FINALLY, the Little Piggie We Were Missing!

Lila Maria Batista was born (TODAY!) on December 2nd, 2008 around 2:45pm (Canary Islands time). She weighed 3.3 kilos (over 7 pounds). She has dark hair (that will change eventually) and big lips (as you can see in the pics). Melany and I are sooooo happy to welcome her into our family. We were waiting for the last little piggie that went wee wee all the way home, and she is finally here!

Oops!!

Um our blog list got deleted so I would really appreciate it if anyone who reads this can look to make sure that we have you listed and if we have forgotten you please leave a comment with your blog address. I have a terrible memory! Thank you, Thank you! Stay tuned for our next post...fire in the building! Scary! Oh and by the way, in our new picture that Diego posted I just want you all to know that I would never buy the shirt that Ryan is wearing, it was given to him. I don´t think that it is true! I only put it on him here because most people don´t understand what it says! I actually picture Naydene who lives in a double wide, feathers her hair, wears stretch pants, and weighs in at about 350 putting it on her son!

Heart melting!

I just had to post this before I forgot! Lauryn was asking to have her own email address because Jacob does, so we got her signed up yesterday. I always check their emails with them or before they do because you never know what is going to get sent to them. I just opened Lauryn´s email and found this from Jacob...too much for a mom!

Dear Lauryn,
You are my sister, and I am your brother, and I love you.
Jake

They are only 16 and a half months apart and they are best friends. Hopefully it stays that way even when they get older. I love listening to them at night talking and giggling. (Until it starts getting too late and then...well you know) They usually sneek into the same bed. Lauryn plays legos with Jacob and Jacob reads Junie B. Jones books with Lauryn. They are too cute! Lauryn was beside herself when Jacob was out of school for a week and she couldn´t play with him at recess. What more could you want as a mom! I am so glad that Lauryn has a wonderful big brother like I do. What a blessing.

DNA

I love what kids come up with!! So on Friday Jacob came home from school and was very anxious to show me something. He pulls out this little notebook and opens it. The first page reads, "DNA Book By Jacob." Then he turns the page and there is a hair taped to it and written underneath it says Jacob´s hair, his sex, age, and color of eyes. I was cracking up. Throughout the day he managed to collect many different people´s hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows. He then informed me that when he grows up he wants to be a scientist that works with DNA. In my head I am thinking, "yeah stick to that one you can make good money being a scientist!" I once got in trouble with Diego when Jacob told me that when he grew up he wanted to be a writer and I pretty much shot him down informing him that it is very difficult to become a successful writer and they usually don´t make a good living. O.K. so definately not one of my shining mom moments! I learned my lesson so now I just agree how great it would be to become a shop owner, construction worker, lego architect, Wii game maker, or whatever the choice job of the week is!

I was also happy that Jacob informed me that he changed his mind about what he wants for Christmas (for the 100th time.) He said that he wants a science kit with a "microscope and tubes to do science experiments." I am definately happier spending money on that than another lego set, or wii game! If anyone has any suggestions on where or which one is good please let me know. I am going to have minimal time to do Christmas shopping when we get home.

So back to DNA. We are all sitting in the living room when I glance over at Lauryn, who is sitting next to Ryan on the coffee table, and without even blinking she grabs a large tuft of Ryan´s bangs and cuts it off!! Um, did I just see what I think I saw? Now, I must admit Ryan´s hair is getting a little too long, but I get an uproar from the entire family including Diego when I even mention cutting it! And yes Amie, he is starting to look a little like a man child! Luckily you couldn´t really tell that she cut it. Anyways after putting Lauryn in time out and explaining to her that we don´t cut anyone´s hair, including our own, and after she apologized for not asking permission (yeah, because I would´ve said yes if you asked, or NOT!), I did have to laugh to myself and be greatful that my kids like to help each other out with their projects. After all, she said that she was just trying to help Jacob get more DNA! I did catch Lauryn today trying to pull one of Aitana´s eyelashes out! When I got on her about it Aitana looked at me and said "I want her to." O.K. kids whatever!

Here is the infamous hair that Lauryn cut from Ryan´s locks!

Most would agree that it is at least time for a trim.

