Category: Bitching

Mon. Dec. 15th – I woke up with a runny nose and had no idea why. I thought it was just allergies acting up and was certain I’d feel better by the end of the day, but the cold quickly took over and I was dragging. Rudy, one of our students I’d been helping reach goals the week before, came in to read a bit more and helped me out a lot. I’d laminated the 399 banners I’d been making and helped with that, then Frankie, Erik, Yulissa, Emily and Jessica helped out. I never thought it would happen, but the banners were done within a matter of minute. I love those kids LOL.

I walked around like a zombie most of the day, but pushed myself to make it till 3. I got as much done as I could just in case I couldn’t make it in the next day. I spoke to Amaveli, our attendance clerk, about my situation with the boys and she completely agreed with me.

We had our Christmas Party after school. They catered and Mrs. R. did an amazing job with the decorations. I was sad I wouldn’t be staying long. They had me take my plate and I went straight to the boys’ school. I was actually feeling nervous, which is odd for me when I’ve got something to argue about. I told myself all the way over there that I needed to state my case and hold my ground.

I get there and the woman’s actually in. I was afraid she wouldn’t be there since I’d called earlier in the day and reminded a clerk that I’d be in to speak to her. She told me, “Remember I warned you about it? That if they left before 12 they would ruin their perfect attendance and you said you were taking them anyway?” I told her yes, because I knew that I could take them after 10am and have them not be counted absent. Everyone else does it, especially on Fridays when they take their kids to Mexico for the weekend and I didn’t hear anyone else having a problem. She acted like that was it, like she wasn’t going to say anything else so I said I wanted to speak to the principal.

I went in and the principal was just giving me a hard time like the clerk. I was so pissed and just seriously wanted to start yelling. I told her how nowhere in writing did it say they’d be counted absent after 12 and how my boys had worked so hard to have perfect attendance and all A Honor Roll. I told her how it was the first time ever that neither of them had been sick with Strep this year, which is what hindered their perfect attendance all the years before. It was right after that, that to my horror, I busted into tears. I was so embarrassed but I’m pregnant and hormonal and really couldn’t help it. The principal was a little shocked and asked me to step out while she spoke to the boys’ teachers.

When we’re waiting in the front office and I was trying to compose myself Eenan’s teacher walks in and she tells me, “I’ve been trying to call you this whole time! Do you know what’s going on?” Apparently she had just gotten word of it because she’d been home sick and was trying to reach me. I gave her a quick summary and she genuinely looked sorry. She told me, “I wish I hadn’t told you to just take them. I know you were going to wait.” Which is true. I was going to wait till after 12 to take them both, but both teachers told me to go ahead and take them, just not to tell the office they told me so. It wasn’t time to resent anyone though. She went in to speak to the principal and Jaylen’s teacher and they called us in after about 10 minutes. The office staff had actually taken the time to find a document that stated we couldn’t take them out till after 12 but couldn’t find anything, just a document about how they didn’t want parents complaining when it was time for a field trip and kids had actually been absent. They told me how they didn’t want the kids leaving before lunch because it messes up the lunch count—which ultimately means they don’t get paid for the kid. That was basically the whole reason for holding my kids back.

Then the principal said what made her upset was that even though it wasn’t in writing, that I’d gone against something the staff said and what they’re trying to teach the kids in school is you can’t just be defiant like that and blah, blah, blah. I didn’t want to open my mouth, because I’d surely piss everyone off, but if it’s one thing I teach my kids is to do the right thing, and nobody was going to tell me that I wasn’t doing that. But I just kept my mouth shut and listened and even half-sarcastically said, “Well, now that I know the “rules,” I won’t be removing my children from school before 12. I wish I’d known this before.”

The principal said they’d come to the decision that they wouldn’t be holding the kids back from the field trip because they were great students and I was a great parent (yeah, way to try and kiss my ass). Then the dumb attendance clerk jumps in and says, “But I’m still going to be needing an excuse slip for yourself to use for your kids.” Um. Okay. Sure lady. I got home and got all the documents together that I needed. If I didn’t know any better I’d say that woman is out to get me and really doesn’t like me.

After I got everything done I lay on the couch and just passed out. I seriously couldn’t stay awake and my body was hurting SO BAD. I started to make dinner, fideo and beans, but I felt so horrible I asked Mario if he could take over and he did! He did a great job.

Tues. Dec. 16th – I stayed home and went to the doctor. I’d texted Mrs. V. (because she’s left me e-mails about her absences before) and left an e-mail to Vero since it was really early and I didn’t think I’d be able to wake up later on. Well, Vero calls me at 8:30, when I’m getting ready, and asks if I’m going to work. I tell her no, didn’t she get my e-mail? And she said no, that Mrs. V. was wondering what happened to me also. So apparently I was MIA. Last time I don’t call to let them know. Funny how it works when they leave me a message though. Grr.

