Category: Family

I didn’t think this post was going to get this long, but you know me. If you’d like to read only about my new job, click here.

I guess I’ll start with Wednesday, since it sort of coincides with yesterday’s events. Let’s see…I got a call from Mr. Marks, the Career Services guy who’d helped me revise my resume last Monday. He asked if I’d taken any of my resumes to the places he’d told me were hiring and I told him no, that my brother had my car so I didn’t want to get a job and then have to miss because I didn’t have a ride. He told me about the hospitals down here and how there were 5 openings. I was pumped and got the info and was making plans to buy resume paper for when I picked up the applications. Then I remembered John’s stupid car was in the shop.

I got a call about 30 minutes later from Mary that John’s car (the Deathmobile, AKA Vish, AKA the Civic) was ready. It had been in the shop since it had a whole bunch of things wrong with it and I need my Sentra back (which John is driving till his car’s fixed) so I was in a hurry to get it over and done with. I couldn’t go on my job search until I could use my car again.

Well, I was thrilled that it was ready, but not-so-thrilled when she told me she wanted me to go pick it up. I moped around and silently threw fits because I found it hard to believe that all the car’s ailments were fixed and I just don’t know my way around San Juan, which is where the shop is. I found it kind of weird that the car was ready so soon, and for such little money. Noelia was going to work, so Mom, Jaylen and I left with her.

We get there and I compliment the guy on his work–how in the world did he manage to get the breaks, idling problem, ignition problem and overheating problem fixed so quickly? He had no idea what I was talking about–supposedly Mary didn’t tell him anything about the other problems other than the car overheating. The overheating was due to a bad thermostat, which he changed out. I told him about how long it takes the car to actually turn “on” after the key’s been pushed foward. That was due to an old fuel filter, so he sent me to Auto Zone to get one. I got it, went back, and he fixed it. It took an additional 45 minutes and my God, it was hot. Jaylen was such a good sport. I felt so bad that I had him out there in the heat, but he was happy with his Gameboy, orange Fanta and cheddar sour cream and onion Ruffles. I hate to bribe them with junk food, but I really owed him.

After we left the shop, I had to go to the ATM and then to put air in the tires. After that, which took forever on its own since we knew where nothing was, we made our way to the DMV or whatever it’s called–the one where you get the sticker…thing. It took a bit longer than planned since I always get lost in San Juan and had to go all the way around the expressway since I got into that “left only” lane. Grr. Anyway, when we get to that place I notice the car’s making this weird hissing sound once I turned the car off. Jaylen was asleep so we left the doors open while I popped the hood to check.

The stupid radiator hose that leads to another white tank was loose and spilling water everywhere. I checked if it was overheating, and it wasn’t so I don’t know how long I’d been driving like that. I stood there, helpless and without my cell phone (perfect day to forget it!) when I hear someone call, “Is there a problem?” I look to my left and a man sitting in a white Camaro is there. I nod ‘yes’ and he drives the car around. He asked what was wrong so I told him about the hose and how I probably didn’t have water in the tank anymore. He went to his car and brought back a water jug and some wireties, since the hose came undone because of the lack of a clamp. He fixed everything, even offered to lend me his cellphone and gave me some tips about the car and what to do if it ended up overheating. It’s amazing how many guardian angels one person can have. I know I’ve had a few encounters already. I swear this man just appeared there. Bless him.

It was 1:30 when we entered the DMV. It didn’t take too long before we were called and got the stickers. I stopped at the stop sign and the brakes started doing that thing it does where they slowly descend till they reach the floor. Once they were all the way down, the car started rolling into the street–I had to quickly put the car in Park. This is the main thing I wanted the mechanic to check and he didn’t. He’s going to order the part and then we have to take the car back. Bleh.

I was so scared that the car was going to mess up on me again that I drove to Mario’s work to switch for the Equinox. It was his brilliant idea for me to go pick up the car so I decided he’d be the one to suffer with it next. It was 2, and he was out to lunch so I was just praying he’d make it back before 2:30, which is the time I needed to leave McAllen to make it on time to pick up Eenan from school. He got there then threw a little fit because he wanted to keep the truck. He agreed to let me take it once I reminded him I had Jaylen with me and needed to pick up Eenan (and Elda’s boys) and couldn’t risk the darn car messing up on me again.

