Category: Shopping

Well, I just did the stupidest thing I possibly could have. I somehow refreshed the page and lost MY ALMOST FINISHED ENTRY!!!

Argh. Like I’m not having a crappy morning to begin with!

Anyway, Mom’s birthday get-together on Sunday was nice. We left early (okay, around 11:30, so not-so-early) Sunday morning to pick up all the stuff we were going to need, plus groceries for the house and the rest of the kids’ school supplies. We didn’t find any of their stuff at Wal-Mart and I was so ready to go yell at someone from the district for adding stuff to their lists at the last minute.

We got all the food at H-E-B and thankfully found the rest of their school supplies there! And they were really inexpensive, too. Mary was making broccoli rice and her famous salsa for the party and I was making guacamole dip, Frijoles a la Charra, carrot cake (one frosted, one not) and Mario was taking care of the fajitas, chicken and sausage on the grill.

We got worried once 6 o’clock came around since the plan was to have the food ready by 5 so everyone could eat by 5:30, but no one was here! Finally, at around 6:15, Sally and Joe arrived, then Mary (she was at a bridal shower), and then Yadira, Tommy and their kids. Mario was a great host and Joe felt really comfortable around Mario and Big Mario, so that was great. Sally, Mom and I talked about weddings and our Mom’s bad health and then we went outside with the men and talked about cats, dogs, ticks, hunting and other stuff I can’t remember at the moment. Mom had a good time, which I’m so relieved about LOL. We talked with Yadira and Tommy and Chris and Nancy (who arrived later) and then we got the kids into the shower at 9:30. I knew it was pretty late and that I probably wouldn’t have them into bed till 10, but they were mindful and fell asleep by 10:05.

I woke up nauseous the next morning for the first time this whole pregnancy. It was a mixture of fear that I wouldn’t get them ready on time, that Eenan would hate his class like last year and that Jaylen would bawl his eyes out–that last one had a knot in my throat already.

They woke up pretty quickly and the morning went without incident. Mario accompanied us, since he loves to be there on their first day, and our first stop was Eenan’s class.

He walked right into his classroom without so much as a goodbye LOL. I signed him in and then called him over to give us kisses. He’s pretty excited since one of this good friends from Pre-K and Kinder, Brianna (or Brenna, one of those), is in his class this year, plus some other ones he told me about after school.

Next was Jaylen. He was calm and just taking in his surroundings while I was signing some MORE papers for him. I took him over to one of the tables where kids were sitting and he sat down. A little boy, Arick–who just so happens to be a cousin we didn’t know about, was crying his little eyes out. I kept seeing Jaylen stare at him, so I distracted him by talking to him and asking him if he was enjoying the Golden Grams cereal they’d given all the kids. He seemed pretty happy, but I just couldn’t walk away! I kept telling him, “It’s okay, Baby. We’ll be back at noon, okay? Don’t worry!” Mario had to squeeze my shoulder and practically pry me out of the class. On the way to the car my hormones completely took over and I bawled my eyes out. Yup. I cried. I didn’t even cry when Eenan went to Pre-K, but I did have a knot in my throat and I wasn’t pregnant O_o.

Jason had called Mario when he and Mireya went to drop off Brianna (our little cousin who I’ll be taking care of) and said Jaylen was a little teary eyed, but he calmed him down. Jason said it was probably all the little kids that were crying that scared him.

Mario left to work as soon as we got home. I kind of just sat here, going deaf from the silence. I hadn’t heard that kind of silence in years and it freaked me out. I’m so used to hearing a little voice say, “Can I play with your hair?” “Can you lay down with me?” “Can you color with me?” It was weird. I played Bejeweled for a while on the computer, then spoke to Mario on the phone, who called because he knew I was probably bored out of my mind. After we hung up I ran a few errands then picked up some boxes so I could pack up the thousands of books the kids have, plus other junk that’s sprawled all around the bedroom. I cleaned a little bit and by the time I knew it, it was time to pick up Jaylen and Brianna.

I got there at 11:20, since they should get out at 11:30, but they didn’t get out till 12. One little boy walked down the hall and happily declared that he had “Burger King” at school LOL. Another little girl, whose yellow t-shirt was tear streaked, was sobbing and told her Mom she wanted to go back to Daycare, aww :(. Seeing that made me really nervous about how Jaylen would be, and then I see he and Briana turn the corner and they’re walking together and chatting away. It was the cutest thing!