After the call with Vero I receive another call from the kids’ school. They called to confirm a change of plans; it was way too cold to take the kids to the Corn Maze like they’d originally planned, so they were calling to see if it was okay to take them to the movies instead. I was relieved. I knew Eenan was nice and toasty in his jacket, long johns, regular clothes and hat and gloves, but it was in the 30’s and I didn’t know how long his little body could stand it out there. So I gladly accepted the change.

Mario was so tired he didn’t end up going into work either. Thank God, because I really needed him. I went in to the doctor’s at 9:15 and got out at 11:30 and went to the pharmacy. I ended up having my prenatal appointment that day, too, since I was supposed to have it the next day. I’m measuring at 27 weeks (although I’m 29 weeks) and I weighed 137.8—which means I haven’t really gained weight in almost 2 months! Everything with the baby looks great. I can finally say that I’m at ease about her being a girl and not “changing” on me at the last minute LOL. I had an ear infection, sore throat and cough, so they gave me some cough medicine and antibiotics. After I left the pharmacy I got home and just laid on the couch. It was the most rest I’d had in a while, even though I kept waking up because of my cough. I was surprised and pretty pissed to read the labels on the cough medicine bottle and the leaflets they included with it that said the medicine shouldn’t be taken while pregnant, especially the last 3 months. WTF? Why the heck would they give me that then? I continued with my Robitussin, which is what they told me to take as an alternative. Great.

When I’d first laid down on the couch Alaethia came up to me and laid her head on my shoulder. I tried to give her a hug without breathing my germs in her face. She tells me, “I love you, too.” I hug her tighter and squeal, “Oh little mommy, you make me feel so much better.”

She could tell by my voice that I wasn’t feeling well. She gazes at me and asks, “Are you awright?” I tell her yes, I am, just a little sick. She’s so cute and sweet, I can’t stand it sometimes!

It was so nice having Mario home. He made a chocolate cake with Jaylen and it was delicious! Next project is brownies with Eenan. I think it’s sweet that he’s taking time to do little things with each of them.

Wed. Dec. 17th – It was Jaylen’s turn to go on his field trip. They were going to The Zone, an amusement park type place but most of the games were indoors, and it wasn’t as cold as the day before anyway.

I felt like I was dying, but I went to work anyway. Good thing too, since I had to stay an extra hour and a half to make up for time since we were getting out early on Friday. I still don’t see how that’s our fault and we have to make hours up, but whatever. It took some doing, but Mary found a ride for the boys for each day: Yadira that day and Sonia the next.

As I was passing some permission slips back to some kids in the morning from class to class, I ran into an old…acquaintance I guess you can say, who was substituting. She looked like she’d seen a ghost when she’d seen me. When I had lunch that day I ate with Mr. D. when my old “friend” walked in followed by her sister, who was also subbing. They were both being obnoxiously loud but I tried blocking them out, especially since I had a headache. Mr. D. and I talked about his wife’s pregnancy and mine and they kind of just glared at me, which was weird. I went back to the library and my old “friend” stopped by about 3 minutes later asking to check her pin drive. Her sister had already subbed the year before and seen me. I wouldn’t put it passed them to have been checking to see exactly where I worked. Idiots.

Anyway, I got everything done and then some, including some letters for the bulletin boards. I was out of there like a bat out of hell and was sorry to have finished my water at work since I coughed all the way home. It was awful. I couldn’t breathe. I finally calmed down about 15 minutes after getting home and just threw myself on the sofa again. Mario got home and he started making dinner. He was bringing me water and taking care of the kids. I looked at him running around in the kitchen and was amazed. He caught me looking at him and said, “What?” I smile and tell him, “Wow, Babe. You’ve washed dishes, made cake with kids, you’ve made dinner twice, waited on me hand and foot—no wonder you like being married to me!” He smiled and narrowed his eyes at me. Then he says, “I admit. That was a good one.” LOL

Thurs., Dec. 18th – It was the day of our field trip to Fantasyland Skate Center. I prayed that I’d feel alright and that I could make it through the day. We had to house the kids at the library from 9-11, since it was freezing outside and weren’t going to be able to take them to the park like we’d planned. They had lunch right at 11 and after that we loaded the buses.

I was having horrible, dry-heave coughs in the morning, but mostly on the way to the rink. It was so annoying. I was better by the time we got to the rink, though. It was fun watching all the kids. I still wish I could have strapped on some rollerblades and gotten out there but that’s not possible right now, of course. I ordered pizza with Baudi and Mrs. Martinez and we all chilled out with Roxanne. It was a fun free day for all of us. We helped load the kids onto the bus (took forever because it was confusing trying to get the kids on the right route) and then we got into Mrs. V’s truck and she drove us to the school. She likes to speed, and the three male teachers, Mr. D., Mr. C, and Mr. H were all teasing her and asking her to slow down. Just as we’re getting to the school we get stopped LOL. Luckily she only got a warning. The cop was funny and really nice. The plus was I’d gotten enough Comp time so that I could leave early like everyone else the next day.

