Sun., Oct. 12th – We woke up and got ready to meet Pete and Sally at Le Peep for breakfast. I’d never heard of that restaurant but it quickly became a fave. Think Denny’s but much cuter, modern and much cleaner.

Mario and I had the Hawaiian Hazelnut Coffee and I had an omelet. It had cream cheese in the middle, along with everything else, but it was surprisingly good. Pete and Sally took lil’ Quentin with them He’s so cute! Next time we’ll brave it and take Alaethia along, too. We don’t take her to restaurants often because she likes to leave little piles of food on either side of her high chair on the floor, but we’ll try it again.

Not only was it great food, it was great conversation, too. It’s always great to hang out with another set of parents and talking about parenting and everything else. When it comes to parenting, I think Pete and Sally are most like us, so it’s easy to talk about everything. Plus they’ve been my friends forever so it’s awesome.

They treated us that morning which totally surprised me! I told them they didn’t have to but they insisted. Next time it’s our treat. After we’d gotten Alaethia’s bassinet back from them (Quentin doesn’t use it anymore), we said our see-you-laters. Mario and I went to Target and had a lil’ shopping spree; we got a toy each for the boys for having perfect attendance, good behavior and making the A Honor Roll. Eenan’s really into Lego’s right now and Jaylen’s into Bakuran. We got a book and clippies for Aly. She’s finally into books which is amazing and a relief to me. I thought she’d never like them. The boys loved stories by now but she’s still getting the hang of it.

We got a runner for the living room and some red fleece-like throw pillows. When we got home Noelia was over and later all the family came over for the game. I chilled out for a while and then Mom, Alaethia and I went to visit Gramma. By the time we got to McAllen it was pouring so only Mom got down to see Gramma. Alaethia was still sick and I didn’t want to make it worse. I read in the car (Family History by Dani Shapiro) and when Mom came back we went to H-E-B to pick up a few groceries. I wanted to stop at Walmart in Mission but it was still pouring. I got home and hung/folded laundry and clean up my bedroom a little. That place seriously needs some TLC. My desk top doesn’t have an inch of visible space and there are boxes of crap piled up everywhere. I remember the good ol’ days when we first remodeled back when I was pregnant with Alaethia, when everything was new and we actually had space!

Aide, Adan and Belle came over. I cleaned up while Aide and I talked. I stayed up so late cleaning and was so exhausted but I of course had to stay awake because Aly wasn’t feeling good again. I stayed up most of the night and then again from 3-4:45. I seriously contemplated just getting up and going to work when the alarm went off but I felt like total crap. So I called in. I figured it was a good time to spend time with Alaethia, get some extra Zzz’s and clean up some more. One good thing about being up all night was that I felt another two kicks!

Mon., Oct. 13th – Mario let me sleep in. I fully intended on waking up and making him a nice breakfast but I couldn’t peel myself off the bed. Aly and I woke up at 10:30. I was really, really craving eggs over easy, and although I probably shouldn’t be eating them, I figured one time was okay. I had them a few times (okay, often) while pregnant with Alaethia. I served her a chopped up one and she ate really well. I had some Hazelnut coffee and read my book. It was heaven.

I washed clothes, which I also hung/folded. We watched Noggin’ and played all afternoon. Well, until Mom showed up. We went to the post office to send Mario’s letter to Border Patrol…and I forgot it was closed for Columbus Day. Mom treated us to some El Pato, which took half an hour to be ready. We ate, chilled out and picked up the boys from school. I helped Jaylen with his homework. Eenan forgot his and so lost all privileges for that day. I’m trying to teach him responsibility at school and forgetting his homework just isn’t cool. I watched Oprah while washing dishes. Mario got home from work and we went straight to the optometrist to pick up his new glasses. We came straight home and I gave him and Big Mario haircuts and then I showered. I got everything ready for the next day (clothes, lunches), made dinner and got a few minutes to add to the collection of entries. I felt much more relaxed throughout the day (because I was home, of course) and got so much done. That’s what I need: a 3-day weekend every week!

