Category: Outings

See? There I go with my internet ADD. I barely finished editing my post from November 18th and already I was wandering off to Facebook when I only meant to close the tab. THAT’S why I never blog anymore!

Anyway. Let me start this post from December 18th…if the girls allow it. I think, what I’m going to do to catch up with my blogs is going back and just copy/pasting all my Tweets from all the days in between posts. I’d hate for Twitter to have some kind of glitch and lose my memories!

Fri., Dec. 18th – I’d spent the entire day/night the previous day baking away for the kids’ teacher’s cookie tins. That was my gift to them this year. I made Snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies, mini banana muffins and Mary contributed some of her famous Pan De Polvo. I finished with everything around 11:30pm.

I called Mom over earlier than usual to watch the girls since Mario wanted me to drop him off at work. Went straight home after that.

As sore as I was from my work out at Taekwondo the previous day, I managed to busy myself around the house till it was time to pick up the boys at 1:15 (early release). My Eenan would leave me for 3 days that afternoon. He was going to Eagle Pass with my in-laws. I’ve been away from him before, like when I was giving birth to the other 3 kids and when Mario, Mary and I went to Houston with Mario’s aunts for the George Straight concert. But each of those times we were only apart for 1-2 days! This time HE was the one leaving me. I was terrified, but I knew he’d be well taken care of, of course.

He had a breakdown before he left, telling me how much he’d miss Mario, Mom and me, but I assured him we’d all be ok, he’d be ok and we’d see each other very soon. Plus, he had his cell phone to keep in contact with us.

When he left and the kiddos were all situated with Mom I left to run a few errands, like depositing Mario’s paycheck, paying a bill at the Credit Union and getting my hair cut. I was already running late, so I was hoping the lady would hurry. It was the owner this time, and not the other lady who used a razor to cut my hair the last time and totally effed it up. I figured my hair would be fine.

The little boy who was cutting his hair before me kept staring at me. I smiled at him and continued texting with John. When I looked up once he mouthed, “Help. Me.” I couldn’t help but giggle. He was so cute! Little did I know he was trying to warn me!

I told the lady exactly how I wanted my hair, and of course she did the complete opposite of what I wanted! Why do they do that! I didn’t even know how bad the damage really was until I got home, showered, blow-dried and flat-ironed my hair (which is how I usually wear it). It looked like she’d gone to town on my hair with a weed-whacker :(. I was so upset. She didn’t even CUT the length of the back, which is what I wanted done in the first place! I wanted a shorter version of what I already had! She even added bangs! Argh.

I get to TKD and, because I’d skipped lunch, was shaking. Didn’t help that I was cold and still livid about my hair cut. Class helped me sort of forget about it and I had a few laughs about the whole situation with my instructor. He even warned me not to go back to have her “fix it” because she might ruin it more. I could hear him in the back of my mind when I was getting in the van to get it “fixed”, so I didn’t go LOL. I took both instructors their cookie tins, too, before they disappeared at the house LOL.

Mario called before I had to pick him up and asked if we wanted to go to the movies to watch “Avatar”. Um, yeah! It would bring up Jaylen’s spirits since he was feeling a little bummed about Eenan not being home, which always boggles my mind because they’re constantly at each other’s throats! That’s brotherly love for ya.

Alaethia was excited as soon as she heard “movies”. I think she mainly likes to go for the popcorn LOL.

Elda offered to watch Emmy for us, which was awesome of her. I took them a plate of cookies and all of her things and as soon as I knew she was alright we took off.

The movie was…AWESOME. It just was. I didn’t think I’d like it but I LOVED it! Jason and Mirella just so happened to walk in as we were and they sat a row above us. Jaylen was literally on the edge of his seat and Alaethia only had 1 potty break and stayed awake for the most part!

It was super foggy on the way home. I hadn’t seen that kind of fog since the months of October when I was still working at the middle school.

We got home and the girls played together with Alaethia’s old Laugh and Learn kitchen, aww. Cutest thing ever watching them interact. I can’t wait to see them both in fairy or princess dress-up clothes! Jaylen played a game on the Xbox even though it was late; he just got ungrounded that day after the long grounding both boys had. We had some celery & ranch (even Emmy got in on that) and we went to bed about half an hour later.

Even though I missed my Nano terribly, it was a perfect evening. Totally made up for the hair cut!

