Mama's Corner: August 2006

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, "BONES"!!!

TOMORROW IS BONES' BIRTHDAY!!!! YAY!!! She'll be four years old! WOW!!! :):)

8/30/2006 02:38:00 PM | Permalink |

Guard Cat

Guard Cat Originally uploaded by Hsandia34. When I was sick with the flu yesterday Lilly, knew and stayed by my side. She's guarding the tissues and Halls. lol. Good Kitty!

8/30/2006 02:19:00 PM | Permalink |

Sick with the FLU!!!

Ugh...Snif, sneeze, wipe...Is all I've been doing. Yesterday, I thought I had just allergies, a cold maybe...By last night I knew it was the flu. I was blowing my nose ALL day yesterday. I had a busy day, too! I had to get Brevy up at 7:30am and get him ready for school. After dropping him off Bones and I, went to church for Tuesday morning Bible Study (on the book of Daniel). Bones and I, went to the mall to get some lunch after Bible Study was out. We were going to be meeting my dad-in-law at the car rental place so I can return the mini van, but we were way too early. So, we headed over there (which totally took me out of my comfort zone). I'm not used to doing so much running around. I like staying at home and doing my little grocery shopping and calling it a day, type stuff. So, I met Jose and he took care of the paper work. I tranfered the kids' car seats and crap into his car and we headed home. Once we got home I was feeling pretty awful, but I had to do grocery shopping. There wasn't any bread or milk in the house since the "vacation". So, we put the car seats back into our mini van and headed to Walmart. I got to Walmart feeling like something hit me out of no where. I was walking up and down the isles forgetting stuff (even though I had a list in my hand). I mean, it was bad, but I had to get it done. We got home in time for Bones to take a one hour nap. I quickly put everything away and did the same. Lilly, was with me and I could tell she thought something was wrong with me. She was acting weird and protective of me (see pictures on my Flickr). Poor thing! I laid there for about 40 minutes, got Bones up and we went to get Brevy from school. By that time I was ill. I got him home and helped him with his homework and tried to unload the dish washer and I broke a glass. I said, "okay...I'm not touching them." I called Charles and he told me to call in sick. I called my job and did so. I tried to give the kids a bath and Charles had walked in the door to save me. AMEN! He cooked dinner and by dinner time I had a fever, the shakes, and was all teary eyed. (I cry when I'm really sick, that's how you know it's bad). Being that Charles and I, have been together for 8 years, you'd think he'd know that by now. Nope, instead he was being mean to me and cracking jokes. :( He's so naughty. Wait until it's his time to be sick....he's worse than a baby. I'll remember how mean he was to me. Yeah, he made me soup and brought me a drink...But he was yelling at me the whole time. GRRR!!!! He thinks I forgot about it, NOPE! No chance! Anyway, kids watched a little piece of movie (which they don't do often) since the "no t.v. rule!" Then, we put them to bed, but not before Brevy read us a story. Charles, made me Thera-Flu and yelled at me once again to drink it while it was hot (even though I can't drink it when it's hot!) Grrr!!! He was tired and cranky like the rest of us and not sympathetic at all....No matter what he says!!! :) We went to bed after 8pm and I woke up this morning at 7:30am to do it all over again. :-{~ Oh and yeah, I feel a little bit better today. I might even go to work. Ha! :)

8/30/2006 02:18:00 PM | Permalink |

Monday, August 28, 2006

Our Road Trip to Chicago, Ill.