I picked Eenan, Sammy and Brandon up on time, thank goodness. I chilled out a bit after we got home and did some chores. I get a call from Mario around 6 that he’s on his way home. He’s hardly ever home before 7 so this was quite exciting. I’d rented all kinds of movies so when he got home he cut up some watermelon and we ate some (doused in Trechas brand Chamoy!) while watching Rumor Has It. When it was time for dinner we ordred from El Pato and left the kids with the in-laws while we went to get the food. He wanted to smoke a cigarette so he stopped by the park behind the Senior Citizens Center after we’d picked up the food.

We sat at one of the picnic tables and I told him, “Remember when we’d come here when we were teenagers after we’d had a fight, or when I ran away from you and you’d chase me here?”

He nodded, thought for a minute, then said, “Look. I want to tell you something.”

My stomach flipped since I suspected the worst.

He said, “I know I’ve had a few beers, so I don’t want you to think I’m saying this because I’m drunk or because I’m buzzing. I know how much it would bother you when we were dating that I was always hanging out with Gina. I know I was an asshole and I’d talk to her all the time and I’d even sneak out to go to her house, but I want to assure you that nothing ever happened with her. I saw her as one of the guys, just like I’d hang out with Jorge. I know I made you feel bad about it all the time, but I promise you nothing happened. I know you’ve always wondered about that.”

Tears welled up in my eyes remembering all the stuff we’d gone through that summer. It was one of the worst summers of my life–no one had ever hurt me that way. I asked, “Really? You never did?” and he said, “Never. I promise.” I had always wondered if anything happened between them. I knew she was his best friend, but I always wondered what made her so cool to him, what made him appreciate her company more than mine. She was ugly, God forgive me for saying that, so I just found it mind boggling that he was so drawn to her. She’d hook them up with beer and cigarettes since they were underage, so of course that would make any rebelious teenage boy magnetize to someone.

We were on our way to Yadira’s to pick up an Xbox game and we continued our conversation. He told me something I’ll never forget: “I love you, Babe. I can’t see myself without you. The way I can’t see myself without the boys, I can’t see myself without you. I love you and I really do want to be with you for the rest of my life.”

I felt like…exploding with happiness when he said this. He hadn’t said something like this to me since high school, when I was about to break up with him for the last time. I told him I felt that way, too. I’ve always felt this way about him, since that first time I saw him at the mall, so it was nice hearing he feels the same way.

I composed myself once we reached Yadira’s and I held Matthew while she boiled some bottles. We talked about babies, and bottles and she asked for advice. When we came back home we watched Last Holiday, which I loved.

I had a night of broken sleep. Mary came over at 4:30a.m. with Eenan in her arms. He’d slept over, so she was bringing him back since she and Noelia were to leave in about an hour and didn’t want to leave him in her room alone. Their uncle passed away and Noelia and Mary were leaving that morning for California for a week.

I’d spoken to Mario about the whole job-search thing and how I was really bummed that I wasn’t going to be able to persue the jobs at the hospital since John wouldn’t want to drive his car since it’s not fully working. I told him the jobs were mostly located at the Edinburg hospital and he said, “Babe, that’s the last thing you have to worry about. Don’t worry about the gas, we’ll figure it out with Eenan and his school and I’ll even drive the Civic till it’s fully fixed so John can take it.” I love that man. He always knows the right thing to say.

How it happened: After I dropped the kids off yesterday I sat in front of the computer and searched all the job sites I knew of. And nothing. I couldn’t get ahold of Mr. Marks to ask him a few questions I had about the positions at South Texas Health Systems and definetly couldn’t find any information about them on their employment webpage. After 2 hours of looking I was about to give up and cry my eyes out.

I was about to get up off my chair when the phone rings. It’s Aunt Nora.

She asks, “Hey Yaya, are you still looking for a job?”

I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Yes! Yes I am. I was actually just looking online for one.”

She says, “Well, they’re hiring at my office. Do you have a resume?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, bring it over. They’ve been interviewing some girls but none are qualified. They’re going to have to train anyway, so I told them my niece is very smart and a fast learner. They’ll be here from 1:30 to 2:30, so come between that time. “

I said thank you about a hundred times and took a shower, ironed my “professional clothes” and got ready. John got here just in time so I gathered my things and left.

