In a funk...

I consider myself a generally positive individual.. I tend to look at the glass half full and I just love enjoying everything that life throws at me...
Lately.. not so much! For some reason I've been in a funk (whatever that means!..)... I've been down over my weight issues, work stuff, the kids have been driving me insane and some things are just not working out.. I don't feel "pretty" (I realize that sounds very shallow) and I just wanna hide in my room...
On top of all those things, I've had a terrible back pain for almost a month and I just feel like I haven't been normal ever since this issue started.. I want to go see a doctor but sometimes I'm in so much pain that I can't even get around to doing that...
I feel like crap because I know my "problems" are trivial compared to "real problems" some people have...so I hope God forgives me from feeling like this...
I have a loving husband, I have a job, I am healthy and have healthy kids... so why am I in such a funk?
I know that I'm the only one that can make myself feel better, but for some reason writing about this stuff can give me some perspective...
I ask God to help me get out of this funk and to find the power within me to turn things around... I also hope that I get the inner strength I need to lose some weight and start feeling better about myself...
It's always nice to be surrounded by loving friends and family...and it's nice to have a blog to vent and not be afraid of being judged! I'm sure I'm not the only person to ever feel like that, so I'm happy to know that it's ok to realize that there are crazy days (and weeks) and we all need help to get through them! ;)
Happy Blogging!

Movie review: "Les Miserables"

I finally got a chance to watch "Les Miserables", which I have to say I've been longing to see since the first trailer came out...
Even though I was a month late in watching it, I think the movie was worth the wait although it was not *perfect*.
Let me start by saying that if you don't like musicals, don't waste your time.. there isn't ANY kind of spoken dialogue in this movie and at times the sung words are very hard to understand...which leads me to my first negative criticism...
...I think the singing is completely overdone and some of the actors (such as Russel Crowe) were terrible singers...and by that I mean really awful! Russel, please stick to acting if you can...;)
Considering I read the book more than 10 years ago, I will say that from what I remember the movie was very loyal to it and the plot was carried out almost flawlessly..
The main characters are well interpreted and the cinematography is wonderful.. I think Hugh Jackman does an awesome job as Jean Valjean and his singing voice it really good (well..it has to be considering he was a theater/musical actor before he did movies)...
The scenery is also very good and I really liked the colors in the movie.. it was very well directed as well...
I thought some of the musical numbers were too long and some even unnecessary but the songs were very engaging and fun overall...
Also, considering the movie was 2+ hours, I must admit that it was entertaining enough to keep me interested the whole time and I even shed a couple of tears at the end...
All in all, I think "Les Miserables" is a great work of art...it deserves the nominations and hype it got, but there were a few things lacking for true perfection in my book... I give this one 4 out of 5 stars.. definitely worth a trip to the movies! 

One of "THOSE" weekends!

I'm sure every mother out there would agree that motherhood brings such joy and happy moments...kids are just wonderful, right? right??
 I also think most mothers would agree with me when I say that some days are just NUTS!..
Well...this weekend was one of "THOSE" weekends where I wanted to run away.. my kids were just mean and wild and I felt like such a failure for not having enough patience to deal with their craziness!
For the first time in years I felt like I was possessed with some "evil" presence.. I wanted to yell, break things, punch something.. it was awful...
I told the kids I would give all their toys away and just piled them up by the door.. they started crying and whining like never before and kept begging me to "forgive them".. I seriously didn't know what to do...
Then I started to think about how much worse it could be...and how I could have "real" problems without solutions..and I calmed down.. a little bit...and the kids calmed down too.. I think that helped a lot..
...and then I thought of blogging about it and getting it off my chest... but then I also thought about how complaining about my kids doesn't necessarily fit into a blog called "Stories of a Happy Mom".. and then I said "heck, I need to post real stories"..so here I am rambling about it.. and realizing that things aren't always perfect... and that it's ok to accept that...
So, I'm hoping some other moms can relate to this post in some sort of way and know that we all go through "those" days where everything seems to be upside down...
Please tell me you've had days like these...?!?!?!?!?

