Perfectly Living An Imperfect Life

Phillippines Vacation: Boracay Day 1

2012-01-20T20:06:00.000-08:00

You know how people send you post cards from their vacation spots and you say to yourself, there is just NO way it ACTUALLY looks like that there.

Well... I can definitely vouch for Boracay!

We arrived pretty late in the evening, so while the kids and I washed off the day at our hotel, Jerry and my cousin Kate walked the beach front strip and enjoyed the night life.

We couldn't wait to wake up in the morning and see if the beaches were as beautiful as everyone claims them to be. So when we ran down to the beach, we literally could do nothing but stare and be astonished at just how beautiful it was. The sands were white and powdery, the water was clear and warm, and the breeze whisped through the palm trees gracefully. We were indeed in paradise.

We spent the entire morning and lunch time on the beach, what's so wonderful about Boracay is that it's not nearly as commercialized as the Hawaiian Islands or the Bahamas, everything here is pretty rooted. Yes, there are some pretty awesome hotels and restaurants, but you can't help but be reminded that you're still on Island Time. Another great plus is that it's not overly touristy, not too many people, where you can't find a spot on the beach to sit back and relax. But there are tourists from all over the world here, which just makes this location even more wonderful.

Around lunch time, we decided that we were ready for some awesome adventures and so my cousin called up her activities tourist guide contact and he hooked it up great! If you ever have the urge to visit paradise and want to take advantage of what the island has to offer let me know!

The first thing we did was the Zipline, yup... you read that right! I went Ziplining! And so did the entire family in exception of Matthew since he was still to young.

I never thought I'd ever do this, but I'm so glad that I did.

Afterwards, we immediately headed over to the Zorb activities. I've never heard of this before so I was a little hesitant, but I still managed to get the courage to not only do it myself but allow all of my children to do so as well. There were two options: The Hydro and The Harness. The kids were too young for the The Harness so they did two rounds of The Hydro, Jerry was too tall for The Harness so he did two rounds of They Hydro and Kate and I did The Harness and The Hydro,. The Hydro was was filled with enough water to swish you around as your inflated ball went down this hill.

The Harness, well you were harnessed. And my cousin was lucky that I didn't vomit all over her. I enjoyed the Hydro much better than The Harness LOL!

I couldn't take any more excitement so we headed back to our hotel to rest and re energize for the following day. Overall the day was spectacular. I'm telling you Boracay is the place to be if you want to feel like you're in paradise and enjoy all the great activities and seriously the BEST price ever.

Some great moments today to cherish forever:

When you set aside your fears, you'll amaze yourself at just how much you can accomplish.
Zorbing is pretty fun
I really won't die if I Zipline!
Paradise does exist and post cards aren't just for photo albums or to be boxed away, you can actually enjoy a vacation in one.

Philippines Vacation: Day at Kalibo and Ati Atihan

2012-01-20T19:22:00.000-08:00

Before reaching our Paradise Destination we took a very long road trip to the port. My little cousin, Kate was with us and our family insisted that we make a stop in Kalibo and attend the festivities in their town, Ati Atihan. Kate had a friend that lived in Kalibo, so when our bus stopped we met up with him and he quickly whisked away to his home where their family was having a family reunion.

If you haven't heard of the great hospitality of the Filipino people, you've been deprived. The moment we walked into their home, they greeted us with smiles and welcomed us with literally... open arms. There weren't any moments of akwardness or stares that made you so uncomfortable you wish you could crawl out of your own skin to hide in a dark corner. Oh no! It was like we were family, though we have never EVER met before.

They fed us with an over abundance of food that catered to the local town's taste. And though it was hot, we managed to cool off with the glass bottles of coke handed to us.

After eating, I started to feel ill and while sitting in the car waiting to head out to go sight seeing a sudden rush of nausea filled my stomach. I ended up vomiting in the bathroom and when I finally felt well enough to walk out the door, I nearly fainted. So while, Jerry and the boys headed out to Sampagita, I stayed in bed in one of the rooms.

Here's our hospitable they were; while I layed on their bed with what felt like my death bed, someone would come in every so often to check my temperature, give me a glass a water, cover me with a blanket, or brush my hair away from my face. But here's the kicker... I don't know them at all! At all! Yet, they were kind enough to care for a stranger. That kind of compassion is unheard of in the States without some sort of hidden agenda tied into it. It simply blew my mind!

Meanwhile, the boys were having a blast!

After I came to and the boys came back from Sampagita, we headed out to the bus terminal ready to head to Boracay. But Kate's friends parents were insistent that we stayed for Ati Atihan. I didn't think I was up for it, but once we were there a sense of celebration came over me and suddenly we caught ourselves in the middle of the parade dancing with the locals and a few tourists to the beats of drums and footsteps. The experience was beyond amazing and I know my boys will never forget this experience. What a gift it's been to be showered with the blessings we have in a country so foreign yet fulfulling.

Some great moments today to cherish forever:

Compassion and love is the universal language of the world.
Heat stroke and exhaustion CAN cause vomiting. Blegh!
Good food can be found anywhere, you've just gotta be willing to try it.
Small town celebrations can make a huge impact in your life.
My boys are pretty awesome for adapting to an entirely new environment.

Phillippines Vacation 2012: Day Two, was...

2012-01-13T08:55:00.000-08:00

...was eventful in so many ways. We are so blessed to have such an extended family here in the Phillippines, which has proven to result in constant invitations to tour the island with the company of some pretty amazing people.

Due to the jet lag, the entire family woke up at about 3 am, which gave Jerry a great opportunity to work in peace while the entire was asleep. Well, I lied... we actually woke up to the roosters cock-a-doodling and it sort of freaked us all out from the dead sleep we were in, ha!

After we got ready, we headed out to my dad's little pig farm where two of his Mama Pigs gave birth to 19 little piglets. When my parents were visiting the States they had promised Matthew that they would show him the little piggies and like good grandparent's they delivered.

After our short visit, we headed out to my Mom's hometown... a little province called Dingle about an hour away from the main city in Iloilo. My cousin was having a small little gathering to celebrate their son's 1st birthday and I had a goal to go and visit my grand parent's grave site, since I was unable to make the trip out during their funerals. We also wanted to visit the Rice Fields and Family Farm that my mom and her siblings grew up in... THAT was something the boys were excited to do.

When I was pregnant with Brandon, my grandmother fell in and had to return back to the Phillippines, I promised her before she left that if she wasn't going to be able to meet Brandon that I would one day come back to the Phillippines with my own family and visit her. I made a similar promise to my Grandfather the last time I spoke to him a couple of years back.

Keeping my promise, I brought Jerry and the boys to visit their gravesite. I thought I'd be hesitant and scared being in a cemetary from such a small town, but the visit was magical and spectacular. The moment we opened the gates to where they were it began to rain for about 3 minutes and then the sun came out for the rest of the day. I might be superstitious but I really feel like my grand parents were proud of me for keeping my word. I never thought in a million years, I'd be able to keep my promise.

Traditionally, when visiting our loved ones that have passed you're supposed to light a candle and bring some flowers of some sort. As jet lagged and rushed as we were this morning I forgot both, but thankfully one of my Aunts had two that I could use.

At any other time, I'd probably gasp at the idea of my boys sitting on a truck bed on route to a destination, but my boys were so elated to be given the opportunity to do something like this so we took the chance. Considering I trusted the driver, hesitation didn't last too long.

We celebrated my nephew's 1st birthday at one of our cousin's homes near by and were able to visit a lot of the cousins I haven't seen in over 15 years. What a joy it was to finally see them and see how much we've each growned. I really have to make the effort to not let that much time pass by for too long again.

After the birthday celebration we decided to visit the Family Farm that my mom and her siblings grew up in. How exciting was this for the boys! We walked about an hour into the farmlands along side rice pads with nothing but a foot's width to keep us from falling into the water and mud. We crossed about 6 man made bridges where I learned that I'm a lot more braver about bridges than I'd confess I have.

We walked through super tiny groups of homes with kids amazed about us as we were about them. Which was great to see as the boys asked questions but politely waved when given the opportunity.

When we finally arrived on the family farm, we were greeted by beautiful greenery, a pond for cat fish, and rice pad fields surrounding us. The moment was surreal and it was overwhelmingly wonderful.

On our way back home, this interesting mode of transportation was right beside us, what you don't see are the 6 people crammed behind the driver and in the little cart. Pretty amazing how different our worlds are, isn't it?

When we got back to the city, we were so filthy from all the sweat and mud we accumulated during the day, so we all took showers and changed for dinner out in the city. We had a local delicacy. La Paz Batchoy. If you haven't had it, find a Pinay who could be trusted with making this wonderful soup! After dinner my Aunt and Uncle surprised us with a traditional Filipino massage called "hilot" and facials. My Dad kindly took the boys home so they could rest while Jerry and I enjoyed the evening.

It's a little past midnight and my eyes are starting to play tricks on me... can't believe I'm here! No, really I can't believe I'm blogging from the Phillippines! It's so amazing!

Some great moments today to cherish forever:

Roosters actually do wake people up, who woulda thunk it?
Piglets are super cute, their doo doo? Not so much!
Small towns are pretty charming!
Sometimes, being unsafe is the most fun - but don't quote me on this when my boys hit the teens.
Family is Family, no time or distance can ever change that!
I walked through rice pad fields for an hour and didn't say once I was going back to the car!
I crossed 6 man made bridges made of bamboo and ropes without crying - THAT in itself is pretty damn impressive.
Jerry still won't eat balut, boo!

Phillippines Vacation 2012: Day One, was...

2012-01-12T00:18:00.000-08:00

...a day that seemed never ending, or maybe it ended but I wasn't sure which time zone or country I was in so I just rolled it into the same day assuming that this could quite possibly be the longest day ever.

Jerry and I had the brilliant idea of staying up all night the night before we left for our trip in our hopes... wishful thinking that we could catch up with our sleep on the trip. Trouble was we didn't really account on the fact that we would be overly excited and restless the entire trip.

Our good friends Cynthia and Josh took us to the airport bright and early. A bittersweet farewell as my sister Karen was also headed back to PI to continue with her studies. It's always hard to say goodbye when you're not sure when you'll be able to say hello again, so though I was super excited to be headed onto a new adventure with my boys, I could appreciate the toughness of their farewell was.

As you can tell, the kids were pretty stoked about heading out on this very big family vacation. While the adults dealt with the check in process of our trip, the kids settled themselves on the floor and watched luggages of all shapes and colors make their way on the conveyor belt and guest amongst themselves where in the world it was headed to.

Fortunately, Karen was able to be seated close to us though she had purchased her tickets separately, a blessing in so many ways. Can you tell we were both ready to sleep, not even dawning our contacts but rather our pretty geeky glasses and pajamas? HA! Normally we would have flown with Philippine Airlines but opted on saving some cash and booked with Asiana and Cebu Pacific Airlines instead. Overall we saved a good $4000, but gained about 2 extra stop overs. Both airlines were awesome! And bonus we got to stop over in Seoul, Korea and walked around the airport in Manila. It was a grueling long travel but we eventually made our way to our final destination, Iloilo.