They were pretty good. I cleaned up and put books into boxes while they played the Game Cube, colored, had snacks, had drinks, played with toys, colored, and watched TV. I sat about half an hour during those 3 hours, and it was when I was having lunch. At least I’ll stay active throughout the pregnancy LOL.

When it was time to pick up Eenan I packed the two kids in the truck and Mom came along for the ride. I went through the usual Pick-Up line and to my surprise the gate was already open and there were only 3 other cars in sight. I found that strange and called the school. They have another new Pick-Up station this year and it sucks even worse than last years. I ended up having to park at the very end of the semi-circle drive way and then it started to POUR! It was totally unexpected. Thank God I had an umbrella in the truck.

They were so unorganized that it took forever to get the kids out of the front hallway. It was already 3:40 by the time Eenan finally emerged from the door. He had a good day though, so I’m glad.

Brianna was picked up at 6 and she didn’t want to go home LOL. Getting the kids to eat dinner, take showers, and brush their teeth was much easier last night, thank goodness. Jaylen was asleep by 9:35 and Eenan was rolling around in bed till 10, but when I walked in at 10:10 he was already asleep. Mario and I tried watching Scary Movie 4, but were so tired we stopped it halfway and went to bed.

Eenan was giving me a little trouble in the morning, but Jaylen was fine. I discovered that we’ll have to buy him almost a whole new warddrobe of shorts since the size 5’s we got him are too big and have actual buttons instead of snaps. We’re afraid he’ll have an accident because he can’t unbutton fast enough.

I scarfed breakfast down as fast as I could and got the boys in the truck. Eenan, my big boy, didn’t even let me walk him to his class. He gave me a kiss and then we walked to Jaylen’s class.

He did so good, I got him in line and then they started going in. He kind of threw his backpack on the floor and then it dawned on me that I hadn’t written his name anywhere on his backpack. I start looking for the Sharpie I had in my purse and darnit, I’d forgotten it. I looked through the window to see what he was doing and he was getting his PB&J sandwich and orange juice (yes, my kids eat breakfast twice, at home and at school LOL). He sat down and then I see him blink away tears–he was starting to freak out again since there were 3 kids crying in the class. He looked out the door and I tried hiding but he saw me. He ran to the door and said, “I forgot to give you a hug!” so I gave him one. When he was half-way to his table he ran back and to my horror he was crying. I tried calming him down for about 10 minutes and nothing worked. Finally, this rude bitch (I don’t even know why she was in their classroom) tells me, “Next time you need to leave quickly. You all make it worse if you stick around.” I said, “I’ll keep that in mind,” and watch them drag Jaylen away from me. It was heart breaking. I could hear him (and about 10 other kids) screaming when I turned down the hallway. I hope he’s doing alright right now :(.

Like I didn’t feel bad enough already, Mario didn’t eat the breakfast I made him (French Toast). Grr. I told him I’m not bothering tomorrow morning.

It’s 10:38. Need to get some laundry done, wash dishes, and pack up some stuff before I pick up the kids. I would have gotten started much earlier except this stupid thing messed up on me. I need to get happy and change my attitude. I had a feeling when I woke up that today would suck–I need to change that :(.

Today was one of the most tiring days I’ve had to endure during this pregnancy. I only slept 5 hours (I’ll get to that in a bit) and woke up 3 times during the night–two of those to pee and drink water (<--which completely defeats the purpose of trying to sleep though the night). I should be sleeping right now but I like to procrastinate. I forgot about the laundry and now I have to wait for a load to finish washing so I can at least put the clothes to dry. Lovely. The boys were angels for a whole hour and a half while I took a nap this afternoon. Eenan took it upon himself to go to Postopia.com and play games (and I’m just now noticing there’s greasy Cheeto Puffs fingerprints all over my computer screen. Jaylen watched TV in our bedroom. They actually whispered the whole time I slept! That’s never happened before!

Friday was an interesting and memorable day. We chilled out at home in the morning and around 11 we left for town. Mario picked up his paycheck, cashed it and then we had lunch at Denny’s. I had fried shrimp, green beans and mashed potatoes and it was SO good. The plan for the day was to buy them school shoes, maybe a few more shirts, school supplies, and then get the stuff for the bar-b-q we were having for mom on Sunday. We went straight to the shoe stores on Jackson & 10th St. to find either Sketchers Airators or Lights for the boys, since those were the shoes they’d been raving about all summer. Never did we think these shoes were going to be so darn hard to find. We checked every shoe store in the mall, and nothing. Our last stop was JC Penny and finally, a store that had the Lights. We’d checked out the Airators at Kid’s Footlocker and they were fugly, so the kids changed their minds. We found Eenan’s size and one in Jaylen’s. Literally, just one shoe in Jaylen’s size. The guy helping us searched everywhere for it and nothing. We left with only Eenan’s shoe and felt quite defeated.