My brave boy

Well just a quick update on my boy. Jacob is recovering well from his surgery and being very brave. We got to the emergency room at around 10 in the morning on Tuesday and he was in surgery at 1 in the afternoon. I was impressed at how fast they were. The doctor said that everything went well, but that his appendix was very swollen almost to the point of bursting. What a blessing that we got him in before it burst! I always used to think to myself, "I hope that nothing painful ever happens to Jacob because he will scream the entire time." He doesn´t deal with pain well at all! Well I was wrong about this. He has been amazing! He hasn´t complained much at all, well a little when they changed the bandage, but not much. They finally let him eat soft foods yesturday and today probably a little more variety.

We are all very proud of him and are anxious for him to come home. Hopefully tomorrow or Sunday he will get to come home. It is wearing on all of us especailly Lauryn. She had a terrible day at school yesturday becuase she misses him so much, and of coarse it was picture day! She said that she didn´t smile at all so I will make sure to post that gem of a picture when I get it.

We are very lucky that the Tranvia stops one street from our house and stops right in front of the hospital or changing off would be a real headache. Diego has been sleeping there and then I have been spending the afternoon with him. (We have been playing a lot of Phase 10!) We were going to switch off nights, but there was no way that I could´ve sleep in that reclining chair with hopefully only a week or 2 to go till our new addition. They won´t allow visitors in under 12, but the kids dropped in for a short hello last night and Ryan got to say hi quickly the day before. Thanks for all the prayers and notes!

Jacob said that he was like a human fire engine with all the tubes coming off his IV.

When it rains it poors!

Well just a quick note to let everyone know that Jacob is at the hospital right now and has to have his appendix out. (Not sure how to spell and I´m a little frazled right now!) Anyways say a prayer for him. I´m sure that he will be fine, but it sure is tough as a mom to see him go through this!

What the heck is the deal!!

O.K. so I am a little bitter right now and I have to vent. I truly enjoy being pregnant...I know I´m sick and wrong. I wouldn´t have almost 5 kids if I had terrible pregnancies. Anyways so since we arrived in Spain a little over 5 months ago I have only gained like 7 pounds and I weigh the least that I have ever weighed with any of my pregnancies. I totally attribute this to having to walk everywhere and not being able to drive through any of my favorite fast food joints anytime I feel a touch hungry or I didn´t plan dinner. (Now I am not saying I am thin by any means because I definately started this pregnancy way over my ideal weight but at least I haven´t tacked on another 20-30 pounds like I usually do.)

So back to my frustration. I have always chuckled to myself about these super thin women who look like a tooth pick with a pea on it and have high blood sugar or high blood pressure when they are prego. I don´t laugh because I am super jealous that they look so great, but I just think that it should be the women who can throw down the super sized Big Mac meals with no prob. (like myself) that should struggle with those issues. It just seems logical to me. Hope I don´t offend any of my fellow big eaters!! So I have my first glucose test and I pass it. I have never had an issue with any of my pregnancies, but for some crazy reason the Doc has me do another one. Not sure why, maybe they do it differently here. Well that great orange drink that they give you isn´t quite as great here ha ha. They don´t even try to make it somewhat drinkable. Nope, the second time I had to do it I just about lost it!

So I go to the OB tonight and he has the results from my blood tests and says that my blood sugar is a little high and then the nurse takes my blood presure and says that it is a little high!!! Wait a second....I am like 15 pounds less than any of my other pregnancies, how can this be? Then the doctor procedes to tell Diego that I have to go in for the grand daddy glucose test of them all tomorrow which is 3 hours and they have to draw blood 3 times, oh yeah and I couldn´t leave out that tasty orange drink!! Oh, if I had a Taco Bell close I would have driven there and thrown down a few burritos! Oh, and the biggest Dr. Pepper that I could get my hands on. Oh wait maybe not, the heart burn would have killed me! So needless to say I am totally bitter! I am definately happy that I haven´t gained as much weight, but someone help me understand the logistics because I am definately not a doctor!!

I also had an unltrasound this morning and the tech said that the baby looked chubby (gordita) and that my amniotic fluid was okay to low. She scheduled me to have another ultrasound a week from Friday. The baby´s health comes first but it would be great timewise if I had to be induced a little early. We´ll see!

Quick note of funny things kids say
The kids are watching some Chinese show called something like ninja warrior. It looked a little bit to me like American Gladiators only there weren´t any steriod using gladitors on this show, just really strong Chinese men. The contestants have to go through these crazy obstacle courses that require massive amounts of strength. Don´t ask me why, but the kids think it is the greatest thing. So this is the conversation.

