Category: Domestic-ness

Today was my last day of work for the year, so tonight is my first official evening of summer vacation! I’m so excited and in desperate need of this break. Don’t get me wrong, work’s been awesome (even this last crazy week of endless inventory and seemingly longer hours), but I need sleep need like crazy. Alaethia’s been on this weird schedule (she’s currently kicking my legs and telling me to bring her more “monk”, which is “milk”), but that’s probably thanks to my mother, who allows her to sleep till 11am. Grr. She forgot about Eenan yesterday and let him play 9 hours of video games. 9 HOURS!!!

Anyway. I can’t believe this year’s over. I survived my first actual year of working after being a stay-at-home mom for 7 years. Okay, so it’s not an actual year since I only work about 9 months out of the year…but still.

It was something else, let me tell you. But I’ll never forget working at Nellie Schunior, our crazy packing and unpacking, getting the new library up and running, our field trips and the laughs and good times I had with Mrs. V, Pilar and Elvira :).

It was a busy, crazy week but I’m so happy to announce that I completed all of my tasks and did a little extra. I even helped the summer school librarian with a few things; she was impressed, which made me feel great. Mrs. V. treated me to lunch today (Whataburger) and we had awesome conversation, as always. We got back to work and finished up the final things and when I was gathering all my belongings she hugged me and said this is the first year everything’s been done and completed and it was all because of me. That’s the best thing I’ve heard in a long time :). In turn I told her that she’s the best boss I’ve had, and I mean that sincerely. I got to pick up the kids on time, go to all their assemblies and she just did tons for me. I’ve been truly blessed.

Natalie’s Quinceañera is this Saturday, so we started off my summer by going to the mall and getting a discount on Mom’s dress (she returned it and got $10 back with a coupon), she and Alaethia got shoes and then she treated us to dinner at the food court. She and the boys had McDonald’s and I had stuffed pizza (mushroom, broccoli — yes, broccoli –, cheese and spinach), and Mario met us there and had the same thing. He took off with Jaylen and then Eenan, Aly, Mom and I took a stroll through the mall and came home. Then I watched Mario and his dad (finally) fix our shower. It had been leaking and then the hot water pipe took a crap completely. Now I’ve got new, leak-free pipes AND a new spray/massaging shower head. Woo!

I helped Mary with a few things for the Quinceañera after that. We’ve got a lot to do tomorrow before the big day!

I’m going to savor this summer. I’m going to read, BLOG (I’ve got so many old entries to edit and upload), sleep and not feel guilty about it, hopefully get at least a new layout going on this thing, paint the kitchen and redecorate it, visit and have lunch with friends, get on Myspace (addicted, much?), clean!, get organized and just spend quality time with the family, especially the kiddos. We’re not doing much this summer since we’re trying to get bills paid off, but I’m hoping to do a few things with the kids, like going to the museum, movies, beach, and the library. I won’t have to take them much to the library…I went a little insane at the Scholastic warehouse and then at our own book fair. We’ve got plenty of reading material to keep us busy! Oh yes, and work on rekindling the romance with Mario! I had no idea working would put so much strain on a marriage!

I’m so tired. I hope Aly goes to sleep soon. And doesn’t wake up more than once during the night. And hopefully that one time wakes up isn’t half an hour before I need to wake up like she’s been doing. Anyway…I’m rambling.

I left the darn doctor’s office at 6:15. I was sitting there for two hours just to see the doctor for 15 minutes. And to top it off, they charged me my co-pay, which would have been completely avoided had they just talked to me on the damn phone!

BUT, I have good news. My sugar is controlled. The lab results came in completely normal, even the diabetes part. My Hemoglobin A1C was as normal as could be, which freaked the doctor out because according to my monitor readings my levels had been jumping all over the place. Well, a week ago. I’ve been pretty controlled the past few days. She said I had two choices: get on a very low-dose medication or continue doing the 3-hour diet. I chose DIET, of course. I’ve lost almost 4 lbs. in a week, just from cutting out all that junk food and tons of carbs. I weighed 128.7 when I went in two Thursdays ago in the 1st, when I was sick. Now I weigh 124.9. Woo!! Now I just gotta start exercising, but I gotta get a treadmill first.

The doctor said what most likely triggered the diabetes was that I was going so long without eating. My sugar was dropping dramatically (hence the shakes, dizziness and racing heart) and since our body’s natural defense is to accumulate all the stored sugar when we’re starving, it would compensate and my sugar would spike up. She said to monitor my sugar the way I have been for the next 2 weeks and we’d see what happens. I have to keep it under 120, which I’ve managed to do the past 5 days or so. My last spike was last Monday when it was at 194. Scary.

