Category: Weather

I got up early and started making breakfast. I had a buffet of regular pancakes, banana pancakes, omelets and bacon available. Sally was coming over later, around 9:30am, so that gave me enough time to have everything ready. Mario ate breakfast and left to work. He was going to work a half-day only, so that was exciting :).

Sally got here and we ate and talked for a good while. She said we spent a lot of time eating but I would have felt horrible just getting straight to work and not even chatting. She’s such a doll, though. She gave me such great advice and even moved everything around in my closet to make more space. She even brought me two Rubbermaid storage boxes she’d bought at Target! She also foamed up the crack at the bottom of the closet floor, which I’d been asking Mario to do for the past year! I was so sad she had to leave so soon, but she also had things to do and it was her dad-in-law’s birthday.

Mario got home around 1pm. He wanted to take a nap, but asked if I wanted him to do anything around the house first. I said SURE! You don’t have to ask me twice! He began disassembling Alaethia’s crib to turn it into a daybed for her. He finished and John, who was in the living room, went to help him move it into Aly’s room. They couldn’t get it into the room at all! The hallway curves weirdly so they couldn’t make a complete turn to get the bed inside. So there’s poor Mario disassembling the crib again in the hallway, then dragging all the pieces into her room and reassembling them. He was not a happy camper after that so he wasn’t too thrilled when I asked him and John to help me (and by help me I mean they did it all since I can’t move anything heavy myself) rearrange the furniture in my bedroom. John went home and Mario went to sleep when they were done while I looked through old magazines. Mario and I had 11 magazine folders in total. Most are his. He needs to look through all of his and I still have a few folders to go through, plus a pile of junk to sort and put away.

I made up Alaethia’s daybed all pretty with her Amy Coe bedding and then I took a shower. Everyone started arriving a while later. Much to Mario’s protests he went with me to buy fireworks for the boys. While we were at the ATM we ran into Rolando and his family. Eenan was sad he missed him; I told him to go with me!

Mom spent the whole day making buñuelos and burritos for everyone. We all ate and then started taking chairs out to watch the fireworks. Just about everyone stayed under the Party Porch since it was drizzly and cold. The boys had a blast with their fireworks (under adult supervision of course—I was freaking out scolding everyone even like that LOL) and kept their hoodies and shoes on for once.

I felt so left out LOL. Everyone was having some sort of mixed drink. I’d never wanted a Margarita in my life so badly. How strange that my pregnancies with both girls have caused me to crave alcohol (not that I drink any while pregnant of course). Jose made me a virgin salty dog. It was alright.

Mario made the mistake of bringing out his shot glass that’s like 5-6 shots in one. A boy we didn’t know, Mario and Adan all took full shots of Vodka from it, instigated by Jose. I kept telling Mario not to do it, but he never listens. At least 5 people did walk away with incriminating photos and video LOL.

When midnight neared people started going crazy firing their guns into the air. I hate that about where we live. Yeah, it’s almost like the boonies, but it is a very-populated, residential area. Some of our own relatives brought out their shotguns and at first were shooting into the ground and then started shooting into the air. I herded all my kids inside and made them stay here while I helped Mary, Elda, Mom and Mona clean up. I gathered all the dishes, washed them and got in bed with Alaethia. I was a bit upset with Mario because he was out there with the gang, but I got over it. Not before lecturing him on gun safety and how dangerous it is to shoot into the air. Heck, I learned my lesson last March! The whole conversation was a bit pointless though seeing as how he was quite drunk. John had come over towards the end of the night and Mario was telling us all this story that he’d just told the night before to the exact same people that were at Adan’s. I even repeated word-for-word to John what Mario said about a second later. He didn’t believe me, which was funny.

As soon as Mario got into bed he was OUT. First time we’d ever gone to sleep “early” for New Years!

Mon. Dec. 15th – I woke up with a runny nose and had no idea why. I thought it was just allergies acting up and was certain I’d feel better by the end of the day, but the cold quickly took over and I was dragging. Rudy, one of our students I’d been helping reach goals the week before, came in to read a bit more and helped me out a lot. I’d laminated the 399 banners I’d been making and helped with that, then Frankie, Erik, Yulissa, Emily and Jessica helped out. I never thought it would happen, but the banners were done within a matter of minute. I love those kids LOL.

