Our vacations disaster and memories of a lifetime. Part 2

It sure was raining. I do not remember seeing this much rain in my life.

Every 4th of July celebration was cancelled, and really, there was nothing to do! So, we decided to go home. Anthony was devastated! He had been waiting for the beach vacation since last August, when we came back from Mexico!
I really wanted him to remember something good, though. That is why we decided to do the dolphins encounter anyway. They do not cancel because of the rain, just in case of thunder storms, which wasn't the case.

Here are the pictures. Looking at those you'll see why $200 totally worth it. It was amazing! I strongly recommend any kid do that!

Our vacations disaster and memories of a lifetime.

I am a planner. I keep "to do" lists for work, for home, for myself. They can be yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily. Some think it's nuts. but I love it. It really keeps me on track.
Sooooo, on January 19th I booked our July Florida vacations. Anthony's birthday is July 3rd, so we decided to go ahead and go to the beach for his birthday week.

My big boy's Birthday wish was "to swim with the dolphins". I was kind of glad that he made an "experience" choice rather than more toys. It is expensive, but he wanted it so bad, that we said "yes". As if we had a choice LOL. I found a place in Panama City Beach that is right across the street from the Gulf World Marine Park . Anthony was over the moon! For about a month before our trip they continuously played a radio commercial about "The biggest fireworks show on the Gulf Coast". He could not wait. Neither could we.

Everything went wrong. While driving to PCB, we were pulled over and got a speeding ticket. I was like "wow, way to start vacations!" But we decided not to think about it and think only about the beach.
When we got to the hotel, we were given our keys to find out that our room was on the ground floor right by the pool. Many would think of it as an advantage, but not me. As I have previously mentioned, I had booked this trip on January 19th through BookIt.com and in "special requests" field I put "no ground floor, please!!!!!!!" I was so frustrated! The girl at the reception was very apologizing, she said that the hotel never got this request from Bookit. Nice job, guys! We had no choice but to go to the room. When we got there, I was sure it wasn't going to work. The street level is on the 3rd floor of the hotel. So, not only we had to go 2 floors down every time, but also it was so loud from the pool, that I immediately knew I wouldn't have a nice stay. Mind you, I am 5 months pregnant and I do need some rest from time to time. If it was a last minute booking, I would just shut up and take it. But the fact that I made a special request half a year ago, made me so mad, that I decided to fight. They finally moved us to a room on the 3rd floor. It was a smoking room, but surprisingly, it didn't smell like smoke at all, so we were OK with it.

After changing really quickly we went to the beach. If I only knew it would be my last opportunity to see it! Anyway, Anthony had a blast. He got 4!! water guns for his Birthday, and refused to return any of them back to the store. So, him and my hubby were playing in the waves, while I was relaxing in the evening sun. Here are some pictures

As you can see, our first night was wonderful.
The next day was Anthony's Birthday. We woke up to some noise and at first I thought there was something wrong with the A/C. Nothing was wrong, though. It was rain. I mean, I had been to Florida so many times before, that I knew, it couldn't last long. I kept telling myself, that it would be over after breakfast and we can spend a great day on the beach. Boy, was I wrong!
The rain didn't stop.
It was raining and raining and raining.
To be continued.

He is so happy

My Great News

I am pregnant.

See, I haven't posted for such a long time. I thing I haven't been breathing for such a long time! After the miscarriage last November I was so scared. But now, at 13 weeks I am happy to announce that we're expecting a baby girl. You're wondering how could I know the baby's sex so early? Well, I did Harmony pre-natal test. It's mind blowing what science can do nowadays. It's a pretty new test, been on the market for about 2 years and is covered by most insurances. The test came back normal, and as a perk they told me that I am having a girl.

Needless to say, first thing I did, I bought her a pair of shoes. Pink with embroidered flowers. So cute!!! I need to stop, we don't need to go bankrupt before she's even born lol.

Anyway, I am feeling great. Have lost 10 lb, but the doctor was OK with that, since I was on the heavier side to begin with.

I will post later, gotta run to the vet. Oh, yeah, we got a kitty! LOL full house now.

Love my life. Thank you, God!

