London Marathon

Tio Ashish ran the London Marathon this morning in a time of 2:38:12

We are very proud of him!!

Work- update

In January I applied for the LIS-Learning Instructor Supervisor. Since then I had been doing office hours, "training" with the LIS who was leaving, and helping out with the transition. I never thought I had the job for sure since they were looking for someone full-time and I can't work full time for 2 reasons 1- Nico starts daycare in July and 2-my Berlitz teaching schedule is really PACKED due to the lack of teachers for the next 6 weeks...and so If I got the position, they would need to replace me in the programs(and there is no one to replace me).

A couple days ago (WEDNESDAY), while at the office, IN PASSING, the director just mentioned...that I was no longer being considered for the position.

Yesterday was my last day at Berlitz (in the office)--a little sad for me. As I walked out, I got a simple--articulated Thank You from the director, who was on the phone and couldn't put the person on Hold for a second to SAY Bye. I know that I made a difference while I was there for the teachers and the students especially--I wasn't asking for a goodbye party or a parade, just for a simple...we are going to miss you or thanks for all the work you did to make OUR lives easier--Maybe that's too much to ask for.

Unfortunately, in the time I was there, I saw things that I didn't really like but I was willing to work anyway because I knew that I could improve upon those aspects and potentially FIX those things. However, in the end, it's better that I didn't get the job, cause it wasn't the right place for me.

I need to be somewhere that is looking for a hardworking self-motivated employee who takes opportunities to improve the environment around--not just focus on completing the minimum requirements in the job description. I want to work at a place that expects their employees to think outside the box, be creative, and really believe in the overall mission of the company.

I am a loyal, hard worker who doesn't take extended bathroom breaks or continually text- messages with friends during time that I'm being PAID to work. I work efficiently and quickly to do as much as I can and be as HELPFUL and PRODUCTIVE as possible.

While at the center, I went beyond my duties to assist other employees and students and tried to organize and update files & information to improve the activity flow of the center in General. I created a google group for the teachers to interact, exchange experiences, and connected to other teachers at the center (since most teachers don't even know who the other teachers at the center are--due to the varying schedules). I also proposed, set up , and prepared a "Conversational Session" Project for students so that they could practice their target languages outside the "classroom setting" at a restaurant.

But anyhow...What I can take from this experience and this time? (i'm gonna try to keep these as positive as possible)

• organization makes a WORLD of difference.
• BAND-AIDs as a SHORT-term fix can lead to HEMORRHAGING in the LONG-term
• some people notice when you care and listen honestly.
• NOT all companies have HIGH expectations, some just want to GET BY.
• My high school cross-country shirt from freshman year said "Hard work is the minimum expected not the maximum". Unfortunately--that work ethic wasn't instilled in EVERYONE who has a job--Some people just sneak through the system--and manage to keep their jobs.

So for the next 6 weeks i'll still be working for Berlitz, teaching part-time, an FBI program and at the New Zealand Consulate, but hopefully after that, I'll have found something else--more regular, with a different company.

Today I took care of one of Nico's friends, Andreas. He got here at 7:45am. We have had a great time. We played, went for a stroll in the double bike trailer, ate yummy snacks, played in the "sandbox", and are currently taking a nap! It took a while to get them (namely Nico) down, i'm not gonna lie--that part was hard. But the rest was smooth sailing. I wouldn't mind hanging out with these little men on a regular basis... Patty (Nico's sitter) has it made! She's in the right business.

I'm not back at square one--but pretty close to it...hahaha,lol. Any Ideas???

15 months old!

Happy 15 months Pumpkin Head!

From 1104 Laundry-Tomas's Bday

At 11am I realized that I had left the house this morning without wishing my BABY a happy GOLDEN birthday! His next golden birthday will be when he turns 15 years old!!

I am such a proud momma. I will post later about my work situation but I was telling Peter yesterday that it wouldn't be FAIR if my work situation had worked out since I have EVERYTHING else-- A beautiful, smart amazing, lovable baby head and husband, lots of mommy/baby friends, I live in a breath-taking place(except for crazy Jerry Springer neighbors), I am able to run and I'm improving everyday--inching closer to the runner with-in, i have close friends both near and really FAR, and a supportive and loving family (who is waiting for us with open arms for Easter next weekend).

Nico's Stats for 15 months will be filled in on Monday after his 15month check up =).

Motor Skills- He has really started to pick up the sign-language thing! He signs for LECHE, MAS, DIAPER, CHANGE, and his latest--LAVA (for washing his hands). Peter has really done a great job with Nico and being consistent with the different signs. MY BABY IS SO SMART--but i guess every mom thinks so, right, lol. On another note, he is really good a dribbling the soccer ball---especially down the hallway. He's got the walking thing down! He is even trying to figure out the running thing now--YAYYY!