Fri. , Dec. 19th – We had a totally free day. We weren’t really closed, but there weren’t any kids circulating that day anyway. They had parties and a dance to worry about. I had lunch with the ladies, Mrs. V. and Mrs. Ruiz. I felt a little sad that I couldn’t give them a nicer gift; I gave them a mug with cocoas and a book each. Mrs. V gave me massager and Mrs. Ruiz outdid herself and gave us both a robe, socks and slippers! They spoil me. We took all the decorations down and after lunch we got some nachos and checked on the kids at the dance. Mrs. Ruiz left with her daughter and we hugged goodbye. Then we saw all the kids off at the bus loading area. I got all my stuff together and said my goodbyes to Mrs. V. I rushed off to pick up my boys and then Sonia, who needed to go to a few places. It was the least I could do after she did me the huge favor of picking up the boys the day before. After we dropped her off, we came home to pick up Mom and Alaethia then went to pay John’s car payment. I paid all my bills online and then joined everyone at Mary’s to celebrate Andy’s birthday. We had Menudo, yum. I’d completely forgotten about Mario’s company party until he called to ask if I was ready. Oops. I got ready in a hurry and made sure to give Mom instructions for Alaethia’s medicines and reminded the boys to be good and pick up after themselves.

We were running a little late, but I assured Mario we’d be fine since everyone else is usually much later than we are. Well, for the first time ever everyone else was on time LOL. The dinner was at the Santa Fe steak house. I had no idea it was so fancy in there. A man was playing a piano in the background and it was really nice. They even compiled a menu just for the company!

During the dinner the bosses passed around gifts and small bonus for all the employees. How nice! Then we went to their house to play poker. The boss’ wife was teaching me and I actually won a few times! I want to play again. Mario ended up getting a little tipsy after he’d had a few shots of Tequila. We left the house around 3am. Mario kept falling asleep and waking up and looked really uncomfortable. Then he asked me to pull over and he hurled. He was swaying and I was afraid he’d end up sitting in his vomit. I always carry a little bottle of either Oust or Lysol spray and started spraying the Oust everywhere, because if I smelled anything I’d join him right outside the car. You can’t imagine how happy I was when we finally made it home.

Sat. Dec. 20th – I went to Goodwill with John and Alaethia that morning hoping I’d find some cute curtains from Target like they usually have. I found absolutely nothing and even broke a pretty Victorian glass bottle I was going to buy for Mary’s miniatures collection. The cashier didn’t let me pay for it, though. We did a bit of Christmas shopping, like Mom’s nightgown at JC Penny. I can’t remember where else we went, but I know we tried getting as much done as possible.

Sun. Dec. 21st – We went shopping again, only instead of John going with me this time, it was Mario. We hadn’t cashed Mario’s paycheck so we did so at Walmart. We went to Target, where we got a few more gifts we needed and some that Elda needed and then to Walmart. We rushed home to drop everything off since we were already late to Jaylen’s best friend, Aaron’s birthday party. Since Alaethia and Eenan were both sick we left them at home with the grandmas and took only Jaylen. He had a blast chilling out with his friend and Norma and I talked for a bit. If I remember correctly, we went back to Walmart for some grocery shopping and bought a necklace that Mary wanted from there, too. There were 3 shopping days left and I still needed a few things!

Mon., Dec. 8th – I finally wore my black and white giraffe-print dress and leggings to work for the 2nd time this entire pregnancy. I kept getting compliments and some people found out for the very first time that day that I’m pregnant because of the way the dress fit. That, and I’ve been getting hot flashes like crazy so I wasn’t wearing my sweater in the arctic conditions of the library like I usually do. Mrs. V. was still Star Testing the students so it was another quiet-ish, slow day.

Tues., Dec. 9th – Another regular day at work. I started noticing Mrs. V. is really trying to get me to finish as much that needs to be done before I leave work permanently. I had a list of laminating, signs, more laminating, getting Item Not Found books together to send off, and collecting all the Hatchet books and sending them off also. Too bad I couldn’t do much without someone else there because the library can’t be left unattended.

