Final score 2 boys and 1 angel

New kid on the block

2009-09-02T10:09:00.001-07:00

Well not exactly on the block, but in school.

My oldest son Erik has been attending school by my parents house (also my old elementary school)since I am so blessed to have my mom watch my kids.
My husband and I have been contemplating whether to switch him to our local school or not.
The reasons why we hadn't switched him were because:

1. I work far from home and with my husband having his own business, he's all over the county making service calls. So in case of emergencies who knows how long it would take to get to Erik to pick him up. My mom would be the one to pick him up (walking, since she doesn't drive)if we couldn't pick Erik up. Or he could just walk to her house.

2. He's been taking speech therapy since he was 3 years old and didn't want to interfere with that.

3. We weren't sure where to put him after school since our local school and my parents house aren't very close.

4.Erik didn't want to switch because he didn't want to leave his friends behind.

After much thinking and thinking.. We finally decided to switch.

1. I have asked one of my neighbors if I could get her help in case of any emergencies and she has agreed.

2. They have speech therapy at this local school. They will continue with what shows on his IEP (individual education plan)and will still meet with us once or twice per year to discuss Erik's progress.

3. They have an afterschool program within the school which they help with homework and have activities for the kids.

4. We convinced Erik that he will be making lots of new friends at school that are around our neighborhood.

He started school today. He was a little nervous when we got there.
I am nervous only because of the distance we are from the school, however I know my son will be ok.
This is for the best.

on another note. I will post a few pictures later on our vacation from last week.

What we've been up too lately

2009-08-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, time flies. It's been a while since I last posted. It seems like there isn't enough time in the day to take care of things. But here I am posting on what we have done lately.

Since my last post, my husband ended up going to an oral surgeon to have his wisdom tooth extracted. He was in so much pain before and after the surgery. About 4 weeks later, he's finally able to eat without any problems and pain free!

Since my brother in law Henry recieved the news that he is on chemo break (hopefully forever!) my sister Emma had a little family celebration for him at their house. It was a nice evening and we ended up even dancing at the end of the evening. My sister Jolene was the main entertainment with her famous song (which I won't embarrass you Jolene), but she had us cracking up.

We also participated in the relay for life in honor of Henry and other cancer warriors. It was a really hot day, but I am glad that we were able to make it. We walked a few laps and even my boys enjoyed it, especially Adam since he could run around everywhere! Erik ended up camping with with them, he said he enjoyed it.

here are a few pictures of other things we have enjoyed this summer.
We took the boys to the Aquariam of the Pacific.

We went to Santa Barbara for a day trip.
We decided to take the train. It was about 1 hr 45 minute trip each way. It was fun and different.

We also enjoyed Six Flags Majic Mountain.

A picnic at the park, but not without another train ride first!

Tomorrow evening we may be heading to Knott's Berry Farm.

Last but not least, we leave for a late summer vacation Monday!!!
Last year we went to Puerto Vallarta and Mexico City, and this year it's a road trip to San Felipe, Mexico.
We have rented a 5 bedroom beachfront house. My sister Emma, Henry, and their kids are coming with us. My parents will also be joining us. As least my mom is. My dad is a happy camper at home, however, he may change his mind at last minute!

Unfortunately, my brother and his daughter couldn't join us, and nither could Jolene and Geric.. Hopefully we will all be able to take a vacation sometime in the near future to some awesome resort and just make memories, memories, memories.

Then we need to start getting ready for Erik to go back to school, which I believe starts on the 8th of September. boo...

until next time!

ok, I am starting to hate Thursdays!!

2009-07-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

So last week on Thursday was Adam's little accident.

1 week later, it's not what I call an accident. Maybe a stupid choice?

My husband had been having a tooth ache for a few days. The pain was pretty unbearable, so finally he made the appointment to see the dentist.

He had already seen the dentist a few months ago. And basically they told him what he needed done and the cost. We don't have dental insurance, however we have dental discount card.

So since he hadn't had any pain since the last time he went, he just didn't go back until yesterday. He knew this tooth was going to have to be pulled out. So he was prepared for that. After a while I sent him a text msg to find out how he was doing. He told me he was pissed and not doing good. I replied back saying if you can talk, call me.

so he told me the story:
Basically it was the tooth right in front of one of his wisdom teeth. The wisdom tooth was somehow pushing this other tooth and it was just impossible to save. Although they did give my husband the option for a root canal but there was no guarantee. So they decided that the best thing would be to take out that tooth. Doctor said it was a good choice because when the tooth came out, it had a big hole in it. While she was there, she said "might as well take out the wisdom tooth out too"!

The last time he got an xray, SHE SAID the wisdom tooth was TOO close to the bone and that would have to be removed by an oral surgeon. SO my husband said "are you sure" and she said "yes I can do it". before he agreed, he asked about the consequences of pulling it out. And all she said was "a little pain afterwards and swelling" which is normal. He also asked if he could go to work the next day. The answer was "yes absolutely!".
So he trusted this doctor. Well she started pulling and pulling and tugging. Nothing was coming out. Then she went back to check on the xray. Came back and started tugging again. All she did was take a piece of the tooth. Then she said "I can't, you will need to see an oral surgeon". They gave him a piece of paper which listed the dentist he could see and sent him home with a prescription for vicodin. They also asked him to sign some piece of paper. He said "I'm not signing anything". I am glad he made that choice! I guess they just don't want to take responsibility. But they should be very responsible for what happend.

As I was speaking with him, he told me he was at home bleeding alot and his mouth was really swollen. I told him to call the dentist office back. and he disagreed. he said they couldn't do anything for him. All they did was try contacting one of the offices on the list, but it was already closed.
It was 4:40pm. I told him "YOU CAN'T STAY THIS WAY THOUGHOUT THE NIGHT"!!!

So I called the dentist office to give them a piece of my mind.
I spoke to the dentist and told her it was VERY UNPROFESSIONAL to do a half ass job (i didn't use those words) and just send a patient home in pain and bleeding. I told her there HAS to be an emergency doctor and because of her stupidity, we have to pay even more out of pocket because now it's an emergency and he has to see a specialist (oral surgeon).
She told me if he was bleeding, to send him back.

I called him back and told him to go back. Being the sometimes stubborn person, he still did not want to go back. Again I insisted that he could NOT stay that way until the next day. So I called some emergency # that was behind the discount card I carry for the dentist. I told them what happend and she put me on hold while they called the dentist office.

She came back telling me that they were waiting for him to go back.
So I called my husband back and INSISTED that he go back!! Finally he did.

Got my kids (I was picking them up from my parents) loaded them in the car and called him back on my way home. He didn't answer. I recieved a text msg immediately telling me he was at the dentist office with his mouth closed. I replied back saying I WAS COMING THERE TO THE OFFICE.

As we arrived, I told them I was there to check up on my husband Hector. They said he was doing fine and if I wanted to see him.
They all had this "worried face" so I was like "yes I want to see him!".

We walked in and he was at the chair with icepacks on his cheek. I couldn't tell how swollen it was. But the Doctor told me she was sorry we were experiencing that. She said she had checked him and there was no bleeding outside. He was basically bleeding internally! Worse!! So they had already called the main dentist which he had gone home a few hours ago. He arrived almost at the same time that we arrived.
So we went back out and sat in the lobby waiting..

about 15 minutes later, he comes out.
and the dentist told me they will see him again in the morning.
She prescribed some antibiotics, vicodin, and steroids. I was like "steroids" WHY??
she said it was because his body was rejecting what she had done, and for the swelling, blah blah blah.
Whatever they did, they will NOT admit to it! They also said they can't touch that wisdom tooth until like 2 months until it completely heals. great.. The first dentist said he had to go to an oral surgeon first thing in the morning and now they are saying they can't touch it?
So I went to fill his presciptions and he started taking them. I also made him a soup since he couldn't eat anything to rough.

This morning they saw him and said he looks better. (Yesterday it was really swollen!)
They told him he looks better and they want to see him again on Monday!!!
ugh!!!!! I just hope this hasn't caused any sort of permanent damage.

I was really surprised though. This dentist has been really good. I have seen her a few times. I was experiencing some pain mayself and she did insert a crown and voila, pain is gone!

and I do have to go back today for a teeth cleaning..

Summer, out of school, b-day celebrations and more!

2009-07-07T21:49:00.000-07:00

We have been keeping quite busy these past few weeks.

Erik is out of school and oficially a 3rd grader! wow, WHERE has the time gone?

I have signed him up for a day camp. That should be pretty fun for him and keep him busy for a few days. They have swimming, crafts, and a field trip to boomers. I am sure he will really enjoy it. It starts next week.

I have also signed Adam up for a Mommy,Daddy, & me Gymnastics class.
that is for tiny tots around his age. I KNOW he will love it. That starts on Saturday.

Father's day was rather a calm day. We all decided to take my dad to dinner on Saturday evening so that we could beat the crowd on the following day. It was a quite little restaurant by our house. We had been there previously and really enjoyed it, however for some reason, I didn't really enjoy my dinner that day. I should have asked for another dish instead of the same one as usual. Oh well, next time.

The next day which was father's day was really cloudy. The kids and I were going to take Hector to a picnic, but because of the weather, he prefered a bar b q at home. Good ol' Costco steaks. They were delicious!!

June 19th was my nieces b-day and June 26th was Erik's b-day. My brother and I decided to celebrate their b-days together at our home. What better fun than a pool party??

The day before though, Hector and I took the day off and took the boys to Disneyland!!
Since it was Erik's birthday, he got in for free. And boy, do they make you feel special!! He got a name tag that said "it's my birthday" and with his name on it.
Every ride we got on, the operator or tour guide would say Happy b-day Erik. He liked all the attention. And it was Adam's 1st Disneyland trip! He did really well throughout the day and I think he enjoyed it himself. I would say "Small World" was his favorite ride as well as Erik's. And needless to say Hector and my favorite, because we got some rest there!