Language skills- Nico has always been every vocal. Great with the baby talk, even carrying on with his own conversations--in his own language. BUT NOW---WE HAVE WORDS: We have BALL and what seems to be CAR.

Teeth- YES more are coming out still! He has 12 completely out and 1 or 2 creeping out.

Sleeping habits: Sleeping through the night unless he pees too much and it leeks out of his diaper...and onto his clothes, and wakes him up! Peter and I have been very pround of the fact that we have gotten our child on somewhat of a schedule...especially since we were and still are the most un-monotonous, schedule following people. But for the sake of our since, we have made it a point to respect his bedtime schedule and his NAP schedule (for the most part, hahaha).

Eating habits: he has gotten a little pickier and less focused when it comes to eating. But he looks ADORABLE when he chews on those chicken nuggets and string cheese (2 of his favorite things right now).

Other updates:

• He really LOVES BALLOONS. It is almost an unhealthy obsession that I need to keep an eye on, lol.
• He LOVES sharing, to the point that he almost SHOVES food and toys into other kids and people's faces....but at least it's better than having a little selfish brat--hahaha.
• He is very sensitive. He really gets his feelings hurt and still curls his lip like he did when he was an ity-bitty baby. These days, however, it no longer shakes like it used to. But it still crumbles my heart.
• He is very independent. Actually only needs me to fill his bottle with milk--if he could reach the milk in the fridge, he'd probably ask me to move out of HIS apartment, J/K! But for real, he wants to do everything BY HIMSELF.
• He is REALLY CURIOUS. I know i've said this before, but he is really interested in seeing HOW things work. His fine motor skills are really well developed for his age.
• We've been practicing MAMA and DADA- So when I say MAMA I point at myself and when I say Nico I point at him. Recently, he's been saying MAMA and he points at himself---because that's what I've been doing...hahaha. IT'S SO CUTE I want to bite his finger off...I'm really just kidding.

From 1104 the stelzer's VISIT!

What else can I say! I love this little man!

From 1104 Laundry-Tomas's Bday

Happy 15 Months mi Rey!

Everyday things: Running and Laundry

Running is an everyday thing for us here...or at least we're trying to get back into that routine...lol. Sometimes (very rarely) I run alone, like I did this past weekend. Sometimes I run with Peter and Nico. But MOST of the time its me and NICO!

From 1104 Run with Andreas

A couples times in the past 15 months I've run with other mommas---actually I've only run with 3 mommas, Laurel and Julia-in Austin at Town Lake and Lenora, here in LA. Running with other moms is great cause you have a lot of cool things to talk about and they also understand if you need to stop and let your kid out for breaks. The tricky thing about running with other moms is that there are 2 little ones to please; timing is KEY for these kinds of things. FLAT, QUIET, LOW-TRAFFIC, SHADY, and WIDE roads or routes are ideal.

Flat: So that the ride is a smooth as possible for the little pumpkin that's riding inside. This means...avoiding SIDE WALKS. Those ups and downs each block can get really old, really fast.

Quiet: So that if the child actually falls asleep, they aren't abruptly awakened. Even if they're not, it's just nicer, more enjoyable for all parties involved.

Low-Traffic: Safety first! Low-traffic means less chance of getting run off the road by a crazy driver. It also means that you can run on the road vs sidewalks which can possibly mean less ups and downs.

Shady: So that if you're baby isn't sleeping, the sun doesn't upset them IF they happen to look RIGHT INTO IT!

Wide: So that you can fit your momma friend next to you to have somewhat normal convos instead of screaming infront or behind you, potentially, over a crying baby.

**But your lucky if you have maybe 2 of those listed above at any one time. Once you find a route with all 5---you'll probably never run anywhere else again.

Fortunately we had a Flat, mostly wide, low traffic path on our route with Andreas and Lenora.

Unfortunately we caught Andreas at a not-so-good time the other day. Poor little guy, he was really mad at us for taking him on a run, by the beach, on a BEAUTIFUL sunny southern california day...lol. Instead of running the planned 6 miles, we ran 4 and hit up a couple of the parks along the way to let the kiddos play.

Mommies and babies on runs are apparently a spectacle around here. That one day we got at least 8 comments--"way to go Mommas; Go get it; Good job".....and others along those lines.

I know Nico had fun, but I hope he doesn't get any ideas. I've been really proud of him. He has always been good in the stroller, but recently, even better....I know i'm lucky that Nico is such a great running partner =).

Here is the link if you don't see the slidshow below.

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Laundry we don't do as often as my mother would like but we procrastinate a little since the laundry room is a bit of a hike since its in the garage of the next building.