John and I went to Kumori and to run a few other errands on Wednesday. We both decided we’d try something new and he ended up getting the Kani Ika roll, which had lots of flavors, including chopped octopus on top, but it was good. Mine on the other hand, the Ridge Roll, was covered in mozzarella cheese! I imagined it just had a bit of shredded cheese on top but nope. The whole thing was cheese. You couldn’t even taste the salmon or anything inside. And the sauce was way too tart.

Yes. So weird and unappetizing I had to post a pic LOL.

I wanted to visit Aide at the hospital because she’d had their little boy, Ezael, that day! She had a quick 5-hour labor and he weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz.! Aww :). I didn’t get to, though, because by the time we got out of Kumori it was time to pick up the boys from school.

The boys had Taekwondo practice that evening. I made dinner quickly, ate a teensy bit and then took the boys. It was overcast and windy; the perfect weather for me. The boys went out to the mat and I realized I left my cell at home. It started thundering right at that moment and Eenan almost yelped and braced himself LOL. His teacher even laughed. I told them I’d be right back, to which Eenan, in a panic, said, “WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!” I told him to calm down, I was just going to pick up my phone and go back. He was fine when I got back, but it didn’t help that during class the lights went out twice and the thunder and lightning were in full swing.

I served all the kiddos and Mom food then jumped in the shower. Yes. I take a shower before and after class, heh. I grabbed an apple and started munching so my sugar would be ok and got my water bottle. It was pouring bad and I almost decided not to go at all, but it’s only a 2-3 minute drive so I figured I’d be alright.

My darn umbrella wouldn’t open when I got there, figures, but I parked close enough that I could run in. The younger kids were still in class so I got to see them practicing for a bit before my class started. I guess the rain kept a lot of my classmates home; there were only 3 of us in total there. We had stations going on at one point; doing pi-chagi kicks at the standing bag, running through a little course where we’re not supposed to touch the targets and then practicing 1-on-1 with Luis, our teacher. We started with the form, then kicks, then those reverse-crunch things. I’m getting better at them! I don’t get as tired easily and I do them a lot faster.

As we were warming down at the end he started telling us about the belts. He told me and another guy, who’s a year older than me, to quit saying we’re old. He shared a story about our main instructor, Ernesto, and how he started Taekwondo & competing at the age of 24. He said if I kept up with it I could get my black belt by the age of 31!

I dropped the boys off in the morning yesterday so I stayed up and made Mario’s breakfast. He didn’t like my tacos :(. I bought turkey bacon, since it’s healthier, but he said it’s too salty and gross. Fine. Back to regular bacon it is.

I took a nap because I’d been up since 5am and it threw me off completely. I even got a headache. Still, I’d promised Mom I’d take her to Dollar Tree so we went. On the way over there I get a call from Elvira telling me about how they’re still having lots of problems with the programs because my old boss left and didn’t leave instructions or anything to make the new assistant’s job easier. I hate to say this, but I’m glad I left when I did. Imagine if I’d stayed, or gone back after I’d had Emily? Everything would be on my shoulders! And I’d probably be expected to do everything since I knew both systems really well and knew how to check out the equipment and so on. I shudder just thinking about it. Anyway, Elvira asked if I could go in at least for a little while and I said sure, I’d try and volunteer a few hours just to get them on track. I don’t know how effective it’ll be though, since they don’t even have lots of teachers’ rosters yet. What a headache!

We shopped, got McDonald’s on the way home and picked up the boys. We took the evening easy and when Mario got home he, Emily and myself went to see Aide, Adan and Ezael at their house (boys were with Mary, Alaethia with Mom). Ezael’s so cute and small! Aide had a pretty easy labor, too, so that’s great :).

I dropped the boys off again today and did the same thing; made Mario breakfast and then took a nap with the girls who were still sleeping. I got so mad; he tells me he didn’t want breakfast, he wanted to eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I saved the eggs overeasy in the fridge and went to sleep. I’m about to just stop cooking entirely!

When I woke up I fed the girls (well, Emily, Alaethia was having one of her I-just-want-milk moments).

I got laundry started and then John came over. We had an idea to open up a bottle of Moscato wine Pete & Sally had given me on my birthday since Mom bought me wine glasses yesterday. It took us a damn eternity to open it! They made it look so easy on youtube! We eventually had to try the screw/hammer method since the corkscrew nor wall-smacking methods didn’t work.

It was okay. Kinda smelled like beer but once you got over the smell it tasted sweet. It’s a dessert wine so I need to figure out what to make that’ll go well with it. Dorks that John and I are, we had it with cheddar cheese and Fig Newtons since there was nothing else LOL!

