With all the things that are constantly happening in our lives, it is easy to lose our perspective in the shuffle. At least it is in my case. There is always something going on (and I am thankful for it) whether it is family related: running from one place to another, from one class to another, or getting the kids ready for whatever the case may be (school, bed, classes, birthday parties, doctor’s appointments, you name it), or work related: jumping from one deadline to another, juggling multiple tasks, putting out fires and spending time coming up with ideas all at the same time, it seems as if our focus is always on the next task at hand or maybe on 1-2 tasks ahead to try and get “ahead of the game”.
It is easy to get lost, easy to lose focus on what matters most, easy to devote all our energy on the tasks at hand right at that moment, and easy to focus only on the accomplishment of the immediate goals. The difficulty lies in learning to take a step back, breathe and enjoy the moments for what they are worth. We spend so much time fighting and arguing with our kids to get them from point A to point B, that many times we fail to enjoy the journey — at least I know I do. And it is only during the calm after the storm, in the late nights after everyone is asleep, when I get to think about our day, or when I turn off the radio or the podcasts during my commute and evaluate our weekends, that I realize I may have missed opportunities to enjoy our kids more. I realize that I have wasted a lot of energy disciplining, redirecting, etc and not enough energy on enjoying the laughing, playing, and loving.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about each day goes by so quickly. I know every day needs to be cherished more. I think about how after the clock strikes midnight, we no longer have that day. We can’t get it back. And how because of that finality, we need to make the best of each and every day. Live the day with no regrets. Focus on making each other happy, not sad. Focus on enjoying the moment and cherishing that time together. Focus our energy on filling our minds with positive things; the negatives are a waste. Only 24 hours are given to us each day, and tomorrow is not guaranteed.
And even though I think of this often and we have conversations with our kids about it at the dinner table, I still lose my perspective, I get lost in the tasks of the day, and the checkpoints of life. This is why I need to constantly remind myself to live in the moment. Why I need to imbed this into our family values and daily practices. Why we need to make it a habit, and not just a thought that appears from time to time. we need to constantly regain perspective and refocus on what really matters.
It is worth everything.
some pictures from our weekend.
-
Business Travel Lessons as a Father of 5
I don’t travel often for business, but the couple of weeks leading to Thanksgiving I had back-to-back business trips.
Traveling sometimes is hard for us because it can be a burden on Becca. Although we have an awesome nanny that is super flexible with our schedule, dealing with nighttime routines for all 5 kiddos can be difficult. Luckily I am never gone for more than 2 days at a time.
I’ve always tried to find positivity in every life situation and in the case of traveling, it is no different. Flying allows me (when I don’t crash for the entire flight) to do things that I usually can’t do while at home due to lack of time. It becomes a “me time” although surrounded by a bunch of strangers.
When I travel I get to make progress on the many books I have on my night stand that I never get a chance to finish, or read my Men’s Health magazine OR one of my new favorite things to do – listen to podcasts! (more of this later).
This past trip I scribbled down on a plane napkin some of the things I was able to enjoy while flying. Although these are things that I tend to do on every trip, I never took the time to acknowledge them or give them the importance they deserve. Here is the list of things I learned/appreciate as a father of 5 kids when traveling.
- I miss/appreciate my kids and wife more: Sometimes we take these things for granted. We get caught in the day-to-day. But not being with my kids and getting pics of them via text from my wife makes me miss them even more. The pictures always put a smile on my face and remind me how blessed I am and how awesome my life is because of them.
- Time for reflection: The above is one of the examples but the traveling “me time” allows me to think – a lot – and helps me reflect about my life, my family, my job, our future, etc.
- Time for planning: Most of the time, for me, putting things into perspective turns into planning for the future. Whether it is thinking about a plan for retirement, or how to make sure my kids are taken care of after I pass, etc. I get some sense of clarity when I am flying and am able to spend time thinking, jotting down ideas. I take a lot of notes and come back re-energized and ready to tackle new adventures.
- Think of ideas to be a better person: This is a combination of #2 and #3 incentivized by some of the things I read or listen to while traveling. For example, this past trip I read a couple of chapters from “The Project Happiness”, read “Men’s Health” and listened to the “Smart Passive Income” podcast among others. I am big on self-help. The time I get to fuel my brain with all these new ideas is awesome and fuels me to become a better dad, a better husband, a better professional and a better me.
- Educate myself: Traveling by myself allows me time to read books, magazines, articles, news, bios, etc as well as listening to cool podcasts and occasionally super interesting conversations with fellow travelers. Every time I travel I learn new things and gain new perspectives on a lot of things.