Here are some picture of the day:

Adam in aw.. he was truely amazed of everything he saw.

and here is the birthday boy and birthday girl. :)

4th of July weekend started off very eventful.
My husband had gone up to Northern California on a business trip. Since I go into work pretty early, I couldn't wake up the kids so early, so we stayed at my parents house on Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Thursday I got out of work and went to pick up the kids at my parents. Since my husband was still going to be a while before he got home, we hung out for a while at my parents.
Erik and my nephew Andrew were playing chase. Andrew was chasing Erik around the house. Erik came running 1 way and was looking back to make sure Andrew wasn't catching up to him. Well Adam was running towards him when WHAM... they crashed into eachother. Erik being much bigger than Adam knocked him over and he fell down and hit his poor little head right on the cement. It hurt me more than it hurt him! I immediately ran to him to pick him up and he had a really big lump on the back of his head. He then got really sleepy, so since i didn't want him to fall asleep, I took him a bath to try to wake him up, however that didn't help. I was hesistant about taking him in to the emergency room. Or more like scared. I HATE hospitals, but then again, who doesn't?
My older sister and her family then arrived as they were picking up Andrew to take him home. She convinced me to take Adam in to the hospital to be on the safe side. She and my Goddaugther Bianca were kind enough to accompany me, although I told them to go home.

We arrived at the hospital about 7:00pm (the accidient had happend about 6:30pm)
it was so busy, and I don't know why they call it emergency. Adam did not get seen until past 12:00AM!!!! before he got seen, I decided to call my husband. He had mentioned to me that he'd be getting home from his trip about 1:30am. So I figured he wouldn't see my car and would get nervous. I also was going to call him AFTER we saw the doctor, but looking at the time it took to get seen, I called him right before. I told him what happend and he immediatly got nervous.

Finally the doctor saw Adam. He asked if he had passed out, vomited, or anything like that. Thankfully, I said no to everything.
SO.. he gave me the choice. "We can do the CTscan, however I have to warn you, since Adam is so little, it could "fry" part of his brain and also there is a risk of getting cancer 30 years from now. It has been proven." That being said, I turned down the option and decided to watch him all night. I was told to wake him every 2 hours. So I did that. After dropping off my sister and Bianca at their house, we got home about 1:30AM.
My husband then go home at 2:30am. needless to say it was a tiring day on Friday. We were suppose to hit the beach on Friday but since we didn't expect Adam's little accident and didn't expect my husband to get home so late, we didn't do much.

On 4th of July we had a family gathering at our house.
We were actually invited to a kids b-day party at a real ranch with ponies and all. BUT since we have the pool and it's a 4th of July tradition that everyone comes over to our house, we sadly declined the b-day party..
We had a nice time though. We grilled some burgers and hotdogs, the kids swam and then we "wasted" money on fireworks. Those damn fireworks are so expensive. Since we didn't plan with time on going somewhere to watch a free fireworks show, we just sucked it up and bought a box of fireworks.

Sunday was a normal routine.

And in other good news, my brother in law Henry completed his 24th round of chemo. His last MRI was stable. Thank God. And not only that, but this 24th round of chemo was his last one. NO MORE CHEMO.. He will still get MRI's every 2 months I believe. GOD WILLING the chemo break will be FOREVER!!!

until next time. :)

The good and the sucky

2009-06-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks have included both good and sucky days.

The good..

We took the boys to a local fair at our church. Erik really really enjoys any type of amusement park, so the local fair was perfect!
they sure enjoyed themselves.
the only thing was that Adam was not able to get on many rides due to his age, but nonetheless, that little guys enjoys anything that is outdoors.

here is Hector getting dizzy with Adam on the Merry go round.

Erik coming down the slide.

on the bumper cars

and now Adam and I getting ready to get dizzy too!

one day as I got to my parents house to pick up the kids, I found Adam and my dad enjoying eachother's company.

My dad had this brillant idea to put some ropes where they have some flower beds.
Why? because Adam has a habbit of stepping all over the flower beds.

um.. it didn't take long for him to figure out how to get across.

The boys are growing up too fast. They are getting ready to get their drivers license.

and a girlfriend maybe?
(note: they did this on their own!!! I was just snapping away the pictures!)they had no shame. :)

The Sucky..

One of my co-workers got laid off. It was really sad to see him go. He worked with the company about 4 years and it's like family. I mean you go to work everyday for 8 hours with the same people over and over, so it's like family. I am surprised anyone was even let go this far. The business had been really slow for a long time and unfortunately someone had to get laid off. But that wasn't all, everyones salary was cut. THAT REALLY SUCKS. We were told that they would review the business again in 3 months and possibly give us back our normal salary. Which probably means won't happen!!
although I am tired of my job, I am thankful to have it.

June 7th was my sister in law's 1 year anniversary since her death. Unfortuneatly, she lost her battle to soon against breast cancer. I knew this was going to be a really tough day for my mother in law. Since she lives in Mexico City, I thought of sending her flowers to cheer her up a bit. I found this website that actually delivers flowers, and you know what, they actually did get delivered! When I spoke to her, she was crying and she did tell me she loved my thoughtfullness. Well at least I made her smile a bit on that day. I wish I could bring back my sister in law. If I could, I would also bring back my son. But they are together in heaven.

On Saturday I accompanied my parents to look for some cemetary plots for them.
That is NEVER fun. Unfortunately, it's something we all need. So they are thinking of buying the land for now. sigh.. :(
I hope it is a LONG LONG time before they need them.

This isn't sucky, just thought I'd add it in. :)

The boys got a new pair of tennis shoes. I was able to find a pair of Vans that matched in both sizes!
how cute are they!!

until next time.

Overdue update!

2009-05-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated.

I have been having a problem with blogger, so excuse if there are a lot of mistakes with spelling and any other problems. I think it may have to do with the new version of internet explorer that I downloaded!

Lot's of celebrations these past few weekends.

Since my last update, we celebrated my sister Jolene's , b-day. She has been busy herself, so she hasn't updated her own blog.

we celebrated Easter
we took the boys to a local park.

Here is Adam and daddy walking towards the park.

Here is Erik getting his face painted. He wanted 3 Easter eggs painted on him.

We colored a few eggs at home and he took them to my sister's house.

Adam in his Easter outfit.

giving his godfather Henry a kiss as we arrive to their house.
Speaking of Henry, he had a clean MRI! Thanks Be to God!!!!!!!
1 more round of chemo and he will take a break. God willing it will be a break forever! Hopefully he won't need it anymore because he will beat this horrible disease
Go Henry!!

We did the March of Dimes walk (walk 4 babies)in memory of Diego. That is a very special walk in which we help save babies lives in Diego's name. Our goal was to reach $200, however with the generosity of friends and family, we passed our goal and reached $560!!
Adam almost didn't make the walk this year. He was feeling a bit ill, but he tried his best to walk for his brother.

here is our team.
Diego's Wings

The day after we celebrated my brother in law Gerric's birthday!
sorry no pictures. :(

Here is another celebration.
Erik got chosen to be student of the month!

The next celebration was Erik's first communion!
2 years worth of hard work. You did it Erik!!! So proud of him!

He chose Jolene & Gerric to be his communion God parents.

following weekend was my God daugther's confirmation!
excellent job Bianca!

The following day we celebrated mother's day.
Mother's day has been bittersweet for me. I am happy for having my children with me, however I always seem to miss Diego more on that day. I always wonder what could have been.

This past weekend we celebrated my sister Emma's birthday!
Happy birthday again Emma!!!!!

This past Sunday wasn't so good.
as we all know, we had a little shaker.
Well, we had an accident at home which I will try to make it short.

My husband was watching T.V. in the living room and since he gets so distracted when watching a movie, he didn't notice that I took Adam to his room to sleep.
I put him in his crib and turned on the monitor, gave his his milk, turned his light
on and left his room.
2 minutes later I heard him crying, so I walked into his room and had the door shut so that no light would come in.
suddenly that is when it started shaking. Erik was using his computer in his room and I just heard Hector say "honey"!!! he thought I was outside washing (we have our washer & dryer in the garage. I grabbed Adam and was carrying him out the door, when Hector and Erik came in barging thru the door (Hector was also coming into Adam's room to grab him). Well since it was dark, Hector didn't notice I was already running out. Oh my goodness, we had a pretty bad impact. We crashed into each other (he hit his nose behind Adam's head, or maybe it was my hand) and with the impact I was pushed all the way back and fell on my back. I swear I thought I was going to hit the back of my head. I just yelled as I fell, and then Hector turned on the light. Oh my God, he had the worst bloody nose. He was bleeding a lot. He told me to run outside. But by that point, it had stopped shaking and me and the kids were in the hallway. I went to check on Hector and it was like he had a faucet under his nose. He was bleeding that bad. There was blood from Adam's room all the way to the kitchen where he went to wash up. He must of bled for like 2 hours. I was getting worried, but luckily it stopped and all he had left was a soar nose and me a pretty bad back ache (and I feel like my bottom is all bruised up). but luckily the 4 of us are ok. And I am thankful my entire family was ok as well.
We learned a lesson. We now have a plan of who gets who when another shaker comes around. God willing it won't be for a LONG LONG time!

and today, was a very special day.
last week Erik had told me that they were going to sing to the mothers for "mother's day". He asked me if I could come. I had told him I would try but I work kind of far. He told me "mommy just tell your boss, your going to be late, can you please come?" well I felt really bad. So I made it a point to go.
wow, I am so glad I went. It was beautiful.
There weren't that many students. It was about 30 2nd and 3rd graders. They lined up the kids by each table. As the mom's walked in, you had to find your child and sit at that table.
They sang 3 songs. 1st song was about family and the 2nd song was about "us" mom's. I hadn't heard them before. They were really nice songs. But the 3rd song, they actually came off the stage and went to their own mom and sang this song to us.
It actually made me cry. It was so touching.
I felt really bad though for some kids. Some were singing to an empty space as their mom's were not able to make it. :(
I was really glad I went and Erik also thanked me for coming to see him. It was totally worth being late for work.
Then they sat with us, made a paper flower and then brought each of us a cupcake to share.
I played that song again at work, thinking about Erik. I was so proud of him.

I think that is all I have for now. I am sure I missed some stuff, but I guess that's what happens when you don't blog for a while. I thought I didn't have much, and then suddenly I had so much to blog about I got lazy!

oh and here is a picture of Erik in his Karate uniform which I had mentioned I'd post a while ago.

and because I am usually the one behind the camera. Here is Adam and me.

until next time!

not much to blog about

2009-03-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have blogged, but not much going on.