I wasn’t nervous at all until I reached the exit I was supposed to get off at. “This is it. God, help me do well. Help me be confident and not screw up what I’m saying. Help me get this job! If I get a job, I’ll–I’ll light a candle!” All this was said out loud–I’d never actually talked to myself before, but I talked to myself till I actually found the place. I get there and immediately see Aunt Nora. I wave and she signals for me to go to her desk. We hug and she walks me over to the office of the guy who’ll be interviewing me. He was really nice. I noticed that once he went over my resume he started talking as if I was already hired. They told me at school in that class we took that they tend to do that, so I tried not to get too excited. He said he was impressed with my resume and asked about Microsoft Access since he noticed it under my ‘skills’. He said he had 2 projects in mind if I were to start working there. He hands me an application and I fill it out while he takes my resume to the boss. When he gets back we talk more about my skills then he tells me about their benefts (there are none), how they’d like me to get my Solicitor’s License in a few weeks so that I can get a raise and commission, and told me about how the owner is his dad and his siblings work there, too. He also asks if I have kids or a husband (which is an illegal question I remember from that class I took) but I answered that they were my motivation, that I have great full-time babysitters and that my husband would get home from work after I do–I’m free to work all day. Then he gets a little post-it pad and says, “Let’s talk about your pay,” and writes it down. Let’s just say it was exactly what I wanted to start with anywhere and after I get my license I’ll be raised $2 plus commission.

He told me I’d be working 8am-5:30 and every other Saturday from 8am-1pm. A little late, but fine by me. Then he shook my hand and said, “Is Monday a good day for you?,” and I said “Definitely!”

I was on cloud 9 with a big goofy, giddy smile on my face as he introduced me to everyone. I’ll be starting in Personal and Aunt Nora says the girls that will be training me are really sweet. I met them and they do seem really nice. After I get comfortable, they said I’d go to Commercial with Aunt Nora and she’ll train me for that. I even get a desk!

I hugged Aunt Nora goodbye when I was done talking with the boss and floated all the way to my car. I wanted to call Mario up and tell him the great news but I opted to stop by work and surprise him. I told him I had a big surprise and that I’d be there in a few minutes.

He was elated! He was bragging to all the guys about it. I know he bragged to Albert, who said my school sucked because his wife went there and she still hadn’t found work several years later. I can’t believe this…it’s just too good!

I picked Eenan up from school and then, around 4 we (John, Mom, the kids and I) left for Mom’s doctor’s appointment. John, the kids and I stayed in the car and joked around till Mom got back. It didn’t take long at all.

We got home and I got started on chores and dinner and taking Noelia’s dogs out. I started feeling overwhelmed and was two breaths away from a panic attack when Mario called around 9pm that he was on his way home. I told him about how I was worried: how was I going to clean the house, wash dishes, do laundry and make dinner and his lunch for the next day when I’d be getting home around 6:30-7?? When would I spend time with the boys? When would I spend time with him? What if I couldn’t do the job??? Saint that he is, he reassured me that I’d be fine, that we’d make it, that I’d make it. He let me cry for a little bit, because I was that stressed and we had another talk when he got home. I was so nervous I became nauseous. I ate half a chicken enchilada and a few forkfulls of rice before I felt like I was going to hurl. I did have Snickers ice cream with Mario and Jaylen while watching Madagascar (Eenan was asleep already) though.

I spoke to Aunt Nora today and she filled me in on the dress code, people to look out for and what to expect basically. I told her about how nervous I was the night before and she told me not to sweat it, that I’d be fine. She said there were some not-so-smart people there and they got it, so she knew I would, too. (LOL) I think I can do it. I’ve been able to do everything else that’s been put before me so I can do this.

We watched Over the Hedge this afternoon and it was SO GOOD! I loved it! The kids loved it and Mario and I were just cracking up. I love those kinds of movies/cartoons :).

We ate dinner with my dad-in-law and talked about our future. It makes me nervous just thinking about it. We’re planning to pay off the lein on the land Gramma gave us and selling it for a down payment on another property and a house. *shudder* It’s exciting, but scary at the same time! Our lives are really taking off and I just feel so blessed.

I’m still sort of in shock, with the whole work thing. It all happened so fast. Hired on the spot? What? It’s just unbelievable to me. I knew, just had this feeling, that this was going to be good year.

Now I need to go out there and buy that candle :).

