Serious Conversations

On our way home from visiting Tata the other day, my boys were asking me a lot of serious questions about divorce. I explained to them why people get divorced as best as I could. I know what prompted this, so it wasn't like I was shocked that they were asking me. But I was really happy that they asked so many questions. Sometimes I feel like they just hold things in and don't ask, so I was really happy that they wanted to talk to me about it. I reassured them as much as I could that Marcelo and I are best friends and love each other very much and that they didn't need to worry about us divorcing like other people's mommy and daddy.

Then the conversation turned to the boys talking about growing up and going on missions. The boys said the wished they could go on their mission together and be "partners". (Mission companions.) Then Celo asked, "Mommy, when are we going to get married?" I said, "Sometime after your mission." He said, "But when?" I said, "Well, it's kind of up to you and when you find your wife." He said, "But what if we can't find her?" I said, "Don't worry, you will." He said, "But what if we can't? What if all the people we like are already married?" WHAT? Where did this come from? How can a 5 year old be worried about that? It was so strange to me that he was asking this question! Such a big worry for such a little guy. I still have no idea where this came from. I just kept telling him that wasn't going to happen and then I changed the subject to the fact that the moon looked like a banana tonight. That did the trick.

Then today, I had to have a serious talk with them that I hated having. Marcelo and I try to keep our kids in a blissfully ignorant bubble. We shield them from all the ugliness of the world...probably to a fault. But the news I've been hearing for the past couple of days about burglaries in my area made me decide that it was time to get a little more real with them. Apparently there is a group of criminals knocking on doors between 10 and 2 in my area and if no one answers the door, they go to the back and throw a brick through the sliding door (or something similar) and break in to rob the place. There have been many times where I have gone to the bathroom/shower and the FedEx guy has come, or my mom, or someone else, and my kids run to the door without giving it a second thought. Even though I have repeatedly told them not to do this. But I've never told them WHY they can't do this. So today I did. I risked freaking them the heck out to tell them that there are some bad people trying to break into people's houses. We devised an emergency plan that involved calling 911 and hiding out in a secret location of our house (pshhh, did you really think I'd tell you where?! ;)). We did some practice runs and I think they've got it down. It was SO SAD to have to talk to them about this, but honestly, whenever I've heard of some 5 year old kid being heroic and saving the day by knowing what to do in an emergency, I always think, "That would not be my kid." Because I haven't prepared them for it enough. They handled it really well and don't seem too scared by it. They've asked questions all day, but they really don't seem too scared. We'll see how much that changes at bedtime!

It is amazing to watch our kids growing into more mature/responsible versions of themselves. Amazing and sad. But mostly amazing.

My Spunky Girl

I have been a wreck today. Last night around 6pm, Eliana suddenly spiked a fever and said she was too sleepy for dinner. By 6:30 she was asleep in bed. We moved her to our bed to keep a close eye on her. It was a long night as we tried to keep her fever down with a couple of baths, and several rounds of Tylenol. When the medicine kicked it, it kept the fever around 101.6, but as soon as it started to wear off, her fever hung out around 103, 104.7 at it's worst. It stayed that way all day today as well. I took her into the doctor this morning and he ruled out influenza A, B, Strep Throat, pneumonia, and meningitis. He said it was most likely a viral infection that just has to work its way out. She has no other symptoms besides a high fever and no appetite.

I think I held this girl 80% of the day today. Thank goodness Camila is still the easiest baby ever and played nicely and quietly on the floor while I cuddled my sick girl. It was so sad to see her so miserable. I mean, she turned down candy for goodness' sake. That happens never. At 3pm today, I was really worried because all she had ingested in 24 hours was a few sips of gatorade, a tiny bit of water, one saltine cracker, and 4 Vitamin C gummy bears. Finally at 4pm, I got her to have about 1/3 cup of a strawberry slushy (I crushed a strawberry fruit popsicle) and a couple bites of a soft pretzel.

