Fri., May 1st – I spent most of the day in my room sorting through bills and statements. I need to get a shredder for the bags upon bags of old documents that I can’t just toss in the trash bin. I took the time to “Go Green” with paperless statements online for most of my bills. I picked up the boys and then got to uploading pictures to Flickr. Although I’m really behind on blogging, I’m at least somewhat keeping up with Flickr!
I was uploading the 10MP pics from Mario’s camera and it was taking forever. I’d been looking for the perfect upgrade to my Kodak Z650, because that’s what Mario’s been trying to get me to buy for myself for a while already. He wanted to get me a new camera for Mother’s Day, and I’d fallen in love with a 12MP Kodak, 15x zoom like Andy and Noelia’s. I was sort of second-guessing getting it now, since I could only imagine how long it would take to upload those pictures!
Mario’s dad stayed home from work because his stomach wasn’t feeling too good and he started working on the ceramic tile in the nook. It looks so awesome!
Of course we still need the doors and trim. I can’t wait to see everything come together! We decided that when we’re done paying off our Home Depot card (again, for the 3rd time) we’re going to re-tile the whole house in ceramic tile. I loathe the commercial tile we brilliantly decided to use on the house back in the day. First, I’m not too keen on the greenish color in the old living room (now dining room) and we didn’t want to spend too much so we got that tile. Well now we’re going to spend money again to re-do it all in ceramic. I hate that no matter how much I sweep and mop, these floors never look clean because of the tile!
I’m not sure if I want the chocolate brown we used in the nook in the kitchen and dining room, because I want to keep the bright yellow in the kitchen, but we’ll see. Maybe I’ll go for a more taupe-y color.
It felt like we hadn’t seen Jorge and Maggie in forever (I felt like I’d broken up with a boyfriend LOL) and I was so glad that they’d come over. We had a mini-cookout and Maggie brought over her amazing Pico De Gallo (without the Pico…she doesn’t put Serrano peppers in it, which I’m grateful for LOL). We chit-chatted outside for a while, exchanging opinions about the whole Jon & Kate Plus 8 controversy, where Jon was spotted with that school teacher. I love that family and I couldn’t–or didn’t want to–believe that he was cheating on Kate and the kids. I know Kate’s a control freak, but I don’t think she deserves to be cheated on if that’s the case. She sort of reminds me of me, but I’m a little more tame and I’m not as organized as she is but I wish I was, heh! Anyway, I could go on and on about this whole thing, so I’ll stop now.
Alaethia had come inside to see what the boys were doing and when Mary’d come in to get a glass I hear her yell, “Oh my God!”
My heart sank, fearing the worst, and I ran inside to find Alaethia all sparkly in my makeup. My mouth hung open and she looked at me with her big eyes, waiting for me to get mad. I tell her, “Wait right here!” and grab my camera LOL. She looked so darn cute. She even recapped the mascara and lipsticks and only broke one LOL.
Maggie and I came inside after that, I don’t remember why, but I told her about how I’d tried tracking down my grandfather two years ago and how I had the e-mail of a man with the same name, who just so happened to work in the same school district I used to work for. I just had a feeling that this man was my uncle–my Mom’s half-brother who had no idea we existed–but I didn’t know how to go about e-mailing him and telling him so. She encouraged me to just go ahead and do it, so at 1am that morning, we cut and pasted what sounded like quite an amazing e-mail to write to a stranger and I clicked on ‘Send’. I don’t think I could have ever done it without her here. It had already been 6 months that that e-mail had been sitting in my inbox. Now I just had to wait and see if something came out of it. I sure wished it did.
Sat., May 2nd – I received my Merry Strawberry Dresser Mirror that morning! Great way to start the day :).
I’d originally ordered it a few days before, but the seller accidentally sent me the TV Set:
Since she’d made a mistake she told me I could just send her the same amount I already had (the TV one she’d accidentally sent was $2 more than the other one) and she sent me a pack of cute stickers and candies for free!
I got all the kiddos in the car (well, except for Eenan, he went to McAllen with Mary) and Mom and we went to meet Mario at Jesse’s–Mom’s treat. The food was so good. I had cheese enchiladas. I love going there. We’ve been going for so long that the owners already know us and are always so nice to us.
When Mario had to get back to work we went to the thrift shop. I didn’t mean to stop there, but I saw the cutest vintage chair outside and stopped to ask how much it was. $5 I want to eventually decorate Alaethia and Emily’s room in vintage/shabby chic and that chair would be perfect, once it was painted and reupholstered of course. I rushed to the ATM since they don’t take debit and got the chair. I felt a silly surge of victory when I put the chair in the truck LOL.
I had my Garmin in the truck so we put in the directions for the other thrift shop since Mom wanted to go. I was all for it. On the way there Mom pointed out a whole new Thrift Shop, so we stopped there instead. It would have been a much better experience had Alaethia not been in a bad mood and the boys not been fighting and running throughout the store. Yes, Mary went and dropped Eenan off to me at the store LOL.
Alaethia got a perfect 80’s Puppy Brite for $2 and I bought an American Eagle bag for $4. It’s my new favorite bag LOL.
Our last stop was Home Depot, where I had to buy the track that goes between the tile and laminate wood. I prayed that I got the right one and also got a wet saw for my dad-in-law; a gift for his very generous hard work on the room and because he was using a small saw to cut the tiles. He won’t be using it too often, but he does love his home projects so it’s something else to add to his collection.