(more…)

I hope all the Mommys out there had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Mine was nice and eventful. We woke up on Sunday morning and John, Mom, Mario, the boys and I headed to McDonald’s for breakfast. We went to visit Gramma afterwards. I was pretty disappointed by the nurse’s/CNA’s/supervisor’s service that day. Gramma had ants on the table beside her bed. I pressed the call button to have a nurse come over and help and nobody ever came. When I peeked out the door I could see all the nurses circled around the nurse’s station, chatting. The alarm sounds at the station; it doesn’t stop until you come to the room to turn it off. I started getting really frustrated thinking, “What if there was an emergency and these bitches never came to check on her?” I took a deep breath and calmly walked over to the station to let them know what was going on. I let them know how I was disappointed that they’d take so long, or rather not go check on her at all. The nurse that was in charge of her that day said (in Spanish, because she didn’t understand English), “I already checked on her. What does she need?” I told her, “So since you already checked on her you’re not checking on her again? What if there was an emergency?” She goes into the room and tells Gramma, “Sorry, Love, there’s nothing I can do about the ants.” And leaves.

We visit with Gramma a little longer and then I tell everyone I was going to put in a complaint. Mario and John scurry off as fast as they can to the truck, because it embarrasses them, how I “make a scene”. Well, I talk to their sorry excuse for a supervisor, who’s just as incompetent as the nurses, and basically tells me that I’m wrong, the nurse is right. So much for customer service.

We had time to kill before our movie, so we went to the mall. We got some iced coffees at Gloria Jean’s and walked around. We went to Circuit City afterwards, where Mario got himself some CDs. He kept telling me to buy myself something but it never fails that when I actually have money nothing appeals to me. All the cute shirts I liked at 5-7-9 before looked drab and boring. We went to Ross after Circuit City, where I always find something I like, but no such luck this time.

We met Mary and Noelia at the movies to watch The Wild–not my first choice. The kids had been wanting to watch that cartoon since it first came out and we kept promising to go but we never did. It was actually a cute movie–I thought I was going to hate it.

Mary had something to do after the movie, so she and Noelia left. Since Mario had promised Gramma dinner, something other than the bland, goopy stuff they serve her there, we bought her some barbacoa tacos and took them to her. After Mom fed her we left to have dinner ourselves. Mario gave me the choice, so I chose Johnny Carino’s. Mario was certain he’d hate it, because he’s not a fan of Italian like I am.

We ordered Calamari, which was great–even the kids were grabbing handfuls. I ordered Spicy Shrimp and Chicken, which wasn’t supposed to be “that spicy” according to the waiter. Mario ordered Lasagna, which he said would base his decision on whether we’d ever go there again or not. The kids ordered pizzas, which were actually whole medium-sized pizzas. Our meals came with soup, so we got the potato soup and it was delicious. Mario said it was the best he’s ever eaten. I’d never tasted it before at all, but I loved it. When our food came we were highly disappointed, although I was really trying to hide it since I was adamant on going there regardless of Mario’s warnings.

My “not that spicy” dish was the spiciest damn thing I’ve ever eaten. And it had a total of two measly shrimps in it. Mario didn’t like his lasagna at all, so he told me to have some of his since he didn’t want it anymore. It had this weird taste–an insane amount of oregano or anise, I couldn’t tell, but it was gross. It was less expensive there than it would have been at Red Lobster, my 2nd choice, though. Needless to say, first and last time at Johnny Carino’s.

We went to Wal-Mart to get house-cleaning supplies and groceries and then came home. It was 8:30 when we got here–we were literally in town all day.

I put everything away when we got here and sat down on the rug in front of the TV for some scrapbooking. Mario left to Chris’ so it was just me and Jaylen; I’d already put Eenan in bed for school the next day.

Mary had come by earlier and said to keep candles and flashlights out since we were under a thunderstorm warning. I thought nothing of it since just a few nights before we’d been under a warning, but nothing ever happened. Well this time, it did. The lights went out at around 11:30 or 12. Jaylen stayed near me while he lit the way with his Gameboy so I could light candles. I couldn’t find my lighter anywhere since Mario had taken it. Mario got here before I started panicking and we lit as many candles as we could. He gets a call from his Mom to move the van out of the carport and move the Equinox in. He went out there and I lost sight of him as soon as he walked out the door. The wind and dirt were flying around so fast and hard it stung when it hit you. And the noises! I thought it was a tornado for sure. We layed out the futon in the living room and brought Eenan over from the bedroom. We dragged Eenan’s twin into the living room and Mario and I layed there (just like when we first started living together!). We shut the door to the bedroom just in case the windows broke apart–it sounded like they were going to, they were rattling so bad. We went to sleep around 1:30 or 2, and the lights came back on at 3:15, according to John who was awake all night. When we woke up the next day we saw branches all over the yard, part of the wooden fence had fallen down. When I watched the news later they talked about a mobile home that had been thrown on it’s side and another home that had the roof torn off and was left tilted. They said it was only a thunderstorm with 60mph winds. I’d HATE to know what a tornado feels like. This was really scary.