Jacob-Mom do they have any shows like this in the US?
Me-Yeah they have a show called American Gladiators

A few minutes pass.

Jacob-If Daddy ever went on that show he would have to lose a LOT of weight and gain a little bit of muscles.
Me-HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa.........................................
Lauryn-But Daddy isn´t from China, he is from Spain.
Me-HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaha.............................................

Entry from Jacob and Lauryn

I have a feeling that this blog is soon going to become overtaken by the kids! (Not like pretty much every entry is about them) Every little thing that they do they ask to post it on the blog and usually I say no because it is chaos sitting down with all the kids to try to do this kind of thing, but finally I gave in. so here are there entries! And no Jacob does not watch wrestling, but they didn´t have the soccer chips that he wanted.

Jacob´s new wrestiling chips

Well, I got these new wrestling chips, as you can seen in the pics. The people on the chips, or

W chipz, are JTG, Trevor Murdoch, Mick Foley & Chris Jericho.

(P.S. I Jacob wrote this.)

Lauryn´s new journal

This is my journal. I call it "My Private Journal" and it´s nick name is "Diary." I already wrote on 2 pages, but I like reading them a lot of times. Well I wrote that at school one day we were supposed to draw a leapord, but when a girl named Nedea saw my leapord she said "que feo" which means how ugly. Then when she showed me hers I said "que bonita" which means how pretty. So now I´m her friend. The End

Halloween in Spain / "Jalogüín" en España

Although not many people celebrate Halloween here in Spain I couldn´t pass up celebrating one of my favorite holidays, so we decided to have a small little family Halloween party. Grandma sent a fun Halloween package with some cute tops for the kids and fun treats. Thanks Grandma! Diego and I started out the day running around getting all the things that we needed for the party and we actually found some Halloween decorations! When I say running around I literally mean running around since we don´t have a car. I would say that we probably walked 4 or more miles! We also had an ultrasound scheduled for the day so we had to fit that in too. The OB said that everything looked normal, i.e. amniotic fluid, heart, kidneys, bladder, and her size. We were happy with the results since when we had the last ultrasound the tech was a little worried about the amount of fluid and her size.

So here are the results of all our work. I must say it definately paid off! The kids loved it and we didn´t even get one whine or complaint! The kids decided to dress themselves up and this is what they came up...Jacob decided to be a mad scientist, Lauryn a Flamenco Dancer, Aitana a princess, Ryan, well he ended up dressing up like a white trash baby after spilling one too many things on himself, and Alejandro, a farmer.

We started off with a fun and healthy dinner, hot dogs, pizza, chips, and punch. Oh, did I say healthy? My mistake. After dinner we play pin the nose on the pumpkin. Even Ryan liked it.

The kids loved the eat the donut off the string with no hands, but it didn´t last too long since the donuts quickly fell to the floor. Three second rule!!

Next, crafts! I am always a little leery of crafts during parties because the kids are usually a little crazy and uninterested, but the kids actually enjoyed the candy spiders and Halloween book marks. Short, sweet, and to the point!

O.K. why not a few more treats to get the kids completely sick. Grandma sent this Halloween cupcake kit and it made a whopping 6 cupcakes, but enough sprinkles and frosting mix (you had to add powdered sugar, butter and water to the frosting mix, I think that the frosting mix was just food coloring) for like 20 cupcakes. The kids loved them!

Next Tía Pily told the kids a spooky Halloween story. She gets hired to do story telling a lot and the kids loved it. They got a little creeped out when the vampire in the story grabbed a knife, but then were cracking up when she started singing about using the knife to spread some peanut butter!

O.K. finally the grand finale! Trick-or-treating!! The kids went door to door to each bedroom. They had such a fun time and since we bought all the candy we didn´t have a plethera of too many tootsie rolls, hard candy, mints, dumb dumbs, etc. You know the candy that sticks around until the next Halloween! Purely the good stuff that we knew they would like!

All and all it was a hit and I must admit it ended up being just as fun or funner than Halloween in the states....No one got cold trick or treating, no one was over tired from a day full of too many activities (well, except for mom and dad), and no one threw up! (at least not yet).

So sad to say goodbye!