Let's see, since we were all sick the last time, what have we been up to?

I went to a baby shower a few weeks ago. My co-worker was pregnant with her first baby.
She was due March 30th. Baby Giada decided to come on the 19th.
she is a cutie.
I was going to post her picture here, but I shouldn't without getting the mommy's permission.

My brother turned 40! yes 40..
My sisters and I planned him a last minute surprise party.
It was a little difficult to get some of his friend together, but we managed.
He was really surprised and appreciative. I am glad we were able to make it memorable for him.
He is divorced, so if it weren't for us who planned this for him, who else would do it for him?

We put Erik in a karate class for beginners.
He likes it so far. He got his uniform yesterday. He tried it on, he looks cute in it. They recommend you wash it before wearing it for the practice. So I will have to wash it (it smells like paint) and take a picture of him next time he goes to practice.

I also put him in a "shake it up" class.
He is so picky with food. I thought this class might help him a bit to try some new things. Basically it's a class where you make your own shakes with different flavors and then you drink your own.
He enjoys both classes very much.

And Adam.. well, he is just too little to put him in any class.
I am thinking about putting him in a "mommy and me" class for swimming lessons.
I think that is the only one where I can put him in and he is too young for the other classes. I will have to check out something for him though to keep him busy. Although he always finds something to get busy with!! Oh how I love my boys.

I think that is about it.
until next time!

We are a sick family

2009-03-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

not as in gross, but ill!

since Erik had bronchitis, Adam was having the same syptoms last week. He was a sad little guy and when he is sad, then you know he isn't feeling well. So Last week I took him into urgent care. Those people at urgent care must know me by now!! I don't really like to take them into urgent care, but the hours are so much better and so much easier to get them in!

luckily he was ok. just a little cold and cough. Pediatrician prescribed him some cough medicine. 3 days later. he was good again.

Monday, Erik was back at school.
AND on the Friday before, I had spoken to his teacher over the phone to setup a parent conference for this week. She told me the kids would come out of school 1 hour early. I completely forgot to tell my husband.

So Monday he made arrangements with my mom and Adam to pick up Erik at school. She was doing things around the house when she hears someone banging on her back door.. she opens it and there was my poor little boy. HE WALKED TO MOM'S HOUSE ALL BY HIMSELF!!!!!!!!!!!! but he was so proud of himself. Mom said he was standing there with a big grin. I felt horrible for forgetting he was coming out 1 hour early!
Thank God he made it home safely though as there are a couple of streets he needs to cross. Luckily my mom and husband have given him some practice shots walking home, but walking behind him and checking if he looks both ways to make sure no cars are coming before crossing the street..
I felt like such a horrible mother. first time i forget.

Tuesday I wasn't feeling that great. I felt I was coming down with something.
Wednesday morning I had a throbbing headache and body ache and a fever to top it off. so I stayed home. My sweet mother still insisted for Hector to bring Adam to her so that I could rest. boy did that help. I think I slept all day long. I just could not get up. Not because I was tired, just because I wasn't feeling well!
But luckily I was better Thursday and back to work.

Thursday however Erik woke up with a fever again!!!!!! had him stay home from school and rest and rest. Luckily he was ok in the evening again.

Thursday night it was my husband's turn to feel sick.
he took some cold pills and just rested in the evening.. He's feeling better today Friday though, Thank God!

We are just waiting for the weekend to relax a bit.
hopefully no-one else will get sick!

Laid back weekend at home

2009-03-03T13:39:00.001-08:00

Well this past weekend, we didn't do anything.
Since Erik stood home from school on Friday because of a fever it continued until Saturday morning.
He told me his ear was hurting. So I took him into urgent care.
They checked him out and his ears were fine. They did however prescribe a cough suppressant and a nasal spray. He seems to cough a lot in the morning as soon as he wakes up. We were told for him to stay home all weekend and rest.
So rest we did. Well he did, because I did my usual stuff. Laundry, I cooked on Saturday and just things around the house. Anything that was needed from the pharmacy or market, my husband did that.
Adam was a bit bored so I took him walking around the block which he enjoyed very much.

Then Sunday Erik still had a fever. So since we were all suppose to go to church, I left the boys with Hector and I went by myself representing the family.:)

Monday fever still didn't go away. It seemed to be off and on. It was off for a long time, then back again. So no school again.
I called the pediatrician, which of course idiots didn't call me back.
I HATE calling the doctor's office. As much as I insist, they never return my calls! So I will call the insurance company to make a complaint. I like the office because it's nice and clean and they also offer urgent care, but enough is enough.

This morning Tuesday, I thought Erik would be back at school. But the fever was back!
So my husband took him in to the doctor's and came back with results.
He has bronchitis. He will stay home the rest of the week and hopefully back at school and recuperated by Monday.

The past few weeks

2009-02-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I have blogged. Sometimes I feel I don't have much to blog, but then so many things happen, and I just get kinda lazy to type it up! But here are a few things we have done in the past few weeks. I hadn't posted pictures from Diego's b-day celebration.

My husband and I put together a "clown" theme. He cut out a clown made out of wood and I painted it. All the decorations were very colorful, so I was happy with the end result.

my sister Jolene made this sign.

my parents took Diego a teddy bear along with some white balloons which we let go.

My other sister Emma and her family brought a very cute baby duck flower arrangement

I didn't have the time to make him his b-day cake to take on the day of his celebration . Last year and this year we ordered a flower cake WHICH I TOTALLY FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF!!!DUH! but since it was his b-day month, I still ended up doing it for him that way it would last the entire month.

when we were up at the cemetery, Erik read out a beautiful poem to his little brother as well.
Will need to post the video later.

Then we sang happy b-day and released the balloons up in the air with a song that reminds me of Diego.

The rest of the weeks in bullets.

Valentines Day
My husband gave me flowers and we went to an early dinner because it was a Saturday and we figured all restaurants would be packed. So we decided to go as a family. There was a new Chinese buffet that opened up by our house, so we decided to try it out. I must say we have had better buffets in the past. But at least we tried it. After that we went to 31 Flavors and got some yummy ice cream.

During that week Adam got a little sick. He had a bit of a fever and his chest was really congested. So I decided to take him into urgent care. Here are the boys while waiting for the doctor. in spite of Adam not feeling too well, he still managed to smile at the camera. Have I mentioned he loves the camera??!!

last weekend my family came over for a get together and we had some yummy food. Since it was a last minute plan, I didn't get the chance to make anything so my husband and I decided to order food. It was quite tastey.

The next morning, my sister Jolene came over for breakfast. It was suppose to be her and her husband Gerric, but poor Gerric was sick in bed. We owe you breakfast Gerric!!

This past week Erik made his first reconciliation. We had been practicing the past few weeks. He said he was a bit nervous. The service was actually very nice. I didn't think pictures would be allowed but everyone was taking pictures, so I took out my camera too! Here is Erik coming out of the confession room.

The FIRST thing he told me was "mommy I wasn't nervous!!" He was so proud of himself as was I.
Then we went to different stations as a family where I washed his hands in Holy water and my husband read out a verse to him. It was all just very nice.

Erik asked my sister Jolene to be his 1st communion God mother . She happily accepted.

She is already his Baptism Godmother, but HE chose her again. God willing he will do his 1st communion in May. He still has yet to ask the Godfather. Hmm.. I wonder who that will be? :)

In other news: Adam turned 14 months on the 21st of Feb. and I had forgotten to mention that he is now drinking from a sippee cup. We have weened him off the bottle. He's been off the bottle for about 2 months now! Only ONCE in a while I will give it to him at night in case he is having trouble to go to sleep. but the majority of the time, he drinks from a sippee cup or out of a straw. and since he started taking steps since before his 1st b-day. He is just all over the place now, walking and running..

and Erik for the longest time we have had the hardest time to get him to sleep in his own room THE WHOLE NIGHT. He always comes to our bedroom at different times, but for a whole week, he has been sleeping in his own bed, in his own room the ENTIRE NIGHT. that is big, trust me!!

My friend from New Jersey whom I met online through Diego's website. She came down a few months ago to San Diego, however we didn't get the chance to meet. But we met online because unfortuneately, we share the same pain. Well she is pregnant. Due in Sep 2009. So good luck to her!! My prayers are with her as I understand her fear.

Henry's MRI is also Next week (3/4/09). He is constantly in my prayers. God willing it will be a clean MRI.

My older sister also started her own blog! check it out when you have a moment. and if you are a lurker, please comment! I would like to see how many people read my blog. thanks!

Today my poor little Erik stayed home from school.
He had a fever so didn't get him to school so that he could get some rest.

sorry for the long post, but I thought I didn't have much to write but it looks like I did!

Happy Heavenly Birthday Diego!

2009-02-02T09:31:00.001-08:00

Happy 2nd birthday baby.

wow.. 2 years ago I woke up in the middle of the night not feeling you. I went to the hospital thinking I was overreacting. Daddy stayed at home with your big brother because I figured I was going straight to the office from there. I still have his text message on my phone asking me how me and you were doing at the hospital. As soon as I got his text message was when I called him and told him that I was told you "may have left us". He immediatly took your brother to grandma "mom" and came to the hospital. He arrived, then shortly after "mita" showed up too. Then the ultrasound technician showed up to do the ultrasound and deliver the horrible news. That was when we just became "numb". What was suppose to be my last day at work before going on maternity leave, turned out to be a "bereavement leave" .I had NO idea that we would come back home to an empty crib and a destroyed heart. Daddy and I held you in our arms. As painful as it was to let you go, I wish I could go back to see you and hold you one more time. I regret so many things that I didn't get to do with you in the short time we met and said good-bye. I was in shock and not thinking. I didn't want your brother or cousins to see you. The only ones that met you were your grandparents, aunts Emma "mita" and Jolene, your uncle Gerric and daddy and me of course. Some of the other family members didn't see you. I guess I just wanted everyone to remember you in a special way. I didn't want them to see you lifeless and cold. But at least your big brother got to see you for 5 minutes at the funeral home when I dressed you because HE asked to see "the angel". I DON'T know what I was thinking and I regret not taking pictures with you. The only pictures I have of you are the ones from the hospital which we put in your website. I see other websites where parents along with other family members post pictures of them holding their stillborn baby. For me, pictures are suppose to be happy moments. That day was and will forever be the most painful day of my life. Nobody knows how I feel. I don't even know if you even know either. I guess only another mother that has been thru the same knows that ugly pain. Some people think it's something that it's done and over. It's not. It's a BIG hole in my heart. Part of me has been buried with you. I still cry for you, I still yearn for you, I still wonder what you'd look like now and most of all I still wonder why you left us. Why didn't God give us the opportunity to be together as a family. I know things happen for a reason which only God knows. If you wouldn't have left, maybe your brother Adam wouldn't be here. I can't imagine life without him either. But I want my 3 boys here with daddy and me. That completes our family. I just want you to know that I LOVE you so much and continue to miss you EVERY-SINGLE-DAY. I know you are constantly watching over us. Sleep peacefully baby. Until we meet again.

p.s. I hope the balloons that we released somehow reached you. Did you feel the love? I sure did. And I know you were proud and honored to have your big brother Erik read you that beautiful poem.

