Category: Outings

Mario stayed out with Chris that night, celebrating Christmas till around 2am. I’d been having a tough time sleeping that night; not only because Mario wasn’t there, but because I just couldn’t get comfortable. I’d eaten kind of late, so it was probably that. And that Alaethia was thrashing around having her own little Christmas party in there :). I woke up when Mario got here, and then again at 2:45, when his cellphone was ringing. I tried waking him up, but we were both so tired we fell asleep again.

We were told to wake up at 7am so that Eenan, Jaylen, Sammy and Brandon could open up their presents. I stayed in bed 24 minutes after the alarm went off, but I figured it was okay since no one had called yet or anything. I finally got up at 7:30 to wake Jaylen up. He wouldn’t budge, and neither would Mario. Eenan had slept over at Mary’s (to hear when Santa got there) and most-likely he wasn’t awake either.

I went over to Mary’s to ask if Eenan was up and just as she was about to say no, he emerged from the hallway, tousle-haired and ready to open presents. As I’m walking out the door Mary says, “Oh, Tommy’s dad passed away last night. Well, this morning, around 2:30…”

My heart sank. That’s why the phone was ringing at 2:45. It was Chris calling Mario to let him know. Suddenly Christmas didn’t feel as cheery as it had. I went over to our bedroom, to wake Mario up (he’d been throwing fits about waking up too early before I left to Mary’s) but he got up anyway when I told him the sad news. Jaylen got up as well and we went over to Mary’s.

We wished everyone there (mom, Mary, Jorge) a Merry Christmas and then the kids jumped on top of Jorge, who was still half-asleep and laying on the couch. Once everyone was settled on the couch the boys started to open presents. Mary and I separated presents while the kids opened and I took pictures. They opened their presents from Santa (a Robo-Raptor and Star Wars Transformers thing for Eenan and a Fisher Price Digital Camera and Darth Vader ship for Jaylen). The kids got tons of awesome stuff this year–yay for starting Xmas shopping in early November :). They got board games from Mary, DVDs from Mary and us, video games from Mom, Mary and us and tons of other things like Doodle Monsters for both boys, an iDog for Eenan and a mini Robo Sapien for Jaylen. They’ve been busy since Christmas :P.

Mario was next and loved all his DVDs (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest; You, Me, and Dupree, Accepted, World Trade Center). He was surprised when he opened a box from the boys and me and found DVDs (Man on Fire, X III the Last Stand, Dazed and Confused, The Da Vinci Code, and Waiting) and the Gerber pocket knife he wanted. I felt so bad that I couldn’t find his corded Dremel he’d been asking for but figured I’d surprise him later.

I got DVDs (Devil Wears Prada, Wizard of Oz, Edward Scissorhands, Grey’s Anatomy Season 1), a beautiful bracelet and $30 Target gift card from Mary, a cute pink jewelry set from Elda, and a beautiful personalized jewelry box from Mom. Mario also surprised me and got me a wallet besides the camera he’d already given me. Annie was my gift-exchange person and she got me a purse. It was kind of small so she said she’d bring the receipt (my huge wallet didn’t fit in it at all LOL).

And Alaethia, who’s still in the womb, received gifts as well! Andy had his mom (bless them!) crochet a pink and white blanket for Alaethia and Yadira gave her some crocheted Amy Coe mary-jane booties :). Mom’s also in the process of finishing up the pastel blanket she’s crocheting for her as well!

We had biscuits that Mom made for breakfast and later on we all got together for Christmas lunch (turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, corn and broccoli rice). We all sat around for the rest of the day and just chatted. Christmas was certainly bittersweet, what with Tommy’s dad’s passing. Although everyone tried to be in cheery moods, I’m pretty sure we were all thinking of Tommy’s dad and family :(.

Mario took a nap while I tried cleaning up the piles and piles of toys and DVDs the kids received. I went back over to Mary’s and everyone was still sitting around, talking and eating sweets. Big Mario finally opened his presents so I took pictures since Mario would be upset if I didn’t (yet he wouldn’t want to be woken up, either O_o).

We had leftovers for dinner and I watched Elda and Jorge/Eenan play Battleship (one of the games the kids got) then Mario and I played (and I lost :(). We stayed up playing games and finally the boys and I came home. Mario and Jorge went to the store to buy beers and hear their Cantina (bar) music LOL. Besides the sad news of Tommy’s dad’s passing, it was a great day.

