I forgot to mention that over the holidays we had a little visitor we had to take care of. His name was (and is, thank God still IS) Flappy! Our upstairs neighbors went away for the holidays and left us with their daughter’s little pet fish. Marco and Isabella were thrilled to have him!! as for me.. Well, this poor little guy lived in a round crystal jail and had to be cleaned daily!! Not much fun for me.. As if I didn’t have enough with 3 kids (Matt is considered a child now and then), one dog and now a little wet fish.

Flappy survived Bella just as nemo survived “Darla”, although she tried to “play” the straw game…(that was the game that killed our own poor little flappy.. Our little fish all of a sudden developed a little round hole which I thought was a tumor..hahahaha but later found out was a little hole from the poking with a straw!

Marco fed Flappy a little too much but at least did not play the straw game with him. The day before yesterday he was picked up by his loving family and I’m sure was glad to go..You may ask why I took a picture of him, well, for two reasons 1. in case something did happed I could take the picture to the pet store and replace him ( I know very mean, it wasn’t my idea it was another neighbors ides) and 2. I thought it would make a nice post.

I know, it sounds mean.. I love my kids, and I love to spend time with them. I have really enjoyed the holiday vacation but Marco and Isabella are two young children with a lot of energy, way too much for me..They were actually looking forward to starting school again. Isabella said “I can’t wait to start school, you people here are no fun”, Marco said “I want to see my friends again but I have gym class today and I don’t really want to go”.. hahahaa…

I told my bosses today that my actual vacation started today.. My boss stated if that was so I should pay him instead of him paying me..hahaha.. Ok, so its not actually vacation but I do love going to work, being able to be productive and have converstation with adults..

I hope your beginning of the work week has been eventful..Talk to you all soon..

What the hell is that you are asking? Well, let me tell you, here in Spain the holidays are not over until we celebrate “Los Reyes Magos” (the three kings day), this holiday is one of the biggest of the year, it is as big as Christmas day, most children in Spain receive their holiday gifts today and not Christmas day. It has a more religious meaning than Santa Claus and therefore is considered a very special day.

One of my favorite traditions of this day is the “Roscon de Reyes” (pictured above) a special round cake that is consumed with hot thick chocolate.. Last night we went to a parade, where the Three Kings arrived and threw candy and toys at the kids, and after this we went to a neighbors house to have the traditional cake!

We have to compromise and the gift giving and it is done half and half so there are no issues. The kids get to receive presents twice (doesn’t mean they get more, just in two separate days). Today Marco and Bella woke up to gifts from the Reyes and were very excited. Today is their last day of vacation, so they made sure they enjoyed it to the fullest.

I’m sad the holidays are over they went way to fast but in another way I do want to get back to the routine. How were your holidays? Are you ready for 2008? You can view our first January 2008 photos here.

Our friends Crystal and Jimmy came over the other day for a visit and Marco took the opportunity to show “Snap” his moves. Snap is an American basketball player who is playing this year for the Murcia team. We met him and his wife last year and just love them.

Marco is in that stage of his life where he finds everything fasinating and is starting to find out what he really likes and dislikes.. so far we know he loves soccer, he likes judo but I think could do without it, he is starting to really love guitar and piano is still a joy, but lately he has been very interested in basketball. For his birthday he asked for a basketball, that is all he said.

Well, as you can see from the video he has a long way to go.. you can view more pics in the December album.

It is only the second day of the New Year and there already many new exciting things happening. The first very exciting thing is Matt’s upcoming concert on Friday January 4th where he will be on stage with his new muse for a Christmas concert. I will report on that this weekend.

The second very exciting thing is our upcoming trip to Miami on February 4th, we will be there until February15th. Our nephew Tristan’s baptism will be February 10th and I’m the proud Godmother. In this trip we will be taking the kids to Disney compliments of my papa!!! They are so excited, everyday they ask me when we are going to Miami to see Yayo and Abi.

The other very exciting thing for me is an upcoming trip to Paris January 25th to see a fashion show, it is a one day trip for work but my dream of being in Paris and to attend a fashion show combined is way too much for me.. Thanks to my bosses Fernando and Julia for this wonderful gift.

Ok, not too bad for the beginning of the year..

It is finally here the awaited 2008, for many 2007 was a tough year full of challenges and adventures. We could say goodbye and start a brand new chapter in our lives. I have many New Years resolutions that I hope to fulfill this year..brand new challenges to overcome and new adventures to continue.

I wish all of you a very Happy 2008 full of health, peace and love. I’m positive this year will be a very exciting one. Numerology states that 2008 is a year 1 meaning new beginnings but you must also find out what year number you are personally in, I’m entering my year 3 which I hope combined with the new beginning will jumpstart my bright future. You can figure out yours here.

Ok, I will continue writing as much as I can this year to keep you up to date with all our doings..