Some of our family came and visited us at 7 am in the morning at my parent's house, which was so great. I guess because I constantly see them on Facebook, I forget that I haven't seen most of them in 17 years. How crazy is that? Everyone has been super hospitable and have done nothing but made us feel welcome. We headed out to a seaside lunch and endulged in some fresh sea food and yummy Filipino culinary treats.

Our first official family photo on this trip.

My sisters and cousins... aren't they beautiful?

Fresh Oysters good enough for 2 for only $1 (after conversion).

My wonderful boys enjoying the tropical sun.

Just couldn't miss a photo opt with a background that screams paradise!

After lunch, we headed out to the local malls and drove around admiring all the wonderful changes our little island has gone through in the last 17 years. Now the boys are all taking naps at 3pm on a Thursday afternoon, adjusting to the time change while being extremely exhausted.

Some great moments today to cherish forever:

Being rammed into with a steward's trolly to not only end up with a bruised elbow but then having all the water bottles attack me afterwards.
Karen likes to sleep under blankets, even when sleeping in an airline chair.
WiFi is God's gift to FB addicts!
Drinking out of fresh coconuts with people you love and cherish while breathing in fresh ocean breezes on an actual tropical island is pretty awesome!
I think I've finally figured out how to get my kids to go to bed without showing a little crazy... travel.

Can't wait to share more with you all.... Mabuhay from halfway around the world! Muah!

New Year's Eve!

2012-01-03T00:20:00.000-08:00

As most women my age were scouting the malls for that last minute accessory to wear at the New Year's Eve Bash for 2012, we were busy herding up an awesome group of kids on an afternoon of adventure at our local mall. One of the perks of being a parent on New Year's Eve is that you've always got a hot date and you most always never get stood up... and BONUS! You'll surely be entertained by one of your kids.

We spent New Year's Eve day at a cute little shop that encourages interactive play and education. I'm a big fan of exposing our kids to hands on experience and encourage them to ask questions to expand and blow their minds. The great thing about this little shop of fossils is that the kids learn first hand how minerals and fossils are found.

As you can see, all of the kids were just super duper excited to get their hands dirty and start learning (the best part? They don't really realize that their actually learning something while getting dirty, ha!)

Fortunately, Brandon was with us for a couple of days and got to experience all this with Daniel and Matthew. Daniel had already visited this place with a family friend and sought prideful moments as he moved around the room excited to share things we all weren't even aware of. And Matt... well he's happy anywhere he can down and dirty with his brothers.

When we were all done collecting all the awesome fossils and minerals, we were able to gather the kids around a work bench to "prepare" all their great finds. Can you imagine how exciting and amazing it is for a child to get their hands on buffers and drills, paint brushes and magnifying glasses, then be encouraged to go at it? My boys were in heaven, they loved every single minute of their experience.

Karen is still here visiting and the boys just adore her. She's the Auntie that knows how to do all this nitty gritty stuff, so thank goodness she was there. Because I for one, can not operate a drill (is that even a drill? LOL).

We had planned to watch The Adventures of Tin Tin, but after a few hours in the shop and at the mall, we were all due for some down time. We headed back home and just relaxed till midnight came. To tell you the truth I fell asleep half an hour before midnight and had to be woken up. The kids? Well, staying up till midnight is like setting them free in Disneyland, they thoroughly enjoyed it.

When midnight came around, we all headed outside to watch the fireworks that were beautiful and launched our poppers in the backyard. Kissed each other with love and happiness, wishing one another a very Happy New Year.

So though it wasn't a typical New Year's Eve Celebration, where Cosmo's and Champagne are clinking away, music blasting and heavily intoxicated strangers were stumbling across a dance floor towards you. It was absolutely perfect to be surrounded by my family and friends on a quiet January night.

Hope you all had a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve Celebration and the year has started out beautifully for you all. Here's to bright futures and meaningful moments.. Cheers!

It's A New Year!

2012-01-02T23:58:00.000-08:00

It's 2012! Can you believe it?

I don't know about you, but I'm expecting a lot from 2012 and not to put any pressure on the guy, but 2011 kind of slacked off and was uneventful to say the least.

A dedicated blogger - I am not. In fact, as much as I think about blogging. I can't seem to find my way to the computer motivated enough to post something interesting. I guess I don't think a lot of the things that I experience daily is that interesting.

So here's a new thought... instead of posting on this blog about things that I fear would be uninteresting, I'll just about my daily life as a mother, a wife, a friend, a sister... a person. Seems mundane and boring, but my life is anything but ordinary. In fact, I think a lot of the things that I experience each day is pretty amazing and extraordinary.

So I'm blogging to keep a permanent virtual track of just how glorified my life is in all it's simplicity. Personally, marking down moments I'm sure I'll forget or want to forget is satisfying in itself. I'm hoping my family and friends from all over the world, will find the same joy and some times unjoyous moments we experience.

Anyway... enjoy the ride! I know I will....

The Holidays Are Around The Corner.... Literally.

2011-11-22T22:15:00.000-08:00

I can't believe the holidays are literally just days away! I love the holidays, not just because of the food - though I've been known to endulge tremendously, but because it means we'll be surrounded by family near and far. This year is especially wonderful because my Aunt who has been staying with us for the last couple of months from the Philippines will actually be celebrating Thanksgiving here with us true American style. In addition, my Uncle is flying from the Philippines as well and my other Aunt who we see very rarely will be here as well.

Last Thursday, we got a frantic call from my sister, Karen super excited to let us know that she would be spending the holidays with us verrrry soon. Like ... next day soon.

As you can tell we've already been putting her to work, ha!

So as you can already tell from reading the first cluster of sentences of my post, we've had a very full house here at home. But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Being surrounded by your loved ones during the holiday season, is the only way to go. Last couple of years, it was so different not having anyone around outside of my immediate family. It was sad, lonely, and cold. Just wasn't the same.

During my massive dash for last minute (I know..me? last minute? unprepared? never!) shopping at Target today, I stumbled across this Elf on The Shelf activity set.

(Yup! That's the awesome haul I picked up in the background during my errands today at Walmart and Target)

I've heard so many great stories and beginnings of traditions that started with this cute little elf. Though B is beyond his years in believing that"Santa" exists, my two little ones are going to love this! I've decided to start this tradition on Thanksgiving Eve as the story goes, this little Elf will need a name picked out first and visits on Thanksgiving Day. So to get this little guy going, we need to do it right.

I'm also super excited that on Nov. 26 they'll be releasing the video of The Elf's Story on Blue Ray and DVD. I've got an exciting Holiday schedule set up for the boys and I'm hoping all goes well with my plans.

The idea behind this little Elf is that he reports back to Santa every day on whether they've been "naughty" or "nice." Every morning, the boys will wake up and try to find where the Elf is. The boys are welcome to tell the Elf anything they want (secrets, Christmas wish lists, etc.), BUT they are not allowed to touch him or they'll be put on the "naughty" list. The elf is not allowed to talk to them - strict orders from Santa, but he's always listening.

Super cute right?

J joked earlier about how I was far more excited about this little Elf than the boys could possibly be. And like most things that I bring home to share with the family, I usually am.

I believe in the magic of the holidays, that even the most impossible is possible, and that maybe... just maybe, if I pout a bit, this girl will get a couple of things for the holidays that she really wants.

Like this damn elf tradition to go the way it should.

Like the boys indulging me with a little humor and be as ecstatic about the silly things the holidays bring.

Yeah like that.

Anyways, the boys are off for the rest of the week and I'm being super lenient with the bed time schedules as it's almost impossible to do so when I don't really want to wake up at 7 am if I don't have to. LOL!

Home and Away...

2011-11-07T22:07:00.000-08:00

To say that life has gotten pretty busy lately, is an under statement. I usually go through these spurts of wanting to blog and am able to, then have a couple of weeks where blogging just isn't an option. I cherish my sleep more. But lately, we've been super duper busy with the business and family. I suppose this is a good thing, but let me tell you there are some days that I miss just sitting on the couch watching trash TV. Ah... gone are those days.

With the business picking up during the holiday season, J and I made an "executive decision" that I play a more pivotal role in the business, to relieve him from some stress. With me running most of the larger events, he is able to concentrate more on making sure that our business continues to grow.

I also have to admit that in doing so, I'm actually feeling better about myself - as rewarding as being a mom could be, there are days when we realize that being a stay at home mom can isolate you from society. Case in point; not being able to function normally in public without getting an axiety attack. Yup! That happens. Crowds overwhelm me, not following a schedule spiral me into confusion, and not being able to contain my three boys in a 5ft vicinity makes me question my sanity.

So working - well being out without the boys - has proven to be healthier for me. Gasp! Did I just admit that publicly. Whatever.

But today. Today was one of those days where the housewife and mommy hat played a role. I've been working so much lately that I've emberassingly neglected my home. So after all the boys went home and J locked himself in our home office, I got to doing laundry... ALL 12 loads. I've been at it for about 12 hours now and my final load is drying. Phew!

After picking the older boys up from school, we dived right into homework after a little afternoon snack. I've learned in the last two months that if I let them have a little free time after school, they lose momentum. So now we've altered the afternoon schedule and have made sure that homework is dealt with while Matt is still at the preschool.

After picking Matt up from school, I promised the boys a little trip to Walmart to pick up a reward for good behavior last week from our point system. They earned enough for a $10 credit each to whatever they wanted and well, I needed to do a little bit of couponing and snagged a lot of awesome deals

I paid a whopping $19.20 for everything in this picture!! Yeah I was pretty proud of myself, until I realized that I also had to pay for the boys' goodies as well. HAHA!!

J called me right before heading into Walmart and asked if we wanted to meet up at Soup Plantation... how could I resist. Despite the fact that I was totally unprepared and had no coupons, we headed over to meet him for dinner. As frugal as I'm being with coupons, going to Soup Plantation is like a treat for us. The boys love it there and honestly I don't mind them splurging on salads and soups. It's a heck of a better choice than heading over to a different buffet.

The boys are still struggling with the time change, and are still up right now. Trying to get them to adjust has been difficult. I'm hoping by the end of the week, they'll get used to the new schedule.

Hope everyone is having a great day! Till the next time.

Green Lanterns and An Afternoon Of Catch-Up

2011-06-18T00:45:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, I took the boys over to the nearby movie theater to watch Green Lantern. I did this as a favor to the hubbster who promised them a movie but with wedding season underway, he was just far too busy. So instead of disappointing them, I grinned and beared watching Green Lantern in 3D none the less. I'm not a big fan of super hero movies and I anticipated an afternoon of boredom at the movies.

Going to the movie theaters in the early afternoon alone with my three boys takes a lot of mental preparation. They usually never keep still, they inevitably will ask for something other than what I brought them from the concession stand, and seating arrangements change as often as time ticks away.