Mrs. V. was in sort of a bad mood since she got to work that morning. She was late and had “one of those days” since the morning. I suddenly remembered that I’d checked the ISS roster for some reason before I’d deleted the e-mail that morning and realized that Orly, one of the boys I was watching on Friday, didn’t have ISS after all. When he’d come in to visit that day I narrowed my eyes at him—jokingly, of course—and I told him, “Dude! You weren’t even in ISS on Friday, were you? You skipped all day here!” He laughed and with a guilty half-smile said, “Ah, yes I was!” So I told Mrs. V. about it when I saw her and I was in a good mood, joking about it and everything. Well she was annoyed I guess because she turned back, smiled and said, “Well, I’m sorry you feel like you were asked to do something you shouldn’t be doing.”

I just sat there wondering what the hell just happened when she turned on her heel and went into her office. I didn’t mind, once they listened, but this is the third time it happens that I’m “volunteered” to stay with students that are supposed to be “punished” and don’t listen. Had I volunteered for it on my own and then complained about it, it would be different.

When I got home I sat on the couch to relax and started checking my e-mail, Myspace and bank account. I noticed my grown husband and his friend Jorge are buying “favor points” for Mobsters! I texted him and practically told him off LOL. He doesn’t learn; the last time he needed favor points he completed some survey and somehow there was a charge of extra $30 on our Sprint bill!

I was feeling really lazy, tired and just pregnant and was just idly looking into the food cabinets figuring what to make for dinner when my Dad-in-law peaked his head in the door and asked if I had anything for the grill since he started a fire. Heck yes I did! I’d bought those cheddar brawts Mario likes and we had hotdogs. I had a relaxing evening. I tried updating my blog again but was distracted by The Biggest Loser and then, once the boys had their showers, we started cleaning their room, or old room. I’m halfway done; I can see the floor!

Wed., Dec. 10th – It was super cold that morning. In the 30’s at night and at dawn, and 40-50 during the day. There were Grade Levels that day, like there usually is every Wednesday. When Vero came to bring the snacks for the teachers she advised me to drink a lot of water. I told her I had been and asked her why she mentioned it. She said the other pregnant girl had gone into kidney failure and a lot of it had to do with her not drinking water. She scared the crap out of me and you better believe I drank water like crazy that day. (I also peed about 15 times.)

The day was hectic as it usually is during Grade Levels because I don’t want to be too disruptive, but I got things done. All books were checked in and shelved. My feet were killing me by the end of the day and so were the ligaments under my belly. Part of it had to do with overdoing it the night before when I was cleaning the boys’ old bedroom.

I was in a hurry in the evening, running around to the bank, then making dinner, and finding time to raise the hem on a pair of pants I’d bought at JC Penny. Mario fell asleep early, which makes me mad because he decides to do that whenever I haven’t showered early. I put Bridge to Terabithia on for Alaethia to watch (or “Terabithum” as she calls it) and prayed for the best. I locked/closed all the doors and made her comfy on the couch and took the quickest shower in history. She actually stayed still the whole time. I blow-dried and flat-ironed my hair and finally got ready for bed.

Thurs., Dec. 11th – It was cold again that morning, but not as cold as Wednesday had been because it wasn’t drizzling. A few subs went in to help–5 to be exact, but only one of them went twice, even though they’re all supposed to show up during conference times and after school. We had the library closed in the morning due to two meetings which were both later cancelled. We weren’t closed after all, but we still only had a small amount of kids go in. The Subs put books away while I entered the manual checkouts into the system. After they left, I got started doing the little computer banners Mrs. V. wanted done that say No Books at computer during testing!. I made 400–399 if you don’t count the one Kassy ruined LOL. Rudy, another student, told me I was making them in vain because the kids were going to rip them off anyway. Oh well.

The morning went by fast. I was amazed and pretty giddy over how smooth everything was going that day. I always feel guilty when I have free time for some reason, but I decided that I’d read a few stories on CNN before I started working on something else. The first story I saw was the one about that dumb bitch, Casey Anthony and how they may have found her three-year-old’s remains. I’d been following that story since they first started airing it. I had a bad feeling about her from the beginning. I knew she’d done it. What the hell made her do it and how can you even think of murdering your own child?!

I went to lunch and read my book. When I went back to the library I and had a few books to check-in and shelve and then a sub went in. He tidied up the books while I finished with cutting and gluing the banners. Now I just needed to laminate and cut them–yippee. That whole day went by fast.

I picked up the kids and helped with their homework until 5pm. The boys are just like me; they lose their patience quickly. We started getting ready for the Winter Festival, where Eenan would be performing in the chorus. Everything started at 5 but didn’t want to be there for two whole hours before Eenan’s performance so we left around 6:15. I didn’t want to be standing and walking around because my feet hurt, my back hurt, and my ligaments really hurt. I’m truly feeling “pregnant” now.

Before we left I talked for a while with my dad-in-law about the new laundry room. It’s pretty big. It’ll serve as a communal laundry room plus a nice screened in porch during summer. I can’t wait till it’s finished! I wonder if they’ll let me choose the color for it ^_^?