I walked around like a zombie most of the day, but pushed myself to make it till 3. I got as much done as I could just in case I couldn’t make it in the next day. I spoke to Amaveli, our attendance clerk, about my situation with the boys and she completely agreed with me.

We had our Christmas Party after school. They catered and Mrs. R. did an amazing job with the decorations. I was sad I wouldn’t be staying long. They had me take my plate and I went straight to the boys’ school. I was actually feeling nervous, which is odd for me when I’ve got something to argue about. I told myself all the way over there that I needed to state my case and hold my ground.

I get there and the woman’s actually in. I was afraid she wouldn’t be there since I’d called earlier in the day and reminded a clerk that I’d be in to speak to her. She told me, “Remember I warned you about it? That if they left before 12 they would ruin their perfect attendance and you said you were taking them anyway?” I told her yes, because I knew that I could take them after 10am and have them not be counted absent. Everyone else does it, especially on Fridays when they take their kids to Mexico for the weekend and I didn’t hear anyone else having a problem. She acted like that was it, like she wasn’t going to say anything else so I said I wanted to speak to the principal.

I went in and the principal was just giving me a hard time like the clerk. I was so pissed and just seriously wanted to start yelling. I told her how nowhere in writing did it say they’d be counted absent after 12 and how my boys had worked so hard to have perfect attendance and all A Honor Roll. I told her how it was the first time ever that neither of them had been sick with Strep this year, which is what hindered their perfect attendance all the years before. It was right after that, that to my horror, I busted into tears. I was so embarrassed but I’m pregnant and hormonal and really couldn’t help it. The principal was a little shocked and asked me to step out while she spoke to the boys’ teachers.

When we’re waiting in the front office and I was trying to compose myself Eenan’s teacher walks in and she tells me, “I’ve been trying to call you this whole time! Do you know what’s going on?” Apparently she had just gotten word of it because she’d been home sick and was trying to reach me. I gave her a quick summary and she genuinely looked sorry. She told me, “I wish I hadn’t told you to just take them. I know you were going to wait.” Which is true. I was going to wait till after 12 to take them both, but both teachers told me to go ahead and take them, just not to tell the office they told me so. It wasn’t time to resent anyone though. She went in to speak to the principal and Jaylen’s teacher and they called us in after about 10 minutes. The office staff had actually taken the time to find a document that stated we couldn’t take them out till after 12 but couldn’t find anything, just a document about how they didn’t want parents complaining when it was time for a field trip and kids had actually been absent. They told me how they didn’t want the kids leaving before lunch because it messes up the lunch count—which ultimately means they don’t get paid for the kid. That was basically the whole reason for holding my kids back.

Then the principal said what made her upset was that even though it wasn’t in writing, that I’d gone against something the staff said and what they’re trying to teach the kids in school is you can’t just be defiant like that and blah, blah, blah. I didn’t want to open my mouth, because I’d surely piss everyone off, but if it’s one thing I teach my kids is to do the right thing, and nobody was going to tell me that I wasn’t doing that. But I just kept my mouth shut and listened and even half-sarcastically said, “Well, now that I know the “rules,” I won’t be removing my children from school before 12. I wish I’d known this before.”

The principal said they’d come to the decision that they wouldn’t be holding the kids back from the field trip because they were great students and I was a great parent (yeah, way to try and kiss my ass). Then the dumb attendance clerk jumps in and says, “But I’m still going to be needing an excuse slip for yourself to use for your kids.” Um. Okay. Sure lady. I got home and got all the documents together that I needed. If I didn’t know any better I’d say that woman is out to get me and really doesn’t like me.

After I got everything done I lay on the couch and just passed out. I seriously couldn’t stay awake and my body was hurting SO BAD. I started to make dinner, fideo and beans, but I felt so horrible I asked Mario if he could take over and he did! He did a great job.

Tues. Dec. 16th – I stayed home and went to the doctor. I’d texted Mrs. V. (because she’s left me e-mails about her absences before) and left an e-mail to Vero since it was really early and I didn’t think I’d be able to wake up later on. Well, Vero calls me at 8:30, when I’m getting ready, and asks if I’m going to work. I tell her no, didn’t she get my e-mail? And she said no, that Mrs. V. was wondering what happened to me also. So apparently I was MIA. Last time I don’t call to let them know. Funny how it works when they leave me a message though. Grr.

