Hello! Buenos Aires

Here we are! My first thoughts were, Argentina is not like other Latin American countries I've visited. This city is much more put together, much more cosmopolitan. The city seems very European, hints of Spain...but the people are much more South American. Everyone we've met has been lovely. Oscar is working, getting back to the hotel around 8pm each night. We arrived on Tuesday morning after 24 hrs of travel (my parents house to Newark, Newark to Houston, Houston to Buenos Aires.

While Oscar is working I'm walking all over the city. I've seen Plaza de Mayo, La Casa Rosada, several Basilica, one had a nativity display with nativities from around the world. My favorite was the one from Malawi it was carved Ebony and just gorgeous. They were all beautiful and I'm glad I stumbled upon the Basilica and Museum. I spent some time in Plaza San Martin and watched the changing of the flags, I've been shopping on Avenida Florida (woohoo!), and my list of to-do's is slowly being checked off. Oscar is done with work this afternoon, so it'll be nice to finally get him out there and seeing this city. It's really beautiful.

Walking to Oscar's office this afternoon and shopping on Avenida Florida was so much more lively given the holiday. Lots of Tango dancers, street performers, people selling trinkets. I love it!

I forgot my memory card reader so you'll see pics when I get home!

Half Bath Renovation

If any of you have seen the half bath, you would know it's pretty much the most embarrassing part of the house. If we had guests we would pretty much hope they never had to go to the bathroom during their visit. Luckily we could laugh at the ridiculousness of it and kept thinking about the day it would be transformed into something we'd be proud of. I'm happy to say that day is TODAY!

Again I didn't get a picture of the real before. One day I was deciding between taking a nap during rest time or being productive. I decided to start ripping the bathroom apart. If you remember the medicine cabinet I took out from the girls bathroom, that's also what was in this bathroom (and in the master bath, must have been a sale that day). And again with the gigantic box make-up bulb light fixture (also in the girls' bath and the master bath). You see, at some point someone was using this half bath as their main bathroom...remember they rented 7 bedrooms out in the house, including the living room that had been closed in.

The walls were (again) lime green and the ceiling is where the previous owners real artsy side came out. They painted the flat ceiling sky blue, then added white texture gobs, and then wee streaks of the lime green, I guess just to pull the room together.

What I did- Pulled down the gigantic medicine cabinet, pried off the side splashes that had ridiculous amounts of glue and caulk, painted the ceiling white, primed the walls. Oscar took down the light fixture and put in a new junction box (he's a real pro at this now). Then I painted the red, and painted and painted and painted. Who knew red was such a difficult color to paint! Then Oscar installed the new light fixture and mirror. Now the room is fresh head to toe! The door got rehung last night after getting a nice new coat of paint and today the cleaned up and scraped off side splashes are getting put back on. It was hard to get a good picture of the bathroom, it's small and I just couldn't get the right angle, luckily the mirror is big and you can see most of it with the reflection.

Master Bath Renovation

Many people have asked for more house renovation pictures, and frankly we took the summer off. We did so much in a short period of time that we just needed a break. The master bath was one of those projects we were going to do in a few years, but when Oscar merely wanted to re-caulk the tub what we found led to this project getting pushed to the top of the list. Unfortunately I don't have any real "before" pictures, so imagine sky blue tile, lime green walls, and sky blue ceiling, with no window and very cave like feel.

When the caulk was pulled a lot of mold and seeping water revealed itself. We could also tell that the tile wall was kind of bulging and you could push on it. Oscar then decided we needed to take down the tile, which revealed that the Sheetrock used on the shower area was regular wall Sheetrock, not the concrete based Sheetrock necessary for waterproof shower areas. So that had to come out also, along with a lot of insulation.

At this point we thought, hey lets have a custom shower put in and a window. We got several quotes and decided re-sale value (not that we're looking to leave anytime soon) it'd be best to have a tub, but I wanted a deep tub. We choose our contractor because he gave a reasonable quote, we felt comfortable with him and our realtor has and does use him for lots of projects. We had him install the window, tile to the ceiling, new plumbing and fixtures for the tub/shower, and he'll be coming back soon to do a tile splash guard around the room rather than a wood molding trim.