The kids had fun at the festival. As soon as we got there Eenan left with his friends. I wanted him to stay with us and have fun, but I didn’t want to be the uncool Mom, which I was SO being until he pleaded with his eyes for me to stop being embarrassing. I’m so sad he’s growing up. Soon enough he won’t even want to be seen with me.

Mario met us there when he got out of work. Alaethia, Mary and Jaylen played a few games at the cake walk. Jaylen loves cake walks. He didn’t win, though, which is surprising because he always wins. He got his face painted instead, while Eenan won a 2-liter and said he wanted to toast to happiness at home. Aww. That’s really all Eenan wanted was to win a 2-liter, because he usually does LOL.

Mary and Jaylen walked around and bought snacks while the rest of us sat at the seats we successfully acquired. The place was packed, probably more so than years past. We watched Eenan’s lovely choir performance. He’s such a handsome kid; he expresses himself a lot. We sat with Jason and Mirella. I saw one of the counselors from the school I work at and we also saw Norma and Andy but they were far away and didn’t see us. We got home and since it was late and no one felt like cooking, had soups and sandwiches. We watched Grey’s Anatomy even though it was a rerun and I chilled with Aly on the sofa. Mario brought milk when he made a run to the store and Adan and Jason came with him. They watched Iron Man and took care of Alaethia while I bathed. I don’t know why—I guess it must be the fact that Christmas vacation was coming up soon—but I didn’t feel at all rushed and flustered like I usually do on a school/work night. Mario left with the guys, the boys had fallen asleep in their room and Alaethia and I got in bed. She fell asleep right away!

Fri., Dec. 12th – Mario had to wake up at the same time I did since he was working at the Island. I didn’t want to get up at all and that’s because I got a pretty restful night sleep. I slept about an hour more than I usually do, anyway. I’m still having bad round ligament pain. It’s the first week I feel the stretching and heaviness this whole pregnancy. Once Mario was up we stood around talking while I made a pot of coffee and before I knew it I’d lost track of time and left late, as usual.

I prayed on the way to work like I usually do. One of my prayers was to have a good, easy day like the day before. I got to work and ate breakfast and was thinking positive thoughts. The day was not easy whatsoever. I completely forgot that it was the last day the students could reach their goals for the 9 week period, so there were teachers returning/checking out towers of books and kids testing left and right so I had to keep getting up and walking to the lab over and over again—I could hardly walk by the end of the day.

I picked up the boys after school and was startled when Jaylen jumps into the front seat and is almost in tears rambling a hundred miles a minute that he didn’t get perfect attendance and wasn’t going to be able to go on the field trip. Eenan gets in and says that they told him the same thing; that they were going to the Corn Maze in Donna and I’d have to take him myself. I didn’t understand since the boys both had perfect attendance. I turned the car around and parked in the parking lot. I go to the office and ask to speak to someone about the situation, but the attendance clerk isn’t there. The counselor’s clerk is the one who comes to talk to me and becomes really aggressive when I’m telling her what’s going on, even though I’ve kept my patience that whole time. She tells me to wait and comes back with a hot pink slip of paper with a note about the day the kids had Muffins For Mom and how I took them out of school early, therefore forfeiting their perfect attendance because the attendance clerk “warned” me. I tell her it’s bull, that the time to legally remove a student from elementary school without them being counted absent is 10am, not 12 as the woman told me. I even told her I confirmed it with their teachers. She looks taken aback that I knew this and tells me to come back on Monday to speak to the woman. Fine.

Eenan’s teacher isn’t there, so I go speak to Jaylen’s. As soon as I’m walking in and she sees that it’s me, she says, “Did you hear what they’re doing to them?” I tell her yes and ask her what’s going on. She tells me she received the same note on hot pink paper and she tells me she doesn’t agree; that I need to come back on Monday and fight for them. She didn’t have to tell me twice.

Sat., Dec. 13th – I woke up at 6am. I got Eenan ready and took him to the school for his UIL competition. He advanced but, unfortunately, didn’t place. I wanted to go back home and sleep some more since we stayed up a bit late the night before, but I had to have breakfast and drop Mom off at her appointment at the doctor’s at 8:30. She called at 9:30 that she was ready to be picked up and my gosh, what a hassle it was getting back to the doctor’s office! I’d forgotten they were having a parade down the main street and they were all closed off except for one! The doctor’s office is around 5-6 minutes away; it took me about 15 to get there LOL.