After the call with Vero I receive another call from the kids’ school. They called to confirm a change of plans; it was way too cold to take the kids to the Corn Maze like they’d originally planned, so they were calling to see if it was okay to take them to the movies instead. I was relieved. I knew Eenan was nice and toasty in his jacket, long johns, regular clothes and hat and gloves, but it was in the 30’s and I didn’t know how long his little body could stand it out there. So I gladly accepted the change.

Mario was so tired he didn’t end up going into work either. Thank God, because I really needed him. I went in to the doctor’s at 9:15 and got out at 11:30 and went to the pharmacy. I ended up having my prenatal appointment that day, too, since I was supposed to have it the next day. I’m measuring at 27 weeks (although I’m 29 weeks) and I weighed 137.8—which means I haven’t really gained weight in almost 2 months! Everything with the baby looks great. I can finally say that I’m at ease about her being a girl and not “changing” on me at the last minute LOL. I had an ear infection, sore throat and cough, so they gave me some cough medicine and antibiotics. After I left the pharmacy I got home and just laid on the couch. It was the most rest I’d had in a while, even though I kept waking up because of my cough. I was surprised and pretty pissed to read the labels on the cough medicine bottle and the leaflets they included with it that said the medicine shouldn’t be taken while pregnant, especially the last 3 months. WTF? Why the heck would they give me that then? I continued with my Robitussin, which is what they told me to take as an alternative. Great.

When I’d first laid down on the couch Alaethia came up to me and laid her head on my shoulder. I tried to give her a hug without breathing my germs in her face. She tells me, “I love you, too.” I hug her tighter and squeal, “Oh little mommy, you make me feel so much better.”

She could tell by my voice that I wasn’t feeling well. She gazes at me and asks, “Are you awright?” I tell her yes, I am, just a little sick. She’s so cute and sweet, I can’t stand it sometimes!

It was so nice having Mario home. He made a chocolate cake with Jaylen and it was delicious! Next project is brownies with Eenan. I think it’s sweet that he’s taking time to do little things with each of them.

Wed. Dec. 17th – It was Jaylen’s turn to go on his field trip. They were going to The Zone, an amusement park type place but most of the games were indoors, and it wasn’t as cold as the day before anyway.

I felt like I was dying, but I went to work anyway. Good thing too, since I had to stay an extra hour and a half to make up for time since we were getting out early on Friday. I still don’t see how that’s our fault and we have to make hours up, but whatever. It took some doing, but Mary found a ride for the boys for each day: Yadira that day and Sonia the next.

As I was passing some permission slips back to some kids in the morning from class to class, I ran into an old…acquaintance I guess you can say, who was substituting. She looked like she’d seen a ghost when she’d seen me. When I had lunch that day I ate with Mr. D. when my old “friend” walked in followed by her sister, who was also subbing. They were both being obnoxiously loud but I tried blocking them out, especially since I had a headache. Mr. D. and I talked about his wife’s pregnancy and mine and they kind of just glared at me, which was weird. I went back to the library and my old “friend” stopped by about 3 minutes later asking to check her pin drive. Her sister had already subbed the year before and seen me. I wouldn’t put it passed them to have been checking to see exactly where I worked. Idiots.

Anyway, I got everything done and then some, including some letters for the bulletin boards. I was out of there like a bat out of hell and was sorry to have finished my water at work since I coughed all the way home. It was awful. I couldn’t breathe. I finally calmed down about 15 minutes after getting home and just threw myself on the sofa again. Mario got home and he started making dinner. He was bringing me water and taking care of the kids. I looked at him running around in the kitchen and was amazed. He caught me looking at him and said, “What?” I smile and tell him, “Wow, Babe. You’ve washed dishes, made cake with kids, you’ve made dinner twice, waited on me hand and foot—no wonder you like being married to me!” He smiled and narrowed his eyes at me. Then he says, “I admit. That was a good one.” LOL

Thurs., Dec. 18th – It was the day of our field trip to Fantasyland Skate Center. I prayed that I’d feel alright and that I could make it through the day. We had to house the kids at the library from 9-11, since it was freezing outside and weren’t going to be able to take them to the park like we’d planned. They had lunch right at 11 and after that we loaded the buses.

