Category: Memories

I stalled and stalled all of Monday (the 7th); I didn’t want to go grocery shopping. It was still raining on and off outside and my mood matched the weather. I just wanted to snuggle up on the couch and read. I finished with all 7 Confessions of Georgia Nicholson books and I started reading My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult and found out it’s going to be a movie next year!

John came over and I asked him to go with me. Mom would watch the kids. Awesome. Because going grocery shopping with the kids is never a walk in the park and I wasn’t looking forward to this in the first place.

While we’re driving I joke with John to remind me to buy a pregnancy test because I’m still late. 16 days, in fact. The same thing happened back in February so I was convinced that it was my sudden halt in taking the birth control (since I’d run out in June). All the other times I’ve been late I’ve taken a pregnancy test and it was negative, and like magic I’d get my period the next day. I was going for the same effect this time!

We do all the shopping and with legs that feel like noodles I walk into that isle and get a pregnancy test; the cheapest one you can find.

I see Mario’s cousin and she’s got less stuff to pay for than I do, so I let her in before me in line and hastily toss boxes around to cover the pregnancy test. Last thing I need are rumors!

As we’re putting the food on the conveyor belt I realize I’ve gotten a ridiculous amount of ramen noodles. I’m not even supposed to have those. I ask John, “Why’d I get so many of these?” and he leans in and whispers, “Because you’re pregnant!”

I punch him and hiss, “Shut up! Not funny!” and turn to check if Mario’s cousin heard anything. No, she’s already walking away.

We get home and I put all the food away. Mom’s actually at her house for once. The boys are quietly playing with Alaethia in their bedroom so I grab the pregnancy test and take my chance.

I’m shaking and my stomach is flipping uncontrollably. I’m telling myself I know this thing’s going to be negative, but there’s always that teensy chance it might not be. Besides, I’d gone back and tracked my cycle and my days of ovulation and we didn’t do anything on my most fertile days.

I take a deep breath, exhale and do what needs to be done. I set the stick on some toilet paper on the floor and stare at it.

And right before my eyes–and I’m being so serious, this happened in like, 1 second–I see a plus sign.

With shaking hands and racing heart I go over the pamphlet–DAMMIT! One straight line and one plus sign mean “pregnant”, no matter how light the plus sign is. I look at the stick. Shit. That thing is blue as the sky.

I succumb to the news. I’m going to have another baby. I sat there on the toilet seat and cried for a little bit.

I had no idea what to do. I just sat there in the silence, feeling like my world was caving in around me. I didn’t know who to call, especially because I knew the test was wrong. I didn’t even have symptoms! Well, except for that weird wave of nausea the night before, but I was sure it was the food. I need a new test. That thing appeared too quickly. There has to be something wrong with it.

I text John, because he’s the only one I’ve told anything to, and I’m rambling on and on, telling him how something must be wrong with it. He replies with, “I don’t understand you.”

I’m so annoyed I type back, “I HATE YOU!”

Yes, I was that emotional.

I’m pacing about, and finally decide to call Mary. Its 4:22…she’ll be out of work soon. She can get me a new, working test! So I call and tell her everything. She gets excited, but retains it a little since she knows I’m freaking out. She says she’s stopping by Walgreens so she’ll get one from there.

I check on the kids to see how they’re doing and Jaylen’s happily playing with Alaethia. He’s always so good with her. I feel all warm inside and ask him, “How do you feel about having another brother or sister someday?” He looks up, thinks for a few seconds and nods, “I feel good!”

Mary gets here seconds later with the test. I’d already drank another 16 oz. bottle of water and am ready to take it.

This one forms as quickly as the other one. I yell, “Oh My GOD!” And Mary’s already shrieking and gives me a huge hug. Mom comes in and asks what’s going on. I show her the test. Her eyes get big and she points to Alaethia, who’s standing by innocently, and says, “Another one?!” I nod yes. She looks at her again and asks, “Another one?!” I tell her, “Yes, Mom, another one.” My mom, who always has a way with words says, “Aww, Alaethia’s so little. And you were just starting to lose weight!” Gee, thanks, Mom! She eventually says, “Oh good! I’m happy for you!”

