Happy Birthday Claire!

One of the good things Windsor Elementary (Giovanna's school) has brought into our lives is the Parry family. June is on the Spanish immersion program with Giovanna, and her mom Zuleika is an amazing lady! She also has a son and two other daughters- Claire and Hazel. 

Their girls and our girls are the perfect match. June is the same age as Giovanna, and Claire is the same age as Bianca. They are good friends and get along really well. Sometimes, Zuleika and I play Claire and Bianca must've been sisters in heaven because they are so much alike!

Today we attended Claire's 4th birthday. Her party took place at Mc Donald's in Pleasant Grove and the kids had a blast eating fries and playing on the playground. I don't know if you'd agree, but Mc Donald's has the best indoor playground than most of other fast food places.

The girls also proudly wore their new unicorn headbands. They are in love with it!

Ice skating wound

This evening while ice skating Giovanna fell on the ice and accidentally bumped into another skater who also fell and wounded Giovanna's fingers with the skate blade. She was terrified, and I was not happy either. Not a bit. I pressed her fingers on the ice to help reduce swelling, bleeding, pain and all that. After some soothing and band-aids I took her to get a slushy.

She is doing fine, but she doesn't want to ice skate anymore. I think after she finishes this level I'll have her step out of ice skating for a while, and maybe I'll put her on gymnastics.

Art Night

Last Monday our family went to an art night at Giovanna's school. I knew she had prepared something special to show us because some days she would get back home from school super excited telling us about a project she was working on adobe spark.

It turns out she recorded an awesome video clip on adobe spark about lions and their characteristics, habitats and etc. And she also modeled a perfect lion with clay. All the students did a great job and all their creations were really impressive. 

Post-op appointment

Ale is recovering wonderfully from his surgery last week. It is very uncomfortable for him to breathe through his mouth, sleep inclined, and sneeze with his mouth open, but his face is not swollen and the blood dripping lasted for just a couple of days.

On the post operative appointment the doctor said everything looks good and Ale's been doing a great job washing his nose. No doubt- he's been washing it five to seven times a day!

He can now go back to normal life and lessen the washings to two times a day. Then in two weeks he should go back to the doctor's office to remove the stitches. 

Mothering

Yesterday I sat down and explained to Giovanna why she is not going to her school field trip next Wednesday. I reminded her about choices x consequences. Because of her poor choices these past couple of weeks she will miss a fun field trip to the aquarium. She is really sad, but probably not more than me for having to do that- you know how parents are... our hearts are softer than a Jell-O banana pudding. 

Last week I was talking to a friend about how tired and frustrated I was with one of the girls. That’s when I realized I am tired because I am a mother (with all energy and weight this word carries), and that’s what mothers do- we teach, we help, we feed, we read, we fix, we schedule, and there is time for everything, and we track every minute of TV, video game, homework, etc, and we get tired and get frustrated. 

And we wouldn’t be if we were not mothering. Because mothering means action. Means effort. Means extra mile. And it means all these things over and over again. I could’ve ignored my daughter’s not-so-good behavior these last couple weeks and just let her go to the field trip. It would’ve been easier and definitely less tiring, but it would have not been mothering.

Now with that being said, take a deep breath and sing this mantra with me: every time I am tired it means I am doing a good job. 

• Mother (noun): female parent

• Parenting (noun): the raising of children and ALL the RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACTIVITIES involved in it.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Every year the store Macy's presents a Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. It is one of the world's largest parades. But I didn't know that until I started my Au Pair Program. My host family bought tickets for all of us to go to the Apple City and watch the parade.

I had no idea what was going on besides we were in New York City. The streets were packed and I remember walking to one side to the other to find our spot. That was one thing I struggled the most on the first few months of Au Pair- since I didn't speak English many times I just had to go with the flow.

Gladly, Macy's Thanksgiving day parade was a pleasant surprise. And I am glad I took about hundred pictures to remember and tell.