As for today, I’m going to watch some movies I rented and finish with laundry. I feel so bored and I don’t know why :(.

(more…)

So we’d planned on leaving for our Mini Vacation at South Padre Island on Friday after Eenan got out of school. After dropping him off in the morning, I started looking up numbers and info online and got prices for Schlitterbahn. When Mario woke up, I asked him about the hotels. I started calling around and our worst nightmare happened: All the cheapy hotels were sold out! And even then the cheapy ones were expensive. All the ones that were available were $150 and up–that’s expensive for us seeing as how we stay at Motel 6’s every time we’ve gone on vacation. Shoot, even Motel 6 in Florida was way less expensive than the one at The Island.

We gave up and I silently curse my bad luck while I cleaned the bathroom. After we’d both calmed down, Mario told me to call The Surf Motel since it was one of the least expensive ones that was available.

We got a double-bed room with a kitchenette for $89. Pretty good deal. They only had Saturday night available so we decided to leave on Saturday morning instead of that afternoon. It would give us more time to clean up the house and pack our junk. So I did laundry, cleaned up, and we packed (Mario actually helped me this time!).

When we picked Eenan up after school his teacher walks him to the car and she says, “Oh, he’s so excited about his trip! He’s been talking about it all day!” Mario and I look at eachother, worried. He’s definetly going to throw a fit, or cry when we tell him we’re not leaving till the next day. So we break it to him. His eyes get watery but we tell him, “We’re starting our fun weekend today–we’re going to Mr. Gatti’s!” He quickly wipes his eyes and cracks a smile and starts asking us about our plans.

We ate, and ate, and ate at Carb Heaven Mr. Gatti’s. It was SO good–never get tired of that place (even though the pizza has so much grease it causes both Mario and I to get an upset stomach ). I ate so much pizza, brownies, chocolate pizza and these buttery, icing-covered sticks I probably gained 5 lbs. that afternoon.

After we played games with the kids for about an hour, we got tired and ended up winning tickets for them from this spinning game so we could get their prizes and leave. Mario and Eenan went to the truck and Jaylen and I went to this shop, Melissa Guerra, that I’ve wanted to visit since I started seeing their commercials on TV. I saw an old friend from elementary/middle school who works there. That place is so nice–I love all the little knick-knacks and jewelry! Since I needed a potato brush, I bought one of those in the shape of a potato and a little pig-shaped molcajete.

We went to Wal-Mart that night so we could get snacks, drinks and sandwich stuff for the trip. I took the opportunity to find a new bathing suit, since my chest was busting out of my old one. As I expected, not one darn bathing suit top fit me. Medium was too small from the chest but perfect for my torso, and XL was fine on my chest but the rest was enormous on my body. They didn’t even have cover-ups, so I gave up. I figured we could stop the next morning on the way to the beach.

I stayed up pretty late that night hunting for the kids’ sand toys outside, finishing up with packing, washing dishes and checking things off my obsessive-compulsive induced list. I hate forgetting things so I make lists. Lots of lists.

And then the fun began.

I’d set the alarm for 7a.m. since Mario needed to take a shower and I always need extra time to get myself and both the boys ready. We got up 30 minutes after the alarm went off. I get ready and start checking things off the second list I made and when the kids are ready (and grumpy) and Mario’s out of the shower we start putting everything in the truck. Mom and Mary are here to see us off. I don’t remember exactly what I was doing, but I looked into Mario’s rats’ cage and notice that Tailwhip’s just laying there. I think, “Oh, no,” and sure enough, he was dead . I give Mario the bad news and he gets a Ziploc to get him ready for his burial. I’d just fed the rats the night before, and he was fine, so I didn’t understand why he died. And it was so weird that it happened just a few days after Spike died.

I go outside to give the cats food and water and I find EMOcat (John named him so because he was a screamy little emo kitty) just laying there as well. I thought he looked a little lethargic the night before while I was getting the kids’ sand toys together, but I thought it was because he’d been asleep. So there I go, with another Ziploc bag and a Wal-Mart bag to cover him up. John ended up burying them for us since we had to leave. So, so sad :(.