We call the boys in and I ask them, “Do you know what these are,” and I bring the sticks in front of me. Eenan’s eyes are the first to widen and asks, “Are you pregnant?”

I nod and say, “You guys are having another brother or sister!” They both start jumping up and down and Eenan rushes forward and wraps his arms around me. Jaylen comes forward and rubs my stomach and says, “I love the baby!”

They made me feel a bit better :).

My dad-in-law comes over and stands in the doorway. Mary says, “We have some news. You’re going to be a Grandpa again!” He grabs a bag of Fritos and starts munching quickly, just staring at me. He even drops a few LOL. At that exact moment the phone rings.

Oh my God. How was I going to break this to Mario. The last time we had a scare (in February) it didn’t go too well.

He says, “Hey, I’m on my way home.”

Everyone in the background is screaming and laughing about the news. Before he hears it from someone I quickly say, “Guess what? You’re going to be a Daddy again!”

He says, “You’re shitting me.”

“No, I’m not. I took two tests.”

He’s silent for a while then says, “Okay. Call Maggie too see if she’s there so I can pick up my camera. I’ll be there in a bit.”

And that was it. I was so nervous.

Mary was calling everyone she knew. And everyone was being so nice about it. I was smiling on the outside, freaking out on the inside.

Mario gets home and goes straight to our house. Doesn’t even go over to Mary’s, where everyone is visiting. I come home and ask him, “So, what do you think?”

He says, “What can we do, right? Let’s just go from here.”

My, he was calm. But he also bought a 6-pk of beer. It made me a little nervous just how calm he was.

He’s looking for Carrie Underwood’s video All-American Girl, because the lyrics remind him of Alaethia.

As I’m standing behind him everything hits me all at once:

♥ Alaethia’s so young. I feel like I’m cheating her out of her time with me. I feel incredibly guilty.
♥ I know nothing about what my insurance covers concerning prenatal care.
♥ How am I going to take care of a 2 year old and new born?
♥ I at least spent 6 whole months with Alaethia. I’m only getting about 3 months (counting summer) with the new baby.
♥ How will I work?! Mom can barely watch Alaethia, much less two!
♥ OMG. I’ve had at least 1 alcoholic drink a day for the past week!
♥ And then I feel guiltier. What if something bad happens to the new baby because I’m being so ungrateful for this blessing?

As the song starts to play and I hear the lyrics and start bawling. Uncontrollably. I can’t help it. Mario asks, “Why are you crying, Babe?” I tell him my feelings about Alaethia and the drinking and everything. Mary walks in and sees me crying and asks, “What happened!” Without missing a beat Mario raises his hands up and says, “I didn’t do it!”

I go back to Mary’s once I compose myself and start talking with everyone. Everyone’s already asking about who’ll Baptize the baby, what names are we thinking of, and what if we have twins! Or triplets!

Mario announces it on his Myspace that same night. I scold him, because now I have to tell the girls before they see it on his profile and I so wanted to tell them in person over dinner! I call Sally first, and of course she’s got nothing but encouraging words. Pete even calls later and congratulates us :). I message Karina and Carmen and tell them the news. Mayra and Ricci call me later during the week and are so excited and offering nothing but kind, encouraging words. Paul and Norma see Mario’s status and come over that same night with their kiddos to congratulate us. I text Maggie and she’s happy for us, too, and in just as much shock as I am!

I can hardly sleep that night. I tossed and turned like crazy. When I woke up the next day I was still in shock, but I told myself–like everyone else had been telling me–that everything happens for a reason and things would work out. Everyone else was happy for me, why couldn’t I be? A baby’s a blessing, no matter what time they decide to make an appearance in your life :).

Title courtesy of Mayra ;).

We woke up late on Saturday (June 28th). It was nice waking up next to Mario and just talking while we lay in bed. Mario was going to work on Moncy’s car that day so we went to pick up some parts he needed and then we went to Wal-Mart and H-E-B to stock up on things we’d need for our trip to the beach the next day. I spent the rest of the day cleaning and packing our stuff and Mario spent it working on the car. Yadira and the girls came over for a while so we chilled out outside watching Matthew trying to ride the boys’ scooters.

