Antonio's 40th birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Antonio's 40th birthday (Antonio is my sister's boyfriend). We went to the Cheesecake Factory in Pembroke Garden, which was just opened a little over a week ago...

We had a wonderful dinner and celebrated the birthday boy.. it was fun!

Sleep troubles!

If you're a mom, I'm sure you know it's not all fun and games in mommyland.. some days are just crazier than others, and some kids are just difficult by nature...at least I think mine are, although I'm sure every mother feels like this at some point, right? (please say yes!)....
We've been having some issues lately in the sleep department, because even do the girls do sleep through the night (thank God), it is SO HARD to get them to bed on time... Their bedtime is being progressively pushed to a later time and I'm so exhausted...
I've been lectured by some on this subject, even by Olivia's teacher, who insinuated she was "disruptive" for not sleeping.. (what a b***h)
They also wake up insanely early (in relation to the time they go to bed), and are so full of energy all day long... Can I say NO NAP! Oh my.. I'm so tired..
Gaby is a little better about it, but with Olivia around, there isn't much she can do... By the time 9pm approaches, they're both complaining about not wanting to go to sleep, and they're up as early as 6:30am.. even on weekends.. it's just nuts!!
Please, someone tell me what to do to get these girls to sleep a little longer... I'm so tired!!!!

Wordless Monday...

Leo's 4th birthday!

Yesterday we attended Leo's 4th birthday party, celebrated in his parents' house in Miramar. 

Leo is one of Olivia's classmates from school and a very fun little guy.  He turned 4 years old on August 4th and his party was Power Ranger themed... It was so much fun... his mom even hired an acrobat, who did some great tricks and kept the kids entertained for a while...

The girls had a wonderful time and played for a long time with their little friends... the cake was delicious and the kids were exhausted afterwards..what else can I ask for?

Carlos' 33rd birthday

Last night we went out with some friends to celebrate my friend Carlos' 33rd birthday.  The celebration was at Kukaramakara night club in downtown Miami and we had such a wonderful time with some of our closest friends...

We danced a bit and had a few drinks and then came back home.. needless to say, it was WAY past our bedtime! ;)

Happy Birthday, Carlitos! Enjoy your day!

What makes someone a good parent?

Parenting is the hardest job I've done in my life; it is challenging, exhausting, demanding and a few other adjectives that I can't think of (probably because I'm too exhausted)... It is also rewarding, pleasant, motivational, and the best experience of all.. I wouldn't change it for the world...
With that said, I often ask myself, what makes someone a good parent?  What makes ME a good mother? what makes others better mothers than me?
I was recently faced with a hostile environment/experience, where I was clearly being judged for my parenting choices, which I obviously consider the best, otherwise I wouldn't make them...
I let my kids run around on their own when we're in playgrounds, I'm not on top of them all day long, I let them stay up past 8 pm, I let them pick their own foods and I don't force them to nap if they aren't sleepy!  My kids often whine, throw tantrums and aren't in their best behaviors; some other times they are the sweetest kids in the world...Am I a bad mother for that?  I guess I am in the eyes of some...
I believe I am raising confident children, who have choices in life and I am providing them with the tools to make the best of what they have and be the best they can be. I shouldn't have to explain myself to others, because I LOVE my children and that is the bottom line.....
I'm sure most parents (including myself), have found themselves making mistakes in their parenting days, because no one is perfect and we all struggle with this responsibility....
So, to all parents who judge others, you should look at yourself in the mirror first and worry about raising your own children instead of criticizing others... it's just sad that someone gets to say I'm horrible because I decided to get my daughter's ears pierced or because I let her chew gum on occasion..how dumb is this world??

Back to school

Today was quite an emotional day (for me at least)... The girls are back to school, well Olivia is... and Gaby started school today... so exciting!

Olivia started VPK (Voluntary Pre-K), which is partially sponsored by the government and it is like a preparation for the real thing, which will happen next year when she starts Pre-K...

