Hot Hot Hot

If you look really close you can see Eli Tzvi int he corner

I took my kids to the Miami Zoo today, just the older two, Sam stayed in the RV with the baby, relaxed and tidied up.  Overall great, it was only $5 for the holiday weekend, definitely packed, but manageable.    Super humid, downpours for 5 minutes and then sunshine.  There is a cool splash area with all kinds of fun sprinklers, I took the kids in their bathing suits.  I think my oldest is just like his father, and humidity is really hard for him, he is sweaty, and must feel overwhelming.  Luckily they kept on getting distracted by the animals. Right when you walk in there was a cool tiger, then there was an area with three different monkeys, one was swinging all over the place, and one was hidden behind two trees, and when you caught sigh of it, it was like he was saying, I am watching you just like you are watching me.

Then we found out you could feed the giraffes, there was a short line, it was in the sun and I felt like my arms were being cooked like something on a grill.  Finally right before it was our turn we had to but the lettuce, I got the kids their own bowl, and it was the coolest thing, you can either feed him piece by piece, or at the end present the bowl, his long tongue comes out and scoops every last piece out of the bowl.

Check out the tongue and the zebras in the background

I was so excited I got to hang out with two wonderful friends that joined us at the zoo.  In the morning one from high school, with her beautiful 2 1/2 year old girl.  Later in the afternoon with a great friend that I worked with at the funnest bar ever while I was going to college.  She has a girl and a boy, the kids played so nicely, she even took them to her house and let my husband and I have a nice meal together.''

Heading west tomorrow,

Ready to wind up our journey,

Still a few weeks to go,

All is Good,

Appreciating What Is,

Coach Yulia

I want it ALL and I want it NOW

That is really my state of mind all the time and I see no reason why things cannot just happen this way.   If you have been reading all along, you have been on our journey of ups and downs and challenges.  Our trip literally changes every minute, I have such dear friends in New Jersey, and my husbands family in New York, but for a multitude of reasons, we are unable to go up north, and will make our way west in a few days.  I am sad, our original trip has been butchered, but our stops along the way have been amazing.  Both of my kids fully went into the ocean and know the feeling that I have when I go in.  I have seen so many friends, and will see a few more tomorrow.  It is just annoying to me when I don't get my way, and I have always been this way since I was a little girl.  I liked to lead and set the games and be in charge, and when the other kids wouldn't listen, I would not like it.  Thank God I found Yoga, which is mutually beneficial for me to lead and others to delve in.

So tons of friends coming to visit us tomorrow at the RV park, we are going to the Miami Zoo in the morning, it is $5 days, lucky us.  Excited just to hang in our area and not drive around as much, plus get ourselves ready for the next leg of our tour.

I keep on reminding myself these are all good problems,
I will be very happy to get back home,
Ultimately it is all working out just as it should,
and it always does,
So don't worry,
Be Happy,
Enjoy,
Coach Yulia

Our neighbors at the RV park had this car that the kids actually drove, my daughter was the one that walked over and made friends, Eli Tzvi likes his buddy's better than girls, but he eventually got to drive

No more bottle, No more crawling - Taking it Easy

I am showing you happy pictures, when they all are smiling and having fun, watching a show, thanks to my iPhone, my laptop is perfect entertainment.  My brother also downloaded the Cars movie for us, my kids can watch that 24/7.  My baby is hanging out in the back drinking directly from his bottle, so excited.  I am obsessed with glass bottles, www.lifefactory.com has a rubber cover that so far has prevented it from breaking.  The baby bottles come with a nipple attachment as well as sippy cup attachments, which I bought,and he refuses to use.  I never really wanted him to sippy cup, mostly for my convenience, third kid and all.  So I was teaching him how to drink directly from a cup and bottle as much as I can.  When we were in Atlanta when he threw his bottle down, the plastic on top cracked, so that was goodbye nipple, he was a little mad with the transition, didn't like the sippy cup, and went directly to drinking directly from the cup - YAY!  A little bit of spills here and there, but overall he really got it, so awesome, now it has a top and converts directly into a water bottle - Woo Hoo - the joys of parenthood and babyhood.  He is also giving up crawling, and the walking cracks him up, he is so excited to see the world from a different view, and I am excited he won't have constantly dirty hands that go directly in his mouth.

So we got home super late last night, in between the happy episodes you see above, we get a lot of bored, whiny, crying, screaming, and fighting fun.  I put a show on for my kids and the baby is taking a nap.  We are taking it easy today, have friends coming over for dinner, we are putting a chicken in the oven, and they are bringing salads and desert, soooo excited to have guests.

