Summer!!! Beach Week

Summer is here and so far it has been one of our best summers yet. I'm not pregnant, I don't have a newborn, the boys are old enough to do chores, they understand the meaning of "quiet time", the girls take naps at the same time most days...who knew summer didn't have to be miserable??
Buuuuut, we're like two weeks in, so we'll see how long this holds up.
The big negatives are that I don't have enough strong swimmers to be able to take them to the pool or beach on my own, and Eliana is still too daredevil-y and uncoordinated for me to safely take all 4 to the park on my own. Next summer when Eliana is 4, I think I'll be able to do these things without needing back up. Looking forward to that phase of life!
So since I need the kids to have fun even though we'll be home more often than I'd like, I'm doing my themed weeks again. I am forever grateful to my sister in law for introducing me to this idea. This is our third summer doing it and my kids get so into it. I'm going to try to document it so one day I can show them this and they can say, "Thanks, Mom. You were awesome!" Heck yes, I was. Perhaps I was too strict, perhaps not the most organized, and for sure I fell short in a lot of ways, but gosh darn it, I was good at summer.
Again, we're two weeks in, so...it's possible I'll be singing a different tune by mid-July.
I'll probably mostly document the summer with phone pictures/instagram pictures. It's just the easiest!
Week 1 was Birthday week. We celebrated Eliana's birthday, Tata CecI's birthday, and went to a friend's bday party. We made cupcakes and birthday cards. Pictures to come.
This week was beach week. It started out rainy, but in the end, the sun came out and we were able to go to the beach. The sand I made with flour and baby oil was a huge hit and kept them entertained for a long time on three separate days. Woo hoo! I bought palm tree straws at the dollar store and we had smoothies. We also had pineapple dole whips, but the recipe I tried was a bust. We played a beachball game where we had to answer different questions, and played musical towels at a playdate with our friends that are doing the themed weeks with us. We also collected shells at the beach and painted them. Here are the pictures:

Mother's Day

This year in the days leading up to Mother's Day, I was acutely aware that we were about to celebrate a holiday that is tough on a larger portion of the population than people realize. I had several people on my mind who have lost their mother, who want to be a mother but haven't been able to, or who are otherwise suffering. Life is so unfair sometimes. But despite the hard things we all go through, I KNOW that there is a greater plan. I KNOW that we have a Father in Heaven who loves each one of us, who knows what we need better than we do, and in whose plan we should trust, even when it's hard. I hope that all the people in my life who are having a hard time can find peace in that knowledge. It's the only thing that has ever helped me through the darkest times in my life.

About my Mother's Day. My kids were so excited to give me their presents this year. They both made books at school for me, and Diego made me this plate.


I know his teacher helped him because when I caught him practicing at home it looked like this:
Nice
Awesome
Tired
Happy
Amazing
Loving
Yamazing

I looked at it and said, "Tired???" And he laughed and said, "Well, you ARE!" He's right. Oh so right. And yamazing describes me pretty yaccurately, so I liked that one.

Marcelo also took them to the Dollar Tree to pick out a gift for me. Eliana got me a brush, which was fitting because she always takes mine. Diego got me some coconut scented body wash that smells just like heaven/the beach. And Celo....oh Celo. He got me a colorful pack of erasers. When I excitedly exclaimed, "Erasers!! I LOVE erasers! Yes! Thank you!!" he looked a little disappointed. He was like, "Oh....I didn't know you liked erasers." The kid wanted them for himself and was hoping I'd be quick to throw them aside. I told him we could share them.

On Saturday morning, Marcelo said he was going to Lowe's with the boys. So I quickly printed out the plans for some DIY shelves I've been eyeing. I laid it on thick with the "hinting". He dutifully bought the materials and made them for me. The kids put on hard hats and watched, while I spazzed about the fact that they were 6 feet away from a circular saw. They survived. Can't wait to put my new shelves up! I'll take pictures. Of course.