5.5

Gosh! I don't know where to start with this post...Olivia is just such an incredible person that it's really hard to describe her in a few words...
She is turning 5 1/2 today and it amazes me to see what my "little lady" has become and how much she has grown in this 66 months of life...
I know all moms are supposed to say their kids are smart, but Olivia really blows me away with how intelligent she is...not only is she at the top of her class academically (she has been tested for giftedness and tested positive twice), but she is also incredibly mature emotionally speaking and has such great capacity of processing and interpreting ideas.. She is also a solution seeker and always seems to have an answer to every situation...whether it's trivial or not.. (she gets that from her daddy and I love it!)...
Olivia loves to read and write.. her handwriting gets more beautiful every day and her reading skills have improved so much since she started Kindergarten (she's reading- and understanding- levels 1 & 2 books on her own)... it's crazy to see how much kids can learn in school and how much they change in just a few months...
Olivia is fully bilingual but she still favors Spanish and is so proud of her heritage (which makes me very happy, of course!).. She loves dancing, singing and being the center of attention.. She's such a negotiator and a very persuasive individual.. I can already see how all these skills will do her some good in her future...
She is incredibly athletic and loves exercise (she plays tennis and does gymnastics)..Olivia is very active and her energy just never fades.. She is quite the artist and the intricacy of her drawings is amazing at times (I should post some of her art on here!)...
I am so proud to be Olivia's mother...she is such a great daughter and an awesome big sister...she's definitely the leader in the pack and that makes me very happy....
I can only hope God continues to give me the wisdom I need to raise her right.. Thank you, God for this wonderful daughter... She is such a blessing! ;)

3.5

Since I no longer write monthly posts about my kids (although I could probably write a daily weekly one), I have decided to do one at the half way mark, so here it is...
Gaby is 3 1/2 months today..yes.. a whole 42 months! Time is sure flying in her little life and she is, of course, making our life very joyful and totally eventful...
Let's see... Gaby is such a character; she is funny, sassy, energetic, creative, intelligent...and... very...very...very moody! wow!.. I know I'm supposed to sit here and write about how "perfect" my child is, but she sure is challenging at times and is at a very difficult age.. She has a mind of her own and has a very hard time complying with our wishes (this is not to say she's a defiant child..she really isn't).. it's either her way or the high way.. she'd rather die before doing what we ask her on the first attempt.. Bribing doesn't work with her and we definitely need to catch her on one of her good days, otherwise all hell breaks loose!
.. with that said, Gaby is also very loving and extremely caring.. She is a very sweet child (on her good days!) and loves being part of the "action"... She is really starting to show her bold personality and I love her for that...
Meal time is still an issue as she is very picky with the foods she likes and doesn't seem to enjoy eating as much as I do (I wish I could eat as little as she does.. LOL)...But boy does she have a SWEET TOOTH!.. I wonder who she gets it from... LOL!
She has been fully potty trained for a whole year.. once she was out of diapers (which she did for day and night at the same time), there was no looking back.. I'm proud to say she has NEVER had an "accident" and even though I complained at the time, she basically potty trained within a couple of weeks and that was the end of the diaper era in our house (..and am I glad about that!)...
Gaby LOVES school.. she adores her teacher and her classmates and is quite popular in her class.. Everyone calls her Gaby P. (there are two other Gabys in her class), so it's very funny to see how she identifies herself with the letter "P"... She loves dolls, singing, drawing and gymnastics... She is also proud of her "long" hair and loves to play hair dresser...among other things...
Gaby has a great love-hate relationship with her big sister and I love to see how much she loves Olivia and looks up to her despite their daily occasional disagreements...
It's truly a joy to be Gaby's mother and I'm thoroughly enjoying this amazing experience...
Thank you, God for this beautiful daughter you gave me!  I'm so blessed to be her mother! ;)

Photo Dump

2013 has proven to be a very busy year... 

Not much time to blog lately, so here's a photo dump...

I hope to blog some more soon!

Happy Blogging! ;)

8 years in love!!!!

Today marks 8 years since I met the love of my life...
I will never forget that wonderful January 9th, 2005 when I saw Iggy for the first time... I just *knew*...and I still *know* that he is my one and only... He makes me the happiest girl alive and my heart is always full of joy because he is in my life...
Iggy and I have created a wonderful life with two beautiful kids and so many happy moments... We are truly blessed and I thank God every day for him....
I love you, Iggy.. Thank you for these 8 amazing years...let's hope the next 100 are just as awesome! ;)

Happy New Year!!!

First post of the year!!!!

I'm sure 2013 will be just as great as 2012...

I pray that this new year brings us tons of joyful moments and memories to cherish...

We were at Epcot for New Year's Eve and rang in 2013 with tons of fireworks and a very festive atmosphere...of course Disney never disappoints...

It was Isabella's first visit to Disney and she did awesome.. I'm glad to have been part of it...

The girls were super excited for the new year and celebrated all day long...

I was next to my love at midnight and all was right in my world...

... we had a great family dinner on NYE....it was fun!

With that said, I hope to bring many happy posts to my blog and to continue to document my experiences on this wonderful site...

Happy 2013 to my fellow bloggers!!

Happy Blogging! :)