Well I had to say good bye to my treasured flip flops! (Side note: I always called them thongs growing up until the all so popular underwear took over the name and people looked at you weird when you yelled across Payless Shoes "Look at these cute thongs!" I begrudgingly changed my verbage.) Anyways I bought these on clearance at Wallgreens as I was running out after picking up a perscription over a year ago. If I remember correctly they cost me $1.50. Wow what a treasure I had found only didn´t realize it at the time. I just wanted some cheap shoes to throw on when getting kids from the bus or running to Taco Bell. Oh how great they have been! I can´t count the miles that I have walked through Tenerife in them. I even bought some better looking flip flops, but nothing was as good. Why is it that we can shop and shop for hours for something, but it is never quite as good as the wonderful items that we find on clearance at Walmart, Target, or even Goodwill! (Another side note: One time Diego found a Willow Tree at Goodwill for a dollar...he was so proud!) I know that these flip flops are so disguistingly dirty, but that never bothered me. If you look closely you can see where Lauryn stuck a sticker on them and then I couldn´t get it off so the adhesive just collected dirt...nasty. Anyways you can judge me like all the other fasionable ladies here do or you can feel sorry for me and tell me to go buy some knew shoes either way my feet are in mourning! I wish that I had taken a side shot before I threw them away so that all could see how worn down they were. Oh what a sad day!

Ryan´s Musical Debut / El debut musical de Ryan

Before playing the video, make sure you stop or pause the playlist at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

Antes de ver el video, asegúrense de parar o pausar la lista de canciones que está al final de la página, porque si no escucharán dos canciones al mismo tiempo. ¡Qué lo disfruten!

Book Worms / ¡Suelta ese libro!

Our kids love to read!! They usually ask to go to bed about a half an hour early so that they have time to read their favorite books. Sometimes they are upset when we are out too late and we have to tell them to turn the lights out before they have a chance to read. When we got to Spain we didn´t really think about not having English books for them to read. They got through the ones we brought very quickly. We checked out as many English books from the local library as we could but you can guess the English section wasn´t that big! Finally, when Melany´s mom came to visit in July, she brought a whole suitcase full of books from Michelle and as gifts for the kids. Well, we are just about done with all of those, they´d better learn Spanish faster so they can read El Quijote, and One Hundred Years of Solitude before we get back!

Harry Potter is still Jacob´s favorite but he has now read many classics he has really enjoyed. Currently, he is venturing into the Lord of the Rings. We are not sure if it will be too much for him. It doesn´t look like he´s enjoying The Hobbit very much, does it?

Ryan is really starting to enjoy books, especially anything with a dog in it. Right now, every animal makes the same barking noise! "Woof, woof."

Aitana loves to be read to (especially by her sister Lauryn) and look at picture books. Hopefully she will pick up reading as quickly as the older two. We are sure once she does she will love reading as much as the others.

Lauryn LOOOOVES the Junie B. Jones series. All the ones that she owns she has read 4 to 5 times each. She doesn´t just read one at a time, she usually has 3 to 4 going at the same time. That would confuse me but she always knows exactly what happens in every book and quotes Junie quite often. Last night we had to take them away from her for an evening after her aunt Pily asked her what was wrong with Aitana and she replied that it wasn´t any of her "beeswax."

Blogging

"I´m Melany and I´m a blogaholic!" I just had to laugh as I was reading my friends blog about her crazy day. We all talk about how crazy it gets and how we don´t have enough time to get things done....then we blog about it. That takes some time, but I would rather do that than dishes! I love it!! I am addicted to blogging and reading others blogs. The other day Diego asked me what I did and I said, "Um wasted my time on the computer!" But then again it isn´t a waste to me. I feel like I am friends again with my old friends and back in touch with my cousins and whoever else I find while going from blog to blog to blog. I love to read about peoples lifes. Maybe I´ll make a pact with Diego and tell him that I will stop eavsdropping at restaurants since I spend so much time on blogs. O.K. or maybe I won´t! Thanks Diego for getting us started and thanks Taryn for pushing me!!

Side note - Ryan is talking a little! Ryan has been repeating words here and there. His first was agua. He doesn´t just come out and say things usually, but he does a lot of repeating. Anyways last night we were playing with the camera and he grabbed it and said "say cheese." Diego and I looked at each other and were shocked. He continued to do it as he tried to take my picture. Lauryn and Aitana didn´t talk until they were 2 so I guess that he has a leg up on them!

