Lisbon Mama

A portuguese mom parenting two

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Pictures at last


Here is the bride




















Me



















SIL the nun with my outfit



















Younger SIL



















SIL the dentist



















R as a flower girl

Monday, October 23, 2006

The Wedding (pictures tomorrow)


It went quite well actually. I’ll divide this up in parts so I don’t forget anything:

1 – The ceremony
The ceremony was beautiful. It started a little late if you ask me. 5.30 pm in late October is practically dark and with the rainy weather and all… well, it should’ve started an hour earlier. Anyway, they looked really happy; the priest, who knows my SIL since she was a kid, said some beautiful things and even spoke directly to my niece for a few minutes, which was really nice.
Mariana (my niece) wanted to sit with her mom the whole time and when she asked her to sit with grandma for a while she stared crying. Poor kid, it must be confusing for her. But then she had to read a prayer right after the vows and she couldn’t reach the speaker and P got up and went to lift her up … it was really sweet of him and I think it made her feel better.

2 – The outfits
SIL the bride looked great. I didn’t love the dress but it looked good on her (she’s lost some weight) and her hair and makeup were perfect. And she looked happy and that makes all the difference.
The flower girls’ dresses were ok. That’s about all I can say about them.
SIL the dentist wore black dress pants and a green top and she looked great, thank God. The SIL who got married in June was also beautiful and everyone commented on how thin and pretty she looked. SIL the nurse wore a pink pant suit she borrowed from me (again) and looked good, as always. The youngest SIL looked stunning, in a black and red dress. And me… well, my youngest BIL’s comment was “too much purple” but I’ll let you guys decide when you see the pictures.

3 – The reception
Because the ceremony was so late, and because the reception venue was a 45 minute drive, it started really late. But it went well. My in-laws were honestly happy. I guess they were relieved that this soap opera is finally over and they both smiled the whole time. Mariana was hysterical and she even cried a little when P put a little girl next to the bride and groom on top of the cake. All in all, it was a good day.

4 – The aftermath
I guess the family has been so stressed out about this wedding; it’s as if a huge weight was lifted. The last few weeks were really awkward, with everyone questioning whether P had actually moved out or not (remember, that was the deal so that he could come meet the in-laws), and Mariana throwing a tantrum every 10 minutes, and P coming over to my in-laws all the time… it was just a tough couple of weeks and it’s finally over. Things can go back to normal now.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Happy birthday(s)


Today is my birthday. And Wednesday was Manel’s birthday. And I didn’t even write anything about it. I am a bad bad blogger. And lately I’ven also been a bad bad mommy, which is way worse. When I got home on Wednesday I hadn’t seen M in 3 days (I come to work before he wakes up and come home after he’s asleep) and he cried because the nanny left. You can imagine how that felt right? Not good.

Oh, and remember the trip to Madrid? The much needed vacation? Cancelled for work reasons. Well, not cancelled, but postponed, which by now sounds exactly the same to me. I’m so tired.

Anyway, things seem to have calmed down a little for now, but I don’t want to be too optimistic. And tomorrow is the Big Wedding. I promise I will find time to write a long funny post about it.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Excuses and more excuses


I’m sorry I’ve been such a bad blogger lately but this is a very complicated month. We had our 5th anniversary last Friday, this Friday is older BIL’s birthday and Sunday younger BIL’s birthday. Then next week it starts all over again, with M’s birthday on Wednesday and mine on Friday (and my sister’s obviously). SIL’s wedding is on Saturday the 21st, then my nephew’s first birthday is on the 27th and ZM’s 30th birthday is on 29th. Honestly, October is the most complicated month of the entire year and I’m already exhausted.

Anyway, we had our anniversary last Friday. We went to this really fancy restaurant, which was also really good, and then rented a movie and went home. It was a nice calm evening but just what I needed.
Things at work have been hectic and I worked the last two weekends, so I’m absolutely exhausted (I’ve said that before haven’t I? Sorry, no time to proof read). I’ve been having 6 to 10 expressos a day and I can feel the Chron’s starting to flare up (stress is definitely what causes the crisis). So we decided to take a few days off and will be going to Madrid for 5 days in November, after all the birthdays and anniversaries and weddings. My boss wasn’t too happy with this but even he can see how much I need it.

I’ll try to post more often but I have a feeling October will not be a busy month on this blog. Sorry.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

The picture, at last


Can you believe I only found one picture of my SIL! And it’s an old picture from our wedding, 5 years ago, with my niece. Anyway, here it is

Monday, October 02, 2006

The Wedding - Season 2, Episode VII


Wow, it’s been awhile hun? Things have been hectic at work and I spent the weekend at the office so no time to post anything. I will have to write a long work-related update one of these days but it’ll have to be sometime next week.

Anyway, last Friday we finally had the big event (read the engagement dinner). SIL ended up inviting P’s mom, his dad and his dad’s girlfriend and 3 of P’s half-sisters. You can not imagine how uncomfortable my in-laws were with this party but I think they were actually great, very polite and nicer than I would’ve expected. It was awkward at first, of course, but it ended up being a nice evening. We did skip the traditional speech, in which P would have asked SIL’s hand in marriage to FIL. It just seemed like too much and I’m glad he decided not to do it.

The wedding is in 3 weeks and then finally this family will be back to normal (or their kind of normal anyway). Not much longer now!

Tomorrow I’ll be away on a business trip but I promise to try to post a picture of SIL on Wednesday.