Parenting

#Blessed

Before I forget and realize is already the end of 2016, I want to make sure I acknowledge how blessed we feel at home.

As probably most parents can attest, one of the most important things for us parents are our kids’ health and happiness. I pray to God every night prior to going to bed and thank him for keeping all our babies healthy and happy and thank him for the amazing environment and love that surrounds our kids and our family. I pray for his constant protection and ask to keep them healthy and happy throughout their lives.

I can’t emphasize enough how true “it takes a village” really is. So many times we hear from people that they don’t understand how we manage to raise 5 kids and maintain our “cool”. What lots of times people don’t realize is that we are able to maintain our cool and we are pretty chill most of the time because we are surrounded by so many amazing people in our lives. Whether it is our loving immediate family, or our awesome positive and loving friends or our friends at work, we are always surrounded by positive and chill vibes, words of support and more importantly surrounded by love to our kids.

We feel #blessed and we have God and ALL OF YOU that touch our lives in one way or another to thank you for it. I probably have not said this to all of you individually but please know that we constantly feed of the love and positive vibes you send our way. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Needless to say, we feel #blessed we are given the opportunity to raise 5 amazing kiddos that bring so much joy and livelihood to our household.

So cheers to another #blessed year to all of us. May love, health, peace and happiness be with all of us throughout this new amazing year.

Much love from our Happy Number 7.

MONDAY MORNING QB: FATHERHOOD

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If there was such thing as a QB rating for parenting performances over the weekend, I think I would have had one of my lowest QBRs yet… As with many other things, admitting it is the first step. And I admit it: I had some really sucky moments this weekend.

Sometimes I get caught up in the whole “parenting” and “disciplining” and set some stupid high expectations for my kids (if Nati read this she would tell me “ooohh you said “stupid”) and sometimes I forget how young they are! Nati is not even 7, Nico is 4 ½ and Santi is 2 ½ !! and I somehow expect them to be crazy well behaved, be quiet when I ask them to and follow directions 100% of the time. Who am I fucking kidding! If it was THAT easy, people would not complain about how hard it is to raise kids! Or how hard is to maintain your sanity when you tell your kids to stop doing something and not even 30 seconds later they are doing the exact same thing you JUST told them to stop doing!

Boom. That was my weekend. I think I could even tweet my entire weekend in less than 134 characters…

Me: Guys will you please keep your voices down? The babies are trying to sleep.

Nati/Nico/Santi: Yes/ok dad.

Me: Thanks!

30 seconds later…

Nati/Nico/Santi: screaming and running around the house chasing each other.

Me (to myself an looking at Becca): What the fuck…

Rinse and Repeat all weekend long….

So needless to say, come Sunday my patience had a very short fuse. I was quick to snap. I think in a way I thought I was trying to stop things from escalating but I don’t think it worked and my lack of patience was definitely the only thing escalating at a fast rate.

Sunday night I went to bed frustrated. A little disappointed at the kids. Monday morning rolled in and Nati and Nico were at it again in the AM. I called them out as they ran by me down the hall. They turned around and I gave them the evil eye… They got it. They knew I was mad and headed over to the table to eat their breakfast.

In most cases, I would’ve chucked that one on the “W” column… however, the sad look they had on their face when they realized Grumpy McGrumpy was at it again and interrupted their fun was not what I wanted to get in return. That moment I realized that in those moments I become the “no fun” dad and even less impressive, the “He’s mad at us, we are going to get in trouble” dad. And THAT one sucks. I don’t want to be the parent they “fear”, I want to be the rational dad that can work everything out with his kids. It was not a good feeling.

That same morning. Before any of that went down. Becca had sent me an article she read at 6am that morning while feeding the babies. Her timing couldn’t have been better. It was such a great eye opening and reminder that kids are just kids and that I need to learn to “chill” more and expect less from them. I should only expect them to be kids. Not little adults. Especially Nati.

Here is the article: http://www.scarymommy.com/the-burden-being-firstborn/

So, I admit it. My QB Rating sucked this past weekend. The good news is that I get a chance to make up for it every single day of my life and you can be sure I will give it my best shot. I will never be 100% but I will work my ass off to get as close to it as possible. I have 5 amazing reasons to do so.

God Bless.

And of course… here are some cute pics/video of the kiddos in action. 🙂

Downhill competition – Home Style from Andres Leguizamon on Vimeo.

8 weeks – Babies Update

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Last Monday, the babies had their 8-week check up. I know, 8 weeks already! Time seems to be flying faster than usual… probably because we are always on the go, never a quiet moment around the house these days…

The great news is that we continue to be blessed with very healthy babies. That is the most important thing and I thank God every night for protecting our kiddos and keeping them healthy. Other than a small eye infection on Alejandro’s left eye, everything else has been great.

Here are their 8-week stats:

Emilio:

Weight: 7lb 14oz.

Height: 20.8in

Head Circumference: 37.3cm.

Alejandro:

Weight: 7lb 13oz.