Pregnancy Update, 8 Weeks and Counting / Recuento del embarazo, 8 semanas y contando

Well I went to have an ultrasound yesterday and it was short, sweet, and to the point. I had Diego take a pic of me before we left because I don´t have many pictures of myself pregnant. I would love to have a picture of my mom when she was pregnant with me. Anyways the tech said that things look good. She said that our baby girl is a little small and that my amniotic fluid is O.K., but not great. (I have had low amniotic fluid with just about every pregnancy.) She said that if she continues with this growth that she probably won´t weigh more than 3 kilos, which is about 6.6 pounds. I´m still a little baffled as to why Diego and I have small babies! Looking at us you would think that we would have 10 pounders! Ryan has been our biggest at 8 pounds. She scheduled me to come back in a month to check my fluid so hopefully things get better. She told me that I need to rest...yeah right...I have to walk everywhere and have 4 kids...that´s going to happen. We´ll keep everyone updated. We are very excited to meet our baby girl, but not as excited to rush to get a passport for her so that we can come home. It´s a lot of paperwork and we have to go to another island since there isn´t a US consulate on this one, but it is only a 45 minute ferry ride. Hopefully she comes in enough time!!

Ayer fuimos al tocólogo para que le hicieran una ecografía a Melany. Fue entrar y salir. Diego le hizo una foto a Melany antes de ir porque no tiene muchas fotos del embarazo y además a Melany siempre le habría gustado tener una foto de su madre embarazada de ella. Pues, la enfermera dijo que todo iba bien. También nos informó de que la bebé era un poco pequeña y que aunque el líquido amniótico estaba bien, no había demasiado (Melany ha tenido un nivel bajo de líquido amniótico en todos los embarazos). La enfermera dijo que si la bebé continuaba así no pesaría más de 3 kilos. Todavía nos sorprende el hecho de que tengamos bebés tan pequeños. Mirándonos cualquiera pensaría que nuestros hijos nacen pesando 4 ó 5 kilos. Ryan ha sido el más grande de todos por ahora (3.700). La enfermera nos dio cita para dentro de un mes y así verificar el nivel del líquido amniótico y ver como van las cosas. Le dijo a Melany que necesitaba descansar...sí hombre...con lo que caminamos aquí y 4 hijos, no creo que eso vaya a ocurrir muy pronto. Les mantendremos informados. Estamos muy animados de conocer a nuestra bebé, pero no tanto como de tener que apurarnos para conseguirle el pasaporte americano para volver a casa. Es un montón de burocracia y tenemos que irnos a Gran Canaria ya que en Tenerife no hay ningún consulado americano (pero solo es un viaje en barco de 45 minutos). ¡Esperemos que la niña venga con tiempo suficiente!

Park After Park / Parques y más parques

Santa Cruz of Tenerife (and Spain in general) has a lot of parks. Our children love to go out in the afternoon and spend some time at any of the many parks around the city (which also gives us a chance to let them run free and stretch their legs). We have been taking pictures during the last four months and I believe it is time to let you see some of the places we have visited. I hope you enjoy the slideshow!

Santa Cruz de Tenerife (y España en general) tiene un montón de parques. A nuestros hijos les encanta salir por las tardes y pasar un rato en uno de los muchos parques de la ciudad (lo que también nos ofrece la oportunidad de dejarlos correr y estirar las piernas). Llevamos cuatro meses sacando fotos y creo que ha llegado la hora de mostrarles algunos de los lugares que hemos visitado. ¡Espero que disfruten las diapositivas!

New Music / Música nueva

Well my husband finally put some music on our blog. Um do you like the song choice about not wanting to go to rehab by Amy Winehouse. Maybe I can go to rehab if it means a few days of silence by myself!! Maybe a while in solitary confinement and detox would do me good!! :) No I don´t mean to make a joke out of it and it is a catchy song, but not quite sure if it fits our family!! What do ya think??

Por fin mi esposo le puso música a nuestro blog. ¿Qué les parece la canción sobre no querer ir a rehabilitación que canta Amy Winehouse? ¡¡Quizás yo necesito ir a rehabilitación si eso significa que puedo disfrutar un par de días de silencio!! Tal vez un poco de confinamiento en solitario y desintoxicación me harían bien. :) Con esto no intento burlarme de nadie (al fin y al cabo es una canción pegadiza, aunque no estoy seguro de que vaya con nuestra familia). A ustedes, ¿qué les parece?

