SNOW!

Can you believe it? We finally got snow! We're predicted to get 1-3 inches and of course most of the schools closed. Oscar's at work and we're playing in the white fluffy stuff. Tonight it is supposed to change over to ice, so maybe we'll have the whole Santiago Four at home tomorrow. But for today it's the three gals enjoying the snow, and hot chocolate. I did eventually convince Fiona to hop in the sled for a pull with Luli, but couldn't get pictures. I was pulling the sled and picture taking was pretty tough during that, if I stopped Fiona would have popped out and escaped. It was pretty cute seeing both of them in the sled, and fun for me to run around the street in figure 8s.

Logan came out to play also, and Luli pulled him in the sled. Once Logan got the hang of sitting up in a moving sled he really enjoyed it...look how cute he is (stunning eyes!).

Check out the album on the left of all our snow pics.

Birthday Slideshow

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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!