Gaby started K-2, which is a new thing for her... she did fine when I dropped her off but then when I called the school to check on her, they said she had cried "a little", which was expected, I guess!

They were both so happy this morning with their cute little uniforms and lunch boxes.. so adorable!

All in all, it has been a good experience... it makes me so emotional, though... my babies are growing up too fast for my liking!  ;(

                                                    

Our trip to Chicago

Chicago is definitely one of my favorite cities of the US, so versatile and incredibly beautiful..

We were there for 5 days and I can say that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves...it was a great trip...

We visited the Morton Arboretum in Naperville, IL, where we saw a bunch of pretty trees and flowers and the girls enjoyed the many playgrounds... so awesome..

 On another day, we visited downtown Chicago and saw some very neat things, like the new Marilyn Monroe statue that was put right in front of the Chicago Tribune building just a few weeks ago.. so cool...

 ...we also walked around the city and enjoyed the beautiful scenery...

 ...we had the opportunity to visit The Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears tower), one of the tallest buildings in the world with awesome observatories and amazing views of the cities... Olivia was fascinated with the experience... and so were we...

...we also visited Millenium Park and a few other hot spots in the city... it was such an amazing trip...I didn't want to come back.. ha ha!
If you'd like to see more pictures of our trip, visit my Facebook page... there are some pretty awesome shots there, if I say so myself! ;)

"What to Expect" meet up

During our recent trip to Chicago, I was lucky enough to meet up with some of my favorite cyber friends, whom I met during my last pregnancy.  We met through a website called "What to Expect" and have been in contact since late 2008.  All of us have kids born between June and July of 2009, so needless to say the meet up was such a blast...

The kids had an amazing time playing together and us mommies got to know each other a lot better.. it was such a blast..

Here's a picture of all of us with our babies...

From left to right: Kacie and Sawyer, Jamie and Luke, Sonia and Solana, Me with my girls, Erin and Drew and Maryann and Kassidy.. this picture is for the ages! ;)
Thanks for an amazing time girls!

Gaby is 25 months!

My little bebe is 25 months today! Just one month ago we were celebrating her birthday and I'm already counting down another month!
Gaby is TOUGH!  She has become so whiny and so hard to handle... Granted, she's very sweet whenever she wants to be, but she's going through a very tough phase, where she wants everything her way, whenever she says so...
She loves music, loves cartoons, loves gum, popcorn, cookies and junk food... We try to avoid it all, but she gets so mad when we say no!
She has become even more obsessed with her sister and basically imitates her every move.. it's really crazy...
She will be starting pre-school next Monday and I'm really excited for her... we'll see how that goes!
Happy 25 months, Gaby!

We're in Chicago!

                                                                                                                                                                       Today's "Wordless Monday" has been cancelled since we're currently vacationing in Chicago...

I will be reporting about our trip this week... I have so many pictures and stories to share! ;)

Wordless Monday...

"The Change-Up"

Tonight I enjoyed a movie night with my love, which is always a fun plan.
We went to see "The Change-Up", which came out on Friday and it features Ryan Reynolds, one of my favorite actors.
The story is about two guys, with very different lives and happen to make a wish in a magical fountain, that turns them into each other.  They wake up in a different body, living each other's lives... In the process, they realize what's good and what's bad about their own lives as well as the other's...
It's a fun movie and very entertaining... it's also very funny and had most people laughing for the whole two hours...
The only down side (for me), is that it has too many cuss words for my liking, but I guess that's what makes even "funnier"...
This one gets 4 out of 5 stars in my book, because I feel like the language didn't have to be so dirty!
It was a great night.. and Ryan Reynolds is so CUTE!

Danny's 5th birthday

Today we attended Danny's 5th birthday party, which took place at Froggy's Playhouse in Pembroke Pines.  Danny is the son of my good friend Jessica, who is expecting her 2nd baby this year, we were so happy to spend some time with her wonderful family!

The girls had an amazing time bouncing up and down and eating pizza and cupcakes... It was such a great party!

Happy Birthday, Danny! We hope you had a blast!