To make a long story short, we spent 3 hours looking for his shoes and had no luck and we got nothing else done. Apparently “those shoes are really hard to find”. No shit. We even went to El Centro Mall, which has a total of 5 stores in it and well, that was a trip we didn’t have to make. At least we had nachos there.

We went home since it was already 6 and Mario needed to shower and shave his head before we met Sally and her fiance Joe at Texas Roadhouse for dinner. She called me at 6:45 and we confirmed that we’d meet at the restaurant at 7:40. We made it just in time and Sally and Joe had just arrived a few minutes before. John babysat the kids, so it was just us four. It was a nice break and so nice to finally see Sally after 4 years! We talked, ate peanuts and took pictures while we waited to be seated. Ordered our food and while we ate, we caught up. We talked about everything from news of old classmates to reminiscing about when we were little–we covered everything. She even told Mario about how my mom would dress me like a little doll–a repressed memory I’d stored away for years. Mario was just smiling and looked over me and said, “Why didn’t I ever know about this?” LOL.

After we had dinner (Mario and I both ordered Road Kill, which I barely touched since it was so much food) and talked outside some more we said our ‘see you laters’. We went to Jorge & Maggie’s next. Maggie and I sat and talked inside for a while then joined the men outside. They’ve got this crazy neighbor, I mean crazy, and let’s just say he got the cops called on him at least 3 times. He just terrorizes the neighborhood, including kids. He has this thing about how the area around his house, including the street belongs to him. He confided to Jorge when he first moved there that he bought a two-story house because he wanted to snipe people. He thinks he’s this war hero from Iraq/big-shit in prison, but I think he’s making everything up. I think the Coke just fried his brain a little. Or a lot, whatever.

Jorge has taken LOTS of crap from this guy for the past 6 months. He finally lost his patience that night and told the guy off. I’d never heard Jorge get like that. It was funny though. Jorge kept telling him all this offensive stuff and the guy was so high he kept agreeing with him. It was hilarious. We didn’t get home till 1:30 that night which means we didn’t fall asleep till 2.

Then we had to wake up at 7, which is why I was so sleepy today.

Ooh, and Mario got me Fantasy and Curious by Britney Spears. I think they smell very similar, but the bottles are pretty so I got them both :D.

Today was spent paying more bills then going to JC Penny to order Jaylen’s shoes. The salesguy gave us that option yesterday and we figured it was our last resort. It took about 15 minutes for the ladies to tell me they didn’t have it in the catalog or online. Great. The “sample” shoe they had was the one in Jaylen’s size we had yesterday. They asked if I wanted to leave my name and number with the shoe and if they found the other one they’d give me a call. I was positive they wouldn’t find it but left my info anyway. Mom and I were on our way to another store to check when they give me a call that they FOUND IT! And they were 3 bucks less than Eenan’s for some reason! I should have known it was going to be a good day when I found a parking space right away and really close to the entrance :).

We went to Melissa Guerra to check the sale out and then to Target to get Mom’s birthday gift. Happy Birthday to the lil’ ol’ lady. We keep teasing her about how she’s going to be a Senior Citizen soon LOL.

While supervising Teeth Brushing Time I asked Eenan to show me his teeth to check if they were loose yet. I wiggled them just a bit and sure enough, they’re finally loosening up! I told Eenan, “Alright! They’re loose!” and he jumped with joy. Jaylen, who was busy brushing his teeth, says, “HEY! I want cash, too. You need to give me one of your tooths, Nano.” It was hilarious the way he said it. Cash? Mario and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Those kids come up with the most hilarious things. Eenan once asked, “Mama, why are Weedos jiggly?” (If I still have this blog when he’s a teenager, he’s going to kill me for announcing that to the world.)

After I woke up from my nap this afternoon, Jaylen asked if he could call Sammy and Brandon over since he was having trouble killing the “Glob Monster” on one of his Mega Man games. I haven’t let anyone come over since the rooms aren’t done and there’s stuff everywhere. When those two cousins come over there’s usually always a disaster to clean up afterwards, so yeah. Jaylen started whining so I told him, “Let’s see your game. I’ll help you.” He stares at me, mouth wide open and kind of confused. I tell him, “Hey, I used to play video games, too.”

