Category: Holiday

The past few days have been…insane. I’ve been up and about since 3am Friday and my feet hate me for it. They’re thankfully not swollen, they just feel like I’m walking on glass or something.

Thanksgiving went without a hitch. Mario woke up at 6:45am to help Mary put the turkeys into the oven since one of them would have to be hauled to our house since we were having 2 turkeys, as usual. He totally let me sleep in; I didn’t wake up till 9am. By the time I showered and made myself presentable, it was 10am. I woke Mario up, who’d fallen back to sleep, and got the kiddos ready and we went over to Mary’s. The food was delicious as always. We had turkey, of course, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, broccoli rice, green bean casserole and probably more that I can’t remember at the moment. I lost my ravenous appetite half-way through my meal since Jaylen had been playing in their clubhouse and lost his footing at the bottom of the steps. He scraped his back on the last two steps and naturally screamed his head off. Since Mario was playing pool (since he’d already finished eating), he sends Jaylen in so that *I* can take care of him. After cleaning him up with peroxide, q-tipping some Neosporin on the scrape and covering it with a bandaid, I didn’t feel as hungry anymore. I put my plate away and about half an hour later, joined everyone who was eating dessert. I’ve craved pumpkin pie with Cool Whip so much during this pregnancy! Thank God I’m pregnant during the Fall/Winter months LOL.

Dad called and said he unfortunately couldn’t make it. I sort of figured he couldn’t come since his car isn’t working but I was hopeful. We agreed to make plans to get together later though.

We chilled out the rest of the day and later on when Andy and Noelia arrived (she was meeting some of Andy’s relatives she hadn’t met before) we started to browse through the Black Friday ads. All who were going sat around the kitchen table and discussed our game plan: who was going with who, what each person was in charge of getting and where we would meet in each store. At first John was hyped about going, but ended up changing his mind. Mario thought he was going to have the day off, but was called in, which really sucked. Andy would be at Best Buy; Mary, Sonia, Yadira, Tommy, Noelia, Yazmin and I would be at Wal-Mart (eek!) and would split up there. After that, we’d go to Target.

We left the house by 3am. Mario would stay with the boys till 8am, which is when he’d leave to work and Mom would take over. Mary, Noelia and I left in my truck, then we dropped Mary off at Yadira’s.

I won’t go into detail because so much went on, but I’ll say this: people were trampled, we heard a woman scream in pain, a man punched another man (probably because of the portable DVD players that were on sale for $50) so Mission P.D. was called (there were 5 cars outside the store), a fight broke out in electronics over some cameras, and I heard a woman crying in the bathroom when I went to pee before we left. DRA-MA. It was terrible. When Noelia and I were together at the beginning, we got the present Eenan wanted, which was on sale for $28 (down from $38) and some game boards. My job later on was to find some DVDs that were on sale for $3.88 and then get 2 hand mixers that were on sale for $4 for Mary. I did both without getting hurt. A nice family let me scoot in with them before the caution tape was cut to get to the isles with sale items. Everyone was really cautious because of my big, protruding belly :P.

Poor Mary had trouble finding the iDogs she was looking for. When a nice lady she’d met had held one for her, this bitchwoman who looked like a bulldog told the lady she was with Mary and that she’d take the iDog for her. We got there right when they were making the exchange. I tell Mary, “Tell her it’s for you!” and the bitchwoman says, “Too bad. She gave it to me.” Grr. We saw her later when we arrived at Target and I silently hoped that I could somehow curse her causing her not to find anything she wanted LOL.

The line at Target was insane. We were somewhere in the middle but people’d been camping there since the day before. Weirdos. I don’t know what they’d be there so early for. I was there for DVDs, I found the toy we got Eenan at Wal-Mart for $15 so we exchanged the other one later, Game Cube games, a crock pot and I can’t even remember what else. It was much more civilized and controlled at Target. People who were trying to cut in line or wait at the front of the parking lot to run in with the rest of us who’d been in line were quickly sent to the end of the line by the employees. And there was plenty of merchandise to go around.