We woke up bright and early the next day and got everything and everyone into the cars. We picked up breakfast at Burger King and ate on the road. Our first stop was the Port Isabel Lighthouse.

I was actually really excited about the Lighthouse. Mario and I’d never been there in our lives, so this would be our first experience in a Lighthouse along with our kids. We took tons of pictures when we got there and since Alaethia was too small to climb on her own, Mary told us to go ahead and she’d stay with her and then we’d switch. Mom went along with us. Jaylen was scared but I convinced him to go up the stairs. They were small circular stairs and I never ever thought I had a fear of heights or enclosed spaces until I was climbing those stairs! I had to keep taking deep breaths and remind myself not to look down because my legs were shaking! I had to put on a brave face since I was trying to convince Jaylen to go up.

We finally got to the platform before the top of the Lighthouse and I could hear Mom wheezing as she tried to catch up. Mario was behind her, just in case. Between gasps she says, “I can’t…go up there.” So she waits on the platform. Jaylen wants to wait too and he looks pretty shook up so we don’t prod at him. Mario, Eenan and I went up to the top of the lighthouse. I was pleasantly surprised that Eenan went up so easily went up the stairs and to the top. He used to be so afraid of heights! I guess their clubhouse has helped him out.

It was an amazing view!

I finally have a good tan on my arms; I got rid of the farmer’s tan!

We eventually convinced Jaylen to come up with us and he got over his fear a little.

Mary went up after we did, accompanied by Eenan and then we chilled out and took more pictures. I love Port Isabel, just being there. I could totally live there. Well, except for hurricane season…

After the Lighthouse we went straight to the beach. Adan, Jason and Brianna had been fishing and we met up with them at the Andie Bowie Park. We rented two umbrellas with chairs, took down our cooler and sand toys and while our moms lounged under the umbrellas we took the kids to the water.

Alaethia was attached to me like a little jellyfish; she was terrified of the water. She didn’t even want the water to touch her when I sat with her at the point where the tide rolls in. She eventually warmed up to the water and even splashed a little with one hand while still vice-gripped onto my arm with her other.

Alaethia had a blast playing with Brianna in the sand. They’d made a little pool and stuck their feet in there. They used their sand toys for a while, then got tired and ran to where the men were playing in the water. Adan had brought a boogie board so the guys were busy trying to catch some waves. Jason brought along two tubes with ropes to pull with. Eenan, Jaylen and Brianna took turns on the two tubes. I had Alaethia on my hip while I held on to one of the kiddos, while Jason and Mario took turns with the other. When I wasn’t holding onto one of the tubes I would dip Alaethia’s bootie into the water when a wave would come in. She HATED it at first but got used to it. The waves were really strong that day. I kept a vigilant eye on each of the kids. I’ve got to say that the beach and swimming pools are the areas I’m most paranoid in as a parent.

My arms were so sore from carrying Alaethia for about 2 straight hours. One of the times Mary went to get in the water she scooped Alaethia up and took her with her to the shade. Alaethia ended up falling asleep for a good while. She was worn out!

We put on another layer of sun block since we were all looking a bit lobsterish. We went back out to the water and I held onto the older kids while the waves splashed us while the guys played again. Eenan was freaking out because he found a little teeny crab.

Then Jason and Jaylen started looking for little clams. They had a whole net full of them (well, Jason did most of the scavenging really; Jaylen lost interest). Jason, Adan and Brianna left and the rest of us spent about 20 minutes working on sandcastles. Once I started getting really tired I told the kids that was it for me. I went and relaxed under the shade. The weather felt delicious; it was sunny, of course, but there was such a wonderful breeze. Add the shade of the huge umbrella and the sounds of the waves inhaling and exhaling — perfect recipe for a nap! I couldn’t relax at all though because Eenan and Jaylen were still playing in the sand and running back and forth for water for the moats and bridges of their sandcastles.