My spanish, or lack thereof! / Mi español, o falta del mismo

Well last Sunday we got to church, not having to run the entire way which is usually the case, and sat our family under the only air conditioning. After the branch Pres. made his announcements he said that Diego would be giving the opening prayer. I said "did they ask you" and he said no, but who cares really it´s a prayer how hard can it be! We got through the meeting with not too many issues with our 4 wiggly kids and I heard my name towards the end right before the closing song. I asked Diego "did they announce that I am speaking in a couple of weeks?" Which I am! It seemed a little odd to me, but you never know. He said no he said that you were giving the closing prayer!!! Um great! They asked me to give the closing prayer one other time and I was a nervous wreck!! It´s not like you can just write it down, have your hubby translate it and then read it! I have a terrible memory so I didn´t even try to memorize it. So the first time they asked me I thought that I could just practice in my head during church and ask Diego how to say some of the things that I was thinking about. Well it just happened that Jacob rolled his ankle the day before and it was getting worse so Diego took him to the doctor Sunday morning! I was on my own. I did ask one of the elders (my dentist from Californias son...it´s a small world) to translate a few things. I did o.k., but made it short and sweet. Anyways back to last Sunday. So I had very little time to play things out in my head and just got up and winged it. So after my short and sweet prayer I go walking off the stand and see Diego grinning and talking to his sister! O.k. I´m sure that I screwed something up!! So I sit down and Jacob looks at me and says "doesn´t Sabado mean Saturday?" In my prayer I said that I was greatful for this Saturday!! Am I LDS or Seventh Day Adventist? O.k. great my 8 year old son knows more Spanish than his dumb mom! No, I know my days of the week for heavens sake, but that is what you get for springing a prayer on an unsuspecting gringa!!!


I´m going to start quoting my kids when I can remember some of the funny things that they say at the end of my posts. This blogging has been great journaling for me!!


I was getting on Aitana for splashing water all over the bathroom and this is how our converstion went

Mom.."Aitana stop splashing and flooding the bathroom"

Aitana.. "Why does Ryan get to?"

Mom.."Because he is a baby and doesn´t understand that he shouldn´t. You are a big girl and know better."

Aitana.."I wish I was a baby."

Mom.."You were once."

Aitana.."Did I splash when I was a baby? Because I really wanted to."

Mom.."Yes of course!"

Si realmente quieren saber el significado del palique éste que se metió mi esposa, pues me avisan y se los resumo...

This Week / Esta semana

Well this last week has gone by fast. Last Friday night Diego and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary and we were able to go away for a night thanks to Diego´s sister and Louise, a good friend, who kept our kids. We went to dinner and then went back to the hotel and did absolutely nothing, but enjoy the airconditioning, silence and each other. Oh yeah and I took a bath for the first time in almost 4 months. (We don´t have a tub at the house.) Diego asked me do you want to go for a walk or shopping or anything and I said no way I just want to relax and do nothing!! We did just that. Diego had 10 roses and some of my favorite treats waiting in the room when we arrived, but I am sad to say that I didn´t eat many of my treats. Unfortunatley or fortunately I am running out of room in my tummy and get really sick if I eat too much or too many sweets. The kids were thrilled that we came home with left overs which we used for bribery....isn´t that what any good parent would do!!

School is going well for the kids. Jacob still gets a little frustrated with the language, but is picking up a lot. They come home from school and say things that I don´t understand!! I guess I had better study more. Jacob gets a little extra help in language on some days since we opted not to have him attend religion class! The title of the book that they use is "Me llamo Jesús." "They call me Jesus." Um you wouldn´t see that at a public school in the good ol´ US of A. Lauryn was invited to a birthday party so she is very excited! Diego and I had to laugh when she came home with the invitation because her name was spelled Loring!! Hey at least they tried. We took the tranvía to Toys R Us last night to pick a gift. The kids haven´t been to Toys R Us in nearly 4 months so they were in heaven looking at all the new toys. I can happily say that we made it out with no tears or fits and only the birthday gift in hand! That was a proud moment!

Aitana-I love how honest kids are. We were walking a couple of days ago and Aitana was behind me and she said "mom your butt shakes when you walk." Obviously!! Then she stopped and asked "watch mine, does it shake when I walk?" I wasn´t quite sure what answer she was looking for and I guess it moves a little, but I´m sure that it doesn´t even compare to mine. So I answered no and she looked a little dissapointed. Then she went behind Lauryn and said "Lauryn´s does." That made me feel a little better! :)

We also had a chance to spend some time with Rosa, an old friend of Diego´s, and her kids (Dexter and Sharon). We took the kids to Parque Boulevard to play in the fountain. They had a great time!

