Parties, parties, and more parties

Another weekend with lots of parties. We went to the party of one of Carlos' classmates, Friday after school. It was a pool party and Titi was invited too. They had a lot of fun. We spent most of Saturday getting ready for Don and Larry's birthday party at our house (I will write more about that in a separate post) and then had a lot of people over. Carlos and Titi went to bed at 11:30! We had 2 more kids birthday parties on Sunday but by the time we had to leave for the second one Carlos started saying he didn't want to go. He said "too many parties!, too much cake!" He really looked miserable and didn't want to go but since we had told his classmate we were coming I convinced Carlos we had to go to drop the present and leave. He didn't want to do it but we went anyway. This is the last time I RSVP for more than one party a week. The kids really get tired of going to so many parties. They love being home and don't feel the need to go out at all during the weekends. I love being home too. Don, on the other hand, loves being outside, he could go to 10 parties and not get tired :-)

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter everyone! We had a great Easter. Carlos and Titi got up early to see if the Easter Bunny had come. They were happy with their baskets and they started eating candy way too early in the day. Later in the morning they had an egg hunt with the girls that live next door. They had fun.

We spent Easter Day with Mimi, Luke, Mario and the rest of the Morales family. Keri, Larry, Laura, Allie and Jennie came too. We had great food and like always, we had fun. The kids got Easter baskets from Mimi and Luke and Keri, Larry, Laura and Allie. They also had another egg hunt. Now they have so much candy!! We loved seeing baby Mario, he is so cute. He was wearing a tie!

Passover

We had the Passover Seder at our house yesterday night. It was the first time we had it so we had to learn a lot.

Carlos and Titi were very excited and they helped set the table and cut the apples to made the charoset. Mema then helped them set the Seder plates. Grandpa opened the wine and served it. They also brought cakes and cookies. Keri made brisket, chicken and her famous macaroons and I made matzo ball soup and vegetables. I think that Don did a wonderful job leading the reading of the Haggadah and Laura and Allie did great reading some of it. Larry was the Seder organizer and he carved the meat for us. It was a group effort. We were very happy to have uncle Izzie and aunt Mary too.

We surely missed Janie, Steven, Hailey and Andie. We are now more grateful to them for having the Seder every year at their house. It is a lot of work! We also missed Rich and Marty. We hope they will come next year.

Happy Birthday Mema!!!

Today is Mema's birthday! Happy Birthday Mema!! We love you!!! We hope you are having a wonderful day. We will celebrate it on Wednesday :-)

Seder at Titi's school

Titi's school had their Seder today. This is her last year at that school so it was kind of sad for me. She loves her school, teachers and classmates. After dinner, she found the Afikomen and was very proud of herself. (I was proud and happy for her too!)

Mud

Talking about mud. Titi loves playing in the mud and Carlos loves making it for her. They always pretend they are going to play in the swingset in the back yard and then I find them playing with the hose.

Concrete workshop

I had a great time yesterday. One friend from WebGarden wanted to learn how to make hypertufa planters and garden ornaments and I told her I would be interested as well. She was able to organize a workshop taught by another member, in Homestead, 1 hour 30 minutes away from our house, and I was able to attend. Don stayed with the kids all day so that was very nice.

We learned how to make concrete castings and it was a lot of fun. The teacher, Amanda, and the other women were hilarious and we were laughing the whole time. Amanda was wonderful, and she took us for a nature walk (where we stole cherry tomatoes from an abandoned garden and seeds and cuttings from everywhere), she picked a great place to have lunch and even gave us a completion certificate, saying we were now qualified to play in the mud.

A useless fact

Don knows somebody that sends him emails and jokes all the time. They are always white jokes so sometimes Don forwards them to me but he says that I don't read most of the things he forwards me.

This person emailed Don the following and to prove to Don that I read them I am going to post it here :-)


"On Wednesday , at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06.

That won't ever happen again.

You may now return to your normal stuff".

A busy day!

We got invited to a luncheon organized in honor of Susana Luarca, a Guatemalan lawyer, and some Guatemalan Congressmen who were in South Florida. They have been visiting different parts of the USA to talk to adoptive families and to see some of the children that have been adopted from their country. Mrs. Luarca has been fighting for years to keep Guatemalan adoptions open and I had read many of her posts and has always been impressed by her dedication and enthusiasm. It was a pleasure to finally meet her.

Mrs. Luarca talked about the importance of keeping adoptions open and the uphill battle they face in their country due to the false information Unicef and other international organizations spread about international adoptions. We also heard one Congressman talk and I could see I was not the only one moved by his words. It was great to have the opportunity to talk to the other members of the delegation and to thank them for giving us the opportunity to parent Guatemalan children and to ask them to keep fighting to keep adoptions open.

We met other families with children from Guatemala. Most of the children were toddlers, Carlos was the oldest! He immediately became friends with the son of one of the lawyers and Titi played with the babies. They had fun.

We also went to a birthday party but Carlos and Titi were exhausted and wanted to go home early.

Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary Mema and Grandpa!!!!!

Today is a very special day. Don's parents are celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary! We will celebrate it with a dinner tonight. It is hard to believe they have been married for 60 years. They look too young for that. Both are very active and we feel very lucky because we get to spend lots of time with them. Carlos and Titi can't wait to see them tonight.

My birthday

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a great day. I got many emails, cards and even a phone call from The Netherlands (and Mexico too)! Thank you for thinking of me. I got to stay home with Carlos and Titi. We had a happy, quiet and peaceful day. They kept asking me if I was having a good birthday. I told them, yes, absolutely yes! Don had brought a cake the night before and we finished it today. The kids ate the frosting and I ate the rest.

