Another Birthday Party!

Today, we celebrated my 8 year old's birthday with a Camp Rock party. We didn't have anything that was Camp Rock except for the top to the cupcake stand my parents made. She had a good time...

The family showed up. Here is her daddy and her cousin Matthew looking a little tough. Maybe they really were doing security.

Her friends came! She was most excited about these little ladies coming out. She was so happy that she wanted them to spend the night. Too bad they have school tomorrow.

Her Nino Oscar and Tio Chris hanging out by the pool.

We had a nacho bar for the meal. Fernanda really liked the cheese even though the expression on her face says otherwise! LOL!

We did the cake before the gifts because one of Brianna's friends had to leave soon. 8 candles on 8 cupcakes. MAKE A WISH!!

This was the one she chose after she served everyone else.

And I smashed it in her face... She was totally caught off guard!

Present time! She got lots of clothes, money, and art stuff.

She even really read the cards!

Here are her Grandpa, Jamma, and daddy.

After she opened all her gifts, Daddy went to play in the baby's room. He said he was playing with our son but I don't see any kids, do you?

After everyone went home, all the food and stuff was put away, Juanito was pooped. He fell asleep on the couch.

We had a great day and lots of fun! Brianna felt extra special today, thanks to all her guests!

My Creative Children

We are preparing the house for Brianna's birthday party this weekend and I decided to clean out the boy's toy box and get rid of some of his toys. He just got a bunch of toys for his birthday and I need to make room for them all. I got the to box all cleaned out and when I said to him, "Ok monkey, let's put them back in!" He must have thought I told him to get in. He found some sunglasses in there and got in. He's adorable.

Then, Tallynna came to me and said, "Mom, can I use some of those little clips you use in your hair?" I gave her 2 bobby pins and this is what she came back with. I thought it was pretty cute and she did it on her own.

He's 2 today!!

Who woulda thunk it?!

Juanito is already 2! It seems like yesterday that I was bringing home my little yellow baby. (He had Jaundice) Here's his story:

He was due September 10, 2007. We were down to our last few appointments when the doctor said that I was slightly pre-ecclamptic (high blood pressure) and that we needed to schedule me to be induced. He was going to schedule me to have a bed at St. Joseph's Hospital on August 22nd. This is my daughter's birthday. He said that the hospital would call me in the early early morning to let me know they had a bed for me. So we left the office and awaited the call. It was August 22nd and no call. Around noon, still no call. So I called the hospital and they said I was 6th on the list and they have had no open beds all day so I would have to continue to wait. So around 5pm, I called them again and they said they still have me as #6. So I gave up for that day and decided that I would call my doctor in the morning if he didn't call me first. The next morning, my doctor called me and asked if I would mind going to Paradise Valley hospital. I needed to be induced and they had a bed so off we went. We left the house around 10am and headed down Bell Rd. At Paradise Valley Mall, there is an In N Out and Juan looks at me and says, "You mind if we stop?" I said it was fine. So we went through the drive through and they were closed but for some reason, they opened the window and let him order...we sat in the car again and ate. Well, he ate, I didn't.

We got to the hospital around 11am and Stacey went to pick up my mom and they actually beat us there. We got me all ready to go, IV, labor inducing drug, etc. And we waited...and waited...and waited. The rest of the family came and around 11:30pm, I was ready to push. Everyone was tired including me. But the doctor came in and went over all the tasks with the helpers and we started to work on getting the monkey out. I pushed for 20 minutes! I told Juan that I couldn't do it. He was reassuring and said I could. I cried cause it hurt. He was a lot bigger than Brianna. Then the last push and there he was! The doctor said, "It's a boy!" I thought Sylvia and Juan were gonna trip over each other getting out the door to tell the rest of the family. He was 8lbs 9ozs.

Now, he's about 35 lbs and at every doctor's appointment, he has measured in the 95-100th percentile. He's a BIG boy but he's my little man.