We have been non stop, and are planning our trip after Miami, it is kind of crazy to drive to New Jersey and New York just for lunch and dinner, but for me its about seeing family and friends that I might not get to see again for a long time, and I am lucky to have my professional driver husband, without him none of this would be possible.

I want him to get his rest and strength because its going to be intense, right after New York we are going back our way, and most of the week will be on the road, God Help Us.  I love chilling, hanging, relaxing, the kids not so much.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone,
Shabbat Shalom
Coach Yulia

Plan - Be Present - Trust

It is five minutes to midnight in Miami, FL, we just came back from fireworks at the Biltmore Hotel, my girlfriend of over 20 years, who was also my next door neighbor had a birthday, it was raining on and off, we watched most of the fireworks from her suite balcony.  You could also see the fireworks all around town from our view, it started to rain, so we went inside for more festivities, my kids had fun. On the way home they all fell asleep, and I told my husband to go relax, I will make their beds and bring them in one by one.  Thunder struck twice, he told me it will rain again, I literally brought my daughter, who was the last one in the car inside the RV and now am typing this while listening to a torrential downpour, and see flashes of not fireworks, but lightning.

I tell me husband, see that is how life happens for me, I just know everything will be OK.  Everything will just be, with no emotions, reasons, plans, life just is.  Yes it is important to plan, have a route, have dreams, goals, and desires, but then to be present of what feels right in the moment, reacting to the moment is everything.  Luckily I have 100% trust deep down in my gut, Thank God, it really keeps me sane through it all.

Earlier today I did a project with the kids with a puzzle of the USA, explaining to them about the fourth of July, and how we started in California, then to Georgia, and now in Florida, we glued the puzzle to construction paper that they each chose the color earlier in our trip, and I gave them scissors in individual boxes with their names, and they each cut pieces all around the construction paper so cute.

Then a good friend from my nightclub days told me there was a BBQ nearby, so we hung out there in the afternoon.  We had a great day, but with kids that usually go to sleep around 7pm and are up crack of dawn 6am, it is not easy to do night stuff.  They are all really fussy as the night gets later, overall they had a great time.

The next few days are really easygoing, which will be good for all of us before the next leg of our journey, which believe it or not is a work in progress.  I want to stick to our original plan, while my husband is ready to head west, I am sticking to my decision and being firm that we are not going to let anything get in the way of our trip.  We were so excited in the planning stages, so I keep trying to get back to that space, and really enjoy all the friends and family that we are seeing.

Our plans have been side tracked,
Focusing on staying present and enjoying what is,
Trusting that we will persevere, and have a blast along the way,
This will definitely be a summer none of us will ever forget,
Make Memories My Marvelous Mama's (and papa's, friends, family, clients, etc :)
Coach Yulia

Long Days, Short Years - Cuban Time

I think this applies to everything in life, but especially where children are concerned, especially with young ones, the days never end.  It is 11pm in Miami, and the baby finally fell asleep. We had one of those squeeze everything in, run around, some parts great for kids, some parts hard for kids days.

I could not go to sleep without posting even though I am exhausted.  What lasted the longest you ask?

I had a 6:30pm appointment for a blow dry and condition that I found on Groupon for $22!  I didn't get out until 9pm!  In Miami that call it Cuban time, but I know there is Persian time, and Jewish time, and every other nationality you can think of, but OMG.  It was very busy, but in LA, if your appointment does not happen for the time you set it for, you will lose business.  i  did get offered water, wine, or Cuban coffee, I took the coffee - YUM.  My husband and kids were just waiting and waiting, because it was on the way home from our long day, and I thought it would take no more than an hour.  Plus our RV park is on the other side of town of my uncles where we spend the day.

We ended up getting going a little later than I wanted, but did make it to the beach.  The kids had a blast, especially Eli Tzvi, wow, he couldn't get enough of the water, I was so happy.  Ziona Sofia went in for a little bed, but then was playing in the sand and having fun with a friend of ours.  My husband and the baby were running some errands, it was windy, humid, and sunny, my husband wasn't in a beach mood, and I wanted to focus on the older kids, it would have been too much for the baby.

Then we visited with my uncle for lunch, the kids had a great time.  We washed up from the beach and were on our way to the hair appointment.  Luckily from now on we have really relaxed and fun plans.


I got my hair did because tomorrow one of my dearest friends is turning 40, yes her birthday is July 4th, she is celebrating with everyone, including her kids at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, we will be in suite watching the fireworks, sooooo excited.



It was nice to get back to our RV park and it actually was cold inside, super muggy, raining, and hot outside.  So nice to be plugged in, and amazing to have my iPhone, my hotspot lets me have wifi, the wifi at this park does not work for me.