It’s easy to find the positive in every situation. You just have to look for it.
Cheers!
They say money can’t buy happiness, but I am pretty sure we just bought some of it.
I am a dreamer. I am also a believer of chasing your dreams. I’ve chased a few of my own. Some with successful results and some not – those are the ones you learn the most from. I also believe in supporting and pushing others to follow their own dreams. In this story, someone else’s dream affected me directly and I was happy to play a role to help make it happen. 🙂
Back in 2007 when we started considering having kids, Becca had what could’ve been a very successful career in business. However, I’ve always thought that teachers were special people with special qualities and I thought Becca had all those qualities and had the potential of being an awesome teacher! (I was proven right later). At that time, she started toying with the idea of teaching in order to spend more time at home and eventually when our kids grew of age, she could be involved in their school life. We thought more about it due to the fact that Hillsborough County was in need of teachers, and the timing was just right. The easy decision would’ve been to remain in her position, move up the ladder of Corporate America, etc, etc BUT we had a bigger plan in mind. A plan that could allow Becca to eventually fulfill her dream of being a mom; a mom that could be involved with the kiddos.
That summer we (she) took the plunge. And no surprise, she was AWESOME at it. Kids loved her. Teachers loved her. Administrators loved her! A few years later she was offered an Assistant Principal position and although she hesitated taking it because she would miss the classroom and the kids, she took on the challenge and rocked that position as well. (you see the trend here? ;))
Last year, we were given the opportunity to chase her big dream for the first time. Chasing it required some sacrifices – mostly financial as our kid’s school is a small private school that is not in need of APs so she would need to teach – but we could not chase it in 2014. We had a lot going on with the babies on their way, short notice, etc… Although disappointed, we think it was the best thing. That extra year allowed us to plan ahead to make the transition in 2015. We needed to come up with ideas on how to supplement Becca’s new income so we could maintain our lifestyle. Also, the arrival of the babies meant more expenses! Food, daycare/nanny, etc. We had to plan for all of it and make sure we would be ok. It was also a good year for Becca to begin her transition of her AP role in her school (a school she loved and is so grateful for). During her pregnancy with the twins, they were so amazing to her- being very flexible with her schedule, out-of-school duties, etc. We are forever grateful to them not only for that last year, but for the entire time Becca was a part of the school.
This summer (2015) when the opportunity rose, we were ready. We had a business in place (www.PackLessPlayMore.com), we had the nanny situation for Santi, Emi and Ale taken care of, and Nati and Nico had successfully finished their first year at their new school! I am not going to lie, going into it was a bit scary. As much as you plan, you never knew how things are going to settle in, how “accurate” our financial planning was, how crazy (or not) things would be, etc.
Well…. I can now tell you with confidence that it has been AWESOME! Becca is so happy! The kids are SO happy their mom works at their school! Becca feels so fulfilled teaching again and loves that she can see our kids throughout the day, have lunch with them, be available if they need her, etc… I am kind of jealous but so happy for all of them. Yes, we are a couple of tens of thousands of dollars short compared to last year, but every penny is worth it. Being able to chase and achieve a life dream has no price – it only brings satisfaction, smiles, happiness and that, for us, is what life is about. Being happy together.
So yes, people say you can’t buy happiness, but I am pretty sure we just bought ourselves a huge chunk! Cheers to dreaming and chasing dreams!! God bless.
3 Reasons why this labor day, I am thankful for my job.
Looking back, I consider I’ve been lucky throughout my career. I’ve worked at great companies with great accounts, had great teammates and had some great leaders/mentors. However, for the past 2.5 years, the agency I work with is just perfect for my family and me. Yes, of course there are tough days and crazy busy days, but those are few and far between and the fun and awesome moments outweigh the not-so-good ones by far! To sum it up, here are 3 reasons why I am thankful for my job and why I LOVE working where I do.
- I get to be myself and do what I love
For those that know me, you know I am a pretty energetic person, in a good mood 98% of the time and probably a pain to deal with at times… At my previous agency, although I was able to be myself around my co-workers, there was this “corporate” feel to it and “playful” behaviors were frowned upon by some of the upper management team. I felt like I needed to watch what I said or did at times and did not feel I had a voice… Booooring… 🙂
At my current agency, that has never been an issue. My boss/owner of the agency embraces people’s personalities and has built an awesome team that allows everyone to be him/herself, while still working as a solid unit. In my experience, when people are free to be who they are and do not have to put up a façade, they work better, more freely, they enjoy being there and feel accepted, which in return yields efficiency and overall happiness.
