Category: Alaethia

Well that didn’t last long. The giddy happiness I felt on Friday is no more. I don’t usually write about our hardships on my blog, but I can’t get this out of my head. I have to vent.

The situation at Mario’s work turned into yet another drama and in the midst of it all Mario had to hand over $150. Out of his own pocket. $150 that we needed for bills. His paycheck was going to be short as it is because of his vacation pay (which, after 2 years of him working there, they still haven’t increased), so we were going to be cutting it close as it is. But I would have budgeted. Now I have no idea how we’re going to make it till the next paycheck. I’m going to have to withdraw money from my Target Visa, which I didn’t want to have to do at all. Which will then raise the finance charges, which will ultimately cause us to have to pay much more a month. John said he’d lend us the money, but I feel totally, well — for lack of a better word — weird borrowing money from my little brother. And then what if we can’t pay him back? No, no. I’d rather just take the risk with my Visa.

How the heck did we get to this? Everything was peachy and now I’m panicking, worrying about what’s going to happen next. I’ve been looking for jobs left and right even before this happened, but everything I want is either taken or I’ve been overlooked. I’m not used to that. I’m used to wanting something, going for it, and having it in the palm of my hands. I don’t want to have to call the Career Services department at my old school because then they’ll be calling me EVERY DAY to go in for interviews to jobs that are either too far away or just suck. Blah.

And on top of it all Alaethia still goes to sleep at 2am. If she falls asleep before then and I think, Awesome, I’m putting her in her crib and going to sleep! she’ll wake up as soon as her head grazes the softness of her mattress. I’m totally thinking of taking up Maggie’s offer of working with her. The plus is that it’s close by. I’ll be going in in the afternoon, but the shitty thing is that I won’t be getting out till 9pm. There goes all my time with the kids :(. The pay isn’t anything to celebrate about, either.

And I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’m GOING to watch Harry Potter next week.

Right now would be the perfect time to fall into some money, like an inheritance left to me by some long-lost relative. Or winning the lottery. Not state lottery; I’d be happy with $500 off a scratch-off. Or finding a $100 bill on the ground somewhere. I wouldn’t feel guilty about taking it because there wouldn’t be anyone around…

Okay, enough of the day dreaming. I just have to keep thinking positive! That’s it. We’ll make it. We’ll figure it out. We always have. And that reminds me of the song that Mario had me listen to a few days ago. I’ve been absolutely in love with “Hey There, Delilah” by The Plain White T’s. He said he thought of me when he heard it, aww :). It’s funny how it’s sort of fitting right now.

(P.S. I added the radio.blog on the right as you’ve probably noticed. After messing around with it for a while I ended up with those two awful lines of numbers up at the top. I can’t be bothered to fix it right now, as unsightly as it is. And I had to resize it to fit in the column so it’s sort of hard to see the text, but enjoy anyway.)

I totally thought the perfect day I’d envisioned was going down the toilet. After blogging from my cell phone while waiting for Mario at his workplace I waited for about 20 more minutes until he was done with the car he’d been working on. He gets into the car and breaks the news: no paycheck. The boss hadn’t come around to sign them yet so they couldn’t give them out. We were totally broke so we had no choice but to go home. BUMMER. As Mario was getting out of the Equinox to get into his truck (the Silverado) I get a call from John telling me I’d received a package from FedEx. Yay, my laptop! The day seemed just a little brighter. We both left and (safely) raced each other home to get the first glance at the laptop.

I got here first with the boys (buahaha) and we started taking the box apart to look at the new beauty. And let me tell you: it’s gorgeous. The 17″ screen is huge, the case is a metallic-y indigo, it’s got a built-in webcam and mic, an SD card reader, it’s got a regular-sized keyboard so there’s a number pad…I could go on and on. I want to have its babies.

I set everything up and I had to make lunch so Mario messed around with it. We had some ice cream (those of you who live where there are H-E-B’s have GOT to try the Creamy Creations Smores ice cream. I could eat the whole thing on my own. But I held back…) and then looked at the clock. 3:15. Darnit. We’d missed the last “less expensive” showing of Transformers. I hate going after 6 because it’s so expensive. Then I got an idea–hello, the theatre in McAllen! We searched and there was two we could still make it to at that one. We rushed around getting shoes back on and I got Alaethia’s food ready so Mom could feed her (she was babysitting for us, bless her. If it weren’t for my mom I’d have no social life). We had exactly half an hour to get there on time but still had to stop at the ATM. We get there, it didn’t work. DAMMIT. Only other thing to do was go all the way around the crossover to the bank and withdraw from our savings. We’d already wasted 15 minutes — there was no way we’d make it on time. Mario stopped by his workplace to get something since we were already over there to get his drill and then stopped by Jorge’s work a few blocks away. Jorge told him about the Carmike Theatre. We hadn’t even thought of that one! So there we go and there’s two shows we can catch. Woo!

