This post should actually be titled: “Not Much of a Spring Break 2017”. But anyhoo…

In my previous post I mentioned I had a lot going on currently (at work, at home) that was stressing me out. I was even more stressed out about not being able to take sufficient time off work to take the kids somewhere during the half-week they were with us (they’d be with the other parents the rest of the Spring Break week). But, I told myself that I wasn’t going to let it get the best of me. I did good on my promise to myself, even when I was going 100mph at work.

We had several meetings on Monday alone and I even stayed at work late trying feverishly to finish all my tasks so I could take Tuesday off with the kids. I was ALLMMOOSSSTT done with everything, until I realized I needed my “Boss Boss'” signature on some important documents I needed to mail out. Darnit. So I came in for half a day Tuesday and rushed through the (growing) to-do list. By 12:30pm, I finally had everything done and I was OUT!!

I get home, excited, and walk into the boys’ room, only to find all of them except Julien still asleep. I annoyingly sing-song, “Get up, childrennn,” and it still takes them a while to groggily ask, “Why?” 😐

I tell them we’re going to Ben & Jerry’s, and the big boys protest, but I don’t care 😆 . I swear: these kids would rather lay in their rooms playing video games all day than going somewhere. 🙄 They all take turns showering and I ate lunch (a Hot Pocket. Can you believe that?? A HOT POCKET!! I never eat Hot Pockets, wtf!!), while I (wait for it) watched, “My 600 Lb. Life”. –The irony…

Eenan said he wanted me to sit and watch a new Disney show, so I did. The pilot episode of “Andi Mack.” He said the little girl’s art reminded him of me and he thought I’d really enjoy the story. And my boy knows his mama: it was great; I really, really enjoyed it!! One of the more mature shows Disney’s produced for sure. Can’t wait for the next ep!

So the kiddos finally finish getting ready and we take off. My 7 ducklings and I beat the rush; it got really packed as soon as I put in their last order.

We finished up and headed to the park.

While the big boys played football (minus Eenan, he stuck with the Littles and me) and the rest of us were at the playground, I had a conversation with Emily’s friend’s mom (AKA, Ryan’s aunt), about my little Emily’s behavior 😡 . She was being…proactive about a bully but started being somewhat of a bully herself telling her friend over iMessage that she was becoming “like her” (like the little girl they claimed was the bully) and whatnot. So much so, that her mom got on the phone and said her friend wasn’t available. Embarrassing! I had already gotten after her for being mean to Maddie, and now that. She got yet another lecturing, much to her irritation. I know she’s headstrong and really takes no sh*t, but I don’t want her to be the mean girl 🙁 . I have no experience in this, especially not with the boys or Alaethia! When Alaethia was having drama with her friends last year, it was nothing like this.

But anyway, her friend’s Mama and I spoke and got everything sorted. I’m glad that it wasn’t too awkward and that she didn’t tell me off for my kid’s behavior, heh. She was very understanding and we agreed we just want our kiddos to get along.

I dropped the kiddos off with Mom at home, picked Jorge up from work and then we took Jorgie with us to order Domino’s for dinner. Then the kids wanted to watch “My 600 Lb. Life” again. I’m converting them 😆 ! I don’t know why I like that show so much!

The day, unfortunately, came to an end and then it was time for bed since Jorge and I had work the next day ;? .

The kiddos left with the other parents on Wednesday afternoon and the rest of the week at work was a blur of working on Taste McAllen.

I picked Jorge up from work and then we stopped for some snacks at the Food Park before going shopping at the mall (oh, joy 🙄 .

I had to mentally prepare for an interview I was having with Chef Larry the next morning. I despise interviews; I get nervous and bumble all over myself and my skin wasn’t cooperating with me AT ALL. Plus: not happy that the camera adds 10 more lbs. 😥 !! But I sucked it up and went with it. Alan Campbell was our host and is such a jokester, so he eased us into the interview and was really good about prompting us on what to say.

I had an event at the food park that Friday, so of course, we had to indulge a little. I mean, why not? We were already there!

We spent the rest of the weekend cleaning out our garage. John still had TONS of boxes in there, plus his table and chairs from when he lived with us and used the garage as a storage unit. I called and asked him what to do with everything and he said to chuck it. 😐 Really?? We coulda chucked them a long time ago!!

