Category: Photos

I’d been wanting to do one of those One Photo an Hour/A Day in the Life posts, but I never remember or my phone dies or something else like that. I decided to try on this day, but only after already having made breakfast and showering, of course LOL.

So I drank my coffee and straightened my hair, all while Ruffles was knocking on the door, trying to get out.

Around 11:00am:

Around 11:30am:

The birthday boys were on a mission to spend their birthday money. We stopped to pay John’s car at the bank and then went to Target:

But they didn’t find anything. Instead, I found some garden things and little garden stones for the girls to paint in the Dollar Spot :).

We went to Barnes & Noble next. We were at the light at Ware Road and a car stalled in front of us. It was the most heartwarming thing seeing people from across all 3 lanes of traffic stopping to help these people move their vehicle. You don’t see that very much anymore.

We got to Barnes and walked the isles and flipped through a few books but they didn’t find anything. It was 1:00pm so picked up some pizzas and we ate at home with the rest of the family:

The kiddos were all nice and full and all except Jaylen and Justin sat with Mom to watch their Disney shows. We went to Walmart next, where we walked for what seemed like forever until they decided on Nerf guns. I was pretty proud of them choosing something other than games; especially since they had more than enough to buy a video game each .

We got home and they all started putting the guns together. I went outside with the girls to paint their little butterfly “stepping stones” around 4:00pm:

I snapped this just as Emily dabbed her face with the paint LOL. She’s so cute ♥!

I watered my little flowers as they finished painting. These are some of the survivors of 1st hail storm. I’m so happy they made it!

We went back inside and washed up. It was almost 5:00pm. I kept telling myself NOW I shall sit! But I passed by the girls’ room and saw this:

So we started cleaning. I use the term “we” lightly, heh. I didn’t get an “after” shot because…I forget why. But imagine the room with no toys on the floor and nicely organized in boxes in the closet, vacuumed, and beds made :).

It was almost 6pm and I told myself, OK, seriously now. SIT. And I did. And I totally had intentions of just kicking my feet up on the ottoman and blogging but the boys came running inside for some drinks since they’d been hunting each other with the Nerf guns. They left trails of dried mud, so I cleaned them up. Then the girls wanted snacks, so I made PB&J sandwiches. And then Jorge got home. We tried cuddling and just shutting our eyes for a few seconds, but someone was arguing with someone else so we got up to stop the commotion. We literally laid down about a minute :P.

I made dinner and then we had cake for the boys, finally! I think I was more excited than they were! I LOVE that cake!

I can never get a pic when everyone is smiling LOL! We watched their shows on the TV the rest of the evening until it was time for bed. I’m pretty sure I ended up passing out whilst watching TV.

As you can see, I kind of forgot about the hourly photo thing. But this is my Saturdays in a nutshell when it’s my weekend with the kiddos. Some of the busiest, loveliest weekends ever :).

April 9th – Started the week like I usually do: with a Monday morning meeting at work. Everyone goes around taking turns, talking about what’s coming up in the week for them. As I jotted down event after upcoming event, I started feeling a little apprehensive. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a worst-case-scenario-type person and my nerves quietly festered into fear. I vented to Jorge about this later and he told me no problem, don’t worry, we’ll figure it out. He said he’d schedule his work near Aly’s school and he’d pick her up. That was what concerned me the most. He’s so wonderful !

April 10th – The girls and I planned another little reunion. It was kind of an impromptu thing, with ideas thrown here and there and we finally agreed to do it at our place. OMG! I felt great about it and then I started feeling nervous, like, what if I couldn’t get the house spotless?! Or what if we couldn’t fit all these people on the porch?! Or what if work didn’t let me borrow tables and chairs?!

I got home from work and tidied up, watched TV with the girlies, and made dinner for all of us:

Then I bathed the girls, read their stories and they were out for the count. Mom said she’d watch the kiddos for us while we went out, so we decided yes, we would for once. We went to Chili’s and just chilled out. I was SO tempted to have my absolute favorite, Spinach and Artichoke Dip, but I woke up and weighed this in the morning:

…and I didn’t want to ruin it! I had a drink (ok, 2!) and we chit-chatted and played on our phones :). I told Jorge, “People are probably looking at us and thinking, ‘Man they’re in trouble. They won’t even put their phones down.’” He laughed. Little do they know we were playing Words by Post with each other LOL.

We were home by 11:45pm :). We got ready for bed, snuggled up and crashed out, heh.

April 11th – The day was a usual work day. It ended as a day where I involve myself in activities I probably shouldn’t, and by that I mean a cupcake bake-off LOL. I don’t know what I was thinking. EZ called asking me to participate, because he knows I like to bake and cook, but I told him Yes, I like to, but I’m not ready for a bake-off!.

