Vacation is all I ever wanted...

Vacation had to get awaaayy....(The Go-Go's in case you're wondering).

Aaaah my heart melts for vacation.

This one has been in the works since last January, yes that's correct over a year of planning. I take my vacations pretty seriously and my usual obsessive-compulsive-self planned all of our meals, activities, packing items, well in advance. I had lists upon list of websites I used for my planning, things I needed to take for the girls, crucial tips for getting to places I wanted to take the girls and also fun ideas for all of us to enjoy while on vacation.

Me and the peanuts worked on the preparations. They got their favorite outfits from all of the great birthday gifts they got this year & we were ready to go!

And J was in charge of figuring out how to get me and everything I absolutely needed to our vacation spot, ORLANDO! Contrary to popular belief you can take two 2-year-olds to Orlando. And yes we visited the Disney parks and lived to tell about it. It was one of the best family vacations we've ever had & the girls had a blast. And I have a feeling they might just remember this trip. Sometimes I hear the Dumbo song being sung by someone randomly. It's a song we made up while waiting on line to ride Dumbo.

Here are some of our favorite moments of our family vacation.

We made lots of new friends!

Turns out Valentina is a real charmer :)

Catalina showed The Mouses' a new dance. LOL! Too funny!

And here are my little dancing queens strutting their stuff at Minnie & Mickey's party.

And these fuzzy little chefs made us a fabulous BBQ dinner that day. Yummy!

We were a little skeptical about the chipmunks but eventually the girls warmed up to our chefs.

Disney is no place to lounge around all day so we made sure to keep active....in the sweltering suffocating heat.

There's no place to beat the heat than in the pool! The peanuts learned the word "pool" real quick & every day they asked about it. Not sure how we're going to break the news that we don't have one of these at home. uh oh.

And sometimes the rain would come and set us back but we would patiently wait until it stopped so we could get on with our vacation business.

And sometime we would hide from the rain so it wouldn't find us...

But OUT came the sun & so would the peanuts!

So off we would go again on another adventure.

And after lots of running around you must refuel with great food & DRINKS!!!

I swear I didn't give her any of my mojito :)

Cati truly enjoys a good meal.

And so does Val

And so does J

And these were some our absolutely fun fun fun moments...it's Dumbo!! Dumbo! Dumbo!

We're next!...on the TEA CUPs Yippee!

Round round & round we go..

And my daughters enjoy even the simpler adventures like

...the slide.

...and the choo choo train.

But if you ever decide to take your toddler to Disney here's a few tips I can now offer after having experienced it myself.

-Pack appropriately...food, drinks, strollers, child harness of some sort, a water mist fan, and caffeine for yourself.

-Get a hold of a map & plan out your visit to the park. Break it up into 2 parts early morning & late afternoon. In the middle go back to your hotel and take a nice bath, nap,& have a hearty lunch. Your kids will thank you and so will your psychiatrist. I promise the park isn't going anywhere & they're open late.

-For the little ones it's easy to just pick 2 maybe 3 places that has appropriate entertainment for their age group. We picked 2 parks, Magic Kingdom & Hollywood Studios.

-Pick a character meal that's also age appropriate & there are LOTS to choose from. Oh yes, and before I forget book & pay for these at least 3 months in advance. We picked Mickey's Backyard BBQ, it's a little known secret that this one doesn't get booked too fast & the characters just hang out on the dance floor the whole time. This was very much our style. I loved the laid back and real home style BBQ atmosphere.

-Hang out at your resort pool and use ALL the amenities it offers. We had a great time just minutes away from our room. The kids had no idea we never left the complex!

-And take some time to enjoy nice meals, naps, and just lounging around when the kids are fast asleep.

Oh my little peanuts I can't wait to tell you all about your very first visit to Disney. You girls had such a great time & so did we.

Till next year vacation...we will miss you!

It's Cool to be 2!

Here are my two cool 2 year olds having breakfast on the morning of their birthday day. I know I know it's almost a month ago but we've been busy livin it up for their birthday month!

We've had a month full of events to celebrate their big milestone into toddler-hood. I've also been celebrating the fact that I have survived 2 years with twins. I'm pretty independent when it comes to most things but this has been the hardest endeavors of my life. And I'm very proud of having accomplished just a few things like cooking food my children will eat....sometimes, going grocery shopping with both of them by myself, taking them to the doctor check ups by myself, and going to the park just me & the peanuts. Not bad huh?!

Birthday breakfast was heart shaped banana pancakes & Valentina loooooved it!

