viernes, 5 de junio de 2015

Friday Favorites

 
Mis Favoritos para esta semana son bien random... no hay una lógica ni tema que los una pero son las cositas que mas he disfutado estos dias:
 
#1: Picture Texts I receive from the teachers while the girls are at school
Las profes de Emily y Lia para este año escolar han sido una enorme bendición para nosotras. Son dulces, atentas, dedicadas y nos tartan como verdadera familia. Algunas ocasiones nos envian fotos espontáneas de ellas en algunas actividades y esto es un verdadero FAVORITO para mi :) <3
 
Algunas muestras....
 



 
#2: Lia's kind heart
Esto pasó hace una semana y todavia sigue siendo un FAVORITO para mi cada vez que veo la foto. Lia pidió permiso en la iglesia a Pablo para acercarse al Santísimo y hacer una oración a Papa Dios. Pablo le dijo que si y ella corrió y se arrodilló para hacer su oración. Este momento me remeneó el corazón de mil maneras. Ella es una niña inquieta, que pone a prueba sus limites con frecuencia, y se hace sentir en todos las formas posibles. Con este pequeño gesto de 3 segundos, me dió una gran lección de humildad, paciencia, perseverancia y amor. Espero estar educando a mis hijas para que sean mujeres de bien pero sobre todo para que tengan un corazón feliz, lleno de amor para dar, y creyente en la Palabra de Dios <3 <3



#3: Los Mensajes Oportunos de Dios para mi :)

En estos momentos estoy esperando respuestas para algo importante que estoy tratando de perseguir. Mis esperanzas estan bajas mas siento que Dios sabe los deseos de mi <3 y me complace con hacerme entender que El hará lo que es correcto para mi.  Esto es algo nuevo para mi, que estoy aprendiendo a entender, mas quiero que mi corazón guarde la paz de saber que aunque no recibo lo que quiero hoy, Dios tiene algo mejor para mi y me lo dará en el momento apropiado :)












 
 
#4: Weekend Getaway: No Kids Edition
Pablo y yo disfrutamos desde ayer Jueves de un merecido break en la playa... nada menos que en el Hard Rock Hotel de Punta Cana. Luego escribiré de esta experiencia pero desde ya puedo decir que es un FAVORITO para los dos :)
 
 
#5: Green Tea
He empezado a tomar este Te Verde y estoy enamorada! Me encanta el sabor, la frescura que me da y que tiene antioxidantes mas otras propiedades que benefician la salud. Sin hablar de Cero Calorias, Cero Azucar añadida, etc, etc. Verdaderamente una delicia! Y ayuda a mi meta de tomar mas agua en Junio :) Yo compro el que viene en empaques individuales en Pricemart y los mezclo con una botellita de agua. El sabor es un poco mas intenso (porque se puede disolver mas todavia) y me encanta! Solo lo tomo frio.
 
 
 
 See ya in the next Friday Favorites edition! :)
 
EGB
 

miércoles, 3 de junio de 2015

June Goals

I am making my first attempt to be serious about completing goals. I would love to create some habits from stuff I like and make a conscious effort to do some things that are important for my family (including myself).

I will list the top 3 to 5 activities I will look forward to complete each month and then I will follow up on my lists to see how much I could accomplish. It should be fun :)

Starting in June I will go with very simple stuff (yet challenging for me):


 
Goal #1: Enjoy Recreational Activities
I have some stuff planned for this month that I am looking forward to. I tend to worry a lot and plan in advance as much as I can. With this intention I will try to enjoy the moments in the activities I will be participating and try to be present for my husband, my girls and myself without worrying too much on the small stuff (let's see how it goes).

Goal #2: Plan Summer Vacations
The girls will be out of school at the end of June and Pablo and I have a week off work about at the same time. I have no idea, as of now, of what will we do for those free days but I will definitely explore some options to take advantage on that time we will have together as a family. Also I need to find a summer camp for the girls.

Goal #3: Craft with the girls
As part of my intention of spending time with the girls doing things they can enjoy, I will choose crafting for this month. This type of activity can go in my nerves because of all the mess that is usually involved. But I will take some time to forget about the mess and focus on enjoying the creativity of my bugs. It should be fun. I am already pinning ideas on Pinterest.

Goal #4: Read a book
I want to make this a goal to make a serious commitment with completing the task. There are many books in my read list and I want to reaaally be able to dig into them.

Goal #5: Choose and maintain one healthy habit for a month
I will start with this idea to see how hard or easy I can create and maintain some good health habits. For June I will choose to drink more water and to drink only water when we are out and about (no alcohol, sodas or other type of drinks). Sounds easy but trust me when I say it will be challenging for me.

I really liked how my little list of goals turned out. I will update on how well (or not) I did with each of them!

