Boricua en la Lima

He's always been a study in contrasts. Super sensitive yet tough as nails. Smart yet vulnerable. Independent yet attached. Loves his sister yet fights with her like crazy. Irritates the hell out of you yet you can't help but love him. Congrats on your 9th bday baby boy. I love you to Jupiter and back. I hope you find your place in this world, I hope you keep being as sensitive and loving as you have been for the past 9 years. I hope the world is everything you have hoped for. I hope...you continue to hope. P.S. I wish the picture wasn't as blurry but it's all I got! I'm actually a little bit sad that the last set of "good" pictures I took was Xmas 2016. Am I destined for that? To only take good pictures (like with an actual camera) on bdays and major holidays?

Gabi turned 9 last week. This year I decided to forego the huge birthday party production in favor of one of those places you pay to go to for a few hours, but it still ended up being a massive party-filled week. On Monday (the day before her birthday) I was literally sick to my stomach and could barely get out of bed the whole day. I attempted to go to work around noon just so I could get her a little something to open up on Tuesday morning (her big gift was an iPod which she had already gotten a month before) but I could barely stand up. That night she looked so sad that I was sick and kept asking me "Mom, are you going to be OK tomorrow for my birthday?".  She had already said weeks ago she wanted breakfast in bed (pancakes) so damnit if I wasn't going to get better by Tuesday morning so I could make her breakfast in bed (Jose had to help some cause I was weak and woozy but we did it).  It took me basically all week to recover my energy and appetite after being sick ...

Last weekend we got away for a mini vacation which was of course very stressful getting to but then was totally worth it given how crazy things have been here lately. We just basically hung out with friends the whole weekend, I haven´t seen all those folks in like 2 years so it was much needed for me. Here´s the girls and I singing a birthday song for our friend Graciela who brought us all together for her birthday and gave us a much needed excuse to get together! She planned a wedding-like fairy tale celebration and I think each one of us is feeling the withdrawals after spending so much time together. I am more exhausted than I was before I left but it was well worth it. Now back to reality and crunching away at work, trying to find my work-life balance and STILL (yes, STILL) waiting for our apartment to be ready. Soon, hopefully soon!  Oh, and please, the next time I complain about the Caribbean Sea smack me, it´s soooo much warmer and nicer than the Pacific Ocean!!! ...

This weekend we continued with the birthday celebrations for Gabi (and boy am I glad it's done!).  Friday we took TEN girls to the movie theater to see a local movie (partly Peruvian and partly Argentinian) about a mouse who needs to find a princesses' tooth in order to save his kingdom.  I got a mini van to take all the kids from school to the mall and then we brought them home to sing Happy Birthday to Gabi and have some cupcake before all the kids got picked up.  I was totally pooped by the end of the day but Gabi was so happy to share with her new friends from school. Saturday we had Sports Day at Gabi's school and then a family BBQ here at Jose's grandma's house to celebrate four family birthdays including Gabi's.  We had a great time with all the family and ate like champs, but boy was I glad to wake up Sunday morning and realize there were no more kids' birthday activities on the agenda! Sunday morning Gabi had her first marinera class and w...