Besides being able to be me, I get to do what I love- what I’ve wanted to do since I was in high school! I get to work in a fun and creative Ad Agency with awesome clients in so many different verticals! No day is the same, every client, every campaign presents a new, fun challenge and I never stop learning! I learn from my peers, from our clients, from new situations, and experiences and of course from data! 🙂 . Professionally, I could not ask for more.
- My boss is a woman and a mother.
You have no idea what a difference this makes. I think of myself as a very involved father. My family means the world to me and I want to be a part of my kids’ daily lives as much as I can; I would never forgive myself if in 20 years I look back and wish I would have been more present. Nope. I refuse to let that happen and my boss not only knows it, but also shares my same beliefs and is sooo supportive of anything family.
In this era we hear claims of work/life balance and how employees need to support women in the workplace to allow them to spend more time with their kids. Not only that, but to be OK with it and not see their time with their families as a “weakness” or a “lack of commitment” to their jobs that could prevent them from professional advancement.
Although I am a strong believer that all of the above should apply to men as well (that’s a whole other post), I don’t have to worry about ANY of it because my boss is a woman AND she is a mother. She gets it! She practices it! She is very involved in her child’s life and has a very strong family foundation. So, at previous jobs when asking for time-off to go be part of my kids’ activities, or even Dr.’s appointments, although they rarely denied my requests, you could tell they did not like it and I had to do these things with a guilty feeling about it…. And that feeling sucked! Now? She is 100% supportive and in return she knows that I will work my butt off to meet any deadlines, deliverables and expectations. It has to be a give and take where every party benefits and wins from it.
So, to my above point, it probably would be awesome if more women were in top positions in Corporate America to build better workplaces, or we can hope that the new generation of involved fathers (which I know all my friends with kids share my beliefs) start taking over the big honcho roles because we get it. We love family/work balance and a happy working environment.
- We have a team that believes in well being
As a team, we workout together at the local YMCA 2-4 times a week. We support and promote healthy eating habits, diet together, juice at the office, etc. We have a great support group that makes it so much easier to stay in shape and try to eat clean. We’ve all had days we don’t feel like going to the gym, but the team pushes us to go and once we are done with the workout we are so grateful we did it. It takes a village and we have a fun, healthy village.
For the above reasons and truthfully many others, I don’t take it for granted and I am thankful for my job! I hope everyone feels the same about theirs.
Our last Summer weekend! :(
It feels as it was only a few weeks ago the kids finished their first year at their new school. I remember I thought we had SO much time to do SO many things! We thought about going to the beach more often, plan a trip or two to Orlando to go to Sea World, use our tickets to Dinosaur World and so many other family adventures!… wrong.
Before we knew it, it was mid-August and we were planning what to do on our last weekend before the kids (and Becca) went back to school!! Don’t get me wrong, we did a lot of fun stuff this summer (Becca’s family came down to Siesta Key for a week, we went to the beach a handful of times, I played in the Ultimate Frisbee Sunshine State Games, Regionals and Nationals Championship and much more) but we thought our summer break was going to be much longer than it was. I guess life with 5 kiddos, 2 of which were under 6 months of age goes by really really quick…
The crazy thing is that this weekend was no different than any other weekend this summer. We had a lot going on. Between Open houses, purchasing last minute school supplies and clothes, celebrating my 39th birthday and trying to get everyone back to our night-time schedule, we were running out of time very very quickly. We needed to make sure we had at least one super fun day! Unfortunately, the weather had been against us too! It has been raining on a daily basis making it hard to play outside and if that was not enough, all this stupid rain is making our backyard a mosquito paradise!! Sucks!
But, I knew we needed at least one last weekend at the beach. I reached out to our beach buddies but unfortunately none of them were able to come out! And the ones that were going to join us texted me the morning of to let me know they had partied too hard the night before and were staying in nursing the hangover….. (damn people without kids. :)) I didn’t care, I had promised the kids (and myself) that we were going to the beach and so we did!!! We got very lucky, we went in the morning and were able to escape the nasty rains and enjoyed our Florida sunshine.
We had a blast. Despite the fact that I forgot to bring the paddle for our paddleboard (what a momo), we played in the water and the kids “surfed” some waves on the board — I was actually impressed on how brave Nico and Nati were getting up on the board and riding the waves! That came to a temporary stop after Nico rode the longest wave and took a tumble once the board hit the beach… 🙁 … He did not cry and got back on the board but he began to “abort” much earlier jumping off the board to make sure he did not eat the beach again… haha.