So several trips to Goodwill, Walmart, Target, Home Depot later, we got rid of tons of junk and bought additional storage bins and shelving. It hadn’t looked that nice and clean in a looong time!

I took the opportunity to clean up the box of Dad’s records I inherited. He had lots of old-school “Regional Mexican” records, but he had the Beatles, some opera and waltzes as well!

We also got some pavers and new mulch to re-do the greenery bed under the kitchen window. We were literally in the dark, with the flashlight of our phones, digging and planting and so on. But we finished!

So although we didn’t get to do much for Spring Break, our time with the kiddos and each other was pretty damn great 😀 .

I can usually deal with stress pretty well; heck, I’ll even be annoyingly optimistic. People have even complimented me about it. But lately, I’ve got to admit: it’s tough.

I managed to get my 2nd cold of the year (a month apart) last Sunday. I felt awful at work on Monday but had a lot to do, and I almost went to work Tuesday because I was afraid of getting behind, but I told myself I needed to start taking care of myself. I keep thinking of my friend that had a stroke that was probably due to high stress. So I decided that work could wait. I took Tuesday off to go to the doctor and recover at home. I hadn’t slept very much Monday night due to the coughing, ear pain and not being able to breathe, so I kept passing out once I picked up my medication from the pharmacy. I’m still not 100% better; I keep waking up with a pain in my ear, even though I’m over everything else. Missing Tuesday did cause me to get behind at work, but I knew if I scheduled my day accordingly, I could catch up.

I was in charge of an event for our “Boss Boss”, and I was already nervous about screwing it up. I wasn’t even sure how I was going to drop off 4 kids at 2 different locations in 2 different cities and get to work by 7:30am in a totally different city (those are my Fridays and Mondays). Mario, thankfully, helped me out. I’d be missing Alaethia’s field trip, just like I missed Emily’s 🙁 , since I had an event that day, too, but Mario would accompany her.

I had a good count for my Boss’s event, got everything ready and then…I’m about 20 people short the count that I originally had as everyone started showing up. Thanks, people >_< . My Boss did tell me, “Good job,” at the end of the event, so that made me feel better.

Lunch time rolls around and I’m giddy as I make my way to my car, relieved that the event is over and done with. I was meeting Alaethia, her class and the moms at Mr. Gatti’s for Alaethia’s last part of the field trip. I relieve Mario and he hands me Alaethia’s stuff as the girls continue to play and the moms catch up while we eat lunch together. (I’m convinced the girls like us to go with them so they can hit us up for money!) We spent a few minutes with the kids and see them off on the bus. I get back to work and jot down my to-do list in the hopes of getting as much done by 5pm so I wouldn’t be swamped on Monday and could take the next Tuesday off with the kids. Next week is Spring Break, but we aren’t doing much. Still, I wanted to at least take a few days off to take the kids out for ice cream and the park, etc. Unfortunately, I had forgotten it was Spring Break during the week and had already made 2 appointments for Monday that I can’t miss. And then we have the food festival coming up, and I feel like we’re SO BEHIND. FAK. 🙁 So I figured I’d take Tuesday off only. So I got to work, and was on a roll…until Jorge called with an emergency.

I couldn’t believe what happened and I’m thankful things weren’t much, much worse. But I just feel like we can’t catch a break 😥 . 1 step forward, 2 steps back. I was angry at Jorge. I was angry at myself, too, for not taking care of things I should have, but I’m just so focused on work and it takes up so much time that I can’t take care of personal things that need to get done. And it shouldn’t be that way.

The girls had a sleepover at Jenny’s and when I went to pick them up, we had a nice impromptu therapy session with all 4 of them. I’m glad that they can openly talk with us about what’s going on with their friends. Apparently lots of drama is going on, but we explained to them that they’re wayyy too young for so much tension at school and that everyone can get along, even if they’re not BFFs. Now I need to have an uncomfortable conversation with another mom, and apologize for my little Emmos 😳 .

Jorge and I had a talk last night, and I felt better. Until something ELSE happened today. Ugh. I’m going to try and have a nonchalant, happy-go-lucky, carefree, fk-it attitude this week. I’ve got a lot on my plate at work, and may not be able to take a day off at all with the kids (especially because of this event, and my boss is off since Wednesday when we have shit to take care of!), but I’m not going to stress. I’m not.

