Category: Family

Pumpkin Patch 2018

Our weekend began with Jorge going out with Robert for his birthday–a rare outing for both of them, especially Jorge. Eenan and Jaylen were taking their time replying to my calls and texts so I met Sally (and Charlee) for drinks and gossip at Applebee’s while I waited to pick them up.

It was finally time to pick Eenan up (Jaylen had UIL in the morning and he didn’t want to wake up at the unGodly hour of 4:30 to make it there on time, so I don’t blame him). We chatted a little and then Eenan and I came home.

Jorge and I had a bit of a…wrinkle in communication and had an argument. A long, horrible argument. Thankfully, we both woke up in much better moods. Jorge went off to work and I got to sleep in a tiny bit more. I made cream cheese eggs and bacon for myself and the kids (well, the ones that were awake) and had my coffee while they played their video games. Then Jorge came home early and we hung out outside with the neighbor’s cat, whom the girls have named Alamo and have taken ownership of πŸ™„ .

Don’t mind the grass; Jorge cut it the next evening!

We had a rather normal Saturday of cleaning and watching TV. Then we dropped Jorgie off at a QuinceaΓ±era, where I embarrassingly yelled “Jorgie, your collar!” as he walked into the hall, to which he returned back to the car and hissed, “Oh my God, I had just worked up the courage to walk over there!” But still leaned into the window so I could straighten his collar out.

Jorge and I wanted junk food, so we stopped by Snowball Express and ordered a Maranada (an unhealthy but delicious mix of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, roasted corn, mayo, nacho cheese, cheese and who knows what else) and a fancy pineapple drink (“Rusa”). To say that I haven’t been very “Keto” lately is an understatment, but my pants and acne would concur.

There was absolutely no way to get a good photo of that drink. It was obnoxiously tall.

We dropped the snacks off at home with the kids, but not before having a few bitefulls. It was chilly so we decided some pan dulce from CafΓ© de Paris would be excellent. It did not disappoint. They have the softest, tiniest conchas!

Needless to say, after all the darn carbs I had, I passed out on the couch.

Sunday was spent doing the usual: laundry, groceries, cleaning and more laundry. And then we went to the Pumpkin Patch for our annual photo. The kids thought I was joking that they were going to be 25 and I was still gonna gather them all for the photo–BUT I’M DEAD SERIOUS.

I’m glad they’re such good sports. Although by the 3rd photo for each pose, their smiles gradually morphed into frowns πŸ˜† .

I just love Autumn!

Revelations

So. It’s been a while!

I’ve been lazy and missed writing about all of summer and now it’s a new school year and it’s almost Halloween…and guess what? I’m only writing because I need to whine and get things off my chest.

(You’ve been warned.)

I’ve been in a Debbie Downer type of mood as of late. And I joke about it, but it’s really affecting me and everyone around me…and I hate it.

Another thing I hate: to admit something’s wrong with me. Or so…I think something’s “wrong”. All I know is, I don’t feel “right”.

See. I know anxiety and depression runs in my family. It’s genetic; embedded in my DNA. Gramma Elia had it, Mom has it, John has it. But all my life–even as a kid when I was poor as fuck and had nothing–I was able to keep that shit at bay. When I was going through my divorce and custody battle and somedays felt like my life was ending I was–SOMEHOW–able to keep that shit at bay in public. But lately, everything makes me feel anxious. And sad. And I constantly feel like the rug is about to be pulled from under me in all aspects of my life.

I used to be so positive! I could brush shit off and go on with my life–and I didn’t dwell or think about things.

The last 2 years of working at the Chamber I’d get overwhelmed and upset, so I naturally pinned it on stress from my events. It never occurred to me that it could be anxiety. I took up Yoga, running, slept with a mouth guard on and even looked up mindfulness books–and it worked for the most part.

But now, when things aren’t bad, and my job isn’t stressful at all, and the kids are mostly independent and Jorge works so hard to provide for us and I’m not missing anything in my life I just feel so anxious ALL. THE. TIME. The tiniest thing will set me off and ruin my day: slow drivers, feeling bloated, someone being rude to me in the slightest (when I could easily just brush it off before), a bill I forgot to pay, friends not replying to a text, having to go grocery shopping. And don’t even get me started if all that shit happens in the same day! I’ll lose it!