We get our snacks then get in line. The line was about a mile long but we still got perfect seats for the 4 of us. I ask the boys if they need to go pee and although they don’t, they go just in case. Then the movie starts.

SPOILER ALERT!! DON’T READ IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE AND HAVEN’T!

It was THE GREATEST MOVIE, EVAR. Seriously, the best thing I’ve seen this year. Brought back memories of childhood and hoping we could have a car that would turn into a giant robot. I’ve got to admit, as girlie as I am I love cars and robots, always have. Maybe it comes from having mostly male cousins and a brother. I’m so glad my kids get to experience Transformers. Although they have loved Transformers even before the movie was even announced. Anyway, enough cheese. It was just awesome. I seriously had chills running up and down my arms and it was just suspenseful and awesome. There was also a sad part where I held it together and let the boys wrap themselves around my arms since they were crying. Eenan couldn’t stop crying after that. John totally missed out! He didn’t want to go because he said he wouldn’t enjoy it but my God, he’s going to regret it!

/END SPOILER ALERT.

I can’t wait till next week, for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix! I know I’m going to love it as much as (if not more than) Transformers.

We were a bit somber on the way home. Mario’s becoming really stressed with stupid things that keep happening at work. I won’t go into detail, but I just wish they’d notice what a hard worker he is and show their appreciation. Gargh. But anyway, we got home and chilled out at Mary’s with Jorge, Mary, Yadira and her kiddos, and Mom. We talked, laughed at Alaethia and Matthew’s baby-ness, and checked out our new laptop. We had some ice cream cake and then after everyone went home (and Mario went to Chris’) I came home with Aly. The boys are both sleeping over at Mary’s so the house is quiet, I washed up before bed and have Aly here in bed with me while blogging. This is the life right here, people. Why didn’t you all who surfed the web from bed ever tell me just how awesome this is?!

I may just finally get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (if I don’t have it already…I have these weird balls on the back of my wrist that Carmen said look like the cysts she was diagnosed with) but dammit, it will be well worth it!

(Just looked at the time –it’s 07/07/07!! How cool is that?)

[Edit: 12:59am.] Okay, so Christina Aguilera is apparently pregnant and Mario’s heart has broken into a million pieces. Nicole Richie is also supposedly pregnant, but that one’s not confirmed. Craziness.

And also, J.K. Rowling bawled her eyes out while writing the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

She finished the book alone in a hotel room.

“I was sobbing my heart out — I downed half a bottle of champagne from the mini bar in one and went home with mascara all over my face. That was really tough.”

… She also tells interviewer Jonathan Ross how she changed the last word in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” at the 11th hour.

So if she cried, I might just die. I can’t tell you just how friggin’ EXCITED I am about this book. I have all these theories swirling around inside my head but we’ll just have to see. Okay, I’m going to bed now, for reals. Alaethia’s asleep and it’s 1:05am, which is pretty “early” for her, so hopefully she’ll stay asleep when I place her in her crib. [/End Edit]

Hope everyone had a great (and safe) 4th of July.

We woke up late; Mario around 11:30 (and the boys, too) and Alaethia and I around 12. I did everything I needed to do the night before (tacos for dinner, dishes, sweeping, and I even made a batch and a half of banana bread!) and had another late night with Alaethia. So we thought it a really good idea to sleep in. We got ready at our leisure, packed everything up that we needed then all of us, and Mom, went to visit Gramma and wish her a happy birthday.

She was happily sitting in her wheelchair, and she told us Aunt Nora had just stopped by to visit her, too. Mom gave her the gift she bought her (we’re giving her ours this Saturday) and I wrote her name and her room number on her clothes. That’s also why I carry a sharpie with me everywhere I go; just in case we stop by Gramma’s and she needs her things labeled.

