributyl-tin to be exact.. I so dont want to see those nasty crystals and gel in my daugther's bum).
4 - Because Im not throwing away my money (which is what you do with disposables every 4 hours)
5 - Because it is better for the enviroment (disposables take from 250 to 500 YEARS to decompose.. OUCH!)
6 - You can help somebody after you are done, either selling them at a very low price, or just giving them away and making somebody's day.
7 - Because they are SOO EASY to use
8 - Because you will never leave the baby a little bit more on the diaper because you just put the diaper a few minutes ago... It hurts to throw a disposable away, but it doesnt hurt to reach another cloth diaper.
9 - Because baby likes better to feel something made of cloth than something made of paper... That is not rocket science... Even gives more cushion when they baby falls.. The only way to get that cushion with diapers is having it FULL of pee.
10 - Because they are TOO CUTE to resist!!!!!!!!!!!

An afternoon with Elmo!

There was another show from the same people that presented Dora a couple of weeks ago... They had animators from their company plus ELMO!!! The girls were thrilled.. All three of them!!! I even invited a friend that has a little girl that is around 15 months old.

We had an awesome time, even though Mia and Mimi were a bit shy, but they sure loved Elmo... They wanted to participate when they didnt want to be by themselves.... Here is hubby dancing with them:

Choo-Choo!

Mimi was sooo happy when he came out:


There were a few contests:



Mia even won one:


A group photo:

Elmo and Mimi.... Now, all they talk about is that he held Mimi..


The girls, Elmo and I (you cant really see Mia cause hubby was too scared Elmo was going to drop Mimi that he didnt even realized that I Mia was behind my head


Mimi got a Cars poster... She didnt want to let go for a while... She was holding it like it was gold:


With my friend Elvira and her daughter...


Mimi having a blast with a balloon:


Gaby and Mia showing off their painted face:



I got a a video of the girls during one of the contests, but You Tube is giving me a hard time to upload it!!! :(

After the show we went to my dad's house... Im very happy to announce that the girls left the show WITHOUT throwing any tantrum... Way to go girls!

Big Milestone day for Mimi (and mommy too, of course)

I have talked about this milestones over and over again, and even though I knew the day was going to come (sooner or later), I was still thinking it was going to be a bit more...

Can you tell what is this???


This is Mimi's crib, in pieces already, waiting for my little brother to pick it up for his son. This crib has been part of my life since before Gaby was born, and have been "there" through all my three girls... Words cant express how much I LOVED that crib.. It has 3 side drawers and 2 big bottom drawers, and it was just perfect for us... That crib was even shipped to us when we moved to this country (yes, that is how much I loved it)....

Of all my three daughters Mimi has been the one that spent the most time sleeping on the crib... Gaby was about of the crib by 20 months or so (and it wasnt before Mia was born, because Mia was born several months after that... Then, Mia was out of her crib before she turned 18 months old just because she refused to get in the crib anymore... Mimi was already born, but she was happily sleeping in a craddle that my aunt let us borrow.

Mimi was "happily" sleeping in her crib... I mean, she was spending the whole night there, however, she would complain about her sisters sleeping in their beds (actually one bed, because they like to sleep together in the same twin bed and leave the other one empty), which is why I offered the crib to my brother.

The only thing babyish that we still use are diapers, and I confess I havent put any effort into it, even though she has been showing signs since forever... As I use cloth diapers, Im not really desperate to stop saving money, which is what forces some people to potty train their child too fast... I may wait for her to tell me that she doesnt want any more diapers, (that is what Gaby did at 2 and half years old)... Maybe if by the time she is 2 and half and she havent potty train herself, I will just start working that out (but as you guys know, nothing can be predicted with kids, so it will happen, when it has to happen... No rush on my part)....

There are a few other babyish stuff, that even though we dont use them, they are still here (and driving me crazy)... Hubby already started putting aside the toys that are for babies so we can give most of them to my nephew, but I plan to join him during the week, so we can finish it by next weekend.

They went to bed at their bedtime, and after 5 minutes of low voice talking, they felt asleep. It was so funny when I was explaining to Mimi that she was not going to sleep in her crib anymore. She said: "Yes, because daddy broke it". Hubby also told her to hug it and say good bye.

In the photo, Mimi is having a very messy lunch (which is not normal in her, but I was letting her to have fun with her lunch (yes, I confess, Im sick and I dont want to deal with it.. LOL).

