Category: Outings

Mon. 18th – the 20th – That week at work was spent adding the newcoming 6th graders into our database and the beginning of adding them to our Reading Renaissance database because our lovely coordinator deleted everyone from the database. We had this false sense of security that this year we were just going to add the 6th graders and voila! we’d be done! But no. So I had the pleasure of adding all the kids. One by one, I added them.

Tues. 19th – Mom’s 59th birthday. I rushed home and started on the enchiladas and rice I was making her for dinner. John wanted to get her a cake, which was better for me—one less thing to do, so we drove to H-E-B and got an Oreo cake for her. Got back and the food was ready. My dad-in-law was sick and sleeping, Mario was still at work so it was just John, Mom, Mary, the kids and I. I didn’t invite anyone else since in the past, when I have, no one makes it.

Thurs. 21st – My fingers were on fire as I added students to the database. At one point Mrs. V. passes by and says, “I’m really gonna miss you,” and smiles warmly. I told her, “Aww, I’m going to miss you, too!”
I made sure to clock out right on time, since we were still getting out at 5pm that week and I had to rush home, get the boys to the salon to cut their hair because they hadn’t had one since Natalie’s Quinceanera in June! And then we had Meet the Teacher night at their school. At the salon I’m relieved to find out Meet the Teacher night would be ending at 8 instead of 7:00, so I had plenty of time.

Jaylen got Eenan’s 1st grade teacher this year, which is great ’cause she’s awesome. And Eenan’s teacher is one I’d seen around before and I hear she’s great, too. She asked him questions and was really nice to him right off the bat. When we’d walked in she said excitedly, “Yay! I got Eenan!!” like he’s a prize LOL. She’s also going to be his UIL coach this year, which is cool. Eenan was a little disappointed to find out, though, that he wouldn’t be in the same class with his two best buds, Abraham and Rolando.

Fri. 22nd – Friday was our huge district meeting at the Dodge Arena. The girls from work and I decided to carpool, so we all met at the school at 6:45am, which seemed really early considering we’d been going in at 8 every morning. Well, it was something we had to get used to since we’d be going in at 6:30 again on Monday.

We went in Amaveli’s Tahoe and it’s always a laugh with those girls. I was so relieved they invited me to go along with them since I’d never been to one of those events before. I felt overwhelmed just thinking about it!
We got there right on time, waved to everyone we knew from other schools or departments (I saw my dad-in-law and Ricky there!), and laughed our butts off at our really funny, enthusiastic motivational speaker (who just happened to be nicknamed “Mr. Enthusiasm” LOL). We all agreed he reminded us of Mr. D.!

We went to eat at House of China for lunch. I was disappointed that they didn’t have the crab & cream cheese thingies I like and the green beans were crappy. Those were my favorite to have there when I was pregnant with Aly and was looking forward to both this time around. After we ate we went to Palms Crossing and visited the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, where I bought a sal-y-limon & chile candy apple. If you haven’t had one, you must!! You don’t know what you’re missing. They’re SO GOOD. (Man, now I really want one…)

Mario had his Physical for Border Patrol that Friday. I was so nervous for him, but I knew he’d do well. He texted me to call him after work, so I did—and he passed!! He said he thought he’d done a little mistake during the stepping part (kind of like when you step up and down in aerobics?), but the instructor didn’t say anything so whew!

I got home and Mario, my dad-in-law and Mom were outside chilling out while the kids all sloshed around in the kiddie pool. It was a nice day. Alaethia was having a blast. Jaylen needed a nap so he quickly became moody =\.

Sat. 23rd – I think this was the day the two moms, my kiddos and I all crammed ourselves into my Equinox and went to town. We had bills to pay and then we met Mario for lunch at Jesse’s. I love that place. I had enchiladas as usual.

Sun. 24th – We lazied around all morning and around noon, when businesses open on Sunday, we went to Conn’s to dispute the extra $65 I’d noticed they’d charged us on our 47″ TV. We only had about $78 to go and once they credited that extra $65, we’d only owe $8!! We talked to the guy who’d originally started our account and he swore up and down he’d fix it. He told me to call on Wednesday to follow up.

Can’t remember much else from that day; I know for sure I did laundry and cleaned and got the boys’ backpacks and clothes for their first day of school ready the next morning (eek!).

Mon. 25th – I was so sad I wouldn’t be there to see them off since I’m taking off to work about 30 minutes before they even wake up, but Mario dropped them off. He said they did really well and took tons of pictures (which I still need to add to Flickr!). They both loved their teachers; Jaylen was especially excited. They high-fived each other when Jaylen told Eenan how much fun he had in the class with his (Eenan’s) former teacher. It was too cute :). Eenan was a little sad, however, because Rolando and Abraham weren’t in his class, but he said on the plus side he’d behave better this year without the distractions, aww. We later found out that Rolando hadn’t showed up to school all week!