Go on and have fun at your birthday party honey. Watch out, the terrible two's have just begun. :)

I LOVE YOU.

Vegas update

2009-01-27T14:51:00.000-08:00

This past weekend my husband took me to Las Vegas to celebrate my birthday.
We had a lovely time. We left Friday around 4:00pm. I got out of work at noon, but after picking Erik up from school and dropping 1 car off at home, then driving to my sisters house to drop off the kids, time flew.
We were well on our way to Vegas. It was raining, it was Friday, so the time it took us to get out of L.A. was ridiculous. We got to Vegas around 10:00pm.
We stayed at the Stratosphere Hotel. We had stayed there a long time ago when a friend of the family got married in Vegas. I have to say I liked it better this time. Although it's at the end of the strip, it's a nice cozy hotel. We checked in and then we went downstairs to play a bit on the slot machines. Of course lost money.

Next morning, got up and we had breakfast there at the buffet downstairs. We didn't really care for it, but it filled up our tummies.
We then headed to the Prim outlets right across the street from Whiskey Pete's.
I bought shoes with a gift card that my parents gave me for my b-day. I love shoes and Hector loves jackets. We both can't get enough of each. So of course we walked into Wilson's. He really liked a jacket which the entire store had a sale for 70% off. I told him to get it and that would be his valentines gift. After walking around for a while, we bought a few things here and there. We headed back to the hotel.
He gave me the choice of seeing a show or a night club. We went to the hotel lobby to see the choices of shows. I wasn't all that crazy about them, so decided on a night club.
He did his research and found TAO at the Venetian hotel. It's suppose to be one of the best night clubs in Vegas. So we bought tickets online so we wouldn't have to wait in line. Then we headed to Paris hotel for dinner. That was a very good dinner. Especially their crepes.. mmm, mmm, mmm!!
After dinner, went back to the hotel to shower and get ready to boogie our booties.

Got to the nightclub and we had a few drinks and we danced. We were there for a few hours, then we went back to the hotel. I threw on some pants because we were going to go up to the tower to take pictures, so I wanted to be nice and warm.
I had never been up the tower. It was an amazing Vegas view.
Then they were getting ready to close the tower, so we went back downstairs and played the remaining balance I had on a rewards card. Of course lost that too.

Next morning, we got up and checked out from the room itself.
We then headed to the Rio hotel. That was really good too. If it's one thing I love about Vegas, it's the variety of food!
We had brunch, then headed to the gas station to fill up and started on our way back to L.A.

This time Vegas was a bit more empty. It wasn't as crowded as it usually is. But it was perfect. Perfect food, perfect hotel, and most perfect husband.

We picked up the kids whom we both missed so much.
We were happy to see them. They were well taken care of. So that being said, we will be taking them to Nina and Nino's house MORE OFTEN!!! LOL..

THANK YOU EMMA & HENRY FOR WATCHING THE KIDS. NEXT TIME IT'S YOUR TURN AND WE WILL WATCH YOUR KIDS.

Happy Birthday to me and Happy 13 months to Adam!

2009-01-21T21:08:00.000-08:00

yup, yours truely is turning 1 year younger today.

My family had a family gathering at my sister's house this past Saturday.
I got some goody gifts. Although times are tough for everyone and I had forwarned my family that I didn't want any gifts, they never listen. A simple happy birthday makes me happy.

My co-workers took me out to lunch today too. It was quite tasty.

Then when I went to pick up my kids at my parents house, my husband was there too with a cake. So they sang happy birthday to me again. :) mom made the best dinner too.
stuffed bell peppers. mmm. mmm. mmm.

My husband will be taking me to Vegas this weekend. YIPEE!!!!! He already made arrangements for the sitter too. My LOVELY eldest sister and Henry will be so kind to keep the kids this weekend. What more can I ask for. An awesome husband, healthy kids and an awesome family.

Adam also turned 13 months today. Little munchkin is growing too fast!!

Thank you officer jerk for letting me off the hook!

2009-01-14T10:12:00.001-08:00

So last night when I got off work, I was driving to my parents house to pick up my kids. I had already gotten off the freeway and was driving on surface streets.

As I came to a 4 corner intersection. I stopped at the stop sign. There was a police car in front of me, however he was more towards the right as if he were going to make a right turn! So, I drove up to the stop sign, looked both ways and kept going straight. I noticed the police car was now behind me. As I approached another stop sign. It was another 4 corner intersection. I stopped. There was another car that arrived at the intersection to the right of me. I ARRIVED FIRST. So the guy that was driving that car, gave me the sign to go ahead and go. So I went!

Well all of a sudden I hear the damn siren and the red lights behind me.
and I said out loud to myself. "you are effing kidding me".

So I pulled over and left my car on, and put my window down.
The stupid officer comes over to my window and says "can you turn off your car mam".
ok.. done.

"Can I see your license, registration, and proof of insurance"?
So as I was getting all 3, he says "the reason I stopped you was because you are being an aggressive driver". WHAT???
so I asked him "what do you mean".. He said, he was at the previous intersection of so and so street. And since he noticed I didn't wait long enough, I passed him up. (hello, it looked like you were going to make a right turn, you A-hole".
then he said I didn't stop long enough at the 2nd intersection (where the guy let me go first). I told him I arrived first! So since the guy let me go, I went!

and he comes out with "unfortunately, that is not what I saw".. OF COURSE NOT. YOU ARE GOING TO SEE WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE, YOU ASS.

so he takes back my info and takes it to his car where another cop is checking all my info thru their car computer or whatever the hell they normally do.

As I am sitting in my car, he comes back about 3 minutes later, and I hear him ask the other police officer "she has no citations?".. So he comes back to me and asks me "how long have you been driving"? I said "sheesh, like 15 years." I am sure it's more, but I said about 15. Then he asks "have you ever been given a citation before?" I said "no". Then he says "are you in a hurry, are you coming from somewhere". I said "I am coming from work and going to pick up my kids" he says "ok. I am going to give you a warning this time. You need to stop at each intersection at least 3 seconds and be less aggressive with the other drivers." Or he may have said respectful with other drivers..
I told him, "i think what you saw is that YES i have a habit of stopping, then I drive up to pass up the stop line, because I CAN'T see to the left or right if any cars are coming".. He says " yes, but when you excelerate, you move up to fast and so it looks like you are going to go on. that is why the other driver told you to go". I GOT THERE FIRST AND I DID STOP YOU ASSHOLE. but of course I didn't say that to him. You can't win an asshole with a black and white car and uniform. He was telling me about driving more safely, and who knows what else he was saying. I jut kept saying "ok" "ok".. I felt like telling him to go stop some real crime, don't waste your damn time stopping me for stupid reasons. but anyway, he just told me " to drive safely and have a good evening".

THANK YOU OFFICER JERK.

So that was my highlight for the evening.

I still have a clean driving record. No tickets (Parking tkts don't count)nor accidents.
KNOCK ON WOOD.

D day for you nasty termites!

2009-01-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

Well today is D day for the termites.
It's something we should have done a while ago, but with the holidays coming and Adam's birthday we decided to post pone it for a few months. The day has now arrived.

This past weekend and early this week I have been cleaning out the kitchen pantry, cabinets and refrigerator. We hadn't gone to the super market for a while for the same reason. It would be easier to go thru this. Although it's still a pain in the butt. All the opened items, had to be stored in these 'special bags' they gave us. Fridge stuff was also put in those bags and stuffed back in the fridge.

Adams' toys are all stashed away in my trunk right now. Since he puts everything in his mouth, we decided to put his toys in my trunk in boxes and also some of Erik's toys were put in the 'special bags' and left at home. That way we won't have to wash every single thing afterwards.
We are staying at my parents house for 3 nights. This morning my husband said the "fumigators" showed up at 8:00am and he barely had time to get out! He was getting the crib out because they told us they recommended the crib should not be in the house. So my husband had to take it down and put it outside covered up. Bird cage had to be moved away to a different area. So many things to be done. But stupid little bugs , well not so little. They are probably so fat from chewing up the house, should be dieing now!

That is the first big expense for 2009. But I don't care as health is more important.

Good-bye 2008 , please bring something better for 2009

2008-12-31T07:19:00.000-08:00

Wow, the year has come and gone in the wink of an eye.

2007 Diego passed away
Henry was diagnosed with brain cancer.
My sister in law was diagnosed with breast cancer.

2008 my sister in law lost her battle.

I am almost afraid of ringing in the new year.

As we say good-bye to 2008 we can only wish for better things to come.

cheers to a HEALTHY 2009.

Misc stuff and X-Mas

2008-12-29T11:04:00.000-08:00

Last few weeks have been sort of busy with planning Adam's birthday party and x-mas.
His b-day was on Dec 21st and we celebrated "Elmo style". Although most people didn't show up last minute, Adam had a good time. Especially with his very own cake!

