It's Christmas Time again!

It is THAT time my girls look forward the most. No birthday or holiday is as important as this date. I may have said this before, but they start making her list for Santa every December 26th. Those items on the lists change a lot during the year, but the line "I want this from Santa next Christmas" is something I hear ALL YEAR long.

There was a leftover cake in the house, and that is what Santa got this year.  I know he was very thankful because he ate it all.  cake from Lila's birthday and he was very thankful... In this picture on the right you can also see the tags Santa had done for the girls.... Also the "Happy Jar 2015" were they will put pieces of papers during the whole year with notes of good moments so we can all read together next Christmas.  I got the idea from Pinterest and I may do a separate post about it.

At 6:25am they were already on my bedside SCREAMING for me to wake up... They are well trained to know they cannot open their presents without me and before taking a picture... They know better...


This year they also got cupcakes... I did the decor after we picked up all the gifts and mess.  They also got cookies and milk... They ate like little pigs...


We had LOTS and LOTS of fun opening the gifts and I'm happy to say that I didn't have to struggle much with childproof packaging... Most of the things where things that they were able to open by themselves. As usual, they spent the day playing with their new toys.

Santa came to town...

... and the girls got spoiled once again!

It looks like Santa Claus was very pleased with the grape soda and cookies (yes, that is what I suggested the girls to leave out for him). I am sure it was a very good booster for him for all that work he had to do in the middle of the night.

They got a lot of things and in all honesty, I have no idea how Santa managed it.  I know Santa likes to spoil all kids, but sometimes he just doesn't have enough resources for all the things he would want to get.

I know that he worked extra hard this year to be able to make my girls happy.  The girls know that I am the one that gives the gift suggestions to Santa and I am happy that he listened to my suggestions and was able to get them most of the things I asked him for.

Here is a picture of how the tree looked after Santa passed by our house...

They were awake since 3:30am... I managed to make them wait until 6:00am when they just couldn't wait any longer! My cell was almost out of batteries and I am really sad that I had to take this picture without flash because it was still very dark :(


Playing with the gifts...

All girls for Christmas Eve

We didn't plan anything big for Christmas Eve because, after all, it was a Tuesday. The girls are on Christmas break, but my job doesn't stop because of the holidays, if any, it increases. As an interpreter, we take 911 calls and hospital calls and people don't stop having emergencies during the holidays (they should, though).

Even when it was just us with my mom and grandma, the girls wanted to dress up and they did.  They got dresses, their Santa hats and they were thrilled.

The girls don't get to dress up frequently because they normally get invited to a kids party where they can just use an informal dress or even jeans.  Mia and Mimi have a lot of dresses that they haven't been able to wear, especially dresses that used to belong to Gaby.

Gaby was extra happy because I allowed her to wear a dress that I would not allow her to wear to go any other place.  It was given to her as a gift and I'm sure it would still fit her when she is actually old enough to use it.

She looks like a teenager in that dress and she is only 10.  I want her to stay within each stage and I'm not in any hurry for her to grow up.  I want her to enjoy being a child for now, and then take care of being a teenager when she reach that age. She was also wearing some heels she got off my mom's closet (something else that she won't be allowed to use for a while).

We all sat at the big table and my mom did a beautiful prayer. We are light eaters at night, but tonight we ATE... A LOT.  I honestly can't handle eating heavy at night, but I knew I had a LONG night ahead, so it was not going to be so bad for me eating all that rice so late.

It was nice to have my grandma with us for dinner, because she normally eats in her room as she doesn't move around much... After all, she is already 95 years old.


One thing that was due to be done today was set up the Christmas Tree.  We did the decor a couple of weeks ago, however we wanted to set the tree together and we arranged to do it today.

A Merry Christmas indeed

I guess the girls haven't been so naughty because Santa got to spoil them today! Even grandma got to be spoiled because that big bear you see on the pictures was for her.


Gotta love how they cooperate for pictures on Christmas morning.  They know they can't open the presents until we get good pictures and I seriously never have to take more than a couple of shots.  They tell each other "quick.. smile big for the pictures.. hurry".  It's the magic of Christmas morning, because that means that they want me to be happy as they know that makes me happy.


This year Santa decided to bring lots of the same things instead of things completely different for each one.  It was a hit because each one had their own of the same thing and that brought the "fighting over a toy" to zero.  Santa even left a Sharpie handy for me to be able to name some things. My favorite thing for the girls were the big Disney Princesses dolls, and I hope Santa can bring more of those next Christmas.


We even got to say hello to one of Santa's messengers at a fair downtown.




Merry Christmas to ALL OF YOU and LOTS of good things for 2013!!

Santa is coming tonight....

This year we spent Christmas Eve at my dad's with his family.

My dad adores my girls and he's always looking to spend time with them.  When I RSVP'd to him, I was able to hear the excitement on his voice.