I was having horrible, dry-heave coughs in the morning, but mostly on the way to the rink. It was so annoying. I was better by the time we got to the rink, though. It was fun watching all the kids. I still wish I could have strapped on some rollerblades and gotten out there but that’s not possible right now, of course. I ordered pizza with Baudi and Mrs. Martinez and we all chilled out with Roxanne. It was a fun free day for all of us. We helped load the kids onto the bus (took forever because it was confusing trying to get the kids on the right route) and then we got into Mrs. V’s truck and she drove us to the school. She likes to speed, and the three male teachers, Mr. D., Mr. C, and Mr. H were all teasing her and asking her to slow down. Just as we’re getting to the school we get stopped LOL. Luckily she only got a warning. The cop was funny and really nice. The plus was I’d gotten enough Comp time so that I could leave early like everyone else the next day.

Fri. , Dec. 19th – We had a totally free day. We weren’t really closed, but there weren’t any kids circulating that day anyway. They had parties and a dance to worry about. I had lunch with the ladies, Mrs. V. and Mrs. Ruiz. I felt a little sad that I couldn’t give them a nicer gift; I gave them a mug with cocoas and a book each. Mrs. V gave me massager and Mrs. Ruiz outdid herself and gave us both a robe, socks and slippers! They spoil me. We took all the decorations down and after lunch we got some nachos and checked on the kids at the dance. Mrs. Ruiz left with her daughter and we hugged goodbye. Then we saw all the kids off at the bus loading area. I got all my stuff together and said my goodbyes to Mrs. V. I rushed off to pick up my boys and then Sonia, who needed to go to a few places. It was the least I could do after she did me the huge favor of picking up the boys the day before. After we dropped her off, we came home to pick up Mom and Alaethia then went to pay John’s car payment. I paid all my bills online and then joined everyone at Mary’s to celebrate Andy’s birthday. We had Menudo, yum. I’d completely forgotten about Mario’s company party until he called to ask if I was ready. Oops. I got ready in a hurry and made sure to give Mom instructions for Alaethia’s medicines and reminded the boys to be good and pick up after themselves.

We were running a little late, but I assured Mario we’d be fine since everyone else is usually much later than we are. Well, for the first time ever everyone else was on time LOL. The dinner was at the Santa Fe steak house. I had no idea it was so fancy in there. A man was playing a piano in the background and it was really nice. They even compiled a menu just for the company!

During the dinner the bosses passed around gifts and small bonus for all the employees. How nice! Then we went to their house to play poker. The boss’ wife was teaching me and I actually won a few times! I want to play again. Mario ended up getting a little tipsy after he’d had a few shots of Tequila. We left the house around 3am. Mario kept falling asleep and waking up and looked really uncomfortable. Then he asked me to pull over and he hurled. He was swaying and I was afraid he’d end up sitting in his vomit. I always carry a little bottle of either Oust or Lysol spray and started spraying the Oust everywhere, because if I smelled anything I’d join him right outside the car. You can’t imagine how happy I was when we finally made it home.

Sat. Dec. 20th – I went to Goodwill with John and Alaethia that morning hoping I’d find some cute curtains from Target like they usually have. I found absolutely nothing and even broke a pretty Victorian glass bottle I was going to buy for Mary’s miniatures collection. The cashier didn’t let me pay for it, though. We did a bit of Christmas shopping, like Mom’s nightgown at JC Penny. I can’t remember where else we went, but I know we tried getting as much done as possible.

Sun. Dec. 21st – We went shopping again, only instead of John going with me this time, it was Mario. We hadn’t cashed Mario’s paycheck so we did so at Walmart. We went to Target, where we got a few more gifts we needed and some that Elda needed and then to Walmart. We rushed home to drop everything off since we were already late to Jaylen’s best friend, Aaron’s birthday party. Since Alaethia and Eenan were both sick we left them at home with the grandmas and took only Jaylen. He had a blast chilling out with his friend and Norma and I talked for a bit. If I remember correctly, we went back to Walmart for some grocery shopping and bought a necklace that Mary wanted from there, too. There were 3 shopping days left and I still needed a few things!