I attended a retreat with Erik for catechism. It was only for about 1 1/2 hour, but it was really nice to spend some "quality time" with him. They talked about sins and how God washes the sins away when you ask for forgiveness. The kids were asked to write down a sin on a paper. It was cut out in a form of a flower made of construction paper. They were suppose to fold the petal in, and put in a bowl of water. It was amazing to see how the flower opened up and the writing disappeared and the flower went to the bottom of the bowl. So that made them understand that when you are really sorry for your sins, you ask God for forgiveness and that he hears you by opening the flower and washing away the sin. But of course, that doesn't mean they can sin all the time. But I think they got the picture.
They also had the kids stand in front of the parents as we blessed their head, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, heart, hands, and feet. I was getting teary eyed as we repeated the beautiful words said to us. Erik would just look up at me, and give me those dimples while smiling and knotting yes at the same time.
We ended the evening with everyone lighting a candle. It was really nice.

I called in sick 1 day at work. I wasn't the one that was sick. It was actually both boys. They both had a cold and since it was raining cats and dogs, I didn't want them to leave the warmth of the house out into the cold. So I decided to stay home and just play nurse with my boys.

Went out for my annual X-Mas lunch with the office. We went to a steakhouse in Culver City.I had a fillet Mignon and it was pretty good. Not as good as previous years. The last 2 years we went to a french restaurant and that was a delicious piece of meat!

Erik and I made cookies for x-mas. I would have preferred to make them from scratch, but we didn't really have enough time. So we just bought the pre-made dough and we rolled it out and cut out different festive figures. Erik put icing and he was just happy with that.

taste approved by the chef!!

Adam was not 100% better. He actually got worse. So since it was his 1 year checkup anyway he was suppose to get a round of vaccine shots. Well we found out he had his 1st ear infection. poor baby. And he never cried about it. He is currently taking antibiotics for that and he is much better too! Needless to say, he didn't get the shots because of his cold. He has another appointment for next week. Thank God, the tossing and turning at night time only lasted like 2 nights, x-mas eve being one of them.
instead of dressing him up, I just put on his pajamas so that he would be nice and comfy.
We were at my parents house eating my mom's delicious tamales.
Y-U-M-M-Y!!! It was a nice evening.
X-mas day we woke up around 7:30 to open the few gifts that we had under our tree. Erik ripped through his gifts right away, while we helped Adam open his up. The expression on your kids face is just priceless. Especially when they say "this is the best Christmas ever!)Santa brought me a MUCH needed navigation system. I really needed it because I am the queen of getting lost! So instead of calling my husband , now I can ask "Samantha".

After we got dressed and went to our neighbors to wish them a Merry Christmas, we all met up at my sisters house and exchanged gifts there for the kids.
With the economy being so tough, we decided on gifts only for the kids. I still got a couple of nice tops though! We gave a priceless gift to each couple. A family calender. With pictures of everyone with events that have happened through the past year. We then left to visit Diego to take him a gift at the cemetery. We were suppose to go early in the morning, but since we were suppose to meet at my sisters early, we decided to go visit him after. We were only there briefly as it was FREEZING up in the hill so went home and just relaxed.

Friday we were suppose to meet up with a friend that flew from NJ, but they didn't get a rental car. They actually flew into San Diego and were suppose to meet us 1/2 way, but since the car rental didn't work out, our lunch didn't either.

Saturday we had plans in the evening with a friend (also co-worker). He had a party at his house. All Nepalese food. It was quite tasty! My husband, the boys , and I enjoyed ourselves. We left around 10:00pm though as Adam was getting fussy. As soon as we got in the car, he fell asleep.

Sunday I spoke with my friend again from NJ. This was the first time I had talked to her as I always talk to her over e-mail. She actually found me through Diego's website. They had the car rental, but it just wasn't possible this time for us to meet. They plan on coming to L.A. hopefully soon, but will hopefully meet her in person! Unfortunately we share the same pain and our angel children have really sparked a friendship with both of their mommies. After running errands, I did the usual, laundry and just getting ready for the dreadful Monday.
This week should hopefully be OK at work

Guess who turned 1?

2008-12-21T21:36:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday baby!! 1 year ago you made your entrance into this world. You have truly made a difference in our lives. I never thought I would smile again. But you have really made that change in me. You have brought so much love, laughter and happiness back into our home. And you have brought the entire family joy. You were truly sent from heaven. The year flew by so quick, but it's been the best.
I love you so much my little munchkin.

Here are some pictures of when you first arrived:

mommy anxiously waiting your arrival

The best doctor. He really took care of me so that you'd arrive safely in my arms.

mommy and daddy happy to finally have you in our arms.

Grandma "mom" bringing your biggest brother Erik in to meet you for the very first time:

I know your 2nd older brother Diego had met you way before us. You are one lucky baby. You have your own personal angel

and here you are 1 year later.
You are a blessing..

Wishing you many many more healthy birthdays.

It was a full house!!

2008-12-15T21:10:00.000-08:00

This weekend was kinda busy for us.
On Friday after work I decided to stop by church to take the Virgen Mary some flowers. My husband took the kids home, so my parents accompanied me. It was C-R-A-Z-Y!! It took me about 45 minutes to find a parking space, and then we finally got off and since there was a mass, we decided to stay.
Then I dropped off my parents off at their house and went back home to pick up my husband and kids. We were headed to my older sister's house to pick up Henry's truck. My husband asked to borrow Henry's truck because we were going to clean up the back patio as we are getting ready to have a party. Adam's 1st b-day party!!! yey, I can't believe how fast the time has gone and I have enjoyed having him so much. He's brought me so much happiness. He's brought back happiness for all of us. He smiles for everything. He laughs at everything. He's just an amazing little guy. Love him to pieces.

Saturday, it was a chilly day. I didn't help my husband in the clean up as I said I would. I couldn't take Adam outside as I didn't want him to get sick. I got a few things done before heading to my sisters house again to pick up my nieces and nephew as they were all sleeping over our little house.
we had 5 kids plus us 2 adults. (7 people)!!! it was quite nice though. the kids running around, playing hide and seek. I just wish I had a bigger house though. I think they enjoyed themselves though. We ordered them pizza and those kids can sure eat!!
Next morning, we headed out to visit Diego at his gravesite. Luckily my sister had let us borrow her expedition, otherwise we would have gone in 2 cars!
we were only at the cemetary for about 10 minutes as it was cold. The kids only got off for about 1 minute to say hello to Diego. I had told them to stay in the car. But i thought it was cute that THEY wanted to get off to say hello to him. Then I sent them back inside the car.
We then headed to my parents house to celebrate my dad's b-day. His real b-day isn't until Tuesday Dec 16, but my mom made one of his favorite dishes on Sunday. Pozole.. yummy!!!
After dad opened his gifts and we sang happy b-day to him, we left. We went to go buy our X-mas tree. We got a Noble fir this year . We got home to decorate it and Adam just loves pulling on it. He also loves to break x-mas decorations that I have put on the coffee table. He's already broken about 3!!
it was a full weekend. Next weekend will be busier as it will be Adam's party on Sunday!

and today Monday, I am home with my kids. Erik has been having a bad cough and he's been under the weather for a few days now. Adam woke up a few times last night with a runny nose. So since it was raining cats and dogs today, I decided to stay home with them. I didn't want them going out in thise cold weather. but tomorrow, I am going back to work and Erik back at school. boo!

until next time.

Here we go again

2008-12-02T10:40:00.000-08:00

It seems like we can't stop these family health issues from getting worse!

It's just been non stop and I have been feeling depressed about it.

After Diego passed away, Henry got diagnosed with brain cancer. Then we found out my sister in law in Mexico had breast cancer. She battled it for about 9 months, then passed away this past June.

Now Henry's dad ( my brother in law- my older sister's husband)is having health issues and keeps going in and out of hospitals and he is just not doing well. Henry went to visit him and just got back from Guatemala last Wednesday. He had just been released from the hospital right before Henry came back, now today his dad is back in the hospital.

We also got a phone call from my husbands family. His dad is also in the hospital.
At first they thought his sugar level had dropped because he is diabetic, but it has to do with his liver. He used to drink when he was younger and he was just a bad father figure. I have only met him a few times when we have gone to Mexico.
My MIL left him a long time ago, but of course people tell her what is going on and I am sure she feels bad. She had a miserable life with him as well as my husband and siblings. Their dad would come home drunk and beat up my MIL with all the kids watching and also put a gun to my husbands head (HIS OWN SON) and curse them all out.
Too much to say,but anyway, his dad is his dad. He really has no feelings for him, but I can tell he doesn't like to hear that his dad is not doing well. Who does??

I don't know how bad my FIL is, but I can only pray he gets better with his health. He is already blind due to the diabetes. His current mistress left him. I guess the saying "they will pay in the future" is true. He did so much harm to my MIL and her kids that now it seems he is paying.
I wish things would have been different and that our kids would get to know their paternal grandfather. The last time I saw him was at my sis in laws funeral and he did ask for our kids BY NAME.. so I did appreciate that.

I just PRAY that all these health issues/deaths stop! I know we all have to go sometime unfortunately, but all this is too soon.. boom, boom, boom all in less than 2 years.. geez. We need a break.

If you are reading this, please keep my brother in law Henry, his dad , and my FIL in your prayers.

thanks

Catching up again!

2008-12-02T10:05:00.000-08:00

I seem to forget to update my blog. Or I sometimes feel like giving up, but then I kind of have to push myself to update it. I can then look back to it in the future. So it kind of serves as a diary as well.

let's see, since my last post:

We had parent conferences for Erik. All is good. He just needs to work a little more at being independent! For some reason, he likes having someone sit next to him and check his work while he's doing it. So that is something his teacher and I need to work on.

We also had a conference with this speech therapist. His teacher was also included as well as the principal.
This is his 4th year in speech therapy and he has improved so much. I have other issues that I feel upset about which I will have to write in a seperate post. But overall, this conference also went very well. My little guy is progressing. Slowly but surely.

My mom is back from Mexico and it's just wonderful having her back. Not because she take cares of my kids, but just having her back makes a big difference for all of us. We are all very close to her and miss her very much even when she is gone for 1 day!

I am back at the office, hating my commute, but oh well.

