"Mommy, where do babies come from?"

...and so it begins... inquisitive little minds! Ha!
I've always felt proud of my daughters and the way they handle themselves.. I like that they're curious, sassy and smart... I also love their eagerness to learn and their never ending hunger for new information! :)
With that said, one can never be fully prepared for THOSE questions that either have no answer, or simply have an answer that isn't exactly "age appropriate"!
In my years as a mother (six LONG years!), I have found that it's easier not to lie to my kids so I try to give them the answers that are closest to the truth, even when it's not what they wanted to hear..but as the questions get deeper, the answers get more complex and the challenge gets bigger!
Lately my kids have been asking a lot of questions: "mommy, where do babies come from"? "why do you and daddy lock the bedroom door sometimes?" "why do people die?" "why do people cry at church?" "why do adults argue?" "why are there people in jail?" "why are there beggars in the parking lot?" "why are there kids with no clothes or food?" and on, and on, and on...
I find it hard to believe that I'm already at the point where my creativity is running out!  The other day I was trying to explain the girls why women get a period (don't ask me why.. you don't want to know).. the answer started with "there's an egg that breaks every month" and somehow it ended with them asking "where do babies come from?".. how they made the connection is the real question, but they seem to be genuinely interested and totally not convinced with my crazy answers..
For some reason I fear the day when my kids will start to get answers from someone who isn't me, the day when their inquisitiveness will lead to misinformation and confusion...
I am determined to be THAT mom that strives to find the answer to every question, THAT mom who will always tell the truth no matter what, the one her kids will think of every time they have a doubt, or an idea...the first person they'll want to talk to when they're feeling down...I NEED to be that mom!  This is the first time I've been scared to think that somehow I won't be able to fill those shoes I've made for myself.. and I need to get over it!
Happy blogging! ;)

Back to school week and a new haircut!

It's no secret that I am THAT mom that takes a million pictures of her kids every day and twice on Sunday, but when it's Back to School week, a million pictures just aren't enough... LOL...

My kids went back to school this past Monday and we were all so excited...it was such a special day in our family and such proud moment for this happy mom...

Olivia started FIRST GRADE!!!! and my little Gaby went back for her last year of PreK...they were both incredibly anxious about meeting their new teachers and seeing their friends again! What a great experience!

Here are some pictures of the first day of school...

This one is so adorable.. they're so great at supporting each other... I just love it!

I was so happy to drop off my girls in their new classrooms! No tears were shed (at least not their tears.. LOL)

...and as a bonus to this entry, I present to you the before and after pictures of Olivia's haircut.. She came home from school on Monday requesting a haircut, so I obliged and took her to the hair salon that afternoon... 

This was the end result...what do you think?

Thank you God for a successful first week of school so far and thank you for allowing our girls the opportunity to thrive and learn in such a healthy and loving school environment!

Happy blogging! :)

Summer break: Week 10 aka "Mommy week" aka "LAST week of summer break"

Late entry: I apologize for such a late entry... last week was crazy busy and with all the back to school stuff I nearly went nuts! With that said, here's a little snapshot of our last week of summer break!

Week 10 was such a great way to finish off our summer!  I took a week off from work and just spent some wonderful quality time with my little ones... we named this last week "Mommy week" or "Mommy camp" as they prefer to call it...
The week was filled with such wonderful array of activities, including a trip to the movies, lunch with friends, shopping, dessert eating times and many more... here are some photos of our special last week...

We went out to lunch with my friend Jessica.. the girls really love her!

We spent some time at the park...they had a blast!

...we made a special trip to Misha's Cupcakes (best cupcakes in Miami!)... yum!

We spent a couple of days at the pool...the girls jumped, swam and played a ton of water games!

..some shopping trips were in order and they never get tired of this silly picture with the Old Navy mannequins! :)

On the last weekend, we visited Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor, where we all indulged ourselves in fatty food and gigantic ice creams! yum! (good thing this doesn't happen often, otherwise we'd big big as whales!) ;)

..and last but not least, we attended Leo's 6th birthday party at a new place called Rocket Kids on Sunday.. the place was pretty cool.. the girls got to play laser tag for the first time and they had a wonderful time kissing good bye to their summer break! We had a great time! 

I have to say that I'm incredibly thankful to God for this amazing summer break and all the wonderful opportunities that we had during this time. 

I'm glad we were able to provide our girls with the most fun they could possibly have and that we were able to spend so much time together....they certainly appreciate all the memories that were made during this time....

Now it's "Back to School"....cheers to another wonderful year filled with joy and success...