The Purple Lunchbox # 1

Welcome to our very first The Purple Lunchbox! If this is your first time in this blog, you may want to read the Introduction and/our FAQ.

As Gaby doesnt actully eat breaskfast, I was trying to come up with something with more calories for her morning milk... So, this week I have been giving her chocolate milk with oatmeal.. This weekend I have to go again food shopping, and I will start making her different kinds of smoothies... Fruity smoothies that is. I will also try to wake her up at least 20 minutes earlier (even if that means putting her bedtime earlier) so she can eat something.. She is up everyday by 6:10am, because hubby and her needs to be out of the door by 6:40am at the lastest (and yes, if you are wondering, I actually bather her at that time.. Believe it or not it is already HOT at that time). So, I will try to move her bedtime to 7:40pm... We'll see how that works...

Anyway, here is what I came up with week... I will try to add more variety next week...

Tuesday Lunchbox
- 4 ham with olives rolled up
- 1 Mozarella and cheddar stick
- 1 heart and 1 Flower of Mozarella cheese (that was done with the knife.. Gotta buy some cookie cutters
- 10 baby carrots
- Strawberry with skim cheese dipping
- A banana
Results: She ate everything except for 5 or so carrots..

Wednesday Lunchbox:
- Grissini bread
- Ham and cheese sauce
- 10 grapes
- 10 baby corns
- 1 laughing cow triangle
Results: I got an empty lunchbox when she got home!

Thursday Lunchbox:
- 2 spinach wraps with cheese and butter (you cant see the second one as it is under the other)
- 10 baby carrots
- Cheese dipping
- A few dried prunes
- Apple wedges (as much as it fit in the little container.. It was almost a whole one)
Results: Baby carrots came back home.... She also told me that she share the prunes with a friend.

Friday Lunchbox:
- 2 spinach wrappers with light butter, cheese and ham with olives (again, you cant see the second one as it is under the other.. She actually begged for that this morning)
- 10 baby corn
- Strawberry with skim cheese dipping
- 2 Mozarella and cheddar stick (each one cut in half)
Results: She ate mostly everything... Then she got home to ask for ANOTHER wrap!

I think it was a great week overall. I also plan to do some baking this weekend.. We will sew how that goes.

So, were you able to take photos during the week?? Do you mind sharing them with us?? So, just make a post about it today (dont forget to add our buttom with your post)... And of course, if you forgot to take photos, a description of what you sent is welcome to! Dont forget that you can participate even if your kids are home and dont go to school. Looking forward to read your comments (cause you were not thinking about posting the link and not posting a comment, right? wink wink)

To add the button to your post just copy and paste this code.. It will add it in the left, but you can change it to the right or center if you please, of course.
<a href="http://www.3bloomingbuds.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="The Purple Lunchbox" src="http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg258/3littleflowersblog/thepurplelunchbox.gif" align="left" /></a>

Post your links here:

Our week so far...

Things have been going great... Gaby has been following instructions and behaving really good at school, and that cant make me happier... As I mentioned earlier this week, I have been implementing a reward system, and it is working great...

Mia and Mimi are spending the days with me at home, and it is funny how easy it is to take care of two kids when you are used to take care of three... Mia has been actually taking naps (she NEVER EVER naps unless Gaby does).... Mia is also behaving way better at home, and I assume it is because she feels like she is the BIG SISTER while Gaby is not her.. She gets upset with Mimi when she does things she is not suppose to do, and she doesnt do them herself...

Anyway, here is a pic of my two early birds having their morning milk while I was taking the photo of Gaby's lunch (that is actually an apple wedge in Mimi's hand). Who would think it is 6:50am?

Wordless Wednesday #3 - A day from last school year: Mia on the car

See more photos at Wordless Wednesday and 5 Minutes for Mom.

First day of First Grade

Today was the day Gaby started First Grade.... What a huge milestone!!

She was really happy to get ready for school, and was happy to get there... How thrilled she was when she saw her teachers that she already knows and love.. Her main teacher was the one we went on vacations with (remember?) and the teacher's aide was one of the ladies that we went to the beach one day (remember? If you click to see her she is the one that is playing with Gaby in the sand almost all the way down). She was also very happy to her friends from last year. When I picked her up she was telling me all about her old friends and new friends, and what she did during the day.. It was early dismissal at 12, but tomorrow they start full force.

