Our Inauguration Day Story...

Since election day I told J that I wanted to be there no matter what. For us and for everyone around the world (whether Obama supporter or not) it was a day of spectacular history. The USA had its first African-American president. And whether you voted for him or not you had to acknowledge the unprecedented way in which this man ran his campaign and eventually one the hearts of millions of people in this country and gave them something to believe.

OK I'll jump off my soap box now, and just fill in the details. At first I was determined to take the peanuts. The year they were born, 2008 this will probably be the most notable event. But after much counseling by my practical husband we decided to leave the girls behind :( with Grandma and the nanny. This day was also the very first time I would go a whole day without seeing my little peanuts. Mommy seperation anxiety I called it..anyhow we move on. The girls wore their Obama shirts to commemorate the day from home warm & cozy unlike us.

We took the Greyhound bus from NYC Port Authority around midnight. There were lines & groups, everyone with the same destination in mind....DC or BUST! As J likes to say "Greyhound got it right!" They had a decent priced ticket & just lined up buses to move people out as they arrived. So off we went on a packed bus with Obama paraphanalia on every person & arrived safely in DC at around 4:30AM...say what!!???? What would we do for 3 hours until we could stake out a spot on the mall?? Ha ha ha we would soooon find out.

Everyone, after a quick potty break, made their way to the mall. I thought well maybe there's some place to get some coffee & a snack. And when they open up the mall at 7am we'll just walk in. UUUH yeah ok, NOT! Come to find out everyone was making their way to the point of attraction because you were better off making sure you got to the entrance before they decided to close it without you. We got in touch with some friends who were also making their way to the mall & were trying to just get in line to get in. Does that make sense?? It didn't to me. But anyhow we skipped the coffee AND the snack & I followed my sensible half lead the way. He's also better with maps & directions & the whole north east south thing. After trying to reach our friends and not connecting we decided there was too many people & we'd meet up inside some how. So we move on...

All these decisions, which way to go? What entrance should get near?? Should keep walking up?? Walking down?? Oh gosh I honestly felt like a contestant on the Amazing Race! Constant second guessing ourselves, was nerve racking. I mean we came a long way to not see it or be close to the events. And J's only mission was to not get stuck behind the monument. He hates obstructed views. So we finally decide on THE door that will get us in at 7am...the funny thing is that there are people on the other side of the gate! What the?? How'd they get in there...oh darn another wrong decision RATZ! Ok we're here so we wait. As the time gets closer to 7am we see there aren't any officials, police, horsemen, rangers, NADA. Someone yells out from the crowd..."they aren't going to open the gate!" OH F*%$# are you friggin kidding me?!

We decide it's time to move out move out move out move out!!! Easier said then done. Pushing & squeezing our way out of a crowd that's about 40 people deep was no easy task. Then, out into the street & run (I do mean RUNNING) down the next entrance which we figure is about 10 or so blocks down. Suddenly as we're gasping for frigid cold air we see some people crowding this tiny gate near the Smithsonian. What's that?? A possible entrance into the mall?? Check it out...quick!! There were about 20 people trying to squeeze into this door before some body with a uniform or red volunteer hat realized that it shouldn't be open (I mean really there was no security checking or anything). In my mind I figured go for it...push man puuuuuusshhhhh! Get in! So we finally make it in but of course I'm still running (I've never been to the Washington Mall) cause I don't know what the heck I'm looking for.

Finally Jorge yells out to me "Ok ok we made it we made it." SO I stop & look around at people scurrying everywhere & the view to the capital building & the giant jumbo tron & it was like time stood still for a hot second. After taking it all in we were off to find the best spot possible. Goal was reached, we were in front of the capital building & NOT behind the monument. We found a nice dusty dirt spot in front of a jumbo tron and the capital building in the distance. And now we had nothing left to do but wait........

After the hype died down for a bit I realized it was a LONG time till 11:30AM. There was a refershment stand & porto potties nearby (maybe like 30 feet or so). I figure Jorge would be up for a refreshment. The man was taking NO RISKS he got us there & he was not budging. Are you serious??...thank God I bought some snacks and drinks but it was freaking COLD! I could use a cup o' joe man! No dice. If I wanted to go I was on my own & if I got lost...I was what we like to say @$$'d out. He played to my fearful side. I stayed on my blanket & tried to take a nap on the cold ground. After a couple of hours of leaning on some people next to us I woke up & needed something to warm up. I ventured out & we were packed in tight by now. So I was really taking a chance. Quick story... I was walking out to the side where the refreshment stand it & I see this guy with about 8 cups of coffee,chips, some kind of bread. He's barely keeping the coffee cups upright only now he can't find his group. I ask him, "Hey Mr. how long did it take you to get that coffee??" and he says "like 3 hours!...YVETTE!!! GRACE!!! YVETTE!!!! GRACE!!! HEEEEYYY!!" Yeah, he was lost alright.

