Potty Training Saga

If I had to pick the worst "task" required from a toddler mom, I'd definitely pick potty training. I basically DREAD this stage and hate it with a passion but I figured sooner or later I'd have to get this last baby out of diapers so why not do it NOW! The sooner the better, right!?  WRONG!

I often hear the phrase "potty training boys is much harder" or things like "you got so lucky with the girls" or more often than not, many discouraging statements claiming that 22 months is simply "too young" or that I'm being "too ambitious"..that does NOT help, people! I need some empowerment!

So, based on my past experiences, I decided to go with the "3-Day Potty Training" method, after all the author was the ONLY person encouraging enough for me to give it a go. 

The method suggests to go "cold turkey", basically do away with diapers at once and focus on the child's cues for 3 days straight; it also suggests that on day 3, it will MAGICALLY click and the child will just start going on the potty without prompting. 

The author does warn parents..."there will be LOTS of accidents", at some point she even suggests getting AT LEAST 30 pairs of undies because less than that simply won't be enough...

Boy is she right! This has been a horrendous saga for us!

It all started with Day 1 and five "accidents" within one hour; I don't think I've ever mopped my floors so much in my life (thank God we don't have carpets!)..Oliver used the potty ONCE that day and it was by some miraculous save that Iggy had. It was NOT successful. 

Day 2 seemed to bring some progress I even took the diaper off for sleeping and he woke up dry but that was false hope because very shortly after that he pooped his underwear and the mess was less than desirable to clean. 

Day 3 was a MAJOR regression... he started crying every time we put him on the potty and didn't use it even once. We spent all day cleaning up pee puddles and hosing off soiled underwear.. it was NOT pretty. He even stopped caring whether he or not he had poo or pee on him and all he was focused on were the rewards we were handing out. (Skittles and stickers quickly became the main purpose of him even walking in the bathroom.. LOL!)

Needless to say, the "3-day" method DID NOT work this time around for many reasons:

1. We were not able to stay home for 3 days, especially considering that it was the weekend and we had church and other affairs. 

2. I was not focused enough and often took my eyes off him so that didn't work out. 

3. Our days were incredibly hectic and we were all over the place, even when we were home. 

4. We were "lazy".. I guess something about watching a half naked toddler all day was not very appealing to any of us... (oops!)

5. He might not be ready (although from everything I've read, signs of readiness can be as little as being able to communicate his needs...which he clearly does!)

Even though we haven't given up completely, I am not holding my breath.  We've been informally potty training for over a week now and it's a hit or miss, so we'll just stick to slow and steady for now.  While he has used the potty (just for pee!) on several occasions, I don't think he gets the concept and is definitely not interested in being out of diapers....at least not as much as we are!

We have resorted to pull-ups and training pants even though those go against the method we were using initially and I'm starting to question whether spending twice the money on those than I do on diapers is even worth it considering he doesn't see a difference. He has been wearing underwear at home but I still have to watch him like a hawk and spend half the time mopping puddles on a daily basis. 

So the "Potty Training Saga" is far from over.. I am both bummed out and frustrated but I want to remain hopeful that my child will decide that wearing diapers is "for the birds" and being a "big boy" is just THAT much cooler! Ha!

One of the many "lovely" accidents... ugh! He wasn't phased at all!!!

Oliver trying to score some Skittles for doing nothing! Clever boy!

If you have any good advice for potty training boys, please send it my way. I was prepared for this to be a hassle, but I really want it to be over!

Thanks to everyone who has followed my Instagram and Snapchat stories and has provided words of encouragement... they mean the world to me!

10!

My little lady is turning 10 today and naturally my day has been a roller coaster of emotions. I have been reminiscing of that exact moment my life changed forever, the day God blessed me by making me a mother and entrusting me with such precious gift. I get so emotional just thinking of the first time I held her and the way she looked at me.

Olivia is the light of my life; she is one the most genuine and loving souls I know and she fills me with so much pride. Everything she does comes from a place of love and dedication and that makes me so happy!

She is incredibly caring, well mannered, funny, brilliant and just good all around.  She is also the best arguer you will ever meet and at the short age of 10 she has the ability to confront everyone with hard and well thought out arguments to get her point across.  I really love that she is so self confident and well rounded... I'm sure these will be great traits during her teen years..

She loves traveling, reading, writing and even cooking and is really growing into a beautiful young woman, she will be starting 5th grade soon and I know she will rock it! Olivia is also the best big sister anyone can ask for and even though she loves teasing her sister Gaby, I know she means well.