He's a momma's boy, loves the camera, loves his sisters and daddy. He's a brat too. He's adorable and beautiful hair. He loves to watch Yo Gabba Gabba and Wow Wow Wubbzy. When I walk in the door, he screams, "mom mom!!" He is the cutest thing and I love him to death!

Juanito's 2nd Birthday Party

My little monkey turned 2 today! Here is a recap of the day before the party and the day of the party.

Michelle and I were gluing the party hats together and the glue clogged up in the tip. Michelle messed with the bottle for quite some time and then I told her to give it to me. She did and so I squeezed it harder than she was not knowing that the top would come off and plop onto the folder I had there. Michelle, Junior and I busted up laughing! So, what did we do with the glue? Instead of being adults and trying to get it back into the bottle or using it off the folder, I took some and covered my hands in it and let it dry so I could "tear off my skin" like I used to do in grade school. Junior did the same on the folder. It was fun!

It happened to be my daughter's birthday the day before and our tradition is to take the birthday person out to the dinner they want. Brianna chose Chuck E. Cheese. So, I put Juanito down for the night and took my niece and nephew and my girls to Chuck E. Cheese. I couldn't resist buying these cups with the CEC mouth on them. They looked hilarious with them on. This is Alayna with hers.

Here is Tallynna with hers. I think it fits her chunky face.

This is Brianna and Diego with theirs. They had a blast with them.

So, back home now and I decided to take some pictures of the "Monkey Chow" baggies I made for the goodie bags.

These are the finished goodie bags which I apparently forgot to load up completely...

Party Hats!

My silly sister-in-law. I love her.

My son decided to be a little boy and play in the dirt while he was waiting for his party to start. This one is him saying, "Cheeeeeeeeezzzzeee!!"

I'm surprised he wasn't eating the dirt. Sometimes you gotta let them play and get dirty, ya know?

Now, the party has started. This is the t-shirt I made for him. Next time, I will buy a more expensive iron on package. This one transferred in a plastic material and just didn't work with a "wife beater."

It was time to open his gifts. The first gift he opened, everyone screamed, "YAAAAY!" He ate that up. So every time he opened something, he held it up so that everyone could yell YAY! He just loved seeing everyone's reaction. His nina kept the momentum going when it started to die down.

One more picture of his many times of holding his gifts up in the air. I have this in a 10 second video and will post that as soon as I get it loaded onto my computer.

Then it was cake time. My mom makes the greatest tasting and cutest cakes EVER!! She always has. So she made a cake and flavored it banana, which was a hit with the kids. My dad crafted up this cool cupcake stand out of PVC pipe and cardboard. It was awesome!

This was the birthday boy's cake. He didn't actually eat it but mom would not make a birthday cake unless she can write "Happy Birthday" on it.

Tio Junior set him all up with his party hat, banana wrapped in his arm, and candles lit. We were singing "Happy Birthday" and he wanted to blow out the candles already. Junior had to cover his mouth so that he didn't blow them out early.

He made his wish!!

Here he is, enjoying his cupcake!

After presents, cake, and a few chips, this is where he settled. On the couch with his new toy. He LOVES this thing and he plays with it all the time!

Thank you to all who came out and swam and ate! Without you all, my little monkey wouldn't have had such a fun day!!

Brianna's 8 today!

8 years ago today, my Brianna Linda was born. Here's the story about the day she graced the world with her presence.

She was due on August 21st but decided to wait another day. Dr. Lippard was my OB/GYN and he was sure it would be a boy (no ultrasound of course) and that he would be 8lbs and 5 ozs. I had my last appointment in the morning on August 22nd, 2001 and the doctor says, “You’re leaking.” Um…………ok, what the hell does that mean?! This is my first child and I don’t know if that’s good or bad. He takes out this little test strip and shows it to me that it’s blue and says we are having a baby today. He told Juan and I to go right to the hospital and that he would be there later. So, off we went.