Andy met us there. Poor thing didn’t get the computer he wanted from Best Buy, but that’s only because psycho people were waiting there since 4pm the day before O_o. I could never do that. I’m crazy enough to wake up at 3am, but not actually SLEEP there.

Andy did, however, get Eenan’s main present for us on sale (almost $100-150 off!), so that was much appreciated.

We had breakfast at Burger King and a few more stops, like K-Mart (which didn’t have much on sale and not much left of what was actually good), Academy and another 2 stops at Target and Walmart to return stuff. We had a very successful shopping day. My legs hurt SO BAD after we were done shopping–I couldn’t even climb into my truck to drive home!

I know 3 things that I’m getting for Christmas, buahaha! Edward Scissorhands and Season 1 of Grey’s Anatomy from Mary and a Flickr account from Mom–woo!

Mario got out of work later than he thought he would, and because of a misunderstanding he didn’t get his paycheck cashed before the banks closed. Totally sucked. I was hoping we’d make it out to KB Toys to get Jaylen’s main present, but I sucked it up as best as I could and we just chilled out here.

I left to town with Mary the next morning while Mom watched the boys. We went to pick up Mario’s check at work, came back half-way and cashed it, then went back to town. We went to Best Buy, where I got 4 awesome DVDs for $20 (as you’ve probably noticed, I’m not mentioning much of what I got just in case I get some snoopy readers ;)! *cough*family*cough*) We went to Target again and then had lunch with Mario at El Pato. We dropped him off and finished our shopping (I’m so out of it I can barely remember where we went!) and we finally came home. I ended up finding Jaylen’s main gift at Target–the LAST ONE LEFT. I was so happy I almost cried. I was certain I wouldn’t be able to find it anymore and was kicking myself for not getting it the day before, but yay, we found one :). And cheaper than KB’s or anywhere else for that matter.

My feet were on fire that day.

I got the kids ready in their costumes for Brandon’s birthday party when we got home while they watched Ice Age the Meltdown. I *had* to get it; the cheapest I found it was $14.99 at one of the Targets in McAllen. All the other ones had it for $19.99, which I found really weird.

Elda had decorated the carport in a Haunted House theme and the kids were wearing their Halloween costumes. They had a moon jump and musical chairs and the food for the adults was menudo (the kids had hot dogs). It was really good and the desserts were cute. Elda borrowed my Betty Crocker Bake-n-Fill cake pans and made a spider cake with chocolate Twizzler legs.

John and I were going to go to Target after the party, but I could hardly keep my eyes open and my legs still hurt really bad, so Mary and Noelia offered to join us. Mom stayed with the boys while they watched Ice Age the Meltdown. John ended up buying an iPod after being annoyingly undecisive for half an hour. I got a gift for Catherine’s birthday, which isn’t till December 13th but I was getting such a deal I couldn’t pass it up. Mario had called while we were there and asked me to buy him a long-sleeved shirt since it was cold and he wanted Mary to drop me off at Jorge’s for a party they were having for Manny, their neighbor.

Mary drops me off, but we ended up coming home since Maggie was just home from work and in the shower and Mario wanted to rent movies anyway. We stop at Video Plus and rent some movies and get some ice creams. We get home, get in our PJs and about 15 minutes into the movie (You, Me and Dupree) decide we’re too darn sleepy to watch it LOL.

I dropped Mario off the next day since he wanted me to pick him up and go grocery shopping. I woke up that morning to Mary washing my mountain of dishes that were left in the sink from the past 3 days since I had hardly been home (and when I was, I was resting my poor feet!). I felt so embarrassed and kept telling her she shouldn’t have. I cleaned for a while and then John came over and watched the boys (I don’t want to leave them, they just hate going on any kind of shopping trips because ‘Mama takes too long’) while Mary, Mom and I went to Target yet again since Mom needed to get some Christmas gifts that were on sale. We’d done our gift exchange the night before and I had two boys I needed to get games for and they just so happened to be the exact amount of money I needed to spend on each gift, so I got them. I also got a gift for Mario’s godfather which I got for a pretty damn good deal. We’re thankfully almost done with Christmas shopping! We only need a few more small gifts for the kiddos and about 6 more gifts for the family and a birthday present for my dad-in-law. I’m so happy :).