So today we celebrate our big girl who is now officially in the double digits. These birthday celebrations are getting so exhausting but the girls really know how to milk the fact that their birthdays are just a day apart... ha ha!

I cannot thank God enough for the wonderful children He gave us and for always blessing us with the right experiences that allow us to teach our children to love life and to always trust in the Lord. 

Happy birthday, Olivia.  We love you so much and we hope you know how important you are to this family. Thanks for always being you!

8!

Gaby is 8 today! Time sure flies when you're having fun.. just 8 short years ago, I was in the hospital meeting my 2nd baby and getting ready to be a mom of 2 and today she's blowing 8 whole candles on a birthday cake!

Gaby is the most challenging out of my 3 children; she's incredibly sweet but also incredibly stubborn, really helpful but also really lazy, very sweet and also very sour at times.. Gaby just dances to her own beat and there's no changing her...

She is a very independent girl and most times prefers to play alone rather than in groups; she doesn't mingle without a purpose and doesn't usually get involved in trouble or gossip. At the young age of 8, Gaby is capable of formulating her own very strong opinions and very rarely does she follow people's lead if she doesn't agree; her strong character and leading personality really amaze me and I am so proud to call her my daughter. 

Gaby is also an incredibly emotional person, I have a theory that she feels 10x more what people normally feel because she can cry at the drop of a hat; her sense of humor is lacking and she really hates it when people tease her for no reason... this has proven really hard for Olivia who is a natural joker and is always teasing her little sister...

She is an amazing big sister and is so proud of her role in this family; she is a girl with a strong sense of faith and a very gentle soul. I know she will go places and I can't wait to watch her grow into a strong and willful woman. 

Gaby will be starting 3rd grade soon and she is so ready for the challenge, she really loves her school and all her friends and I know she will do amazing!

Gaby.. please know that we love you so much; you are such an important part of this family and we feel so blessed that God chose us to be your parents. 

Here are some pictures of Gaby's birthday celebrations, one with her friends and another one with the family!

Happy Birthday, little one!

God works in mysterious ways..

A week ago we received the awful news that Iggy's childhood tennis coach, Julio, had suddenly passed while teaching a tennis clinic in a sports club. 

Apparently he was going about his usual coaching when a fulminant heart attack killed him on the spot.. he was 54 years old and full of energy and love for life.. Julio was loved by many and will be terribly missed by everyone that knew him. 

Julio was very special to our family.. not only was he the first tennis coach Iggy ever had, but he had also been coaching our girls for almost 2 years; he had the kindest heart and the most beautiful soul...

But as much as this post is about Julio it is also about the mysterious ways God works and how He is present in everything we do, even when we don't suspect it. 

See.. Julio died on Wednesday 06/28 and we had a trip planned for Friday 06/30 and because our flight was scheduled to leave in the early morning hours, we weren't going to make it to his funeral, which was scheduled for Friday from 9am to 6pm. 

Iggy was really bummed out about not making it to the funeral because he felt like he needed that "closure" and wanted to say a proper goodbye and also give his support to Julio's family. He sent a message to Julio's son apologizing for not making it to the funeral but he still didn't feel right.

Friday came along and we headed to Ft. Lauderdale airport at 6am (via Uber) only to find out that our flight had been cancelled and the airline was doing everything possible to either fly us with another airline or just reschedule our flight for another day...all we had to do was wait.. who knew for how long... 

As we waited at the airport, I thought of Julio's funeral and I felt that maybe this cancellation was happening for a reason... I asked Iggy to find out where the funeral was taking place and it turns out it was somewhere in Miami (for those of you who don't know, Ft. Lauderdale is about 35 min from Miami, so we were pretty far out) so attending the funeral still wasn't an option. 

After waiting almost an hour at the airport, we were given the option of flying out of the Miami airport at 2:30pm; the airline offered to shuttle us down to the airport so we agreed and we arrived in Miami around 9:45am and quickly checked in for the flight..

With more than 3 hours to spare we decided to map the directions to the funeral home and it happened to be within 5 miles of the airport.  We called an Uber and arrived at the funeral home just in time for the memorial; Iggy was able to say goodbye to Julio and spend some time with his family...he got the closure he desperately needed and everything just happened at the right time.. 