We had a nice Thanksgiving at my brother's house. Mom usually makes the turkey and we all take side dishes. It was a nice day. I do have to admit that I was a bit emotional in the morning. When I first woke up, I gave my thanks (in my mind) about everything we have in life. The only thing that is missing is Diego. He only lives in my heart. I thanked him for putting a smile back on my face for sending Adam. I don't know what I'd do without Adam. He has brought such a difference in our lives. Why can't we have all 3 boys physically with us? Only God knows. I also thanked God for allowing Henry to be with us. And also continue to pray that he celebrates MANY more holidays with us.
The rest of the day/evening, was full of food, family, and fun.

Didn't do any black Friday shopping, except on Saturday, Erik went to my brother's house again to sleep over with his cousin Ashley. So We took advantage and went to Toys R us , to get some toy shopping done.

not much happend the rest of the weekend besides the usual stuff.

It was kinda sucky coming back to the office after a 4 day break! But as much as I hate this job, I am thankful I still have it.

Playing catch-up

2008-11-16T21:38:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I have updated. Not that anyone follows my blogs. I only have 2 readers. My sisters. ha ha! And like they don't already know what I've done in the past few weeks.
Unless I have other readers. If I do, please comment! :)

Let's see. Well Halloween was kind of sad this year. I mean normally there are kids everywhere trick or treating at houses. This year, it was little of both. Few kids and few houses giving out candy because of this tough economy right now.

2. I was having a really bad tooth ache so I made an appointment to see the dentist. Unfortuneatly, we don't have any dental insurance, only a dental discount card. I was in so much pain that I had to call the dentist to move my appointment sooner. Luckily they had a cancellation so they were able to see me.
I was told I needed a root canal. As the dentist was working on my tooth, she discoverd that I didn't need the root canal after all, just a filling. My pocket was really happy about that!
I still need to go back for lots of work to be done though. Since we don't have any dental insurance, I kind of put that on the back burner. But now it's time to take care of it. and my husband is also going so it looks like we will have some extra expenses .

3. My mom went to Mexico for 2 weeks. She normally goes during the summer, but since she didn't go this year, she decided to go right before Thanksgiving. So for the past week I have been working from home, and taking care of Adam. The first 2 days Erik didn't have class, so it was the 3 of us. It's been a little tough trying to work and take care of Adam though. As much as I hate my job, as least they are very flexable with me and I do appreciate that.

4. We decorated Diego's gravesite in a Thanksgiving theme. It's simple, but it's looks cute. I will post pictures later.

5.Took the boys for flu shots, and just been busy with little things here and there. it seems like I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen this past week. Cooking breakfast for Adam, lunch for Adam & Erik(when he gets home from school) and then dinner for all of us!! I have also been cooking a bit more to send to my dad since my mom isn't here. So he as least has something to eat when he gets home from work. My sister's also take food for him, so we all try to take care of him.

6. Adam took his first step on Friday (11/14/08)!! he's almost 11 months!

7. Henry had an MRI and THANK God it was good! He will be leaving to Guatemala to visit his father whom isn't doing too well. Hope all goes well with Henry's trip and that his father gets better. (http://www.Henrysbattle.org)

8. This weekend we stopped by to visit my dad. The house seems empty when mom isn't there, but she will be home next Sunday!! God willing.
We left the boys with my dad for a little while while my husband and I went to visit Diego at the cemetery to take him his weekly flower bouquet. I don't want his grave empty of flowers so we take him fresh flowers every weekend.

9. Today Sunday we just stayed home and didn't take the boys outside. It was really bad air. With all the fires that have been going on in the mountains, the air is really bad. the clouds of smoke and ashes everywhere. It's so sad, scary and depressing. So we decided to just stay home and be veggies. We had my dad over for breakfast though. It was nice to have him over. When it was time for him to go, I packed him some left overs and gave it to him for his lunch tomorrow when he goes back to work.

tommorrow is week #2 working from home. So hopefully it will go by quick. Mom comes back Sunday (yey)and I go back to the office on Monday. (boo).

I think I am caught up now. Have a good week!

1st week of diet ~awesome results!

2008-10-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

I wasn't planning on weighing myself, but the girl at Curves asked me how the low-protein diet has been going. I just told her "it's going".. she asked me if I feel any different. She is the 2nd person to ask me that! What am I suppose to feel? I asked. I told her my co-worker said my pants look looser on me. she asked "do you want to weigh yourself"? For a moment, I thought, "I'd better not, I don't want to disappoint myself" although I have been following the diet. I went for it.
Before I got on that scale, I said, "if this scale doesn't go down, I am REALLY going to be VERY disappointed". 1 week down and 3.3 lbs down. woo hoo!!!!!

I hope it keeps going down!

Adam at 10th months

2008-10-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

Today Adam is officially 10 months. Picking his nose is something new he has learned.

Love him to pieces.

A weekend with a little bit of everything

2008-10-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

Well this past weekend was a bit of everything.

First I left early on Thursday and took Friday off as my dad was having surgery for para-thyroid. His calcium level has been up for a while so the doctor decided it was time to perform surgery. Initially it was only suppose to be a 1 night stay, however, on Monday he had a physical to make sure all was ok for the surgery on Friday. His calcium level was higher than usual. They called my mom and explained to her for my dad to check in Thursday morning. They were going to give him medication and monitor him all day and night. If this surgery didn't happen, it could cause heart and kidney problems. So this was a long overdue surgery. Surgery was performed on Friday late morning. Thank God all went well. My dad had quite a few visitors at the hospital. It was a fairly large cut around the neck area. I saw when the nurse was changing the gauze. It's big and deep of course. He had a little hose with a drain hanging from there to catch any blood. Poor thing still has it. He's got a follow-up appt today with the doctor, so hopefully they will take that drain out!

On Saturday, my sister,brother in law and other family members went to the brain tumor walk. I couldn't make it this year because my dad was going to be released from the hospital so he needed a ride.
I heard the walk was nice and as usual emotional. That day was Henry's real b-day too, so I also heard they sang happy b-day to him.. So sweet! I hope to make it with them again next year.

later in the evening after we visted Diego at the cemetery, we headed to my sister and Henry's house to celebrate his b-day. It was really fun. All his family were there making drinks and I even had my happy share (more than usual!).

Sunday we went to mass, then visited my parents for a bit. My dad was doing good with the surgery. Thank God.
Then went to the market and did the usual Sunday routine.

Monday was a little dissapointing for me! I have been working hard to get into shape. I go to Curves and I actually gained a bit.. I guess too much social events. Bianca's 15ñera, my mom's b-day, then Henry's b-day! I am now on a lean protein diet. whoopy. We'll see how that goes. keeping my fingers crossed for good results.

Party is over and I am sad!

2008-10-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Oct 11th, was Bianca's (my niece/Goddaughter)15ñera.

As soon as I woke up, I thanked God for allowing Henry to celebrate this big day with his daughter.

Got up as I had a hair/makeup appointment at 9:00am.
Since my hubby was going to deliver the flower centerpieces to the hotel, my parents watched my kids for about 2 hours so that I can get my stuff done.
I arrived at my appointment on time, but my hairdresser didn't show up until like 9:20am or so!
anyway, she had something in mind for my hair. But I took her a picture of some spiral curls that I liked. Although my hair is short, it came out really good. I like it very much. At first, I wasn't too crazy about my makeup(I guess I am not use to it) but everyone told me it looked really nice. So was happy about that.
Anyway, picked up my boys from my parents around 11:30 (MUCH LATER than I expected). I called Hector on his cell, to see if he was home already as I needed him to help me get Erik dressed. He was on his way from the hotel to Bianca's house to drop off her flower bouquet. great... I rushed home and got the boys ready on my own. Then my husband showed up, he got ready, then I got myself ready in a rush. I only had to slip my dress on since my hair and makeup were already done. Anyway, my parents showed up at our house since they were going to follow us to the church.

We arrived at the church and waited for Bianca to arrive. Her parents rented her a white hummer limo. Very nice.. she finally arrived. Then the girls got off as the guys. I loved the girls dresses. They were all wearing the same lilac dress like a balloon form . So cute. They all looked very cute. Then Bianca got off the limo. She looked like a little doll. She looked so pretty.
Then the mass started.. It was a nice mass. I got teary when they mentioned my son Diego in mass.. SO SO sweet that they thought of him. Thanks Emma & Bianca :)
After the mass, we headed to the park to take pictures, then to the hotel.
The setup looked so pretty! I loved every detail, from the cake, to the candy buffet that Jolene and Gerric worked hard to set it up.. to the beautiful centerpieces. Everything was just perfect.
Henry and Bianca danced the father-daughter dance. It was a VERY special moment. Bianca also had a speech of her own, but as soon as she started to read it, she got very emotional and couldn't continue it. I was a little bummed that she didn't get to read it. I also had a speech of my own to read to her, but I didn't get a chance to read it either. Everything happened so quickly. The night went by pretty quick. I wasn't all that crazy about the DJ though. I was kind of upset that he didn't announce anything. I was waiting for Bianca to be announced when she walked in for the 1st time, but it wasn't announced. Music was good, but then he didn't know how to "mix" it well. Went from 1 type of music to another type. I really think people left early because of the DJ. There was still some people left though. We left at about 11:00pm or so. It was so nice.
My sister Emma got emotional towards the end though. I can understand her. She said everything would be just so perfect if it weren't for her husband Henry, who has brain cancer. She wonders where he will be next year. God willing he WILL be here with us staying strong and kicking cancer's ass.
He is so strong, he looks great. We can only pray that he continues to stay that way.
At the end of the party, I thanked God again, and asked him to PLEASE keep Henry with us and that one day he will walk his daughter down that aisle to marry.

I have to say this was one of the most fun times I have had in a LONG time.
Everything turned out so nice .
So much planning and now it's over.