Mon., Nov. 17th – After a morning of what seemed like tortured sleep, I finally started to really drift off again around 5:15…which left me with 15 whole minutes to sleep and I was exhausted, so I just got up and texted Mrs. V. that I wasn’t going into work. I figured a text would be good since she’s not usually awake at that time.

I always feel guilty calling in, but I wasn’t going to torture myself trying to stay up all day or getting into an accident driving to or from work so I think I made the right choice. I have to use up my sick days anyway, before I stop working. Since I didn’t sign up for Disability last year I don’t qualify for Maternity Leave at all—bastards.

Anyway, all I had to do was wake up at 7:30 when the alarm went off for Mario and call my absence in.

Only I didn’t call in at 7:30…because I woke Mario up and fell back to sleep till 9am! The girls are so good to me; when I jumped out of bed and called in I didn’t get scolded LOL.

It really didn’t feel like a free, restful day at all. Alaethia was in an awful mood, probably due to teething and after school when I picked the boys up they were in terrible moods, too. Maybe it was the weather?

Tues., Nov. 18th – I wasn’t surprised to find lots of books left over for me to shelve from the day before, just as I thought there’d be. I have to thank Mrs. Ruiz, the saint, because she went in for a little while and checked-in/shelved some books for me.

I started off the day by inputting all the manual check-ins from the day before during advisory. At least the internet worked long enough to finish checking-in books. After that, the internet was slow all day, so I was still checking in books well after lunch, which is not normal. I’m usually done checking in by at least 10:30 and have the rest of the day to help kids with Reading Renaissance and shelve books. Thank goodness 2 substitutes and Mrs. Ruiz showed up to help me. What a difference they made.

All I wanted to do was rest when I got home, but I’d agreed to let Aaron come over and visit for a while. Not that he’s any trouble; both he and Jaylen are very well-behaved together.

My throat started feeling weird that night. Alaethia fell asleep early but woke up right when I was ready to go to bed; lucky me. She didn’t let me fall asleep till probably midnight and then woke up for something to drink at 4:20, like always. Which left me with less than an hour to sleep before my alarm went off.

Wed., Nov. 19th – I don’t think there’s anything creepier than driving down Jarachinas Road in thick, dense fog. This is the same road I mentioned when I first started working—the dark, creepy, never-ending one. Usually I’m cursing buses and slow traffic that holds me back (and makes me late to clock in) but this time I gratefully followed close to the bus, truck and car in front of me. The last time I drove in fog that thick, around 2 months ago, I was all alone and was driving so slow I felt like I’d never get to work.

I was quickly developing a cold; mother was sick with a cold so she’s probably the source of my sickness. I was desperate doing research online to see what I could take for my horrible sore throat and turns out Chloraseptic and the Ludens Sore Throat Drops I had on hand were just fine.

Thurs., Nov. 20th – The internet was so slow at work. I had lots of work to do, meaning I had piles among piles of books to check-in and shelve. Usually everything’s done a little while after I come back from lunch but I had work left over for the next day; that’s how bad it was! Didn’t help that I had a purchase order to submit and it was a nightmare from the beginning. I seriously hate those things. Thank God Mrs. Ruiz showed up. I got to vent about how I didn’t get to go to lunch till almost 2pm (1 hour before I clock out!) and she helped with the massive amount of books.

Once I got home I tried to relax and went to the boys’ Report Card Night with just about the whole family. Mario and Mary got home on time from work to go with Mom, the kids and me. I was really thirsty so I chugged a huge glass of grapefruit juice on the way out. As soon as we stepped foot in the parking lot of the school I began to feel queasy. I was jittery and felt like I’d puke. I couldn’t even properly say hello to Norma and the kids because I felt so bad.

We spoke to Jaylen’s teacher first, who, of course, had nothing but nice things to say. She said she was really impressed with him and even made a really nice comment about how she had us to thank because he wouldn’t be such a great kid if it weren’t for great parenting *tear*. She said he’s doing so well she recommends giving him 2nd grade and then 3rd grade work if he can pull it off. She said she’d never want to promote him to a higher grade because they’re never ready, so she’d just be giving him higher level material. He made all A Honor Roll!