After Juan had finished Oscar painted the ceiling white (much better) then the walls. We went through several vanities, carrying them upstairs seeing they just weren't going to work, carrying them back downstairs and returning them. Finally we found the right one, and we upgraded to a 36" vanity where prior we had a 31"...much nicer! We removed the gigantic light fixture and the gigantic medicine cabinet (seriously gigantic). Oscar installed a junction box because there wasn't one before, just wires running through a small hole in the wall. This enabled us to install a nice light.

As you can see the colors are much more natural, the window is so nice and adds a lot of natural light to the master bedroom let alone the bath. I coerced Oscar to agree to the glass tile strip, and Juan loved the idea, which in the end EVERYONE agreed it was definitely the right choice.

I love the new light, Oscar picked it out and I just think it looks really lovely with the mirror. We haven't moved back into the bathroom yet. I'm not sure if it's because we don't want to mess it up or because we aren't totally done with it yet.

I will be posting all of the renovation pics in the house album soon, and stay tuned for the Half Bath Renovation, I have those pictures I'm just tired of typing.

The Dig Out!

This morning we woke to blue skies, and two feet of snow awaiting shovelling...oh and that pesky gigantic snow bank made by the plow at the end of the driveway that awaited chiseling and shovelling. It took awhile be we cleared off the driveway, cars and the plow made bank. The girls had fun frolicking in the snow while Oscar and I were sweating and shovelling, certainly getting our workout in today! Fiona had much more fun today without snow falling in her face, she was even adventurous enough to climb in the snow and laugh when she fell in.

I have resisted adding pictures of the front of our house but I couldn't resist with all the snow, and really snow makes everything prettier (even brick painted fire engine red and mortor painted striking white). So you've waited eight months to see this lovely sight...enjoy!

I have also added all of our blizzardy pictures into the winter '09 album to the left.

Cookies

While it's been snowing, I've been baking my Christmas Cookies. I baked a tray of cookies for Oscar co-workers and another package for Luli's cookie exchange for school, and we are left with about a gazillion leftovers. The picture is of the tray for Oscar's work, it's a sampling of what I made...chocolate chip cookie bars, raspberry pinwheels and lemon glazed shortbread cookies. The girls are eyeing them closely, they even asked to forgo their advent treat for a cookie!

Documenting a Snow Storm, Part II

The deck at 2pm.

As of 5:15pm we have at least 20 inches and it's still snowing pretty hard. We just went out as a family to play and shovel. It was as if we'd done no shovelling earlier! Fiona wasn't a big fan of the super deep snow because she's pretty small and couldn't really move in it. Luli on the other hand is a little explorer!

After we had some paths cleared Fiona relaxed a bit and enjoyed making lots of "seats" around the paths.

Oscar and Luli enjoyed making a snow tunnel fort, which I think will get more work tomorrow when the snow isn't blowing right in your face and covering anything you've just cleared.

All in all it's a pretty unbelievable storm we're having, definitely reminds me of upstate NY!

Girls in the Snow

Here are some pictures of the girls bundled up and playing in the snow. We were much more prepared for this storm. I purchased winter coats, boots and hats last week, so everyone stayed nice and toasty outside playing. Luli lasted longer than Fiona did. Fiona did not care for the snow falling in her face. But Luli stayed out as long as Oscar did. Both girls did need new gloves put on around half way through the fun.

Documenting a Snow Storm

(This is our deck at 7pm Friday night.) For the first time 2003 we are actually getting a real snow storm! Oscar and I remember the storm of February 2003 well, at total of 16.5" fell. We were living in an apartment in Arlington and worked together at NRECA. Work was closed for a week and we had a great time trekking through the snow. We haven't had another storm like that until TODAY!

This is our deck at 11pm Friday night. The snow started around 9:30pm. We slept with the curtain open because I love to see the snow fall in the night. I woke up several times to go look out the window and see how much we had. Of course it didn't help that the girls woke up at 5am because of the snow excitement.

This is our deck at 9am, when we were eating breakfast! We had about six inches by 6am and then the snow seemed to get very light. But around 9am the flakes got bigger and the accumulation was back on.

Here is Oscar making a great snow angel at 10:30am. After breakfast the girls wanted to get outside and play. It is noon on Saturday and we have over a foot already, we woke up to six inches. The girls got up at 5am, clearly excited about the snow they'd heard so much about and the fact that Santa is coming to our house tonight.