Wed., Oct. 8th – It was an okay day at work–the usual, really. I rushed to pick Jaylen up from school, dropped off our stuff at home and then I took him to get a haircut. Eenan was at UIL practice till 5, so I asked Mary if she could pick him up on her way home and take him for a haircut, too. She said yes, thank goodness. Just like their school to let me know they have pictures with such short notice. At least it was two days notice this time.

I got Jaylen into the shower to wash up when we got home, then went straight to pick up Mario from work and took him to his Lasik consultation. To make a long story short: the whole procedure would cost $4,400–after the $1,300 “discount”!! Because of Mario’s severe astigmatism he’d need two surgeries to fix his vision. Something told me to ask what his vision was without corrective lenses and the lady said 20/75 in one, 20/80-1 in the other. I looked at Mario and couldn’t help smiling: his vision was within the requirement for Border Patrol without corrective lenses! Yes!! The reason they’d sent him that notice was because his vision was 20/20 in one eye with his current glasses, 20/25 in the other eye. We didn’t even think that would be the case. We kindly declined the (very expensive–$250) dilation and came home. We decided we’d set up an appointment with another ophthalmologist on Saturday for new glasses. Even though I feel incredibly nervous all over again just thinking of him being away for three months (and possibly missing the baby’s birth) I know this is something he really wants to do, so I’m supporting him all the way.

Mario and I lay in bed that night watching TV with Alaethia between us. I’d been feeling the baby flutter for a few days already and have a habit of just placing my hand on my belly, just in case the baby would kick. I actually felt her kick hard for the first time! It wasn’t just the little it-might-be-gas fluttering that I usually feel—this was a swift, genuine kick!

Thurs., Oct. 9th – Mrs. V. took Mrs. Ruiz and I a huge bag of corn each from her mom’s garden. All I could think about was some yummy corn with mayo, chile and lime for the rest of the afternoon.

The boys had picture day so I left their clothes and instructions with Mom like I usually do. I prayed that they’d stay clean until they took their picture. I was so tired that afternoon after work that I just chilled out till 5:30, when Report Card Night started. It wasn’t very restful, as Jaylen was sleepy and refused to take a nap. It’s so exhausting when he gets that way. I told him I wasn’t taking him with me since he was acting up and he stayed behind with my dad-in-law and Alaethia. He ended up falling asleep on the hammock Big Mario had just put up again.

The teachers both had nothing but good things to say about the boys. I was a bit disappointed to find out Jaylen had been moved to a different class, but still reports to his old class as his “advisory” for breakfast. He was moved away from his best friend, Aaron. And I’m not sure I’m too keen on having him in a Bilingual class, even though it’s considered “GT”. He already has a GT class. But still, his old teacher said he’s extremely bright. I didn’t get to talk to the new one because her mother had passed away and she was absent.

We visited Eenan’s class and I was glad to find out his behavior’s been improving. He isn’t talking as much (but he is still talking) and he’s turning in his work. He got off of his “half-grounding” and now gets to play video games (for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on behavior at home) after he finishes his homework and reads for half an hour like Jaylen. His teacher still seems…different. She’s not as happy-go-lucky as she was when I first met her. Maybe she was just tired?

I’m so proud of my dudes—they both made the All ‘A’ Honor Roll! Eenan had a close call—there was an 81 printed on his report for Language Arts, but when I showed the teacher she said it was the system messing up—he’d actually gotten a 94!

We got home and my dad-in-law had already put some of the corn-on-the-cobs on the grill…they were delicious!

I stayed up that night feeling for Little One’s kicks but felt nothing. I know it’s still early, but I was worried since by this time in my other pregnancies I’m sure I was already doing Kick Counts. I didn’t fall asleep till 11. Add to that Alaethia beginning to get sick and teething; she kept tugging at her ear and was having a hard time swallowing. Then she woke me up for some milk at 4:30 and again I stayed up feeling for kicks, but I didn’t feel anything. I fell asleep finally at 5:15—and my alarm went off at 5:30. Needless to say I felt like a slug all day and couldn’t wait to just get home.

Fri., Oct. 10th – One of the teams at work was going on a field trip for the Goodlife Celebration and we’d agreed that we’d watch 2 of their kids that hadn’t passed, had referrals, etc. Well, Mrs. V. agreed—I obliged, which basically means that I was mostly the one dealing with them. At the last second they left us 4 kids, but the only boy refused to stay, so he was left somewhere else. So we were left with three girls, one of them being a girl who’d given me trouble in the past. Later on they sent us two boys and they actually did everything they were told with no problem. The girls on the other hand…well, let’s just say all three ended up writing words from the dictionary till it was time for them to leave. I kept my cool the whole time, but by the end of their stay I had a headache.