Tues. 26th – Can’t remember much from that day…I think I mainly stuck to doing stuff to the database: adding students to the checkout system and continued adding them to Reading Renaissance. Mrs. V. said I could start on the classes that were going to attend the Star Testing first and the teachers could help me with the rest. I completely intended on finishing it on my own before Friday. A pounding sinus headache hit me around noontime. I felt awful.

Wed. 27th – I had a doctor’s appointment at 4pm. I picked up the boys, took quick shower , and rushed over there. Made it right on time. I weighed 130 (!!) already. My glucose and blood pressure were fine. Still no pap smear, though I’m not complaining. I told the doctor about the sharp pain in my right side behind my ribs; he said it may be my gallbladder. He freaked me out saying they’d operate after delivery if they had to — what? I didn’t think it was my gallbladder, but he told me to do some detective work and check if I got the pain after I ate anything spicy or greasy. I got an appointment for the Friday after that week, but cancelled it at the last minute because I suddenly stopped getting the pain right after that appointment O_o.

I asked for something for the horrible sinus headaches I’d been having. He gave me two bottles that had only 4 tiny pills in them. He said be careful when you take them, I’m much bigger than you and they knocked me out.

When he began doing the ultrasound and saw the baby sort of hiccup as soon as the doctor put the monitor to my belly. I think it was asleep :). It moved its little hands and kicked its little legs. He checked the baby’s gender; I told him I had a feeling it’s a girl, because my symptoms and everything else were so similar to Alaethia’s. As he slid the monitor around my belly he said, “I think so, too.” And then I see it! What looks like a tiny “peach”! But then he says, “No, no! Aha! It’s a boy!!” I sort of saw what he was talking about; a tiny little orb between the little legs. I feel awful saying this, but I felt a little disappointed. I kind of had these visions of having two boys and two girls. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for either a boy or a girl–too many things went wrong with Jaylen’s pregnancy and I learned not to take anything for granted. I just want a healthy baby. But the weird thing is: I still feel in my heart of hearts that it’s a girl! We’ll see what turns up in 3 weeks on Sept. 17th!

I told Mom and Big Mario about my appointment and when they told me to go rest I excused myself, took a pill and got comfy on the couch for when this deep sleep should hit me. I even did some boring check-balancing to bore myself into oblivion…but nothing happened. I stayed awake till 9:15pm–when Alaethia and I both crashed out on the couch. Everyone just left us alone and let us sleep. I woke up at 10:30 and moved both of us to the bedroom. Mario had already kindly made me some Jalapeno Tuna for work the next day.

Thurs. 28th – I woke up the next morning hoping I’d slept off the headache, but nope, it was in full swing. I decided I’d call in for the morning and go in in the afternoon to finish up the copies that awaited me. I slept that whole morning and when I woke up at 9am I still felt a little groggy and the back of my eyes still hurt, but I felt much better than the days before.

I got to the library at 10:30 and started working. I was sure I’d finish with everything I needed to do by the next day.

(Fri. 15th) Just as I suspected, I didn’t have any free time Friday afternoon. I set up about 4 more carts, checked who had what laptops, and renamed the barcodes to the new format we’re supposed to follow. Got home and had some cucumbers with lime, Tajin chile and Louisiana Hot Sauce since I was starving already. Spent some time with Mom, the in-laws and the kids. Mario calls and asks if someone can drop me off so we can cash his paycheck (at Walmart since the banks would be closed) and go shopping. So Mary drops me off and the moms take care of the kiddos. I leave with Mario and we go to Walmart and once he cashes his paycheck we decide not to shop for anything after all. As we’re walking back to the car we notice I’m waddling. I tell him, “Wait…let me try to walk normally.” So I kind of strut, like I’m walking on a runway and I sort of look like I’m not wadding anymore. Only my buttcheeks start to burn so I figure I’d rather just waddle.

We decide to go to Chili’s for dinner. He ordered a steak, I ordered a triple dipper (with two sides being spinach & artichoke dip–yum!). We talk about everything under the sun and it’s so nice spending time with him; just us for once. We discuss him leaving to the Border Patrol academy; we have no idea when they’ll decide to call him up. We talk about the baby and how we’d like a girl so we’ll be an even ratio of boys to girls. We talk about the kids; about Eenan and Jaylen starting school on Monday and how cute and brilliant Alaethia is. I tell him how I don’t want to feel “rushed” this time around with this baby like I did with Alaethia. Not that anyone rushed me–I did it to myself. I told him I was going to promise myself I’m not going to allow myself to feel like a failure just because I’m at home; I’m going to enjoy the kids and being a mom, because right now, aside from being a library clerk, motherhood’s my profession, and that’s okay.