I finally agreed to do it if Michelle agreed to do it with me. She said ok. So there we go, right after work, to HEB to buy our ingredients. We decided we’d be doing Rainbow Cupcakes. I’d never attempted these before, but I’d always wanted to and it seemed easy enough…

We got back and I started on the batter. I dyed it with food coloring and then the girls helped us mix. Then Michelle and I got started on layering. I took a picture of her because she said, “No one’s ever going to believe that I’m baking!” And they didn’t LOL!

Michelle thought it was the cutest thing that they pull the stools up to the counter and quietly watch me work. She asked, “Do they always do that?” And I said, “Oh, yes, every day.”

She asked Emily, “You like to watch Mama cook?”

Emily (who was being shyer than usual) nodded a timid Yes.

Michelle asked her, “You want to cook like mama?” and Emily nodded yes again, with a little smile this time. Aww

The inside:

We were proud of our cupcakes :). I thought they were super cute; something I’d definitely have to make for the kiddos, but in cake-form next time!

April 12th – We were excited about the bake-off. Everyone wanted to see our entries. We had to provide 3 for the tasting and 9 for the guests/donations.

I picked up Alaethia after school and had lunch with her and Emily, like usual. I was going to miss my little ladies. It was Mario’s weekend and I wouldn’t be seeing the girls right after work since Michelle and I would be heading to the bake-off right afterwards.

We submitted our entries, got a tour of the place, ate a teensy bit and waited. When all was finished Michelle and I didn’t win, but our cupcakes were the 2nd to go. It was a little upsetting that the winners were 2 of the people who work at the organization =\. And there was only one People’s Choice category and it went to a professional bakery. BUT, it was fun and a great experience. I’d never been a part of something like that and it was awesome :)!

Got home and called all the kiddos and spent time with my love :). He had some news for me: he wasn’t able to get the full day off on Saturday so we couldn’t go celebrate Sally’s birthday like we wanted to . I felt awful that I wouldn’t be there. I had to figure out how to work up the courage to give the news to Tina.

April 13th – I eventually told Tina before noontime that we wouldn’t be able to attend. She even tried accommodating us the best way possible but even then, he would get out too late Friday and we wouldn’t make it. I was so sad that I wouldn’t be able to spend our 30th together :(.

I tried inviting Sally to lunch, but she was with QC and said we’d leave it for another time. Jorge said we’d have lunch at Kumori, so I met him and his new employee there. I hope we didn’t freak him out with our jokes and constant “that’s what she said!” innuendos LOL.

My day got instantly better spending a little time with my babe :). Too bad I started feeling sick about an hour after lunch! I almost thought I had food poisoning, but I was just really queasy. I thought, “Not before the reunion!!”

I got home from work and Mom and I rushed to get some stuff for the party the next day and a few little decorations from Ross. I didn’t want to spend too much, but we got a few new rugs for the bathrooms, Mom got me Margarita glasses for my birthday LOL, new soap dispensers from Target and a few other things. I got home and started cleaning while the boys played in their room.

Jorge and I went to pick up the tables and chairs from work and came home and put them in the garage. Jorge wanted to take me to dinner: our traditional birthday dinner at Pappadeaux, but I was skeptical. I hadn’t eaten since lunch; I’d only had a sip of his Sprite and I felt nauseous all over again. I didn’t want to puke 🙁 LOL. But we went anyway and I’m so glad I felt ok enough to eat.

Everything was so delicious. I ate so much during the appetizers that I couldn’t finish my food OR my free birthday cheesecake!

I had my poor babe on an emotional roller coaster. I’d feel fine and then I’d feel ill, so I’d laugh and then I’d kind of mope and try and calm my nausea. He dealt with it all really well though ♥!

We got home, earlyish, and I made myself some manzania tea to settle my stomach before we sat down to watch DVR’d American Idol. I was kind of regretting stuffing myself with appetizers, but I’m glad I was only nauseous and not full-blown sick. I snuggled up next to Jorge on the sofa, with my hot tea and my favorite blanket and he took the words right out of my mouth when he said, “I love this. I love when we get to just relax together.” Me too :).

April 14th I woke up to “Happy Birthday, Baby!!” He snuggled me for a while and gave me a kiss on the forehead. He walked to the door and said, “Sleep in, Baby, it’s your birthday,” and sleep in I did! For the first time in a LONG time I allowed myself to sleep in till 10:30am LOL. Mom had already served the boys breakfast. I told them to get ready while I got ready. We were picking up my kiddos and having lunch at Peter Piper Pizza. I’d asked Mario earlier in the week if I could “borrow” them, since it was his weekend and he’d agreed. I thank him for that. It made my day to see my kiddos on my birthday :*)!