Here is a picture of the most adorable ASSISTANT EVER--even though he does make doing laundry a little more challenging!

From 1104 Laundry-Tomas's Bday

WEEKEND FUN, Visitors, Toma's Party

Most recent Family Portrait:

From 1104 Laundry-Tomas's Bday

We had a lot of activities this weekend---more than the usual hecticness.

I'll start with Friday-

We biked over to Happy Hour in Santa Monica to meet with my friend Brittany Love from UF and Tio Charlie. Brittney and her husband (Ryan) just moved here a couple weeks ago.

It was great catching up.

Saturday I ran 8miles while Peter got the bikes ready for our tour with Logan---who is in town for a couple days for work (NI).

The bike ride was lots of fun...and I caught most of it on camera. We all planned on going out but Logan and Charlie bailed...cause they were too tired. We ended up meeting up with Brittany and Ryan---AND HAD AN AWESOME TIME at a little CLUB in Venice.

From 1104 Logan's visit-Nikki's night out

Check out the pictures here if you don't see the slideshow below .

Sunday was a LONG DAY, LOADED with Fun and Friends:

Early Sunday morning we had Tomas' Birthday Party. We got to meet some new little ones, meet a NEW PARK in our area, sing happy birthday, and eat some yummy food! Nico played chase with a little boy name John, went exploring around the park with Peter, and played with buckets and the other kids before he went down for a nap.

From 1104 Laundry-Tomas's Bday

Check out the pictures here if you don't see the slideshow below.

Laurel, Tim, and MILE'S visit

After the party, I went to pick up the Stelzer Family at LAX!!! We hung out around the apartment, in the sand box at our complex, went for a little bike tour with the two kiddos in the bike trailer, had a great dinner, and then I sent them on their LONG journey back to their temp. home!

Nico had his first play date ever with Miles. In August, Nico's Playmate and my running buddy left to Malaysia and we haven't seen them since. Because Laurel keeps a great blog, we have kept tabs on all the things that they have been up to...so there was a strange, surreal, de ja vu, feeling when we were hanging out in person.

Here they are at 2 weeks old-Miles, and 3 weeks old- Nico.

Here they are at a playdate at Monica and Dylan's house in Austin--around 5months old.

This past weekend at 14months of age.

Nico and Miles took sharing to heart! Nico took a bite, offered it to Miles, and then fed it to him.

They also shared some milk and cheerios in the Bike Trailer as we toured the different parks in Venice:

I chatted with Laurel today and found out that Miles behaved great on the 10 hour flight to Hong Kong--sleeping 8 of those hours and then did well again on the last stretch of the trip to Penang. Glad to hear that their great trip ended so well.

It was so nice to hang out with such special and inspiring people. They're adventurous spirit re-energized Peter and I, reminding us to not be scared to embark on our own mini adventures.

Tim said it best: Having a child is like growing old. There are old people that are always complaining about the things that they used to be able to do, the energy they had, and all the things that were different-----And then there are those who physically age but are always young at heart, staying active, sharing their wealth of knowledge with others, and doing "a version" of what they have always loved to do; That's the type of parents that Tim and Laurel are--the well aging kind!

I look forward to seeing what other great places in the world our play-dates and friendship will take us.

Check out the pictures here if you don't see the slideshow below

FACE PAINTING

I've been on the phones with 10 stores in our area...LOOKING FOR FACE PAINT. After an hour of talking with Grumpy, NON-MORNING, WEEKEND EMPLOYEES, I finally found ELMER. He works a Party City and gave me the great news: YES we do have Water-based washable children's face-paints!

I'm waiting for Nico to get up from his nap or peter to get back from Surfing---which ever happens first to go get a FACE PAINTING KIT. You may be wondering why I need such a kit......WELL...yours truely will be painting faces at a 2yr old's Birthday party tomorrow!

I'm really excited. I have printed out different ideas: Dalmation, Batman, Butterfly, cat....just to name a few.
I'll let u know how it goes tomorrow!

Lots of Updates!

Sorry I havn't posted pictures of Nico in more than a week!

See all the other pictures here.

So last family update, I told you that I got a wet suit...and that I couldn't wait to use it, so I juped into the Marina that same day....Well I've used it 3 times since I bought it (a little over a week ago). LastTuesday, Peter and I got to swim a little in the Marina, right in front of our complex, so that I could practice and get a little stronger. Nico hung out with Patti, while mommy and daddy had a water date!It was SO MUCH FUN!!! And I still made it to class on time to Teach in Beverly Hills later that day.

The rest of the week flew by with everyday stuff...lol--Nico and I have a BUSY mommy/baby friend schedule!

