In Less Than 16 hours....

In less than 16 hours, I will have guests in my house as we celebrate Alberto's 2nd Birthday.

The more I think about it, the more surreal it is. I planned a simple birthday party; very un-Miami-like. There are no characters (except for me of course); no bounce house; no ponies; no popcorn machine; no live entertainment; no catered buffet; no expensive decorations and well, not a huge guest list. A simple party with family and close friends to celebrate.

And now I exhale because let's face it, I can be impulsive and compulsive. So, I bought his party decorations off of Oriental Trading -- probably got a little more than we needed but that's okay. I got his piñata from a lady that does custom piñatas. I ordered his cake from the Publix bakery. I ordered the finger foods from Karla's Bakery. And then I headed to Party City to rent the helium tank.

The cleaning lady came to the house. The lawn is mowed. Alberto finally goes down for the night. It's time to play little elf and get the balloons inflated.

Um, that becomes a problem when you have an empty tank. So instead of going into panic state, I contacted Party City and they apologized and will have a tank available for me first thing in the morning (and here I thought I would be able to sleep in until 8am -- not a chance!).

The piñata is stuffed with enough candy, stickers and little toys for a small army -- did I mention this was a small party with maybe 8 kids coming? Everything is in its place waiting for the final set up. And I'm getting excited about celebrating Alberto's birthday!

It was 2 years ago, May 12th, that Alberto was born. It was 4 days later when this photo graph was taken and 2 more days before I received the first glance at my little Albertico.

A year later, he had been home for 3 months. Life as I knew it had changed forever. I would lie to you if I said there were no growing pains but I couldn't imagine my life without them and don't regret a single moment of them. He is the apple of my eye and the warmth in my heart.

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of him at his birthday party. My baby, turned into a toddler, and now he is a little man. He's full of energy and personality. He certainly keeps me on my toes and daily reminds me that there are more important things in life than the things I generally stress about. Okay, don't worry, I am not going to get too sappy!

Healthy Lifestyle Update: I am proud to announce that I have continued to be faithful to my desire to become a healthy person! I kicked the Diet Pepsi habit (although tonight when I learned the helium tank was empty I sort of wanted one but fortunately I don't have the temptation in my home). I have been eating pretty much all organic -- I am really wondering how to go frugal on organic. If anyone has suggestions, please let me know. My exercise sort of got a little side tracked this week with some home repairs that went into the late evening. But I am hoping to get back on track ASAP! I can say that I have lost 2 lbs; have pretty good energy -- not those slumps where I need something to pick me up; sleep pretty well and my skin is looking really bright and healthy. But that might be some of the new products I am playing with. All in all....Still being healthy. 2 lbs down, 18 to go!