We stopped to see Gramma for a while and put up her Christmas decorations per her request. She’d also asked me to make her a Christmas CD so I obliged and we were listening to it while we put her tree up. I miss my Grimmy and wish she could be here for Christmas :(.

We picked Mario up when it was time to do so and we went grocery shopping. I love when he’s there–it’s so much easier to pick stuff to cook during the week when he makes suggestions.

I was on a cleaning frenzy yesterday and sat like, 2 times during the whole day. Mario even had me drive over to his work during lunch to drop off some stuff and pick up a pizza for him. I had to get more cough medicines for the kids since Eenan’s teacher was complaining that he’d gotten the whole class sick which is a bunch of bull. She told the nurse I should have kept him home, but hello? He coughed maybe 3 times all day long–how could I keep him home for a cough?!

I actually got to take my morning nap today (didn’t fall asleep till 1:30am yesterday) and then cleaned, sewed curtains for Mary, and cooked. I had everything done by 8:30pm, which is why I actually have a chance to update. The kiddos are actually sleeping pretty well during the night which I’m so grateful for. I haven’t heard one cough. Thank God for Triaminic, Vicks Vaporub and humidifiers!

I have my 31 week doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I’m so excited. I’m actually getting really nervous and anxious now since there are only 9 weeks left! I have so much to do before she’s born. Mario and I decided we should get my registry done as soon as possible, while I can still walk. John and Mario are always teasing me about how big my belly is and how it seems to grow every few minutes LOL.

Oh wow, the weather should be nice and cold by Thursday. I can’t wait!

I shall shower now. I plan on sleeping early tonight, no matter how late Mario gets here (it’s Tuesday–they have beers on Tuesday).

I have loved today. Woke up “late” (at 8:30), which is much better than waking up at 6:30am. The kids were already awake and were watching TV quietly in the living room. Made breakfast (breakfast sandwich for Mario and French toast for the rest of us) and just sat in absolute quiet bliss while enjoying my warm toast.

And then the kids started screaming. But only for a little while :).

This, the not having to rush around and leave the house to pick up/drop off kids 3 times a day, makes me wish Summer vacation was already near. We’re about 6 1/2 months away but at least I have 3 weeks of Christmas vacation to look foward to. Yay!

I decided that this year I wanted to have Dad over for Thanksgiving. I’ve never invited him over before, mostly because I was afraid I’d be scoffed at by the family, namely by my dramatic mother. And I couldn’t stand the thought of him spending another Thanksgiving either alone, or with other family-less friends at the Salvation Army dinner.

I spoke to Mario about it and he thought it was a great idea. I asked Mary first if it was okay, whom I figured wouldn’t have a problem with it since Elda’s already having her whole family over. Sure enough, she said it was fine. I presented the idea to John and Mom simultaneously. John didn’t say anything, which meant he approved. Mother, on the other hand, threw a fit.

“Oh, now he’s your father?”

“Oh, since he’s always been around!”

I tell her he’s always been my father; she’s the one who’s always tried to turn me against him. I tell her I know what he did–I’m well aware that he was a horrible parent, but I’d like to make ammends since he’s been making the effort the past couple of years to actually be a part of our lives. And why, when he’d call, would she spent at least half an hour to an hour talking to him like they were good ol’ pals? Why couldn’t we have a relationship with him?