EGB

martes, 2 de junio de 2015

Weekend recap: Mother's Day Celebration

A lot of randomness happened this weekend. I just want to say it was probably the best low key-enjoyable-non stressful mom day celebration I had that I can remember. It was the perfect weekend for me and I got to enjoy the simplicity of life while receiving LOTS of affection #win :)

Starting on Friday night I decided to take the girls out for a quick dinner. They chose McDonalds because of the playground of course. We got there and ate dinner while they were cleaning out a recently finished birthday celebration and then I sat down while they did a lot of this:


 
Yes, you can barely see them because they were NON STOP for about 45 minutes there. But the place was really quiet and I let them play for long in hopes of getting them bathed and right into bed when we got home.
 
We had a rested night :)
 
I woke up on Saturday and found Emily playing in the kitchen floor with her barbies ... Can't say how much I love to see them being little girls... I am soaking up as much as I can these little moments because I know they will go faaaaasstttt!!! <3
 
 
Then I quickly headed out to meet with sweet friends for breakfast as a mothers day treat. We chatted, giggled and enjoyed coffee and hot chocolate like nobody's business. These girls have a small piece of my heart and I am blessed to count them as friends.
 
When I got home the girls were ready to go to Abuela's house for lunch. I am letting them choose their clothes on their own on Saturdays and this is what I got for this day:
 

 
Lia was so proud to show the back of her shirt. She said it was fun like her! Emily wanted to wear a sweater because it was cloudy and looked like it was going to rain anytime.
 
After lunch we ran some errands and visited a place in our search of the perfect summer camp for the girls. We also quickly met the new medical office from my brother and sister in law, hit a bazar where I may or may not spent some money on handmade bracelets that I looooooooooved (for me and the girls)
 
And while going around, we spotted the girls first school -like their when they were babies school- They remember Teacher Amanda so much and loved her tons! they stepped on the fenced door and started talking about all they did while there... It was beautiful seeing them being little for a second again :)
 
 
Saturday night we left the girls home and headed out with the family to try a new place for dinner. Le Placette is a small lounge bar restaurant in an open patio with simple décor yet beautiful ambiance.
We had drinks and dinner was delicious. They also had live music and I loved the selection of -jazz like- songs. The singer was nice as well.
 
 
And then on Sunday it was the actual mother's day celebration. Pablo and the girls surprised me with breakfast in bed and beautiful flowers!!!
 

 

Then I took the girls with me to the Hair Salon and they did their hair and nails with me :)
I really love to share girly moments like this with them :)



In the afternoon we had lunch at Mama's house. I took my mom and Alina with me and shared with my in-laws for a great while... After lunch we headed home, had some rest and went for the mass of 6:30pm. A perfect way to end this peaceful weekend.
Our church gave presents for mother's day. It is a beautiful Rosario de la Madre Maria. Simply Perfect!


 
I can not say enough how blessed I am for being the mother of Emily and Lia. They are definitively an improved version of me and Pablo! I celebrate the joy of being called mom everyday! and the joy of having such amazing role models in my life that I can refer to! My mom, aunt, sister, mother in law... and some dearest friends... I am thankful for them all.
 
EGB
 


lunes, 1 de junio de 2015

Mothers Day Celebration: First Grade School Presentation


Emily's classroom did a Mothers Day Celebration at her school last Friday. Their theme was The Solar System and they completely overdid it!
The classroom was decorated as the space and the children took us in a rocket to see it and explained all that can be found there: Stars, Moon, Sun, Planets and so on...
It was so fun to see them happily explaining us what they learned.




The pictures are dark and blurry since the room had lights off and was completely dark. My phone camera flash did some work but made no justice on how gorgeous this room looked. They really created the ambient in a very beautiful way. All the kiddos were dressed in black and their shirts were crafted to show what they were representing. Emily explained the planet Uranus.

When they finished their presentation, we were headed outside to enjoy a solar system song. Emily really practiced a lot an was so proud to show me everything she learned along with her friends.




After the song, they danced to "Que bonita Luna" from Juan Luis Guerra. The choreography was very simple yet lovely. Emily danced with a partner and I was overwhelmed with emotions. My girl is growing up so fast! <3

Then it was time to hand out the presents the kinds had made in their art class. A lamp made from a small wine glass and some paper, a small chalkboard sign that said I love you mom and a handwritten letter. Emily did awesome and melted my heart in so many ways :)

 

At the end we attempted to take a group picture... of course we did our best but these kiddos were in their own game :)



It was a perfect morning to start a weekend of  special celebrations... I am really blessed to have these two ladies that calls me mom every day. God really blessed me in so many ways when He chose me as their mother :)

EGB

jueves, 28 de mayo de 2015

Mothers Day Celebration: Preschool Edition

Today was Lia's classroom presentation for Mother's Day Celebration at her school. They made an activity called Excellence Fair where each group had to learn from a topic (for about a month) and end the learning journey by doing a presentation for all the parents to see, while honoring the Mothers Day celebration at the same time.

In Lia's classroom (Nursery 2) the topic selected was The Very Hungry Caterpillar Book by Eric Carle.