We are all exhausted, but getting everything checked off.
It's by looking at our children that we see time flies,
I honestly feel amazing, age is just a number,
I cannot believe my oldest is almost 5 and my baby is walking,
Doing my best to enjoy every morsel, not so easy, quite challenging,
I know we will not do this again for a while to save our sanity,
But I am glad we are doing it now,
and I will keep pushing to see as many people as I can,
Our Fridge is STILL not cold enough,
Pluses and Minuses,
Such is Life,
I choose to deal with the minuses and focus on the pluses,
Excited for the rest of the week,
Coach Yulia

Bedtime is Freedom

Relaxing and watching movies all day at my wonderful friends house in Port St. Lucie, FL, while my husband took the RV to get the fridge repaired and then drove our car to hang until it was finished

It’s not that I am a night owl anymore, I used to be, but I always loved the day too, and I love my sleep.  Once you are a parent, after the kids go to sleep for the night, and of course this is once they are sleeping through the night, you really take a deep breath of freedom for yourself.  Even when they are sleeping through there are teeth, being cold, being hot, not feeling good, needing the bathroom, there is always something my friends.  Whatever is a big deal now passes, and the next thing begins.

When they are all finally asleep, I feel like I am so free, I can do anything and everything.  Of course I like to go on Facebook and see what everyone is up to, connect with friends and clients, and read inspiring messages or interesting articles.  I was placing an Herbalife order with a new client at 12:30am my time and 9:30pm Los Angeles time.  I feel so blessed with all the puzzles to my business, it is possible to get away for a month, and have work lined up for when I get back, that is freedom to me as well, being able to do things with my family with no boss in the way.

Yesterday we visited two friends that I have known for a very long time, one near Orlando, FL for dinner, and slept over in Port St. Lucie, FL at another friends house.  We are still here, our RV is hopefully getting the refrigerator repaired so we can enjoy the rest of our trip.  Not only is it convenient, but it is vital for certain foods and medications, plus when it malfunctions it beeps throughout the night, and bothers us in our sleep.  God willing we will be on our way to my uncle soon in North Miami, and then to our final destination for almost a week, and RV park near the Miami Zoo.

For some people freedom is having money, and I get it, I heard in an Herbalife Training that money is a utility like gas or electricity.  We take it for granted or even forget about it when its there, but if it is not available, we literally cannot live without it.  I am excited about this definition, because money to me represents living the lifestyle that I want, spending time with my family when I want, and the best part is actually enjoying what I do for my living.

Thank God For It All,

Coach Yulia

And We Are Off

All the kids hanging out in the RV together right before we hit the road

Luckily we are really on no specific schedule except for a few events that we have planned along the way.  This morning my brother’s family was also leaving for a vacation, so we were all preparing ourselves to go, making sure we didn’t leave anything behind.

I had to pause and now can resume, we just stopped for diesel and ice cream, and the baby is taking his second nap as we are back on the road again.  The title of the blog is a double entendre, on one hand we are off on the rest of our adventure, and on the other hand, the kids are going off and being nonstop energy, demanding, unsatisfied, crying, and whining, wanting things NOW! Not a good combination while driving 65 miles per hour.   So one is asleep, and the other two are now watching a show, so I get some me time.  I sometimes feel unappreciated as a parent, I feel like I go out of my way to make things fun for the kids, and it’s just never enough.  It gets frustrating, and then my husband is trying to concentrate on the long road ahead, and all the noise is too much for him.  The morning started out ok, they were actually even ok saying goodbye to their cousins and moving on.

I don’t want them watching movies all day, so we read some books, played with our train set, and had some snacks.  I have some fun projects for them, but it has to be their choice, and just now I got a feeling it’s good to separate the older two, they pick and poke on each other on purpose –OY!

All I can do to keep myself in my happy place is think of our next stop and get excited about seeing friends and family, then it makes it all worth it.  Honestly, I don’t know if I want to do this again for a while, maybe a short trip, but then sending them to camp.  This is definitely an amazing memory, and a unique experience for the kids, but I am feeling that “me” time is much more valuable.  We had such a blast with my family, we will see, maybe we will be missing the road next summer, but I can’t imagine doing this again until they are older, with their personalities, it is just too much.  On top of that my baby is learning to walk, he doesn’t want to stay still, he wants to go to my husband and he cannot because he is driving – I feel like a referee instead of happy teacher Yulia.

Just letting off some steam my friends,

Thank you for letting me vent,

I always say easy is boring,

I guess I asked for it,

I am happy we are doing it,

It’s all good,

Feels good to let it out,

Have a Fabulous Day!

Coach Yulia