Mrs. Ruiz and I left to lunch after that, which was such a relief. When we got back it was time for the Goodlife video-game party another team was throwing in there. They played Xbox—loudly. I wouldn’t have minded, but I had a pounding headache from being with the girls all day.

I was so glad to get home and just chill out. When Mario got home we went outside with the rest of the family. We hung out and then grilled some more corn-on-the-cob again.

Falling asleep that night—and staying asleep—was a challenge since poor Alaethia was in pain again. She was fine all day; her cold and teething were only bothering her at night.

Sat., Oct. 11th – I woke up as soon as I could the next morning and had a quick breakfast, fed her and got her dressed to go to the doctor. Ear infection and sore throat, just as I’d suspected. Jaylen had made plans to go to Aaron’s house that morning, so we went to the pharmacy to get Alaethia’s prescription and then dropped him off at Aaron’s. We went home and I tried giving Alaethia her medicine to no avail; she quickly squirted it through her lips as soon as I gave it to her. It was that nasty ear-wax-tasting antibiotic. So there I go back to the pharmacy to get them to flavor it, even though it didn’t make a big difference. We left Eenan and Alaethia with Mary while Mario and I went to his optometrist appointment. He got his exams done and he JUST BARELY passed the requirements for Border Patrol! We picked up his check afterwards and then went to Walmart to cash it since the bank was closed. We picked up McDonald’s and then picked up Jaylen from Aaron’s. We sat around talking with family at Mary’s. Noelia was over getting help with grading her students’ work. Aaron’s mom was picking up Jaylen so we turbo-cleaned just in case she wanted a tour (she did the same for us when Jaylen first went over)…but she only came to the door. Oh well, at least the house was clean.

Jaylen was invited to a party at Aaron’s aunt’s house so they picked him up and went to party. We’d made plans with Mary to go to the movies so we let Aaron’s mom know to drop Jaylen off with Mom at our house when the party was over. She was babysitting Alaethia and Eenan, too.

Mario and I watched Pineapple Express, which was even funnier than I thought it would be! I couldn’t stop laughing. Mary watched The Mummy 3, I think. We ended the night by picking up pizza for dinner. Lately—even though the food’s fattening—there’s nothing I like more than not having to stand in front of a boiling stove and minimal dishes to wash, heh.

Wed., Oct. 1st – I took half a day off because I had my 18 week appointment and I had no idea how I was going to pick up Jaylen, make my appointment at 4 and still get out with enough time to pick Eenan up from his UIL practice. So I got out at half-day (10:30) and came home to drop off my lunch so it wouldn’t spoil and stink up my car and found Mom trying to put Alaethia to sleep. Grr. I left poor Alaethia crying and went to the doctor.

Since the baby didn’t let us see its gender at the last appointment, I was on pins and needles because I just knew I’d be finding out that day. I was still certain I was having a girl, regardless of my 50/50 chance the doctor had told me about at the previous appointment.

I read my book, The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales (an author who grew up in the city I grew up in, McAllen!) and waited patiently. Then they called me in.

They took my weight (I’d only gained a pound in two weeks, thank God. I expected the scale to say otherwise!) and my blood pressure and sugars were fine. When they took me into the Sono room my legs were shaking and my teeth were chattering. I felt silly being that nervous, but I was! I couldn’t help it. Dr. C. came in and went over my chart. He was going to do a sono first. Yay! I asked him if he’d be checking the baby’s gender and he said yes. He’s moving the wand back and forth, taking measurements of the head, tiny thigh bones and the spine. I’m filming the entire thing. He checks the gender and says, “Ah, a little girl.” It kind of didn’t register the first time. When I hear him say it again I say, “Really?” and he says, “Yup!”

I keep staring, kind of in shock and giddy at the same time. I ask him, “Like, for real, for real?” And he says, “Yup, see, there’s her vagina!” I couldn’t contain my happiness and said, “Oh, I’m so happy!” and he said, “Que bueno.”