On Sunday morning I got to sleep till 8. Then my sweet family gave me a pancake and strawberry breakfast, and I got to take my sweet time getting ready for church. For the last time. Since I will now be rushing to get our brood ready on my own on Sunday mornings. Fun times ahead! The kids couldn't even wait for breakfast to be over to give me my presents from school and the Dollar Tree. Diego made me the sweetest card ever and made me cry. I'm keeping it forever, but here's a back up, written just like he wrote it:

Dear Mommy
Happy Mother's Day!
Have a great Mothers Day.
I love you so much.
I really hope your happy!!
I want you to have the best Mothers Day ever!
You are the best.
Love, Diego

He drew a picture of the two of us on a hill holding hands with a smiling sun looking down on us.

At church I didn't get to hear any of the talks because I was wrangling three wiggly kids while Marcelo tried to get Camila to sleep. I didn't get to go to Sunday school because Camila woke up too quickly and was cranky. I didn't get to stay in Relief Society because Camila was being too noisy. I can't complain though, because she's 9 months old and this is the first Sunday that she has been difficult. She just needed a nap.

After church we hung out with my extended family at a park and had a steak lunch. Yeah. Fancy fancy. Then we went to Marcelo's aunt's house for dinner for more family time. At night, Marcelo and I went to bed at 10pm. You have no idea what a big deal this is. It is 10:40 as I type this and we're not even close to heading to bed yet, if that gives you a clue.

On second thought, two early nights would be good for me. I am "Tired" after all. Goodnight!

Tough Cookie

Warning...this is a graphic story about Eliana's injury on Sunday. Read only if you can handle that type of thing!!

Sunday morning was eventful. First, the kids excitedly woke us up to tell us they had made us breakfast. I had made banana muffins the night before, and Marcelo had bought some mini bagels. Bright and early, the kids set up plates around the coffee table in the living room and gave us each a banana muffin and a mini bagel covered in Smart Balance margarine and sprinkles. So thoughtful. They only had 3 chairs, the little wooden kid sized ones we have for them, so they were sitting in chairs and Marcelo and I were kneeling by the coffee table eating our breakfast. From one moment to the next, Eliana leaned back in her chair and it tipped backward and either she kneed herself in the chin, or the chair hit her chin. The more likely story is that her knee is what hit her chin. She immediately started crying, like big time "I'm hurt" crying. I thought she bit her tongue, so I held her and kind of cupped her chin to look at her tongue. There was a tad bit of blood, so I thought that was what she was in pain from. But then I pulled my hand away from her chin and there was blood in my hand. That's when I thought, "Crap. This is ending in stitches." I tipped her chin up and saw a gash that definitely looked stitch worthy. I told Marcelo, "We have to take her to the hospital." He came to look and agreed. It was way too open. He grabbed me a towel and I just put pressure on it while I talked to her explaining that we had to take her to the doctor. She just whimpered, "I don't want to go to the doctor! I want to go to the post office!" (She hates the post office...so that was pretty funny.) But she wasn't freaking out or screaming or anything. Marcelo ran to get dressed and I called my mom and asked if I could drop the kids off. I started telling the boys to hurry and get dressed because they were going to Tata's house, and Celo moved at a snail's pace. There may have been some not so gentle reminders that, "THIS IS AN EMERGENCY" at this point. Then Marcelo took over putting pressure on Eliana's chin while I ran to get dressed. I changed Camila, packed her a bottle and diapers, and then I stopped to take a picture of Eliana's open wound. I was going to post it, but I thought it might be disturbing because it looked pretty bad. Marcelo put band aid strips on Eliana's chin to hold us over till we got to the hospital, and we herded the kids into the car. I sat on the floor next to Eliana in case she started touching her chin, but it was really unnecessary because she was totally calm on the way to the hospital. When we got there, I dropped Marcelo off with her and then headed down to meet my dad to drop the other 3 kids off. By the time I got back to the hospital, they had already done the cleaning part and had removed a little of the fat (gross, sorry) that had come out of the hole...so she basically got a little double chin tuck. Marcelo said she cried but that it wasn't terrible and that she had taken it all surprisingly well. A few minutes after I got there, the doctor came in to glue the wound shut instead of doing stitches. He had to pinch it together and hold it like that as he glued it. He told her what he was going to do and that it would hurt a little bit, and I just held her hand and rubbed her head and kept trying to reassure her. She was scared, but was trying to be soooo tough. As the doctor told her what was happening, she just said in a scared little voice, "Okay." And she just sat there still as can be, while he glued and glued and glued. After a few layers of glue, she said, "Don't touch my chin." She was done. But he just said he was almost done and she stayed calm and toughed it out, breathing through the pain. I was amazed. He kept saying she was his favorite patient ever because of how calm and sweet she was through the whole ordeal. Here she is immediately after. She was watching tv and we were waiting for the glue to dry. You can see in the bottom corner that she's holding my hand. 

