What's going on?

A lot have been going on since the last update. My mother in law got to be sent from New Jersey to Ecuador to be buried in her native country and hubby got to fly over there to say the last good bye to his mom. She was buried on Saturday the 10th.

In a good note, even though it was for a VERY sad reason, hubby had 18 YEARS without visiting his native country and it has been something huge for him to be able to see all that family that he haven't seen in sooo long, and to meet those that were not even born the last time he was there. He is still there, and he will be coming back next week.

Gaby also lost another tooth (notice on the first picture), and survived *another* ear infection (sigh!). Mimi has an eating strike, and it is hardly eating. My poor petite baby is getting skinnier. Camila is doing great but misses daddy very much. The nanny, Yudy, is happy at home, and we love having her around! Me? Working like a donkey!

Last week I bring home a Nikon D50 with a 50mm 1.8 lens and here are some pictures I took (well, some of them were taken by my friend Perla who was home with us that day):

Rest in Peace Mrs. Jenny (1954-2010)

Words cant express the pain that we are feeling right now. My mother in law went to heaven to became an angel and we were just not ready to let her go. Her heart has been sick for sooo many years that people would think we were ready for it.

There are people that are sick for years and years, and the doctors keep telling their family that they wont make it pass two months, or a month, or a couple of weeks... However, sometimes those people live years and years and overcome every crisis. I have seen my mother in law REALLY sick. But then, she used to get over it and simply continue with her life. For the past 2 months, she kept telling Ernest that she was ready to leave, and it looks like she was. This day at 3:30am her heart simply stop beating. It was past 5am when our phone ring. It was Ernest's brother in law and we just knew it.

She left behind her husband, her son and daughter in law, her daughter and son in law, 4 grandchildren plus 1 one unborn grandchild. She is leaving all of us heartbroken, but knowing that she is now in a better place where there is no more pain. She had this huge smile and contagious laugh that will carry on in our memories forever. She was a devoted wife, an exceptionally caring mother and a loving grandmother.

I cant keep out of my mind something that she used to complain about. It was a metallic taste on her mouth and the feeling her teeth were going to fall off. Doctors were never able to figure this out. It gives me peace the fact that she will NEVER EVER feel that again.

I also wanted to share here a "note" that my hubby wrote on his Facebook. He actually wrote it on Spanish, so here is the translation:
My mother. I miss you so much. I have so many beautiful memories from you that I will never forget. Things like faith. I know you once said that you were ready to go and I said “No”. You knew your heart could make it anymore and you were getting ready to go. Even though it was hard to admit it, I have the hope that I will see you again and you will hug me and kiss me and call me: “My Israelito” (Israel is his middle name).
My beautiful mommy is hard to say good bye; not having you, not being able to hear your voice, and not being able to see you. But I know you are now happy so I will be happy with you. I know I now have a new guardian angel taking care of me on every movement and every decision that I make.
I love you!

I put together some pictures of her and I would like to share some of them. They are from 2005 up to 2009. She used to love the sand and the beach, and seeing her on the beach or a pool was like seeing a little girl getting in the water for the first time.







Mrs. Jenny: You just left and we already miss you so much! I guess we will see in Heaven again!

New ddition to our family PLUS Updates

Yesterday somebody joined our families. We hired a live in nanny that will be staying with us everyday and will be leaving twice a month. She is 32 years old has 4 kids of her own (13, 11, 9 and 3) and they live with her mom in a town very far away. She goes and visit them once per month. She prefers live in jobs because she has no other place to stay in this town, and paying rent for her is not doable. She looks very caring and we are pleased so far.

I prefer a live in nanny because that person gets to be part of our family and I feel more comfortable having the girls with somebody that I know is clean and loving and caring. She will help out with some of the girls chores, but her main responsibility is "be there" for the girls when Ernest and I are working outside of the house at the same schedule (normally at nights). Before, they used to go to my mom's house and were taken out of their environment, so I prefer them to stay here in their own house. I will keep you guys updated.

And now, here I go with the updates that I have made. Just click on the image or title to see them:

First week out of school PLUS updates!

I took a few days off from work because the girls are out of school and out of their afternoon activities. Thinking about getting them on Summer Camps or some sort of activity for this summer, but we havent really decide what we are going to do.

In the meantime, enjoy these NINE posts that I made from November and December 2009. There are only a couple more posts missing from December, but this is what I have completed so far. I tried to keep the text to the minimum so it doesnt bore you guys! Just click on the picture or title to view each post:

I'm back - Quick update from us!