Santi had a great time jumping waves and playing in the sand burying the army men and animals he had brought. The babies were very well-behaved and even took a couple of good naps in their little cocoon enjoying the breeze and the sound of the waves (seriously… is there a better scenario to take a nap!?! ok, maybe if there was a hammock… ).
After leaving the beach we headed home to celebrate my birthday with my family and we even got to play upfront with their scooters AND played in the pool before the rain ruined the rest of the afternoon. The kids loved it. Now that Nico can swim, he has been enjoying the pool so much more!
Monday was the kids’ last day off. Their “nona” picked them up in the morning and took them to the Ringling Museum of Art and they LOVED it!! It never occurred to us to take them to the museum assuming they would be so bored and probably crazy loud! But they all loved it and were mesmerized by all the art. One more cool activity to add to our list.
I also got to have some fun Monday night! I met with a couple of friends to go paddleboarding in St Pete. We were able to paddle for over an hour right on time before the rain took over…
Although the summer flew by, we had a great last weekend as a family taking advantage of many of the cool things Florida has to offer. We are ready for another school year (oh boy, so we think….).
Wowzers! Emi and Ale are 6 months already!
I could easily use 2 cliches right off the bat to open this post (and I will) 1. Time flies and 2. They grow up so fast! Both darn right… I am not sure if time seems to go by way faster the older I get, or if it is the combination of the older I get plus how busy we are and how many kids we have! 🙂 Regardless, I could not believe it this week I was taking our little babies to their 6 month appointment!
These two little men have been growing SO quickly and I feel as if I am not taking the time to slow down and enjoy more of what will be “our last set of firsts” with Becca. Seeing the babies grow and progress has been a blessing and an amazing experience once again, but coming to terms with the fact that each milestone they achieve will be our last of that particular milestone is bitter sweet.
At the end of the day, we can’t stop time but what we can do is to make a conscious effort to make the most out of what life presents to us. Throughout the past 6+ months, we have been blessed with very healthy babies and I pray to God that they remain as healthy and happy as they are. The addition of the twins to our family, although challenging at times, has been the most rewarding experience not only for Becca and me, but also for Nati, Nico and Santi — they have such a sincere love for the babies that melts our hearts. Trust me, I am well aware that Santi could’ve gone on strike and thrown a million and a half temper tantrums about the babies “displacing” him from the “baby” role (although only recently have we stopped referring to Santi as “the baby”) but instead he embraced them, claims them as his babies and protects them and loves them constantly! Same goes for Nico and Nati. I think the transition from party of 5 to party of 7 (gulp) was successful because Becca and I made sure we had a plan for the process and we made (and still do) a huge effort to maintain a level of “normalcy” in our kids’ lives. We continued with everyone’s extra curricular activities (ballet, gymnastics, soccer, bmx…) and never allowed the welcoming of Emi and Ale to negatively impact any of their activities. We wanted to make sure they felt loved, appreciated and valued so they wouldn’t have any negative feelings towards the babies or any feelings of a “lack of attention” or anything of that sort…
Has it been easy? Heck no! Has it gotten easier? Nope, even though we’ve gotten better, life still has its challenges. Has it been worth it!? Heck Yeah!! Best thing that has ever happened to all 7 of us. Loving every second -even though I wish they would sleep through the night by now so we can catch up on sleep.
Anywho, this all started because Emilio and Alejandro had their 6 months appointment so here are their stats:
Emilio:
Height: 25.3in
Weight: 16lbs 6oz
Alejandro:
Height: 24.8in
Weight: 16lbs 12oz
At the Dr. — twin style in their car seat. 🙂 Ale getting checked and Emi looking like he is making fun of him..
“What the heck?!”
One day this summer, while at the beach, I picked up Santi (age 2) and went in the water with Nico and Nati. We live near the Gulf of Mexico, so the water is usually calm and “good” waves are hard to come by. However, it was a windy day and the waves were bigger than usual. After jumping a couple of waves, we got hit with a “big” one and both Santi and I got splashed with water all over our faces….. It was fun and hilarious, especially when I heard Santi say, (with a loud squeal) “What the heck?!!?” I could not stop laughing it was so cute and funny, which of course gave him the green light to keep saying it over and over… oddly enough, it never stopped being funny.