And so did Catalina :)

Later that day gramma bought them their very own cake & they didn't look like they were going to share with the rest of us! lol

And a couple of Doras and Diegos and Boots...yes we do 2 of everything.

And after the cake we read our birthday cards...

They were musical cards & as you can see it was a big hit.

So because it was a Wednesday and we couldn't have a big ol party in the middle of the week we did the next best thing. We went to Chuckie's because it's ALWAYS a party at Chuck E Cheese's! And just our luck the big cheese himself showed up for our special occasion.

A couple of days later we threw the girls a birthday bash that I think they really enjoyed. I love birthdays and I love to celebrate them to the fullest (especially my own). And no birthday can be complete without some good friends and family to celebrate with you. I also want to make sure that the peanuts have great memories of their birthdays or at least great pictures that show how much fun they had at their birthdays. I never ever want them to doubt how very special they are to us. We love them both so much and are so grateful for the day that they entered our lives.

Our party was....DDDDD DOOORAA!! What else? These kids live, eat & breath home girl. We party-ed it up Dora style :)

Decorations...check!

Entertainment...check!

Cake.....ummm I dunno what the heck happened to Dora & her little monkey friend but J thinks she may have been hanging out at the beach too long. I was a tiny bit annoyed here since we got this cake at very reputable bakery in Hoboken, NJ. If anyone watches TLC, then you know who I'm talking about. At least the fox looked good & that sneaky fox is Val's favorite character.

And finally our guests...

Happy Birthday my babies! I love you more than I could ever put into words. The last 2 years have been so much fun. You have filled my life with so much happiness.

In my memories...

I don't think I've ever posted about my dad. But today he's been on my mind a lot. He would have turned 63 today but he died in 1993.

On days like today I remember him often throughout the day. Like many dads he liked to spoil his children & in his short time on earth he fathered two incredible girls. He didn't live long enough to see what we would become because the good Lord and the universe figured his time here was over. I often wonder what it would have been like to have an adult relationship with my father. Growing up he was in and out of my life so it was hard to have any kind of consistent relationship but we made the best of our moments together. I wonder what our conversations would have been like today now that I'm married and have children of my own. If you know what's like to lose a parent you know what it's like struggle with the big milestones of your life feeling so incredibly happy but always thinking about the parent who couldn't be there to see you in this incredible moment.

He was a great person. He was a lover of people and music and saw the positive in everything. He was the eternal optimist. I miss him all the time but on days like today it's even harder despite the years that have passed since his death. Initially it felt like he was on one his MIA phases when I wouldn't hear from him in a while and at any moment he would just show up at my mom's house or one day he'd call out of the blue. But as the years pass its harder to accept that I'll never hear his voice again. I'll never hear him laugh again. I'll never watch him dance again. And then it's like it just happened. He wasn't the greatest at parenting but he was loving and affectionate and he could never stay mad at me for long.  He wasn't good at disciplining or any of the important things that children need to grow up to be responsible adults. But I like to remember the things he was good at like how he tried to make our visits as fun as possible. I remember when he came to see me at my 3rd grade performance of Cinderella (I had 1 line to say).  I remember him taking us to watch the ball drop in Time Square (the only time I ever saw it live).  Every year he took us to the circus or some local carnival or to Great Adventure in some borrowed car. I remember our many visits to Manhattan and eating in China town or Little Italy. And no matter where he was or what he was doing he never forgot a holiday or my birthday. He never hung up the phone without saying "I love you." I think in some way he might have known he wouldn't be with me long so he tried to make the time we had together the happiest moments in my life.

We used to have serious conversations despite my young age. I remember being 10 years old and talking about how hard life can be and I was lecturing him about his life style.  He would say things like "Jennifer you have to enjoy life because you never know about tomorrow."  In my darkest moments I think about what he would say & what advice he would give me.  But when I look back I see that his life was an example for me and will always be the best advice.  I have learned so much from my memories of him the good & the bad. He was human and made many mistakes & over time I understand why.  I realize that life is not easy & being a good parent is not easy at all. I know how hard it must have been for my mom to be a mother & father when he wasn't around. But he also knew that the best place for me was with my mom. He knew I needed the discipline and structure and stability that he could never give me. Instead he gave me the very best of him for as long as he could. In the end he was the best father he could be.

Sometimes it's hard when I realize my girls will never meet him especially when I see little bits of him in my daughters. They have his free spirit and his contagious smile. When Cati wrinkles her eye brows or Val scrunches her nose in such a way they remind me the he really did give us the very best of him.

I hope that from wherever you are you know how much we love you & remember you always.