Height: 20.8in

Head Circumference: 37.5cm.

As you can see, they are growing very similar to each other and let me tell you, telling them apart these days is getting harder and harder… I thought that as they grew up they would start developing certain differences… Nope, not these kids! They’ve decided to make things harder by looking more alike every day!! Thankfully, we still have Ale’s big toe painted blue to make sure when in doubt… but man! we need to come up with other alternatives or new “tells”…

Another fun fact is that although they have been growing nicely, even after 8 weeks they have not yet reached our other kids’ birth weight. Nati and Santi were 8.3lbs and Nico was 9.1lbs!! I know! we make BIG babies :)… You would never know judging by Nico’s petite figure… although Santi’s robust figure would give it up ;).

Emi and Ale have become more alert, they spend more time awake and have started to recognize faces and smile :). Their favorite place is the double boppy where they chill and nap. They also love to be held and have been enjoying some tummy time.

We are 8 weeks in and we could not be any happier as a family. It seems the joy and challenges the babies have brought into our lives have gotten us closer together as our team of 7. We are certainly a blessed and Happy Number 7.

Chilling at the Doctor’s office.

Waiting to be measured.

Chilling with Santi.

It’s so cute how much they love each other.

Tummy time turned into hug time!

The babies are here! – How our other kids welcomed our new additions and the “Twins” phenomenon.

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Besides the crazy rush we went through to deliver Emilio and Alejandro, (ok never mind it wasn’t THAT crazy) having twins seems to be a “novelty” and one you need to navigate carefully so everyone involved feels loved, cared for and important. Especially when you have 3 more kids to worry about!! 🙂

Going into this we knew we had our work cut out for us to make sure Nati, Nico and Santi were going to be ok with the arrival of two more babies into their lives. And not just 2 more babies… twins! Identical twins! Whoa! A phenomenon of its own! Since this is our 4^th rodeo, we kind of think we know what we are doing. We’ve dealt with “sibling displacement syndrome” (I totally just made that up) twice already and feel like we succeeded at it. But this is a different ball game ladies and gentlemen, this is twins. This is the “I want to dress them up the same and make them look so cute” game. This is the “Oh my God you have twins! How cute! Tell me all about it!” type of game. And because of this, I/we need to step up our game and say “Hey! Thank you, yes! They are twins (yet they are individuals… oh boy.. that’s another thing we’ll deal with) but check this out! We have 3 other kids who are amazing!! Yes, we are Catholic (very non-practicing) but that is not why we have so many… And these are their names AND they are awesome because they do this and this and this…

And don’t get me started with the looks we’ll get… and my struggle to hold back my desire to punch or say something to those I can tell who are judging us… This is definitely another post/rant. 🙂

So, because of all of the above and a ton more, we tried our hardest to make sure Nati, Nico and Santi felt not only special, but also so they could feel that everything was normal and their world was not turned upside down because Emi and Ale had arrived…

In an effort to do this and due to the timing of their arrival (one day before Nati’s 6^th birthday), my schedule was out of whack the first couple of days… trying to juggle being at the hospital to support Becca and tending to the newborns while still maintaining “normality” in everyone else’s lives!

This is sort of what Monday night and Tuesday looked like.

Monday 7:49PM: Welcome babies to the world.

Monday around 9pm: Nati, Nico and Santi come meet their new baby brothers. 🙂

Monday 9:30pm: I leave with the kiddos to put them to bed at home (about 25 mins away)

Monday 11pm: I head back to Hospital

Monday 11:30PM – Tuesday 6am: tend to newborns as needed. “Slept” in a very uncomfy chair.

Tuesday 6am: Get up and head home.

Tuesday 6:30 – 7:30am: Get showered, pack Santi’s lunch, wake up kiddos, get them ready for school.

Tuesday 7:40 – 9am: Drive Nati and Nico to school. Then drop off Santi at daycare and head back to Hospital.

Tuesday 9-11am: Tend to newborns and Becca as needed.

Tuesday 11am: Head out to Target to get cupcakes for Nati’s birthday and get lunch for Nati and Nico.

Tuesday 11:45 – 12:30pm: Brought cupcakes to Nati’s class, they sang to her, went to get Nico from his class and had lunch all together! I loved all of it. 🙂

Tuesday 1pm – 2:45pm: Back at the hospital.

Tuesday 2:45 – 3:45pm: Head out to pick up Nati and Nico from school and back to the hospital.

Tuesday 3:45 – 5pm: at the hospital.

Tuesday 5 – 5:45pm: Head out to pick up Santi from daycare and back to the hospital. We had dinner at the hospital.

Tuesday 8:30pm: Took all 3 kids home to put them in bed and once asleep, I went back to the hospital.

Rinse and repeat.

Phew…. That was ONE CRAZY DAY! But those are the sacrifices we needed to make for our kids to make sure their lives were “normal”. I would do it again if I had to (oh wow.. just jinxed myself… just kidding, we took care of that AND I probably will go double whammy and go in for my vasectomy too).