When I checked the date of my last blog post, I felt the same way. “What the heck!?” I realized I had not blogged since Easter!! 4 months without blogging!?! To me, it meant 4 full months without documenting some of the amazing things that have happened … less memories to look back upon when we read our family blog… Unacceptable, yet I understood why…. Oh yeah, we happen to have 5 kids, two of whom are now 6 months old TWINS! And life at our household has gotten busier. In addition to the non-stop learning of how to raise two babies at a time (not freaking easy), we were juggling our jobs, our business and trying to launch a new one. All while still doing all of our activities like Nati’s ballet and gymnastics classes, Nico’s strider races and soccer, my Ultimate Frisbee practices and tournaments, etc…Looking back, it seems like a lot, but in reality, that’s the only way I function. I like staying busy. Sometimes too much. J
So, I’ve decided to make a list of “Awesome things we’ve done this summer” and blog them one by one so we can record all the cool memories we’ve built this summer and recall the milestones the kids hit this summer. Exciting moments like riding a bike without training wheels! Or Learning how to swim! Or our Beach Week, Nati’s dance camp, Emi and Ale’s growth and Santi’s craziness!
I hope that writing these snippets don’t take me as long as 4 months 😉 I’ve realized how much I miss blogging and how amazing it will be for our kids to read our blog once they grow up, have children and take time to reflect on their childhood. And of course for Becca and I to do the same and cherish all the amazing moments we experience as a Happy Family of 7.
Babies Update!
The date is rapidly approaching, that day when we become a family of 7 plus our dog is less than 3 weeks away.. yikes!
Whether we are ready or not, what we have left to do, what we have done so far and whether we are freaking out or not is content for another blog… it is coming.. just not even mentally prepared to put it on paper!
This post is to share the amazing news that our baby boys have cleared the date when their arrival might have been considered risky… Cleared the date where we would have had to go to a different hospital that had special caring facilities for premature babies. We are in the clear. If they were to decide to come into this world tomorrow, we will be able to go to “our” hospital and the delivery would be performed by Becca’s doctors. The ones she’s been seeing since we were pregnant with Nati (that’s right, I said “we”). Moving forward, our babies will he delivered where we received all 3 of our other kids as it is likely that their lungs are developed enough. Again, it’s “our” hospital, our comfort zone – and this is very important at the time of delivery. Trust me, this is my 4th rodeo.
In addition to the great news above, the babies are doing great! They are growing at a very nice pace and weighing approximately 5.5 and 5.7 lbs respectively. The momma could not be doing any better (considering the circumstances). Yes, of course she is tired, in pain at times, uncomfortable, itchy, etc. but none of these are anomalies for a pregnant woman at 36 weeks of pregnancy. She is rocking this pregnancy yet again – she is good at this!
For the past couple of weeks both of the babies were facing head down in perfect position for delivery. However, on Tuesday we found out that one of them decided to rebel against the system and decided to show the other baby who the alpha kid will be. He decided not only to shift, but also to pin the other baby down so no further movement is possible, or at least the chances are minimal.
What does this mean? More than likely Becca will have to deliver via C-Section- this is new territory for us. But hey, everything about this adventure seems new. Because of the position of our little rebel, the doctors will not perform natural delivery at the risk of encountering complications and having to do an emergency C-Section- they require both babies to be head down.
The bottom line: It sucks for Becca as the recovery is longer. It sucks for me because I will be exposed to things I’ve never seen before and I am not 100% sure how the heck I am going to handle it…. I hope well enough to be Becca’s rock by her side, but I seriously have no idea what to expect … let’s just hope I don’t pass out or are scarred for life.
The good news in this is that unless the babies decide to make an appearance earlier than expected, we will book the delivery date. Doing this allows us to plan ahead, plan who’s going to be watching the kids, who’s taking them to school, who will house-sit, who can we count on for running errands, cooking meals, etc for the kids. Trust me, it is not an easy task. Taking care of 3 kids at once (ages 6, 3, and 1) when you are not used to it can be a daunting task.. only a few people (family :)) are ballsy enough to volunteer for the task.
By scheduling, we can pack our bags, set up our alarm, prepare ourselves and the kids mentally and physically, etc. I like it like this. All of our kids have been scheduled – as mentioned above, Becca rocks pregnancies and kids seem to get comfy in her belly and choose to stay there as long as allowed.. 🙂
Crazy long story short, we are in the final stretch. Babies are, thank God, healthy and so is Becca, I couldn’t ask for anything more. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this insane adventure in the next couple of weeks.
Thanks for “listening”. Can’t wait to welcome you to our world little ones.