It was almost 4pm when we finally decided to call it a day. Mario, Mary, the boys and my mom started hauling stuff to the car while I stayed behind with Alaethia and disposed of trash I’d find around our area. I love the beach, but man, by the time you’re done playing you have sand in just about every crevice of your body. And no matter how much you try to brush it or water it off, it just gets worse!

Mary took the boys to wash up and change first and then Mom, Mary, Alaethia and I went to do the same. There was a huge line of people and a group of ladies ended up cutting in front of us. Grr! I have no idea why there aren’t any doors or shower curtains at the place, so we had to hold a towel up as best as possible so the others could shower. Poor Alaethia was having the fit of the century because she felt so gross. We got her done first, left her with Mario and then I went next so I could tend to Aly so Mario could go wash up.

We had lunch on the deck: sandwiches we’d packed up in our cooler. I must have been starving because that sandwich, chips, pickles and diet Dr. Pepper tasted like the best thing in the world!

We noticed a group of people was cooking on the dock, and that’s the #1 rule: no bar-b-q’ing or cooking on the deck. Mother, being a finger-pointer as always, told the attendant at the umbrella place when she was passing and a cop came over and scolded the family. How embarrassing.

When my kiddos were eating their Cheetos Puffs and Fruit Roll Ups, two little kids from that family were just staring my mine, so we gave them some (with the parent’s permission of course). They were so grateful that they sent us 3 tacos that they made. They were delicious. As I was taking a bite and Mom was taking one, too, I tell her, “You told on them and now you’re eating a taco…how do you feel?” and you’ll never guess what happened? I freaking choked on my food! I was talking and the next minute I was gasping for air. Mary looked at me and asks, “Are you okay?!” I shake my head and just as I’m praying to God to save me, I swallow down the lump of taco and take a deep breath! I shook for about an hour after that. I’d never choked in my life and it was the worst feeling ever. It was only seconds that I felt that way, but it felt like it was never going to end!! And of course Mom laughs and says, “That’s what you get!”

After we finished with lunch we went to a gift shop in Port Isabel. I didn’t find much; I didn’t really feel like buying shells with googley eyes or something pirate-y. I just got the kids something each and a shot glass for dad, whom we’d be visiting that evening.

Mary got us some ice cream (I felt fine afterwards, even though I didn’t check my sugar) and we paid and left. We were going to visit Dad right after that and of course Mother wanted to tag along. I don’t know why she insists on going: she’s always talking smack about him. But she went with us and Eenan decided to go home with Mary.

It was nice seeing Dad after, well, like 5 years. He last visited when Jaylen was born and we might have visited again after that but it was probably 5 years ago, too. We sat and chatted with Dad, catching up on things. He told us about how he gets bored and starts painting the house or fixing things. He’s still doing the same thing for a living, repairing TVs and electronics. I was amazed when he told us he even fixes Xboxes! This man has never had proper training for these more modern electronics and he’s good at everything he does. Much like Mario, I think they were programmed from birth to be good at these things.

Dad asked for pictures of the kids so Mario told him we’d print some out and take them to him later during the week. I was pretty pleased that Mario so willingly decided to take another long drive over there. Alaethia was pretty comfortable around Dad; she even called him Grampa a few times. Jaylen was doing just fine at first, but once he noticed we were taking a little too long (for his taste) and his DS was running out of juice he started throwing a fit. He didn’t even want to take pictures because he was “too tired”. I don’t know what to do with that boy.

I won’t even post the pictures because I looked so RED in them! I was barely getting over my sunburn from San Antonio and then I gave myself another one.

We got home pretty late that night and just relaxed. It felt so good to be home but we had an amazing day!

Thursday was our last day in San Antonio. As much fun as I was having I missed Mario terribly and couldn’t wait to get home and see him.

We got up, got ready, and packed up all our stuff. While we waited for everyone else, Mary, the kids and I went to Walmart to get a few things for the road. We got packages of ham for Alaethia (one of the only things she wanted to eat during the trip), fruit, milk and drinks.

We had breakfast at Denny’s (yum) with Jose, Elda, their kids and Jorge. Tommy, Yadira and their kids arrived later since they were going their own way.

