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Friday, April 13, 2012

Movie review: "American Reunion"

Let's face it, "American Pie" made everyone laugh at some point.. even if it was just a little..the silly humor and stupid jokes were somewhat funny..
So based on the "somewhat funny" reputation of the American Pie movies, we went to see "American Reunion" last night, which is a movie about the 13th year high school reunion of the American Pie crowd...(it is briefly explained in the movie, that the class of 99 missed the 10-year mark by a few years!)
In the movie, all of the main characters have grown and evolved into adults who actually have lives and responsibilities... some of them are even married and have kids now..
I can't say the movie is funny because it's not.. at all!..but seeing all of the characters together again is somewhat appealing...
The story, however, is very lame and lacks depth and detail..the message lies on the idea that the high school years are long gone and life changes for the better...
There's way too much foul language for my taste and I think the F bomb gets dropped way too many times...There's also way too much nudity and obscenity, but I guess that's expected from the American Pie franchise, right?...well, I should have thought of that BEFORE going in to this movie...
All in all, I'd give this movie 2 out of 5 stars and if I could go back in time, I'd probably save the $10 I spent on the movie ticket!
So, in other words, wait until this movie comes out on TV!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

A new stage in motherhood...

I've been such a lousy blogger lately and feel like I have so much to write about... Crazy enough, it's not because of lack of inspiration but rather lack of time that I have been missing from the blogger world... but here I am...with my mind overflowing with ideas, thoughts, stories, etc...Life has just been...well... crazy!.. which brings me to my post.. a new stage in motherhood...

It's all weird and exciting at the same time; my life has changed so much... Now that my kids are older and more mature (or so I think) everything is just so different...Sometimes I feel empty when I realize that the stage in which I had to watch every single move they made or help them with anything they had to do, has definitely passed...Not that my kids don't need me anymore, because I know they always will (or at least I hope they will)...but they're definitely much more independent now..
I'm way out of the diapers, pacifier and crazy tantrums stage...I'm way past the time when conversations about pregnancy, epidurals and and labor where somewhat entertaining and interesting.....
I have officially entered the stage where my main concerns revolve around what schools my kids will go to, or what kind of friends they will have... I have started to think about how to teach my kids about God and going to church every Sunday.. I find myself researching what kind of sports the girls would be good at or what kind of activity I can start them in...I never thought I'd get here.. but I did. I closed my eyes for a second and changed from being a mom of babies to being a mom of KIDS.. Kids whose needs are real and their demands are even more real..
It's amazing to see how fast time flies.. how life changes in a matter of seconds... To think that 5 years ago I wasn't even a mom yet and today my kids are my one and only purpose in life really amazes me...
I have learned so much during this journey called motherhood and cannot wait to see what's in store in this new stage...
This isn't the life I picture... this is MUCH better...
Let this new stage begin!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Dani's 3rd birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Daniel's 3rd birthday with a beautiful birthday party at our friends' home. 
Dani is the first child of our great friends Luis and Valentina..he is such a cute little boy, who will become a great big brother in two short months as Valentina is expecting a baby girl in June...
The party was great... we got to spend time with wonderful friends and the girls had a blast eating candy, cake and breaking the piƱata... so much fun!


 ... the cake was made by my friend Valentina and it turned out so delicious...we all enjoyed it...very much.. especially the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday, Dani! We love you! Can't wait to meet your baby sister, Samantha....

Friday, April 6, 2012

Easter fun...

Easter isn't even here and my girls are already having all the fun they can...
It is so cute to see them enjoy all the festivities, egg hunts and parties that are celebrated around this time of the year...
They did some face painting today at the mall and they proudly showed their kitten-themed faces..it was cute...


...on Wednesday they had their Easter party at school and thoroughly enjoyed all the candy they got...they came home so proud of all the eggs they gathered and Olivia even made some bunny ears in her class...


 ...they got home and ate almost all their candy...until I caught them and stopped the candy eating frenzy..


This Sunday we will celebrate Easter by going to church and a birthday party.. I know it will be very fun!
I hope everyone is enjoying their Easter weekend!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

A strange visitor...

This might be a silly post, but it's definitely a story I want to remember and my girls to hear when they grow up...
Last night we had a strange visitor come to our patio.. an opossum made his way into our screened backyard/patio and he scared the HELL out of me...
As I went out to feed my cat, I saw a rat-like animal running in the patio.. I screamed and ran in the house and the animal freaked out...
He was hiding behind the glass door looking petrified...
My uncle and brother in law, who happen to be in town, were able to scare him out of the patio within minutes but the whole thing was so freaky... I even had nightmares about crazy opossums attacking me... Talk about randomness! I really hope he doesn't come back... his visit was certainly unpleasant! 

Monday, April 2, 2012

Rome

After we visited Barcelona, we had the great opportunity to visit Rome, the "eternal city".. and wow.. what an experience that was..Let me start by saying that Rome is not an easy city; it is very overwhelming and very peculiar...not entirely convincing at first but it definitely has the capacity to suck anybody in....
We spent 5 wonderful days in Rome...5 VERY productive and busy days..such an amazing trip..
Rome is dirty, disorganized and very messy... it is not the typical city where everything is tourist like and commercial... Rome is all about history and tradition... most building look like they're falling apart and the streets are extremely overcrowded...
Some of my observations of Rome were:
1. There are more restaurants than people... wow.. there is a restaurant, cafe, gelato store, bakery or bar in every corner...and every place is always packed! The food is really good but it can be a bit pricey..
2. Pasta is usually an appetizer or PRIMI PIATTI as the Romans call it...a little bowl of pasta (spaghetti, gnocchi or any other) is usually served as a starter.. After that, whatever you order doesn't come with a side.. it's all separate.. (that's how it get pricey... get it?)
3. Bread isn't free at restaurants...you get charged 1 euro per person, even if you don't order or don't eat the bread! it's crazy!
4. Beer, wine and alcoholic beverages are so CHEAP... and soda is expensive.. on top of that it's usually served with no ice so it's not even worth buying...
5. People LOVE the metro and think the wagons have endless space... it's incredible how many people can fit in there.. and it STINKS if it's rush hour so walking is a better option most times...
6. Romans are very peculiar, but I found them to be a lot nicer than Barcelonians... they were always willing to speak English (or Spanish) and the customer service was way better than in Spain...
Here are a few pictures of Rome...
The first 3 are at the Colosseum, which is one of the most awesome spots in the city... so amazing!


...here's Iggy jumping at the ruins of the Roman Forum.. such an amazing place...


...this is the Ara Pacis museum.. a very interesting building..


...this is inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican... what an amazing place... it was one of the best experiences in Rome...

..this is us at Trevi Fountain...that place has such amazing energy and it's so beautiful..


and this is us at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican again...

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Palm Sunday

Today we are celebrating Palm Sunday, one of the most important Catholic feasts of the year. 
We took the girls to church this afternoon and really enjoyed our time together at mass.  Olivia had fun making crosses out of palms and she was very proud of participating in mass....
Today is a day of reflection... a day to thank Jesus for the sacrifices he made for us....
The sermon was especially moving and the mass was very emotional...
Thank you, God.. for a wonderful message!
Happy Palm Sunday!