Stay tuned for more snow storm '09 pictures and reports!

Advent Calendar

It has been a long time since I've posted any of my crafty/sewing projects. I have several that need to be posted, but here is my latest and I'm in love with it. I think Oscar needs to show more excitement about it, then again I should realize after 8.5 years that he doesn't get as excited about these things as I do. Anyway, I've been wanting a unique advent calendar that I could make and use year after year. Finally Grosgrain posted a link to a fabulous, very easy, design. I started it late, around December 5th. I started with the 6th and worked forward to the 25th and then did the 1st-4th. The packets are the perfect size for two Hershey kisses. I changed the last packet, 25th, from numbers to an embroidered Christmas tree, which came out really nicely. I love how it looks on the brick fireplace.

Luli Dresses Herself

This post is mostly for my brother, who gets a real kick out of little kids dressing themselves in ridiculous outfits. Luli dresses herself everyday, and for the most part she does a great job, but it helps that her wardrobe has coordinating colors. This day she came down with her fleece pants, and striped dress. I try to stay positive and let her go with her latest creation but this had me laughing. I asked her if she thought the fleece pants might be too warm at school, which generally is a very warm place, but she was pretty clear they would be perfect. Usually we were leggins under our dresses rather than tights because they are easier for school and the bathroom, etc. So that's where the pants came from. I did encourage her to get a sweater for the trip to school and some socks. She picks out this blue pull over sweater and striped knee socks. This outfit couldn't crack me up more, so it had to be documented. Fiona wanted in on the picture too, I can't resist the cuteness of these two!

Snow! Princesses and more snow!

Last Saturday we had a real snow storm, a rare occurrence indeed in this state! We woke up to find Luli already in her coat, scarf, hat and boots begging to go outside. (The girls are really good about getting up, getting a banana and playing in the playroom so we get to sleep in a wee bit). So the girls did head out to play in the snow while we made a nice hot breakfast.

We were off to our friend Allison's Princess birthday party in the morning, so the girls got all dressed up in their dress-up dresses and we drove off in the unplowed, unsanded, unsalted roads. Lucky for all-wheel drive and learning to drive in the snow, we did enjoy some fish tailing and sliding through a couple stop signs (with no other cars around, thankfully). The party was a lot of fun, and coincidentally last year we had our first snowfall on Allison's birthday party day, also my father's birthday.

When we got home there was no time wasted in shedding our princess gear and donning our snow gear. All four of headed outside to enjoy our big snow filled backyard for the first time (another first for the house). We had a great time making a family of snowmen, we even got to use our snowman kit for the first time that Nahnah gave us over three years ago (I think it's pre-fiona?) We threw some snowballs, and even enjoyed the sled. The yard has a wee bit of hill just perfect for the girls to slide down. Last year Fiona wanted nothing to do with the snow, and getting in the sled was her idea of pure torture! This year she couldn't get enough.

The snow is all gone now, the cold is still here. Here's hoping we get some more snow, cold without snow is just not fun!

For the rest of our snow fun pictures they are in the Winter '09 album to the left.

Happy Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving at home and visited my Aunt and Uncle for dinner. The week was full of festivities and the girls were surprisingly excited about Thanksgiving. Not that Thanksgiving isn't exciting I was just surprised by the sheer amount of excitement for this holiday. Luli had a Thanksgiving Feast at school which Fiona and I attended. Each of the kids had made smocks, and feather headdress, just like they had last year, and developed their "Indian" names. Luli was Princess Kind Heart, if you remember last year Luli was Princess Sunshine. I think both are equally appropriate names for my gal. Here is a picture of Luli and none other than Donovan!


Luli and Fiona also made several pictures for Aunt Joan and Uncle Tom, and Luli made a turkey purse for the big day. She told me "Mommy this will be the best Thanksgiving ever because of this purse." HA! Wednesday she announced she'd like to say hello to the turkey and ask him how he's doing before we ate him. I passed that responsibility off to Aunt Joan, let her explain how the turkey isn't quite able to answer because of it's current not so living, defeathered state! I would have loved to known his answer to how he's doing, my guess- not so terrific!