Anyhow I tried to make my way to the refreshments & everyone's story was the same 2-3hours still on line. EEERRR bad idea. Next potty break...how long is the wait??? oh about 20 people deep. EERRR bad idea. I walked back to try & find J (we never did find our friends). So I weaved my way through people and I swore I found him like 4x only to find out it was someone else holding up the same glove wearing the same black jacket. UUUGGHHH I did finally make it back. And the look on his face of course was that of "I told you so."

So we waited and the moment arrived we realized it was SO worth the long & adventurous trip out to Washington DC to watch live & in person with millions of strangers the swearing in of our 44th President of the United States.

And THAT my dear friends, is history!

50% + 50% = 100% American

So our peanuts turned 9 months this week!! Yippy!!!





In our family there's always reason for celebration! And this weekend was no different as it turns out my cousin's son also celebrated another milestone in HIS life. He turned 16 years old. So we had a fun time with the fam. And grandma reminded everyone that the babies had cause for celebration also.




Personalized t-shirts were courtesy of Grandma (my mom) who is quite proud of our girls' ethnicity. Jorge's parent's are from the Dominican Republic and that makes me their other 50% :) Peru. Although we are quite proud of the multi-nationalism the girls will have, we also are very proud Americans. So despite the rich cultures the girls will have they are 100% USA!



!

Valentines Day = Food

Why is it that Vday always involves food...at least for ME it does anyways. Maybe I'm the only one with this issue. Who knows?? So for me no Valentine's Day would be complete without having something edible. And this year was no different. This year was EXTRA special because I got to throw all of my culinary fear out the window for the sake of making this a very special Valentine's for my girls. And an extra extra special day it was since it was Valentina's Saint day (my mom had to remind me of that one..huh?) oh well all the more to celebrate.

As you may or may not know I'm no Betty Crocker but I have been known to experiment in the kitchen. I am a foodie so I have been known to pull off a few Food Network dishes pretty well. So I thought I would use Paula Deen's sugar cookie recipe and make some cookies with the girls for Jorge. Ok so honestly the girls watched & I made..ha ha. But I could use the practice so whatever.




I thought they turned out pretty good...if I do say so myself.



Although the recipe said it would yield something like 3 dozen cookies. :scratching head: I'm not really sure how Paula pulls this off but it only made me about 2 dozen.



And for my peanuts...I made them some Lovin Pancakes :) Yes they LOVED it, especially the powdered sugar! I thought this was an appropriate way to introduced this sugar overload holiday. And if anyone is going to give my kids processed sugar it might as well be me HOMEMADE.







Anyhow it wasn't ALLL about food. The big guy & I got to take the girls to their weekly music class. They really do have music in their blood. These girls can rock & bounce with the rest of the kids....the whole parachute thing was a little questionable to them though.









And of course no Valentine's Day would be complete without an evening out...or in our case a late afternoon. This gave us a chance to dress up & get our party look on. I was dying to put these dresses on (a very special gift from a good friend) and this was the perfect occasion. They also wore them on New Year's Eve....ACK! Wearing an outfit 2x perish the thought!







All in all I had a pretty incredible day with the girls. I am incredibly in love with my daughters and I have to say this day was better then any Vday I've ever had (sorry J :( but it's true). I never thought I could love 2 people more...."they are the reason I was born" Susan Sarandon in Anywhere But Here

!

Like I said...never a dull moment

Just when we thought we got through sickies with flying colors, IIIIIIII get a horrible evil stomach virus! UUUGGHH I'll spare you the yucky details but it wasn't pretty and it involved the porcelain god & the bathroom floor. And no, I wish it was a hangover! Somehow some evil virus caught me on the subways of NYC (this is my story & I'm sticking to it). I was visiting clients on Monday fine & healthy as a fiddle. Come Tuesday morning all hell broke lose. I had to call poor J from work to come save me because I swore I was on my death bed. And I wanted to give him special instructions about raising my girls :)

Anyhow 2 days on liquids and I'm 3lbs lighter. I guess something good can come out of misery. Well the drama doesn't end there. The next day the peanuts dad also got a whiff of my evil virus and while it hasn't actually knocked him down it sure has scarred him, in more ways then one. He's a trooper though, unlike me. And it's like I've always said, he has an iron clad stomach while I can become deathly ill over a day old milk. It's actually incredible how this man can eat a week old fish & walk away feeling nothing but a little gassy! I just don't get it.

The silver lining here is that the girls have NOT gotten it. And I am praying to everything that's holy that they don't. I don't think I could live through that!! I can only imagine what it could do to them after what's happened to me.

So word to the wise...thoroughly sterlize yourself after visiting bacteria ridden subways! (Sorry New Yorkers) And properly wash your hands as often as possible & Lysol everything in sight as often as possible. Yes, for those of you that aren't aware, I'm the epitome of OCD and I've throughly washed down the girl's playroom, nursery, toys, blankets, exersaucers, plush toys, you name it...it's hit the washing machine or the can of Lysol.