I wasn’t having any contractions or pain or anything so it seemed like cake to me. We were in the car and Juan turns to me and asks if it would be ok if we stopped for something to eat. (This story will seem very similar when I write about my son's birthday tomorrow!) I said, “Sure! No problem!” We stopped at Jack-in-the-box and he got something and we sat in the car while he ate. I didn’t want to eat anything because I have heard lots of horror stories of women throwing up during labor. We got to the hospital at about noon and got admitted and I was finally in a bed at 12:35ish. Still no contractions. No pain. No nothing. I was great. A doctor came in a broke my water some time around 1pm. By 2:30, still no contractions or anything. The nurse came in and started an IV with the medication that starts labor at around 3pm and had to increase it slowly every 45 minutes to an hour because it just wasn’t working. Right around 6pm is when I really started to feel it and asked for an epideral. That was the weirdest feeling ever! I almost tossed my cookies when I felt that needle go into my back. My mom and mother-in-law were there to help hold me up while they did that and, boy, am I glad they did! It took just a few minutes for that to set in and then I was great again. I felt nothing! A little after 7pm, the nurse came in to check how far dialated I was and she said I was ready to have my baby. I still couldn’t feel anything. I was watching Family Guy and I was good. I had the “crew” there which consisted of Juan, my mom, his mom, my dad and I think, my sister. I can’t remember if she stayed or not.

I think the doctor got there around 7:15 and got me ready, explained what I would need to do (tell the “crew” when I was having a contraction so I could push and they can help), and off we went. I had my first contraction and I pushed. Between the first and second push there were dolphins on Family Guy and I said, “Oooh, look! Dolphins!” Everyone started laughing. Then came the next one. I pushed. He said that the head was coming out. Between the second and third contraction there were some UGLY shoes on the screen and this time I didn’t say anything but I made an ugly face. “The Crew” thought I was having another contraction and got me all ready to go…I told them, “No, it was the shoes on TV.” Then the 3rd push happened at 7:35pm and we had an 8lb 1oz baby girl!! The doctor said, “It’s a girl!” Juan was so happy, my parents were happy, and his mom was happy. I was super surprised because we decided not to find out the sex of the baby. I wanted a girl so I could dress her up and do her hair and all the stuff you dream about with your baby dolls when you are little. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any hair until she was almost 2. I actually had to correct A LOT of people when they would say, “Awww, he’s so cute!”

Anyway, she looked just like her father when he was born and she was beautiful. I told the doctor that the other 4 ounces must have fallen off with body part she was missing. He laughed. My dad took off to go get me dinner since I hadn’t eaten all day. He got me a steak and baked potato from Bill Johnson’s or Sizzler or someplace like that.

And the journey continues.

Brianna is smart, pretty, funny, a brat, emotional and all the things anyone could ask for (or not ask for) in a little girl. She helps out around the house when she feels like it, she loves to get into things, she likes to dig in mommy’s jewelry drawer, she's creative and she asks lots of questions. She can read like no one's business and she actually loves to read just like I did. I just can’t believe it’s been 8 years already. Time flies when you’re having fun!!

Me and My Dad

I remember reading a book with this name when I was little but that's not what this post is about. I want to talk about my dad, daddy, pops, daddy-o, etc.

This last weekend, my dad and I worked on his car. His truck has been at Mark & Stacey's for a week waiting on a new intake manifold. The car started overheating and gushing water out of it over this last week too so he ended up renting a car for the week. I originally took 4 days off of work so I could work on my son's birthday party next weekend but so went that...

I got to my parent's house on Friday morning around 9am and we got started. First, we looked for the leak and I immediately found it. I thought it was the water pump with a hold in it and that would be pretty simple to replace. So we commenced dismantling the car so we could get to the water pump. When we got there, I noticed that the hole was not in the water pump rather in the timing chain cover. My dad immediately went for the phone to get prices on the replacement part. He called Napa where they said they had it for 49 bucks. We took off to Napa to get it. Needless to say, that was the wrong part. They did have the right part but it was $122 instead. We bought it. We had to.