A new post!! FINALLY!! I have missed my blogs so much, and I think it is time to start blogging again. I will try to catch up, and that is what I plan to do for the next days. I cant promise to post on a daily basis, but who knows if I manage it. Here is a quick update from each one of the girls:

Last Friday was the last day of Toddler 2. She turned 3 last month, and even though she is still a peanut, you can tell how much she has grown just listening to her. She talks way better of what Camila and Gaby talked at 3 years old, and they were great talkers: So that is a lot to say. Her coloring has improved a lot and she hardly leaves white spots while she does it. She knows her colors, and can count until 5. I don’t believe there is anything that she cant actually express, and she makes sure to make her point across. She can play with mostly every toy around (especially the one that it is already in use by one of her sisters), however I dare to say that what she likes the most is arts and crafts. If there is crayons, paint, scissors, glue and paper, she will leave behind ANY toy she may be playing with. Lately she has been playing a lot with “My Little Ponies” and she loves to brush their hair. She still loves water and loves TO EAT more than anything in the world (I still wonder where is all that food going).

She finished the Toddler 3 class last Friday, and even though her evaluation will be next week, I know I will be hearing great things from her. She turned 4 in April, yet she is still like a big baby to me. She is still a very happy child, however some changes that occurred in our household for the last few months affected her the most from all 3 girls (most of you know what Im talking about, if not just ask me privately). She loves pretend play like there is no tomorrow, and she needs a doll with her 24/7. That doll needs to have all her needs covered, so she needs at least: a bottle, a bib or blanket, a pacifier, and needs to be properly dressed (preferably with a change of clothes). She still prefers to play with the sand instead of the water when we are on the beach, however when she gets in the water she doesn’t want to get out. She is still a mama’s girl; however she is crazy about daddy to. She will do ANYTHING for a hug and a kiss, and prefers to cuddle with us than anything else (which can be very cute, except for when I want to go to the bathroom or simply have a 2 minutes alone time). She started taking ballet classes with Gaby, even though I think she is more into wearing the ballet outfit than dancing itself.

She finished first grade last Friday and I still cant believe it. Getting to first grade was a huge milestone itself, but getting to an end feels like my daughter is a little lady. I will get her grades on the 24th and I cant wait. Back in January, I switched her to another school (that is a whole new post), and this school is primarily in Spanish. She now can read mostly ANYTHING, and I just love how she can read books to her sisters, and how easy it has become for her. We have to work hard with her English so she doesn’t forget what she had accomplished before, and I plan to work on it on the summer. She continues to be a dog lover and she misses Sassy very much. We told her to ask Santa for a new puppy this Christmas as we are planning to get her a female cocker spaniel (and of course, we will be naming her Lady like the movie). She loves computer games and watching movies for big kids. She also loves taking pictures, playing with her VPocket and actually anything that involves technology. I’m 100% sure strong genes from her daddy and me were passed to her, and I cant wait for her to grow a bit and start designing like I do. She is also in love with My Little Pony, The littlest Pet Shop, Barbie, Fairies in general and Disney Princesses. She is taking ballet classes in the afternoon and she LOVES it!

As for me, I continue doing my designing business at 3 Little Flowers, and Im also working for a camera brand. It helps me stay close to photography and Im learning a lot about it. Ernest still working at the same school, and now has a second job at nights for a cell phone company. Busy bees!

Im alive...

I swear to God!! I PROMISE things will go back to NORMAL very soon!!! I MISS my blogs!!!!!!!!!!! :(

Task #14: Checked! - Eyeglasses for me!

FINALLY!!! This was loooong overdue!! I got my butt to the doctor, purchased a cute frame and got my eyeglasses!!!

In case you didnt know, the latina singer and actress Thalia actually has an eyewear collection and it is very cute... I got the "Curiosa" model in Aqua Tortoise and Im IN LOVE with them!!

I have to confess that I should be wearing them more, but it is just difficult to get used to be using eyeglasses.. I feel that I can see better without them, even though I dont... This is not the best picture, but here I am:

The 3 Wise Kings 2010

It is actually celebrated on the 6th, however in this country non major holidays are normally celebrated on the Monday before or Monday after (to protect the economy of mid and small companies from closing down in the middle of the week). So, this year we got to celebrate the 3 Wise Kings on the 4th!

Some of the things that Gaby got was a V-Pocket and a newborn My Little Pony. Camila got ANOTHER doll!

Camila was into combing their dolls, and fixing everybody's hair (including mine) so we got her this set that even has a blow dryer with real sounds....

And YES, more dolls for Mimi...

The girls are in love with Mickey and Friends, and each one got a few figurines of them....

They were REALLY happy and I was just thrilled!!

Starting the year: ER trip!

What a day to be at the ER!! Gaby was at my mom's mahogany rocking chair drinking a glass of milk. Here is the rocking chair she was sitting down that day:

Camila thought it was fun to rock her and she did it sooo hard that the rocking chair felt backwards, and the back of it broke causing Gaby to cut around her elbows in two different places. She got two stitches in one side of the elbow and one in the other side! It was really painful, but she amazed me with how brave she handled it. She cried, but she let the doctors sew her with the minimum of issues.

Funny thing is that it is a VERY strong rocking chair and very well made. Not really sure where did Camila found the strength to rock it so hard, but she did.