Seeing your children sick is so horrible. This is the sickest she's ever been. All day I've been praying that it's over quickly so she can go back to being her spunky self. My girl has so much personality in a tiny little package. I absolutely love that about her. She cracks us up on a daily basis. And it's obvious that she loves it when she makes us laugh. She's usually pretty heavy on the funny and pretty light on the sweet. She's too busy trying to be hilarious to be sweet. Unless she wants something from you. Then she'll try to work you with her intense black eyes, fake sweet smile, and even more fake high pitched voice. "Please, Tato, can I have more yogurt?" But right now while she's sick, she's so super sweet. Today when I was laying next to her, she started brushing my hair away from my face and singing "You are my Sunshine" to me. At the doctor's office, she randomly started saying things like, "Mommy, you're the best. I love you so much." Melt. My. Heart. She also said "No thank you" every time I asked her if she wanted something to eat or drink. That was weird, since her usual response is, "No, I don't want that!!"

As cute and wonderful as seeing her sweet side is, I am dying for her to throw a giant tantrum about not getting to drink another glass of chocolate milk just so I know she's okay. I really really hope this thing is on it's way out and that she's back to herself tomorrow. I also really really hope that no one else gets it!!

Some recent pictures I've posted of her on Instagram.

She said she wanted to take a picture of the bathroom. I love this picture.


I have no idea what she was doing here. The skirt was Camila's (size 6-9months) and her booty was practically hanging out. The shoes were 3 sizes too big. And the labels?? No idea.


How she leaves the house at 7:40am to drop the boys off at school:


I love this girl to the moon and back.

She's Mobile

Noooooooooooooooooooo!

Pray for me.

The Big 3-0

Look! I'm posting! This has been a memorable birthday so I figured I should probably document it before months and months go by and I forget all about it. Like that time I never blogged Celo's birthday or Diego's...I should get on that.

So, pretty much all my friends are already in their 30s. It shouldn't be weird to me that I am now 30. But it is. It is SO weird. Why? I don't know. It just is. I'm 30. Just writing it makes me think, "Wait, what? When did that happen?" I always assumed that by the time I got to this age I would "feel" older. But I don't. At all. Same goes for being married for almost 10 years. How did that happen? Time is a tricky thing.

SOOO, this is what 20 looked like:

We were BABIES! Hanging out at the beach, getting too much sun, thinking we were so cool...sooooo much free time. Waking up before 10 on the weekends did not happen. (Please excuse my midriff. Like I said...thought I was SO cool.)

And this is what 30 looks like:

We HAVE babies. Hanging out at home, protecting ourselves and our children from the sun, thinking our kids are SO cool, zero free time (hence the writing of this post at midnight). Sleeping in on the weekends means 8am if we're lucky. And we're usually not. But I wouldn't go back to 20 if you paid me.

My 30th birthday started at 3:45am with stomach pains. It kept me up for hours, which felt like such a cruel joke. Two of my favorite things: Sleep and food. Both of those things were being taken away from me! Sad. 

The kids made me the sweetest breakfast. Diego was the mastermind but Celo helped a lot. Eliana mostly screamed at them because she wanted to eat the breakfast they made. It consisted of toast with jelly, pringles, angry bird snacks, cheerios, and jelly beans. Oh and water. I ate the toast and explained that my stomach was hurting and that I couldn't eat the rest. They thought it was hilarious when I said, "I'm so sad I can't do my favorite thing today!" They asked, "What's that?" I said, "Eating!!" 

Our morning was pretty normal. At lunch time my mom and grandma came over, planning on taking me to lunch. I had to decline, because, as I said...I couldn't eat. Instead, Diego made lunch for everyone (microwaved chicken nuggets) and I drank some mint tea. My mom then took the boys to her house while I put the girls to sleep and took a nap myself. When Marcelo got home, we headed over to my parents' house. My stomach was still hurting, but I was determined to eat my beloved birthday dinner if it killed me! 