To think that so many things had to happen for Iggy to attend this funeral really says something about the way God works... our flight being cancelled, us being re-routed through Miami, the new flight being scheduled in the afternoon to give us plenty of time to spare, the funeral home located in Miami (weird considering Julio lived way north) and the time when everything was happening.. we were really meant to attend that funeral and I feel so blessed to have been able to say goodbye to Julio but especially for Ignacio mourning his loss the way he wanted. 

We will forever be grateful for knowing Julio; for feeling his love and dedication and for understanding and valuing his legacy. We feel blessed that God granted us the opportunity to say goodbye to him and we will forever miss him. 

Rest in Peace, Julio. We love you so much!

Last Day of School

It's always bittersweet when a school year ends...I find myself reminiscing about my kids' early school days and even the baby years..lots of emotions running through my heart..usually nostalgia and a huge sense of accomplishment...

This year, though..it has been SO different because I am SO GLAD it's over. 

While 4th grade was an amazing year for Olivia, where she flourished in all areas and excelled academically thanks to her incredible teacher who we LOVE (she even got invited to an advanced math program for next year, where she will skip 5th grade math and go straight to 6th grade lessons...yay Olivia!), it was an incredibly "off" year for Gaby who struggled so much with the horrendous teacher she got.  My poor child was the victim of one of the WORST teachers we've ever come across and I will never forget this year...sadly because of how bad it was and how much Gaby regressed both academically and socially.

It's hard to explain exactly "why" this teacher was so detrimental to Gaby because there are SO MANY reasons; this person was cold, detached, a poor educator, a person who lacked compassion and empathy and someone who simply (and very obviously) doesn't like children. She very clearly favored certain students (and their mothers) and her work ethic was incredibly poor.  Gaby started the year off with certain strengths in many subjects and she basically "lost" those strengths this year due to lack of encouragement and poor guidance. I was amazed at how poorly the school handled all the complaints that were made against this teacher and I certainly hope the administration will increase their expectations regarding teachers and the way things are done in the classroom. 

If it wasn't because I love so many things about the girls' school, I would have pulled Gaby out halfway through the year, but something told me we should stick it out and hope for a much better 3rd grade...I must say though, this is probably the last chance I'm giving the school.  

So, as this school year ends I am choosing to leave the bad and take the good. I am happy that my girls continue to grow in faith and I am proud of the wonderful young women they are becoming. This year I learned that I am my children's best advocate and that I must always speak up no matter what. I learned that my kids are stronger than I give them credit for and their intelligence never ceases to amaze me.  Gaby was able to work through her struggles and was very vocal about overcoming her fears with our support. Olivia learned the importance of true friendships and the value of working hard for what she wishes to achieve. 

They are ready to take on 3rd and 5th grade, but first....YAY FOR SUMMER!!!!

Eurotrip 2017- Part 4 (Belgium & Paris)

This is my 4th and final post about our Europe trip; my goal was to finish my stories within a month of coming back so I am barely making it but at least it's done...

After the Netherlands we headed to Belgium; there were a few spots that interested me about this country so we made sure to fit them in our itinerary.  The drive wasn't bad and the kids behaved incredibly well so that made it even easier. 

We stated in a city called Leuven, which is one of Belgium's college towns located about 30 minutes outside of Brussels. In Leuven we rented a flat, which was amazing because it was very spacious and situated in a place with lots of businesses and "action" around.. it was lovely. 

On our first day in Belgium, we visited Bruges, one of those places I had always wanted to visit. This city is straight out of a fairy tale, with beautiful little houses around the canals and intricate buildings that are simply fascinating. Bruges is seriously enchanting, there isn't one ugly thing about this place and I was mesmerized by it.  We walked around the narrow streets of Bruges, visited the central square where the big buildings are and even explored some of the chocolate boutiques, one of Belgium's highlights. 

In Belgium we also visited Ghent and Brussels, also amazingly beautiful and very picturesque. 

This is a chocolate boutique where they make artisan chocolate.  The owner happened to be there and he spoke to us about how good Venezuelan cacao is and he even told us about all his travels in the search of the world's best cacao beans... it was quite the experience. 

These are pictures from Leuven, the college town where we stayed in Belgium..

These are some pictures of Brussels' Atomium, a very iconic monument located in a very touristic spot in the city.  We were able to go up and contemplated the most amazing views of the city.