John left and I served us lunch. Picked up the boys, took a shower and made a quick dinner and off we went to the boys Taekwondo class. All the white and yellow belts were together so the class was huge. It was a bit of a refresher course, which is always good.

We got home, I ate really quick and fed Alaethia and squished a few green beans for Emily and then I got ready. Norma wasn’t going again and I wondered how many people would be in class tonight because of the football games. There were only 3 of us again: 2 high school boys and myself. I felt weird. Even moreso because we’d be taught by the older instructor tonight. I’d never practiced with him before.

He started us off by warming up, jogging and then me and the other white belt practiced our forms and basics with him. I can’t believe after just a week of not going to class (when I was sick) I was already forgetting stuff. But the teacher was helping me and I caught on pretty quick. I felt good because he kept saying, “Yes!” “You got it!” “Excellent”. Even adults need words of praise :D.

My self-esteem went up a few notches when the boy who was helping me practice asked me what school I went to. Like, high school! I smiled and told him, “I’m 27.” He seriously didn’t believe me at first LOL.

We practiced our one-step sparring (which still confuses me sometimes. I sometimes forget to step when I’m the one attacking!) and then our teacher taught me a few self defense techniques. It was pretty darn cool. Really basic stuff, but very effective. Lots of grabbing and closeness though. THAT’S why I take a shower before LOL!

The boy (I didn’t get his name) helped me with my kicks. Luis, the younger teacher, showed up and gave me tips on my kicks. Apparently I wasn’t kicking with me knee first for the up-chagi (kick to the chin) and was making it look like a chito-chagi (straight up-and-down kick to the head). It’s hard sometimes to not get them to all look the same. After all the practice, though, I got everything down, I think. Ernesto asked if I was taking the test tomorrow and I said yes. I’m ready!

I went to Chris and Nancy’s right after class ’cause Mario was there (it’s down the street from the dojo). I was so embarrassed; Jorge & Billy were there, too and they saw me in my uniform! Darn boys started joking around about my cooking (I don’t even remember how it go to that subject) and I really don’t know how much they were joking about! Made me mad.

Anyway, I went in to chat with Nancy, who showed me her sonogram pictures. They’re having a boy! I came home to relieve Mom from the girls and got them ready to go back to Chris and Nancy’s. We just sat inside talking about everything and around 11am I came home. Nancy has to work tomorrow so I didn’t want to keep her from sleeping.

I chilled out with the girls in bed, watching Food Network for a bit. Emily’s trying to crawl, it’s the cutest thing. She kind of makes pushes her bootie into the air and pushes herself forward LOL.

I need to go to bed already if I want to wake up and get Mario’s breakfast and lunch ready. Then I’ve got to practice, practice, practice!

I’m going to have to start making some changes. I don’t even know where to start.

I finally got to see Maggie and catch up with her after a month last night. She and Jorge came over to have some drinks with us and she told me all about her trip to San Antonio with her new boss. She’s doing fabulously at this new job and I’m so glad, too. She’s at the perfect place to help her already budding talent grow.

We talked till 3am (and it felt like it was still too soon for them to leave LOL). After Mario and I spent some time alone together (the baby was up with us late, too, since she didn’t seem to want to miss anything) we went to bed at 4am. Needless to say we didn’t wake up till noon. Well, the girls and I did. Thank God for Mary who drops the boys off for us in the morning!

I figured today would be the 2nd to the last or the last day of this cold/cough. Instead of feeling better I’ve felt shaky, dizzy and nauseous all day. At first I thought it was because I woke up so late and it threw me off, or because I hadn’t drank coffee in a week & a half, hence the jitteriness but I felt like that all day.

Mario and I picked up the boys while Mom watched the girls, then came back to drop off the boys so Mario and I could run some errands. We paid Mario’s speeding ticket ($149 down the drain, thank you) and I finally got Emily’s birth certificate. We looked for a new power supply at Radio Shack for the modem but Adan called him and said he had an extra one and would fix the internet for us (it wasn’t working). As we were leaving the store we saw a guy selling elote en vaso (corn in a cup) and Mario wanted some. As the guy starts preparing the cup, I nudge Mario and whisper, “The mayo’s not cold!” It was just there, out in the heat. I asked the man, in Spanish, if it was safe to eat and he said yes, he’d just made one before ours but he always kept it in a cooler with ice. He opens a cooler full of ice and shows us the indentation where the mayo usually rests. I feel a little better about it and order one, too. I was relieved to see him Germ-x’ing as well.