I chose not to go to the Nasdaq Tournament in Miami with Don like we usually do. He has been getting tickets from one of the sponsors and we get to go to the Hospitality Tent. I am sorry I missed it this year but it was easier for me this way since it was a school night. Don felt guilty for going without me but that was what I wanted, I didn't want him to miss the tennis match and food, I know he likes going. He kept in touch and called me many times during the day.

I got nice presents too! A photo printer and a really nice watch. I love them both!

Don had a great time at the Nasdaq because he got to see Anna Sharapova's match. I am sure he used the binoculars all the time :-)

Cruise

We are back from our one week cruise to the Caribbean! It was a great trip and we are having cruise withdrawal. The kids are putting on shows and playing "kids club" and Don and I are longing for the buffets and food at the restaurants (specially the midnight buffets). We went to Key West, Cozumel (Mexico), Jamaica and Grand Cayman on board of Costa Mediterranea, an Italian cruise ship. They had 2 formal nights, an Italian night, a tropical night and a toga party. The crew gave us bed sheets in the morning and showed us how to wear them for dinner. It was fun. Don looked great!

Carlos favorite was the slide on the ship. He went on it for three straight hours. He also liked climbing the Dunn River Falls in Jamaica, it was wild . Titi loved talking to the crew and going to the shows. She even participated in one and she loved it. When she came back to the seat she said "I was in my very first show!!". Don liked going to the different ports of call. He didn't relax or read as much as he thought he was going to do but he had a lot of fun. He loved snorkeling and swimming with the stingrays in Grand Cayman. I loved everything, specially the shows and not having to cook. In Cozumel I was able to eat Mexican food and I loved it. I liked the fact that the ship's crew was foreign and all announcements were made in Italian and English. The whole crew was fantastic, specially with Carlos and Titi. We will definitely go back on a cruise.

Chrysalids

We have been releasing two Monarch butterflies every day. The kids love them because they stay in their hands for a long time. We have some more chrysalids and caterpillars. The Monarch's chrysalid is green, like a jade. They really look like gems, with specks of gold. We also have a pink chrysalids. I have been trying to research if it is a Monarch too but I have not been able to find information. The caterpillar was very similar to the Monarch but it had 3 sets of horns and the stripes were different. We are hoping it is a different butterfly.

School Play

Today was Carlos' school play. It was great and we were very proud of him and his classmates. They were sheep and sang very well. Titi got to see him too and she was very proud of her big brother.

Friends

I know I have been a terrible friend lately. I don't answer emails and I never call anybody. I do think about everybody all the time but I just don't have the energy to write at night, once the kids are in bed. I always seem to have lots of things to do and not enough time. Please know that I have not forgotten you!!! I enjoy receiving your messages and I will try to be a better friend.

Purim

Titi's school is celebrating Purim today and the kids got to wear costumes to school. Titi didn't want to be a princess and after lots of thought she decided to be a pirate. She was a happy pirate!

March birthdays!!

We have many March birthdays in our family. Happy birthday to Pavel, Aracely in Guatemala, Steven, Luke, my father, Angel and myself. Mine is on the 29th but I celebrate for a long time. Don and the kids are always very good to me and give me nice presents. We celebrated Steven's birthday on Friday and Luke's on Saturday. Great food and cake at both parties!

Belly dancing

I am so proud of my little sister!!! Last Thrusday she invited me to a Greek restaurant and I had so much fun. She has been taking belly dancing classes and she was going to go to the restaurant with her teacher and classmates and they were going to dance there. I should have planned better because I forgot to bring my video camera and my camera ran out of batteries and I could not take as many pictures as I wanted but I am still smiling everytime I think about that night.

The restaurant was great. The food was delicious and when the teacher and the girls started to dance it was so amazing. My sister is good! Everybody said so. She is such a natural dancer and she enjoys it so much and it is contagious. I had lots of fun. I will post better pictures as soon as I can get some. (My sister is wearing a purple, long sleeved top)

A great party!

We had a great time at Matt and Sandi's weekend wedding. It was a very nice affair, everything was excellent. Some of Don's relatives came from New York and one of his cousins and his family stayed with us on Thursday night. They have a 5 year old girl and Carlos and Titi loved playing with her. On Friday and Saturday we all stayed at the hotel in Miami Beach. We loved having a room with ocean view, it was so relaxing. They had a nice rehearsal party on Friday night, by the hotel's pool. We spent Saturday morning by the pool and then went to South Beach. We ate at one of the restaurants in Lincoln Road and walked around the area. We had not been there in a long time. We used to go to South Beach almost every weekend. (Don and I met there and it is one of our favorite places)

The cocktail party, ceremony and wedding reception were beautiful. It was fun seeing everybody so dressed up. Carlos and Titi looked great. I was so proud of them. They were able to attend only the cocktail party and ceremony and then went to sleep because they were very tired. My amazing sister came to the hotel (1 hour away from her house) to watch them so Don and I could stay for the reception. Everybody kept commenting on how nice it was of her to do that for us. She is a great sister!!

Don and I had a lot of fun at the reception. The room was beautiful, the food incredible and the whole event was very emotional. We danced a lot and had lots of martinis since we were not driving :)

There was a brunch on Sunday and once again it was fun seeing all the relatives. Carlos and Titi love being with their cousins.

In the first picture you see Don holding a sleepy Titi and Larry with Carlos.

The tooth that didn't want to fall off

Carlos has had a loose tooth for some days and everyday we thought it was going to fall off any minute but the tooth would not come out. Today it was hanging by very little and I thought that for sure he was going to loose it at school and again nothing. A little while ago, Titi, the very helpful sister, went looking for some cord and showed him what to do. While she was doing that, the tooth finally came out! I am glad we didn't have to pull it that way. Carlos is happy because he now can eat without problems. Titi is dissapointed because we didn't have to use the cord and because she has no loose teeth yet. She can't wait to be like her big brother.