All fixed. Glued shut like it never happened. Looks like the scar will be way better than if they had stitched it. It would have taken about 3 stitches.

She did fine all day yesterday. A little worn out, but fine. Today, her chin was bothering her so I gave her Tylenol a couple of times.

All in all, I have just been amazed at what a tough little cookie this girl is. As Tato would say, she took it like a man. (haha) The same could not be said for her brothers. Boys are wimpy, what can I say? ;) I don't know why I'm surprised. At 4 months old, she literally cried for like 10 seconds when she got her ears pierced. Camila, on the other hand, is most likely going to be a softy!

One funny thing was that on the way to the hospital, Diego was asking who has had stitches. We said Celo had them when he was 18 months old and that I have had stitches, too (didn't mention that I've actually had staples...4 times, my dear children...4 times). Diego said, "Has Daddy? Oh wait. I KNOW Daddy has had stitches." The way he said it was like, "Is that even a question? He gets stitches like, all the time." And, the doctor in the ER who treated Eliana has actually treated Marcelo's wounds in the ER twice. The cut on his fingers in his yard work accident, and the cut on his other finger when the 50 lb drill fell on it at work. (And this is the guy who thinks he can convince me that it would be "safe" for him to get a motorcycle. Not. gonna. happen, my dear sweet husband.)

So glad it wasn't worse! So grateful my parents were able to help on such short notice. And SO hoping that my kids will finally learn why we do not lean back in our chairs!! (But probably not because Celo did it exactly 5 minutes after Eliana split her chin open from doing that.) So far, in the few "emergency situations" we've had with either ourselves or our kids, Marcelo and I have been a team and have kept a level head. So THERE, 15 year old me!!!! (Um, in case you don't know, 15 year old me left my brother stranded in the kitchen with fire all around him and ran out of the house instead of getting the fire extinguisher that was RIGHT BEHIND ME. He's ok, don't worry.) Glad to know I no longer panic in stressful situations. I pray that I don't have to find out how I would react in an even higher stress situation! Maybe if I keep my kids in a nice little risk free bubble, there will never be injuries worse than this. Please? I beg. Seeing them in pain is the worst.

Our Kids are Funny

Whenever Camila is babbling in her adorable way, Diego and Celo say, "Mommy, what's she saying in person?" They are asking me to translate because they truly believe I understand what she's saying. Eliana chimes in now because she's a parrot. "Mommy, what she saying in perrrrson?"

Eliana likes to tell jokes. This is how they go.

Eliana: Knock Knock

Me: Who's there?

Eliana: Who's there? Umm, plate.

Me: Plate who?

Eliana:...I just keedding!

Eliana: Knock knock

Me: Who's there?

Eliana: Who's there? Ummmm, dinner.

Me: Dinner who?

Eliana:...I just keedding!

I find it hilarious.

The other day she switched it up...
Eliana: Knock knock
Me: Who's there?
Eliana: I love you
Me: I love you who?
Eliana: I love you too!