I got my labs done for the AFP and told the girls up front about my happy news. They’re all thrilled for us. I love my nurses…two are my friends on Myspace even LOL.

I called Mario as soon as I got into the car. I asked him, “Guess what your baby is?” and he said, “What?” I practically screamed, “A girl!!!” He laughs and says, “I knew it!”

Meanwhile I can hear Jorge in the background yell, “Noooo!” LOL

I got home to find two sleeping ladies on the sofa. I expect it from Alaethia, but not the babysitter! When Mom heard me make noise I told her the happy news and she was elated. Mary was too (all the ladies she was having lunch with screamed), as were Mrs. V. and Mrs. Ruiz, and so were everyone else we told. Words can’t describe how happy I am! I can already imagine Alaethia and the little one playing together. Now we just need a name!!

Thurs., Oct. 2nd – Work was slow Wednesday afternoon after I left, so thankfully there wasn’t too much waiting for me when I got there. It was a really low-key day, thank God.

Fri., Oct. 3rd – I can’t even begin to describe to you how awful that day was. And I know it’s because I didn’t pray during the moment of silence. A teacher came in during the announcements and although I had my head bowed and really wasn’t replying to her she continued to talk. It was supposed to be a low-key day but we had all of band and guitar there because they were varnishing the dance hall and the smell was strong. Add to that anywhere from 8-15 loud kids that had passed their 6 weeks exams in their science class throughout the day—it was so loud. And their teachers really weren’t watching them. The library was in shambles by the end of the day. Mrs. V. was also in a mood since the morning—she kept giving me pointless tasks and actually picked on me a few times. I was so frustrated by the end of the day. All was made better when Mario texted me, “How about dinner, just the two of us?”

We got Happy Meals for the kids and a meal for Mom before we left. On the way to town we couldn’t decided where to go. At first I wanted to go to somewhere like Chili’s or Olive Garden, but then decided I really wanted some good pizza. Papa John’s was too far, so we went to Luca Pizza in Mission instead. They didn’t actually have the pizza I wanted, nor did they have jalapeno poppers, but I got a pretty tasty stuffed pizza and some mozzarella sticks. We sat and talked, just the two of us. I’m loving spending more time with Mario. I don’t even want to imagine the hormonal basket case I’d be if he were still working those long hours at D-Tronics. It’s great having the same days off now.

Since it was still early we stopped by Jorge and Maggie’s for a bit to say hello. The usuals were all there chilling in their garage. It was actually cold that night, now that I’m remembering. We got home early for the first time in a long time. I’m sure Mom was relieved, heh.

Sat., Oct. 4th – I made omelets for Mario and me that morning. Mary stayed with all three kiddos while Mario and I went to the bank, D-tronics, and Circuit City to pay our bill and buy some speakers for the improved back patio. We went to Home Depot to get some outlet covers and a new “removable” shower head and then to the new Best Buy to check it out and get speaker wire. We filled up my Equinox with gas at $2.99!! We had a quick lunch at Whataburger and then went home. Mario got to work installing the new speakers while I paid bills online—yes, that is my life, paying bills. When I was done I went outside to chill with everyone listening to music emitted from the new speakers, which sounded even better than we thought they would. I read my baby name book trying to get some sort of inspiration. This is the first baby we’ve conceived where we don’t already have some idea for a name. I liked Amilia and kept trying to convince Mario to like it but he was afraid they’d call her AmELIA instead of AmILIA. Right when the name had finally grown on him I decided that nope, I didn’t like it anymore. First, I could imagine kids calling her Amelia Bedilia and then I saw a woman whose name was Emilia on the news, which was my 2nd choice of spelling, and thought Nope, don’t like it.

Mom got here with a surprise for Alaethia while we were outside: a Dorothy costume!! I didn’t think we’d find one in her size, but she did! Alaethia literally squealed with happiness when she was showing Eenan. She even got her a Toto in a basket and some cute maroon shoes she wanted to spray with red glitter, but they’re too cute to ruin. I’d rather get her some red ballet flats.