I never had a grandfather–I’d like my daughter (along with my boys) to know hers, all of them. I let her know this. After she huffed and puffed and stuck her nose up at us (because John expressed his opinion, which matched mine, too) I gave up and said, “You know what, FINE, I won’t invite him!” She says, “How can you have him over with Mary’s family? How ridiculous!” I tell her, “Um, Mom, you’re kind of going to be there too, with Mary’s family.” I know there’s a difference, because she’s known Mary for years now and contributes to most holiday dinners/get-togethers, but there’s a similarity in that she’s not Mary’s blood, and that’s what my Mom was trying to use as justification.

When I tell her again to just drop it, I wasn’t going to invite him, she softens up and says, “Just tell him to come then.” Grr. My frustration with this woman never ends!

Which is also something I’ve been thinking about lately. Since Mom lives right next door she’s always here. I had to plead with her not to come over before 11am, because she was at the door at 8am every day. She talks during my tv shows, talks while I’m reading, yells at John for whatever reason when he comes over, amongst other annoying things. I’m probably even more irritable considering the pregnancy, but lately she’s had me at my wit’s end. It’s like I have a 3rd child.

At the end of the day I start thinking about it: what if she wasn’t here? Like, really not here. What if something happens to her? I’d feel horrible and guilty for snapping at her all the time and wishing she’d just go home. The day she’s not here anymore to “bother” me, is the day I’m going to wish she was.

I’m learning this Thanksgiving holiday that I need to be grateful for every last thing I have. I need to learn to appreciate everyone, regardless of their quirks and vexes. You never know how life will change; who’ll be taken away from you at the drop of a dime.

I’m grateful for so many things: the roof over our heads, food, working cars, our health, being able to pay our bills, Mario’s job, this pregnancy, my husband and children, my whole family, friends: old and new and ones I’ve thankfully gotten back in touch with this year. For another day in this world! I’m just thankful for everything.

If I don’t get around to individually telling everyone, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving, full of love and family and friends!

We didn’t do much on Halloween night. It was actually kind of, dare I say it, boring?

I made the worm cups, which sadly were only enough for the kids since I didn’t buy enough chocolate pudding. Mary made Mummys, which are weeners surrounded by Pilsbury croissants. Mario said he’d try his best to get out of work early, but of course that didn’t work out so we didn’t end up going trick-or-treating. Every Halloween, when we’ve taken the kids trick-or-treating, Mario’s the one who drives and tells us which houses to avoid. I don’t know who the heck to trust in these neighborhoods, so I didn’t even try it. The kids didn’t mind though–Elda invited them to go trick-or-treating at her Grandma’s and other places, but they didn’t want to go. Instead we (Mom, Mary, Noelia, the boys and I) passed out candy to the kids of the neighborhood. Eenan was on a sugar high so he was screaming, “We have candy for sale, People!” and we kept correcting him that it wasn’t for sale and he was scaring the people away by screaming but he didn’t care. Jaylen saw a classmate and later on during the night Jason and Mireya brought Brianna over, who was a little Geisha and looked SO cute and like the real thing!

There weren’t any more trick-or-treaters after 8:30, so I brought the kids in and bathed them and put them to bed (which was really hard considering how much candy they’d had).

I can’t remember much from Wednesday and Thursday (damn this pregnancy amnesia). I think all I did on Wednesday (or was it Thursday?) was go to H-E-B to pick up the Whipped Cream I was missing for the pumpkin pie I was craving. Since I had Jaylen with me, he of course just *had* to ask for something so I got ice cream (chocolate chip cookie dough) and ice cream cups. He apparently forgot about them because he hasn’t asked for any till this day.

All I did on Thursday was accompany John and his death mobile car (with Jaylen in tow) to the Lube place to get some things done to his car. Of course it overheated on the way over there and that’s because we didn’t go far at all. Total of the three things John got done to his car? $59–and he still needs to get his radiator flushed which is another $65. I was so afraid we wouldn’t make it home on time to pick up Eenan, but thankfully we did.