Melt.

Recently, I was getting ready to go to a playdate. I had my glasses on and was about to walk about of my bathroom when Diego stopped me and this conversation ensued:

Diego: Mommy, get ready!

Me: I am ready.

Diego: No, you're wearing your glasses!

Me: So? I can wear my glasses.

Diego: No, I don't want you to!
Me: (Totally confused.) What? Why not? 

Diego: (Pausing to think.) I don't have an answer for that. I just don't. You need to put in your con...your eyetacks. Hahaha, I almost called them eyeCONS but they're really called eyeTACKS.

This weekend I told the kids we were going to their cousin's birthday party. Diego asked, "Where's it going to be?" And I said, "At a farm." Eliana didn't miss a beat and sang, "E-I-E-I-O." I know I wear mommy goggles and am completely biased but to me that means she's clearly a genius. ;)

Celo is really funny. He tries to be funny. He loves to be funny. But sometimes, he's pretty rude. We were at the doctor's office and our pediatrician saw me give Celo a Scooby Snack, which is a graham cracker shaped like a dog biscuit. He said to Celo, "Are you eating dog food??? You're going to turn into a dog!" Celo smiled but gave some attitude as he said, "No I'm not!" And the doc said, "Yes you are! You're going to talk like this, RUFF RUFF RUFF!" At which point Celo raised his eyebrows and very seriously said, "You're crazy." Ummmm, perhaps we'll work on manners and how to speak to adults some more.

Eliana is also such a clown. She cracks us up daily. Mostly I'm just amazed at the stuff she comes up with and the phrases she says. I should preface this by saying she talks about Diego and Celo like they are one person named "CeloDaygo". Like, "CeloDaygo are at school. CeloDaygo not sharing" etc. Today she said, "CeloDaygo not ready come home from school yet. I can't believe it!" Why can't she believe it? I don't know.

One day, she was following me around a lot, which isn't really normal for Ms. Independent. I kind of think she was doing a study of some sort or just practicing for her role as a mom, because she was trying to finish my sentences for me. I walked into the boys' room and said, "Boys..." and before I could say anything she swooped in and said, "YOU WEED TO CWEAN UP! WOOK AT DIS MESS!" Oy. That's what I sound like. Minus all the Ws.

Okay this is turning into the Eliana show, but what can I say, 2-3 year olds are funny. This morning on the way to school, the boys (as usual) were asking me to translate what Camila was babbling about. I said, "She's saying that she saw a big pink elephant and it had polka dots." They laughed, but Eliana said, "Ohhhhh, ok! She's talking Gascar. (She's talking about Madagascar.) She has seen that movie way too many times.

New Bangs

In a moment of exasperation, I cut my bangs today. Well, no, it was a little more premeditated than that. I watched approximately 6 YouTube videos to learn how before I did it. Then naptime came and out came the scissors. I think I did an ok job. I'm just not a fan of how I look with bangs. Marcelo's not either. Sure, he tells me I look great no matter what, but I do that, too, even when he's got a mustache, soooo....;)

Anyway, it'll do the job. "The job" is covering up those annoying little baby hairs around my hairline that are growing in after all the hair I lost in the first few months after having Camila. They were driving me insane. I couldn't take it anymore. I mean of course it's totally worth it, but geez, the things that the post partum phase brings!!

Diego and Celo said I look "really cute". Diego is a big fan. But Eliana has been telling me all day that she doesn't like them one bit. I said, "I have bangs like you now! You don't like it?" She said, "No, I don't like your bangs. I like my own bangs." Later, the boys were telling me I looked nice and Eliana walked in on the tail end of the conversation. Diego said, "I really like your bangs, Mommy." And in true Eliana fashion, acting like she wasn't even paying attention to the conversation, she very nonchalantly said, "Well I don't." At least she's honest.

Anyway, here they are. They'll be temporary. This pic makes them look way better than real life.

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.