So I’m glad. I admit, it’s hard as hell turning my back to donuts, Oreos, and cake (especially ice cream cake from Dairy Queen *sniff*) but I’ve been doing good for the most part. Adding lots of veggies and fruits to our diet and I seriously feel good. I made some badass chicken sandwiches tonight for dinner. Mario got home early so that was a nice surprise.

It was hilarious. When I was defrosting the chicken breasts and he was cutting up avocado I pulled open the curtains on the door and looked–rather suspiciously–from side to side. I didn’t mean to, it’s just this habit I have. He says, “Okay. What was that all about.” Without missing a beat I say, “You’re home too early. Warning the sancho.” And he started saying how I was going to start flicking the lights on and off, S.O.S.-style, to warn him. And then we were going to hear these weird owl-type hoots, which would be the sancho letting me know he got the message and was leaving. Well, I thought it was hilarious. You had to be there.

Mario started running (yes, running) tonight. I hope he continues. He’s going to start eating better, too. I’m glad. If he could only stop smoking it would be GREAT.

Okay. Going to sleep. Alaethia’s brushing her ‘teefs’ and doesn’t seem to be sleepy at all. I just asked her to give me her toothbrush and she said, “I can’t!” which is her favorite phrase as of late. It gets kind of annoying. I had to wrestle it away from her. She’s strong for a 1-year-old.

Anyway, we have a Book Fair tomorrow at work. This shall be interesting. Goodnight.

What good is technology if it’s only going to mess up and make you feel like you’ll curl up and die? My brand-new hotpink iPod (birthday present from Mario!) froze and lost my music last night. Stayed up downloading songs till midnight for NOTHING. Then today, after almost having a coronary trying to figure out how to split up the bills, I decided to back-up the 500+ pictures I’d been taking with my Centro–and the damn micro SD card FRIED. Nothing’ll read it at all; I’m so depressed. I had all these cute pictures of the kids that I’d take out of the blue when I didn’t have my Kodak with me and now they’re GONE.

At least I figured out how to use my ringer-maker for the Centro *sigh*.

On a lighter note, I was a spoiled, appreciated administrative professional this week. The school gave us all a beautiful plant arrangement (which I left at work! Oh no, I hope it’s still alive when I go back on Monday!!), Mrs. V. gave me an awesome goodie basket, our administrators took us out to eat on Wednesday at Remington at the Embassy Suites (where Vero found a fingernail in her chicken salad, but other than that it was fab!), and today the dance teacher gave us earrings, Mrs. R. gave us a beaded bracelet and earring set, they brought us McDonald’s and Pan Dulce, the diagnostician gave us Ferrero Rocher Chocolates and a huge Symphony bar and Mrs. V. let me leave for 2 hours to make it to the boys’ awards assembly! It was awesome. They got their awards and danced afterwards to the Cha-Cha Slide and the Chicken Dance. I’m so glad my boss is so understanding and totally about parenting. She’s seriously such a great person :).

We had probably the most awesome Pep Rally I’ve ever been to in my life. The teachers had been planning this huge event for the kids, where THEY’D be preforming. Our kiddos (not all, but most) aren’t too enthusiastic about stuff like Pep Rallies, but they were tearing themselves apart with laughter and excitement! Shoot, I was, too! They took video, which I hope they’ll add to the Video Yearbook. It was just too damn awesome.

We’d been swamped with work the past week and I’m actually glad that I made up an extra hour and a half after work (for the 2 hours I’d spent at the assembly) because I got to catch up with all my work. I dread the coming weeks; the internet’s so slow that it stalls everything. Especially during advisory period. Ugh. I hate to even think of it!

Anyway. Alaethia’s talking so much more now! She turned 15 months yesterday. She learned how to say Bimpa properly (before she’d say Bia). And she says the boys’ names clearly and has learned tons of other things. And she calls Mario “Babe”, probably from hearing me all the time LOL. She’s just so smart. She won’t sit down anymore; she’s like a tornado these days. I’m still waiting for her to sleep completely through the night, but I’m thinking it’ll be another 9 months before that happens (when she turns 2 LOL).

Gosh, I’m tired. I think Eenan finally passed out. He’s grounded for “excessive talking” at school and for kicking Jaylen in the balls yesterday, so he didn’t get to sleep over at his Nana’s. He’d been asking me every 5 minutes if he could “sleep over now,” but he hasn’t bothered me in about 10 minutes so he must be asleep. That, or he forgot.

Okay. I’m too tired. I have tons of stuff to do tomorrow but I don’t want to go anywhere. Can you believe the gas?! That’s fucking ridiculous. Gas is $3.44 over here right now, and they’re expecting to rise 20 cents this weekend. Shit. I should have gotten gas tonight!