Thanksgiving evening was a lovely time. Family friends Ben, Kerry and Jack stayed for dinner and Susan and Ellen stopped by for drinks. It was great to see everyone and the girls loved having Jack there to play with. We stayed way too late for the girls but it was a nice evening and I had no idea it was so late. I meant to take many photographs of the evening but it just didn't happen. So these pictures are from Luli's school feast.

School Pictures

Today I picked up the girls' pictures, and they're absolutely adorable. I have a few other posts to put up but I couldn't wait on these!

Resizing Kids Pants

I think I just found the answer to all of my prayers! Ok, exaggeration, it's the answer to one of my problems. Luli is the skinniest thing but she's a tall gal, which is tough in the pants department. I do try to stick with adjustable waist band pants but there are times when that's just not an option. I follow this amazing blog Grosgrain which just linked to this 'new to me' website that gives a tutorial on making your own adjustable waistbands. I haven't tried it yet but it looks relatively easy! I have a stack of things I needed to take in for Luli on my sewing table and these are perfect candidates to try this new technique out on! woohoo for answered prayer!

Playdates = Sanity on a rainy day

Actually playdates equal sanity on any day for a stay at home mom. I'm so thrilled with our preschool class set up this year, the moms are really nice and social! Three years we've been at this preschool and this is the FIRST time there has been a playdate/group! Today we were invited, with some other friends to Donovan's house (picture Luli swooning at the idea). Donovan has a lil' brother who is also in Fiona's class. Also at the playgroup were our friends Luca and Kieren who are brothers and in Luli's and Fiona's classes respectively, and our new friend Jack who is in Fiona's class. It was a great time and Miss Tanya even made cinnamon muffins for snack! The group was so sweet and played really nice (yet loud) with all the toys. Miss Tanya also had a craft, necklace making. The kids loved it and Luli and Fiona have worn theirs all day! Miss Tanya's husband was also home and he was so lovely with the kids, helping some kids with craft while the mom's were in the playroom, and chatting with the ladies when we were all together. I love seeing interactive Dads, that's one of the greatest things about raising a family today it is much more a team effort on behalf of Moms and Dads. Dads who make that decision to be an equal member of the team reap so many benefits from special relationships with their kids. I'm so thankful Oscar is a team player, and sometimes carries this team without complaint.

Donovan's picture for Luli

Donovan has reciprocated Luli's picture. The other day he gave her this picture of him and her. I love how bright and cheery both of their drawings are, and I love the sun-like hands. The hair is hilarious, they are both blondies, so he is the short and spiky and she is the wild locks.

Luli and Donovan on a Summer Day

Over the weekend Luli drew this picture for her friend Donovan. These two are so adorable together, he's really the first child Luli has attached onto as her 'friend.' Their teacher said they play together all day, and Donovan will get Luli more snack, help her put her jacket on, hold hands and give lots of hugs. Luli wanted to give Donovan the picture in the morning but I hadn't had a chance to scan it into the computer so I could save it for us. So I assured her I would bring the picture at pick up and she could give it to him. When she did, he said "is this for me?" when Luli told him it was Donovan put his hand on her arm and said so sweetly "i love it so much." When his mom came in he ran over and showed her what Lourdes had given him, she said they could hang it on the wall in his room and he asked if they could hang it over his bed! So cute, I just love watching these two!

Sisters

I had been surprised the girls never tried to sleep in the same bed. I figured eventually they'd start wanting to do that but as the years went by it never seemed to be an interest. That is, until the past couple weeks. Lately we've been finding the girls cuddled up in bed together and they stay that way the whole night. Last night I was sure they'd be sleeping separately. The last thing I heard from their room was Fiona yelling out "I DON'T LIKE YOU WEEGEE" and then Luli came downstairs saying that Fiona came over to her bed and bit her. An hour later we went in to check on them and this is how we found them sleeping! And they are holding hands above Luli's head.

Early Thanksgiving

This past weekend we travelled up to the Catskills to celebrate an early Thanksgiving with the Santiago Family. Oscar's brother, Rafael and his son Lucas were visiting for a few days and we thought we'd take the opportunity to also see him. The last time the girls saw Lucas was two years ago at the family reunion. Lucas is such an amazing young man, he was so wonderful with the girls. I don't know any other eleven year old boys who would play so well with two preschoolers and not once complain. Oscar and Rafael were able to put up solar panels on Abuelita's sanctuary, and the weather was gorgeous for the kids to be outside almost the entire time. I took a ton of pictures and they are also in an album to the left of the blog. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween

Halloween week was a lot of fun for us. The girls decided to be Dora and a Policewoman (and luckily we owned both costumes already!).

