The Adventures of Fashion

Some pics

  

   

   

   

  

   

  

 

Random Pics and Thoughts

I know its been forever since I've posted but here I am finally.  I was flirting with the idea of changing to blogspot but then decided not to.  So whatever.    I'm trying to think whats new with the kids.  Lorenzo is still really adamant about distinguishing between girl things and boy things.  He gets mad when Emilia dances to the song and the end of the Thomas the Train episodes because its a boy song.  Emilia of course is all about princesses.  I put her in soccer but she was not having any of that.  Lorenzo, however, is all about it.  I really want her to be sporty because I never was.  I know we are not supposed to live though our children, but I thought just exposing her to it a whole lot couldn't be a bad thing.  Even though soccer didn't work out, tennis seems to be going alright.  

Luciana is pulling up on everything and has stood on her own for seconds at a time.  She babbles a ton and points and makes noises at things and people she recognizes.

I just bought like five parenting books (did I go overboard?).  So I have been doing a lot of reading.  I have to let you know what I agreed with.

I got this really profound idea:  why don't I try to improve some part of my character by a certain date instead of a certain aspect of my body.  I decided that I waste too much brain energy on dieting.  Not that I will ever be able to accept my body type for what it is. (I think it would take a lifetime of therapy and removal to a desert island.)  But instead of losing weight being my only programed goal, I would add character improvement goals and work on them daily.  So of course that meant daily scripture study and prayer because those are the fastest ways to improve character.  And I just have to say that its amazing to feel the difference that small effort makes.  Having The Spirit more often makes things just a little bit more clear. I know better what I should do and I move forward with more calm and confidence. I love it. Now to keep it up, right.

Below:  Fam at the beach.  Weekend trip for local holiday.

 

Below:  Emilia and Lorenzo have started taking tennis classes.

   

  

Below:  At a B-Day party. 

 

Below: Meriding a horse.  Jeremy and I had a fun afternoon riding horses and playing ping pong.  He has to play with his left had in order for me to have a chance.

Can't Take it Anymore

Name on the Board

Emilia wrote her name all by herself!

Here are a few pics from the last couple of weeks.

Below:  Emilia and Lorenzo had their birthday party at Pollo Campero this year.

 

Below:  Emilia and Lorenzo had an open house at their pre-school.  They were supposed to dress up like their favorite animal.  Emilia chose a pink pony and Lorenzo chose a brown horse.

Recent Pics of the Kids

We started Luciana on solids.  She likes the homemade stuff well enough but the stuff in the jar makes her gag and blink and scrunch her face.  She spits it out and it gets all over.  The first two nights that I fed her rice cereal and applesause before she went to bed she slept through the night.  But that was it and then she went right back to waking up whenever she wants to, which is a lot.

Sunday I decided to take some pics of Luciana in her Sunday clothes.  I used to always do this with Emilia and Lorenzo but have failed to do so with Luciana so here are a few pics from my mini photo shoot with her.  Notice the orange spitup spot that appears in every photo.  So much for my homemade studio portait.

 

 

Emilia and Lorenzo had their final little play at their preschool.  Lorenzo was the sun and Emilia was the rain.  Lorenzo was not very happy about having to wear the sun hat thing. The bottom picture is with their music teacher.

These last pictures were an attempt to take a family photo.  Initally we tried to go to a park before church to take them.  We weren't able to take any pictures because Emilia and Lorenzo were so cranky.  We had pretty much given up but we decided to try again at church.  Hence, the industrial background.  Oh yeah, and the big fake tanner smudge on my fore head shows I am in no place to give advice about the stuff.   Not to mention that when I showed these pictures to my cousing  she told me to, "never wear that shirt again."

School Program

The kids had a little program at school today.  Here are some pics from the event.

Copán, Honduras

     

     We took a long weekend to go see the Mayan ruins in Copán which is about a four hour drive from here.  The cool thing about these ruins is that they are the only ones though out all Mesoamerica to have high-relief sculpture which is quite amazing.  To find out more about Copán and the ancient civilization that created its art and architecture click here.