We leave and pick up ice at Aziz for the cooler. We decide to get some breakfast at Burger King and I ask Mario if he can stop at Target since I needed a bathing suit. He ends up saying something sarcastic like, “Sure, we’re late anyway,” and that just sets me off. The stress from rushing, the animals dying, being behind schedule, and the headache I was going to get from crying my eyes out because my big boobs weren’t going to fit into anything just got to me. I yell, “We’re already late, it’s not my fault! You think I want to look for a frickin’ bathing suit that ‘s not going to fit me anyway?!” He realizes just how crappy I feel about everything so he calmly tells me to finish eating and to take my time. And then I go into Target.

I tried on several adorable bathing suits that just didn’t work for me. I need to know where they sell bathing suits with underwires, because I don’t know how other women who have big boobs do it. I didn’t feel “secure” in those bathing suits at all. I imagined myself coming down the slide at Schlitterbahn and my top flipping over my head because those things are so loose. *shudder*

I decided to buy this tankini top and a bottom that had a cute skirt over it–yep, I don’t like showing skin AT ALL. I wasn’t thrilled with it, but at least I found something.

We still had to stop at the dealership in Harlingen to pick up our license plates, we freaked out when it started raining around Los Fresnos, and then, when we finally got to the Island, we had to find Schlitterbahn.

The park opened at 10, and we got there at 11:30. There was a huge line when we got there, but it must have been from some school because they let them in right away. We rented our locker, got the kids ready and then I got ready. As I walked into the girl’s bathroom I noticed all the skinny little teens and tweens were in these itty-bitty bikinis and flat chests and I instantly felt like I was 500 lbs. I thought, “Oh, hell no. I’m not wearing my bathing suit top”. I left my regular bra on and my t-shirt (which thankfully matched my bathing suit bottom) and I felt alright. Only for a few seconds before I realized that when I took a shower, I failed to notice my cactus-legs and didn’t shave…lovely.

Schlitterbahn wasn’t super exciting or anything, but there’s water everywhere so the kids had a great time. The water was freezing, though, but the weather was nice and cool since it was overcast. We checked out the big Sand Castle with the kids and they mostly “swam” in the kiddie pools and slid down the slides surrounding the Sand Castle. We got a little brave and even went on the water slides. They were so fun! Jaylen loved them. It took a while to convince him to go with me. There was an Arabic man with his adorable little boy in front of us and he noticed I was having trouble with Jaylen. He talked to him and told him he and his little boy were going on, and when they got down they’d tell him how it was. When we saw them, he told Jaylen it was fun and his little boy didn’t cry, so Jaylen was excited. Eenan ended up liking it so much he kept going on all the slides all by himself (with Mario waiting at the bottom for him, of course). All-in-all, it was a blast.

We left at around 2, since check-in at the hotel was at 3. We can’t find the darn place. After driving from one end of the Island to the other, we decide to ask someone at Circle K for directions. When I ask this big, burly cashier where Gulf Blvd. is, he chuckles and says, “You’re on it.” He hands me a map with a look on his face like, ‘Damn tourists’ and points me towards Amberjack St. We finally find the place and are kind of taken aback by the little shack. We think, “Oh great, it’s gonna suck”.

While I’m checking in and give the attendant my $101.69, a lady asks what rate they had for the next day and he says, “$49”. He says since everyone goes back home on Sundays the rates are much cheaper. Price-inflating bastards.

We go around the back to the rooms and are surprised to see it was a pretty sweet place. There’s a deck with a bunch of tables and the kitchenette is fully stocked–everything from napkins and utensils, to pots and pans. Had we known I would have bought actual food to cook!

We unpack, have lunch (sandwiches, Pepsis and sour cream and onion Pringles) and decide to take it easy for a few hours–we’re exhausted from chasing the kids and the kids are exhausted from running away from us. Mario falls alseep and I read for a bit before taking a shower and then bathing the kids.

When Mario’s slept for about 2 hours I wake him up and we go to the shops. The kids are running rampant around the stores and don’t let us have 5 minutes of peace. After we threaten to sell them (and immediately feel like horrible parents, as we should) they start behaving a little better. We had fun looking around at all the shells, hermit crabs and funny shirts and hats.