Besides all the crazy things we had to go through, the kiddos LOVED their new baby brothers. They wanted to see them at all times, they wanted to hold them, feed them and kiss them. Santi (our 2 year old) was the only one that was uneasy around them… as if they were too little and he was afraid of breaking them. Emilio and Alejandro couldn’t be loved any more by their sister and brothers. And now that it has been 2 weeks, I can honestly say no one has felt “displaced” or not loved. Heck, we do try hard and make a conscious effort so that everyone feels “special”- as parents each of the kids holds a special place in our hearts.

I am so proud of my Nati, Nico and Santi and so appreciative of how welcoming and loving they’ve been to Emi and Ale. It makes me smile to think about all the love they share and all the amazing memories they will build together. We are so excited about our adventure. It has only been 2 weeks and I would not change a single second.

We are seriously Happy Number 7. 🙂

To Party or Not to Party?… That is/was the question.

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I wish this post was about Becca and I partying… that has not and will not be happening for a while.. but our day will come..

Nati’s birthday is at the end of this month.. she is turning 6! Holy cow… where has the time gone? I know it is the biggest cliché, but man, time does fly, they grow fast… too fast for my taste. I absolutely LOVE everything we’ve experienced with Nati and everything she has taught us. Being the oldest kid, she has been the one that has opened our eyes to so many things and has helped us grow as parents. She has been the “manual” for our other kids, and truth be told, a huge role model for Nico and Santi.

Anywho I digress as always…

Being that Becca is as pregnant as pregnant can get, and that the 38 weeks mark is on 2/6, we did not know whether we should even consider throwing a party for Nati. The uncertainty of what could happen does not really leave much room for “reliable plans” but, after sitting down and evaluating how Becca was feeling and how the pregnancy was going and talking with Nati, we decided it was best if we did organize a party for her. We had to plan..and quickly! I seriously bought the invitations that night, reserved the place the next day, and distributed the invitations 2 days later. Yes, we have all guests on standby in case I need to send a mass text from the hospital with party cancellations 🙂 but we are moving forward with it. We are also going to keep it simple, not a whole lot of prepping and stressing the night before: simple games, pizza (delivery) and cake.

It has been a big year for Nati so we wanted to celebrate it. She started Kindergarten and is doing great, she showed great improvement in her gymnastics and ballet skills (as seen here), she learned how to ride a bike without training wheels (read here), she learned how to read (this should’ve topped the list :)) and she has continued to be an amazing little girl full of love, compassion and joy. How can you not celebrate!?! Hehe. And of course, we do not want the anticipated delivery of the twins to lessen the importance of her special day!

The theme she chose for her party is “doggies”. Definitely not a whole lot of activities planned that are “dog related” but at least her cake, plates, cups, etc will include dogs. We invited her classmates and a couple other friends and are hoping for another gorgeous Florida day so we can play games outside and simply let the kids be kids. My aim: keep a permanent smile on my baby girl and try for both kids and adults to have a great time. (adult beverages provided of course. #thatisagiven)

So… we are partying!!! At least we are planning on it.

Cheers to the unpredictable future, flash party planning and happiness all around!

Nati loving on our almost 10 year old black lab Sammy.

Parenting: A team sport.

Life Reflections Parenting multiples Pregnant with Twins

This is true regardless of the number of kids you have– whether it is 1 or 5! Of course, the more kids you have the more “complex” the job could get but luckily, the more “seasoned” you are. The team chemistry has developed and the team (mom and dad) have a good idea what to do to get the job done.

This certainly applies at our house, in parenting and in life. It works differently for everyone so I am not trying to say that what we do is “the best method” (not even close)… it is just what “works” for us. Just like when it comes down to finances, for some couples a joint account is the best option, for others it’s not.

At the end of the day, we know what tasks need to be taken care of (dinner, lunch for the kids, laundry, cleaning up after the kids, getting ready for school, getting ready for night time, etc). At home, we don’t have assigned responsibilities so it really becomes a “you do this while I do that” approach. And it works. I am glad because it could be an overwhelming ordeal! We have a good team. 🙂 We work together to complete tasks, maintain a sense of balance, maintain our sanity (for the most part) and the kids are always being watched and taken care of. Also, as they grow up, they are given more responsibility and become an integral part of the team.

Oh yeah, there are days when we feel we could recruit an army to watch our kids AND still not get the job done. Sometimes when all the planets are out of whack and all 3 kids are in the “I am going to make my parents life impossible today” mood, it feels as if nothing works! It feels like a “I am going to pour me some scotch and hide for hours while I remind myself that this too shall pass” kind of day! 😉

So, hats off to single mothers and single fathers. I honestly have NO idea how you do it and how you manage to raise good kids and maintain your sanity while holding a job. Parenting has got to be one of the most challenging tasks (and of course THE most rewarding as well) and I cannot imagine doing it without my partner. I am grateful for my team.

Cheers to parenting teams! Cheers to family. Cheers to making it “work”. Whatever it takes. 🙂