We left at 4am (ish) on a rainly Wednesday the 23rd. We all piled into a rental mini van and headed our way to Chicago. We went through Texas and saw a bunch of stinky ole cows. Going through Oklahoma was scary, because I didn't know what to expect. There's nothing there, either. Just a bunch of flat land. We got to Missouri and it was beautiful. There were trees all around, water and it ever much reminded me of NY. We stayed there which was more than our half point mark. Charles drove most of the way, because I forgot my ID at home. I couldn't believe I did that. Especially, since you need ID to get on Base. We ran around looking for the kids proof of identity and when it came to me, I was the one that ended up with out one. I took it out of my wallet to go get Brevy from school on the Friday before. This way I figured I didn't have to lug my purse with me. I ended up traveling with out it. Smart, huh??! Ugh. So, anyway, Charles' dad came with us. He only drove a couple of hours the entire time though. So 23 hours of driving for poor Charles. We stayed the night in where the next morning we got up to leave and head for Chicago. We got there and ate dinner and crashed. The next morning we woke up early and left for the base. We arrived to searches and ID checks just to get on the base. They had a K9 cop there and we had to open our truck, hood, and all doors so he could sniff anything out. Of course we didn't have anything to sniff out, but it was necessary. I'd rather they search everyone then not! Once we passed inspection we entered the building to stand in an endless line. We moved slowly and the kids were tired and hungry. We actually all were. We arrived to the front of the line to give them the name and division of the person we were seeing. After that we went in another line that lead out of the building and into another building where the ceremony was being held. Inside the building there were bleachers and signs of the SR divisions. We got in the right line and tried to find our seating. I looked up and saw Marisa's mom and rest of her family already sitting down. We greeted them and sat down in our own spot. We sat and waited I think two hours before any signs of the ceremony started. We knew we were early and wanted to be so we'd get a seat. We sat there until after 12pm. I have no idea what time they SR came out, but they did and the ceremony was long and the kids could have cared less. Marisa, was standing in front of us and I got really good pictures of her . It was hard to make her out though with just your eye. You needed a focus license to clearly see her and even that wasn't as clear as I would have liked it. It was still nice though and we still enjoyed being there. In the middle of the ceremony there was this girl who passed out that was standing close to Marisa. She hit the floor while still in parade rest. I felt so bad for her. No one could leave the formation. It took a couple of seconds for the "people in charge" to get her to her feet. She stood up eventually and walked out with some help. Everyone clapped for her, but no one else moved. You can't. Poor thing. That must have been hard for her family to watch. You can't run to her. You can't go out on the floor. Everything else just continued as she lay there on the floor. I felt bad and still do. We don't know how her condition was afterward, we didn't hear a thing about her. There was 811 graduates there plus their families. After the service was over we got to see Marisa. I feared that we wouldn't, but they released them and I walked up first to try to make my way through the mob of people to see if I could find her. All of a sudden I see this happy girl go flying past me (kind of) and run up to Charles with the biggest hug ever. She was in tears by then and I gave her a big hug and kiss on the check. I saw her mom coming in next. She looked like a grown young lady; standing there in her white dress outfit and just so overwhelmed with emotion. I couldn't explain to her how proud of her I was. I was just standing there with a big smile and her family surrounded her and was talking to her. She had her grandma there (from her mom's side) and her step-dad there as well. They talked to her mostly and we stood there with her awkwardly trying to get a word in edge wise. We left that area and made our way outside. It must have taken 30 minutes to walk a couple of feet. All the families and their sons,daughters, sisters, brothers, etc. Stood with them and we made our way back to the car. Brevy, Bones, and Aiy, were being awful. They were hungry, tired, and ansty and couldn't stand in the line to save their lives. They played with their Navy hats that Charles purchased for them. Gpa, Charles, and I, kept yelling at them to stay put, but we all knew why they wouldn't. We decided to go back to our hotels to change our clothes and all (yes all) of us would take Marisa out to eat. We met up at Lone Star (Risa's favorite) and we were going to try to get a table for 10 people. They told us the wait would be about 45 min. So we sat down and looked around. Marisa, joined us and we hogged her as her mom and g'ma went to the restroom. Her step dad came back and said we could split up into two tables and eat right away. We decided to do so, since we were all so hungry. Marisa looked like she wanted to sit with us (gpa, me, and the kids), but Charles hugged her and said it would be alright for her to sit with her mom. She did and we sat behind her. We kept looking over the seat and talking to her while we waited for our food. She wanted to know what we'd be doing after we ate. We hadn't planned anything really...Just to see MJ statue and down town a bit. We told her we didn't know and asked what she'd be doing. She said they were going to see the Sears Tower and go back to Base. We agreed that we'd met her there, because she wanted to spend time with us, too. I thought that was a great idea. So, we took pictures of her again and left to go back to the hotel to change clothing. We were on our way when she called us to tell us that their plans had changed. With all of the traffic there, she'd never make it back in time to the Base. Their Liberty time was from 12 noon until 6pm, she had a short period of time to spend with us. So, her step-dad said we should go to the Botanic Gardens. We were heading in the same direction so we all quickly met up there. The sky was dark and it looked like it was going to rain. We found Marisa taking pictures by some water and I quickly got in on the photo taken as well. We stayed there for about 45 min-1 hour. It was beautiful. Flowers every where, water. You can't go wrong. The kids were running around on the grass and every one was having a good time. Especially, Risa. After that was over we said our goodbyes. She asked what time we were leaving and we said we weren't sure. She seemed like she wanted to see us one more time before we had to head back to NM. We asked what she'd be doing in the am and it turns out that she'd have Liberty tomorrow from 8am until evening. So, we agreed to meet her at the Base and we'd spend the am at the Navy shop to get souvenirs before we had to go on our long journey. We were thinking breakfast, but everyone wanted to shop. Saturdays adventure was busy. After shopping and buying out the Navy store we said our goodbyes. Marisa, gave us her Navy picture and we took some more pictures as a family. Leaving Risa we headed downtown Chi town and took a look around. Lots of traffic, but we went to see the United Center where Michael Jorden's statue was. Charles, has been wanting to see this statue since I've known him. That's all he's ever talked about. So, we went there and took lots of pictures. After that we drove around to see what there was. We were going to go to the Sears Tower, but Aiyana didn't want any part of the heights. She started to cry and got upset. So, we left it at that and decided to go home, because we were all hungry and weren't in a good spot for food. We walked a couple of blocks, but didn't find anything good. Eh, so we headed towards the hotel and went to eat at Michaels. Michaels has really good burgers. We ate for $35.00, burgers and fries for the adults and the kids got grilled cheese. Ouch, but it was good. :) We went "home" and took the kids swimming so that G'pa could have some quite time. The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel and headed on our long journey back home. It was a short trip, but we cramped a lot of stuff into it. A lot of eating out, a TON of eating out, kids driving us crazy, and a lot of pictures to show for it (500+ pictures). It was nice seeing Marisa again. We probably won't get to see her until November when she comes home for "vacation and liberty time." We arrived in NM on Sunday around 8ish pm. Now that we're all home we've unpacked and I've done a ton of laundry. I keep looking at her picture and wondering what she's doing at the moment. She's now able to have her laptop and cell phone. Keeping in touch won't be as hard this time. She also said she'd give us her address as soon as she knows it. I still can't believe she's in the Navy! The kids have a wonderful role model to look up to. She's respectful and a great big sister. I'm glad we all got the opportunity to go out there and see. God Bless our Marisa!

