!!!!!!!!!FREEEEDOM!!!!!!!!!!

Today, I celebrate Freedom!!! Yes, in this country we are free to be who we want to be and have the resources to do it. Yes, we have the right of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which is awesome. But, it is not these freedoms that I choose to celebrate. Today, I celebrate a freedom much more personal and powerful. Websters defines freedom as "the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint." For several years now Adriana, and I have been the victims of this unlawful confinement and physical restraint . Our bedroom has been held captive by the Lords of the Sippy Cups. But, like our hero William Wallace, we have finally gained our freedom!!!!



We actually freed ourselves of the Lords two weeks ago, but I wanted to make sure that the treaties were honored for awhile before I announced our emancipation. Our strategy was simple:

1. We took the girls to the store and let them pick out their own room decorations.



2. We spent a whole weekend, cleaning, organizing, and decorating the room, all of which they helped with.




3. We gave up our bedroom T.V., and transferred it to their new digs. ( After all sacrifices have to be made in order for a revolution to work.)



4. We begged, begged, then begged some more.

Of course, as with any peace treaty , there have been some complications, and growing pains.

We still have to be in the room when they go to sleep.

We have enough night lites around the house, to light up the LAX runways.

Joey's crib is still in our room, but at least not in our bed. His room is our next project, we are just waiting for the budget department to give us clearance.

Every morning when I wake up, I find that the visitors have returned. They come down anytime between 2 and 4, sometimes together and sometimes make the journey solo.

Finally, and as a big surprise to me, I miss them. I do not miss trying to make it through the night on a quarter inch of sleeping space. Nor do I miss being woken up five times a night for JUUUUUIIICCCEE!!!!. But, I miss the closeness I felt with them. It also made me realize how fast they are growing up, and that they wont be my little babies forever.





All in all, it has been great, and we are super proud of our Girls!!!!!!

The Whitest Girl In the History of E.S.L.

Well we survived the first week of School!!! With all the well justified fanfare that Nicole has been getting, I thought that today would be a good day to pay some tribute to her baby sister, Nat Nat. Our green kangeroo turns 3 next Saturday !!! An official end to the Tender Twos, or so I hope !!! I only say that because as I am writing this, she is in the middle of a fit. I believe she is upset that here little brother is drinking juice from one of her sippy cups. Or as she calls it.. "Mi Teta Papi ....Joey toma mi Teta!!!

Yes it is true my little dirty blonde with the biggest blue eyes, does not speak English!!! She understands every word, but always responds in Spanish. Just imagine the look the on the E.S.L. teacher's face when Natalie walks in!!! Im just kidding about that, I am sure that by the time she starts school, the english will be there. I think it is actually very cool, and so important that are kids are bilingual. I get so upset when 20 year olds with the last name of Dominguez, or Vazquez come in and apply for a job, and can't speak a word of Spanish. I have had so many oppurtunities open for me, just because I am bilingual. I am actually hoping that because my kids are learning two languages at such a young age, that they will be able to learn more later on. I wonder what a fit sounds like in Manderin?












Well here are a few other things that are going on with Nat Nat:


Her Birthday party is going to be at one her favorite places: the Zoo!! Her favorite animals are the "wooofy", and the "O O Ah Ah " (monkey)

She still has not given up the Chupis (pacifier), though during the day she doesnt use it too much, she just likes to carry them around in a box, or in her princess purse.




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I think that her pacifier addiction is being phased out by a new one.. Her blankie.. As she calls it her Coveja.. It goes every where she goes, and she will not even think about getting in bed without it. We have to steal it off her bed once she is asleep, to wash the funk off.



She has never been much of a T.V. watcher, but she does have a couple of movies that will hold her attention for a half hour or so... Her current favorites are Alice in Wonderland, and The Little Mermaid. I can also get her to watch soccer with me, for about 5 minutes. That beats anyone else in the house by 5 minutes, unless David Beckham is playing, then her Mom becomes the biggest soccer fan in the world. She yells at the t.v. every time the camera turns way from Beckham, and at least 3 times a game will ask the girls who Beckham is. They have been trained (not by me) to answer the same way every time ..... "Daddy!!!"


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OK so he is rather fetching