Well. That’s easier said than done, but I’ve got to promise myself to take it easy. Or I’m going to lose my shit.

We’re pretty saturated with birthdays during the months of January and February, heh. Jorgie and Emily’s birthdays are the last 2 for February.

Jorgie usually gives us a list of stuff he wants, even though–out of all the boys–he asks for the least amount of stuff, and usually pretty affordable stuff, too. This year, he didn’t ask for a thing, except cash. When I texted him again a few days before his birthday for ideas, he replied with, “Why don’t we all go to Cracker Barrel?” Such a good kid!

Emily, on the other hand, wanted to do Sky Park (we had a Groupon, woooo!) and she had a small wish list of stuff like Squishies, Chubby Puppies and Shopkins. At the bottom of the list it said, “But I’ll be grateful for anything!” I gotta brag: do we have great kiddos or what??

I met Mary, Emily and Alaethia at Toys R Us the weekend before their birthdays. It was their weekend with the kids but the girls wanted me to tag along, so I obliged of course. Emily chose all her birthday presents and their both made out like bandits.

The day of Jorgie’s birthday (Thursday the 23rd), Jorge and I sit for lunch at Republic of the Rio Grande and he breaks it to me that Jorgie wanted to save his money because he was dating a girl and things were getting serious and he wanted to talk to us. I was shocked, and all these thoughts started spinning in my head. What does he mean “serious”? I had Eenan when I turned 17, so that was the first thought that was swirling in my mind. Jorge assured me it wasn’t anything like that, so that was a relief!

We picked up kiddos all over the place that evening and then picked Mom up and headed to Cracker Barrel. 

We ordered our food after the kids took their “usual” seats.

Then Jorgie pulled Jorge aside and he explained about his girlfriend while they played checkers. Jorge comes back and whispers what happened, and that he wanted to have a talk with me as well. Oh boy.

We eat once allll our food gets there. We had the best service that evening! 

We finish up and Jorge takes Mom and all the other kids home while I take Jaylen and Jorgie with me to the mall. Jaylen had a presentation the next day and needed a full outfit. We had only a few minutes to make it to the mall, but it felt like I coasted over there on autopilot as Jorgie told us about how he feels about this girl…and how he wants to use some of his birthday money to get her a necklace he’d seen. He put his feelings out there and I was proud and relieved that he trusts us enough to pull us aside and talk to us about this. And of course, I gently, but sternly, explained that he may feel like he loves her, but she may not be his last girlfriend, she better not hurt him and vice versa, she needs to be a good girl, about protection (we’d already had that talk several times), and we went on and on. Jaylen and Jorgie got measured for shirts by Mr. Shapiro, whom I’d already met at work. He’s such a sweet, patient man, and helped us even when the doors were closed and the lights were dimmed signalling that the store was about to close the registers. He called in that he still had customers and continued to help us. The boys were happy with their stuff (Jorgie got lucky since it was buy one, get one for a penny) and I couldn’t stop thanking Mr. Shapiro.

We talked again all the way home, and Jaylen was sworn to secrecy. Jorgie continued with trying to convince us to help him purchase this necklace.

Emily’s birthday was Friday the 24th so after a crazy day at work, I escaped for a bit to pick up Emily’s cupcakes and met Mario at her school to have her little cupcake party with her classmates.

Her dad gets to have the kids for 2 hours on their birthday, and she chose to go to the Food Park 😀 . I just so happened to have Karaoke Night that night, so it worked out! Mario arrived with the kids and Jorge arrived with our other kids. And it wasn’t awkward, thank goodness! Emily got to spend time with her friend Danica, who is my co-worker, Ryan’s, little cousin :).

It was a great night, and Emily said it was the best birthday, ever!

We did some things around the house on Saturday, including some errands, like groceries, which Jorgie happily offered to help with. Then we made some dinner and headed to Sky Park. I made the mistake of taking most photos with Snapchat…and my phone was running out of storage space so it didn’t let me save them 🙁 .

That’s all I got! The next day we cleaned and ran more errands and headed to the mall for that necklace. The conditions: he will pay off the remainder by washing the cars…and happily posing for all the photos I deem necessary 🙂 !