Today I started the first day of the Purple Lunchbox and it went great... Of course, I will post more of that on Friday.

I was told it was a very uneventful day, and I honestly hopes it stays that way... Gaby will be rewarded for good behavior and extra good behavior... She also will be rewarded for taking care of her scrunchies (last year I had to use a new one EACH day, cause they will get lost everyday... LOL)... So, I hope for this year to be able to actually REUSE them!

Im honestly amazed on how big she looks on the photo... There is something about the lenght of her hair and the fact that she is using a size 8 shirt (she would have fit in a 6, but the smallest is size 8), that makes her look older... She also is not allowed to use bermudas or shots like in preschool, so the long pants may contribute to her looking older (and of course, the actual fact that she IS bigger)...

The Purple Lunchbox FAQ

I wasnt planning on posting againg about the Purple Lunchbox until next Friday, however two people emailed me asking me more about it to be able to actually participate this first Friday, so I decided to write a little bit more about it...

What is the Purple Lunchbox? It was born with the idea of keep me motivated to keep up with the HEALTHY and FUN idea of her brunch. Little details to make it more fun and appealing for my daughter Gaby. Each Friday, I will post pictures from what I sent to school for her to eat, and a brief description of what it is. In my case, it will be Brunch, but in your case can be breakfast, snack or lunch (whatever is that you send your child in his/her lunchbox to school.

Why is called the Purple Lunchbox? Simply because my daughter's favorite color is purple. Her lunchbox is purple, with pink and lilac dots everywhere.

How can I participate? If you want to play along, you will have to take pictures of your child's snack/brunch/lunch as many days as you can, and post it in your blog with the logo on the Purple Lunchbox (I will add the code at the end of this post)... Then, you will come back to my blog and post the link to your blog (I will have a Mr. Linky to make it easier) so I can go and check it out (along with all the others that participate if they want to)...

Any suggestions for what to pack? I will be also learning as we go, but the idea is to send a balance of carbs, protein, fruits and veggies... Something like this:
In my case, I may send more fruit and less veggies, but I will try to send more veggies and less fruits as the time goes...

Any "green" ideas to complement the idea? Yes, as Im living greener everyday, I will pack a cloth napkin, and the water or juice that I send will be in a reusable bottle. Also, I will try to send mostly homemade foods...

Why am I doing this? Because I think this is a great way to motivate us, as mothers (and dads), to send healthier food to preschool/school, and also to add a little bit of FUN to it.

Do I need to have a blog to participate? Certainly not. However, you will need to upload your photos "somewhere" so we can see them... I highly recommend using Flickr for that.

What if my child still doesnt go to preschool or if the preschool provides lunch, but I still want to participate? You can still participate... If your child is home with you, you can do this idea for the snak/brunch that you will make for him/her. You can even buy a lunchbox to make it more fun. Im sure that your chilld will LOVE that (especially if you actually homeschool). If in your case, the preschool provides the food, you can do this for the afternoon snack, or in the weekends.

So, if you want to participate this week, start taking photos so you can post them all on Friday. Gaby starts First Grade tomorrow and I cant wait to start!

To grab the blinkie just paste this code into your post and/or the sidebar of your blog.
<center><a href="http://www.3bloomingbuds.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="The Purple Lunchbox" src="http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg258/3littleflowersblog/thepurplelunchbox.gif" /></a></center>

An afternoon wtih Dora the Explorer

I became a fan in Facebook of a local Party Events Company and find out about some activities that they are going to do soon.. One of those activities was Story Time with Dora The Explorer and off we go.

We went to pick up my dad's camera and it looks like it was because it was very low on batteries but all the photos came out BLURRY!!! That is very sad, but it is better than no photos, right?

Besides Dora the Explorer, they also had Ernie from Keebler cookies and "Chelin" (that means like an small penny) who is the mascot of one local bank.

All the girls (me included) with Dora the Explorer:

Daddy and the little flowers with Ernie from Keebler cookies:

Sitting on the floor listening to the activities... Right on the left, there is Mimi sitting on top of hubby and moving a bit to the right there is Gaby and then Camila:

During Story Time... Gaby was sitting right next to the guy reading:


The girls had a blast, and even though there was some crying at the time to leave, I know they were happy to be there..

After we left, we stop by my dad's house and spend a bit of time there... Then, we went shopping for Gaby's lunchbox...