Catholic Schools Week and 100 Days of School

Wow! I feel like I haven't blogged in forever!!! It has been 12 days since my last post and I was seriously having "blogger withdrawal", if that's even a term!

Life has been hectic... VERY hectic and the kids' activities are very demanding.  We also might be moving soon so that has my mind very occupied as well...

So, considering I don't have that much time to spare, I will jump right into blogging about our life lately...

This week we celebrated "Catholic Schools Week", which is an event celebrated across all dioceses around the country; all Catholic schools plan a fun filled week and the kids get to connect with their faith. 

Olivia had a blast on her field day and I was lucky to volunteer with her class; the kids got to play around and do a lot of fun and interactive things with their classmates. 

Here's a picture of Olivia's class...the day was hot, but the kids had a blast!

Today it was the 100th day of school and Olivia made a great project in honor of the day. 

She came up with the idea of "Olivia's Sky", where she pasted 100 stars with a glittery moon; I love to see her creative side and she really enjoys all the compliments she gets! :)

Here's Olivia and her friends Alba and Emma during today's 100th day celebration...

..and here are my two babies with their certificates... they were so excited to be "100 days Brighter", how cute is this!?!?

6.5

Today is the 6 1/2 birthday of my first born, my "little lady", one of the most beautiful and sweetest little girls I know. 

Ever since she was born, Olivia has always kept me on my toes; she is inquisitive, active, creative and VERY energetic. It's always never ending fun with her and she makes me laugh so much every day. 

Olivia is also very smart; she is one of the top students in her class and her best subjects are reading and art; she also enjoys sports and is especially good at tennis (daddy is very proud of this!)

She enjoys music very much and has been playing the piano for a few months; she also got a guitar for Christmas and will be starting lessons very soon. 

Olivia has also grown into a very religious little girl; she makes up beautiful prayers and really seems to take to her Catholic faith; we're so blessed to be able to provide her with this beautiful grounds for her future. 

This little girl can also be very headstrong and extremely hard to convince.  She is very moody and tends to go from total happiness to total misery within seconds.  I think she might have a career in acting too because some of her tantrums are definitely Oscar worthy.. LOL.. I still love her the same and we have learned to live with this. 

She LOVES pictures, dressing up, hair accessories and everything girly.. she could literally wear 5 outfits in one day and still have room for more!

I am so happy to have Olivia in my life and I can never thank God enough for making me her mother.  I pray that I will be with her many years to see her flourish into such a special person!

4.5

Today marks 4 1/2 years since my little Gaby was born so I wanted to write a little bit about her since she's so sweet and amazing!

Gaby is the light of our house.. literally! She is sweet, loving, caring and very imaginative. 

She enjoys making up stories and playing pretend with her dolls and toys; sometimes I can't believe how creative and eloquent she gets during play time, it is really a feat to watch her interact with all of her toys and friends...

She is also such a fun sister and Olivia really enjoys spending time with her, as we do too.  They have the most amazing relationship ever and I can only hope they remain so close for the years to come. 

Despite her sweetness, Gaby can also be very stubborn and lazy; she doesn't like cleaning up her toys or making her bed. She is also a very lazy and picky eater so every meal is a fight with her, although she has gotten slightly better in the past few weeks, it's still not perfect. We're working on getting her to be more compliant with minor commands and instructions overall. 

Gaby really enjoys going to school and has made a lot of friends in her PreK-4 class...(btw, I can't believe she'll be in Kindergarten come August!).  She has learned so much in the past few months and I really enjoy watching her grow into such a smart little person....

Also, she is a cat lover just like me.. and that makes me very very very happy! :)

I am so proud to have such a wonderful daughter and I thank God every day for Gaby's health, happiness, personality and for every unforgettable memory we create every day. She is such a blessing!

My parents' 40th wedding anniversary

Yesterday my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary aka Ruby Wedding Anniversary...what a milestone.. easier said than done, that's for sure!

Every married couple knows that marriage takes work... even if you love your mate above all things, there will always be challenging days and sour moments...

But it's not about having a perfect life, but about knowing how to overcome whatever obstacle shows up and coming out stronger on the other side....

And that's how my parents have led by example.  I would be lying if I said their marriage has always been rosy and cheerful, but I would also be lying if I didn't say that their relationship is admirable in more than one way and for that and more, I love them and I love the fact they have been together for so long and I'm definitely looking forward to celebrating many more anniversaries with them. 

This is a cute picture of my parents' wedding day- January 12th 1974- I love their serious faces and their innocent eyes... they were just 21 and 22.. how young!

...and this is a picture we took yesterday during our celebration. 

They're as cute now as they were 40 years ago...