When we arrived, we were already late and D was already arguing with me about not wanting JUST popcorn, but everything else on the menu. We fidgeted with M's 3D glasses a majority of the time, until ultimately he refused to wear them at all. B was a madman standing up and down from his seat and whispering endlessly - This is when sitting at the very top of the theater pays off.

Eventually, M tired out and fell asleep and I got to enjoy the last 30 minutes of the movie. Yes... if you caught that I ENJOYED the movie! It was actually pretty entertaining and it left me wanting to be "the chosen one" haha!

When we got home, we caught up on house chores and the boys played with the other neighborhood kids. I thought it would be important for B to spend time with his friends before leaving for an entire week to be with his dad.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Post you soon.

Coupon Crazy

2011-06-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

With the boys out of school and starting summer vacation, with me out of school and taking an official yet short lived break from my own education, and with my goal and dedication to spend this summer making my children happy and exploring the ultimate classroom, I decided to start couponing on a higher level.

I used to coupon but not at an "extreme" level. I used to get excited when I saved a quarter or two. But admittedly so, after watching TLC's Extreme Couponing I fell into an addictive love with doing it - of course, after learning how to really do it =D After seeing the savings and familiarizing myself with methods on how to coupon, I discovered that not only could I do EVERYTHING I wanted to do with the boys, but I could also fall under budget! What an epiphany!!!!

As I read through local coupon blogs, I started to read about many veteran couponers were soon becoming irritated that the "newbies" were coming into town and "shelfing" sale items. Many claimed that the show were hurting couponers than helping them. As a newbie I was a little shock, but lets face it a majority of coupon clippers and grocery shoppers are women and well... women are pretty catty. So it comes to no surprise that this reaction surfaced.

I don't usually post on these blogs, I'm more of a silent bystander waiting for the next wave of deals and reactions that come through. Kind of like the new kid on the playground surveying the cliques of friends already formed and seeing if anyone would be kind enough to wave me over. But while I'm standing there waiting, I learn the social etiquette of couponing.

Couponing is more than just clipping coupons, to get your maximized savings you truly do have to be patient and detail oriented. The first thing I did when I decided that this would be a great opportunity for me to financially fund our summer and future vacation trips was see what exactly it was that I was spending and view my grocery shopping methods. I normally shopped for the week. I'd make a list and head to the store and if I did have a coupon-great! If not, it didn't matter because we still needed it.

After calculating how much I did spend (approximately $250/week) and adjusting my method of shopping (stockpiling bargains but still getting what I needed rather than just getting what I needed) I started to see the change in savings drastically. The first week without coupons I saved about $50 from my weekly budget just store hopping to grab the best deals on items we needed. After a couple of weeks of saving my coupons and patiently waiting for sales I increased my savings by $130!! What a difference! In addition, I was able to stock pile my pantry for items that I knew I would need later on in the next 2-3 months without "hoarding" - truly, I don't need 100 bottles of ketchup, so I only bout 10.

Like every addiction, there is a fine line between doing something pleasurable to down right being destructive. So even though I may have 20 coupons on a deal, I don't clear the shelves and hoard my savings. I pass the coupon to someone else. They've got a great coupon program on some of the blogs I read where you can send expired or unused coupons to military families on bases. Because they shop on those bases and they are military families, they are able to use these coupons up to 6 months after their expiration date. At the end it's a savings you can literally pass around without being selfish.

Self control and limits are key attributes you have to possess in order to do this without stepping on toes are becoming a hoarder. I'm still learning what the maximum amount of food I need for my family. But I'm figuring I need to ensure that I can feed my family for a month if anything should happen to our financial situation. Stockpiling doesn't happen over night, it happens over a period of a few months and so my expectation of wanting to fill my stock pile is a patient one. I'm having fun clipping and researching my savings and I think this is key when saving the most when you can. Not being able to grab the deals for the week isn't the end of the world, the sale will come again.

We are getting ready to enjoy our first family vacation of the summer. A fun week long cruise to Mexico (and no we didn't book this with our savings from groceries, but the coupons did manage to make it possible to have another couple of vacations through out summer), so I've halted purchasing groceries the last week and decided to use what we had in our pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. Part of the decision to do this came as a result of wanting to coupon more effectively and the other part was because I didn't want to waste what we already had with us being gone for an entire week. So we're taking this opportunity to clean kitchen and make sure that we aren't wasteful and still be cost effective. ALSO - and this is a big ALSO - when we return from vacation next weekend, I'll be able to stock pile with a clearer sense of just what we need. I'm super excited about this and can't wait to post more info on how this is going.

So despite all the hate and frustration that's built up out there by veteran couponers and people who don't see the rhyme in reason on couponing RESPONSIBLY, this is something that will help our family in moderation. I'm not trying to clear out shelves or compromise the way my family's eating habits. I'm a SAHM, saving a few bucks to live a better quality life.

Happy couponing friends and family.

Birthday Bliss

2011-04-20T23:48:00.001-07:00

Today, we celebrated Daniel's 7th Birthday in a few celebratory ways. Normally, the first thing we do when we wake up is make our birthday celebrants favorite breakfast. But because today was a school day and the school was honoring parent volunteers, we had to leave a little earlier than we normally did. So instead, Brandon presented Daniel with a birthday gift that he picked out from both he and little brother, Matthew.

Daniel slowly opened his gift bag and found a few Beyblades, a portable stadium, and candy. It was a perfect way to start his super fun birthday. They decided to use the few minutes we had left before leaving for school to try out his new gadgets and it was a perfect way to start off our morning. Daniel was so incredibly happy and excited that he ended up running into Brandon's arms thanking him with lots of smiles and appreciation.

We packed up the car with the kids and headed over to school and I attended the parent volunteer breakfast, while the kids headed into the play yard with a large bag of favors for Daniel's class of these Poke Balls with favors and candy. I was kind of bummed that there weren't a lot of Pokemon themed favors that were pretty cool like the Star Wars selection, so I opted to combine the two to join "forces" to celebrate Daniel's birthday, haha!

Afterwards, I headed over to the store to pick up these pretty awesome Star Wars cupcakes for Daniel's class. I have to admit that I actually wanted to keep a couple of these cupcakes for myself and I'm not even a huge Star Wars fan, ha! I delivered these to Daniel's class only to find that they had switched reading groups and he was with another teacher as head leveled up in his reading. Go Daniel!!!

I spent the rest of the day at home, cleaning up and getting ready for a small party with the neighborhood kids afterschool. After the boys got home, they finished their homework and chores and were allowed to ask three neighborhood friends over to join us and our good friends over for a little Make Your Own Pizza birthday celebration. I love doing this with the kids because it not only entertains them but feeds them as well. After creating their very own culinary delights, they played together while it baked in the oven.

I have to admit this was probably one of the most laid back birthday gatherings we've had at the house, but the kids enjoyed themselves playing together, eating what they created, having ice cream cups, yummy cake, some outside play, and just being kids.

Our birthday celebration isn't over just yet. We're having a more formal birthday party with family and friends this Saturday and I can't wait to update you all on that!

for now, I'm EXHAUSTED and am finding difficult to even continue on with this blog post. But I just had to share Daniel's big day. Turning 7 was pretty awesome =)

Pleasant Day

2011-04-05T23:18:00.001-07:00

This morning my wonderful friend, Cynthia and her beautiful baby girl Bella came over to hang out. I had to set up my alarm clock for an earlier time than I usually wake up, but it was worth chatting with her while Matthew got a few extra minutes of sleep.

Normally, Matthew sleeps in till about 10:30 a.m. - blessing right? Wrong! This poses a problem when the boys are on school schedule and I'm forced to stay awake till 1 am. Despite our many attempts to get him to sleep earlier, it never works. I think we're just destined to have a night crawler. Hoping this changes by the time he starts school or this might pose a problem. Yikes!

But this morning he actually woke up around 9:30 a.m. and boy was I surprised and honestly a little scared knowing what time he went to bed last night. I knew I was doomed for a meltdown come the afternoon.

We were able to talk to my sister Karen in PI via Skype and had a blast talking with her. We did everything from touring the home my mother and father had built there, seeing family and meeting new additions, to waving via webcam to passerbyers on the streets by the house. It sounds dorky but it was actually a lot of fun. We even got a few honks by jeepneys and waves and nods by complete strangers. Technology is pretty awesome.

Cynthia and Bella had to leave right after lunch, so I took the opportunity to catch up on a lot housework that I've been slacking off on the last few days. The hubby ran a few errands but took the boys to the park the moment he got home. It's truly a blessing when he does this because folding laundry while a 3-year old must absolutely have your presence when Chewbaca is defeated by an Ewok is somewhat hindering. LOL!

One of the things that I absolutely LOVE when the boys go on their walks to the park is that Matthew will always bring home a flower for me. See?

I don't think he knows just how happy it makes my heart when he does this and I'm hoping he won't ever stop.

Later in the afternoon, we ended up driving half an hour to Cynthia's house and hung out for a couple of hours so the kids had the opportunity to play. After our short visit, we had a special request from Daddy to stop over at Sonics and pick up some of those hotdogs they've been cleverly advertising between Man Shows (we don't have one close to where we live and since I was up there... well why not right?).

It was a great way to end the day and were so happy to have spent it having a pleasant day with friends and more perfect memories. Hope you had an awesome day as well.

Busy as a Bee

2011-04-04T21:47:00.000-07:00

As you can imagine, life gets pretty hectic here with my three boys. Most of the time I plan a lot of activities, but realistically things never go as planned. This past weekend we spent a lot of time together, mostly driving but none the less spending time talking to each other. It's pretty amazing what the boys end up talking about, even though they're all talking at the same time and I'm supposed to somehow understand and answer them as well.

Saturday, we headed about an hour south and celebrated the upcoming births of three little boys this summer. It was pretty great being held at the park because the boys got to hang out at a park different from their own. They mostly played with each other but loved being out. The weather was just perfect with a slight overcast, nothing like the weather we've been having here in So. Cal and it's sweltering heat. But hey! That's California for you.

Sunday, we loaded up yet again and headed south to Disneyland, but it wasn't to tire ourselves out stressing over which ride to go on. Nope. This time (like usual) the mommies and kids went and we were able to take our time eating, talking, walking, and waiting. Sometimes I think the hubbies have a harder time waiting in those long lines than the kids. LOL!

We ate at Naples in Downtown Disney and hung out for a little while, headed over to California Disney and waited a couple of hours for Toy Story Mania and by the time we got on it all the adults were just over it and by the look of our children's faces so were they. Before heading home we had one FINAL stop to go to - Boiling Crab. I love this place, being able to just get messy while eating shellfish is a parent and child's dinner time dream. Though the wait to be seated was long, the company made up for it.

Overall, it was a pretty great weekend with nothing to complain about except for the usual traffic and wait times for everything that we wanted to do. But it was worth it. HA!