Fiona had her Halloween party at school on Wednesday and all the kids dressed up in their costumes for a parade and performed a few songs. Fiona dressed as Dora the Explorer.

Luli had her Halloween party on Friday and dressed as a Policewoman again this year. Whenever she was in costume she said "I am not Lourdes anymore, I am now Officer Santiago." Her class also did a parade and performed some songs. It's amazing how much more interactive the Pre-k class was. It was a lot of fun to watch them and see their adorable costumes.

On Halloween day we carved our pumpkins and got ready for our first trick or treating in the new neighborhood. This year both girls were ready to draw their faces all by themselves, so they worked very hard at creating just the right face. A dry erase marker worked great for them because they were able to wipe off and fix whatever they wanted. Luli decided to create a "spooky" pumpkin and Fiona went for a "happy" pumpkin. (In the picture from left to right, Oscar's pumpkin, Luli's, and Fiona's)

Trick or Treating was a lot of fun in the new neighborhood, it's a nice quiet area so there aren't any strangers wandering the area and there are lots of children. Luli received a UNICEF box from school and the neighbors were very generous. I was very impressed with Luli's willingness to ask for change also. At each door she said "please would you give some change for my UNICEF box, it is to help children around the world." So cute. Both girls had a great time going around to the houses. At home they were very good about Mommy going through their candy and pulling out the things we just couldn't allow them to eat.

We took a lot of pictures, you can visit the Halloween album to the left of the blog.

Luli's Art Work

I've been wanting to be able to post some of the girls drawing and with our flashy new printer/scanner/fax I'm finally able to do it. Luli made this incredible drawing just last week for her teachers. Actually, all of her drawings are for her teachers, I have to ask if she can make me one! I think this one really shows developmentally a lot of growth for her. When she began drawing people, they were circles with the face in it and four lines coming out for arms, and legs. In this picture the person (herself) has arms with fingers, a body, legs with shoes. The face has eyes with pupils, a nose and teeth. The peach circles on the face are ears. I'm in love with this picture and was sad that it was meant for her teachers, but I knew they'd love it too and I was able to save it here for us to remember always.

Future Living Arrangements

Luli has decided that when she grows up she will buy the house next door to our house and Fiona will buy the house to the other side of our house. This way we can still walk to the bakery and get slices of bread together. I love this! It's slightly better than her "I will live with you forever."

Lisa Leonard Designs Jewelry GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Lisa Leonard Designs Jewelry GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!
I think one of these rings with the girls' names on it would be pretty cool!

School Updates

The girls are three weeks into their new school year and completely loving school. The hardest part for Fiona is leaving school on the days we drop Luli off (Fiona goes 2 mornings and Luli goes 4). Big development for this week is their new snack boxes, Nahnah bought them mini sized lunch boxes from the craft store which are the perfect size for their snack and juice box. It is really adorable watching them carry the boxes into school.

Fiona does really well at recognizing her name stick on the door and putting it into the attendance bucket. She also has to start each day off with a gigantic hug for each teacher. Then she goes off to her craft of play and I have to go over and snag a good bye kiss. She's also making great friends at school and enjoying their daily trips to the farm.

Luli is doing super in her pre-k class, she goes 4 days a week and wishes she could go 7! She works very hard and has also made great friends with her classmates. There are more boys than girls in her class this year and I'm noticing she's playing more with boys and hanging in there with the rough play. Interesting. The first week of school her teachers chose a child to be the "librarian" for the week, I think the role of that child is to pick out books, put books away, etc. Apparently Luli went up to her teacher and said "I guess you didn't realize how much I love books and that I would be a really good librarian." So she was the librarian on week 2! HA!