We went to Adan’s afterwards and just chilled out talking with him and Aide and later on Tommy, Jorge and Angela stopped by. I was having a great time but sleep took over and I asked Mario to bring me home.

(Sat. 16th) I slept in as much as I could the next morning. I had the brilliant idea to have my leftovers from dinner for breakfast. I had the most awesome coffee. I never get to drink it anymore since I’m working again, so I quite enjoyed it.

I regretted my breakfast immediately; I got nauseous from the spices in the Southwest Eggrolls. Since I had bills to pay I took a shower and then got the kids ready. We left around 11:30. Went to the banks, Ross to exchange a blouse (I got bath rug instead since I either couldn’t find anything that I didn’t already have or everything was too big), and then we met Mario for lunch. We decided on Taqueria el Zarape. We each ordered a huge torta, which is like a sub-type thing with shredded meat. After only a few bites I felt nauseous again. Bummer. I should have just ordered the bistek tacos I usually do.

Once we dropped Mario off we went to Target, where I returned some pants and the boys got some Legos, their current obsession. They’d already gotten a small Lego set each from Mary, so I told them they wouldn’t be getting anything else for the next two weeks.

I went to pay our Conn’s account and wasn’t pleased to see that our “payoff” was 12 more than it should be. We’re on the “no interest” plan and didn’t order anything else, so I had no idea what was going on. I wanted to go and argue about it but Mom was waiting in the car with the kids so I didn’t. We went to see Gramma next where the boys put their Legos together.

(Sun. 17th) I wanted to stay home all day Sunday and get everything ready for the boys for their first day of school the next day but Mario was off work and wanted to go to Conn’s and ask what was up. I’d done the math and realized they were charging anywhere from $10-20 extra a month. This last payment was supposed to be our last one (which we’re paying off way before the 1-year-no-interest thing is over) and was supposed to be around $73, not $137, as stated in the statement. So they charged us $65. Once they credited that back to our account, we’d only owe around $8!! So we talked to the guy who was in charge of our account and he said he’d get it all settled. I can’t wait to get that payment out of the way. We’re trying to get all our little credit card bills out of the way by the time I stop working in Dec./Jan.

We drove around the Ware Road shopping center (forget the name) and went to Ben & Jerry’s. I had the best fudge brownie ice cream (in a sprinkle waffle cone :D). I wish we had the kids with us–they would have loved it! Next time.

Mario was craving a certain type of fajita so we searched all over town for them and finally found something similar at a meat market we’d never been to. We went to Dollar General to pick up a few things and went home and had a little bar-b-q with the family.

(to be continued…)

My appointment went really well the last day I updated, aside from feeling incredibly annoyed by that woman. People never really bother me, because I can usually block everyone out, but she was so loud. Anyway, I weighed in at 127.9, so I gained about a pound and a half. Dr. C. did a sono and I saw my lil’ one’s heart beating for the first time! It was lovely. It confirmed everything for me and gave me a sense of relief. And we saw him/her moving! I’d never seen them move so much at this stage, ever! The little arm nubs were moving up and down; it was the cutest thing. As for my blood work: everything came back healthy and normal, even my blood sugar! Laura said it’s like nothing was ever wrong with me. As she escorted me down the hall she put her arm around me and said I was an inspiration, especially because Mom’s sugar’s been very good, too, since I found out I was borderline diabetic. I can safely say I’m not diabetic right now, though I still have to be careful. You can see the full update here

I came home and showed the kids the sono pic and spent some time with them before John and I met Mario at Target during his lunch. We were on a mission to find a sports coat, so he could return his suit. We found nothing. We went to Ross right next door, which was actually Mario’s idea. I hadn’t even thought of Ross! We found a nice coat and shirt right away. He kissed me goodbye and I dragged John to the maternity section to hopefully find some clothes, but I only found a plum colored blouse and some maternity sweat pants.

We went to JC Penny next to return his suit and look for a matching tie. It took forever trying to find something that was half-decent and matched the shirt, especially since the coat looked green in fluorescent lighting, brown in natural light. I finally decided on an off-white/light yellow shirt and matched a tie. I was starving by the time we left the mall. I wanted Kumori but John didn’t want to go so I settled for Taco Bell. We took Mario a drink to work and showed him his new duds. He was satisfied, thankfully. We made one last stop at Hancock Fabrics to find some maternity panels for my pants. A nice lady helped me find the panels. I asked if they were demi panels and she said they were. Cool. Got some nice fabric for new curtains for the kitchen since I want a change. I’ve had my cherry theme in there since 2002 or so!

Mary was going to mail out Mario’s documents for Border Patrol on Thursday, but he forgot to sign 4 sheets. So there I go, dragging John along with me, all the way to McAllen to get them from Mary, take them to Mario to sign and mail off. Well, that’s the plan. What really happens is all the ladies I speak run into want to talk about the baby and Mario going to the BP Academy. Usually I don’t mind, but I’ve only got 40 minutes to get everything signed and sent off.