I really loved this book and the idea of choosing it for the presentation. It shows in a very simple and entertaining way how a caterpillar ends up being a beautiful butterfly. It's very didactic as well and I thought it was the perfect story for this classroom of preschoolers.


The children were dressed with a Caterpillar T-shirt and some bug antennas made by the teachers. They looked adorable!

 
 
There was even one of the little boys dressed as a caterpillar #diedoflove and other of the girls was a butterfly #socute



Emily came over from her classroom to watch the presentation with me... I snagged a selfie with my two girls while they were shining and smiling :)


And then.... this happened... A couple of Lia's classmates wanted a selfie with me as well!!! I thought this was hysterical and quickly obliged!!!



These tiny little personas are so sweet I can't even describe <3

Then they made a presentation where they said the caterpillar story and sang a caterpillar song... At this point I was totally teary eyed and couldn't close my smile :) #mommawassoproud




At the end of the presentation Lia gave me some gifts they did themselves with the help of their teachers. One jar with a small caterpillar inside and one cookie decorated as an apple. She ate the cookie of course... I found the souvenir so cute! Its a very nice detail and sweet as the story is.


Lia was so proud of her performance, and I was happy to see her concentrated on doing her best. I am happy she is learning and growing so much! And I am proud to be her mom.

Mother's day celebrations started today! I am up for a full weekend of remembering how special it is for me to be Emily, Lia and D's mom. And for that, I will be forever thankful!  

EGB


lunes, 18 de mayo de 2015

Weekend Recap: BIG Fail at taking good pictures edition

I realize that If I will be logging a history for my girls to see in the future, I should  be doing a better job at taking pictures and capturing some good moments.
The fact is that I seriously hate to interrupt when we are having such a good time giggling, talking or doing something fun, just to paralyze the moment to take my phone or camera out and snap a good picture of it (know what I mean?)

Anyways, we had a good weekend overall. Friday night we started by ordering pizza and watching The Pink Panther on our Ipad. Kind of my perfect-low key-entertaining way to end a busy week :)


On Saturday morning Pablo and I started a "Retiro de Evangelización" at our church. We didn't realize that it was a Retiro until we started it... so I was a bit scared at the beginning on how we would take this, being the very first time we were participating in one as a couple, but it ended being an AMAZING experience almost indescribable for me. The Retiro started on Saturday for the whole day until 6pm and ended on Sunday with the mass at 2pm.
From this experience I will only say that God really works in very mysterious ways, and that I loved the fact that I got to share this experience with Pablo, my one and only <3

Saturday night Pablo and I attended one of his coworker's wedding. It was fun to share some time with his friends from work and get a night out with him without the girls for instance... Again, no great pictures other than these blurry ones :)



Sunday afternoon after lunch and a quick nap, Pablo took the girls out for some play time at Magiainflable in Sambil (bless his heart) so I did a lot of this:
Lay in bed and binge watch my favorite HGTV shows, with snacks and AC on... what else could a mom-screaming for a break- could ask for?! :)

Then at night my sister brought food and we had dinner the eight of us together. Again, a perfect way to end a busy-yet relaxing-soul filling weekend.

EGB

viernes, 15 de mayo de 2015

Friday Favorites

Another round of my favorites for the week. My top five at least.

1. Sam Edelman Felicia Flats

I got these shoes and they are the most comfortable flats that I've ever worn. I seriously want to use them all day every day. I got them in red and not only they are beautiful, I also feel that they can be worn with almost everything from my closet. I am very sure the cost per wear on these ones will be minimal.

2. Snackeez Cups

I found about Snackeez through another blog and immediately wanted to try them out. Turns out they are fabulous for busy moms with kids on the go! You can have the drink in the bottom  part and the food in the top like a breeze! The girls love their new cups and carry them everywhere now!!!
 
 

3. This quote

As we live day by day we tend to think things doesn't change much, but if you look back you realize how different things are now from what they were before. I want to apply this to seeing my girls grow and as a reminder to cherish every moment I spend with them today and every day; because sooner than later they will be teenagers wanting to create their own world. I hope (and pray) I can create strong bonds with both of them today so they can see me in their life's tomorrow :)

4. This girl and her veggies

This is something I can't explain. It just happened. She loves veggies. I can call this a mom win! I posted this picture on IG and FB the other day because she asked to have broccoli for dinner and loved the response from other moms. I am proud of my little lady. She can be very opinionated about things she likes and things she doesn't.

5. Last Sunday Beach Lunch

Last Sunday after church we decided to take a quick trip to the beach to have lunch with my sister's family. We happened to meet some good friends over there. We had a very nice time having lunch, chatting and the girls (and boys) playing around.

That's it for my favorites this week. I am looking forward to a special (and fun) weekend with two activities we have planned for Pablo and myself. We will be attending a couple's activity at church all day Saturday and half day Sunday and going to a wedding of one of Pablo's coworker on Saturday night. This makes me realize that I better plan something fun for the girls on Sunday afternoon so they can have some attention from us this weekend. It should be fun!

EGB