When talking to different people who are not as “obseesed” as I’m with the computer, I realize that there are certain programs I use that are very useful (thanks to my tech friends who pass along all their knowledge) that most people are not aware of.. So, I would like to dedicate this post to some of those….

First things first I currently use Firefox instead of internet explorer because it has a lot of cool extensions that you can easily add such as a multi language spell checker. Another great tool is del.icio.us an online favorites saver where you can store your favorite websites and be able to retrieve them from any computer. Google Reader is also a must for me to gather all my favorite blogs. I also change to google mail because within it you have access to online calendar, spreadsheets, word, notebook and presentation tools.., so you don’t need to take your own computer everywhere, everything is saved as you go..As far as online picture storage I’m currently using Picasa but I might change to flickr because the offer a lot more storage space for free, where in Picasa once you reach a limit you must pay a yearly fee.

Not to mention all the tools I use for my blogs.. but that is another post I think. I leave you with the above to see if there is anything in there that might help you speed things up a bit in your life.

Poor Bella, this morning bright and early, 8 am I had to take her to get her blood drawn. It seems the doctor thinks she is a bit skinny for her age and because she doesn’t like to eat much except chocolate and “chuches” (candy), she needed to have some tests run. Isabella currently weights 13 kilos (28 pounds), I guess that is skinny, I’m not sure…

I didn’t tell her where we were going so as to not scare her but this morning as soon as we got to the doctor she knew something was up.. We had to wait a while but the only thing on her mind was getting to school because today she was “la encargada” (the one in charge, the leader who calls everyone’s name for attendance). This is a very special role which doesn’t happen everyday, so she just wanted to make sure that we got to school on time.

When we finally went in a she saw the needle she immediately began to scream a the top of her lungs (she has some powerful lungs) and it took three nurses and me to hold her down.. she kept telling them “malas, malas” (mean) and she told them, why do you want to drink my blood, don’t you have water? hahaha… After it was all done, it was my turn and she said to me “don’t cry mama I’m right here to hold your hand”…

By the way the picture I have posted is of her new look!! what do you think.. I will keep you informed on the test results.. Is she too skinny??

We are happy to have Matt home if at least for a month because he will be gone again in May, June, September and October..He is really getting busy and not only in the states, here is Spain he is working with a new singer who promises to be the next big Diva! They have received support from a sponsor to finish the demo CD so we will see what happens.. As soon as it is released I will let you all know about it.

For now, the kids and I are glad to have him home and take advantage to the fullest.. I could stop cooking for a while because all of you know how much I just love to cook.

Those of you who have met Isabella know she is not your typical little girl. She is now 4 years old (just turned) and thinks she is twenty.. She surprises us everyday with her “talents” (for her age)… One of the most surprising things she does is that she loves to cook, it started with her play kitchen but now has moved in to our own.

She is very agile and climbs our kitchen cabinets with ease.. She has figured out how to make breakfast for everyone and when she wakes up goes straight to the kitchen to make it.. She knows what everyone likes.. Marco likes a glass of milk with chocolate and cupcakes..She takes the mug from the cabinet, gets the milk out of the refrigerator, pours the milk, opens the microwave heats up the milk, pulls out the “cola cao’ from the cabinet, gets a spoon and stirs it, gets the cupcakes and plate and a napkin and hands it over to Marco.. She does the same routine with my coffee (heats up milk and puts the coffee powder) and with cereal and so on… and doesn’t leave any kind of mess.. (the dishes are left for me although, she has on occasion washed a couple of them)

Now when I wake up in the morning my breakfast is ready.. I’m starting to teach her to iron see how that goes.. (just Kidding!!!!).

Ok, so it was a mini earthquake, not many people felt it, come to think of it maybe I was the only one.. But, I felt something and so did my kids that were a little freaked as to why the ground was rumbling.. It was a split second and nothing really moved, it was more like a jolt, a very quick one at that. I tried to look on the internet, but earthquakes here are not very common and not documented like in California.

Anyway, that has been the highlight of our week so far..The kids are thrilled to have so many days off from school, they are having a blast playing with all their friends and well, I’m trying to survive..We miss Matt very much and can’t wait for him to come home…

No time to write today my mon left back to Madrid yesterday and Matt is still away. Alone with the kids. They have no school. ‘m already going crazy. I’m driving them crazy!!

What else can I say..HELP!!!!!

I think in all urbanization’s there is the token crazy, frustrated, weird, nasty old man that has nothing better to do than to complain about everyone around them. And yes, we have ours. He is our 1st floor neighbor who is I guess retired and married to some French woman, we are not sure how she puts up with him..

In the summer all he does is complains that the kids are too loud and that they are playing int he playground.. (his window is right outside the playground) last summer, he threatened several teenagers and well, the guy is not very well liked. 

Today I received a letter with 5 signatures on it stating that there were 5 unhappy neighbors in our building who were fed up with Matt’s piano playing. The letter said he plays at all hours of the day and that it is disturbing. First of all, Matt is only home during the mornings and when he does play it is within the allowed hours…Anyway, I wanted to know who these 5 neighbors were (knowing Mr. 1st floor was one of them).

After knocking on every single one of my neighbors doors, I come to find out that the only signature on that letter is his…I have yet to find out who the others are since, all my neighbors denied it and proved it by signing their name.. In fact, they said they would like to sign a letter to the opposite of the one I received!!!!

As you all know Matt is away right now, we will see what happens when he gets back.

Ohhmmmm, Ohhhmmmm, I have decided to go to India and spend a couple of months there meditating and finding my spiritual way. I will leave Matt with the kids (I’m sure they will be fine) and I will forget about this world for a while..

Wish me luck…

photo flickr by fredcan

HAHAHA… YEA RIGHT APRIL FOOLS