Christmas 2006

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 :(.