HI all, we’ve had an exciting week as we boarded a plane to Barcelona, Spain last Saturday and got settled in here for a long visit with family and friends.

Here we are getting ready to take off. You’ll see our resident winker, aka Beckett, still up to his old tricks. (Is the guy between Hedley and I photobombing?)

Annaliese was most excited about her new ruffle sleep mask, which doubles as a head-band.

My older boys pitched in more than they have in the past. Here’s Hedley reading to the girls, their favorite Curious George. He got worn out after about two books, but it bought his mama about 10 minutes of down time.

Once settled, we headed to the grocery store. This shelf of dedicated American goodies made us homesick upon arrival. I couldn’t resist picking up the pancake mix.

Here we are on the balcony of our little rental apartment enjoying breakfast. The kids love to put their scrambled eggs onto their toast and they love the fruit here, which is flavorful and juicy.

With the kids playing tennis and swimming in a day camp around the corner, mom headed out to experience Bikram yoga Barcelona style. Unfortunately, here you don’t get the “party time” water break after the first set of exercise, and wiping your face with your towel is a huge NO NO. Practiced in a nearly identical way all over the world, Bikram is a great work-out solution for travelers. 90 minutes later, I emerged from this class, drenched and having stretched off some of the stiffness from our flight. Cathartic.

And last but not least, my first healthy meal of the trip, this yummy salad with arugula, endive and you got it, strawberries. With a tasty olive oil on top and a dash of sea salt, it proved refreshing and light.

So that about sums up our first week of living in Barcelona. Tomorrow we are venturing into the city to see the city’s historical museum as well as visit the Museum of Chocolate… kids are psyched for that since apparently you’re given a chocolate with your entry ticket. I plan to shoot my second video of the trip then… OH, and I almost forgot my goals for the week:

Get off the computer by 9 p.m. Since the U.S. is 6 hours behind, and my sweetie not with me for now, I’ve been working late, and having trouble sleeping after that because of the light of the computer. Resolving this week to turn off the screens by 9 p.m.

Finish my book. On book 3 of the Elena Ferrante series The Neapolitan Novels, “ Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

Eat more avocados. They are so good for your skin and hair and super flavorful here, plus they’re cheap.

Get my parents onto Skype. We’ve set up an account and now we just need to guide them through their first call.

Keep reading Richard Scarry’s The Best Storybook Ever

Peruse the discount stores. There are some casual, funky looks on the streets here and I want to head into some of the discount stores to check them out and line up next Tuesday’s Fashion Post!

And here’s this week’s little healthy idea: almonds and raisins combined into a homemade healthy trail mix. I don’t know about you, but my weak point of the day is about 4-5 p.m. when I am starving but not ready for dinner yet. If I’m anywhere near a vending machine, that’s when I can be pushing the button for the chips or candy bar. Or I dive into cheese and crackers. Rather than do this, I’m trying to carry a little wax paper baggie

So hope you enjoyed this week’s little wrap up, and don’t forget to enter our weekly giveaway below. If you’re commenting, tell us what is your go-to healthy snack!

Sending love from Spain!

Adios!

Melissa

Weekly Giveaway

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