Miles Driven 2,945

8/28/2006 02:25:00 PM | Permalink |

SR Marisa

SR Marisa Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

8/28/2006 02:24:00 PM | Permalink |

Hibsicus

Hibsicus Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

This is a Hibsicus. I took this picture at the Botanic Gardens in Chicago, Ill.

8/28/2006 02:18:00 PM | Permalink |

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Sandias (top)

Sandias (top)
Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

8/20/2006 08:40:00 PM | Permalink |

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Me with Roses

Me with Roses
Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

Doesn't get any better than this. :)

8/19/2006 12:00:00 PM | Permalink |

Rose

Rose
Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

Have a happy Saturday!!!!

8/19/2006 11:45:00 AM | Permalink |

Friday, August 18, 2006

Orange Power

Orange Power Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

Love this photo and wanted to share it with you all. :)

8/18/2006 10:41:00 PM | Permalink |

Pathway

Pathway Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

Choose the right path. :)

8/18/2006 10:16:00 PM | Permalink |

Beautiful Lillian Gracie

Beautiful Lillian Gracie Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

My new favorite picture of Lillian. :) She's my sweetie pie. At the end of the month, we're getting another kitty as well. This way Lillian has a friend to play with. She loves playing with Smokey (the neighbor's cat), but he doesn't have the same feeling towards her. lol. So, we're getting her a playmate. Plus, she'll have us as well.