Esta semana se ha ido volando. El viernes por la noche celebramos nuestro décimo aniversario y pudimos escaparnos una noche gracias a Pily (la hermana de Diego) y Louise, una buena amiga, que se quedaron con los niños. Fuimos a cenar y después a un hotel para no hacer absolutamente nada, sino disfrutar del aire acondicionado, el silencio y de nuestra mutua compañía. Melany se dio un baño por primera vez en casi cuatro meses (la casa donde nos quedamos no tiene bañera, sólo plato de ducha). Diego le preguntó a Melany si quería ir a dar un paseo o ir de compras o cualquier cosa, pero Melany sólo quería relajarse y no hacer nada. Y eso es justamente lo que hicimos. Diego tenía preparadas 10 rosas (una por cada año de casados) y una cesta llena de las golosinas que más le gustan a Melany, aunque no las pudo disfrutar tanto como le habría gustado. Desafortunadamente (o afortunadamente) a Melany le queda poco espacio en la barriga con el bebé y se pone mala si come mucho o muchas chucherías. A los niños les encantó que volviéramos a casa con tantas golosinas que usamos para conseguir que se porten bien....¿no es eso lo que hacen todos los buenos padres?

En la escuela les va bien a los niños. Jacob todavía se frustra un poquito con el español, pero está aprendiendo un montón. A veces llegan a casa diciendo cosas que Melany no entiende. Imagino que tendrá que ponerse a estudiar un poco más. Jacob recibe ayuda extra en lengua algunos días ya que optamos por que no tomaran la clase de religión. El título del libro es “Me llamo Jesús”. Me pregunto si un libro así se vería en las escuelas públicas de EE.UU. ¡Lo dudo! A Lauryn la invitaron a una fiesta de cumpleaños y está emocionadísima. Nos tuvimos que reir cuando recibimos la invitación porque habían deletreado el nombre como “Loring”. Bueno, al menos lo intentaron. Fuimos en el tranvía a Toys R US anoche para comprar un relago. Nuestros hijos no han estado en una tienda de Toys R US en más de 4 meses así que se hallaban en el paraiso mirando todos los juguetes que han salido al mercado. Podemos afirmar que salimos de la tienda sin que nadie se enfandara o pidiera llorando que le compráramos algo, solo con el regalo del cumpleaños. ¡Fue un momento para estar orgullosos!

Aitana-me encanta lo sinceros que son los niños. Hace unos días íbamos caminando y Aitana estaba detrás de Melany cuando dijo “mamá, tu culo se mueve cuando caminas.” ¡Obviamente! Entonces se paró y preguntó “mira el mío, ¿se mueve cuando camino?” Melany no estaba muy segura que tipo de respuesta Aitana quería oír, y supongo que se mueve un poco pero estamos seguros de que no se compara al de Melany. Por tanto, Melany le dijo que no y vio la cara de desilusión que ponía. Después Aitana corrió donde estaba Lauryn y dijo “el de Lauryn se mueve”. ¡Eso hizo que Melany se sintiera un poco mejor!

Además tuvimos la suerte de pasar la tarde con Rosa, una vieja amiga de Diego, y sus hijos (Dexter y Sharon). Llevamos a los niños al Parque Boulevard para que jugaran en la fuente. ¡Se lo pasaron en grande!

10 years with my best friend!

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Well this post is for my husband. I think that he will actually be impressed since I figured out how to scan this with everything on the computer in Spanish! Yeah me! Anyways we are celebrating our 10 year anniversery today and I just had to post a cheesy entry to surprise my hubby. What a wonderful 10 years that I have had with my husband. He is the most patient man I know...at least with me! He has been so understanding and caring all of these years and I am so blessed to have him as my own! Well I guess that I have to share him with my kids. If you know Diego he his a very hard worker and determined, but also always has time to have fun and have a good laugh. I have never had to worry that we would go without. I know that he would work 10 jobs if he had to so that I could do what I love and stay at home with my kids. I have really enjoyed being in Spain and meeting so many people that have been a part of his life and people that he has touched. He is truly loved by many! Diego I love you so much and I am so glad that we have eternity to be together! Happy Anniversary! Thank you for loving me.

Dang it...he beat me to it!! I hurried to post this while he was gone and when I finished it he had allready posted something to me....Cheater you lied and said that you were going to visit a sick friend!! Great minds think alike!