We pulled up to the house and saw this on the mailbox:

The balloons had pictures on them that Diego and Celo had drawn.

The front door was decorate like so:

 The sign said, "Is this a good birthday? Yes or No? YES!"

Once inside, I found the lovely, decorated dining room:

Those big green papers on the window were giant cards. The light one was made by Celo and the dark one was made by Diego. So SO sweet. The best part was when they told me, "We made the cards green and used green napkins and plates because it's your favorite color." I'm tearing up just thinking about it. How are my kids so thoughtful?? They are amazing. My mom later told me that they were pretty upset that she wouldn't use her dark green tablecloth. She explained that the white one looked better but Diego just said, "But it has holes!" (It's lace....hahaha.)

The dinner I couldn't resist: Ceviche. Mmmmmmmm. I looked at it and thought, "I will so regret this later. But I'm eating it anyway." And I did. And it was delicious. And then I was up with more stomach pains. Forgot to take a picture of my "birthday cake". Since I don't like cake, my dessert of choice was crepes with a mixed berry filling. YUM.

This will probably make us look bad. My parents got sparkling cider and my kids found these tiny "champagne glasses". They loved using them. And they may have gotten approximately 5 refills each. Here they are "toasting" my birthday. Cheers!

This was my grandma's last night here with us before she moved on to New York to visit my aunts, so we took some group pictures with her. I should use my parents' backyard for photoshoots!

I felt so spoiled and loved yesterday. My kids are wonderful, my husband is the best, and my parents are awesome. So much to be grateful for! Despite the stomach issues, it was a great day! Today however, I got a raging migraine that had me in bed for most of the afternoon, and the stomach pains are still here. Boo. Perhaps I will lose those last 5 pounds of baby weight. Just trying to look at the bright side!! Fingers crossed that this stomach bug is gone by the weekend! Marcelo and I are having a little getaway. Please oh please send us healthy vibes! This happens never, so to be sick during our time away would just be MEAN.

My Valentine

http://instagr.am/p/VvEfu5D4Mt/
My Valentine works so hard. So thankful for him. So thankful for our life together, even if I currently feel like I could sleep for a week straight. Also thankful for awesome friends who hooked us up so our date in the garage could include some bubbly.

From Eliana's Point of View

She likes to take pictures on my camera. Her recent art:
 A self portrait, the broken chair on the back porch, and me on the floor falling asleep during my 800th time watching "Gascar" (Madagascar). Future Photog...

Little Piggy

I have a million other posts waiting to be written. I still need to blog Christmas, the fun we had with the Elf, and I have a post saved but not published with a list of funny things the kids have recently done/said. And I never even blogged Celo's birthday. Did I blog Halloween? I don't even know. I have slacked off.

So this year I'm not going to do what I did last year and make a giant list of resolutions that I probably won't keep. But I am a goal helper. I can't help it. So I do have some goals. Marcelo and I made a list on our own and also a list of "family goals" with the kids. The best one on the list was Celo's: "Have lots of Love." Too cute. And then he was a holy terror the next day. Such is life.

One of my personal goals is to do more photography just for me. I love love love taking pictures for other people, but in the busy photography months, I barely take pictures of my own kids. I also want to push myself to try different techniques and just all around have fun with photography. So I'm participating in a Project 52, where I have to take one picture per week. This week's theme was silhouette. I'm in love with the shot I took for it. I put Camila in her first ever pigtails and sat Eliana next to her (in pigtails, too). I probably took 40 shots of them like this, but this one was the winner because both pigtails were visible and as a bonus, Camila was pulling Eliana's hair like she always does. I can't get enough of looking at those tiny little piggy tails!!

Do you need to see them from the front? Ok. Here you go. She has enough hair on top for pigtails and then underneath it's pretty much bald, haha! How is she already 5 months old?? She's growing so fast. It's wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time.