When we got home I unloaded the truck and then I get a call from Jorge, Mario’s Nino. He’d accidentally run over one of Kilala’s puppies. Eenan, of course, was inconsolable. Jorge buried the puppy while I tried to console Eenan, who was freaking out even more because the puppies were running down the driveway. I texted Mario to let him know what had happened and he came home immediately and began making a makeshift kennel for the remaining puppies. There was no way they’d be getting out of there now!
My dad-in-law worked on the rest of the ceramic tile (he loved the saw) and on the window trim and baseboards. Everything was coming along nicely!
I got an e-mail from my “potential” uncle that night. He didn’t flat out reject me (like my grandfather did) nor was he even remotely rude. He was asking for more info and was really nice. I got started on a new e-mail and sent it out. I was keeping my fingers crossed that something great would come out of it all!
Sun., May 3rd – I got up and did all the housework that I didn’t do all weekend. Mario and his dad were working in the new living room and I changed and got started on helping them with the 2nd coat of paint and the touch-ups. It was seriously like 105° that day, probably hotter with the heat index. I was sweating buckets, so I came in to get some fresh air and cold water. As I’m sitting down on the sofa, with Emily in my lap in front of the computer I’d just perched on the ottoman, the lights go out. I heard a loud pop, then a sizzling sound and the boys were yelling outside. Of course I panicked. I ran outside and Mario shoos me and the kids back in. A power line had snapped in the alley and was laying on the ground. It was live and was sparking a fire on the very dry grass. I hand the baby over to my Mom and run to help Mario and his dad. I’m calling the PD to tell them to dispatch a fire truck and to call the light company and he said yes, they were already doing so. As I’m on the phone I grab the two small fire extinguishers we have in the trucks and take them to Mario. He was careful crossing over the hurricane fence and started putting out the fire. A few neighbors were already in the alley, watching in horror as the fire quickly slithered it’s way to the 2 story house. The owners didn’t seem to be there. Little did they know that if it weren’t for my husband, their house could have caught fire. It took the fire trucks and cops to get there 10-15 minutes after I called, and it took the light company about 25. I hate to think what would have happened if Mario hadn’t acted so quickly. One of the ladies who’d been spectating told one of the firemen, “Why’d you bother coming? The neighbor put out the fire 20 minutes ago!” It’s so true. I wanted to report how long they took but I didn’t even know where to call. I pray that we never have a fire with their lack of “action”.
I had the kiddos stay inside in the last bits of cool air conditioning till the power came back on. Emily was completely oblivious to the heat and slept a good while. Elda came over a bit later (with some Smirnoffs, woo!) and she carried Emily around while I continued with the painting. I couldn’t wait for everything to be finished. The doors were the last thing that needed to go up, and it couldn’t happen fast enough; there were little bugs flying everywhere and sticking themselves to my walls, *hiss*.
I received another e-mail from my uncle, this time asking about my mom and Gramma and the relationship between my grandpa and Gramma. He mentioned how curious he was about all this new info and to send him whatever other info I could remember. I was so excited; I was getting somewhere!
Mon., May 4th – For the first time since she was born, I believe, Emily let me sleep 5 hours straight and then 4 more after that! She’s such an amazing baby, so easy to keep content! It’s awesome to have a baby who’s got a pattern at night and is happy after a simple diaper change, feeding and nap! The other three were a little more…challenging LOL. Either that, or it’s become unbelievably easier after 4 kids!
I was in such a great mood from getting a good night’s sleep that I decided that that would be the day I’d potty train Alaethia. This would be the 3rd time that I’d start potty training her again. I figured enough time had passed since Emily was born and since we moved her to her toddler bed (two things that I read were “big changes” and could be considered “traumatizing” so it’s advised not to potty train during those times).
Well, she peed 5 minutes after changing her into her training pants. And then again about 20 minutes later. When she asked me for a cup of milk I sat her on her potty 10 minutes later and had her sit there for a bit, so she could “feel” what it was like to pee in the potty. Then I heard the distinct audience “clapping” from her potty that meant she’d finally peed in there!
She had about 2 more accidents after that, and when we were on our 5th panty change I almost gave in to the diapers. I was starting to feel a bit sick (sore throat and ear infection) and was becoming even less willing to continue potty training but I kept telling myself I had to; I couldn’t give up!
At almost 7:30pm that night she did her first poopie in the potty chair! #2 went much better than I thought it would and I’m so glad. I had these horrible visions of finding a little dollop of poo on the rug, or something awful like that LOL. I was rewarding her with Skittles (2 for peeing in the potty, 4 for pooping) so I’m sure that had to do with her eagerness after that. I thank Kate (from Jon & Kate Plus 8 ) for the idea, though she used M&Ms.
Mario and his dad installed the baseboards that night. They left the east wall without the baseboard for the time being since Mario still had to finish up with the corner shelves.
I received another e-mail from my uncle, who by now was almost convinced that we were indeed blood. He told me the date he was born and it all added up: mom’s date of birth, my grandparents splitting up, his mom and dad meeting and getting married and then his birth. It was like something out of a movie! I told him I’d be visiting Gramma that weekend and would get more info from her. I actually had a list of things to ask her. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had any other cousins or aunts and uncles!
. But I may have ruined that, too, since I drowned my perfectly good toast with butter. *sigh* I’m such a fatty.
. And then I realized Jorge took the Routan to work this morning, so I had no choice but to stay home anyway.
. I’m pretty nifty with pillow cases, curtains, even baby blankets, but I’m not all that good with clothes *sigh*. (This reminds me that I have to buy some ribbon that matches my summer dress to replace the straps. I’m pretty good at replacing straps, heh.)