Category: MLV

Totally random thought: I love how coffee smells when it’s scent is wafting through the house. Even decaf smells good!

We ended up watching RV at the dollar movies, because we’re broke LOL. It was a really cute movie, no matter what anyone says. I’ve always loved Robin Williams. The kids laughed non-stop throughout the movie and we adults (Mario, Noelia and I) loved it, too.

After the movie we stopped by Home Depot to get paint chips/swatches and idea books. Only Noelia and I got down at the place and we went crazy with the books. That night Mario and I laid in bed and argued decided we wanted a light tan color and picked out 3 paint chips.

Nothing interesting happened on Thursday except that I woke up feeling really sick–worse than the day before. I don’t know if I caught a cold from someone or if it was because I slept with the fan practically on my face, but I had a sore throat, ear ache, constant sneezing, and a nasty runny nose.

I spent most of Friday feeling like crap too, but worked up some energy to get ready and go to Mary’s. She was making lasanga and everyone was invited over for dinner. We talked about baby names and I told everyone which name we picked. Annie, of course, didn’t like how ‘Rose’ sounded with Alathia (still not sure if I want to spell it that way or Alaethia, which I think would make more sense) but I love how it sounds. I’ve only liked it since I was pregnant with Eenan.

Mary invited the boys and I to the movies on Saturday. I still didn’t feel too hot, but went anyway when she said Tommy, Yadira and Yazmin were watching World Trade Center. As I expected, I bawled my eyes out 5 minutes into the movie all the way till the end. I kept remembering that actual day; Mario still worked at the hospital and had his day off–it was a Tuesday? We had decided to sleep in and at around 9:20 we get a knock at the door. It was my dad-in-law telling us we were under “Terrace Attack”, or that was what I understood anyway. Up to that day, I didn’t really know anything about Terrorist Attacks. I remember we sat in front of the TV with Eenan on our laps and my hand on my tummy. I kept thinking how this would undeniably start a war and what if more terrorists bombed Texas because the President’s from here? I was 2 months pregnant with Jaylen. It was horrible watching all those people throwing themselves from the buildings, trying to somehow save themselves. It was like something out of an action movie, only unfortunately, it was real life. I probably bawled even more at the ending credits when they rolled the names of all the Port Authority cops that didn’t make it out. *sigh* I should stop thinking about this. I’m getting a huge lump in my throat again.

Anyway, it was a long process after the movies–they were driving around looking for ballrooms for Yazmin’s Quincenera next year. After they decided on the second one, we had lunch at Denny’s, and I became a little upset because Tommy made fun of Alaethia’s name. Grrr. I was quickly growing tired. We stopped by Andy’s to see how big his hound, Curtis had gotten. That dog is huge. He’s much bigger than the kids are.

We got home and I didn’t get a chance to rest. We had a Quincenera to go to and I had to iron. I didn’t have anything to wear so that made me even more frustrated, but I decided on a blouse and jeans. When we got there I didn’t feel too uncomfortable since there were others in jeans, too. The Quince was nice. Mario and I both agreed we need to learn to dance–he’s never ever said he’s wanted to learn and I’m running with it LOL. We definitely need to learn by Noelia and Andy’s wedding.

Mario woke up in a crappy mood on Sunday and totally upset me. We didn’t talk most of the day. I called several places that sold paint and oh my gosh, most places were so expensive. The $25 paint place we usually go to was closed and I really wanted to get started ASAP so we went with Walmart which has the 5 gallon tub for $54. We finally started talking while we were there, because we had to talk to eachother and then we bar-be-qued that night. Mario made the fajitas (beef and chicken) and I made Frijoles a la Charra and Rice. We ate at my dad-in-law’s house when everything was done. The only thing missing was guacamole dip :(.

Monday came around and my cold finally went away. I went to buy paint supplies, such as a paint pan, rollers and masks. I started painting at 12pm and didn’t finish till 5:30, with a lunch break and water breaks. I painted all day. John helped move things, like furniture and the ladder for me, but that’s it. I love how the room looks. The paint looks different during day and night. I was afraid the paint would be too dark, but it’s pretty light and looks even lighter at night for some reason.