I waited around a cleaned a bit and then John came over. Mary said she’d pick Eenan up from the school once he was back from his competition since I needed to go shopping for Alaethia’s Christmas present. John, Alaethia and I left around 12:30 and as we’re passing the school the kids are arriving in the bus from UIL. I pick Eenan up and take him home. We went to Toys R Us and immediately remembered how awful it is in that area during the holidays. I got a huge surprise when I pulled Alaethia out of her carseat and realized she’d peed on just about every inch of her bodysuit. I changed her diaper, removed the bodysuit and just left her jean jumper on her and put a jacket over it. And she’d looked so cute…

Although you could hardly move through the isles from how packed it was, we found everything we needed. Plus I had a 20% off coupon so I saved $20!

I went to drop off John at home and then Alaethia and I went to Annie’s for Catherine’s birthday party. They were serving as soon as we got there. Alaethia only picked at her food while she was being passed around and went to play in the living room. Mom, Mary and Elda were all watching the little ones and talking. Even so, poor Aly got hit on the head with a remote; no one saw it coming. She was terrified after that so Yadira took her home with her since she was leaving early. My poor lil’ one. We went home to drop off the boys and Mom and picked up Alaethia. As soon as everyone was situated Mario and I left for our date to the movies to watch The Day the Earth Stood Still. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing it that much, but it was a good movie anyway. The only part I didn’t like was that it felt like it ended too fast for me.

We went to Walmart afterwards with Mario complaining the whole time. We went to Jorge and Maggie’s since Jorge and Mario had to go to the Dodge Arena to take care of some stuff for work. Maggie and I just sat around and caught up while she beautified and later she did my nails. I hadn’t gotten them done since June, before I found out I was pregnant. I did some research and so far it doesn’t say anything about not doing acrylic nails during pregnancy; just to wear a mask and have good ventilation, which I did.

The guys bought food from Whataburger. We ate and finished my nails and then went outside. We left around 2:30, got home at 3am and I didn’t fall asleep till 4. Alaethia was still awake. Mom said she supposedly hadn’t slept at all. Uh huh.

Sun. Dec. 14th – I love Sundays because it’s the one day I get to sleep late without anyone bothering me.

Well, not that Sunday. Jaylen woke me up early and when I thought I could go back to sleep Alaethia woke up for a cup of milk. Then the phone rang. Then Aly woke up again for a diaper change and as I’m changing her I hear someone knocking really loudly on the door. I figure it’s Mom, who doesn’t really care if everyone’s asleep or not if she feels like watching TV or reading in the living room. As I’m coming back from the bathroom Mary ‘s unlocking the front door and tells me Dad’s over and has been knocking on the door. Great. No sleep for me for sure.

Once I washed up and went outside we sat under the back porch and catch up. He tell me he was worried because we never answered the phone (it hadn’t been working the whole week until the day before) and he had the wrong cell number so he thought I’d gone into labor or something. He asked to borrow money, which was something Mom had warned me about, but I lent him some and he went home.

Later in the evening we went grocery shopping. We got home late and I was rushing around getting the kids bathed, dinner ready, and lunch for the next day ready. I was complaining about having to wash dishes and Mario offered to. I was pleasantly surprised. He helped a ton and kept me from having a nervous breakdown by just doing something so small.

I’d set the alarm for 2:45 for our Black Friday shopping and I took Alaethia’s temperature and gave her Tylenol. Mario looked over to me with eyes that were wide awake and said, “I haven’t been able to sleep all night. Maybe I should just go with you?”

I was thrilled at the idea, but I was afraid he wouldn’t have time to rest to go to work at 9. I asked him, “Are you calling in?”
He said, “No, I’ll go to work.” We got ready and Mom came over to watch Alaethia and the boys. We’d be leaving the house at 3am, so we unfortunately didn’t have enough time to set the coffee pot =\. Better for me, I guess. I already have to go pee more than enough without drinking coffee.

Mary, Sonia, Yazmin, Mario and I were the ones going. Elda was supposed to go but decided not to at the last minute since Mario was already going with us.

Our first stop would be Walmart, where we were mostly getting stuff that Annie asked us to. The ads weren’t really all that enticing to us this year so we decided we’d buy something only if it was a really great deal.

It was amazing how many cars were on the road at 3am!! I think the streets were the most populated that I’ve ever seen on a Black Friday morning.

Once at Walmart, Mary went straight to the jewelry department, where she was getting something Jorge asked her to and Yazmin and Sonia went to the toy section. Mario and I made our way to the electronics section where we were in charge of getting two MP3 players and memory cards. Since we were already in line for the memory cards, I was going to get one for myself. Can’t beat $9 for a 4gig card!

Mario and I are in line for what seems like eternity. The line spans from the electronics section back into the baby section and the food section, all the way around the boys’ section. It was ridiculous. Mario kept nudging me and hissing that it was a stupid idea to stand there forever for two MP3 players and 2 memory cards. I kept telling him, “We have to. Your Mom put us in charge of these. It’ll be fine.”