Night out

Last night Iggy and I out went out dancing to one of the "hottest" Latin clubs in downtown Miami...
It is called "Kukaramakara" and it is a Colombian club, which features a live band and Latin music.. (formal review will be posted on my Business Reviews section)...
We had such an amazing time and enjoyed dancing the night away... We also had a couple of drinks and felt young and careless for a night...
This morning I felt like a truck ran me over, but it was worth it for all the fun we had....I slept until 1pm (my sister kept the girls) and I was still super exhausted... Fun times! I hope we can do it again soon!

"Baby fever" no more!

If you have followed my blog for at least a few months, you might remember this post, where I spoke about my desire to have another child and how torn I felt about the decision...
Well, I must say that a few months have made a huge difference in my perspective regarding whether or not to add to our family...
I can proudly say that I am ENTIRELY convinced that two kids is PLENTY and that I have reached the point where I am TOTALLY content and satisfied with my two beautiful girls... "baby fever" NO MORE!
I have scheduled an appointment with my ob/gyn to discuss the steps to get the Essure procedure done; this is a permanent procedure that will make me sterile forever!  Sounds drastic, right?

Well...I am coming to terms with our decision and happy with the way life is right now!  Babies are cute and all, but traveling is way more fun... with more than 2 kids, life would be too hard!  Iggy, of course, wholeheartedly agrees with me...we're so ready to close the "baby" chapter in our family book!  Our family is finally complete!

"The Smurfs"

Today I took the girls to the movies to watch "The Smurfs", which came out a few days ago...

Not only did it bring me back to my childhood years, when I used to watch The Smurfs' cartoon, but it also made me laugh and I had such a great time...

The movie plot is quite original and the animations are amazing... the Smurfs almost look real and they are hilarious..

The story revolves around the little blue people getting out of their village by accident and landing in New York city, where they meet Patrick and Grace, the couple that helps them return home... but before doing that, they all have quite the adventure in the city..

I also loved Neil Patrick Harris in that movie, he looks so cute that I almost forgot he's gay! ha ha!

Although I don't think this is completely a kids' movie, I do think it's great, even for a movie date night...

In my book, this one gets 5 out of 5 stars! The Smurfs rock!!!

Pinterest

Do you have ideas or things in your mind that you'd like to keep track of? or a recipe you'd like to remember? or a picture you'd like to save?

Well... there's an awesome site called PINTEREST, that is all about saving ideas and putting them in a virtual bulletin board....

Pinterest is a virtual "pin board", where you can keep track of tutorials, links, blogs, inspirational stuff and anything you would normally bookmark in your internet browser...

You can make up all the boards you want and basically "pin" anything that you find interesting..

All browsers have a special "Pin it" button, that is super easy to install and use..

You can also follow your friends and see their pins... such a fun (and addicting) way to save anything that interests you!

You can only join by invite, you please let me know if you'd like to be part of it and I'll be sure to send you an invite!

Come on! Become a "Pinterester"... it's awesome!

Magic Kingdom

During our mini trip to Disney, we also visited the Magic Kingdom, which is the girls' favorite park...

Even though it was hot as hell, we were able to enjoy the day and have all the fun we could have.. We went on several rides and saw the parade, which Olivia really loves...

We even met up with some friends and took a bunch of pictures...

What a great day!

Animal Kindgom

This weekend we took a mini trip to Disney with the girls.. it was a blast...

On Saturday we visited Disney's Animal Kingdom, which is one of the smallest Disney parks...We had only been there once before and we were in a rush, so this time we took the time to explore the park and I'm really glad we did...

It is such a nice place and extremely kid-friendly...it has so many wonderful rides and fun activities for the whole family.. The girls enjoyed some rides at Dinoland USA and Olivia even went on the rapids... it was so much fun....

Iggy and I went on the "Expedition Everest" roller coaster and had a blast as well...

I thought the Animal Kingdom was just a "glorified zoo", but this visit definitely proved me wrong.. it is just another awesome place by Disney!