We went to Walmart for groceries because I’d been sick and hadn’t done the shopping during the weekend. We were even out of TP, which NEVER happens LOL.

On the way home I started feeling really nauseous. I started cursing the elote en vaso because I felt exactly the way I did last Monday when I got sick after Taekwondo.

Mom wanted to order a Botana so we went on a search for a Mexican restaurant down Tom Gill. Both of the restaurants on the street were closed. So we ordered from El Pato and came home to unload the groceries. Eenan’s helping me put stuff away and he double takes as he sees the gigantic love bite Mario left on me. 12 years with that man and he still thinks it’s hilarious to do that. I feel so embarrassed with those darn things! Anyway, Eenan double takes and says, “MOM! What happened to your neck!” I blurt out, “Your dad scratched me.” I closed my eyes and prayed he wouldn’t ask anything else, but of course he asks, “How did he scratch you like THAT?!”

I say, “I don’t know–get me that bag of cans.” Thankfully he left it at that, but he looked mighty suspicious.

Mario and I went to pick up the Botana after I was done. I was shaking and on the verge of puking by the time we got back. I couldn’t even smell the food, I was so nauseous. I tell Mario, “I think I’m starting to have problems with my glucose again,” and he says, “Um, yeah. I told you.”

I find my glucose meter and—as much as I hate to—checked my sugar. It was at 71 when I’d just had a whole cup of corn an hour earlier, which is really starchy and makes Mom’s sugar go through the roof. Everyone forced me to eat even though I couldn’t stand the nausea, but about half an hour after eating I started to feel better. John came over and ate with us and made me laugh, so that made me feel better, too; got my mind off of everything.

I’m going to have to get on the “Diabetic Diet” that I was following May 2008. I had to eat 6 small meals instead of 3 regular ones, or actually 3 small meals and 3 snacks in between. The only thing that worries me is Taekwondo. Because of all this I’m probably only going to go the remainder of the month. It makes my blood sugar drop A LOT and I don’t want to have an episode ever again like I did last week.

After dinner Mario went to Adan’s to get the modem fixed and I watched Biggest Loser while the boys played their handhelds (they’re excited that Mario found some…thing for their DS’s). When it was time for them to shower and go to bed for school I came to the bedroom with Emily and she happily played in her playpen while I cleaned up the bedroom. Alaethia watched The Wizard of Oz in her room.

My bedroom was a freaking mess; crap everywhere from all over the house that we didn’t know where else to put. So I got laundry, trash, closet and garage sale piles going on. I’m hoping to have a garage sale soon, but with this heat and spontaneous rainy weather we’ll see how that goes.

I watched the VMA’s, finally, while I cleaned. The Michael Jackson tribute was amazing! I was emotional the whole time. When the awards first aired on Sunday I saw Twitterworld going crazy about something Kanye did to Taylor Swift. He’s such an idiot, I swear. Why the heck didn’t a bodyguard or security or something tackle him to the ground? I think it was so gracious and awesome of Beyonce to give Taylor her moment. I got emotional during that part, too. This period of mine needs to come soon, for real. I’ve been a ball of absolute hormones since I’m…15 days late. No, people, I’m not pregnant! My cycle just goes completely wonky when I start a new workout routine. From doing absolutely nothing (well, not really, I was doing the treadmill) to TAEKWONDO my body REALLY freaked the hell out!!

Plan for tomorrow: finish up the bedroom. I need to get my bookcase dusted, books reorganized, side table cleared off and the closet organized. Everything that belongs in it is in it but all over the floor. Looks like the closet barfed. I blame that mostly on Mario who messes with the wires he’s got up there and decides to throw my boxes and hangers everywhere and doesn’t put them back. Hmph.

Oh yeah, and I’ve got to get the girls’ closet cleaned out. They’ve got tons of clothes they’ve grown out of.

I’m hoping I’ll get to make it to Taekwondo tomorrow. I feel lazy and gross going a week and a half without doing anything physical. I’m worried that’ll become a problem once I stop going to Taekwondo but now that I know what the workout is (and that I have to do it for an hour as opposed to 30 minutes like I was doing before) I think I’ll be alright.

OMG and I have to mention that Emily started making “a face”. She gets really happy and starts smiling all big with her eyes all crinkled up. Cutest thing EVER. I actually caught all these silly expressions on camera so I’ll hopefully get those up soon :).

I’m babbling now. Obviously time for bed.