Thursday Morning we went to Music Time at The Cow's End with mommy friend, Darin, and her daughter, Ryan. This Music session was SOOO much better than the others that we have been to at other places. The musicians sang and played songs from Bob Marley, the Beetles, U2, among other nursery rhymes in a cool---NON-creepy way! When we got back to the complex, we hung out with the kiddos by the pool. Alyssa and Lorena joined us there for some fun in the sun.

For Dinner later that day Peter, Nico and I went to Gaby's, the mediterranean place right next the Cow's End.

Friday Morning we went to the Venice Farmer's Market! It was so yummy. There we met up with Kate and Jordyn. We walked around for a little and Nico ate his breakfast while us mommies talked about USC's home track meet (scheduled for the following day).

During the day we hung out with a mommy friend, Lenora, and her son, Andreas who is a couple months older than Nico.

We ran to the park---THROUGH THE SAND along the beach, let the kiddos play around (and we tried to recover), and ran back to my apartment (on the pavement)---Total run: 4 1/2 miles. By the time we got back, Nico had fallen asleep in the stroller, so Lenora and Andreas got in the pool for a little and I just RELAXED. The pool was definitely a happening spot for kids a couple months old to about 12 years old. There were a couple extras tanning...but they just seemed out of place...lol. After the pool, we worked up an appetite and came upstairs for a yummy buffet. Nico and Andreas ate chicken nuggets and baby carrots =)....SO CUTE!

Later that afternoon we Biked with Peter to the Beach to watch him surf for a little. Nico and I played in the water...until my back literally ALMOST CRACKED from being bent over! Nico loved getting in the water....even though it was freezing. He especially loved when the waves were coming. He would get all excited and make really funny sounds. We biked to dinner after the beach...and ate scrumptious Pizza at a little place nearby.

Saturday Morning we went to the MDR run Club where we ran a 10k with the group after doing our own 1 mile warm up to the meet-up. We were the 3rd people to finish in the group...WITH NICO in the stroller =) so proud! We ran between 7:45 and 8:10 pace throughout the run, switching stroller duty.

During the day, Peter got some time to relax and catch up on work stuff while Nico and I went to COSTCO!!!

At night we invited another Mommy friend, Amparo, over with her two sons (2yrs and 5 months)and her husband for DINNER. Due to her work schedule, she can't meet with us and the other moms during the week, so we hadn't even had a chance to hang out in the last couple weeks, since the day we met! Charlie also came over.

I made a really yummy dinner: Spinach and Cheese, and Lobster and Cheese Ravioli's with my own Alfredo sauce and baked brie with strawberry preserves. Amparo brought a delicious dessert..which I didn't get to try (due to my lenten promise). We laughed a lot...but I can't really remember what about now...lol.

Sunday we went to the Main Street Farmer's Market for some snacks before heading to the Sunset Beach for the majority of the day.

I got a little guttsy and tried to swim out at HIGH TIDE, like if I knew what I was doing. Like Peter and Charlie like to say, I GOT ROCKED! No for real...my hands and knees were shaking. I don't think I'm quite ready for the open ocean just yet.

After I made it out...barely alive, the three of us hung out on the beach for some time while I regained control of my body. Peter and Charlie went out for a little while Nico and I went to pick up lunch and talked to Eneida--Peter's abuelita.

In the evening, we went to a Pot Luck that a Co-worker from Berlitz was hosting. We had a great time...and fit in just great thanks to Nico. There were a bunch of little munchskins running around. The funniest part of the evening was when the sales director said that he was very careful about what he feeds his 16 month old....they TRY TO give him every organic and WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS...hahaha. I almost lost it laughing but held my composure!

Monday we hung around here because I had some work to do before going to teach in the afternoon. But yesterday we went to a NEW Music Story-time right by our grocery store. There was a puppet show with monsters right next to a beautiful fountain! It was great. We're gonna try to make it to more of those!

Well that's my update! Of course there's always a million things going on here in our lives...but we're always trying to take time to keep you---who are reading this because you want to know what's up--updated.

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I want to give special shout out to CASH, HENRY, ISSAC, AND ARCHER--Nico's Austin friends who celebrated their 1 year birthday this past weekend!

We missed it but we were there in Spirit! You have all grown up to be such handsome, WELL BEHAVED, young one year old gentlemen! I'm sure you are all making ur mommies' very proud by just being ur cute little selves and reaching all the milestones that you have reached!

Congratulations on ur first BASH!!! I hope in 21 years you invite us to celebrate as well! =)

And to you mommies...

Dear Stephanie, Candy, Heather, and Bethany:

Congrats on making it to the 1 yr mark! Your babies are beautiful...which are a reflection of YOUR HARD WORK, YOUR UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, and PROOF of what AWESOME WOMEN YOU ARE! I'm so glad that I'm friends with you girls =).

Love, Valeria