SUNDAY: Sunday woke up late. Thanks to my husband who watched the boys while I slept in. He was tired too though, but so sweet that he usually gets up early on Sundays to watch the boys while I sleep in later. It's my only day that I get to sleep in a bit later.
He made breakfast while I fed the boys.
With all the party planning for Bianca, we didn't get to properly plan anything for my dear mother. Monday Oct 13th is also her birthday. We have 3 family birthday's in October. Oct 11th, Bianca, October 13, mom, & October 18, Henry. We made last minute lunch plans at my house. I cooked and the family came over, except my brother who already had plans (previous to us planning this last minute luncheon)Bianca also didn't make it since she went to a friend's b-day party as well. They share the same b-day and since this friend sacrificed her b-day to be part of Bianca's party, now it was Bianca's turn to go. We had lunch at my house and my sister Jolene and Gerric brought the cake. We gave mom her gifts and then they all went home. I cleaned up the kitchen and started to do laundry at about 7:30pm. Didn't finish, so need to finish today. I am not sure I will finish today though since today is my mom's real b-day. We will most likely stop by.
Although she doesn't read this, I just want to say Happy Birthday mom! I love you so much. You deserve so so much. You are a truly amazing woman. I don't know what I would do without you. You give so much to us and you really don't expect anything in return. I really really appreciate EVERYTHING you do for me and my family. May God grant you many more years of life. Love you always!

You CAN'T trust anybody!

2008-10-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

This post is a tough one.
Something that all of us parents worry so much about our children when we leave them in other people's hands.

Erik goes to an Elementary school near my parents house. Why, because my dear mother watches my kids (something I am EXTREMLY greatful for). Actually I went to the same elementary school when I was a child.

So yesterday we get a letter addressed to the parents of Erik.
As I read it, I choked up. I have to say I felt so many emotions going through my head. Basically that letter said that there was a male teacher that was acting inappropiate with school children and he was now in custody. WHAT????!!!!
It didn't say which teacher it was, what grade this teacher taught or anything. However they are offering counseling to children who needed it.
Well luckily my son has never had a male teacher. All his teachers have been females so far. But still. That scares the hell out of me.
It didn't say it was a school from the school district, but it WAS the school where Erik attends!
I don't understand these sick people. These are very young children with innocent minds.
I have always told Erik not to let ANYBODY touch him inappropiatly, and if they do, he HAS to tell me. I am not sure he understands by inappropiate, but I have told him not to let anyone touch his private areas. The same as I tell him not to talk to strangers. I have given him several scenarios of things that they may say to him and always, always remind him to NOT walk away with a stranger.
You can't trust anybody anymore. Here you are dropping off your children at school and you can't even trust the teachers there at school. You can't even trust priests at church either. So who can you trust?
I am glad however that the letter was sent to all the parents letting us know they are taking action. I am not happy obviosly of what it said, but am glad that they are doing something about it. I am sad and upset to find out that he touched a little person, but am also glad that this little person came forward and said something.
Talk to your children. Let them know it's WRONG to be touched inapropiatly!
They need to trust you so that they can come to you for ANYTHING.

Termites, GET OUT of my house!!!

2008-10-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

ugh!!!
yes, termites have invaded my house.

When we bought our house 8 years ago, it was fumigated and insect free.

A few years ago, I did notice some termite evidence on our large window in the living room. My husband called the termite company and since it was still under guarantee, they came and took care of the problem.
Then again after the guarantee had expired, we started noticing in the same area some termite evidence again. It was only dust . We'd clean it up and that was it.
For the past few days, there has been a lot of termites coming out of that area. We see the termites crawling on the floor and also when we move the curtain, all the termite wings are falling down. It has never been that bad.

Well my husband called Terminex and they came to inspect the house and they of course found termites on that window and nowhere else that they can see.

We got a 2nd opinion from another person and he was a bit cheaper.

We were NOT planning on doing this any time soon, but by the looks of it, those damn termites are getting really fat chewing up my house!
So.. I guess we have no choice but to vacate our home for 2 and a half days.

They recommend a home be fumigated every 10 years. Since that time is coming up and these creatures may be flying elsewhere and start chewing up another area, we have no choice but to fumigate the entire house.
Not sure when this will be done, but it will be done asap.
The only thing we are really worried about is Adam.

He is now crawling and everything he picks up, goes into his mouth. So what they recommend after they fumigate is for us to wash everything like plates, pots and anything that Adam can get his little hands on. Hello.. he gets his little hand EVERYWHERE!! He even puts his mouth on furniture and sucks on it!!
So we will have some major cleaning to do after the fumigation is done. NOT FUN.

As for his crib. They say babies mattresses are different so they do suggest we take it out. Actually , it's better if we take out the entire crib.

So after my God-daugther's 15ñera next week, this will be our next project. sigh....

Weekend full of shopping

2008-09-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was full of shopping. We normally don't do that, however, my God daughter (also known as my niece) is having her 15ñera in about 2 weeks!

My husband, our kids , and I went to downtown L.A. to buy my Goddaugther a necklace and charm of the Virgin Mary so that they can bless it on that day at her mass.
My brother and I will be the Godparents at this mass. She chose us as we were also her baptism Godparents. I thought that was very sweet of her to think of us. I was honored to accept this again.

You can tell the slow economy has really hit the jewelery district. There were a lot of places that closed. Years ago, there were blocks full of jewelery stores, but now there aren't that many!
As soon as we purchased it, we got out of downtown!

We then headed to pick up my mom to visit Diego at the cemetery. Stayed there for about 45 min. Dropped of my husband and my son Erik at home and my mom, Adam and me headed to the mall to find a dress for myself.
we met up with my older sister and Goddaughter (the birthday girl!) and looked around for dresses. Went to Nordstrom and Macy's. I was a bit disappointed as I saw many more dresses online than at the store. I didn't really know what I was looking for. Just something nice and semi-formal. I preferred a short dress vs long. Well I found 2 dresses. One at Nordstrom and another at Macy's, so I bought them. I also bought a nice dress shirt for Erik to wear. He does NOT like buttons but I have told him all the kids are wearing buttons at this party, so I think I may have convinced him for NOW.
Took the dresses home and showed them to my husband. I normally don't like to show him "the dress" until I actually wear it. But I was really confused. The dress at Macy's was long and purple and the Nordstrom one was short and black. I didn't want anything long because it's not a wedding. But that is the one my husband liked.

Sunday we went back to the mall to exchange the dress shirt I got for Erik. I exchanged it for another dress shirt that would look better with a jacket that he will be wearing.

Also returned the Nordstrom dress.

We went to Shoe Pavilions and I scored some Kenneth Cole shoes to go with the dress for 20.00 bucks!
I looked for some nice shoes for Erik, but they didn't have any nice ones there for him.

We then headed to DSW where Hector scored some nice dressy shoes for him 70% off!

We then went home and relaxed and did the usual before the next day at work again.

So I am done with my shopping for myself.
I just need to buy shoes for Erik.
Adam is done.
and need to buy a shirt and possibly a tie for Hector to wear with his suit.
then we will be ready to party!!

Weekend rewind

2008-09-22T21:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend wasn't very busy for us.

On Friday we went to my sister's house to pick up some tickets that my so kind brother in law Gerric got for us. We were planning on visiting the L.A. County fair this weekend. Gerric's building offers a very good discount for tenants, so he was kind enough to pass us that discount, and we scored. Thanks Gerric!

Saturday :
got up a little later than usual. We took advantage since Adam didn't wake up until close to 8:00am! That is a record.
Made the boys breakfast, then got Erik ready for his Saturday Cathecism.
When I first signed him up, I put him in the 10:30 class so that he could sleep in a little longer on Saturdays. But since they wake up early anyway, I went to try to change the schedule to the 8:30am class. No luck.. classes were full for that time. BOO...

Anyway, after we picked him up, we drove to pick my mom up to visit Diego at the cemetery. When Diego passed away, I told him that we would try to take him flowers every weekend. I don't want his grave flowerless. So we try to make it a point every weekend to visit him and take him his flowers.
We left the cemetery and drove my mom back home.
We had offered for her to come with us to the fair, but she didn't want to walk in the heat. Besides, she said it was too tiring.
So after we dropped her off, we headed to Pomona.
This was a surprise for Erik. We hadn't told him we were going. So he was looking forward to his "surprise place". Erik LOVES fairs/carnivals and any amusement park with rides.
So when we got to the fair, he was super excited.

The first thing we did was head to the food stands. I had an outback burger and my husband had the outback hotdog. I LOVE hamburgers. I can have a burger everyday. But this burger disappointed me. I was starving and when I finished my burger, I was not satisfied. But oh well. I wasn't planning on eating anymore.

We then went to the landscaping/swimming pool area. I love to see all the landscaping to get ideas for our own home. Since Erik could not wait to get to the carnival, we then headed in that direction. He got on a few rides and played some game. Luckily when his pass was about to finish, he won a stuffed animal. So he was content enough to go home as we were! Since Adam is too little to do anything, we bought him a little monkey stuffed animal too. He loved it so much, he started to chew him up!
We then drove back to our home and watched a movie. The Ruins.. I don't know if this was one of those movies that didn't make it to the theater. But if it did, I wouldn't have paid to see it. It was ok, but not enough to pay for a seat in the theater.

Sunday:
Adam turned 9 months! wow, so fast! As soon as he woke up, I walked into his room and sang him his monthly song. Happy montly birthday to you! He must have loved my singing because he was smiling. But then again, he always smiles when he wakes up.

We didn't have much planned for that day. Went to eat at my favorite fast food place. Carl's Jr! Yummy.. Then we went to visit Diego again. Then headed to Babies R Us to buy Adam some fall clothes. I love Babies R Us. It is litterally a baby supermarket! We bought him some outfits as well as his Halloween Costume!
Then we went to Target as Erik had a gift card from there. We also bought him some pants and shirts from there too.
Headed home to do the usual laundry, lunch and just getting everybodies stuff ready for the next Monday.. I hate Mondays, but here we are again.
Happy Monday and week to everyone!

Surprise party~sucessful!!

2008-09-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

So my husbands surprise party was a total success on Saturday. Thanks to my sisters, my brothers in law, & my parents for helping me out with all the set up.

The day started off with me pulling out the blower to blow all the trash from the patio!
Hector went to pick up some flowers to take to the cemetery. I knew I wouldn't get any other chance to do it, so I had my baby in one arm and the blower in the other hand! It wasn't the best job, but that was all I could do as he would notice I cleaned it!