We spoke to their choir teacher after that and signed. We went to Eenan’s class next. His teacher said he’s still a bit distracted, but he has been doing better. We also discussed the bully he’d been dealing with. I told her about how he’d actually call home or while we were at work and ask if we could pick him up. She was concerned and said she’d speak with him and maybe set up yet another meeting with his mom. Apparently this is a regular, every-day thing for him.

I was tearing open his report card as we were walking down the hall. I smiled and raised an eyebrow to him as I tore along the perforated edges; I’d warned him that if he got anything less than a 90 for Composition he was in big trouble. He’d just brought home two unfinished compositions the day before that his teacher was giving him a chance to finish up before she posted grades. It’s not that he can’t do it—it’s that he gets lazy and/or distracted and doesn’t want to do anything in class. He’s a terrific writer and has an amazing imagination; I know what he’s capable of.

He clutched his little hands together and prayed, “Please no B’s, please no B’s!” I told him to shush; someone would hear and say, “She’s one of THOSE MOMS,” which I’m not. Like I said, I just know what he’s capable of and he was not going to get away with messing around in class. He was saved though: he made all A’s, too!

We visited their Gifted & Talented class next. Their teacher told us about their upcoming Thanksgiving plays and showed us their decorations and self-made costumes. Everything was too cute. They both love that class. They get to express themselves and be as creative as their heart desires. I love their teacher—she’s hyper and laughs a lot like me LOL.

We went to their assembly in the cafeteria. Jaylen and the rest of the 1st graders performed a few Thanksgiving songs. It was too cute. We sat with Jason & Mirella, who were there for Brianna’s performance as well. As cute as they looked and sounded, I couldn’t wait to go home. They were having a potluck dinner and the smells were making me even more nauseous.

When we got home Eenan rushed to do his homework (thank God we went back that night or else he wouldn’t have known what to do) and Mario and I watched Grey’s Anatomy. Well, we watched it somewhat—as much as you can with three kids screaming their heads off every 5 minutes.

Mario ended up passing out while Jaylen showered. Aly watched Bridge to Terabithia and Eenan showered. When they were both done, they watched Alaethia for me while I showered. I felt like crap that night. I felt like barfing from my dry throat and dry cough and sleep was pretty much out of the question.

Fri., Nov. 21st – It was actually in the 40’s and drizzly all day. I had a chance to make myself some coffee which kept me nice and warm on the way to work. I really didn’t feel like going in at all since my sore throat (and Alaethia) didn’t let me fall asleep till 1am, but oh well. She woke up twice for something to drink: sure sign of mom putting her to sleep for more than an hour during the day. And to top it off, there was rain pelting on the window like pebbles and I couldn’t sleep. When I finally did drift off into sleep the darn alarm went off at 5:30. I slept about 2 1/2 hours in total. I felt like shit. But I had to go in. I’d already been absent on Monday. Mrs. Ruiz had already paid for my plate for the fundraiser we were having that day and I owed her so I didn’t want to be absent for that either. The food was delicious, even though the fajitas had a weird lighter-fluid taste O_o.

I chilled out most of the afternoon. I don’t remember if Mario and I went anywhere at all that day but I tried going to sleep semi-early since I had to be up super early the next morning.

Sat., Nov. 22nd – I couldn’t sleep all night Friday due to my cough and then had to wake up at 6:20 to get Eenan ready for his U.I.L. competition and drop him off by 6:45am. It was cold. I got home and changed back into PJ bottoms to go to sleep again, only I couldn’t sleep because I was coughing. When I finally did fall asleep I was out maybe two hours before Aly woke up for good. Poo. Sleep throughout this pregnancy has been slim to none!

I scooped Alaethia up and made us some breakfast. I chilled out with her and then realized we had no cash for Jaylen’s day out. His best friend, Aaron, and Aaron’s parents invited him to go watch Bolt, out to eat and then back home to play some Playstation 2. I was sleepy and moody so I huffed and puffed while I got ready to go to the bank. Mario offered to go for me, only after he saw that I was completely dressed and ready to walk out the door. Grr. I withdrew his cash and then dropped off Jaylen at Aaron’s house. I came back home and chilled out, trying not to fume at Mario. He was still nice and toasty in bed after coming home at 4am. He wouldn’t have come home at even that time had I not texted him. He couldn’t sleep as always so he’d slinked off to Chris’ house and lost track of time. I’m a lil’ jealous that he gets to sleep when he wants, do whatever he wants. According to other women I’ve spoken to, this seems to be the norm with husbands.