Today, we were supposed to go to La Brea Tarpits and the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, but with all the walking and driving I did over the weekend and the fact that my legs were just about to fall off and my back was pleading with me to give it a break, I opted to stay local and home. We met up with my best friend and her sister at an all you can eat seafood buffet about 30 minutes from where I live for lunch and enjoyed an early afternoon chatting it up. I know! I know! We eat a whole lot of seafood - but hello! We are Pacific Islanders, shelling shrimp and cracking open crabs is one of the many attributes we have. Yeah. Don't be jealous! LOL! Daniel was a saint with his little friend and Matthew was so good playing with his Star Wars action figures while eating. I have to say baby wipes, hand sanitizers, and small age appropriate toys are key when eating out with young children - especially at a buffet if you want to eat. We all ate so much, but didn't want to leave. The possibilities were endless there, but I'm a glutton by sight only, I usually don't end up eating everything I want because I lose patience, haha.

We ended the day coming home and relaxing, the boys played and I cleaned. Just like every other typical day here at this house. Nothing new and exciting. But the little things make for the memories that we'll have to look back on in the future.

Hope you had an amazing day as well.

2011-03-27T17:14:00.001-07:00

So how did you spend this beautiful Sunday? Okay, well it wasn't one of those great, sunny weekend afternoons that Californians are used to but it was a breath of fresh air from the constant rain we've been getting the last few days.

We spent lunch at Souplantation - a Sunday tradition we've just been accustomed to because of the great deals with their coupons and for the freedom that our children get to have with the awesome power of choice! Amazing, I know! LOL!

It was a last minute decision at the request of the boys that we take Lucky out to the Dog Park. HALT! Okay, if you personally know me, you know that before having Lucky as our sweet and gorgeous but worse guard dog ever, you know that I am absolutely terrified of dogs. So this my friends was my first time in a Dog Park... with unleashed large dogs of all sorts running free to perhaps mangle my limbs into a thousand pieces - oh wait that was just my fear talking. Phew! Anyways, initially I wasn't too thrilled about the idea, in fact I think the hubby can attest to a few snarls and maybe, just maybe a little bit of pouting. HAHA!

But I'll admit to this; I'm pretty glad I went. To see Lucky so happy chasing the tails of other dogs and being chased himself, it was nice... real nice.

Lucky never goes too far from his "Daddy," I mean he'll run off and play but he always looks back to make sure we're right there. It's ever so cute. The boys had enough about 45 minutes later and thank goodness because I was ready to leave to with the small crowd of dominating dogs beside me growling at one another.

On our way home we got some gas and stopped at the store for some afternoon treats and now we're just relaxing on this cloudy afternoon just being...

Note: Yes my blog is open to the public now... With that short hiatus and with my sister moving far away I decided that one bad seed should NEVER spoil it for the rest. Love you guys and I hope you're having an amazing day <3

~Ice Cream and Tear Drops~

2011-01-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

The plan was to go to the Disneyland park today, but I had a rough night last night and couldn't fall asleep till about 5:30 a.m. Between M's late night screaming binges and the late night coffee that I shouldn't have, all I did was toss and turn till I physically exhausted myself.

My BFF and sister texted endlessly in the morning to let me know that we were still going to Disneyland, but I didn't get up till about 11:30 a.m. - which took a lot self convincing. By the time I got myself and the kids ready an hour had passed and even then I realized that I couldn't find the passes which would require another hour of searching.

Needless to say, our Disneyland plans were scratched. Instead we opted to hang out with my family at my sister's house. We had no real plans and just let the day play out. But before I got to my sister's place, a police car pulled me over because I had a busted tail light. I couldn't be upset and didn't want to be arrogant, so I accepted the tail light - it could be worse right? I mean it's just a moment in my day!

Shortly after we got to my sister's my mom and Aunt had to leave for a doctor's appointment, so my sister and I packed up the car with the kids and headed out to find a light bulb for my broken tail light and grab a treat with the kids at Cold Stone's Creamery.

I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself. Instead of indulging and cheating on my WW plan, I chose to have a smoothie instead of that yummy cone M is holding right there. It was satisfying and great AND only 4 points! Yummms!

M and D had a great time. We got some gift cards for M's birthday, so I thought it would only be fitting that the boys chose whatever they wanted on their treats, down to what ever was mixed into the ice cream. M had a chocolate sprinkled covered cone with raspberry sorbet with plain M&M's mixed in and marshmallows on top. D had a chocolate sprinkled covered cone with cookies and cream ice cream with gumballs mixed in. Quite the mix, dontcha think? LOL!

Not to fret, you don't think these kids could actually finish those ice cream cones do you? No, no. They actually ended up throwing the cones away after they were done with their very small portions of ice cream.

Afterwards, we decided to head over to the Filipino Video Store. I haven't seen a Filipino movie in about a year and I thought I was about due to watch one with the sissy. While we were there, M announced he had to go potty, but the video store didn't have a restroom so we bolted over to the restaurant about 4 stores down to use the restroom. I thought it was so very cute that whenever M has to use the restroom, he'll pull his pants down and then announce that he has to go. So the moment we got into the restaurant and M saw the sign for the restroom he immediately pulled his pants down in the middle of the dining room and starting running for the bathroom. HAHA!!!

I snagged this cute picture that I'll be including in his scrapbook for his "potty training days," you have to admit, it's pretty darn cute! LOL!

We ended up getting three Filipino movies, but only got through two of them tonight. Gotta say, the drama and complications of love stories in Filipino movies can leave this girl gasping for air. It was pretty fun, mostly hanging with my sister which I haven't done in a very long time. Then crying with her, for reasons other than yelling at each other, ha!

Well, as I said earlier, I didn't get much sleep last night. So I'm gonna try to get some sleep before the clock turns over to a.m.

Night everyone! Hope you had a wonderful day!

~Loathing~

2011-01-05T00:25:00.001-08:00

Happy 10th Birthday to my B!!! B's been spending his winter vacation with his dad and his step-mom so my heart holds heavy and is missing my little man today. I won't be able to see him till this Friday morning, when I pick him up on our way to California Adventure.

You would think with the scattering arrangements we've had the last ten years over our custody agreement we've had, things would get easier but as the years pass by and B's personality molds differently it just gets harder. I suppose you can say that it's expected for young boys to want one parent over the other, but a mother's heart - my heart, still remains longing for him to be with every day.

I was kind of bummed that we didn't get to see him, though we had planned to have a "family" dinner with him. But work schedules and other obligations played a key role in deciding that we would just do a seperate "family" celebration. So without my birthday boy here to celebrate I spent most of my day with my with my two younger boys, doing some house cleaning, and relaxing.

By dinner time, I was determined to keep our family meals home-made and avoid the ever so convenient option of heading out and eating somewhere. So tonight, I decided to make some Hearty Turkey Chili, but thought that it may be too spicy for the kiddies. Instead they had pigs in a blanket, carrots, creamy ranch dressing, and some crunchy grapes. I've read on other mommy and bento blogs of parents of picky eaters that giving them options in small portions is idea. It gives them an opportunity to try new things while still having the familiar.

J and I enjoyed our chili and I loved the fact that it was a healthier alternative for the recipe. I found the recipe on the Weight Watchers website and LOVED it! It turned out wonderfully and tasted great! Plus - BONUS! It was only 6 points, so i had the option of eating a second serving but chose not to. Will power! HA!

Working out took a back seat today. Maybe it was the fact that I was already having a crummy day or maybe because my body was aching from the last two days, but I decided to take a break and give my body the opportunity to crave the need to work out.

Here's my shameful confession today. Earlier I was playing Dance Central with the younger boys and impulsively got a very thin sliver of an Ube cake that we had purchased over the weekend. Being as tired and starved as I was, I scarfed it down to the last bite. The last bite that sat on my fork made me nauseated and full of guilt. I mean it wasn't a huge or even regular slice of cake, it was literally a quarter of a slice of cake but somehow I misconstrued the proportion comparable to an entire cake and I felt nothing but guilt. I started thinking maybe I should stop eating, but then realized that I already ate the whole slice. Then the unthinkable happened. I actually thought about throwing it up. Which made snap back into reality and I realized that would be stupid. Thank goodness! That's the last thing I need - an eating disorder.

I guess all those years in therapy in my adolescence finally paid off, for if it weren't for my coping skills in high stress moments I would have most definitely ran off to the bathroom and puked till I felt satisfied. But I know better than that and trust people - it won't happen.

As emotionally draining as this day has been and as bad of a diet and excercise day it's proven to be. It's just a day. It's my "break day" that everyone has advised me to make sure I work into my schedule so I don't over stress myself but keep myself motivated.

So it's just a day. A day that'll be over with as soon as my eyes close shut and my mind shuts down.

Have a great night everyone.

~I Kept My Word... For Me~

2011-01-02T23:51:00.000-08:00

So this was the view from the passanger seat in my car for pretty much the entire day. The residents of our little town have been in absolute shock and amazement. It's not an ordinary occurance that snow falls from the skies of Southern California, so when it does happen the city is at a stand still and without a doubt Facebook is flooded with status updates of videos, pictures, and excitement.

My sister K came over today and we all headed out to Souplantation for a little lunch with the family. It's become a Sunday tradition that I have come to really enjoy. It's a brief few hours that we get to catch up and talk without being rushed with orders coming in and out with our business.

On our way home, we noticed that the slushy rain drops that were falling earlier had become a fierce flurry of snowflakes blanketing the hillsides of the roads. We were so excited that we rolleed down the windows and encouraged the boys to catch a few flakes in their tiny little hands.

After a few hours after we got home (and a few hours of some failed attempts on Dance Central) we looked outside to see that the sidewalks, rooftops, and cars were all covered in beautiful white blankets. It was definitely a sight to see and amidst the amazement we may have lost our minds for just a few moments, because before we knew it we were outside in our tank tops and flip flops making snow balls aiming at one another. It was an afternoon of irresponsible fun!

My sister and I headed out to the valley to pick up some dinner - we were all craving chicken Mami and Siopao - so she bravely drove the snowy highway to the valley. I'm telling you any shift in weather for us Californians and we seriously do NOT know how to deal - hence, the extra 40 minutes we spent bumper to bumper, ha!

She ended up sleeping over and spending some time with our family over dinner. And while she was at home hanging out with the hubby and kids, I headed over to the gym... as I promised myself. To be honest it took a huge kick in my own butt to get myself into gear. But once I actually changed into my gym clothes and grabbed my iphone and earbuds, I was excited.

I spent a good hour at the gym (I have to pace myself before I hurt myself and end up not being able to return at all for 3 months) and was realistic with my daily goals. I did 40 minutes on the treadmill and an additional 20 minutes on the stairmaster, it was great!

So I don't think my struggle will be with actually working out, I think my struggle will be more with food. I LOVE FOOD!!! So tonight after I got home, showered, and headed to bed, my stomach started to rumble. I was intensely craving the leftover dinner we had earlier today but decided to have a pear, sugar free jello, and a 100 calorie pack of ritz Crackers. Afterall, if I only end up eating the calories I worked so hard to burn off at the gym... what's the point right?

Hoping you're all keeping warm tonight.