Mom, the boys and I picked my kiddos up and I was greeted by 4 Happy Birthdays ♥! We got to PPP, ordered our food and I got a bajillion tokens. They played to their hearts’ content and then we ate. Emily threw one little tantrum, because Alaethia had gotten a prize and she didn’t, so we went and got her some tickets and the guy gave her 3 of the prize she wanted :).

We ran into Salvador, one of our old classmates at Tae Kwon Do. He’s already a black-belt! It made me a little sad; I was hoping to be the first “family” of black-belts to graduate together at our school . But oh well, things happen.

I let the kids play another long while. They were reluctant to leave even when I gave them an extra 20 minutes. We took pictures; Mom didn’t do to well with my phone…she cut half the kids’ heads off LOL. So Jorgie took the pic of my kiddos and me :).

Of course it was dark because my phone ran out of battery and Emily is forever turning when the picture’s shot LOL.

I dropped my babies off :(, and then we stopped by HEB to get some food and stuff we’d need for the reunion. It was fast with Jorgie and Justin ticking things off the list.

I got home and cleaned in a frenzy. I didn’t have much to do, the house is usually tidy, but the bathrooms got a good scrubbing, I cleaned behind and under the fridge (which was acting up ever since they fixed the freezer), and I hung up all the laundry. Jorge got home and swept/washed the porch and cleaned up the pit. I vacuumed the living room and dusted and took a shower and got ready. Felipe and Freddy had come over and helped him put the tables and chairs up.

He showered and got ready and we made a quick run to Feldman’s. We got back and the girls slowly started arriving. It was great seeing everyone and chismiando :). Jorge ended up calling Freddy to come back because none of the guys who’d RSVP’d came LOL.

My Love was so wonderful. He did all the cooking and made us Margaritas and was just such a great host. When we were inside together once I apologized that he ended up doing everything on his own. He said, “I want to, Babe. Anything for you, Love. It’s your birthday.” All the girls kept telling me how lucky I am. How very right they are :*)!!

They sang Happy Birthday to me and we had 2 different cakes :). Daisy brought a Better-than-sex one and Mom had bought me a brownie ice cream cake. Justin was so sweet; he got all involved with the cake and candles and serving :).

I had such a great, great birthday! It was honestly one of the best in YEARS. I felt…special :)!

We had the boys get in bed and I finished catching up. The last of the girls, Jessica and Daisy, ended up leaving around 1am. I need to make more time for my friends. I had no idea how much some of them were going through right now. I need to be a better friend!

I stayed up with my Love and Freddy till I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore LOL. I actually went to bed around 3am for once!

Freddy kept telling us how lucky we are to have each other. I couldn’t agree more ♥!

April 15th We woke up early considering how late we fell asleep. I got up and made us breakfast: omelets of course, per my Baby’s request, heh. We ate leftover cake as we watched Jerry Maguire–well, sort of, until we realized that the weird smell our fridge was emitting was becoming annoying and really nauseating. We decided we’d go look at fridge’s, just in case. If they were too expensive then forget it.

We went to Conn’s and found the fridge he’d been looking at online and it was a great price! We were approved for it right away and the paperwork as done, just like that! THAT’S the type of stuff I’m used to, not the being denied just about everything a year ago when I was barely salvaging my credit after SOMEBODY ruined it .

We stopped at Target afterwards…for who knows what LOL. I can’t remember. And we had some nachos and Icee’s. I weighed 115 on my birthday–my short-term goal!–and I was sure I’d gained it back in those 1 and a half days!

We did our Sunday routine when we got back. The Golf Tournament was the next day and I was SO GLAD to be wearing jeans to work, hehe. We relaxed and caught up on our shows. I’m so thrilled and humbled and GRATEFUL for all the wonderful people in my life, my kids and Jorge and family above all :*). My next 30 years are going to be GREAT!

The beginning of the week (March 26-30) was quite…uneventful at work. I kept trying to find stuff to stay busy. I was thrilled when a certificate would come in, heh. I was giddy with suppressed laughter at the following pins:

Source: shibleysmiles.com via Yajaira on Pinterest

Source: static.someecards.com via Yajaira on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Yajaira on Pinterest

On Monday, the 26th, I’d made baked fish and green beans and it was SO GOOD. Since Mom got a scolding at the doc’s and since the rest of us really need to make an effort to eat well again, I wanted to start making healthy meals. Mom’s done good, though, and sometimes doesn’t even wait for me to make dinner like she used to; she’ll just make herself something healthy and she’ll retire to her room.