Get to Mario’s, who’s in a bad mood, and he signs everything. Mail everything off Priority at the post office and then rush to Hancock Fabrics (rush because John’s being a pain) to return the maternity panels because they ended up being these huge things that I’d have to sew into an oval in my old pants. No thanks. Too much work. So I returned them and bought the upholstery for the kitchen chairs instead, which is a beige vinyl. I learned my lesson: no non-washable fabrics for these chairs! The boys stained them all in a week when we first got them!

Mario had his oral interview on Friday. We woke up super early and I made him breakfast. I made myself some, too and stayed awake because I couldn’t sleep from the excitement. I finally did fall asleep around 8am, for about an hour before getting a call from Sally. She wanted to meet up for lunch. I quickly got up, cleaned up, took a shower and got ready to go. Mario called with the awesome news that he’d passed that part of the process! I made some quick lunch for everyone from the shredded chicken we had left over from the chalupas I’d made the night before. Sally arrived and we went to eat at Chili’s, talking about her and Pete’s upcoming wedding (yay!!!), my pregnancy and everything else in between.

Mary, Mom, the kids and I all went to the outlets the next morning to exchange the boys’ shoes for smaller sizes. Everything went smoothly and thank God, they had their sizes available (the last time they didn’t, hence going back this time).

We ate at Long John Silver’s (always a treat because we don’t have one nearby). Alaethia ate really well. It’s always great to see her eat because she doesn’t always want to eat actual FOOD.

We took Mom and the kids back home so I could go shopping for work clothes. I got a nice amount of maternity clothes for work that’ll look great even while I’m at this awkward stage where my old clothes don’t fit and maternity clothes are still too big. I got a shitton of clothes at Ross and only spent about $70! When we got home Mom already had her specialty made: burritos! They were SO GOOD.

On Sunday, we went to Target, Payless (where I got new ballet flats and Mom got me a new purse for work and shoes for Aly), met Andy and Noelia and went to the mall and I can’t even remember where else. Oh yes, and I picked up my makeup bag at Sally’s. Quentin is so big already with the most beautiful gray/hazel eyes! I chatted with her and Pete for a bit and she’s so sweet: she bought me a few maternity things and threw some extra stuff in! I love that girl :).

I did nothing on Monday, on purpose because I had to do laundry, clean the bathroom and get everything ready for work. I watched The Wizard of Oz with Alaethia, which is her favorite movie of the moment. Well, it has been for about a month. She’s in her “favorites” stage. She’ll watch it all day if possible and sings ‘la, la, la, la, la’ during the Munchkin song. For about a week I’d have to sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to her in order for her to fall asleep. She’s got her favorite stuffed bear, named Bunny. Her favorite blanket (that sounds like Bacon when she says it). Her favorite drinks are owanjuice (orange juice) and milk.

I had trouble sleeping last night, because of Alaethia, of course, who woke up 3 times and because I had to pee. I got ready just in time and got to work right on time. Eenan was the only kiddo awake to see me off, aww. I got to work and said hello to everyone and Mrs. V. got there a few minutes after I did. They were waxing our floors so there was furniture everywhere but it was really nice to be back. We quickly got to looking through inventory and checking off a mental to-do list while we walked around. We were looking through the laptops when she asked how my summer was and I found my chance. I told her I had a surprise. She stops what she’s doing, looks at me and says, “You’re pregnant!” and I say, “Yes, I am!” She hugs me and I tell her how I found out and my reaction and everything. We talk about maternity leave and then she asks what I’ll do afterwards. As nervous as I was to hear her reaction, I told her I didn’t think I’d be going back because Mom couldn’t watch both babies. She tells me, “As a mom, I’d stay home and take care of the babies. If I’d had the choice I would have stayed home. As an employer–” and she writhes and clutches her fists and throws them into the air in frustration LOL. She continues, “I’d stay home. Family comes first. You do what you need to do.” I could have thrown my arms around her and hugged her…and bawled. It went so much better than I thought it would. I’m seriously lucky to have her as my boss *tear*.

I spent a few hours putting Newberry labels on books then helped the office staff with 6th grade registrations. The principal taught me how to use the program really quick and he was impressed with how quickly I caught on (he told me himself during lunch *beams*). After lunch, which was some delicious botanas they ordered for us, I went back to help and then was sent to the office since Vero, who was manning the phones, had an emergency. I spent the afternoon reading the news (with the principal’s permission) and answering phones and taking messages. It was such a good day, really. Hope tomorrow’s awesome, too. Just 3 more weeks of work and then we have a 3-day weekend, heh!