Here’s the actual paint color:

And here’s a piece of my room:

I was SO sore that night. Everyone kept telling me to take it easy, and I thought I was but going up and down the ladder as carefully as I was, was a workout I didn’t expect. I felt like I’d been doing crunches all day. I still need 1/2 of a wall; I couldn’t do it since a dresser and the bed are against that wall.

One of the most greatest, most unexpected things happened that day. I spoke to Sally after what? Almost 4 years? The last time I saw her was when Jaylen was a few months old. Thanks to Myspace and my old buddy Kristina we got back in touch. Sally gave her my number and I called her. I love Myspace. I’ve found a few of my childhood friends there–literally people I’ve known since I was 4! I’ve also found a few middle school friends. I’m so glad we’re back in touch. I couldn’t imagine going through life without ever seeing her again. Maybe I’ll even get the chance to rekindle my friendship with Veronica. Sally still speaks to her, but hasn’t in a few months. The ball of jealousy that was in my chest unraveled when she told me that. I was sort of relieved to find out they weren’t having the time of their lives without me LOL. I haven’t seen Vero in like, 5 years. I didn’t even know she had a little boy now! And people are married! People who grew up together! We made plans to get together on Friday, probably for dinner. We have so much to catch up on!

I also spoke to Jessica M. that night. I remembered that it was her birthday and called her and we made plans to get together Friday night to celebrate. We’ll be meeting her at a club and I’m sort of nervous about that because of the smoke and all, but we’ll at least see her for a little while.

Mom had yet another one of her appointments on Tuesday morning, only this time it was at the ripe hour of 8:00am. I had to wake up an hour earlier than usual to do everything, like get Mario’s lunch packed, make him breakfast, iron his clothes, feed the kids and myself and get them ready. Oy. Sally and I kept calling eachother in case she would stop by on her way from Laredo. She needed to get to work so she didn’t get a chance to stop by.

I was EVEN MORE SORE yesterday. The back of thighs hurt, my calves hurt. Now I know what to do after the baby’s born :P. I’ll just walk up and down the ladder about 1,000 times.

Speaking of, I read that Gwenyth Paltrow gained 40 lbs. with each of her pregnancies! I see that woman now and I just don’t know how she does it. Here’s an article I read:

“They should see the cellulite on my thighs right now,” the part-time actress and full-time mom of Apple, 2, and Moses, four months, reveals to Harper’s Bazaar.

Paltrow, 33, who gained 40 pounds during each pregnancy, says she no longer agonizes over whether her body will snap back to its pre-baby shape.

“The first time, you are horrified,” she admits of the added baggage. “It’s all lovely when you are pregnant; but when you are not pregnant and you haven’t been for a couple months and you are still carrying tons of extra weight and everything’s all hanging and sagging, you think, ‘How is this ever going to go back?’ But it does — if you do a lot of working out.”

According to Gwyneth, she lost 20 pounds immediately after giving birth and sweated off the rest with exercise: “With Apple I kept the extra 20 pounds on until she was three months old, and then it came off. And that’s exactly what’s happening now.”

She’s been working out, “but not dieting, because I am a milk machine … I’ve got the appetite of a breastfeeding mother.”

(Full story here.)

Now, if she’d just be a dear and tell us exactly WHAT she’s doing to lose that weight, I’ll buy all her movies.

And speaking of babies, I think Alaethia’s been moving a little more. I get worried sometimes since the boys were definitely moving by 4 months, but I hear girls move “later” than boys do. I can’t wait to feel that sudden *bump* though! I think I’m just impatient.

As for today, I have nothing to do! Well, that’s a bit of a lie. I have to wash dishes, put laundry away, pray that the rooms get finished–or at least the closets! Sweep/mop, put junk away where I can. And, if I can work up the energy, I want to paint the boys’ room. They start school on Monday and they don’t have a decent closet and there’s still that huge wardrobe/closet and a dresser I’d LOVE to get rid of in the way. Plus, they keep taking tons of toys to my bedroom. There’s nothing more painful than playfully jumping into bed with Mario and landing ass-first on a Power Ranger. Holding a sword upright.