Swimming Lessons

The girls have been taking swimming lessons together for the past few weeks. It's great having them in the same class and really convenient. They are having a lot of fun and actually making some progress. Fiona always seems more willing to just go for it, while Luli takes some time to adjust and get comfortable at her own pace. Fiona is floating on her back with assistance, with her ears in the water for 10 seconds! Luli made a lot of progress today and actually put her ears in the water during the back float for one second, seriously a HUGE accomplishment for her. We are all really proud. Really my only goal is that they both be swimming for next summer, so we have time to progress at whatever pace works for them. I'll be posting more updates and pictures as the lessons progress and developments occur.

First Day of School!

Summer is officially OVER! How did this happen?! The girls started their first day of school on Monday. Luli is in the pre-k class and Fiona is in the 3 yr old class. The morning started out great, with lots of excitement for the big day. Oscar made a big breakfast with oatmeal, and hot chocolate with cheese and bread. While I got the girls clothes, bags and snacks ready.

After breakfast we got dressed in the dresses they had picked out weeks ago for the big day and their new school shoes (thanks Nahnah and Pahpah). Then it was time for picture taking! You can clearly see the excitement on Luli's face! We did pictures together, pictures separately and a couple in their classrooms. I really can't explain to you how excited and happy they were to go to school. Luli kept explaining to Fiona different things she'd learn at school, songs they'd sing, books they'd read, activities they do, and of course preparing her for the exceptionally loud flushing toilet!

I was wondering how Fiona would do with her first Mommy free class. She did great, but I kept waiting for her to be a little bit skeptical. Then I was like, really Fiona, come on, don't you want to get just a little bit upset? Nope, she didn't. But I did tear up, it was so great to see my baby be such a big girl and dive right in. Her whole first week went great! On her second day a little girl came up to her so enthusiastically calling her name and gave her a big hug. It was so sweet, I love seeing them make friends. I think it's also a nice comfort knowing Luli is right next door.

Luli also did very well this week. She took right back to school working very hard and doing very hard on all her projects. She's really quite focused in school and does very well. She doesn't really want you to linger in her classroom, almost like you're imposing on "her" time. I get it, and I love it. She's such a smart gal, and I'm just so proud of her.

The teachers are really wonderful for both classes and I know they'll have plenty of love and support while they are away from me. I've been enjoying some me time, going to the gym, cleaning the house, working on homework, and job hunting. Now that school has started our days are much more structured and working like a fine tuned instrument. It's nice to be back on a schedule!

Saying So Long

Our good friends, the Ulibarri's, are moving to Arizona. Stormie and I met while we worked at NRECA, she worked in HR with Oscar. Soon after we moved into Del Ray, Stormie and Josh also moved into Del Ray. We spent some more time together and especially after they had their first son, Anikin, we spent even more time together. When Stormie left NRECA she joined our mommy's group and our friendship became even more close. I'm really going to miss her bubbly personality and those little cheeks of Anikin's. I know this is a great opportunity for them and they will be so happy in their new home and close to family. I'm just bummed about being so far away from them now. But I've never been to Arizona and now I have the perfect excuse to go! See you soon Ulibarri's!

Indian Summer Shirt and Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Indian Summer Shirt and Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

How adorable is this outfit? And how cute would the girls be wearing it? Fingers crossed!

Dana's 30th Surprise

One of my closest friends had a big surprise 30th birthday party in Long Island over Labor Day weekend. Her mother and family had been planning it for months and there was no way I was going to miss this day for her. Oscar took the day off of work so I could leave in the morning and have plenty of time if traffic issues arose (which of course they did). I got to Dana's mom's house around 4pm and met some more of Dana's family who were there to get ready, then we were off to pick up the favors and go set up the reception room. The favors were really adorable, they were little Dana baby picture bobble heads on jars of 80s themed candy (the party was 80s themed). We got to work getting all the tables set with snap bracelets, hackey sacks, bouncy balls, My Little Ponies, and fiber optic lights. It was so great.

The guests started arriving and the DJ was setting up and the food was starting to get ready. All we had to do was wait for the birthday girl to arrive. We had all talked to her through out the week and she definitely had no idea what was happening Friday night! I was so nervous I could barely stand it. I got to get a little bit of video of the reveal, but then my battery died and it ended...but you can see the stages of realization on her face. It was priceless.

Dana was really shocked and she had a great night. We danced the night away and then I ended up staying at her place and we stayed up chatting until 3am! It was a blast and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Dana is like a sister to me and I just love her to pieces.