8/18/2006 11:41:00 AM | Permalink |

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Successful Second Day

We dropped my little one off at school today and it wasn't nearly as hard as yesterday, which was his first day (see first day of school in prev. posts). He did great! He's a little trooper. That's my boy!

My daughter and I, have had a lot more one on one time. She doesn't talk much, but she's been talking more. Usually Brevy takes the floor when he's home and she's used to that. Although she gets heard when needed. It's been fun painting our nails together and playing outside. We've been taking Lillian on walks in the backyard and she's enjoying it. I folded a million clothes and Bones helped me put everything away. She hung clothes for me and was a big help in my room, which was a mess.

I got my new replacement phone today. You'll never guess what I did to mess up the one I had. I left it on the back of the mini van while playing in the front yard with the kids. Charles, always calls me and I thought I'd hear it sitting there if it rang. I forgot and left it there. We drove down the street to get pizza and came back home not knowing a thing(this was a couple of days ago). I needed to run off to work that evening and I couldn't find my phone (not an unusual thing). So, we're calling it with the house phone, no answer. I look upstairs, down stairs, everywhere and nothing. I said, "oh well I have to go to work or I'm going to be late." Charles, gives me his phone and I take off. I get to the stop light and look in the middle of the road and guess what's there? My phone! Splattered everywhere in pieces. Ugh. That was a dumb thing to do. I could have kicked myself in the butt. I stopped and managed to get most of it out of the road. Ugh. Charles, called because the phone company and took care of it. We have insurance on both cell phones. I still had to pay a $50.00 deductible. I got it today though and it's nice, silver, and new. :) It's charging and then I'm going to activate it soon. It came with all this other stuff I didn't have for my other one. :) No more dumb ideas about leaving it on the back of the car, just so I don't miss my hubby's call. It's HIS fault. LOL. Just kidding, Babe. Don't get all crazy on me now.

Anyway, day is going by nice and slow, which is good. Today, is my day off and I'm okay with relaxing.

Yesterday, I miserable because of my allergies. You should have seen my eye. It was red and there was this little bump on the white part. It was gross and it felt gross every time I blinked. Allergy bumps. I was rubbing my eye the night before and I woke up yesterday with it. It made me feel awful all day yesterday. On top of that I was crying on the way home for Brevy. What a day. We had our first day of Awana, too. The kids loved it. Charles, is helping out by playing the games with the kids. He's really excited and the kids had a blast. I have nothing to do there, because I only stay about 25 minutes, because I leave from church and go to work. I wish I could stay with the cubbies group (Bones' group) and help out in the classroom. She was participating and it was cute to see her listen to another adult. I've never seen her in full action so it was cool. Brevy, gets out late today and I'm going to go rest while I can. Did I mention that I sneeze every 5 minutes or so? Yep! It's from all the rain we've gotten (and I'm not complaining about the rain) -just my allergies. It's interesting at work, that's for sure; muting the phone while sneezing is hard when in full conversation with the client. LOL.

Have a good day, more tomorrow.