I keep thinking, “Mario can finish painting”, but we definitely won’t have time to do anything over the weekend. Mother has another appointment on Thursday and it’s also meet the teacher night. We have bills to pay on Friday, plus buying the remainder of the kids’ school supplies (yup, they added more!) and clothes, a present for Mom for her birthday on Saturday, buy stuff for her bar-be-que on Sunday to celebrate her birthday, then we have dinner w/ Sally and meeting Jessica–and there’s no way I’m giving the last two up. I can paint on Saturday, but that’s about it. I also really need to clean the house for Sunday when we have company over for Mom’s birthday.

My back aches already.

I can’t remember much from Wednesday except that I flossed the kids’ teeth at night and while I was flossing Eenan’s I noticed he had two new teeth! Problem is: his baby teeth (the two bottom front ones) haven’t fallen out yet but he has his two adult teeth growing behind them. When I told Mary she told me what I feared: Mario had the same problem. He had really bad teeth as a child, which is why he wore braces when I met him. I wonder how much it would be to take him to the dentist? His CHIPs insurance only covers a certain amount and he already went to the dentist in March. And will they pull his baby teeth out? What if they don’t get pulled out? Will his teeth be crooked? Oy.

Mom’s new glasses came in the next day so we went to pick them up (only took a few minutes, thank GOD) then went to visit Gramma for a little bit since we were already in town. We joked around with Gramma and then started telling Mom how we were going to put her in the same nursing home Gramma’s in and they can be roomates. Mom was not amused.

I was invited over to Mary’s to try the mole Elda and Jose made. I got a little to taste and when I was going to sit, I got that sharp pain in my lower abdomen. The round ligament pain is happening more and more often. Yadira reminisced about her pain and we all talked about how large I’m getting and then I came back home to make dinner.

I made steak and steak fries for dinner. The kids loved the fries (they had hotdogs instead of steak) and Mario was in heaven. He said, “I’m so glad I have a wife that knows how to cook.” It gives me such an ego boost when he talks nicely about my cooking :D.

After we ate dinner, Mario presented me with our new pet: a lizard. She’s so pretty (well, for a lizard) and spiny. At first he thought it was some kind of horny toad, but upon closer inspection we noticed her scales are much shorter and she’s a totally different color.

As we’re walking towards the desk to get some info on her I notice the computer’s acting funny; the right-click menu keeps popping up, the Start menu keeps sliding out, windows are being minimized and opened. I freak out and whisper, “Babe, look at the computer!” as if the hacker’s going to hear us. Mario runs over to the computer chair and just watches what’s happening. He starts closing everything, because we’ve heard about these types of hackers that use Spyware to mess with your computer this way, and then I notice Jaylen’s sitting on our wireless keyboard and his butt’s been pressing the buttons. Talk about paranoid!

We couldn’t find any info on our new lizard. I stayed up till 1am looking for something, anything! But no such luck.

After Mario ran a few errands the next morning, we left for town. Since we’d made plans to go watch The Omen at the Dollar Movies, we left the kids with Mom and the in-laws. First we stopped by Mary’s office to drop some money off for Norma C. All the ladies were really surprised by how big my tummy was. While Norma D. picked up my blouse and examined my belly, everyone else gasped and said, “Oh, you’re definitely having a girl!” They all asked me to call the office as soon as I get the sono confirming the baby’s gender. I promised I would and left since Mario was probably asleep in the car because I was taking so long.

Speaking of the pregnancy, I made a page for my Pregnancy Timeline. You can see just how huge I am for barely hitting the 3 month mark.

We stopped by Pet Smart next. We needed to ask someone for help on what to feed Dragon (Jaylen picked the name). A sales associate told us it was called a Pink Bellied Swift and it was a desert lizard as we thought. She mostly eats crickets and worms, so we decided we’d come back later because we didn’t want them to die in the heat.

We picked Jorge up from work so we could have lunch. We went to New Wave Chinese Buffet–it was delicious. With this pregnancy, I’ve really been on a fruit and veggie kick and that day was no exception. I had two full plates of long green beans–they’re just SO good. I especially love how Chinese buffets prepare them for some reason

We went back to Pet Smart to pick up the crickets, a water bowl and sand for the tank then to Wal-Mart to find a lid for the tank we had in storage since Pet Smart didn’t have them. We left the remote start on while we were at Wal-Mart so the crickets would stay cool.