Getting Kinect'd and Imaginary Workouts

2011-01-02T00:38:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve celebrations didn't end for us till about 3 a.m. when we finally got home, settled the boys into bed, and found our comfy nooks between the sheets. It wasn't too long before J woke me up early in the morning with eyes so bright I thought it was Christmas morning all over again...

"Babe! You'll never guess what I have downstairs!"

Still half asleep, definitely dazed and confused, the only words that I could mutter out at that point was, "whaaaaaaa??? Huh????"

He quickly explained to me that he purchased the Kinect system. After seeing how much fun our boys were having at the NYE at my cousin's house we talked about maybe getting it soon. I didn't think we were going to get it first thing in the morning - or maybe I misunderstood again?

As tired as I was - 'cause you know SAHMs party like rockstars and finish off their nights with shots of Nyquil - I turned over and said, "that's great!" And boy was it great. While I slept off the OTC hangover till a little pass noon, J and the boys were downstairs tearing up the brand new wood floors with their sport skills.

Later in the afternoon our dear friends came over with their uber cute son. It was an impromptu New Year's Day gathering. And soon after my really good GF came over, just in time for some Dance Central Kinect fun.

As emberassing as it was to "dance" in front of our friends it turned out to be way more fun at the end. Not to mention a great work out.

Which brings me to the second part of this post... WORKING OUT! While I was dancing in front of the TV, probably burning more calories laughing at myself than actually dancing, I couldn't help but think about what I looked like. Kind of like when you're in your Group Aerobics class, you swear your doing the steps right until you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and realize that everyone is facing the back of the room while you're still staring at yourself in the mirror in the front of the class. HA!

After everyone left, I had planned on heading tot he gym - PLANNED ON HITTING THE GYM!! But ended up paying the price of gluttony in my bathroom for eating all the stuffed crust pizzas I had today. I think I'm officially lactose intolerant. My disgusting affair that I have with cheese in excess has now found it's demise. I don't think I can stomach that much cheese anymore, just as well since there's like a bazillion calories and fat that can only be shedded if I lived on the Stairmaster. Ah! Moderation is key I suppose. But that's a department I'm not good at, haha!

So, yes... planning. I'm all set on heading the gym. I've got my gym clothes and shoes ready to go and my iPhone is packed with tracks to keep me motivated throughout two hours of hard workouts. I am SO ready to work out! In fact, I'm so ready and pumped that I listen to my tracks while I FB and update on Twitter and imagine the enthusiasm I'll have when I'm trekking up those stairs and run uphill on the treadmill. I imagine how motivated I'll be and how the results will be so pleasing. And by the time I actually roll my ass out of bed to get ready to be make this imagination into reality, I lose it. But in my imaginary workout... I kicked ass!!

Okay... Okay... So I'm not getting a good headstart ont his workout regimen, BUT I did plan on Sunday night so I've had two days to waste away... Remember, I only blame myself if I don't reach my weekly goals!

Resolutions...

2010-12-29T10:48:00.000-08:00

Isn't it funny that we wait till the bitter end of the year to make resolutions? It's only at the bitter end of the year, when we've made all of our mistakes and have had enough time to reflect and regret a lot of our decisions. It is only after we've spent ginormous amounts of money on Christmas gifts that will probably end up in the closet or lost in a junk drawer that we give our selves permission to purge and regurgitate the wastes of of our lives.

I'm guilty of it for sure.

The daunting questions of what my resolutions are for 2011 aren't complicated at all. I think after a few years, your resolutions seem to repeat itself since they were never resolved the year before. And so as I am making my mental list of what my resolutions are for the upcoming year, I'm slowly realizing that this "list" is starting to become a "bucket list." I mean, how many times does a resolution have to hit your resolution list before it becomes the "do it before you die" item feature of the year? or lifetime for that matter.

As depressing as that sounds, I'm kind of excited for the following year. I don't have many obligations this year and so, find no reason or excuses to not live life to the fullest. Yeah sure! Apparently the world is going to end at the end of 2012 so a bucket list seems appropriate if that is the truth, right? But if not, I'll just make another resolution list and update the ole' bucket list.

Weight loss has been my nemesis since giving birth to my third child. Realistically, I'm never going to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight without looking like a bulimic teenage girl, so my expectations are just going to be a little more realistic... like just lose enough weight where your body doesn't move by itself. All joking aside, I just want to be toned, fit, and feel better about me for me!

So I'm back on the WW plan and have every intention to hit the gym every day. I've come to the conclusion that the only reason to remain this way is my lack of motivation. I don't really need a partner to go with to the gym, because it's those solitary moments that I ache for. I don't really need praise, because I think I'm a pretty damn good cheerleader. And the only person I cheat on WW is myself, and the results SHOW if I am cheating.

Being Selfish, yes... this is a BAD thing in most cases. But when you've spent your entire life doing things to please others and getting absolutely nothing in return worth mentioning, it gets tiring. So I've promised myself to do things for me that I can appreciate without caring if someone else finds the same value. Now, don't go around thinking I'm going to neglect my marriage or my children, or any common sense obligations I have. I just mean simple things, like letting the laundry go, eating out a little bit more, buying myself something for a change instead of waiting for someone else to get the hints only to find they weren't paying attention in the first place. Yes... I'm going to be selfish in a self constructive way.

SCHOOL! Oh my gosh, this has been on my list forever!! But it kind of goes hand in hand with the whole selfish thing. My priorities were everyone else but me. School is the one thing that I want to accomplish more than anything else right now on this list. And when I do, it'll be mine... all mine.

Now, I understand that my priorities of course my marriage and children, but I'm wondering more and more in as much as I have sacrificed to allow their lives to be idea, why haven't I taken the initiative to put that much effort into my own goals? It's simple really, I've made excuses and put the blame on others when realistically I haven't motivated myself and have convinced myself that I'm too old. SCREW THAT!

A Better Life for me. Does this even need a description?

So there, it's a simple yet daunting list. A lot of my struggles will mostly come from myself. But I'm not discouraged. I know I'll accomplish all of these things with time. Most of it is just letting go of the unrealistic goals, the regret of not accomplishing what I've wanted than falling into a silent depression, and instead of being selfless, be selfish.

Turning The Dirrty - 3-0!!

2010-12-12T14:22:00.000-08:00

Up till about about a month ago, it never occured to me just how difficult turning 30 might be. Maybe it was because I wasn't really paying attention to the fact that my birthday was fast approaching, or maybe because I was so busy with the move back home and unpacking, or maybe I was in silent denial.

The day before I turned the Dirrrty 3-0, it started to attack my emotional being like a bad break up. A break up that I was having with my twenties. In all seriousness, I sat and moped in my pajamas on the last day of twenties, crying and then panicking every two hours.

What have I accomplished?

What haven't I accomplished?

Crap! Will I have time to accomplish?

And even if I did accomplish everything or had tons of time to accomplish the things I haven't accomplished, who was I doing it for? Yes, I was having an emotional break down over the death of my 20's.

I went to bed that night, fighting tears of acceptance that in just a few short hours I would soon have to bubble in "that" category of 30-35 when filling out paperwork

_________________________________________________

I didn't sleep much that morning, so ended up waking up super late. I dashed out the doo

r with all the kids, searching my purse for lunch money since I didn't have tim

e to pack them a lunch and walked out the door to find my car like this....

Yep, my sister got me back for her Post-It Note Birthday Pimp My Car Stunt

She ended up joining forces with a few friends and saran wrapped, ribboned up, balloon tied, and beer can stringed my car. Unfortunately, I had about 2 minutes to spare in absolute shock and had to take my boys and the carpool to school.

Yes, it says ANAL on the side - a nickname I've picked up since my name never fit

s on screens and conveniently stops at L. What you don't see, and what I failed to see b

efore the boys did was the B-Word written all over the front of my car. Mortified, I ended up dropping the boys off at the corner of the school and told them to bolt.

______________________________________________

Later in the afternoon, my sister and good friend Cynthia came over with a surprise Portos birthday cake for the hubby and I (our birthdays are two days apart). Then surpris

ed me AGAIN with a surprise dinner with a very special group of friends...

...and Patron - LOTS AND LOTS OF PATRON!

The pictures don't do the experience justice, I am so very very lucky to have a group great girlfriends that I can trust and depend on and for that I count my blessings with each and everyone of you.

Turning 30 wasn't as bad as I thought it would be because of all of your kindness, practical jokes, support, trust, and love. I love my girls =D

Thank you Karen, Cynthia, Aliw, Akit, Tricia, Ana, and Ada - friendships are not counted by the quantity in which you are surrounded by, but by the quality of those friendships you hold dear.

____________________________________________________

A hangover and almost a week later, I've come to terms with having to admit that I am NOW 30 years old. I feel accomplished in so many levels and instead of saying that i have never done this or haven't done this or will never do that I pay tribute to the twenties in which I lived a life people in their 30's have yet to experience.

When I turned 20, I got to give birth to my future and saw Love at First Sight stare right back at me.
When I turned 23, I got engaged to the love of my life and was never more confident to say yes in less than a second
When I turned 24, I gave birth to love and my future again. Then 3 short months later walked down the church aisle into the arms of the man who will love me always and forever
When I turned 26, we bought our first home.
When I turned 27, I gave birth to love and the future yet again. Learning more about myself as a mother.
When I turned 28, I learned that deception and friendship DO go hand in hand, then learned that my real friends were always there by me though I turned my back a few times.

It wasn't an easy road, but a road less traveled or seen by bystanders too afraid to take the first step. Although I will never say I'm a 20-something year old again, I'm okay with it.

It was in my teens I made a lot of dumb decisions, it was in my twenties I learned to accept those decisions, and it will be in my thirties where I will value those decisions and embrace them.

A Closet Full of Chaos

2010-12-03T00:42:00.000-08:00

So, I think I pushed myself into exhaustion today, unpacking 4 years of my life into neat and tidy stacks of organized life. I managed to unpack 3 bedrooms worth of clothes, toys, and memories - of course, while sorting through the MANY items that were kept simply for nostalgia.

At the end, I chucked over 4 trash bags full of clothes and 3 trash bags of trash. As I sorted through the many things that we accumulated through the years, I had to actively stop myself constantly from stopping and remembering where I got a shirt, who wore the shirt, where I was when I bought the shirt, and what that shirt meant to me. For goodness sakes it's just a shirt! I noticed after about 30 minutes that I was seriously getting no where fast! So I made a rule, that if I thought too long it's wrong and then straight into the trash it went. I figured if we went 9 months without it and didn't die from the aching distance from an item, it was okay to part with it.

I gave myself permission to let go of the memories and the past. I gave myself permission to just never see it again.

I needed to make space for my new memories.

Granted.

These were my boys' clothes and toys, I haven't dared to enter my walk in closet - which is currently vomiting into my master bathroom and through the pathway to my bed. I stare at the many boxes and piles of clothing currently occupying my space and just think stress.

But I'm on a mission. and hopefully by this time tomorrow night I'll be blogging about how I FREAKIN' ROCKED! Because I normally do so I don't expect less =P

Off to bed, for another stressful sleep. I'll sleep well next week! HAHA!