After seeing a guy try to “hand his keys” to some other guy who was much further from us just so he could get near him to kick his ass; some women threatening to “take care of” a pregnant woman who cut in line if the security guard didn’t, and finally hearing that all the people in line would probably be there all day because they were letting people in by 5’s to 10’s (and we were easily like, 75th in line), I decided that yes, maybe it was time to leave.

We told everyone we were leaving and had a hell of a time trying to find an exit where people weren’t going to pummel us for thinking we were trying to cut in line. When we finally got out we got in the car and picked up some cappuccino at Valero next door. We decided we’d drive across the street to Home Depot, since we needed to get a gift for someone there. We’re a bit worried because there’re only 2 cars in the parking lot that look like they belong to customers. I roll the window down and ask a passing employee if they’re having a Black Friday sale. He says yes, at 6. I look at the clock on the stereo: 5:05. Okay. We’ve got some waiting to do. We sip our cappuccinos and I read my book, Cocktails for Three by Madeline Wickham (AKA Sophie Kinsella), while Mario flips through the pile of Black Friday ads we brought along with us. There’s a couple in a blue truck and an older couple in a tan van. The people in the blue truck left for some reason and a whole bunch of other people started arriving after that .We got down after we saw the couple in the tan van get down and get in line. We were second. We talked and laughed with them and the guy and girl right behind us. It was such a big, calm difference from Walmart!

The line was long, but not ridiculous like it was at Walmart. Everyone was nice and civil and you could walk normally with your basket throughout the store and you found what you needed because there was plenty of everything. We found what we needed and then some.

We met Mary and everyone at Target and made our way to Kmart, where Mario and I bought a 32″ LCD TV on impulse for $399. It wasn’t even on sale or anything—we just saw that there was actually one there and bought it. When we were wheeling the cart away we were thinking, “What did we just do? Where are we even going to put this one?!” So we decided that after our next stop, another Walmart, we were going to return it.

Mario stayed in the car because we were afraid someone would break in just to steal the TV. We searched everywhere for some stuff Noelia asked us to get but had no luck. I did, however, find the 2 ft. Mickey and Minnie for $9 each that Mom wanted to get for Alaethia. I got a little rowdy myself—let me explain: one of the employees actually listened to me and checked if she had the plushes. She told me to wait where I was and she’d be back; she was certain she’d seen them “in the back”. So Yazmin and I wait and wait…for like 15 minutes. She said we should go, but I just had a feeling we should wait a little longer. We’re looking at some cute Wall-E and Eve toys when Yazmin points and yells, “Yajaira! She took your Mickey!”

I turn in all directions and squeal, “Who did? Where?” and she points me in the direction of a woman practically running towards the electronics department with her cart. I stop her and tell her, “Hey! That was mine! She was bringing it for me!”

The woman, who has a raspy voice like she’s been yelling all morning, says, “No I didn’t! She has more!” I look around and see nothing. I turn to her, eyes narrowed, and ask, “Where?” She points in the same direction and rasps, “Over there! She’s got a huge box!” I stand on my tip-toes and yes, I see the lady now and she’s quickly being surrounded by a mob of shoppers. I turn around and politely say, “Thank you,” and walk quickly in the opposite direction back towards the lady. I was a tad bit embarrassed LOL.

When I get to where she is there are arms all over the place grabbing skinny Mickey and Minnie legs left and right. I shove my arm in the box and grab one of each and take off, yelling ‘Thank you!’ to the lady. We paid and went straight to the car. Poor Mario had just called and was getting bored.

We dropped Mario off at home so he could get ready for work, left Mary’s car since it was packed and took my truck for another round of shopping. We went to a different Walmart, the one on Nolana if I remember correctly. We actually found the MP3 players Mary was looking for (they had tons) and although I didn’t find even one of the Blu Rays that were on sale, I did find a few $2, $6 and $9—I even got Peter Pan for Alaethia for $10!

We returned the TV at Kmart and went to eat at Shoney’s. My first time at Shoney’s, ever, I believe. It was alright. I was so tired I could hardly eat, though.

We dropped Sonia and Yadira off and came home. Mom somewhat watched Alaethia (and I say somewhat ’cause she kept getting into things and Mom kept yelling) while I slept. I got about 2 hours I think.

Mario got home early. The poor thing was exhausted, so for once I didn’t object while he dragged himself to sleep at 5pm. We went over to Mary’s to chill out with everyone (Mona, Jorge, Elda, Mary, Mom and the kids) and had dessert. As soon as I was done with my last fork-fulls of banana crème pie and pumpkin pie I started getting those bad pains like the day before. I tried ignoring them but they started coming on really strong. I was talking to Elda and kept flinching and cringing when I’d have them. Mary told me to time them, so I did—they were coming every 6 minutes at first, then every 2. They were like that for an hour until I finally gave in to everyone’s recommendations about going to the hospital. I reluctantly woke up Mario at 8:30 and immediately started to sob. I couldn’t believe I was possibly going into labor. And I didn’t even have a name for her yet! The boys’ room wasn’t fully transformed into the girls’ room yet! I still needed tons of stuff and couldn’t even remember what those things were! Mario told me to calm down and helped me pack our bag with our cell phones, reading material, my slippers, etc.