Since the movie wasn’t until 5 and Jose and Elda had invited us to their bar-b-q at that time we decided to skip the movie. We still had two more stops: Mary’s storage unit and then ours and then we went home. To our surprise, the tank in storage already had a lid. Grr.

We got home and fixed Dragon’s tank. I looked up info on a Pink Bellied Swift and upon looking at pictures of it I found out it was actually a Texas Spiny Swift and because of the lizard’s color realized Dragon was actually a girl, so we named her Liz/Lizzie. Only one website actually had info on her and it was a pet speciality store. Most of the only places I found pictures of her were specialty stores (where lizards like Liz ran for $14.99).

We were at Mary’s the rest of the afternoon and had talks about babies and other women things. When we came back home, Mario had a craving for a Slush from Stars so we went.

We got some Slushies (only for Mario and Jaylen. Eenan was sleeping over at Mary’s and the ice hurts my teeth) and then rented some movies at Video Plus. We watched the rest of Failure to Launch that night, which I thought was really funny.

The next morning I cleaned, bathes and got dressed, then took Mom to the bank. At around 12:30 the beautiful sisters, Mayra and Erica, picked me up so we could go to the movies. We’d be watching The Devil Wears Prada–we’d all been wanting to see that movie since it first came out. It was a REALLY good movie–much better than I thought it would be. Not to spoil anything for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but it’s TOTALLY different from the book. I actually liked how the movie ended rather than the book.

We went to eat at King’s Chinese Buffet (because you can neve have too much Chinese) and had great conversation and great food. It was sad to leave them after not seeing Mayra for so long. I really wish we could get together much more often.

Mario got home early that night and he was in an outdoor mood. We took the dog out (who is STILL not potty trained properly, by the way) then he and his dad got to chopping down a tree. The mosquitoes were running rampant that night so I came home and started making dinner. After that, we watched The Hills Have Eyes and oh my gosh, I couldn’t sleep for an hour after watching it. I love scary movies, and this one was just creepy and one of my favorites because the “monsters” in it were something that could possibly be real because of everything that happened back in the 50s. AND another favorite? NO BOOBS! All the other horror movies have to throw in a tit or 10 and it makes the movie tacky.

We woke up semi-early Sunday morning, since Mario and his dad were going to start the construction on our bedrooms! After we ate pancakes (that Mario made!) they got started. They had the studs that would split the room up in half an hour and then I left with Mary to Target and Wal-Mart to get some school supplies that were in the ads. I can’t believe how early people get there and how much people buy. There was hardly anything left! We did get all the things on the kids’ lists, but it would have been nice to get a few extras =\.

Mary stopped by Luby’s to pick up some food for my dad-in-law and then we stopped at a raspa stand to get some Elote en Vaso (corn in a cup) for Mario and I. Never again will I go to that place–a medium, which was the size of a small, was $2.50! The size of the cup I got usually cost $1!

When we got home they had most of the studs up. All they were working on was the kids’ closet and then they were done. Everything looks really good–I can’t wait till everything’s done! My closet is going to be awesome.

I need to get the rest of my 80s stuff out of the room :(. I can keep a few things, but there isn’t room for everything else. That huge 8 foot shelf I have is going to have to go, which sucks because I love it and everything on it. Here’s all I have left in my room, plus a few other things that aren’t pictured:

I’m so sad. I don’t want to have to put everything in storage, but I really don’t have a choice. Mario’s talking about possibly staying with this house (because his parents want us to have it), but there isn’t enough room! I need to have a room especially for my babies :(.

I have a lot of cleaning and organizing to do today. Mom’s already asking me to take her all over the place but I’m waiting to do that till I have to drive her to her appointment on Thursday. Oh and Lizzie doesn’t have any food. The genius at Pet Smart who gave us the crickets in a plastic bag failed to tell us crickets have teeth and can escape from the bag. Yeah, they escaped. We’ve only found 4. The other two are hiding inside the house.