The baby’s been moving like crazy. I can actually see her move her knees or feet along my belly now. I’m glad I can finally feel her and know for a fact that she’s alright in there.

We’d been throwing around the idea of moving the boys’ stuff to Noelia’s old bedroom, which is Mary’s spare bedroom. I felt weird about it because although our houses are only separated by a wall and the back door to Mary’s house is like 5 steps away, I didn’t feel right not having my babies sleeping in the same house. They’d still do their homework here, eat here, etc. The only difference is that their beds would be in that room and that’s where they’d sleep. After a lot of thought, I finally agreed. Alaethia and the new baby would need their own room; it was becoming pretty cramped in our bedroom. And it would only be until we can start on the new house, which hopefully won’t take an eternity (although the economy, housing market and Border Patrol not calling Mario yet will be a challenge).

I picked up Eenan from school and he was sad that he didn’t place. We need to practice some more. He went from placing every competition last year to not even getting into the semi-finals. But we’ll work on it.

We went to storage to get the bunk bed ladder to turn their separate beds into bunks again. Mario stayed home setting everything up, Mom helped with watching the kiddos and I went with Mary, Yadira, Tommy and Angela to town. Mary wanted to look for a new dresser and was either going to borrow Yadira’s Lack’s account or my Furniture Row account. Lack’s was our first stop and it was extremely expensive. They wanted $1,000 for each chest of drawers—and they were made of compressed wood!

We went to eat at the Taco Bell/Long John Silver’s since we were all starving. I had popcorn shrimp, of course, and was surprised to find that I for once didn’t finish the whole meal. I’m assuming the baby’s taking up so much space now it’s going to be hard to finish a meal. I had the same “problem” when I was pregnant with Alaethia. I’d get real full, real fast.

We went to Furniture Row next. I wasn’t very happy with the drawer chests since I was specifically looking for one with 6 drawers so each boy would have three and three. They already had one with 5 drawers, so Jaylen was left without a pajama drawer. It’s actually a really nice dresser Aunt Nora gave them, but since the drawers are made of compressed wood, the boys have dropped them and broken them and I’ve fixed them so many times they’re falling apart.

In the end, I actually found a Pine dresser made completely of wood. It only had five dressers, but I figured I’d buy him a basket or Rubbermaid box for his PJ’s.

Since Alaethia was born we’ve been using the same plastic 3-drawer box for her clothes. I figured it was finally time to buy her a proper dresser; one big enough for her and her new sister to share. I found a beautiful white dresser, one fit for a princess, even! It’s very vintage/shabby chic.

Mary ended up with a dining table and chocolate colored euro-suede couch. Totally didn’t get what she initially went for. I also got a small ottoman to match my sofas. I was a bit worried I wouldn’t have enough credit, but I had tons. And the huge plus is that we get no interest/no payment till 2011!

We got home and chilled out at Mary’s. We met Jorge’s new girlfriend! They’d met since Brandon’s birthday party the night after Halloween and have been seeing each other ever since! I’m so glad he found someone!

I came back home and started cleaning the debris left under the boys’ beds. Mario had already set up the bunk beds in the boys’ new room. Their old room was a horrible mess. My back hurt by the end of the night. I was a little upset at Mario who walked in to check how I was doing (the audacity) and when I asked him, “Are you going to help me with this?” he replied, “Of course!” and promptly walked out the door. He didn’t mean to do it maliciously, it just happened to look that way. He was busy drinking and entertaining outside, as usual.

I was already emotional from being exhausted from cleaning and Mario walking out. I started thinking about the boys not sleeping in their room and cried a little, which is silly because they’re a bedroom away basically and would sleep over most of the week anyway. Still, I can’t wait to build my dream house. We should have had it by now but we’ve been hindered by many obstacles. It’ll happen one day, though. Sooner than it seems, I hope.