My dad bought my mom and I lunch from Rito's Burritos. They have one of the best green chile burritos I have ever had. We ate and then I went back out to tear the rest of this thing apart. We had to remove all kinds of brackets, the alternator, power steering pump, water pump, and harmonic balancer to get to the timing chain cover. It took me until about 6pm to get it all apart. I called it a night.

Next morning, I headed over around 8:30am and got started on putting it back together and with my dad's help, got the water pump and timing chain reinstalled and had to leave at 1pm so I could get ready for a birthday party.

On Sunday, I didn't get up for church but headed over to their house around 12pm. We got the rest of the car put back together with almost all new parts and were done at 5pm. So, I know I said this was about me and my dad and it really is because during this whole process, I had some things re-confirmed and learned some things about my dad:

He's getting old and has old people skin now.

He's just as particular as when I used to hold the drop light for him as a kiddo.

Time is short and I need to spend as much with him as possible.

He doesn't have a steady hand anymore.

My brothers and sister are missing out.

He can't take the heat anymore.

The ladies at Checker still love him.

He loves his grandkids...all of them!

His dog is old and prolly won't be around too much longer but he still makes her get out of his way.

I love the time I was able to spend with my daddy this weekend. I just wish it wasn't so hot and that I didn't have other things to do. He was able to return his rental car today and was also able to drive his piece of crap Lincoln. I love my dad even though he can be a pain in the ass sometimes!

Be At Peace

I don't know really why I thought of this poem and decided to post it other than it just came to mind and some people may need to see it at this moment. There is actually a very personal story on how I came across this poem a long time ago that I may share some day. I have this posted at my desk. Enjoy!

Be At Peace

Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life;

Rather look to them with full hope that as they arise,

God, whose very own you are, will lead you safely

through all things;

And when you cannot stand it, God will carry you

in His arms.

Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;

The same everlasting Father who cares for you today

will take care of you today and every day.

He will either shield you from suffering or will give you

unfailing strength to bear it.

Be at peace and put aside all anxious thoughts and

imaginations.

~St. Francis of Sales

Bath Time

My son is the funniest when he is taking a bath so I thought I would share. When I start the water filling in the tub and as soon as he hears the water, he runs into the bathroom and says, "Mama, ba?" He waits and waits until it's filled up all the while putting his hands in and realizing that he's really gonna take a bath. He gets more and more excited as the tub fills. Then we take off his clothes and diaper and he climbs in. He used to have me pick him up and put him in the tub but now he just holds my hand and climbs in on his own. He is growing up so fast!

While I am getting his hair wet with a cup, he holds his head forward like he won't get his face wet if he does. Then I wash his hair. He stands up so I can wash the rest of him and he waits patiently while I do that but I can just see the anticipation in his face that he's gonna get to play some more. Then I rinse him off and unplug the drain. He has all the time it takes for the tub to empty to play. He gets the cup and fills it up with water and then throws his Grover toy into the water and cracks up laughing. Strange kid. Then he will cram his hand into the cup because the water will splash out of the cup and he cracks up again. He does this over and over until there is no more water to put in the bathtub. Then he looks at me and says, "Oh NO!" Then he gets out and gets wrapped in a towel. He HAS to be able to turn the light off in the bathroom and he even says, "Off" as he is turning it off. Then I go in my room with him and we sit on the floor. He gets as close to me as possible and curls up under the towel while I am holding him and he closes his eyes. He sits there like that as long as he wants to. Sometimes that's 2 minutes, sometimes it's 10 minutes. When he's done cuddling with me, he pushes his arms out and lays down on the floor. I get his diaper on him and start with the lotion. I put the lotion on his tummy and he gets some and tastes it. While he has his hand in his mouth, he says, "Lotion?" And he keeps this up until I am done with the lotion. I get him dressed and then he takes off into the living room to say good night to his daddy. He gets me his cup and I fill it with milk and he goes to lay down. I have to fix his pillow, give him a kiss or 3, put his blanket on him, then put his elephant in his arm for him. Then he makes this adorable little sigh and he says, "Nigh, nigh mama." He's adorable and I love our little bath/bed time ritual. I love him so much and am so grateful for my children.