So, everyday after lunch I like to sit down and watch my favorite tv show called FAMA a bailar.. a reality based show about dancers.. Anyway, everyday during the one hour show, Marco and Bella are usually screaming at each other, yelling, crying, hitting each other, running in front of the TV, asking me for a snack.. you get the picture.. I can’t relax..

But today, today was different.. yes, they went in to their playroom and closed the doors.. there was silence, and I know that is not a good sign, but for those of you who have kids, you will understand that a little peace and quite now and then is what is needed, specially when you are trying to work, get something done or just simply trying to relax..

So, even though I knew the silence was not a good sign, I sat back and enjoyed my one hour show..It was great.. When it ended I got up and opened the doors not knowing what I was going to find.. And the little voice inside my head was right.. they are up to something.. 

And, Yes, Yes they were, they got a hold of a marker and decided to make a road for their cars.. with painted cars as well.. At that point I figured I had 3 choices, kill them, cry or take a picture for the blog.. and as you can see I opted for number 3.

And guess who’s idea it was???

Today after school two of Bella’s classmates Lucia and Adriana came over for a play date.. At first I was a little scared!! I picked them up from school and they were sooo excited, on the car ride home they were just yelling with excitement.. screaming and singing.. I stopped by our local bakery and got them some goodies.. It was so much fun to see the look of joy in their eyes just to be able to choose any pastry they wanted..

At home, they of course played dress up and spent the entire afternoon, putting make-up on, singing, dancing and screaming with joy..  It was so refreshing to see little girls just enjoying being little girls.. no cares in the world (other than what costume willl I wear next, or what color eyeshadow should I use).

I taught them a little dance and they just loved to pretend be ballerinas.. Overall, it was a fun afternoon for me, although the playroom is a mess, I have a headache from all the screaming and I don’t feel like cleaning..

you can view all the fun pics HERE.

I always write about how Isabella is so smart and so ahead for her age…well, with all that comes another side of Isabella that many of you who know her know what I’m talking about. This next story happened yesterday in a shoe store, where I attempted to buy her a pair of shoes…

Everything was good until we got to the store and I told her she needed to try the shoes on.. She said she had an “pupa” in the back of her right foot and refused to try them on.. she started to cry, then scream and yell NO, NO , NO, I explained to her that we would only try on the other foot..But she was not going to give in.. the more I tried to put the shoe on the louder she screamed.. The sales lady attempted to help by telling her she had a magical cream, but that just made her yell even louder saying“NO!! cream, NO zapatos…….” Everyone was staring at me and couldn’t wait for me to get the hell out of there.. Out of desperation I bought the pair of shoes and told her we were leaving.. But she refused to get up or put her shoes on… I told her I was leaving and prented to leave.. hiding outside..

I waited a few minutes and I could hear her yelling from the top of her lungs!! (I’m surprised you coudn’t hear her), I decided to peak in to see if she was coming when I saw shoes flying!! yes, she decided to get a hold of all the shoes she could and throw them up in the air…At this point I had two choices.. run away, or deal with it.. As the good mother I’m, I went in, apologized, put the shoes back, picked up Bella like a sack of potatoes, and walked out…it was the longest walk to my car I have ever experienced. As soon as she sat down in the car she stopped crying and screaming and said “my pupa doesn’t hurt anymore”.

Who wants her for a weekend? Any takers????

photo flickr by jenkin

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!!!!!

As you can see by the before and after pictures of the kids playroom ,a bribe goes a long way. There are many methods in which I get the kids to clean up but none works more efficiently that the bribe, not even a spanking gets there attention as well. This weekend was a little rainy so we didn’t go out to play as much as we usually do on the weekends, so as you can tell by the before picture things were not as neat as I like them to be…

But after they realized they were not going to get anything they wanted until they cleaned up and I told them if they cleaned up they would get a “premio” (prize) they quickly put everything away The bribe is an excellent tool but is there a better way? Please, comment and let me know any suggestions.

Here is a video of the clean up process with Bella commentating in Spanglish..

So the kids started their half day at school, getting out at 1 pm (usually 5pm) and they are very excited that summer vacation (all of July and August) is almost here (me, not so much). I love hanging out with them, but with work and household stuff, it is very difficult to get things done.

I’m a multitasker but somethings gotta give..so, if anyone out there has any suggestions on how to make the long summer, not so long, please, please leave me a comment and let me know……

picture google