We sit on my bed and he shows me which buttons do what, and I start trying to kill the Monster. The whole time Jaylen’s staring at me in amazement, a huge grin on his face because he’s probably shocked to see his mom playing games.

I’ve never felt so old!

Totally random thought: I love how coffee smells when it’s scent is wafting through the house. Even decaf smells good!

We ended up watching RV at the dollar movies, because we’re broke LOL. It was a really cute movie, no matter what anyone says. I’ve always loved Robin Williams. The kids laughed non-stop throughout the movie and we adults (Mario, Noelia and I) loved it, too.

After the movie we stopped by Home Depot to get paint chips/swatches and idea books. Only Noelia and I got down at the place and we went crazy with the books. That night Mario and I laid in bed and argued decided we wanted a light tan color and picked out 3 paint chips.

Nothing interesting happened on Thursday except that I woke up feeling really sick–worse than the day before. I don’t know if I caught a cold from someone or if it was because I slept with the fan practically on my face, but I had a sore throat, ear ache, constant sneezing, and a nasty runny nose.

I spent most of Friday feeling like crap too, but worked up some energy to get ready and go to Mary’s. She was making lasanga and everyone was invited over for dinner. We talked about baby names and I told everyone which name we picked. Annie, of course, didn’t like how ‘Rose’ sounded with Alathia (still not sure if I want to spell it that way or Alaethia, which I think would make more sense) but I love how it sounds. I’ve only liked it since I was pregnant with Eenan.

Mary invited the boys and I to the movies on Saturday. I still didn’t feel too hot, but went anyway when she said Tommy, Yadira and Yazmin were watching World Trade Center. As I expected, I bawled my eyes out 5 minutes into the movie all the way till the end. I kept remembering that actual day; Mario still worked at the hospital and had his day off–it was a Tuesday? We had decided to sleep in and at around 9:20 we get a knock at the door. It was my dad-in-law telling us we were under “Terrace Attack”, or that was what I understood anyway. Up to that day, I didn’t really know anything about Terrorist Attacks. I remember we sat in front of the TV with Eenan on our laps and my hand on my tummy. I kept thinking how this would undeniably start a war and what if more terrorists bombed Texas because the President’s from here? I was 2 months pregnant with Jaylen. It was horrible watching all those people throwing themselves from the buildings, trying to somehow save themselves. It was like something out of an action movie, only unfortunately, it was real life. I probably bawled even more at the ending credits when they rolled the names of all the Port Authority cops that didn’t make it out. *sigh* I should stop thinking about this. I’m getting a huge lump in my throat again.

Anyway, it was a long process after the movies–they were driving around looking for ballrooms for Yazmin’s Quincenera next year. After they decided on the second one, we had lunch at Denny’s, and I became a little upset because Tommy made fun of Alaethia’s name. Grrr. I was quickly growing tired. We stopped by Andy’s to see how big his hound, Curtis had gotten. That dog is huge. He’s much bigger than the kids are.

We got home and I didn’t get a chance to rest. We had a Quincenera to go to and I had to iron. I didn’t have anything to wear so that made me even more frustrated, but I decided on a blouse and jeans. When we got there I didn’t feel too uncomfortable since there were others in jeans, too. The Quince was nice. Mario and I both agreed we need to learn to dance–he’s never ever said he’s wanted to learn and I’m running with it LOL. We definitely need to learn by Noelia and Andy’s wedding.

Mario woke up in a crappy mood on Sunday and totally upset me. We didn’t talk most of the day. I called several places that sold paint and oh my gosh, most places were so expensive. The $25 paint place we usually go to was closed and I really wanted to get started ASAP so we went with Walmart which has the 5 gallon tub for $54. We finally started talking while we were there, because we had to talk to eachother and then we bar-be-qued that night. Mario made the fajitas (beef and chicken) and I made Frijoles a la Charra and Rice. We ate at my dad-in-law’s house when everything was done. The only thing missing was guacamole dip :(.

Monday came around and my cold finally went away. I went to buy paint supplies, such as a paint pan, rollers and masks. I started painting at 12pm and didn’t finish till 5:30, with a lunch break and water breaks. I painted all day. John helped move things, like furniture and the ladder for me, but that’s it. I love how the room looks. The paint looks different during day and night. I was afraid the paint would be too dark, but it’s pretty light and looks even lighter at night for some reason.

Here’s the actual paint color:

And here’s a piece of my room:

I was SO sore that night. Everyone kept telling me to take it easy, and I thought I was but going up and down the ladder as carefully as I was, was a workout I didn’t expect. I felt like I’d been doing crunches all day. I still need 1/2 of a wall; I couldn’t do it since a dresser and the bed are against that wall.