Time for myself (dry skin)

After I became a mommy I found that it's really hard to find some time for myself. Always busy, running errands, going to work, doing homework - where to find time? Well, Mondays are my days off, and I decided that these are going to be days for just myself. And today, I am going to do some research about dry skin.

My skin was always on the dryer side, but lately it has been ridiculous. It looks dehydrated and old. I must've been doing something wrong with my daily regiment! Ok, let's look at my day.


* Hot shower in the morning. It is my absolute favorite part of every morning! I like steamy showers, they help me relax. Apparently, hot water strips oils from the skin faster than warm water. Long showers or baths actually dry out your skin. Boo! I can't skip hot water, I would rather make my showers shorter!

* Moisturizer. I have tried so many! Spent too much money without finding the one that would actually help! But just last night I came across this interesting article about the use of olive oil. It described the Mediterranean women who used virgin olive oil for everything - face, hair , body. I do, too, prefer extra virgin olive oil for my cooking, so this morning I was like "why not give it a try?". Let me tell you!!! I love it! I put some olive oil on a cotton ball and pat it on my driest spots  (which is my whole face, except for my nose). It feels so soft! But I can kind of smell it. Maybe it'll be my night regiment from now on.



there's a great website about olive oil. If you have a minute, click on it, it's very informative! Olive Oil Top
Oh, and another thing about moisturizers - they work best if you apply them within three to five minutes of washing to lock moisture in.

* Hydration. This should be a no brainer!  Drink your water! I recently quit soda, so I do drink a lot of water lately. So, we'll see.
* Your cleanser. A lot of people do not realize that using wrong cleanser may actually ruin their skin! That is me, as well. I am so used to my cleanser that I've been using for many years, that I didn't realize it's not for me anymore! My skin was normal when I started using it, and since my skin changed to dry, it's time to change my cleanser as well!
In Style magazine named Cerave Hydrating Skin Cleanser as  the best dry skin cleanser of 2012. It is soap-and fragrance-free, has milky formula and is only  $13! I guess, I'll try it!

I would love to know what other mommies do to fight skin dryness! Please feel free to share! 

One Million Kisses

That's how much I love you, my SONshine!

Have you ever thought how many things in this life we take for granted? Every day, every minute, every single moment is a Blessing. We breath and that is a gift!

I recently came across a letter that a Mom wrote for her Son's 14th birthday. It would be just an ordinary letter, but her SONshine didn't live to be 14. He got his angel wings just a couple of months before his Birthday.

I was crying the moment I started reading the letter. But one phrase is still burning a hole in my heart. It said: "My baby boy... if I had known we would only have 14 years together, I would have cradled you and kissed you endlessly every single day". 

How sad is that? How sad that we sometimes are "too busy" and do not have time to stop. Stop and look around you. Your baby, no matter how old he is, is the greatest gift God has given to you. And you never know how much time you have together. SO,Take your time to love them, take your time to kiss them, take your time to tell them how much you love them. Take your time to thank God for having them! 

Imagine waking up one morning and not having anything you haven't thanked God for........

I am back!

It has been so long since I posted anything here. So many things happened - good and bad. Time flew so fast, and here we are - at the very end of February. Craaaazy!

This summer we went to Cancun, Mexico for vacations. Fun!!! My SONshine absolutely loved it! We stayed at a very family friendly all-inclusive resort with a Kids' Club. It was amazing! Anthony is the only child, and very often chooses me as a playmate. But not in Cancun. He made so many friends there! As for us, adults, what can be better than spending time under the sun, drinking beers and knowing our child is safe AND having fun! Definitely doing this again (not this summer, but may be next)

Our highlight of the fall/winter season was my mom's visit. She was with us for 5 months (leaving February 28th). Only having her here helped me cope with the miscarriage I had in November.
That wasn't something that we planned, but we all were very excited when 3!! tests showed us 2 solid red lines. Of course, I was a bit concerned, because of my age (I will be 37 in August), but a lot of people I know had kids later than that. I still do not know what happened, but I lost the baby. It was very sad, but somehow I got over it. You know, God has a plan for everyone. I do believe that that happened for a reason.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.