Though I didn’t want to go anywhere the next day, I had to go since we were completely out of groceries. Like, I had nothing to cook or make, not even sandwiches. John said he needed to go to, and I figured he’d get out at 12 so I waited for him. He didn’t get out till 3, which meant we left at 3:30 and traffic was terrible. Didn’t help that the shelves in Target were practically empty. I went there to exchange and buy stuff for Mary (and since she was going to Beall’s she took an outfit Cat and Annie gave Jaylen to be exchanged for one size bigger) and a few things for myself, but there was hardly anything left. I’d gone specifically for this hobo bag that was mostly white with little flowers on it but they had none of the bags left, not even the ones I didn’t like. I did however, go a little crazy with scrapbooking stuff in the Dollar Spot and I also found a tiny t-shirt for Alaethia. It’s 9-12 months, but knowing my kids she’ll fit into it by the time she’s 6 months LOL.

Bo, one of Big Mario and Mario’s friends, had come by on Christmas and left the boys $40. I went on a search for Kirby Squeak Squad and had no luck at any of the stores I called. I did however, find the corded Dremel Mario wanted. I hid it under the blanket on his side of the bed to surprise him. When he got here, I told him, “Go look at what your children did under your side of the blanket. Don’t get mad, don’t say anything, just go look.”

He rolls his eyes expecting the worst, like our sheets being destroyed by markers. I sneak a peek at the door and as he lifts up the sheet to reveal the box he gets a huge smile on his face and says, “Babe! You got it?!” and hugged me. Still doesn’t compare to my wonderful camera he bought me, but he was happy with it :).

We went to Wal-Mart next, where we got “house stuff”, like toilet paper, paper towels, Mario’s shaving cream and so on. It took forever there. By the time I looked at the clock, it was 6pm; we’d been in line for 20 minutes. I wanted to quit and just go home but I still had to stop by H-E-B to get the actual groceries. Took another hour or so there. We didn’t get home till 8 and it took me half an hour to put everything away. I was exhausted! There was a Rosary (wake) for Tommy’s dad that night, but it was short notice and nobody let us know ahead of time so we didn’t make it. The funeral would be the next day, Wednesday at 2pm. Mario was asked to be a Pall Bearer but he had to decline unfortunately since he couldn’t get out of work early enough.

I got all our stuff ready the next afternoon and started making lunch. I got to feed the kids, but Mario and I were starving since the food finished cooking about 2 minutes before we had to leave. He was falling asleep in church and later on told me, “See, that’s why I don’t go. I get bored!” This was quickly followed by, “Yes, I know I’m going to hell.” LOL

I held up pretty well and so did Mario. It wasn’t till we went up and paid our respects that I got a knot in my throat and then started bawling. I felt so bad for Tommy, Chris, their MOM and the rest of their family. Eddie couldn’t even be there because he’s in the hospital himself. I hugged Tommy first, then Chris who put his hand on my belly and said, “You know, it’s kind of funny: one life is leaving this world and another is coming in…” That made me cry even more and I hugged him again and said I was so sorry. Their poor mom was all cried out and so were Yadira, Angela and Yazmin. It hurt to see little Angela crying so hard :(.

We came home after that and ate lunch (the chilli I made and enchiladas Mary made–heartburn galore!) and then we got dressed to leave to town. We didn’t feel like being home so we left to Best Buy in the hopes of finding the Kirby game for the kids. We had no luck of course. I called to Wal-Marts that I hadn’t called yet and lo-and-behold, they had one Kirby game at the one on Conway. We lectured the kids about how they’d have to share till the stores got more in. We got the game, a Rubbermad bread box, batteries for all their new stuff and I can’t remember what else. We decided we wanted something simple for dinner, so we stopped at Dollar General to pick up a can of tomato soup (to go along with Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches) and talked to Maggie for a bit. I also got some wrapping paper for half off, which is one of the things I intended to do at Target but forgot =\.

I did hardly anything today. I think I’m coming down with a cold on top of feeling fatigued all the time. I have an awful sore throat that I got for brilliantly sleeping with the fan on. I can’t stand the hot flashes I get at night and even though it was about 40° outside yesterday, I felt sweaty. Mario did too, so I know I’m not going completely insane.

Welp, I should start making dinner. I have no idea what to make. I still have laundry to fold and hang and I can’t find the battery to my vacuum. The floor looks hideous :(.

