Movie review: "Side Effects"

I hadn't been to the movies in over a month and I must say that not many of the current movies really caught my eye, so we kind of "settled" for "Side Effects", starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum...
The synopsis sounded "interesting" and I must say the movie didn't disappoint (at least not entirely!)...
The plot revolves around Emily (Rooney Mara), who has recently reunited with her husband (Channing Tatum) after he gets out of jail having served a 4-year sentence for insider trading...
As he gets out and she tries to readjust to her "normal" life, she struggles with depression and other emotional issues, including a failed suicide attempt, which leads her to meet Dr. Banks (Jude Law)... who then consults with Emily's prior psychiatrist (Zeta-Jones), who subsequently suggests he prescribes her with a new drug called Ablixa...based on Emily's background...
This drug "makes" Emily do stuff in her sleep but it also has its pros, such as better moods, increased sex drive and good stuff like that... Emily ends up killing her husband (yes! she kills him) in her sleep.. she goes to trial and is declared insane and sent to a mental hospital...with the premise that she will be released quickly and remains under the care of Dr. Banks.
....and then the plot thickens... this is where I give the movie bonus points for "unpredictability" and "suspense"... it goes from verging on boring (they can only delve so much into Emily's mental state) to being a very interesting suspense movie...
...what comes after Emily goes to the hospital I won't reveal since I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone who does go in to see it, but let's just say things aren't what they seem and the plot is full of surprises... Jude Law does an amazing job as the psychiatrist who wants to know the whole truth and get all the answers about his patient...
I give this one 3 out of 5 stars.. it's decent.. it's entertaining and the characters are rather interesting and attractive.. it's definitely worth a trip to the theater...

Erika's 6th birthday

Happy Birthday to my sweet niece Erika (aka Cookie), who is turning 6 today!
I still can't believe this little lady is already 6.. I still remember the first moment I held her and how tiny and cute she was...
I was lucky enough to be there when she was born and to hear her first cry, and see her first bath and so on and so forth..
I'm still lucky to spend the years with her and to see her turning into a beautiful and smart girl!

Happy Birthday, Erika! We love you very much! 

Disney weekend: Annual passes expired! :(

Our Disney annual passes have officially expired (last day was today!), so we made sure to enjoy the benefits of such passes up to the last minute..

We spent a wonderful weekend at the Disney parks and we really enjoyed every minute of it..

This time was extra special (and yes, I realize I always say the same thing), because 1. we were celebrating Erika's 6th birthday and 2. we went with my cousin Renato who is visiting from Europe and hadn't been to Disney in over 20 years...

The weather was beautiful and the experience was as amazing as usual.. we have been so lucky to be annual pass holders for the past 2 years and I'm looking forward to buying passes in the future.. For the time being, we have decided to take a "break" from the Disney parks and teach the girls to appreciate the value of this amazing gift..

Here are some pictures of this weekend...

So, Disney..thanks for the wonderful memories in the past two years.. We're looking forward to making many more whenever we decide to buy more annual passes... 

Valentine's Day

Even though I'm not a huge Valentine's Day lover, I do enjoy spending time with my loved ones and feeling the love around me! (..and I just wrote the world LOVE three times in one sentence.. LOL)

So yesterday, since it was "Valentine's Day" aka World Love Day, it was a great time to hang out with my lovies, including my hubby, daughters, sister, niece.. etc.. it was fun..

I woke up with some flowers by my night stand, which  made my morning!

Thank you, hubby!

...and the best part of the day (don't get jealous, babe!) was spending time with my awesome friend Marianna (and her hubby).. I've mentioned her before and I'll mention her again (she's that special!).. she is the first friend I ever had.. we met when we were 3 years old and have managed to stay close for all these years.. She is currently visiting from Europe and I'm enjoying her as much as I can!

Thank you, Mari! You made this Valentine's Day that much more special! (and I totally love this picture of us!)

I hope everyone had an awesome V-Day! Let's the love flow all year long! ;)

"Reminder Appliance"

For years (literally!), we've been struggling with Olivia's thumb sucking habit...
It's nasty, it's dirty, it's terrible and we just hate it..
So many times we have tried to get her to stop this terrible habit and she has even tried herself...at some point I even thought she had succeeded and had stopped but it turned out to be a "scare".. LOL..
So, after much consideration and tons of conversations (with Iggy, with Olivia and even with Gaby..LOL), we decided to consult an orthodontist and research some permanent solutions... The orthodontist suggested a "reminder appliance" which is some sort of a metal bridge that is put on the roof of the mouth and will help her break the habit.  The appliance will stay in her mouth for up to a year and it will hopefully end this nightmare...
Olivia seemed to be on board with the idea so we just went with it...
She got fitted for the mold a few weeks ago and today she finally got a bridge/reminder appliance put in the roof of her mouth.. She did amazingly well; she didn't even need numbing gas and was so proud of herself after the process was over...
She is now showing off her new "toy" and is taking it well... Of course she is having some trouble eating and adjusting to the fact that there is an apparatus in her mouth, but all in all I'm really amazed at how well she's taking it...
I really hope the excitements lasts and this is a success...I'm really proud of her and impressed at her maturity...
Go Olivia!

Photo Dump

"Totem"

"Totem" is the latest Cirque du Soleil show, currently in town so of course I had to see it since I love their shows so much...

I went with my good friends Marianna and her husband Placido and also with my cousin Carolina (Iggy couldn't make it this time)...

Although the show wasn't the best I've seen from Cirque du Soleil, it did have awesome, heart-stopping, incredible moments and it was a very entertaining spectacle...

The music was amazing, the stage was beautiful and many of the "tricks" were shocking and nerve-wrecking, however, I had a hard time understanding some of the numbers and I felt like there wasn't a story line like in some other shows.. It was hard to find the connection between some of the characters and the pieces just didn't fit together... but all in all it was great...

The "chapiteau" also featured a cute souvenir store, picture shop and a few other cool spots...

Here are some pictures...they are a bit crappy since they're cell phone pictures..but still worth it!

100 days of school!

This past Wednesday, the girls celebrated 100 days of school and it was quite an exciting day for them...

The celebration consisted of several outdoor activities/games and a Trike-a-thon, which was so much fun for the kids...They got to wear beautiful bike helmets, ride bikes, play games and make tons of crafts.. everything was so awesome...

Here are some of the pictures from that fun day! 

Although I will admit that things haven't been "perfect" with this school, I was glad to see the girls enjoying themselves and celebrating such milestone! Happy 100 days, kids!