I was so relieved when Thursday night came around because that means that Mario’s off on Friday and I’ll only have to cook enough food for dinner for only that night; I usually have to cook a meal plus some for Mario’s lunch the next day for work. It also means one more day for the kids to have school before the weekend comes along.

I made nachos that night (not regular nachos, these have beans, cheese, veggies, and ground beef) and had the kids fed by 7:30 (we usually eat at 8pm). I get a call around 8:30 from Mario: he’s done at work but is going to Jorge’s. NICE. I hate it when I make the effort to cook (which is like, every night) and he calls and tells me he’ll be home late. At least give me a damn courtesy call letting me know that I shouldn’t slave over the damn stove and the kids and I should have sandwiches or something.

I did everything that needed to be done that night, took a shower and was in bed trying to sleep by 11pm. I was exhausted but no matter how much my eyes wanted to shut and go to sleep, Alaethia was kicking and thrashing around in there like crazy so I could not sleep! I was up till 1:30, just laying in bed, wide-eyed hoping she’d get tired soon but she was just too active. I called Mario at 1:40 and told him to get home because he’d be dropping the kids off the next day since I hadn’t been able to sleep. I assume it would be okay since he’s so darn used to sleeping late and waking up early for work. He got home at 1:53, and I didn’t end up finally falling asleep till 3:30am.

The alarm went off at 6:30am the next morning. What does Mario do? Turns off the alarm and goes back to bed. I’m pissed of course because I’m so darn sleepy but get up and get the kids ready and drop them off. I was so mad at him, but the kids were more pleasant that morning than they had been all week so I stayed calm. I came back from dropping the kids off and took a long, much needed nap.

Mario and I both woke up at 11:15 and went to pick Jaylen up. Mrs. T. said she owed him a special present since he helped her with a bunch of posters. I don’t know what it was exactly that he did, I think it had something to do with coloring, but he was beaming with proudness. I’m so glad he’s comfortable with school now and actually enjoys himself :).

We picked up some Burger King for lunch (because it finally opened!) and came home. We chilled out, Mario and I had an argument, we cleaned out the turtle tank and then it was time to pick Eenan up. When I got back from picking him up, we went to Home Depot to get a new spray hose for the kitchen sink. The old one had totally died and stayed on making the water pressure an annoying drip. Mario installed the new one when we got home and it worked perfectly again.

Eenan slept over at Mary’s and Jaylen fell asleep early. The kids had eaten dinner early (Star’s burgers and an ice cream cone they had coupons for for having perfect attendance) and we ate some turkey pot pies. LOVE those things. We watched the most recent episode of Heroes and then put our three-shelf bookcase together for our bedroom. We’re getting a little more organized in there which is a huge relief. I still need to buy some baskets to organize the closet shelves better and some kind of vertical rack for my pj’s and t-shirts so I can get rid of the extra massive chest of drawers we have. We just aquired a brand-new bassinet from Yadira and a playpen from Big Mario’s friend (which is great since I lent Ricci the boys’ playpen back when we were still in speaking terms and never got it back) so we need all the space we can get. We’re doing pretty good right now. I still need to get the rocking chair back in there–eek!

We woke up early and I saw Mario off to work, then got the kids and myself ready so we could accompany Mary and Mom to the new Premium Outlets in Mercedes. It took forever to get there, a while to find them, and a bitch to find parking but it was worth it. The stores we got to see were great and we got great deals at KB Toys, where we found toys like Sonic the Hedgehog ones that the kids LOVED and had been wanting for a couple years now. I was disappointed that Old Navy wasn’t open and there won’t be a Sanrio store at all, but it was still cool.

We came back home to drop the boys and Mom off, then Mary, Yadira, Angela, Matthew and I went to Danett’s babyshower. It took so long to start, and there were ladies who were being evil about the games (Jesus, some people take shower games so seriously!) but it was alright. The food was great and we got to see Annie’s sisters, two of which are pregnant (one was the shower girl).

And now we’re home, and I should be getting ready for bed. Goodnight!