December Days - Tis' The Season to be Grateful

2010-12-02T00:32:00.000-08:00

Do you know where I am blogging from right now? I'm blogging live from my home. The orginal home. The home that burned to near ashes nine months ago and I can't tell you how grateful I am to finally be home.

Though our home seems like a storage unit with piles of boxes stacked upon our surrounding walls, I can't feel help but feel a sense of peace and solace. This is our home and I couldn't be more in place though everything is out of place.

We officially moved back in the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and moved our entire family and about 75% of our belongings from our rental to our home. It was a bittersweet holiday for our family. We still drove to my cousin's home 2 hours away and still had the traditional Thanksgiving dinner and still had the best time amongst our family as we mingled and shared stories that made headlines in our family circle. We still wanted our children to celebrate despite the fact that we were in the middle of the most challenging moves our family has faced with.

We spent the entire holiday weekend moving our funiture, unpacking boxes, and waiting - waiting for the internet connection, waiting for the cable, waiting for our mattresses. Just waiting a frustrating wait. Time stood still in our home and seemed to never tick away, leaving us with the same problems on repeat. It was frustrating and it was hard.

Eventually, everything we waited for soon came and little by little we started to feel home again. There are still many things we are waiting for - calls, emails, response to many questions and uncertainty, but all those things are irrelevant so long as we are home. Home - something I haven't been able to relate to since coming leaving nearly 9 months ago.

But life still goes on, children must go to continue to go to school, I have to finish my semester off, my husband continues to work, and I continue unraveling and rebuilding the life that was once built to perfection.

Many times this past 9 months, I wondered why such a horrible thing happened to our family. And I wondered why people speak so badly of us, despise the devastating events that happened. Then I realized that everything happens for a reason. Perhaps, this event happened to remind me that everything is replaceable so long as my family is in tact with all it's imperfections and that there are seasons in life where we must weed out the toxic from the beautiful.

We've been given an opportunity to start all over again, exactly where we started. A clean slate without compromising our life that we intended for when we moved into this home 4 years ago. We've been given the opportunity to do it right this time. This time our lives and our home will be filled with a lot of love, understanding, and gratitude encompassing the family who resides in it. Everything else is just gravy.

It's Been Nice...

2010-11-12T20:19:00.000-08:00

So today's been one of those days where it was just nice to take it nice and easy. The boys went back to school today after being off in observance of Veteran's Day, and although I love those days where I get to sleep in that... ahem... extra 15.. urrrgh 30 minutes in the morning, I hate having one odd day out of sorts where I have to get back into routine. You have no idea how tempted I was to just have them miss school - but then, what kind of a mother would I be then? Oh the suburban gossip train would run off course with that statement =P

After getting the kids to school on time, I got home and laid in bed with M for a little bit and chatted while we watched a little HBO Family and Animal Planet. I don't know what got into us, but before we knew we were jumping on the bed like crazed teenagers having heard the first NKOTB song.. yikes! Did I just say that? Hee, hee. Okay maybe?

I'll admit this though, it was nice being child like and not having a care in the world. Jumping on the bed without having a parent yelling, "No jumping on the bed or you'll crack your skull open if you fall!" must have been nice for little M especially because at this moment the only parent in the room was the one holding his hand jumping along side with him. It was nice.

Eventually, we had to come downstairs to eat and while I prepared some chicken noodle soup in the kitchen, M was on the computer playing some preschool games on nickjr.com - yes, I'm that parent that lets her 3 year old play on the computer while I prepare meals. I honestly, don't think there's anything wrong with him learning hand-eye coordination while maneuvering the mouse;or having Ni Hao Kai Lan tell him a story and he control the "continue" button; nor do I mind him doing puzzles. I think it's great... technology has taken us so far in giving our kiddies that stimulation (of course in moderation) that they so thirst for.

In the afternoon, M and I met up with J at the Costco to get some work stuff and found ourselves lost in the aisles of "thing we don't need, but only wanted. We saw the new 3D tv's and just fell in love. Despite our new found love, we weren't about to spent that much money on an unnecessary technological find. Seriously though, you know they'll be like 50% off the displayed price in about a year, just like flat screends, LCD's, etc.

While we were at Costco, we decided to pick up this Ready To Bake Rotisserie Chicken Pot Pie and Pre Packaged Ceaser Salad. We haven't been grocery shopping since we're trying to finish off what we have in the fridge before we move out and get situated in our home. So this was a break from the fast food that's been compiling in our stomachs, then fridge, then eventually the trash. I haven't been feeling very well lately, rather sluggish and just "off." I have a feeling that this nasty diet of fast food may be the culprit.

I had big plans tonight, but after having a beautiful day doing just ordinary things, I thought it would be nice to just continue doing every day things while enjoying this ordinary life.

Tonight, I am thankful for having just what I need and not having too much I can not handle or too little that I envy. In having lost so much in the last few years in the areas of friendships, material possesions, and security I have found a new sense of gratitude for the things and people I do have. To ask for more would only be greed, to appreciate what I have is to be humble.

It's Finally Beginning To Feel Like Fall...

2010-11-07T21:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I hope you guys remembered to "fall" back an hour today. I LOVE this time of the year... when Daylight Savings ends and I get to sleep in that one extra blissful hour of sleep. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! One cannot appreciate more than a mother... BELIEVE ME!

After that lovely extra hour of sleep, I got up and left to take some pictures of our neighbors kids. I'm not a professional by all means, but I love taking pictures, so when she asked me to do it, I couldn't say no. Meanwhile, J and the boys headed off to the dog park with Lucky and gave that puppy the best day ever. We all got home pretty much at the same time, so while J and the boys headed upstairs to play games and watch movies I caught up on my English readings and last minute research for my paper. I'm a procrastinator I know, but for some reason my writing is so much better when under pressure... GO FIGURE!

Soon after, I headed out to pick up B from his dad's after spending the weekend with he and his wife. The smile on that boy's face after telling me his little dinner date with Manny Pacqiao was priceless. See celebrities? It just takes that few minutes to sit with a fan and take a picture to brighten up his week... Thanks Manny!

We spent the rest of the evening with my sister, Cynthia, and her beautiful daughters. It's been a while since Cynthia and I had some girl talk and I've missed it so much. There's nothing that can compare to having a sweet heart to heart with a really good friend.

Which leads to what I am thankful for today...

I am thankful for great friendships that can survive anything... that can handle truth when it doesn't want to be heard, that can handle silence and reconvene as if time has never passed, for loyalty that is beyond comprehension. I am thankful for you Aliw and Cynthia, for if it weren't for great friends, I'd be an insane and derranged housewife. Love you both!

Happy November!

2010-11-05T23:20:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week we celebrated M's 3rd Birthday at Disneyland. We had originally planned on throwing a birthday party this weekend, but we also got word that we would be moving back home pretty soon. So, we decided to postpone the birthday party until we moved back as we wanted to start making new GREAT memories back home. With just the boys and J and M's God-mother Aliw and her kids we spent the entire day completely dedicated to Matthew.

It was a lot of fun and super stressed free. Thank goodness it wasn't packed, we were able to get on every ride without much of a line (if at all). We ended the night at Boiling Crab - a hot spot in the So. Cal area where we eat seafood to our hearts desire straight off of the wax paper they lay in front of you.

The rest of the week has been simple house cleaning and purging of things we've accumulated in the rental since being away from home. I tell ya! We sure do accumulate a lot of stuff over a 9 month period!

Today, was just relaxation. The boys had a shortened day so we were able to start our weekend a few hours early! Yay! B left to be with his dad and Step mom for the weekend, while J, my sis', and the boys headed out to dinner at Chile's after haircuts. Dinner was great until D fell off of the window pane that I told him to get off of and took down with him the entire menu stand and sugar bowl and salt and pepper... yeah... the reason why I hesitate going out to eat, LOL!

At the end of dinner, I started scrolling down my FB on my iPhone and saw that B's dad posted this on FB!

J and I got really excited for B, I mean... WOW!!! What an opportunity for B! To meet the world renowned champion, Manny Pacquiao. Even through FB we were star strucked! This is definitely one to go into the scrapbooks =D

When we got home, J found the original Toy Story and the younger boys have been glued to the TV with minimum movement. The last I checked they were beyond halfway down lullaby highway. I on the other hand have been on a mission to finish the laundry. HA! Life doesn't change much around here regardless of where we are.

So a lot of my friends have been posting things on their blogs or FB or even twitter throughout this first week of November, giving thanks for whatever on a daily basis. Thought it would be fun so here's mine...

I am thankful today for the opportunity to sit down with my sister, boys, and husband at the same table and at the same time over a great meal that we were blessed to enjoy. Life's obstacles can be insanely discouraging, but as I looked around the table tonight I am so very thankful for my family and for the unconditional love we have for each other.

What are you thankful for today?

It's Halloween Week!

2010-10-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

Admittedly so, I was far more excited about Halloween when I was a kid. Defying the parents and eating candy while I was supposed to be sleeping so much more fun than catching my own kids now doing the same thing. LOL!

Sunday morning, we made our way over to the Pierce Pumpkin Patch and met with family and friends to enjoy the Fall Festivities. Really? What kind of a festivity would it be without your close family and friends there to enjoy it with. We ate some BBQ and corn, drowned it fresh lemonade and swam in Kettle corn. The overcast and threatening clouds overhead didn't stop us from having fun!

I love this photo of our family. Too bad, Brandon was closing eyes - Boo! But getting 5 people, 3 being kids to sit still and facing the same direction was success enough, LOL!

Matthew leaned in for his kiss from lil' Miss B and it was just too sweet and innocent. B's face is priceless here... Cynthia and I were joking that we would use these photos in their wedding video montage one day - but who knows, by then video montage's may be tacky - or are they now? what!

My sister Karen, Cynthia, Emilio, and the hubs were literally dragging their feet all day as they worked 18 hours straight the night before at a wedding in Palos Verdes estates. Kudos for them for showing up!

We spent a good 3 hours there, riding rides and eating great food with great company. Then we headed back home, but had to make two stops for some take out Thai food and Boba, yummy!

J was exhausted so he stayed home while I ran to Tokyo Life to pick up some Bento accessories for the kids lunches and made a quick stop at the house. Everything is coming along nicely and the house is beginning to look like our home again. At the end of my visit, I resisted the temptation to stay, LOL!

Well, it's Halloween week... and I hope you and your family are having a great time in anticipation for this very fun day =D

The Boys' Rooms - More Than Just Rooms

2010-10-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

Today, I thought it would be fun to join Kelly's Korner Blog's Show Us Your Life theme for this week. Which is "Show Us Your Nurseries and Kids' Rooms."

For those that are visiting my blog for the first time, let me give you a little background as to why the rooms are so bare.