Mario and I didn’t find the flip-flops we wanted in our size after scanning at least 7 shops, so we got a few souveniers for everyone back home and picked up some KFC. I hadn’t had KFC in forever, so it was delicious. Jaylen, Mario and I ate out on the deck and Eenan stayed inside because he wanted to watch Cartoon Network. The weather was awesome that night–it felt so good. We talked out there for a while, jamming to the music of the pack of teenagers that had the room next to ours.

I read before bed (I never finished that darn book–Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Wells) and fell asleep beside Jaylen, who was playing with my hair, as always. Mario stayed up watching a DVD and slept in Eenan’s bed. I don’t think I’ve ever had a more relaxing sleep. I didn’t even wake up to pee!

We woke up the next morning and got everything packed. We planned on going to the beach, then going back to the hotel to wash up and then go home, but we had to check out by 12 noon and it was already 9a.m. We put everything in the truck, I double-checked my “Don’t Forget!” list twice and turned in our keys.

Our first stop was McDonald’s since we hadn’t had breakfast. Worst. Service. EVER. It was packed so I thought I’d give them a break for getting my order wrong (gave me a McGriddles instead of a bacon, egg & cheese biscuit). When they took about 15 minutes just to give me my ‘you-only-have-to-microwave-the-damn-thing-biscuit’, they had officially pissed me off. And, oh my gosh, they have the cutest little gay boy working there! I instantly fell in love with his big, blue eyes. That’s the only reason I didn’t gouge out my cashier’s eyes for taking so darn long–I was too busy staring at the guy .

The kids had a blast at the beach, as always. It was nice and cool, too. The sand wasn’t even scalding our feet. We took our beach chairs, cooler, mat, and sand toys. The kids made sand castles, which got drowned by water several times, but they kept adding sand and pushing shells in.

Mario fed the seagulls Pringles that fell into our bag, I took a picture of seagulls “doing it”, I helped the kids with their castles, then Mario did; the kids played in the freezing water, I looked for smooth, flat shells for my scrapbook; and right before we left, we saw a blue jellyfish. I’d never seen one in my life:

It started getting hot, so we tip-toed as fast as we could to the car since the sand was scalding by then. And of course, as my luck would have it, I only sunburned/tanned on one arm. WTF?

It was a total pain getting the sand off of ourselves without actually showering down (we didn’t go to Andy Bowie park this time, but to a separate, free beach access), but with the help of half a case of bottled waters, damp towels from the day before at Schlitterbahn and the kids standing on the cooler we had minimal sand in the truck. Jaylen almost peed on the seat–he was an inch away! I ended up having to strip down in the truck and just prayed to God that nobody decided to pass by–which thankfully, nobody did. I hope

It was a nice trip. I wish it could have been longer but maybe next time. And next time, we’ll reserve our hotel much sooner!

We stopped by Wal-Mart, where Jaylen threw a fit because we didn’t get him some M&Ms and then to another shop where we got some necklaces and shirts. I liked that store much more than all the other ones.

I made sandwiches for us on the road since it was lunch time and we enjoyed the quiet while the kids slept.

We got home and took showers and later we went to Jorge and Maggie’s. We saw their new 2005 Accord, which they got in place of their Explorer. I still can’t believe Jorge actually let his Explorer go!

They ordered pizzas and we talked about work, finding work, crappy parents, genealology and other stuff. It always amazes me that we can find all these different things to talk about.

Today we took it easy, well, the morning anyway. We had breakfast, gave our first car payment, went to Target and returned my bathing suit top and I got a bra and an entertainment center for the kids. We need to put the cedar chest Mom gave me in storage and since the kids had their TV, game consoles/games, VCR & DVD player on top of it, we needed to get something to put all that stuff on. We went to eat at the New Wave Buffet and, oh my gosh, I stuffed myself to the brim. Even Mario was freaked out by how much I ate. I really have to stop doing that, stuffing myself. I can FEEL that I’m gaining weight. I feel…jiggly :(.

We picked Eenan up then put the entertainment center together and then went to Wal-Mart. And now, they’re showing Philidelphia? where Tom Hanks plays a guy with AIDS and I’ve never seen this movie before so, bye!

[edit: 12:56a.m.] After watching Walk the Line I realized I totally forgot to mention that April 30th, Sunday, was Mario and my “altogether anniversary”, which is how long we’ve been together in total. We’ve been together 9 years! I can’t even believe how long it’s been! [/edit]

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