8/17/2006 01:16:00 PM | Permalink |

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

First day of school

I took my son to school this morning. I told myself I wasn't going to cry (in front of him). I kept my promise! He got ready in his brand new clothes, new sneakers, new book bag (I'm a NY-er, I call em book bags!), and his cool new hair cut. We piled into the mini van and took off towards school. There was tons of traffic, which I'm not used to, because usually I'm still sleeping at that time. We got into the parking lot to find it packed with no place to park. I parked against a fence and left it at that. We headed towards his classroom; kids were running everywhere. There was a long line that had already formed for his class area, which is also shared with a neighboring class. We waited for the line to go down and decided to go in. He found his spot for his book bag right away and I was really proud he recognized his name without me pointing it out. We found his table with his name on it. Some kids were already in there and his teacher was busy talking to other parents. I knelt down beside him and he started to color a nursery rhyme paper that was sitting in front of him. He was really happy and excited. I, on the other hand was apprehensive and ansty. I watched as he colored some and I talked to him about his day. I ensured him I'd be there to pick him up. He's only there for a half of day today. His teacher came by to greet us and talked to Brevy about his wonderful smile. I rubbed his back and sat a couple of minutes more. Other parents already started to leave by this time and I wasn't ready to. LOL. I asked Brevy if it was okay for me to leave. He said, "yes mama!" I told him to have a good day and kissed him on the cheek. I got up and started towards the door, holding back the tears; Bones followed. I looked back to find he was watching us. I blew a kiss to him and left the room to already find that my tears could hold back no more. The tears had fallen down my cheeks and a mom behind me told me she cried last year. I told her the hardest thing is not to let him see me. She agreed that it was the hardest for her, too. It was comforting to talk to someone else who had been there and was compassionate. We headed for the car to find out how we'd get out of our parking spot. The tears running down my cheeks I stopped them while getting Bones in her car seat and then got in the car to drive home without my son and the tears just POURED down all the way home. Bones was quite, thinking about her brother. We reached the garage door and I called Charles, as he instructed to do so. He was there for me to lean on even though he's 30-40 miles away at work. He couldn't be with us on his first day of school, but got to talk to him on the phone before we left on this "grown up" journey. Almost everyone I know has younger children then I do. Some ladies at Bible Study were sharing their stories yesterday, too. Two ladies have older children and they were telling me about their experiences with the "first day." Oh Boy!!! Lord, help me today!!!! Hopefully, I'll keep myself busy enough not to notice the time. We'll leave a lot earlier to pick him up, because of all the other parents that are doing the same thing. Wish me strength to make it through with out crying!! I need it today! Thanks in advance!!!!

8/16/2006 09:35:00 AM | Permalink |

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Happy 1st Birthday, Lilly!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Lilly!!!!
Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

Happy Birthday, Mama's!! We love you!!!

8/15/2006 03:19:00 PM | Permalink |

Happy Birthday Lillian

Happy Birthday Lillian
Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

Happy 1st Birthday, Lillian. We love you!!!!

8/15/2006 02:44:00 PM | Permalink |

Monday, August 14, 2006

Sandias

Sandias Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

For our one year anniversary we went on a Tram ride on the Sandia Mountains. It was so beautiful and so much fun!!!!! Here are some pictures from our incredible day. Enjoy!!!

8/14/2006 09:45:00 AM | Permalink |

Purple flowers

Purple flowers Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

These were some flowers that were growing on the Sandia Mts. They're wild, simple, and really pretty!!! Enjoy!!!

8/14/2006 09:44:00 AM | Permalink |

Sandias

Sandias Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

This is the beautiful Sandia Mountain. Pretty huh?!!!

8/14/2006 09:44:00 AM | Permalink |

Sun is shining

Sun is shining Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

Finally, no reflecctions. This was when we reached the top of the sandias. It was hot and beautiful outside. I captured the sun shining through the cloud and tree tops.

8/14/2006 09:43:00 AM | Permalink |

me on top of the Sandias

me on top of the Sandias Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

Me, Chilling at 10,000 feet on top of the Sandia's for our anniversary!!!

8/14/2006 09:42:00 AM | Permalink |

Friday, August 11, 2006

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, BABY!!!!!!