Finally! I’m finally done baking about 8 dozen Snickerdoodles. I promised myself that I wouldn’t get stuck baking on Christmas Eve, but let’s face it: it happens every year. At least I’ve got delicious Snickerdoodles to have with milk before I go to bed :). I’ve got to hide some from the rest of the family…shh!

I can’t believe it’s already Christmas Eve! This month, just as I suspected, passed by really fast. I have a feeling next month will pass by even faster, which frightens me a little. Everyone’s been telling me that my “perfectly round” stomach looks like it’s about to pop soon. Gotta remember to take pictures every few days from now till Alaethia’s born :). Something I desperately wish I’d done with the boys :(.

So, you know how I wrote yesterday that I was so happy I wouldn’t be out driving with the last-minute shoppers? I ended up doing just that. Mom got home from shopping (and having lunch) with Elda around 2, so the boys and I had a quick lunch and we all left.

Gramma loved her gifts and we talked for a while before we left. It had been pouring on the way to the nursing home, so we were hoping it would let down a little before we took off again. It didn’t. I didn’t plan on stopping anywhere to shop, but I wanted to try and find something nice to wear for the Quinceañera. John and I were the only ones who got down at Target; the truck’s seats were all wet from trying to get everyone in carefully at the nursing home.

We rushed around looking for something. Either everything was way too big or really plain looking. I had dressier clothes at home so I didn’t even bother trying to make something else look nice. Instead we went over to electronics and got some rechargeable batteries + charger for my camera since the one it came with was disposeable (which I thought was weird).

Getting out of Target was terrible…I almost got hit God knows how many times just trying to get out of the parking lot. The weather got better as we were closer to home, though, thank goodness.

The Quinceañ was actually much more fun than I anticipated. I still wish I’d found something nicer to wear, but once we were there and talking to relatives I hadn’t seen in a long time I sort of forgot about it. The kids’ presentation was so adorable; all the little boys whose ages varied from 5-15 bowed in front of Cori and gave her a rose they had hidden in their coats. Then later on, Cori and 3 of her friends had another little presentation. They’re all such good dancers!

Speaking of, Mario and I totally need to be taught how to dance. I will be getting my groove on at Noelia’s wedding in June!

Mario finally sold our old 1992 Prelude; the one Jorge had at his house for over a year and never actually “bought” from us. He sold it for MUCH LESS than that car’s worth, but it’s not like we could have gotten too much more for it because of the whole flooding incident at Jorge’s (he left it out of his garage and they live in a low-lying area =\).

Mario ended up getting an in-dash double-din TV for the Equinox. He says it’s his birthday/Christmas present, which I don’t think is too fair since I usually have the truck. He won’t really be able to enjoy it much =\. The rest of the money went towards a debt he owed his Godfather, Jorge, for. We were going to use the money for paying off bills, but we’re planning to do that during income tax refund time, if all goes well of course.

I would have finished this entry much earlier, but I was over at Mary’s talking to everyone. Most of the kids are being put to bed already (well, I say “already” but it’s kind of late. They’re usually in bed by 9.). Jaylen’s still up over here, giving me trouble. He only has one more minute to be up.

I can’t wait to see the look the their faces in the morning when they open up their gifts. That was the one present I wanted: for them to be happy. That’s all that matters :).

I probably won’t get around to telling everyone individually, so I’ll tell you now: have the best, most wonderful, love-filled Christmas!

Like I wasn’t feeling moody enough already, stupid, unreliable Internet Explorer + my ailing computer decide to get an error and shut the darn browser down halfway through my darn entry. Today has not been a nice day.

I didn’t go to sleep till 2am last night because I was wrapping the last of the presents and then remembered to send out the Paypal payment for the keyboard I won on Ebay for my cellphone (SPH-i500). (That’s my present from John, BTW.) I had to be up at 7:30 to wake Mario up for work and iron his clothes, make breakfast, etc. I figured I’d get a good 5 hours of sleep at least, but nope. John’s stupid boss calls at 7am on the dot to call him in. I call him and tell him about it, but he fails to call me back and tell me he told her he wasn’t going in till his scheduled time, which was 10. I stupidly stayed awake waiting for his ass to appear at the door so I could drop him off, but that never happened. It was 7:45 by the time I called him and asked him if he was ready. When he said no I told him he better get ready and then I dropped him off. Didn’t even have time to make Mario breakfast or coffee before he had to leave.