Our first stop was Cabela’s after breakfast, which is this huge sporting goods store in Buda, TX. All the men in our family love some type of hunting so they all loved this place. It was really amazing, actually. It had huge dioramas of stuffed animals in their natural habitats such as the mountains or Africa. It was really cool. My boys were throwing fits while I was taking photos and looking around because they were desperate to get to the shooting range upstairs. So after I’d taken at least 50 pictures of all the animals we went up there. And then they were upset because they couldn’t shoot the targets correctly. After they’d played there for a while they took pictures and then we went to the aquarium. It was a nice aquarium; lots of bass fish and a funny one called a Black Crappie LOL. I became 5 years old when I saw that one and laughed along with the kids.

We hit the road again and stopped for gas. While we were there we asked for directions to the Inner Space Cavern. Nobody knew the way except that it was in Georgetown. We followed Jose and Elda through Austin and then Round Rock and then got to Georgetown. The kids were antsy and hungry (mine were throwing spectacular fits not wanting to leave the gift shop—which is quite rude of the people to put it right at the entrance!)

We went back to Round Rock to have lunch a T.G.I.Fridays. What a shame that we didn’t have a truck or money…Ikea was right in from of Fridays!

I ate the usual plate I’d get when we actually had a Fridays in the Valley, the Sizzling Chicken and Shrimp, or something like that. It was so good.

We went back to the Cavern and waited for the tour to start. They told us no food or drinks were allowed but they were crazy if they thought Alaethia would stay quiet the whole tour without a sippy of milk. It’s not like we were going to graffiti the walls with it or anything. So we smuggled one in in Sammy’s shorts.

We got on the trolley to go into the cave and right at the point the tour guide told us the 95° heat would change to a cool 70°, it did!

The kids were amazed by the formations; I especially liked the straws. We weren’t allowed to touch anything except for the Formation of Temptation, or something like that, and other places he told us we could.

He told us the history of the cave and how some DOT people found it while checking the ground in preparation of a new highway. The owner of the land wanted to explore so they dug a huge hole through the ground and dropped him in with a rope. He landed on a pile of prehistoric bat droppings. The only bats that inhabit the cave right now are teeny tiny ones, can’t remember their name. He said, “Imagine a chicken nugget with wings,” and they totally look like that!

Alaethia was so sleepy halfway through the tour that she threw the fit of all fits. Not fun in the confined spaces of the cave “rooms”. Mary and I stayed behind the group, away from the eyes of the tour guide, and gave Alaethia her sippy while trying to put her to sleep. I don’t know how Mary does it. I eventually get Aly to fall asleep, but Mary just rocks her and hums to her and voila! She’s out!

Mary passed her on to Jorge on the way back, since it was kind of slippery and uphill. The boys had such a great time looking around, feeling mysterious and like explorers. Even Jaylen, who hates to even walk through Wal-mart, had a great time and only complained a handful of times about his feet hurting (he’s in such a tattle-telling, whiny mood lately!).

I took tons of pictures; it was so interesting. We were the last tour so we only had a bit of time to look through the gift shop, which sucks because I wanted to look around more and get a souvenir, since I didn’t get one anywhere else. But oh well, at least I got my babe something.

We got some ice cream (I craved a Snickers ice cream bar immediately and had one. I was a naughty diabetic the whole time we were over there!)

Alaethia was moody all the way home. She desperately needed to sleep, but didn’t want to. She’s so dramatic—she’d cover her face with her hands and scream “Aye, aye, ayyyyee!” We heard that till we stopped at a rest stop. I got her down to distract her for a little bit but as soon as she got in the car seat again it was Scream City. She eventually got so tired that she passed out and stayed asleep till we got home at midnight. All the way over I was texting Mario a play-by-play of our location.

We got home and left everything in the car; we were too tired to bother with luggage. The boys slept over at Mary’s and Aly, Mario and I came home and watched TV. Mario surprised me with a Jensen iPod docking station/stereo, which he’d already set up on my desk in our bedroom. He’s so sweet to me. We put Aly in her crib and updated each other on the goings on of the past 4 days. It was so nice to be home!