We left the house at 11:55am to pick up Erik from Catechism. We then headed to the cemetery to visit Diego. We cut the grass in his plot since it had grown quite a bit and we still have a some time before the cemetery gardeners take care of it.
We were there about 45 minutes or so.

We then headed to Van Nuys Airport for Hector's flight training.
It took us longer to commute there than the entire time we spent there. He got about a 10 minute class, then he got taxied into the runway.
I thought we would be able to view the entire flight, but we didn't. When they called Hector in, I asked if we could view. The receptionist told me she would walk out in a bit and we (me and my kids) could go outside with her.
As she started to walk out, she invited us. I saw the small airplane and thought "oh my, am I sending my husband on this crappy airplane"? All the airplanes were kind of old. I just hoped that he would get back safely! She and I took pictures of him standing by the airplane. She then told me we couldn't stay there. What??
She told me there was a viewing area where we could see a glimpse of the airplane. She also suggested I take a good look at the airplane as there are a lot of similar ones. So I did better than that, I wrote down the number on the plane!

So she gave me directions on how to get there. Anybody that knows me well, KNOWS I am NOT good at directions. I got the keys from Hector and off my kids and me went. It was really easy to get there though (thank God) and the street is kind of hidden, so thank God I found it!!
We then parked and walked to the viewing area.

We saw Hector pass by driving the plane to the runway.
Then all of a sudden, we see him taking off! I was really excited. I took a few pictures, but it's not the best pictures since the viewing area was not very close. But 3 of us viewed him for a bit. About 30 min later, we saw him land.So exciting.

I then called my sister Jolene to see how things were going with the setup of the party.
She told me they were ok, however when her and her husband Gerric arrived, she thought she had the right keys and um, she didn't! She tried to open the door but the key would not go in. So Gerric had to jump the fence. He then went through the garage and opened the garage door to get the things in through there. Jolene had to drive back to their home to get the right keys!
She told me not to worry, they were not done yet, however, everything was going ok.
Then grabbed the kids and back to the car we went and drove back to pick him up.

I was feeding Adam in the car and Erik said he was hungry at that point so we stopped by Burger King in Glendale. Hector wanted to go through the drive thru, but since it was still early (about 3:15pm) I told him we should just stop and have Erik eat his food in the restaurant! So we did.
We then left about 4:05 pm or so (I was stalling). We were getting ready to leave and I noticed my baby had a little accident. He pooped all over himself! So that was good. I killed more time in cleaning him and changing him completely.. Good job Adam!
We then left and I sent my sister a text message telling her we just left Glendale and should be home about 35 min. I was thinking we'd catch traffic like always, but there was no traffic at all! As we were getting closer and closer, I kept text messaging her to let her know where we were at.
I then called her at my home ( pretending to call her on her cell phone) to let her know we were almost reaching there . Her and Gerric were supposedly going to watch our kids as we went out to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. My sis has a key so she said she was already inside waiting for us. So I told that to my husband.

So as we got home, we got off the car, I let him open the door. My sister was there and she greeted us. and as soon as my husband walked in, everybody yelled "surprise". OH MY GOD. Was he surprised!!! I think he was confused a bit. He saw one some people there that really caught him off guard!

Everybody greeted him and wished him happy 40th b-day. Then we went outside to party! My family did a very nice job in decorating. I had bought all the stuff with my sister's help in color coordination and it looked really nice.

I got a taco caterer since that is my husbands favorite food.

as the day/evening went by, some people showed up . People that he's known for years, but had not seen in years. Others that were suppose to show up, didn't after all as family tragedies happened unfortunately.

It was fun, nice and memorable.
My husband thanked me a lot of times as this was far beyond to what he expected.
I have never really planned a party for him, so this was a real real surprise.

He said this was going to be something very memorable for the rest of his life.
I am glad I could make him happy.

Thanks again to my family, I was able to pull it off.

the end. :)

Sunday: HIS REAL BIRTHDAY
We got up to clean up a bit. Well I did most of the cleaning. I didn't really want to bother him since it was his b-day. Actually he also shares his b-day with his late sister. So I did the bit of cleaning.

We then went to run some errands and stopped by my parents house to drop off a few things.
We then went to the cemetery and the kids stayed with my dad. So it was only my husband, my mom and me.
When we arrived at the cemetery, I was a little bummed.
Where Diego is burried, right next door is the son of my cousin's friend (major coincidence). We were pregnant at the same time, except she was ahead by like 2 months. The last time we saw her was back in October 2007, right before she delivered her baby. She still goes to the cemetery, but we kept missing eachother.
Anyway, finally after almost 1 year of not seeing her there, she was there with her husband and baby girl. The baby 11 months and she is so cute! But I was bummed because we didn't take Adam so she could meet him! She only saw pictures of him.
Hopefully we will see eachother soon again.

We then took my mom back home and we picked up the kids.
We then went to eat at some restaurant that my husband wanted to try. La Minerva.
It's known for tortas ahogadas, Guadalajara style. I went for the Milanesa torta though. We really enjoyed our food. Erik also took part in the eating as he is a VERY picky eater. He had quesadillas.

We then went home and my husband decided to change the spark plugs on my car. I told him not too, just relax on his b-day, but he said it had to be done.
ok.. So I started to do laundry.
Then the evening approached soon. Did my normal routine, prepared lunch for both of us for next day. Got the kids stuff ready for next day. Was a tiring day from the after party clean up, so I went to bed early. About 9:15pm. THAT IS A RECORD FOR ME. I normally don't go to bed until past 11:00pm.

And here I am today working again. I hate working and hate my job!
until next time.

A surprise party for my husband!!

2008-09-11T11:10:00.001-07:00

So on Sunday is my husband's 40th birthday!! yes, 40!
He has NO idea (at least I don't think he does) that I am planning a surprise birthday party for him on Saturday. Thanks to my family whom will help me set up while my husband, our kids, and myself are out.

On Saturday is also our 11th wedding anniversary so here is the plan:

It will be Erik's first day back at catechism. He will come out at noon time. So my plan is for us to pick him up and head out to the cemetary to visit our baby boy Diego (http://www.ourangeldiego.com/)
spend some time there. Then back in June I had purchased a flight gift certificate for the boys to give to their daddy for father's day. I have already made reservations for Saturday so that he can redeem that gift certificate. He will take a training class for about 15 min then fly a real airplane! He will of course be accompanied by a proffessional. I will still however be nervous as hell watching him fly that plane. But it's a dream he's had for years. He actually wanted to become a pilot in the military but because he's got a really bad burn on one of his legs, he was no longer a candidate. At least that was in Mexico. When he arrived to the states, he just started working to make a living and didn't have time to fullfil his dreams.
Anway, while we are out, my sisters and my dear brother in law's will arrive to our house to help me setup everything for the surprise party! We should be arriving around 4:00pm. He thinks we are going out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary , he's already made reservations!! Also supposedly my younger sister and her husband are going to watch our kids at our place while the 2 of us have dinner. But it's all a plan. He thinks we are dropping off the kids. Everybody should be getting there around 3:30pm, some will show up after. So we will then surprise my husband Hector!! I am kind of excited because I have never done a party for him and yet, nervous as I have never really hosted a party on my own! Well I know he will help me with making people feel at home. I have invited my family of course and some of his close friends. Some that he hasn't seen in years! His immediate family isn't here, so obviosly they can't make it.
will post the post surprise party details later!

A Clean MRI for my brother in law!!

2008-09-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

MY brother in law unfortunately, has brain cancer. He was diagnosed back in April of 2007.

2007 was a BAD year for my family. But at the end it was good as Adam was born on Dec 21st. The beginning of the year Feb 2007, I lost my son whom was stillborn at 36 weeks http://www.ourangeldiego.com/

While still recently in pain, we found out in April of 2007 that my brother in law (my oldest sister's husband) had brain cancer. He had brain surgery and they were able to remove 95% of the tumor. He then went on to radiation and also started on chemo. He has to have MRI's every 2 months. THANK GOD all his mri's have been clean. That doesn't mean he is out of the woods, but there is no new growth. If you are reading this, please keep him in your prayers. If you would like to read about his journey, you can visit his website at http://www.henrysbattle.org/

Today was one of those days where he had his mri. I can only imagine how scared my sister is each time Henry goes in. She always goes with him and every time he is out and as soon as they find out the results, she sends us all a text message. So today was a good MRI. Thanks be to God.

In September of 2007, we also found out my sister in law (my husband's sister) was also diagnosed with breast cancer. Sad to say, she lost her battle on June 7th, 2008. I pray every day that God gives strength to my mother in law who is completely devastated. I am very sad that she didn't get to meet Adam. They live in Mexico. We were planning on visiting my husband's family in the summer of 2008 to take the kids. They have already met Erik my 7 year old son, but hadn't had a chance to meet Adam.

The cancer spread faster than we knew it. She was having really bad headaches and so they did surgery on a part of her brain too on June 5th. She wasn't responding well, so the 2nd day June 6th, they did another surgery to drain the fluid from her brain. My husband and his family kept in touch by phone throughout the entire process. It didn't look good, so my husband and I took a red eye flight on June7th at 1:30am. We arrived at the airport in Mexico City at 6:30am, and she passed away at 5:45am. My husband didn't get to say good bye to his sister.

she is survived by her mother, her husband, her 8 year old son and 2 brothers.

My first time blogging

2008-09-10T14:33:00.000-07:00

I should have started this blog a while ago, but I guess I was a bit too lazy. I also think it's for people that have a busy life. I don't have much of a busy life at least with social events. I only keep busy with my 2 boys and my husband.
Erik is my 1st born. He is now 7 years old and just started 2nd grade. I keep busy with him trying to get him to do his homework. He is very smart, yet a bit lazy with homework.
My 2nd son Diego is actually in heaven. He passed away on Feb. 2, 2007. If you would like to learn more about him and our pain, please visit www.ourangeldiego.com
My 3rd baby Adam is truely a miracle baby. Again I should have started this blog a while ago as so much has happend with our family. After Diego passed away, I thought it was the end for me. With my family's support and my husband (my rock) standing by me, God and Diego sent us Adam. He has brought a smile back to my face. He is now 8 months old . I love my boys. Even though Diego isn't physically here with us, I still count him as my son. We have 3 beautiful boys.