So after having breakfast with Jaylen (Eenan slept over at Mary’s and then went with her to town this morning) I decided I’d take a little nap. Mom showed up just as I was clearing our dishes and she said she’d watch Jaylen while I napped. Awesome, I thought. It was 9, so I set the alarm for 11; plenty of time to shower and get ready if John was let out at 12 so we could visit Gramma around 12:30.

I sleep for a good hour and hear my door open and then close. Must have been Jaylen checking on me. I squint at the clock and realize I slept for a good, uninterrupted hour. I’ve got one more to go.

10 minutes later though, I’m awaken by the bastardly sound of the phone. It’s Elda, wondering if Mom would go with her to Target. I stay awake after that, because with my luck, if I tried going back to sleep John would call 10 minutes later so I could pick him up from work. So far, it’s almost 12 and he still hasn’t called. The vein in my forehead is throbbing so hard it’s impairing my vision.

I have no desire to clean whatever I didn’t get to clean yesterday. Jaylen is hopefully taking a nap right now because he was as moody as I am for waking up early. If he’s not, I fear for my sanity; he’s not pleasant at all when he hasn’t had a nap. Kind of like me.

The one good thing about today: I don’t have to be in traffic with all the crazies who are doing their last-minute shopping! I’m so glad we finished yesterday night. Jorge arrived yesterday, about half an hour later than planned because he had an incident with his dog. Killer, a very hyper, skinny Doberman Pincher, pooped in the truck on their way over here. Jorge stopped on the side of the road to clean up the mess and hit what he thought was the unlock button. It wasn’t. He’d hit the lock button and had locked his keys, tools, dog and cellphone in the truck. He waited around for 45 minutes, hoping a State Trooper would pass by and help him out, but no such luck. He ended up finding a rock and breaking one of his back windows. That’s where Mary, Eenan and Jorge are now–getting the window fixed.

When he’d arrived here yesterday, we ate Menudo, which Mary usually makes when he’s coming over. Mom watched the boys, since we still had some shopping to do for them, and Jorge, Mario and I left to town. Picked up Mario’s check, went to Academy, Target, JC Penny and then Toy’s R Us. I was quickly becoming frustrated since I felt rushed. They kept asking when we were going home, so I didn’t get to look around as good as I wanted to. I didn’t feel any better when we realized all of Mexico had already taken all the video games that were on sale in the ads. So now we had to figure out what we’d buy the kids instead.

We took Jorge home and had lunch with Mary, Jose, Jorge and Noelia. We still had to deposit at the bank, so I was getting ready to leave when Mario said he’d go with me. I told him he didn’t have to and he said, “Yeah, right. So you can be mad at me later?”

I say, “It’s not like I don’t go into town on my own all the time. Granted, all the other times it’s not dangerous and I don’t fear for my life…”

Yes, it’s that bad. I hate holiday traffic.

We go to the bank first, then to Target in Sharyland. I called all the other Targets and none of them had the gift we needed to get for Jaylen. We ended up going to another Target on Nolana and finding something else there. I just hope he likes it =\.

We got the rest of the gifts we needed, plus the kids’ stocking stuffers and a DVD player for them since we stole theirs from their room :P. The one we had in our room doesn’t have a working remote, which can ruin a whole movie for Mario. We got some Caramel Fraps from Starbucks (no whipped cream for Mario) and went home.

We got home late and the boys hadn’t eaten dinner (darnit, Mother) so we fed them and I sat with Jaylen on the couch while we ate Jelly Bellys and watched What Not To Wear. Mario went over to Noelia’s to fix someone’s computer and to drop Eenan off since he wanted to sleep over at Mary’s again.

We finally started wrapping around 9:30, which is the reason why we were up so darn late. Mario went to Whataburger to get us some dinner, since we didn’t eat when the boys did. We ate, then wrapped. Well, I wrapped; Mario cut pieces of tape for me. He kept complaining that I’d use too much tape.

“You use so much tape. My mom uses, like, 3 for the whole gift.”

“I know this. Please stop comparing me to your mother.”

Not only do I hate wrapping, but I’m so anal-retentive about everything every single piece of paper needs to be creased, folded and smoothed out perfectly, hence the need for lots of tape. Mom always tells me I should work as a gift wrapper at a store, but I tell her I’d get fired for cussing and taking too damn long.

I just picked John up from work and Mother’s not here yet. I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I hope Elda goes ONLY to Target and brings mother home already. I’m on a time limit here.

I need to put on some Christmas music, get cheerful mood and try to ignore that it’s been raining all morning. It’s Christmas Eve tomorrow and I shouldn’t be grumpy.