8/11/2006 11:05:00 AM | Permalink |

Monday, August 07, 2006

Sunflower

Sunflower Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

Sorry, I haven't updated in awhile. It's hard to find the time to blog anymore. Charles' Birthday was a blast. We went to the SD feast as planned. It was a nice cool day, overcast. It even rained on us while we were watching the dance. The dances were nice, different from Jemez. I liked them a lot though. After a while we got front row seats and the kids plopped down on the ground and watched. We bought a wooden flute for Brevy. Bones got more jewelry and Aiy, got a flute and bracelets. After that we attempted to take Charles, out for dinner and got spoiled once again. All in all it was a great day. We had lots of family time and lots of pictures were taken. :)

Sunday, we took the kids to an event that my job invited us to. It was a kid friendly environment and they had a blast. There was good music, food, and face painting. We stayed from 6:30-9:30pm. We've been doing so much lately that even the kids are worn out and have been taking their naps. :)

We tried to take advantage of tax free weekend and pick up Brevy some much needed items from the mall on Sunday as well. We couldn't afford it, but did it anyway. Hey, no taxes, right?! Yep! He's starting school soon and is really excited. We're going to try to get Bones enrolled somewhere as well. They both need school!

Charles and I, have our one year anniversary coming up on Friday, 11th. WOW! We really wanted to spend it in NY at Mohonk and recreate our cake, but with little funds; it won't happen. Maybe next year though! We are planning to get up early and head to the Sandia's to ride the tram and then dinner in the evening. :) One year of marriage means I need to change my blogger title, because we're not "Just Married" anymore. Hehehe...Especially since we've been together for 7 years (8 years since we've met). It will be a nice day no matter where we are, just because we'll be together. (It's mushy, but so true!) Well, that's all the updates I have for now. We're getting ready to go to church soon. :) Stop by to see more updates. I'll try to do better. I'll be posting more pictures here as well. :)

8/07/2006 04:39:00 PM | Permalink |

Rainbow

A rainbow I saw while at work. :) Rainbow Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

8/07/2006 04:37:00 PM | Permalink |

Sun Shining thru cloud

Sun Shining thru cloud
Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

8/07/2006 10:41:00 AM | Permalink |

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Lillian Gracie

Lillian Gracie
Originally uploaded by Hsandia34.

Doind what she's best at: Sleeping! lHa! :-()~

8/03/2006 10:42:00 PM | Permalink |

School, Feast, & Work...

My son is going off to school and I still can't believe it. We're meeting his teacher next week and he'll be starting soon after that. OHMYGOODNESS! I am in shock. I keep saying, "I can't wait until he goes to school!" Now the time has come and I'm freaking out. AHHHH! It will be so good for him to be around other kids his own age. He's around a lot of kids at church and he knows everyone there. This is going to be totally different environment though. The hours of school compares to having a full time job. I can't believe it! We haven't gone school shopping for him yet. Tomorrow is tax free weekend and I'm waiting for that. We always had that in NY and last year it finally hit NM (they're a little late down here). I'm happy that I actually get to participate in it though.

Tomorrow is also CHARLES' BIRTHDAY!!! YAY!!!! We're going to the Santa Domingo feast. :) We have a few small surprises thrown in there, too. I already purchased NFL Sunday Ticket for him, that's what he really wanted. :) He's a little spoiled.

I'm off of work today and tomorrow and it's always much needed. Yesterday, was the Jemez feast. We went and boiled in the heat. Right when we were in the village they took a break which lasted what seemed for forever. We had an umbrella, if it wasn't for that...We would have been burnt toast. :) We didn't see Aiyana, but we heard she was dancing. When the dancers finally came out Aiyana, wasn't anywhere to be found. It's a good thing she stopped dancing, it was extremely hot. We bought Bones some jewelery in the plaza and Brevy, got a wooden flute. :) They had fun! We ate at Charles' grandma's house with his aunts and mom serving everyone. We sat with strangers and talked about our kids, who stole the show again. For the first time EVER I wasn't uncomfortable. It went well and I was happy to get in the car with the air conditioner on full blast on the ride back home.

I went to work soon after and was dead tired. The sun had baked, fried, and laid me to the side. Ugh. I managed to get through my shift with not much lift, compared to yesterday when I was hundreds over company. It will hopefully average out nicely. That's all I have for now. I must get up from this chair and start on my accomplishments today. One being completing my Bible study homework. :) Have a Blessed day!

8/03/2006 10:30:00 AM | Permalink |