Jorge vacuumed my van that night, without being asked, heh ♥. He’s awesome. I put the girls in the bath and had them bathed before 9, woo! We asked Mom to keep an eye on them while we went to get a Redbox movie. We finally watched Contaigon; it was an awesome movie! Now Jorge knows why I wash/germ-x my hands all the time; you never know!!

The boys were all STAAR testing the next day; I’m confident they aced it and scored well in the writing part :).

We went to have dinner with the girls at Chili’s on the 28th; I had a coupon, which was a plus, heh.

I’m glad I took this photo of them before we left the house; those pine trees don’t look like that anymore (you’ll read why later). They look grumpy in the pic because this was about the 5th one because they kept moving and getting blurry. By this pic they yelled, “Let’s just go eat already!” LOL

They had a great time :). I tried eating “healthy” but you really can’t eat healthy when you go to Chili’s LOL. I had a shitton of chips and salsa and ordered the Cajun chicken Alfredo =\. I had a lot leftover tho, hehe.

The next day was the All About Women event. Michelle and I spent the afternoon running errands for Gerry. We got back to the office, helped set up here and there and then I excused myself to pick up my boys ♥. I picked them up and we went back to the office. We got there just in time for dinner; Costa Messa was catering :).

We finished up and got home. Mom had already made dinner for herself and the girls and Jorge ate lightly when he got home. Freddy came to visit and we all sat in the garage chatting. We started noticing the sky was quickly becoming dark and it got windy. I’d seen a FB update from the news that they expected thunderstorms here and there and possible hail. I figured it was one of those types of “storms” where it drizzles and goes away.

We had just set up Monopoly and Puss and Boots to watch with the kids when it started thundering. From one second to the next, it was hailing!! All the kids huddled in the living room with Mom while Jorge and I tried to clear the garage as quickly as possible to get my van and his work truck in. Only the front of his work truck fit since the lawn mower was in there; but at least the windows would be ok.

When the rain and wind had just started, the van was moving back with every gust of wind! Winds were about 75MPH that night. I’d never heard anything like this. It was the loudest, quickest storm I’ve ever experienced in my life! I can only describe the sound as a machine gun in an action movie; it was scary.

As Jorge was moving his work truck he got clocked in the head with a huge hail ball! I’m so glad he was swift and quick-thinking and moved the vehicles when he did. We were worried about his truck, which he’d left at work.

We took pics as much as we could, calmed the kids as much as we could. Eenan–who has feared storms since he was a toddler–wasn’t very happy, but he prayed and tried keeping as calm as possible.

We called everyone and told them to stay home/go home/put your cars away! And at some point we came inside and Jorge checked on the bedroom. Our window was completely broken and there was about an inch of water on the floor and glass everywhere; it even hit the other side of the wall!

We started cleaning up as quickly as possible and put a fan on to dry the room and cardboard to keep the water out. It was the best we could do with what we had at the moment. I’m so glad nobody was in that bedroom when the window literally exploded.

The girls’ room window broke, too, but only the outer panel, so their stuff didn’t get wet, thank God. I’m glad none of the other windows broke; I seriously thought the octagon-shaped window in our master bath didn’t break.

It looked like it had snowed outside, but it was about 6 inches of ice balls. It was the craziest sight I’d ever seen in March.

There were tornado watches and flooding all over the place. We heard the BMW dealership had tons of cars wrecked by the hail. We turned the news off and the kids finally calmed down and went to sleep around 11pm. Eenan stayed up later because he was nervous. Jorge and I went for a drive to check things out and we realized we were practically on an island; some places, like Shary Rd. had up to 2 feet of flooding. Damage to schools and the roads was bad enough to close them down. I ended up staying home and cleaning up; it looked like a disaster area outside. The trees were all bald; our flower bed was completely destroyed, my bougainvillea was bald :(. It was really sad.

Those who showed up to work were sent home in 2 hours due to lack of power. I hadn’t gone out to drive around, but Jorge called that 10th and Nolana was wrecked. His truck, by some miracle, had 0 damage!

Jorge and I were on our way to Walmart on Sunday to buy a push-broom and another rake. We took a detour instead to 10th and Nolana. The damage was crazy. Some places looked abandoned. We stopped by Starbucks and were taken aback at the sight:

We got home and started cleaning up outside. The boys had been playing games all day so we sent them all outside to help us. We had an ice cream break when the ice cream truck passed by and we cleaned some more. We made a game out of it and took turns holding bags open, raking and shoveling. We finished up in an hour and a half. We filled up about 25 bags! I thought we’d never get it done!

I’m glad there weren’t any casualties that night. I’m glad everyone was safe. It was a wake-up call though; heaven forbid we have a hurricane that hits us directly. I’d hate to know the type of damage that would happen then!