One of the most greatest, most unexpected things happened that day. I spoke to Sally after what? Almost 4 years? The last time I saw her was when Jaylen was a few months old. Thanks to Myspace and my old buddy Kristina we got back in touch. Sally gave her my number and I called her. I love Myspace. I’ve found a few of my childhood friends there–literally people I’ve known since I was 4! I’ve also found a few middle school friends. I’m so glad we’re back in touch. I couldn’t imagine going through life without ever seeing her again. Maybe I’ll even get the chance to rekindle my friendship with Veronica. Sally still speaks to her, but hasn’t in a few months. The ball of jealousy that was in my chest unraveled when she told me that. I was sort of relieved to find out they weren’t having the time of their lives without me LOL. I haven’t seen Vero in like, 5 years. I didn’t even know she had a little boy now! And people are married! People who grew up together! We made plans to get together on Friday, probably for dinner. We have so much to catch up on!

I also spoke to Jessica M. that night. I remembered that it was her birthday and called her and we made plans to get together Friday night to celebrate. We’ll be meeting her at a club and I’m sort of nervous about that because of the smoke and all, but we’ll at least see her for a little while.

Mom had yet another one of her appointments on Tuesday morning, only this time it was at the ripe hour of 8:00am. I had to wake up an hour earlier than usual to do everything, like get Mario’s lunch packed, make him breakfast, iron his clothes, feed the kids and myself and get them ready. Oy. Sally and I kept calling eachother in case she would stop by on her way from Laredo. She needed to get to work so she didn’t get a chance to stop by.

I was EVEN MORE SORE yesterday. The back of thighs hurt, my calves hurt. Now I know what to do after the baby’s born :P. I’ll just walk up and down the ladder about 1,000 times.

Speaking of, I read that Gwenyth Paltrow gained 40 lbs. with each of her pregnancies! I see that woman now and I just don’t know how she does it. Here’s an article I read:

“They should see the cellulite on my thighs right now,” the part-time actress and full-time mom of Apple, 2, and Moses, four months, reveals to Harper’s Bazaar.

Paltrow, 33, who gained 40 pounds during each pregnancy, says she no longer agonizes over whether her body will snap back to its pre-baby shape.

“The first time, you are horrified,” she admits of the added baggage. “It’s all lovely when you are pregnant; but when you are not pregnant and you haven’t been for a couple months and you are still carrying tons of extra weight and everything’s all hanging and sagging, you think, ‘How is this ever going to go back?’ But it does — if you do a lot of working out.”

According to Gwyneth, she lost 20 pounds immediately after giving birth and sweated off the rest with exercise: “With Apple I kept the extra 20 pounds on until she was three months old, and then it came off. And that’s exactly what’s happening now.”

She’s been working out, “but not dieting, because I am a milk machine … I’ve got the appetite of a breastfeeding mother.”

(Full story here.)

Now, if she’d just be a dear and tell us exactly WHAT she’s doing to lose that weight, I’ll buy all her movies.

And speaking of babies, I think Alaethia’s been moving a little more. I get worried sometimes since the boys were definitely moving by 4 months, but I hear girls move “later” than boys do. I can’t wait to feel that sudden *bump* though! I think I’m just impatient.

As for today, I have nothing to do! Well, that’s a bit of a lie. I have to wash dishes, put laundry away, pray that the rooms get finished–or at least the closets! Sweep/mop, put junk away where I can. And, if I can work up the energy, I want to paint the boys’ room. They start school on Monday and they don’t have a decent closet and there’s still that huge wardrobe/closet and a dresser I’d LOVE to get rid of in the way. Plus, they keep taking tons of toys to my bedroom. There’s nothing more painful than playfully jumping into bed with Mario and landing ass-first on a Power Ranger. Holding a sword upright.

I keep thinking, “Mario can finish painting”, but we definitely won’t have time to do anything over the weekend. Mother has another appointment on Thursday and it’s also meet the teacher night. We have bills to pay on Friday, plus buying the remainder of the kids’ school supplies (yup, they added more!) and clothes, a present for Mom for her birthday on Saturday, buy stuff for her bar-be-que on Sunday to celebrate her birthday, then we have dinner w/ Sally and meeting Jessica–and there’s no way I’m giving the last two up. I can paint on Saturday, but that’s about it. I also really need to clean the house for Sunday when we have company over for Mom’s birthday.

My back aches already.