We fixed her closet, took many pictures with her and talked for a good while. Then we went to Home Depot, where Mario got some tools he needed and I got a nice Stanley level and a few supplies to finish up the walls in the bathroom. I’m doing it. If I don’t, then it’ll stay that way for another year.

We came home and chilled out at Mary’s before everyone got here. Noelia had arrived with the souvenirs she and Andy’d gotten everyone at Disneyworld. They got Mary and I charm bracelets; mine had a diamond-ish encrusted Mickey head and Tinkerbelle on it. I love them. I shall go crazy ordering charms and have the noisiest, charmiest charm bracelet evar.

They got Mario a really cute (and tall) shot glass from the Jurassic Park ride at Universal (I have fond memories of getting the crap scared out of me in that one) and got the boys a Pirates of the Caribbean skull full of Pirate Booty for the boys. It was one price for as much as they could stuff into the skull. I thought it was really sweet that Andy stood there picking out two of each item so the boys wouldn’t fight. That’s why they’ve always been in love with their new uncle!

We had burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, ice cream cake from Dairy Queen (my absolute favorite; to celebrate Natalie’s birthday) and apple pie a la mode. There sadly weren’t enough burgers, which made me feel bad, and momentarily caused me to get in a bad mood since Mario sacrificed his burger and gave it to me and I wanted HIM to have it. I know how much he likes his burgers.

Everything was delicious. All the women sat around the table, as is our custom, talking and laughing while the men were outside doing their man things, like drinking beer. The kids were all at our house next door in the boys’ room playing video games (supervised by the older cousins). When it was 9pm, we all went out to watch the kids pop their fireworks. There were mosquitoes all over the place so, humid as it was, I wrapped Alaethia up in a receiving blanket to avoid them eating her up. She still ended up with a huge bite on her cheek, but what can you do?

(This part was continued on Friday, July 6th.)

Eenan, Angela, Noelia and Andy were all playing War with poppers. Jaylen was following Mario around, assisting with (picking out) the fireworks. I think Mario had more fun than the kids did. First he lit a whole two packs of Morning Glories and just held them in his hands, all happy.

It looked impressive, but I’m just so glad he’s still got both hands.

And this is what, mmm, about 8 boxes of Sparklers look like when lit all at once. I’m so glad he decided NOT TO HOLD THESE!

Crazy. The whole cone burst into flames shortly after.

It was a fun night. We let the kids all finish off their fireworks before everyone went home. Then each of the kids took a shower, because they were so disgustingly sweaty. Alaethia felt so good after her bath that she fell right to sleep, so I put her in her crib and took the fastest shower in history. I got the boys into bed and as I’m walking out to close the door, Eenan starts screaming bloody murder. About a second later, Jaylen joins in because Eenan freaked him out. I’d forgotten to turn on their night light and instead of reaching up (it’s right above Eenan’s bed) and flipping it on, they ran through the dark hallway after me, thus waking up Alaethia. I finally had her asleep early and was going to fall asleep myself, but nope, didn’t happen. She didn’t fall asleep, again, till 2:30am.

Not much happened yesterday except that John got hired at a second job like he wanted. (And I had yet another dream that his car had gotten broken into…weird.) It was cool that they actually went to him and asked him if he’d like to work there still. He said, “Sure!” and immediately got hired. And he said that would never happen to him!

I was halfway done with this blog last night when I was going to finish up with laundry and call it a day. Well, I’d washed four loads of laundry and the 2nd one never dried. The first one was Alaethia’s and that one dried fine. The 2nd one was the darks and I thought maybe they just weren’t drying because I overstuffed it. I took some out, let it dry another half hour and nothing. Mario suggested, at 12:30am, that I should go and dry everything next door at my mom’s house. Sure, buddy. And stay awake till 3am waiting? No thanks. Alaethia already keeps me up till 2:30. So I made a makeshift line (an electrical cord stretched between two kitchen chairs — L33t) and just hung everything on hangers to dry. And of course, Aly stayed awake till 2:30 as I expected. And I tossed and turned most of the night because they’d turned the air off at Mary’s (the houses are connected and so’s the darn central air…grr) and once they turned it on at 5am, I kept tossing and turning because I was freezing. Grr.

I thought I was going to have to drop Mario off this morning, since we’re going to the movies and didn’t want to have to take two cars, but I’m just going to pick him up then go get his truck afterwards. He’s working half a day today and then we’re going to watch Transformers. Oh yeah, baby! I have a feeling today’s going to be AWESOME.