Happy 40th Anniversary, mom and dad!

Why Facebook is NOT evil

Since the inception of "Social Media", the internet has been plagued with articles about how evil Facebook (and other sites) is and how bad and addictive it can be.
Articles like this one mention the negative effects of the site and even go as far as explaining conspiracy theories; "Zuckerberg wants to control your life and get rich off your information", they say.. so what?!?
There are also articles such as this one that talk about how our family and "real" friends are neglected because of our ongoing cell phone addiction...and so on and so forth.. I could list hundreds and hundreds of articles and blogs that talk about the same thing...
So, while I don't mean to diminish the opinion of those who believe FB to be "evil", I beg to differ and would like to expose my opinion on the subject...
To me, FB is NOT evil and never could be because thanks to this wonderful social media site, I get to enjoy day to day pictures of some of my closest friends who happen to live hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of miles away.  I have forged some of the most valuable friendships with the help of FB and have reconnected with long lost friends who would have remained lost had it not been for FB.
Besides friendships and staying in touch, I have witnessed wonderful fund raisers, charity events, common interest groups and other amazing things happen because of FB.  FB even helps me stay in touch with my local friends who I couldn't possibly see or call every day even if I tried.
And I enjoy it... very much... I love all the pregnancy announcements, engagement stories, wedding pictures, children's milestones, birthday pictures and everything else that I get to savor when I'm on FB. I've seen many people who use the argument of spending time with "real life" friends instead of cyber ones... so are FB friends not real?  Do these people in other towns not count? I think they DO! I have been lucky (VERY lucky) to meet amazing friends online and because of the closeness that FB has enabled, I have gone as far as meeting many of these people in person only to make those friendships stronger and better. Thanks to FB I am able to love on them even while we're away and still be part of their lives even if it's just by "liking" what they post.  Let's not kid ourselves, even if we wanted to, how can you call or text these people every day?.. it's virtually impossible...
FB allows for a condensed and interactive way to remain in each other's lives and be part of those cherished moments that are shared through photos and comments on a day to day basis.
FB isn't narcissistic, it isn't about seeking approval or collecting friends.. it is about sharing our lives with people we care about... it is about reciprocating the love that sometimes is only possible through the internet... I know what I am and who I am, I don't NEED people to like or comment on my photos or post, but I like it because it makes me part of this wonderful world where people are interested about one another...
If your life is being consumed by FB and whatever "addiction" comes with it, FB isn't the problem, YOU ARE!  Life is about moderation and social media is a part of our life that we have control of, just like we have control of drinking, eating and so many other things....
Do I have a life outside of FB?  Absolutely I do...but I can't deny that FB is also part of my life, and I'm ok with that as well...
With that said, I will NOT be leaving FB and I will NOT stop sharing my life with my friends because some people think FB is evil...
I will not stop blogging about my thoughts or opinions because others see it as a narcissistic act... if you don't like FB, leave...if you don't like blogs, don't read!

Happy Blogging! ;)

Hello 2014!

With the start of a new year, everyone sets off to start their long list of New Year Resolutions, which often includes: exercise more, lose weight, eat healthier foods, be a better mom, or something along those lines....
Most people feel that a new year is just the perfect time to set all plans in motion and magically change the way we live, eat, act, etc... I wish it was that easy and we could just wake up one day and say "today is the day!"...
And while I am not trivializing the good intentions and meaning of resolutions (I do know many people that make resolutions a reality), I do have a little something against this whole idea... Why? you may ask... well.. I just think that when we come up with "resolutions" and plans to change, we're sort of giving ourselves ultimatums and in a way setting ourselves up for failure and disappointment... For some reason I tend to think that mini steps are much better... For a few years I've been giving myself "mini goals" instead of huge resolutions that often prove to become obstacles to my success....
Instead of saying "I will not rely so much on my cell phone", I say "I will not look at my cell phone while I'm eating"... or instead of saying "I will lose 50 lbs this year", I say "I will make an effort to lose up to 3 lbs per month"... or  instead of "I will quit drinking soda", I say something along "I will only drink soda 3 times per week and take it from there"....you get the point.. I strongly believe big resolutions just don't work and we should just focus on life style changes that will little by little become routine and then habit....it's not easy, but definitely simple....

Also, aside from the whole topic of resolutions vs. mini goals, I also want to mention that my goal for this year (and every year for that matter) is to constantly PAY IT FORWARD and inspire people to do good things for others... I vow to say something nice to a stranger at least twice per week and in turn put a random smile on their face to make their day that much brighter....

With that said, I hope this a successful blogging year filled with adventure and fun stories!

Happy New Year!!!!