Our laundry room is located in the center of our second floor. After a day of winter cleaning and redecorating our home from the holiday season over to spring season, I decided to finish a couple of loads of laundry in our laundry room (which is located in the center of our second story) to finalize the pristine state my home was in. I put in a load of laundry to dry and told my husband I was going out to get dinner (since I didn't want to muck up my stove after scrubbing it down for over an hour). About 30 minutes later I received a call while I was waiting for our dinner and it was my husband who said something that will forever engrave itself into my memories and essentially changed our lives, "the house is on fire." So simple, yet so strong.

Confused, worried, and understandably upset I drove home with tears running down my face, my words spilling out of my mouth in incomprehensible to anyone other than myself. The seemingly short 15 minute drive home seemed liked an eternity as I hit every single red light. I waited helplessly as I watched fire engines continuously race past me.

As I turned into our adjacent street, I popped out of my car and screamed, "where are my children!" One by one they walked out of concerned neighbors homes. I held them tightly as I breathlessly cried over their shoulders. It was a moment - a scene really - that only a mother could appreciate. My children were okay. My family was okay.

I composed myself well enough, and walked down the sidewalk, past the fire engines situated by my home. And there, I saw the home I built for the past 4 years burn into flames.

It was a dryer malfunction in conjunction with poor ventilation. It was 30 minutes that changed our lives forever. It was the fire that displaced our family for 8 months.

But now, we're close to completion of our home. As a mother, I have every intention to make our home a happy home, to brighten each wall with new memories, to erase the one memory that devastated our family.

I get a lot of crap from the hubs and friends on how bright these rooms are, but if you could understand the psychological turmoil rendered on my kids and my intent to ensure that they feel safe in our home you can understand why I have chosen to bravely go bold and bright, an interior designs faux pas on subtlety. With the hubs, his remarks slide off my back, this is the result of responding to me, "I don't care." when asked, "what do you think?" The lack of participation in the rebuilt of our room, warrants all authority to me. For the folks that quiver at the colors and cringe at the thought of going bright, are folks that don't live in my home. Who don't have to stare at the rooms and think, my sons could have been there sleeping and it would have been too late.

Eight months ago, my sister stayed with us for a short while, but since then has moved on to her own home. Now we've converted her room into my two youngest boys' room. The walls are blanketed in an ocean blue, boasting three windows that the morning sun beams through. Wrought iron rods will bolster up cascading sheer white drapes during the day and beige solar panels will keep the room cool as they sleep. The walls will be bordered in dinosaur shapes and the beds will be blanketed with white covers that sport dinosaur prints in yellow, orange, red, and green. A star night light will hang above their dresser to guide them out if ever needed and the dinosaurs will give them a sense of protection. The room will be playful and inviting, yet serene and calming when needed.

This room used to be my youngest son's nursery. the once sage green and vanilla white walls with bordered espresso lines are now replaced with a tangelo orange, accented by a red that ironically boasts the name Flame. This room is diagonal to the laundry room, the room that received the second most fire damage. Now, it'll be my oldest son's room - an hommage to Skaters. The walls will have shadows of Skaters in taupe and brown around the room, so as he lays in his bed at night, it will seem like he's laying at the base of a skater's ramp watching the skaters whiz by him. This is my hope.

Every room in my home is decorated with my heart. Every splash of color reflects my hopes and dreams for my children. Every fixture and piece of furniture is a promise that I will closely watch them and be there.

Never

2010-10-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

It always seems like we use "never" as an excuse for everything. Either it be never have enough time or never enough things to do. Never, never, never.

I find myself saying never too often at times, I have to catch myself and internally remind myself to quit making excuses.

Our home is finally close to completion and I couldn't be more excited and overwhelmed at the same time. Maintaining two homes and transitioning it into one is a daunting task. Some days, I just don't want to do anything, but with so many people depending on MY next move, it's almost impossible to take a "don't give a crap" day.

The Living and Dining Areas

The Master Bedroom

When I chose the colors for our home, I decided to go with more bright and cheerful colors (I'll post more pictures in it's closer completion), in exception to the our master bedroom, I wanted it to be calming and welcoming. I did this not to shock my husband, but more to take away a lot of the dreaded memories of disaster we had from the fire. It's depressing to look back and see how much we lost and how much we've had sacrificed in terms of material posessions and time. Don't get me wrong, I'm so grateful for the continued support and contributions our community has made to us, but psychologically and emotionally I don't think we'll ever recover.

Time has taken it's flight with our family, we've been constantly busy with the business, which is super great! But at the same time, tis' the season where I miss my husband and sometimes feel like a single mom contributing most of my time to my kids and their school functions. Holiday seasons are always so demanding at the school. I have my normal volunteer days for D's class which I absolutely LOVE! Then there are those festivals and class parties which I love doing as well, but our business also requires so much time and commitment -two things I lack with having to devote so much already to my family.

People say SAHM have it made, but I think it's this perception that leaves us obligated to take on more than we can handle. And because we struggle to maintain our position in society, we end up zipping or lips in fear that rejecting a favor asked would only lead to rejection from the other SAHM. Husband's regardless of how supportive they are tend to forget that we were work just as hard as they do to maintain the peace and calm that they come home to, but we don't ask for praise, we just ask for understanding. Especially when they come storming through the door frustrated that the kids are restless and the laundry is still scattered by the laundry room waiting to be sorted. It's not that this is what we wanted, but we just never have enough time. It's a frustrating situation.

Since being back in school, I've had to let certain pet peeves go to make room for what is important on my priority list of accomplishments for myself. I thoroughly enjoy being part of an institution that allows me to be... well, me. There is nothing in this world right now that I can be selfish about, that I own without any dependency on another person. In school I am accountable for what I give in, I'm praised by graded, engaged by conversation, and enlightened by hearing other stories. The 2 hours I spend twice a week, makes me feel more than a SAHM. Again, don't get me wrong, I love being a mom and wife, but there are those days where I just want to do something that I can reward myself without having to use the excuse of "I just need a break." I've come to the conclusion that I don't need a "break" persay, I just need something where I'm recognized more than just "Mom" or "Honey."

You can say I'm selfish in that aspect. Heck! I know I am. But 99% of the time I'm not. If only that could be understood. Empathize with the situation, it seems like mothers are the only ones that are expected too.

Gearing Up

2010-10-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

Wow!! Is it Friday already? Who am I kidding? I spent most of my week sleeping in and taking advantage of the relaxing mornings I've had without having to wrestle my boys into school clothes and dashing over to the school.

But, alas, my minication is over and I'm gearing up for a very busy but fun weekend with friends and family.

But before diving into girl time - wedding pro status, I have TONS to do. And really haven't done any of it, except prep to do it. LOL

After writing this intriguing, ahem, informational post I'll be headed out with D and M to the bank, then get home to cook dinner for the hubs and kiddies, then get ready to head out to movies and food truck night with the ladies.

For those who know me well, well you know my outlook in life is comedic. Heck, I think everything that happens in my life is pretty comedic. So I enjoy watching movies like these with my girlfriends, that are mommies themselves who have those single friends that just don't understand the realm of insanity there is when one becomes a parent. So we're indulging tonight at laughing at those poor souls that think raising a child is soooo easy - cuz, you know it is...n't.

I've got a busy weekend planned, with having to head over to the flower market in Downtown LA, maintaining my home and tending the kiddies, then making a huge floral order for the following day. I'm hoping to post some pictures up of our finished product, and when I do I'll send you over to our company website =D Where all the traffic needs to be if you're looking for a one stop shop for brides =D

I've been working on my Entertainment Analysis paper for my English class and have hit a dead end of writer's block. I'm taking that this means I need to stop before I let quantity take advantage of the quality of my paper. Boo! I chose Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament thinking that it would be the best first hand experience I can write about. My problem now is that there are just way too many angles to approach this from... blah blah! I know this interests you. But again... it's my blog, my thoughts... so skip ahead. HA!

Well, I guess my procrastination must end here for the stench of diaper changing beckons and my tummy growls for culinary attention. Hope you all have a great weekend... (testing 1,2,3 echo- echo!)

Making My Own Childhood Memories Part of Children's Memories

2010-10-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

So, like a dork, I got uber excited that Beauty and the Beast was being re-released for it's Platinum Edition. And since I was too "cool" to purchase it the last time it was unvaulted, I rushed over to the store and picked up a copy of my all time favorite Disney movie after attending my English class tonight (tons of great conversation tonight, but I'll save that for another post).

Now, I don't have any daughters but figured that my boys would enjoy this some what fairy tale infused story that had a bit of masculinity in it. As we watched the movie; I sang, danced, and perhaps embarrassed them beyond belief. There were moments where they joined me and asked questions, which I absolutely loved. The fact that they were paying attention enough to want to ask questions excited me =D LOL! Yeah I know L-O-S-E-R, but whatever!

By the end of the night, Daniel was the last man standing. He's so sweet, he even watched the special features with me and indulged on the fact Zack and Cody from the Suite Life were advertising the Blu Ray feature, ha!
Brandon's spending time with his dad for the rest of the Fall Break and Matthew made it up until the unforgettable dance scene between Belle and the Beast. What a trooper for trying to make it.

There's something sweet about reliving these moments that ahem... so many years ago I witnessed as a child. The magic is still there, but not just through my own eyes but in even my sons' eyes. It's amazing. Disney never fails to make moments last forever.

Fall Is Here

2010-10-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

at least for today and for most of the week, then it's back to sweltering September weather. Blegh! It's actually cloudy, a little rainy, and a little gloomy. But because we've missed it so much in good ole' California, we seriously don't mind. I've always loved Fall, things just seem so much more possible and change in virtually everything you can think of is every where.

The boys are home for Fall Break (I know can you believe they're already off for an entire week?) and instead of packing in their week with non stop activities, we opted for a more lazy-day approach and gave them some free play. Though we still have a lot of other things planned for the week, nothing is finite but rather flexible. I think I did this more for me than for the kids. After spending the entire summer doing nothing but everything, I needed a short break to catch my breath.

School for me has been great, I dropped one of my classes because I saw that I was struggling with time and energy. So rather than getting an average grade in both classes I preferred to get one great grade in one class. Time, patience, and sacrifice right?

This passed weekend we had our annual Oktoberfest event. It was bigger than EVER and we were so happy to have been able to pull it off. There are MANY emberassing pictures on my Facebook and Fotki page... enough that I won't post any here, ha! This year it was a little harder to recuperate, but I'll blame age on this... my alcohol tolerance has tabled for the last few years. Gone are the days in which I can drink into stupidity, I have to start doing this thing called responsibility lol!

Time Consuming

2010-09-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a little busy here at the Bernat Home, with almost every single one of those back in school (except Daddy of course). Time management has been one of those attributes that I'm gladly priding myself in right now. My organizational skills are still on par, but the execution seems to be the are in which I'm lacking. It's so hard to prioritize what is important, since we mothers know... priority seems to be the that is constantly changing through the day depending on who's sitting in the same room with you. Funny though, it never seems to be Mom? But even if it were, do you really think Mom would sit there and humbly oblige top priority? Of course not. We'd probably use that "alone time" to fit in whatever crap we forgot or failed to do that was in dire need of being done.