Sorry...no pics! I don't think you'd want any related to this post.


!

Never A Dull Moment

What a week it's been and here we go with the start of another week! No wonder why I'm so exhausted, we are just non-stop every day.

For those that keep track (me & J) ha ha! The girls had their pediatrician check up. This is always fun for us because we take bets on how much the girls have grown weight & length & we also have a chance to brag to our doc about what wonderful & exciting things our girls are doing. And he doesn't get that glazed over look like most people who are just tired of hearing of the prodigies we're raising :) The doc is actually listening intently and offering advice and taking copious notes on my children's development. OR he could just be writing his grocery list but nevertheless he indulges us and allows us to give him a detailed update. They seem to be tracking the same length wise where Val seemed to have the advantage here by 1/4 inch. But Cati still outweighs Val by about 1/2 lb which has been the case since they were born.


Catalina is weighing in at 16lbs 12 oz and 28 inches
Cati is liking her new found freedom and attempts to move everywhere she can BY HERSELF. She refuses any help from us. As shown here....



I'll take this toy...Val clearly you're not fast enough!



Then I'm going to turn around & see what's good over here...


Oh look! Another cute toy....yup this one is mine too!

Valentina is weighing in at 16lbs 8oz and 28 inches
Val is not so interested in roaming the world on her belly. She much prefers to be on her bottom enjoying the view from her spot. And when placed on her belly, the girl refuses to move! As shown here.....



Hey mom...can you help a sister out over here!!



Uh where's the toy???...Cati came & went & there's no sign her OR the toy!

However if you stand her up like a dignified person she's happy for you to assist her!



Make sure I don't fall mom..okay.

In case you're wondering, they are playing in their finest threads because we celebrated baby David's baptism. Cati & Val's little cousin. I haven't gotten pics of him yet but stay tuned..

Since the weather was SO NICE we got away with wearing our frilly girly stuff today without any fear that we would freeze to death. The cute shoes didn't make it though so forgive us for the primitive look ;)





!

TOUCHDOWN!! We made it...

Well we weathered the sicknesses and I survived the whole thing. This is a shocker because I honestly thought I was going to lose it there for a minute. There's some lingering stuffiness but all seems to be well since we are ALL (even the pooches) now sleeping through the night. YAY!!





I got a hint that the girls were on the up & up when Superbowl Sunday arrived and they were on their best behavior with our guests despite not feeling 100%. J managed a smile or two himself and was a suitable host.








You see, Superbowl Sunday has been a tradition in our house for the last 6 years (as quoted by J) and we just COULDN'T cancel this year. So we forged ahead with the plans & everyone had a good time even me!

And yes my girls were wearing their GREEN JETS shirts. In hopes that ONE day maybe even in their lifetime we might witness a GREEN superbowl :)



!

Sick and Sicker

As a mom of multiples I should have expected this would come down on me one day. I have to admit that I was praying that the good Lord would spare me this experience until the girls were at least able to talk...no such luck!

Ah well here we are in peanuts' infirmary. BLEH! That pretty much sums up how everyone feels including Jorge. The universe has a way of making sure we all survive what's infront of us so I, of course, have managed to stay healthy throughout this ordeal. I saw hints of this on Monday & I was trying to convince myself the girls were just a little congested probably because of the heat in the house. It's okay to laugh you veteran parents :) Hey one can hope, right?! It all went inevitably down hill. FULL BLOWN COLD for both babies!

So here's one sick baby....

And here's sick baby #2...


And tired dog...

Sick & Sicker = tired mom. I haven't slept much in the last 2 days as the cough & sniffles have goten worse through the night. Let's be honest, I don't sleep much as it is since the peanuts were born but THIS is really just cruel & unusual punishment. My only consolation & light at the end of tunnel is, I'm sure Kate Gosseling (Jon & Kate +8 on TLC Monday nights!..who's a fan??) survived something similar with sextuplets with no outside help & just her husband to get her through it. So that's the inspiration I need to get through this. Unfortunately the girls' pediatrician was no help since there isn't anything you can give babies their age to help with the symptoms. We've been left with old school wisdom on this one...Vicks Vapor Rub, humidifier, and dash of modern medicine which includes saline up your nose (eewwww!) and the good 'ol hospital provided nose aspirator. Jorge still can't figure this one out so we just call it the "boogie thing" around our house.

We take turns comforting a baby that requires immediate adult cuddling...




A good toy, that would otherwise be off limits, also comes in handy when someone is experiencing separation anxiety..


I know you're probably thinking that toy is dangerous in her mouth. But right about now it's all about survival my friends.

Well Dr. Mom is on call so off I go into battle. Wish me luck!

!