10th Year Mark / El décimo aniversario

I want to be first to let everyone know that today, September 19th, is our 10th wedding anniversary. It´s been 10 years since I married the most wonderful, beautiful, and generous person I could have ever dreamed of! Heavenly Father has really blessed me in so many ways. Melany is at the top of my list!

To be continued...

Quiero ser el primero en hacerles saber que hoy, el 19 de septiembre, es nuestro décimo aniversario de boda. Hace ya 10 años que me casé con la mujer más maravillosa, bella y generosa que pude haber soñado jamás. Dios me ha bendecido de muchas maneras, y Melany está a la cabeza de mi lista de bendiciones.

Continuará...

Odds and Ends / Cabos sueltos

This post is a request from our children. I think that they feel like they are celebrities when they see themselves on the computer. We were at the park and Lauryn said take a picture of us at the top so that you can post it on our blog! Then Jacob wanted me to document his mohawk. He definately needs a hair cut!

Nuestros hijos nos pidieron que publicáramos esta entrada en el blog. Creo que se sienten como los famosos cuando se ven en el ordenador. Estábamos en el parque y Lauryn dijo que les hiciéramos una foto para que la pudiéramos poner en el blog. Más tarde Jacob quiso que documentáramos su cresta. ¡No hay duda de que le hace falta un buen corte de pelo!

Now my little bit of mom stuff...I have been terrible about documenting statements that my kids have said throughout the years so I am hoping this blog will push me to be a better historian. Lauryn....she has cracked me up the past few days. A couple of days ago I was helping her wash her hair and if you know Lauryn then you know that she always has a story or a comment...The apple doesn´t fall far from the tree! Well, she was telling me something -don´t remember what it was about- (Diego can attest that I need to work on my listening skills), so after she told me her story I said "No Way!" Then she looked at me and said "Mom I think that parents just talk that way to make kids happy when they tell them things." She is very observant and probably realized that I wasn´t listening as intently as I should have been, but tried to act interested. What a great mom! Then yesterday she was asking about child birth. Well she has asked before and trying to be honest with her I explained some things and also about the epidural....That totally traumatized her!! So I was talking to her about it more yesterday and she seemed very disturbed about, should I say, trying to fit something the size of a watermelon through a hole the size of a lemon! I did tell her it was a little painful, but then reminded her that there is very good medicine that helps with the pain. She then said "like when they stick the needle in your back" I said yes then she got this horrible look on her face and said..."That´s why I want to be a boy."

Melany dice que no ha hecho su trabajo como madre de documentar lo que nuestros hijos han dicho y hecho a través de los años (sobre todo lo cómico), esperemos que este blog sirva como excusa para documentar sus aventuras de aquí en adelante.

Hace unos días Melany estaba lavándole el pelo a Lauryn (si la conocen ya saben que nuestra hija siempre tiene un relato o comentario que hacer-la manzana nunca cae lejos del árbol, dicho americano para decir que "de tal palo tal astilla"). Pues bueno, ese día Lauryn estaba contándole algo, Melany no recuerda sobre qué era exactamente (si le preguntan a Diego él podra atestiguar que Melany necesita desarrollar sus técnicas de escucha), y al terminar la historia, Melany dijo "¿De verdad? No me digas". Lauryn se quedó pensativa unos momentos y después dijo "mamá, creo que eso es lo que los padres dicen para que sus hijos estén contentos cuando les cuentan cosas". Lauryn se fija en todo y ya se ha dado cuenta de que Melany no escucha con la fervosidad que debería sino que intenta parecer interesada, digamos. ¡Qué madraza!, ¿no? Justo ayer, Lauryn le preguntaba cosas a Melany sobre el nacimiento de los bebés. Ya se lo había preguntado antes y en su intento de ser sincera le explicó ciertas cosas, incluyendo lo de la epidural. ¡Creo que eso la traumatizó! Así que ayer estaban hablando un poco más sobre el tema y como Melany la vio bastante preocupada con la idea de que algo del tamaño de una sandía saliera por un agujero del tamaño de un limón, Melany le confesó que era un poco doloroso pero que había drogas que ayudaban con el proceso de dar a luz. Lauryn dijo "como cuando te clavan una aguja en la espalda...?" Melany le respondió que sí. Lauryn puso una cara que expresaba su horror ante la información y casi con lágrimas en los ojos suelta "¡por eso quiero ser un chico!". Esta niña tiene cada cosa.