Brussels is quite the place and even though it wasn't at the top of my list, I was really happy to visit such a place.  Belgians are really friendly and their culture really surprised me.  The kids were shocked to learn that "French" fries aren't really French but rather Belgian and they also loved all the waffle and chocolate stores; we really loved this place. 

And this is me enjoying a Belgian waffle. Waffles are truly a form of art in Belgium and whether it was because I convinced myself or because it's a fact, these waffles were the best I've ever had! Yum!

Look at all those yummy waffles!!!

After spending some blissful days in Belgium, we headed to my favorite city of all: Paris!  There's just *something* about Paris.. not matter how many times I visit the city of lights, I always fall in love all over again.. Paris is just a dream city, everything about it is captivating...it's romantic, it's elegant and hippie at the same time, it's hectic and relaxed.. all at once.. I just LOVE Paris so I am making sure my kids inherit that love for such a place...

The first spot we visited in Paris (as is my tradition) was the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, a little hidden chapel with very little hype but with the most amazing vibe in the whole city; I just love sitting in that little place and saying a special prayer.. so amazing!

We took the girls to the Louvre Museum to see the one and only Mona Lisa; I spent countless hours explaining to them that the actual picture is much smaller than they could imagine but they were still shocked by its size (like everyone who sees this famous painting for the 1st time)..it was such a good experience for them, though.. we could tell they were really excited...

Oliver tried climbing every sculpture he saw and it was quite amusing and stressful at the same time.. let's just say our museum walking tour did not last very long! ha!

We continued on the typical Paris tourist route and took the kids to Notre Dame Cathedral.. great place for photos and the weather was absolutely beautiful during our Paris visit...

My second favorite spot in Paris.. Sacre Coeur... I just love hanging around this place..

...and of course a Paris trip HAS to include a visit to Trocadero and hanging out by the Eiffel Tower; we watched street performers, had ice cream by the tower and took a bunch of pictures.  The kids got the enjoy the many playgrounds surrounding Champs de Mars and had an amazing time in this wonderful city.  

We had such a great time in Europe and we were so blessed by how good the kids behaved during the whole trip.  Oliver was a real trooper and we really think that driving instead of taking trains or planes made a HUGE difference.  Renting a car wasn't nearly as complicated as I thought and parking in the different cities was rather easy and inexpensive.  Gas is a little pricier than in the States but I still think it evens out when I think about how much other ways of transportation cost. 

I wish we would have been better as far as coordinating meal times and attraction routes but we made the best of our trip with the time and budget we had. 

The Spring is definitely the best season to visit Europe so next time we visit, we will most likely do another Spring time trip. 

We thank God for allowing us to create such beautiful memories and we pray that we can continue to expose our children to the many different and wonderful cultures around the world!

Until next time, Europe! Thanks for 2 amazing weeks!

Dear stalker...

I have recently discovered I have a "stalker", a person who obviously doesn't like me (and trust me, I'm totally fine with that.. I'm sure there are many others who don't like me) that visits my blog every so often in an attempt to make me miserable by criticizing what I write.. 

This person has recently written messages to my husband asking for me to please stop posting "happy" things...because, well, that's how some people are...

I'm sure that person will read this open letter at some point, so here it goes... 

**Edited to add: this is fortunately/unfortunately someone I know so there isn't any immediate danger to my family or I.**

Dear Stalker:

I am making a little parenthesis in my regular "happy" posting to let you know that you will not tarnish my happiness or the purpose of my blog!

I want to let you know that MY LIFE IS NOT AN ACT and I'm not in this world to please you or anyone that wishes to bring me down.  

The true story is that I am indeed a happy person with many good things and also many bad things; my family is not perfect but we strive every day to be the best version of ourselves we can be and I am not about to change the way I am or the way I live my life because you have decided to tell me what to feel or when to feel it, how to act and how to react; you simply don't get to do that and I am officially letting you know that you mean NOTHING to me or to my husband and you NEVER WILL!

I don't blog to make you or anyone happy and I couldn't care less about who gets annoyed by what I post or how often I post it.. don't like it? don't read it.. as simple as that...

Contrary to your belief, I don't make calculated moves and I am certainly not looking for anyone's approval and most definitely not yours!

I know you will read this and will take it personal.. please DO! This is all about YOU! It's all about the times I have stayed quiet while you secretly attack me and ridicule my life... it's about telling YOU that I will continue to write happy things because that's who I am and NOTHING will ever change that!

I am sorry your life is so miserable....mine isn't! ;)

Happy Blogging!