We’d made plans with Pete and Sally to go out to eat. We were meeting them at 7:00 at the new Kumori at Palms Crossing. Although the service was kind of slow we gave them some slack since it was newly open. I love hanging out with Pete and Sally. We have great conversations and joke around with our other married/babied friends, but I feel like we relate more to them.

Sun., Oct. 5th – I got up early and showered and went over to Mary’s to make the deviled eggs I was contributing for the bar-b-q Mario and Jorge decided to plan. Mario went all out by taking our bedroom TV out and everything. It was a really nice, relaxing day. I love spending time with family. The burgers were delicious and so was everything else. We even did our Christmas gift exchange pickings that day. Since I was outside most of the day I, once again, didn’t get any of my housework done. I was in a frenzy trying to get everything ready for the next day, make sure kids are bathed and that I had lunch packed for myself. Mario was still outside drinking with Jorge and Adan and got mad when I asked him to install the new shower head. I hate when he gets like that. He did it so unwillingly that he broke one of the attachments. Grr.

It was hard getting to sleep as it is that night and then Aly woke up with leg cramps. I was so exhausted I was dreading going to work the next morning.

Mon, Oct. 6th – I prayed all the way to work that it would be a good day, and it was! We had a guest speaker so it was much quieter. I got all the books out of the book drop and sorted them out by section to get them ready for check-in. The system was slow, but I started checking in after advisory (8:45) and finished by 9:45. I got everything shelved by 11:30ish. Mrs. Ruiz helped, of course, and when we were done we just sat and talked, for once! We went to lunch and then came back and shelved some more then fixed the kids’ team numbers on their check-out accounts. I actually had time at the end of the day to organize and tidy up.

Although work wasn’t too stressful, I was sure stressed when I got home. As soon as I walked through the door Mom started complaining about wanting me to drive her to McAllen. I wanted to just get home and relax. I looked around and noticed all my laundry had been neatly hung and folded. I asked Mom, “You didn’t have to wash my clothes, but thank you so much.” She gets a funny look on her face and asks, “They weren’t washed yet?” I felt like screaming and laughing hysterically. There I am removing dirty clothes from hangers and unrolling dingy socks.

When I was finally done I unwillingly packed the kids up in the truck, homework and all. Eenan was throwing fits left and right about his homework and, even though Alaethia sits between the boys in her car seat, they kept bothering each other and yelling. Eventually Alaethia would join them.

I can laugh now about what I’m going to say next, but at the time it was terrifying. I had my bag on the arm rest between the two front seats and once when I braked hard my bag fell like a stone on the window controls, which are on the center console. Eenan’s window started rolling down—only I didn’t know this—and he started screaming his head off. All I hear is rustling of papers, the blowing wind and the worst thought floods over me: Eenan’s flown out the open door.

I’m freaking out, yelling, “What happened?! Why’s Eenan screaming?!” and Jaylen screams, “Eenan’s window’s down!”

I roll the window back up and ask Eenan, “WHY do you have to scream like that?”

“Because it scares me, that’s why!”

These kids are going to give me a heart attack.

Mom said she’d finish filling up my truck for taking her over there and who would turn down free gas? It took $15 to finish filling up my truck, for the cheap price of $2.84! Mom also treated us to dinner—botanas from El Pato—which took 30 minutes to wait for. We ate dinner when we got home and I got the boys into the shower as soon as we were done. I told them to do me the favor of NOT soaking the whole bathroom with the new shower head and it’s the first thing they did. I’d already had it for the day that I yelled at them and sent them to bed right after their showers at 7:46pm without the TV timer (which they absolutely need in order to get to sleep). They were asleep within half an hour. I hated myself for yelling at them, especially because I got a pain in my belly right afterwards, but what else can I do. I try breathing techniques to calm down. I hardly ever spank them (Mario says that’s the problem, but I don’t like spanking). I figured the next day would be better. I did laundry that night and decided to fold/hang everything the next day. I bathed myself and Aly and then we had a snack and went to bed.

Tues., Oct. 7th – This was another good day at work. Our system was still slow but I set a routine for myself and got everything done by 10:30. A few subs were actually sent to help for once so that helped immensely, too. Mary let me know she’d set up a consultation at Pena Eye Institute for Mario for the next day. He let me know that he and Jorge would still be working on that house in Rio Grande so he wouldn’t make it.