And speaking of bugs, Jaylen said the cutest thing this morning. Eenan was frantically calling for me to kill a bug in the bathroom. I go in and notice it’s a tiny water beetle, but squash it anyway (I’m horrible, I know). Jaylen says, “Mama! It was harmless! It was looking for its Mama. Next time don’t kill it, okay?” This coming from my little 4 year old. He said it in the cutest, most innocent way. I wish I had a recorder with me all the time. I never want to forget their baby voices :(.

So much has been going on I don’t even know where to start. Work from Thursday on was okay. Doing the same things over and over again (like filing–bleh) but at least I’ve learned how to take payments without help and I’m getting better and better at closing at the end of the day. The “box” would have come out perfectly today had there not been a discrepancy that wasn’t at all my, or Emma or Eliza’s, doing.

Aunt Nora and I ate lunch together Thursday and Friday. We did a “mall run”, which is something Aunt Nora likes to do often, and then ate back at the office. I got 4 pretty necklaces to go with my outfits on Friday, 3 of which were on sale at JC Penny.

Mary, Noelia and Jorge got here Friday and we all got together that night and talked. Tia Alicia, Amelia, and Aurora stopped by also.

I went to work on Saturday. It went by surprisingly fast. An hour went by where the girls (Emma and Eliza) were giving me a mini makeover and another hour where a lady had her daughter dancing for us like Shakira. We meet some interesting people there LOL.

I met Mario for lunch after work. We ate at Taco Bell and then stopped at H-E-B for something important. He drove back to work, gave me a kiss and told me to call him as soon as I found out. I got home and took that special something and this was the result:

Yep. I’m preggers :). You can barely tell in the picture that the second window’s a plus sign, and at first I thought, “Nah, I’m not pregnant”, but the pamphlet said it didn’t matter how light the plus sign is as long as it’s there. Mario and I’d been trying since the end of March following the ovulation cycle tracker Mrs. C-R. taught me, and well, it seems to have worked :). I was so thrilled, and scared at the same time as I just started working and I knew, just knew there were going to be a few rotten apples in the bunch who had to put in their unwanted 2 cents. I won’t lie, I was shitting bricks when I started having the symptoms that I was pregnant (sore boobs, nausea, hungry every 2 hours, etc.)–I don’t know how I’m going to do it to get insurance since my job doesn’t offer it. I was going to apply at another job, much closer to home even, but I get out too late and basically can’t do anything, not even go to the doctor since they close at 5:30 and it takes me 30 minutes to get to the doctor’s office. When I started having a nervous breakdown on Friday night during my shower, Mario’s the one who reassured me that everything would be fine, and he had this goofy grin on his face and said, “Get a test tomorrow, I want to find out.”

Later on that night he hugged me and said, “It might be baby time!” I don’t know if he was really that excited or if he was just trying to make me feel better, but if it was the latter, it worked. I can’t express how much he means to me.

So yeah, I’m pregnant! I still can’t believe it! I really want to be thrilled about this pregnancy so I’m hoping God will lead me to do what I need to do. I’ve got so many things running through my head right now I can’t even enjoy being pregnant. Then there’s those people who think I care what their opinion is saying things like, “You should have waited!” I think my husband and I are adult enough to plan our own lives, thankyouverymuch, and yes, I may be having this insurance dilemma, but I assure you I’ll figure it out. I always do. I’m even keeping this hidden from my collegues for now. Not until I figure out what I’m going to do.

Oh, and Eenan had his awards ceremony at school today and he got a trophy for perfect attendance all year and a medal for A & B honor roll. I’m so thrilled for him :). He’s adorable 🙂

Jaylen’s busy learning his alphabet and is just thrilled about his new brother or sister. Both of them were so happy when I told them on Saturday. They’re both wishing for their sister :).

It’s 7, so I gotta get on the ball and figure out what I’m making for dinner. There’s leftover lasagna from the dinner I made for the whole family yesterday (yes, even more stress, but Mario helped me so everything came out alright) but nah, I’ll make something else.

Man, I feel like I’m getting hot flashes .

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