     We had a really nice time except for Lorenzo getting lost.  Luckily, I didn't know about the whole episode until after it happened because I would have freaked out.  Here's what happened.  We ate dinner at the restaurant in our hotel.  I went back to our room to feed Luciana.  Jeremy was in charge of getting Emilia and Enzo back.  Lorenzo was looking in the window of the souvenir shop which was about ten yards from the swimming pool where Emilia and Jeremy were dipping there feet.  Jer decided to run Emilia to our room, another 50 yards from the pool, and then go back for Enzo.  When he went back Lorenzo was gone.  He searched all over for about five minutes when a man walked up to him and asked him if he'd found his son.  Jeremy said no and the man responded in broken English that he was in the bar.  That made sense to Jeremy since the bar was between the souvenir shop and the pool.  But when he went in the bar Enzo wasn't there.  So Jeremy searched another five minutes when he saw the same man again.  This time Jer asked in Spanish "Where'd you see my son?" 

     And in Spanish he responded "En el parque." (In the park) Apparently, he'd tried to explain this to Jeremy during their first encounter but "park" sounded more like "bar" in his broken English.  So, now that they understood each other and realized the situation they ran out of the hotel to the central plaza where the man had seen Lorenzo.  After some searching they found Lorenzo on the far side of the plaza where the dad of a family was holding Lorenzo.  Then they came back to the hotel and told me what happened.

     What a blessing that this man, who must have seen us earlier with Lorenzo, happened to be crossing the plaza at the same time that Enzo was out there wandering.  The man arrived at the hotel, saw Jeremy and knew he was the father of the little boy. After some miscommunication and delay, he let Jeremy know where Lorenzo was.  Jeremy said he would have never thought to look outside the hotel. And what a blessing that the family who found Lorenzo (at the end of the street they said) saying "Daddy, Daddy" were nice people who truly wanted to help Enzo find his parents.  I am so thankful that Heavenly Father watches over our family.

Bonus Pic:  Jeremy in Turkey about a month ago.

 

Legacy

I have come to the not so wonderful conclusion that my legacy has been helping people to be more vain.  People often remember me most for some beauty tip that I once gave them.  Whether its showing someone how to pluck her eyebrows or pointing out to another what clothes a chic mom might wear, I apparently love to dispense beauty advise.  How embarrassing.  The funny thing is that I am always trying to be less and less vain and embrace what my mom always said was the most beautiful of all: natural beauty.  So I guess I am not becoming less vain.  After all, desiring natural beauty is still wanting to be beautiful.  The only difference is that now I am less willing to work for it.  Every morning I just tell myself that I don't need makeup, although that doesn't stop me from putting on bronzer.  That my friends is the secret, by the way, to no-makeup makeup.  With bronzer you look natural, sun-kissed and healthy. (And I realize that real tans aren't healthy but they look like they are.)  And I'm not talking about the sparkly kind. Uggh! Please no.  Bobby Brown makes a great bronzer that totally looks natural.  Remember not to apply too close to your hair line or else the contrast between your white scalp and brown forehead makes it really obvious that you didn't spend the day outside gardening or running happily with your kids and dogs in a meadow.  And please, don't forget the decolletage.   

Another Over the Top Birthday Party

You can always count on Florcita Hernandez to have the best birthday party of the year.  Last year she had an Easter themed party complete with mascot bunny, easter egg hunt, and live bunnies for every kid to take home.  (We didn't take one.)

This year the theme was luau.  The party was held at the Sheraton Presidente. Totem pole piñata, swimming pool, moon bounce, and fire dancers.  Yeah, she's turning seven.  Like I've said in the past, birthdays are big here. When I told Flor, Florcita's mom, that everything was perfect as always she said, "Todo por la pulga," which means, "Everything for our flea."  I guess so.

Below:  These outfits my dad bought the kids a while back.  I think this is the last time Lorenzo will be able to squeeze into his shirt.

Below:  Luciana even got into the spirit of the party.

Below:  Here is Emilia doing the limbo.

Below: The children in front of the piñata.  Florcita is the one in the florescent green bikini.

Below: the moon bounce.

Below: one of the fire dancers

Below: the cake