Happy Blogging! :)

Movie review: "Planes"

Rounding up our summer movie round, we watched Disney's latest movie, "Planes"...
The girls were a little hesitant at first, claiming this would be a "boy" movie, but I'm usually pretty loyal to anything with the Disney stamp on it (and so are they), so we went!
"Planes" is very "Cars"-like, typical underdog story, filled with inspiring and colorful characters and with a wonderful message...
The main character is Dusty, who is a crop duster plane with big dreams of competing in the "Wings around the Globe" flying tournament, where some of the most special planes compete...
Of course, Dusty isn't built for that kind of competition so he finds so many obstacles along the way, including lack of training, physical limitations and lack of support... Dusty ends up competing and meeting wonderful friends during his journey; he is able to teach a lesson or two to his fellow competitors as well as learn a thing or two from his guide and partners.
In the end, following a difficult journey in the competition, Dusty is able to conquer his fears and win the competition...
The movie is beautifully written and the story is very compelling for both children and adults; the characters are cute and the voice overs are pretty genius...
I will give this one 3 out of 4 stars, only because some parts of the movie dragged on and the plot seemed a little "unoriginal" compared to the success of "Cars"... It was, however, a great movie with the perfect amount of Disney in it!
Highly recommended....

Summer Break: Week 9

Here we are.. at the end of summer break.. literally... well.. one more week left, but you get the point...

I don't know if I'm happy or sad about summer break ending, but it's definitely exciting to look forward to another school year and even more exciting to see my girls have so much fun!

Week 9 was fun for all of us...

There was some fun face painting, meet ups with friends, puzzle making, late dinners, birthday parties and much more!

Here are some pics...

We met up with my friend Roxy and her kids Jose M and Carlota (born just one day before Gaby)...They live in Venezuela and are here for the summer.. it was amazing to see them and hang out for a while.. the girls love their friends and I love mine! :)

Olivia spent some time making puzzles and playing at home... she has gotten really good at pretend play and independent activities...

This is the funniest picture taken this week.. Gaby fell asleep (food in hand and all) during one of our late dinners this week... How cute is this!?

We also went to Gaby's 4th birthday party.. Gaby is one of Gaby's best friends.. they're so close they even share a name! The party was in a water park and since the day was hot as hell, the girls loved swimming in the pool and playing with all their little friends.. it was awesome!

...and the following are just cute pictures we took this week and I felt like sharing.. 

And now with only one week left of this summer break, I'm so ready to spend some quality time with my girls.  I have a week off from work coming up and I plan to take advantage of it.  

This summer break has been one to remember, and I can only hope it ends as well as it started!

After this week, it's back to business! Can't wait! 

Happy Summer! 

Movie review: "Smurfs 2"

Animated little blue people starring in a movie always sounds like fun... now, when those little blue people are living it up in Paris (my favorite city, ever!), it can only get better... right? right?... I think so!
"Smurfs 2" is a fun sequel to an already fun movie.. the girls and I really enjoyed it and we thought the characters had great "flavor" to them...
This particular movie revolves around Smurfette, who is revealed to have been created by Gargamel and turned into a Smurf by "Papa smurf"...It is her birthday and as all the smurfs prepare a surprise party, she fears they have forgotten all about it...
In the meantime, she gets kidnapped by one of Gargamel's un-blue little people and she is taken to Paris....
As the  other smurfs go out to her rescue, they recruit Patrick, Grace and their family to help them save Smurfette...
The movie evolves as they all embark into a fun and crazy adventure through the streets of Paris...
It is fun, colorful and eventful..and just every entertaining...
I thought the movie was also incredibly creative and full of wonderful messages for the whole family....
I give it 3.5 out of 4 stars.. only because there were some sleepy parts as well as some overly "out there" sequences..but all in all, a good movie! ;)

Summer Break: Week 8

We're in the last stretch of our summer break and things have been pretty quiet around here...

The girls are in gymnastics summer camp for another week and I'm gearing up for a week off from work just to hang out with my girls before they start school...

School supplies have been bought, uniforms have been washed and we're just ready to rumble...

This past week was pretty uneventful.  We watched a few sunsets, read books, made puzzles and spent a couple of days with the girls' grandma, who was visiting from Venezuela. 

We also went shopping and took advantage of "tax free" week, which is always awesome!

Here are some pictures!

With all that said, there are only two weeks left in the summer break and I feel a little torn...

I have to say that the girls are in denial about going back to school and I just don't know what to think...they do enjoy spending time with us and just hanging out... but duty is calling!!