Behold Thy Mother

"How is it that a human being can love a child so deeply that you willingly give up a major portion of your freedom for it? How can mortal love be so strong that you voluntarily subject yourself to responsibility, vulnerability, anxiety, and heartache and just keep coming back for more of the same? What kind of mortal love can make you feel, once you have a child, that your life is never, ever your own again? Maternal love has be divine. There is no other explanation for it. What mothers do is an essential element of Christ's work".

Every time I lay down (no matter where) the girls come and lay down with me. Sometimes next to me, sometimes on top of me. They are very attached and they like being around me all.the.time. And I love that. But sometimes I need to tell them mommy needs some space.

I love my girls more than words can ever express. Heavenly Father was so wise when He created mothers. I could only understand His great love for each one of us His children after becoming a mother myself.

I know we come from Heavenly parents- Mother and Father, and I know our maternal love is divine.

"No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her children". (Behold Thy Mother)

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Family History Fair

Last Saturday nostra famiglia spent a few hours at the Lindon Stake Family History Center where they were hosting their annual Multi Stake Family History Fair- a full day of classes and workshops about genealogy.

While I watched a class about FamilySearch and temple ordinances, Ale worked on his family tree on the computer, and the girls played games and ate lots of yummy snacks. It was a great afternoon for all of us!

Also, Spring is officially here!!!

Sushi Sushi

Guess who was the happiest in the family when daddy said we would be having dinner at AhiMuse this past weekend? Sushi is my favorite food hands down and I can eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack! The girls are not as sushi big fans as me so they had french fries.

AhiMuse is located at 1087 S 750 E, Orem and they have the best sushi!

Next time you go don't forget to try sexy bomb and something wrong.

Surgery

Today we are headed to American Fork hospital for Ale's surgery. For a long time he's been suffering headaches, difficulty breathing and sleep problems caused by a deviated septum. It is time to fix that and (fingers crossed) live a healthier and happier life!

We left the girls with trusted friends this morning, and I'll be waiting at the hospital until the surgery is over. It should be a simple procedure and it should't take long. Since Ale is in Spring break this week he will be home recovering and being spoiled by his three girls.

Easter time is here!

Our house is ready for Easter!

Easter became one of my favorite holidays. I love decorating the house with the beautiful colors of Spring. It brings life and warmth to our home.

Nostra Famiglia's Easter throughout the years.

Preschool first week

Today we conclude Bianca's first week of preschool. She did so good and I am so proud! 

Each day I took a picture of her going and coming back from school. In every picture she is smiling and so happy. She loves school!

And I love her!

Guy Diamond

A while ago hermana y hermano Sanders from our ward gave Bianca a gigantic Guy Diamond plush doll from Trolls. She loves him. And she takes him (and places him) everywhere in the house. One of these days I found him laying cozily in my laundry basked covered with my to-be folded bed sheets.

Bianca plays with everything which includes toys, house decorations and other things she is not supposed to play with. Plus, she uses every single room in the house as her play area which makes the house a huge mess in the blink of an eye.

While I type this I can see a barbie doll, a balloon, two stuffed animals, a purse, and several kitchen toys spread all over the floor. I know soon I won't have little girls anymore or toys all over the place anymore. And I can't say I'd like that.

Bianca's first day of preschool

I CAN'T BELIEVE BIANCA IS IN PRESCHOOL ALREADY!!!

And I am having mixed feelings about it. I know it is going to be great for her, but I feel I am losing my baby, and I hate it!

 Last night she got her backpack ready and her sister helped her pick her clothes. We've talked a lot about school, new friends and her new routine so she had no surprises. This morning she woke up really excited to go to school.

Ale, Giovanna and I took her to preschool and watched her for the first fifteen minutes of class. Then we each gave her a hug and we left. About half an hour later I called the school to see how she was doing. They said everything was fine and she was doing great.

When I went to pick her up (a few minutes earlier) her teacher said she cried a little after a couple of hours of class (which I already expected since we were never separated from each more than two hours), but her teacher also said soon Bianca was playing and happy again.

Then after school I took her to Menchies to have an ice cream and to talk about her first day. She told me everything about it- that she played with her friends, sang songs, eat, and brushed her teeth.

When I asked her if she wanted to go back to preschool she put her backpack back on and said: "Let's go". I guess someone already loves preschool.