It felt like an eternity by the time we arrived at the hospital. I’d been so into breathing and calming my pain that forgot to eat the Ramen noodles I’d made as my dinner. I inhaled about half of it when we parked at the hospital and Mario finished the rest.

It didn’t take long from the time we arrived to sign documents and then get admitted. My teeth were chattering from the nerves, especially after they asked Mario to stay in the L&D waiting room. I was asked to change and they got my vitals. My luck would have it that the darn system was down and all they could do was write everything on a piece of napkin O_o.

I felt so lonely laying there waiting to be strapped in by the nurse. I started texting Mario asking him if he knew when they’d call him in. The nurse walked in and strapped me onto the monitors. She found it really weird that when I’d get one of those sharp pains it wouldn’t mark on the machine as a contraction, and then when I was having a contraction, I was fine. So she gave me this little silver pump to push every time I felt a pain.

She gave me a pelvic exam and although I was dilated to ½ a centimeter my cervix was still fully closed, so that was a good sign. I was hoping that at the very least this whole thing was due to a virus or something and not labor. She still had 2 ½ months left before she could come out!

I’d be staying overnight as per the doctor so I could be monitored. She called Mario in right after that and thank God too because she was about to insert the IV. I really hate IV’s. Besides the earth-shattering contractions, IV’s follow right behind as the most pain I’ve ever felt.

She told me the IV would keep me hydrated because I was a bit dehydrated and would insert some Demerol for the pain. I didn’t feel like I needed it, so I told her I’d pass for now. She kind of laughed it off and got to working on my hand. I kept telling her she had to use a baby IV, but she wouldn’t listen. She said no, they only use the largest IV’s in Labor and Delivery. Sure enough, she popped my darn vein. She was a little freaked out about it, because the blood literally squirted out. Mario was amazing; he rubbed my other hand and kept me focused so I wouldn’t pay attention to the doctor. She finally got the darn thing in after what seemed like an hour.

Now I had the pain in my hand and the horrible pain in my stomach. If it wasn’t contractions, was I getting sick like Yadira said I would after all? The weird thing was I didn’t have diarrhea or anything. I was writhing and literally couldn’t breathe while I was having the pain. The stupid nurse kept making fun of me. She even told Mario he should leave because it was going to be a long night! How dare she! He kind of just shrugged and smiled and then looked at me like, What the hell’s wrong with her?”

Mario went to get himself dinner at McDonald’s since he really hadn’t eaten all day. He got back and ate and we watched TV. He told me to lower the volume and try and sleep. The pain was unbearable and they still really weren’t showing up as contractions. Around 2am Mario insisted I should get the Demerol. I felt so awful and exhausted that I gave in. I called the nurse and she somewhat satisfyingly said ‘I told you so’.

She injected the IV tube with a syringe of Demerol and I asked her if it stung. She said, yes, a little. But when I finally felt the liquid make its way down the tube, it only felt really cold. She had another syringe with her, a medication that starts with a ‘P’ that I can’t remember the name of, but she said I needed it to keep from having the nauseating side effects that Demerol usually caused. I really didn’t want it, but the last thing I needed was to have those stomach cramps and nausea. She shoved the needle into my butt cheek and OMG, it stung so bad! She told me to get comfy so that I could get some rest.

I asked Mario, who used to work with IVs and all that stuff, when I’d start feeling the Demerol kick in. He said, “Soon. Just wait.” I was just regretting getting the darn Demerol when I started to feel really lightheaded. I turned over to Mario, in what felt like slow motion, and told him, “See, this is why I don’t do drugs…this feels so weird!” The last thing I remember seeing is a huge painting of Santa I didn’t notice when we first went in to the room. I woke up several times when I heard the nurses walk in or when I felt one of the pains (which weren’t as bad as they had been) and I did finally wake up once to go to the bathroom, but I got some rest nonetheless. Poor Mario was all curled up on one of the chairs but he slept pretty much through the night. When I woke up in the morning I realized the painting I’d seen wasn’t Santa after all, but a painting of pink, red and white flowers! I really was out of it, but it was probably the best sleep I’d had in a long time! I’d wake up just to fall right back into slumber as if I’d never woken up, and didn’t wake up with a headache at all. Now, if only the doctor would hurry and release me, it would be wonderful. I didn’t want to spend my whole Saturday at the hospital again now that I knew all I had to do was stay hydrated and get over this darn virus.