And I *still* keep beating myself up for not starting school yet. I keep making excuses, then I beat myself up and the cycle continues.

I even recently had a breakdown at work because I was hormonal and all these little things kept building in my brain until I exploded. I even freaked Jorge out during lunch and cried in front of Jessica and later Neva at work. I was so embarrassed! And I couldn’t get a grip!

Maybe I need more endorphins! And to stop eating carbs! I recently started eating carbs and sugar again and I’m pretty sure that’s affecting me negatively–not only my mood but waistline! I don’t want to give all those people who said I’d regret doing Keto the satisfaction of being right!! So I need to start running again. Especially because the holidays and all the treats that come along with them are coming up and I don’t need to gain all the weight back that I managed to keep off for 1.5 years!

And also!! Writing here used to help with my anxiety TONS. I can’t count how many times I would start a post where I was depressed or upset or angry and half-way through I’d realize just putting it out there into the universe–even if nobody read it–I felt the weight lifting. And then I’d re-read what I posted and found that I didn’t need for anyone to read it at all. I was okay. I need to get back to that. Plus, it’s always nice to come back and “see” the happy times. Because most of the times ARE happy.

Anyway. I’m writing this in the truck as Jorge, Tony and I drive to San Antonio to pick some stuff up for Jorge. (More stress!!) Only us crazy asses would make a half-day trip that takes 4 hours to and 4 hours from at 1pm!

Mother’s Day 2018

I was more than sure I was going to spend this Mother’s Day weekend alone–well, just Mom and me. It was bringing back memories of almost exactly 8 years ago, when Mario and I were separated before the divorce and it was his weekend with the kids. It was thee worst Mother’s Day I’d ever had. I just felt so disconnected and lonely at the time, and it felt like history was repeating itself now, but under completely different circumstances, of course.

Jorge started a new project away from home a week ago. Since it was a brand-new project, and I knew he had time constraints, and the kids would be with the other parents this year I had already conceded to the fact that I was going to have a rather lonely holiday.

The girls were leaving on Thursday with their dad, but he had some things to do so the girls got to hang out with me a bit longer :). We snuggled on the couch to watch Grey’s Anatomy, where they both used me as a pillow πŸ˜€ .

I was a wreck and the girls cried, too. JAPRIL, man. Never gonna get over it!!

We got some last-minute burgers and made it back right on time for Mary to pick up the girls. I was still bawling from Grey’s, and from the girls leaving. AND from realizing that it was the start of a lonely weekend. BUT I put on my big-girl panties and went for a run. And talked to Jorge on the phone and whined about how shitty I felt. I regretted watching Grey’s, as I pinpointed that episode as the root cause of my sudden depression. πŸ™„ Everything else was just bonus sadness, I guess.

Friday was a quiet day at work, but co-workers from another department were visiting so we chatted for a bit. The group that was visiting was making plans to go to lunch so I was going to tag along. At the last minute it ended up being just 2 of us. We ended up at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries where I had a Little Bacon Cheeseburger with extra bacon and cheese (Keto Tip: they don’t charge for extra bacon and cheese when you order a bacon cheeseburger!) It made the afternoon go by faster, getting out of the office for a bit.

Mom and I started off the weekend by seeing Frankie Valli in concert Friday night! It was John’s Mother’s Day gift to us, which was really awesome of him.

We ate at Taco Rico (Mom’s choice), and I kept it Keto.

(Well, except for the beans, heh.)

Then we left to the Performing Arts Center. Of course, Ticketmaster never ceases to fuck my night up–once again, my tickets didn’t “work”. Apparently they weren’t saving the text with the barcode so it wouldn’t scan πŸ™„ . So I had to leave Mom in the lobby, go back outside to the box office, and get the 3rd degree from the lady at the window. After 10 long and sweaty minutes, I finally got a little notepaper with permission to enter the premises. Geez.

I needed a drink after that, so I found our seats and escorted Mom and got myself some whiskey and Diet Coke (low carb!).

And finally, the concert started and it was magical–it really was. It was so nice to hear Mom singing along and I knew most of the songs too. It was pretty awesome when “Can’t Keep My Eyes Off You” came on and the entire theater was singing their heart out. And Grease!

It was a really good concert!

And we made it to my car before the throngs of people started spilling out, so that was a bonus!

