Happy Fourth Birthday Lourdes!

Luli is a big girl and she has a lot of changes she has instituted in our daily lives to confirm this. Two of the big ones are eating with an adult salad fork instead of a kids fork, and drinking from a regular glass cup rather than a kids cup. As she reminds us, she's a big girl now and too old for these kid things!

It's been a lot of celebrating over the past week and I have to say everything went really well and smoothly. We had a lot of fun and are now looking forward to a bit of downtime.

Thursday afternoon Nahnah and Pahpah arrived for the festivities, and were the girls ever glad to see them! Greeting with big screams and hugs. Friday morning Luli got up and ran in our room. She cuddled in bed with me and whispered, "Mommy am I big now?" and of course I answered "yes." Off to school she went with her cupcakes and excitement, she got to wear a crown all day and because it was so nice out they got to play outside on the playground. Saturday was the big party and with 19 kids, and 27ish adults it was a big hit! Two Loudoun County Officers came over to wish Luli a happy birthday and show the kids their cruisers. It was really exciting (and there was snow, so exciting overall). We played lots of games, but I'm most proud of my "pin the badge on the officer" (thank you Katie for the idea!). I love the picture of the pin the badge also because you can see where Fiona put her badge, and this is funny BECAUSE... she had her eyes open!

Sunday Nahnah, Luli and I went to Ikea and it was a lot of fun to have a special big girl outing. And dinner was at Aunt Joan and Uncle Tom's house. We had a great time and Aunt Joan and Uncle Tom played with the girls non-stop. I imagine Uncle Tom's neck is a wee bit sore today after all the running around the house he did with each girl on his neck. But he was rewarded with lots of cuddle time as the girls wound down and got sleepy.

All of the birthday pictures are in the picasa album to the left. Enjoy!

Obama's Inauguration

I don't get political on the blog, but as a supporter of Barack Obama from the very beginning I can't explain the pride I have today. The historical impact of today crosses party lines and we should all embrace this spirit of togetherness.

The Purpose of Purses

While playing Polly Pockets with Luli, I learned why we carry a purse. Luli's Polly was going ice skating but had to bring her purse. I asked her why she needed her purse and what she had in it. Luli told me, she needs her purse because that's where she keeps her snacks. I asked, what else does she have in her purse? She looked at me like this was a weird question and replied "just snacks, that's why you have a purse, in case you get hungry."

Luli has also decided on another house requirement: Four bedrooms because everyone should have their own bed, Mommy and Daddy shouldn't have to share theirs. :)

Our New Favorite Appetizer

Oscar found this recipe for an Eggplant Napoleon. It's crazy good, especially if you like eggplant, but also EASY! I usually have pesto made from the garden in the freezer or the fridge so it makes the recipe even easier. You can use store bought pesto, we just always grow a lot of basil and I like my pesto garlicky. Anyway, all you have to do is toss the sliced eggplant with balsamic vinegar then roast until cooked through. By mistake we over cooked it once and it got almost burnt but crispy and that mistake turned out to be a great surprise. We like it a bit crispy and the flavor of the eggplant is so yummy then! Then let it cool, and layer eggplant, fresh tomato, feta or goat cheese, drizzle pesto, repeat for another layer and serve! That's it! We also made it with little mini eggplants from the Latin market this weekend and it was yummy but the skin was tougher on these so we had to peel them, ordinarily we don't' peal it. If you try making it please leave a comment here and let me know what you think.

Luli Ice Skates

Last weekend we took a little adventure to the Ashburn Ice Arena. The price is excellent there for open skate and skate rental. We only got Luli out skating because we felt Fiona was still a bit too young to attempt it. We got Luli all laced up and ready to skate and on the regular floor she was able to balance and walk in her skates relatively well. So I had hope that skating might go well for her.