It's hard to communicate with him because of the remnants of the stroke he had several years ago but the girls can understand him perfectly fine and it is just a lovely sight when they are together.

The girls have been begging me to use a face painting set that I purchased forever ago and I just couldn't say no.  I knew it was going to get messy but I didn't care.

I'm sooo glad I agreed because they had a blast! My dad doesn't know how to say no to them and they painted ALL OVER him.  He laughed in a way that I don't think I have ever seen him before.  It was this kind of laugh that comes with JOY.  Even my nephew got to pain him and the job was mostly done by him and Mimi.

Here is a picture with my girls and daddy...


After we got home, and after a major shower because of the paint, they got into their pj's and got the cookies and milk ready for Santa.




And here you can see Santa's lefovers and message to the girls... He even arranged some of the tags that the girls got on each one of their gifts... So thoughtful of him.

Getting ready for Santa

It has been a tradition in our house to wear something special to receive Santa.  It may be the only tradition that we have never broken.

This year I wanted to have the girls do something and decided to try some Arts and Crafts project.

I purchased plain white shirts and Glitter Glue in different colors.  Not only was fun, but it was also very inexpensive.

They wanted a Christmas Tree on their shirts so I draw them myself and they did all the decor to the trees.  I even did one for myself.


They were SO PROUD of their finished shirts!!

A friend of mine was babysitting them in the morning when I went to purchase the supplies and she was BEAT after just two hours with them.  And of course, Gigi needed to be in the picture too.

Christmas is here!!

Girls have been dreaming about this day the WHOLE year!! They have never been one of those kids that are asking for this or that during the year... instead, they spend the whole year saying what they will ask Santa! It's super cute and I hope that never change.  Here are their faces before going to bed on Christmas Eve.

A picture with me after they woke up and saw all the things Santa brought for them!


I won't fill the post with tons of pictures from each gift, but this is my favorite picture from today! Their faces when they saw they got a Wii was priceless!

Santa came to town!

This year I was too busy helping the girls to open their presents, that I couldnt get as many pictures as I normally get. The also got other stuff but here are the stuff they got from me and Auntie Cara.

They choose what they wanted to leave for Santa, so he got: Strawberry milk, a banana, baby carrots and cookies (those cookies were they ons that kept me awake while I was wrapping them ALL NIGHT long! LOL)... I have to practice my Santa's handwriting for next year, and I think I will also purchase a notebook for years to come. This year Santa used "the napkin":

First off, when they walked out their bedroom, they found some clothes from Santa. I purchased a white shirt, made a Christmas tree and their name with glue, and threw some glitter on it. They loved them!

Here are their gifts:

Before tearing them apart...

Because the dolls are never enough!

Camila's favorite gift:

My favorite gift from all....They have toys of each color inside of each "crayon"... LOVED it! .. In the back, Gaby's favorite gift: A Barbie Register!

They all got crowns, wands, earrings and bracelets:

Ariel was a good boy too!

We gave Ariel the gift that Santa left in our house for him... He was a bit shy when he saw the box....


But as soon as he saw what it was (my brother and the girls had to open it for him), he run to play with it and was laughing and having so much fun...


This is his first "Carpenter" toy and he loved the hammer's effect!!! Soo cool!!!! Here is the stock photo from Step 2 as I couldnt get a good picture of it:

Letter to Santa... From a MOM!

I got this from Justi's blog and I couldnt help but to pass it along...

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years. Here are my Christmas wishes: I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone. On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes, Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools. I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting 'Don't eat in the living room' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog. If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family. Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

Dear baby Jesus and Dear Santa

Today I had a very long converstation with Santa Claus and baby Jesus. I was reminding them how important is Christmas for me, and how I want them to learn about the real meaning of Christmas, but also I wanted them to receive at least a portion of the many gifts that I received when I was a kid.

I hardly buy toys during the year, and even for their birthdays we dont buy many gifts, because the gift is always the party... This year was an exception with Gaby's birthday, as she got gifts because we were not doing a real party, only a party at school. But, anyway, birthday gifts are only for the birthday girl, but on Christmas there are gifts for the three of them!! They get to have gifts for themselves, and also gifts to share with their sisters. Also, they get to give gifts to other people, and feel joy with it.

So, today I was explaining them how my girls deserved something HUGE this Christmas because they have been spending more time apart from me than usual because I have been having a lot of work to do. This Christmas I want it to be ONE BIG gift instead of TONS of LITTLE gifts... They both took notes, and I ordered what I wanted... My heart is full of joy and I CANT wait to see their face on Christmas morning. I told them that if they wanted to get little things for them too, that it was Ok, but that the main thing was the ONE BIG gift. I also told them what I wanted for my nephew Ariel and the also write it down! Cant believe there is still 20 more days until Christmas!!