The even better cherry on top was that Jorge said he was coming home after all! And I made arrangements with Mario to pick the girls up on Saturday to spend time together! So that was a huge relief!

I started the next morning off with a run. I remembered why I prefer running in the evening…it was only 9am and the sun was already starting to beat down on my face and it was quickly becoming a humid, sweltering day. I got home and made myself some breakfast.

Then I showered and got ready to pick up the kiddos. Jaylen was doing community service and Eenan decided to tag along at the last minute so it would only be us 4.

I asked if they wanted food, ice cream or Starbucks and of course they chose Starbucks. I only had an iced coffee as I planned to “fast” during lunch.

Then we went to buy flowers for the moms and Gramma’s grave at HEB. And some Halo Top for me and other little groceries. Oh yes. And a new wine-based Margarita mix. They were having tastings and they had me at ‘Hello’! It would be perfect for when we met up with Dinah later.

We headed home and Jaylen was dropped off shortly. Eenan introduced us to a cartoon on Netflix called Aggretsuko, because he said he assumed it was how it was for me at work. Well, my previous work lol. Sure enough, we were able to compare real co-workers with characters πŸ˜†

We got hungry eventually so we ordered a botana from Taco Ole…and I was NOT able to stay strict Keto. Those darn tortilla chips are my FAVORITE.

We hung out and lazied-around a bit more before I had to drop them off. They were going to a party later that evening and I’d go back for them the next morning.

Jorge arrived before I got home from dropping the kids off. He ate and then we ran some errands before meeting Dinah and Javi at their hotel. We exchanged Mother’s Day gifts–Dinah and I both got each other succulents!

Jorge prepared us some drinks and they were pretty darn good! And strong!

Apparently, too strong. I couldn’t remember certain parts of the night and I just had this strange feeling when I woke up the next morning. I thought about it as I did my morning routine and once Jorge woke up I asked him what in the world happened because I couldn’t remember the car ride home.

He said, “Um. You don’t remember? You, um, cried on the way home…”

I was mortified. “Whaaat??? What was I crying about??” I finally got a spark of memory; I remembered feeling sad…and babbling πŸ™„ . Oh geez.

He said, “Everything, Baby. Life in general.”

I apparently cried about feeling inadequate, like I don’t do enough or make enough money. About how I haven’t gone back to school. About feeling lonely–ugh, just thinking about it now makes me cringe!

How dare that stupid alcohol unearth such deep-rooted issues I didn’t even know I had!

It was a slow realization, but I’d recently noticed that ever since leaving the Chamber and starting at my new job, I’ve sort of cut myself off from everyone. I really only hang out with Sally when she has time. And even then, most of the time I feel like I’m bothering her. I know it’s not true–because she told me so–but I can’t help but feel that way because of that annoying little nagging voice in the back of my head. That voice is the reason I don’t reach out to most people. And then I feel lonely and the cycle continues.

It doesn’t help that Jorge isn’t around sometimes due to work. That’s been the hardest of all πŸ™ .

I also feel like I should do more. But I felt that way ever since the Chamber days: like I should be going to school, making more money. My job now is SO EASY and laid back that I have tons of time to think and dwell and beat myself up over stupid shit. Ugh.

ANYWAY. Back to my original story: we showered and got ready and took Mom to breakfast at Taco Ole.

We chilled out a bit at home before I picked the kiddos up for lunch.

Took this pic of my Emmos, looking adorable, as always!

She gave me this awesome card:

She’s so sweet to her mama!

And I also received a Yeti mug and wine glass from hubs!

I also got shopping and nail money, which is ALWAYS appreciated!

Jorge said he was going to stay behind since he was tired, so only Mom the kiddos and I went to lunch at Wing Stop. (I swear, my whole life is EATING!)

We chit-chatted and had some laughs and then I dropped them off. Mom and I made our way to the cemetery to drop off Gramma’s flowers and tidy up her grave a little. It’s our first Mother’s Day without Gramma πŸ™ .

I saw later that both girls had Snapped and Instagrammed Mother’s Day posts to me! As bad as it may be on some occasions, I love that I can “see” them express themselves through social media.

I’m only sad that she didn’t have another photo πŸ˜† πŸ˜† !!

All-in-all, couldn’t ask for a better Mother’s Day! My heart and soul were thrilled and fulfilled!