Oscar took her on the ice, his skating skills are better than mine. At first he tried skating backward and her forward holding hands, but it worked better for him to skate forward and her forward in front of him. She really did take to it quite well. You know she can be a bit spazy with her body control but after a bit she was doing really good. Oscar said she talked the entire time (no surprise there) and from my view she smiled the whole time. After a few trips around she was actually skating to the point of pulling Oscar along. She would take breaks for a snack here and there but always wanted more skating. Fiona enjoyed watching all the skaters, but was also sad here and there that she couldn't skate. She'd say "me skate!" then "no skate, two" (which meant, she can't skate because she's two). It was a lot of fun, and certainly something we'll do again soon!

Happy New Years!

Every New Years morning I look forward to the Washington Post's "The List" to see what is Out and what is In. I pulled out a few that I really liked in case you missed it.

OUT .....................................................................................IN
Twittering ...................................................................Slow Blogging
Bumming Cigarettes ..................................................Bumming Books
Stroller Envy ...............................................................Cheap daycare envy
Alec Baldwin comeback .............................................Mickey Rourke comeback
Celeb exhaustion ........................................................Celeb Mercury poisoning
Emphasizing.Things.With.Periods ...........................REVENGE OF CAPS LOCK
Voting like Oprah .......................................................Eating like Oprah
Jim and Pam ...............................................................Dwight and Angela

This year they also did the "Stimu-List" with things that were Spent last year and things that will be Saved this year...it cracked me up. I'm hoping this trend of environmentally friendly, less consumerism based lifestyles will stick around...it's certainly more us! So here are a few that I liked...

SPENT ...........................................................................SAVED
High end BBQ Grills ...............................................Crock Pots
Exec Compensation ...............................................Exec Castration
Searching one's soul ..............................................Searching one's wallet
It's all good .............................................................It is what it is (sorry Dana)
Sleeping in Parking lots to buy new IPhone ......Sleeping in Parking lots

You should definitely check out the whole list...Enjoy!

2008 Re-Cap

How can another year have come and gone already? It really is bizarre how the years just fly by as you get older and add children to the mix. The hardest part of having kids is how much faster the years fly by. Most of the time I want to slow it down and savor every moment before it is gone and what they do changes. I mean, remember when Luli couldn't said "I don't know" but shrugged her shoulders and said what sounds like "I ont ooohh," thank god for the video camera!
Anyway, here's a little re-cap of our year...

Lourdes turned three, and is now days away from being four! Just ask her she'll gladly tell you it's now her birthday (because it's January and we should just celebrate all month). She finished her first year of preschool by coming out of her shy shell and becoming quite the social butterfly. She started her second year of preschool (again the youngest by at least 6 mths), by announcing she will be called Lourdes at school and not Luli! She is one of only a couple kids at school who can independently write her full name (Lourdes, not Luli...seriously people that's a tough name for a kid to write!) She talks non-stop and makes us laugh all the time. From the time her eyes open in the morning to the time they close she is talking! She's made it through her 2's and 3's (or is it I'VE made it through?) and is really an amazing little kid. Her imagination is stunning and the way she loves you will make you cry. She's now telling us "I love you with all my heart." She continues to love her books and has now started gymnastics which she LOVES! At her Thanksgiving party she named herself "Princess Sunshine" and that does sum her up pretty well.

Fiona is about to be 2 and a half! and is on the cusp of full fledged speaking. Her vocab grows every day and how expressive she is grows also. She is quite the character, always looking to perform and make you laugh. She loves to dance and loves to play, especially if she can tell you where, how and what to play with (we have nicknamed her "the dictator," lovingly of course). That child's eyes have more personality than some people! She seems to be making it through her 2s with only the occasional tantrum when she's tired or hungry. Otherwise she's an amazing little girl. She loves to cuddle and is really easy going, she'll try anything (including food). As chipper and bright as she is, she's also quite sensitive and likes to be close to mommy or daddy.

Oscar and I have had an amazing year. We celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary with our first trip away from the girls to Peru. Today also marks the seventh anniversary of our engagement! So New Years is a special day for us. This year Oscar received a well deserved promotion at work. He works really hard and seems to enjoy the challenges and learning he's getting with this company. I'm working hard to be a good mom with the girls. I'm also preparing to return to GMU to earn a second endorsement in ESL pre-k - 12th grade for my teaching license.

That's our 2008 in a not so small nutshell!