School for me was a bit of a challenge the first week. I felt old, but not that old. I'm at that uncomfortable limbo while sitting in a class that is mostly filled with freshmen, giggling inside while thinking, "what the hell is she talking about?" as she talks about the new fashion trends at the new "it" store that I would never be caught dead in. Not, because I would never wear those clothes, but because I fear for my own sanity having to tote three very, very active boys into a dark retail chain store. Every word that came out of my mouth was, "my husband..." or "my boys..." when it dawned on me that this has pretty much been my life the last 4 years. I've stayed in my little comfort zone of family life that I have absolutely nothing else to talk about. So during my "me" time, I'm stuck talking about my kids and husband, rather than talking to my kids and husband. I have absolutely nothing else to relate any - and I mean any - subject than with my family. After a while, I just kept my mouth shut - because I guarantee you these freshmen have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about when I bring up the controversy between cloth and disposable diapers, and why should they?

I've been sitting at home a lot, isolating myself from any more commitments that will drain me socially. Burying my tired and strained eyes into textbooks of cultural thinking and trigonometry, which by the way has got me going cockeyed and dizzy. I used to love math but these triangles and circles - I hate. I was never one for geometry, h-a-t-e-d it! I love Algebra and I love conversions but to hell with all the geometry lol! But I need the class to get further into the direction I'm headed. And like most things I do day to day, I don't have to love it, but I'll do it to function... let's just get on with it right?

It doesn't matter how hard I try to organize things in our daily routines, things just go out of whack. Either tantrums happen, someone's too lazy errr... busy to execute the simple directions, or it just doesn't get done. So I do the things that I can control, like my homework, reading, housework, blah blah... It's liberating knowing that the things that I needed to get done (though I would have much preferred a night off) has been done. Yeah, sure it leaves my workspace a complete mess, but as I joked with my parents as teenage girl with a room completely flipped upside down, "everything is where it's supposed to be. Don't touch it! I'll never be able to find it again." HA!

So functioning has become a time consuming effort. Being able to sit in one place and put complete focus into one thing is unbearably difficult. But who could sympathize with that right? I mean every one has their justification as to why they couldn't possibly selflessly do something for the good of another person, well.. because their priority comes first. Wait! I'm stemming off to a completely different topic but anyhow, you know who you are!

It is what it is and these textbooks and reference books will haunt me till the end of this semester, only to make room for more textbooks that will surely give me another dazed and confused look.

Which is why I cannot wait for our upcoming "End of Summer" family vacation. Officially closing off our Summer 2010 and welcoming Fall 2010. And that is all I can think about. That's all I want to think about. In fact, it's all i'm staring at. But that could be because I feel a little bit under the weather and my eyes keep drooping and that's the first thing in sight. But I'm pretty sure my mind and body is ONLY thinking about our family vacation

The Heat Is On

2010-08-24T17:01:00.000-07:00

Beside the 115+ degree weather we've been having, the pressure has really gotten the best of us. BUT, before it did we had a very busy weekend.

I called up the girls last Friday for an impromptu girls night and headed out for the evening for some pho and a late showing of Eat, Pray, Love.

It's really sad that I live so far away from these awesome girl, especially since I miss them so often. The night was great though, it was filled with TONS of laughs, great conversations, stories and memories to share for later days, and great food... ALWAYS great food, ha!

Saturday, I spent most of the day helping J out with an event about an hour and a half way. I'm pretty much his "errand girl." It's a lot of work though and I give credit where credit is due. My man works pretty damn hard... believe!

Sunday, to give the hubby a break and some time to relax. I herded all the boys over to Disneyland again, but this time with my mom and baby sister.

My sister hasn't been here before (I know it's horrible, especially since we live in California!), so we spent most of the day riding every single ride we could. The lines weren't as bad as we had anticipated. I suppose all the kids have gone back to school and parents are pretty much tied down to their home lives and work now. GREAT OPPORTUNITY for us, since we breezed through most of the lines =D

Monday, is chaotic as usual. We didn't get home till late the night before so we were all walking zombies. It was also my first day of classes, and like a nerd I was overly excited haha! I have to say though, that I'm a lot more prepared this time around, but my later class is what's going to kill me. I guess I just have to get used to it, but I'm not worried - so that must be a good sign. Right?

It's been scorching hot out here in SCV and instead of running the kids all over the place to get to their extracurricular activities, I chose to just take it easy and enjoy the nice air conditioning at home. Seriously, lugging three boys in and out of the car in 115+ degree weather is NO FUN. I don't care how great of a mom you are, it's just not fun. It's doable no doubt though... if you're a glutton for punishment.

Another Productive Day... Wait! What Day Isn't Productive?

2010-08-19T23:13:00.000-07:00

I have been going non stop today. Between errands and drop offs, it seems like I haven't sat down to catch my breath in hours. Okay, I lie. I've been sitting here at my computer for the last 3 hours doing absolutely nothing but Facebook games and being nosey. But really, from the moment I woke up till about 3 hours ago, I have NOT had a moment to just do nothing.

And I know I'm complaining, but it's my blog and my thoughts so there.

I dropped the boys off at school, came back home and fed M some breakfast and changed him for the day. Then he and I headed over to our almost finished home to meet J and the contractors to talk about a few things that needed clarification for the remodel. J had an appointment with a client, so we didn't stay long - just a lot of nods and hmmmm's? over some of the choices we were given. This didn't fan out to well by the time we settled down this evening, because then J and I were heavily discussing the continuous color patterns of the paint choices I made from wall to ceiling - Anyhow, I was right he was wrong (and the late night call to the contractor justified that - NOT just being the obnoxious wife, ha!)

M and I headed over to McDo to grab a bite to eat and inished off at home for a short bit. He fell asleep - which I knew he would because he got up super early after going to bed super late. None the less, we had to keep the routine consistent and headed off to preschool, which he fell asleep again during the car ride over. I felt so bad having to wake him up but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Afterwards, I headed over to MANSLAND aka LOWES, walking around completely confused trying to find sample swatches and aisles for carpet and vinyl flooring. I've never been so confused in my life, I saw a bunch of unfinished parts that in a man's world will become something put together. I looked so insanely confused that one (well maybe more than one) employee walked up to me and saved me! She asked if I was lost, because she could see it on me face, yikes! LOL! She pointed me to the right direction, and I planted myself down on the concrete floors and started taking model and item numbers, pictures that I emailed and text to J (who by the way, didn't bother even looking at till later this afternoon). After I conquered that hurdle, i was off to find some ceiling fans and lighting that J and I were purchasing for our home - we had meant to do it prior to the fire, so we thought that this would be a great opportunity to just get it out of the way. So, again I sat down at took more information and pictures and walked out completely exhausted. Lowe's and any other home improvement store will be the death of me I swear - especially for items that I just would rather hire to put together than have to figure out what the many parts are for. Ummm... I'd rather go to Ikea, they at least have the Swedish meatballs and a cafeteria there, LOL!

I headed home with an hour to spare before having to pick up M, and I used it wisely by eating some leftovers for lunch. I thought the rest of the day would go perfectly, until I got a call from J that there was a HUGE possibility that he wouldn't be able to get the older boys from school. Thankfully, that worked out at the end, he was late but he got them - that's all that matters =D

After meeting J and the older boys at the house, we almost immediately left for Taekwondo. As usual, M fell asleep in his car seat after a very long and festive afternoon. The original plan was for J to take M for the evening while I headed out to the Valley with the boys, but why wake a sleeping toddler? Oh you moms know, that's one thing you definitely don't want to do, LOL!

So, between all the driving and running around like a crazy person, we somehow squeezed in dinner, baths, and homework into our evening. I think that Tuesday's and Thursdays will be my busy days - well at least this week. We'll see if I can get this under control without losing my mind first, ha!

Hump Day!

2010-08-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to meet up with a friend earlier today at the floral supply store but cancelled last minute, seeing that M woke up when I was already supposed to be gone. It worked out well though, since I didn't really need to be there.

So, then M and I spent the rest of the morning negotiating and presenting cases as to why I needed to change his diaper, feed him breakfast, and whining WITH a paci in his mouth was unacceptable. He didn't budge very easy, but it sure was fun watching him have complete melt downs over me changing his dirty diaper - I mean how horrible of me to want to make sure he's clean, the nerve right? LOL!

We headed out to the Valley to spend some very much needed BFF time with Aliw and my God Daughter Aeon (see picture above) - okay, is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?? Love her! While Aeon slept and M played with Aliw's boys, Aliw and I had a chance to catch up over the yummy lunch she made for us (pork chops and rice - MY FAV!). Boy, have I missed her... it's so seldom now a days to spend afternoons like that with her with the new baby and her moving away. I'm almost tempted to make the hubs move us back to the Valley, ha!

Our visit was short lived, since I had to drive back to SCV to pick the boys up from school. I was hoping to go back and catch a movie with Aliw but she had prior plans and I didn't feel like watching Eat, Pray, Love by myself. So instead, we spent another evening beating the heat in our backyard having a little more water play.

The kids have all managed to finish their homework without any real hurdles and are now fast asleep... well, except for my night owl, M. It's totally normal for him to roll around the bed until he gets tired of J and I pleading with him, "Go To Bed!" But I can't believe I'm actually going to bed at a somewhat decent time and get some much needed rest. I haven't been sleeping very well lately, usually falling asleep around 2 or 3 a.m. Too many things to catch up on.. yikes! I'm about 3 projects behind in my head... boo =( So for the last few days, I've been literally dragging my bum wherever I need to be at that moment. Even B12 Vitamins and water aren't doing the trick right now. Maybe my body is trying to tell me something? LOL! Oh yes, it's saying, "Quit blogging, facebooking, twittering and GO TO SLEEP WOMAN!"

Note to taken into consideration and I'm on my way...

Too Gorgeous

2010-08-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

It's official - well, I say it's official because I just spent a large amount of money on textbooks and if I'm gonna invest that much money and future time on something, it's official! - I'm completely mentally and physically prepared for school. After dropping off the older boys and M at preschool yesterday, I made a short trip to the campus book store to pick up my textbooks. I was kind of upset (yes, I'm a nerd!) that one of my textbooks, the one that I've been dying to page through, was on back order till next week. Boo!

With all the boys in school, I had some time to walk around the campus, check out where my classes were and of course - create a game plan. I couldn't help but feel anxious and excited at the same time. It's really disgusting how excited I am to go back to school. Maybe because this time, I'm ready to finish.

After picking up all the boys from school, we headed out to the valley for their Taekwondo class. But we arrived too early, so decided to kill some time having a special treat before their class started. We picked up some ice cream cones at a local store and talked the time away about their day. It's so much more entertaining if you heard from them, I wouldn't do it justice, LOL!

It was perfect timing, just as we all finished our cones and the boys headed out of the car to go to class, I turned around and saw that M had fallen asleep...with half the cone in his mouth, LOL! I mean, well - it's understandable, he himself just finished a fun filled afternoon at the preschool =D

After class, and a surprisingly pleasant, traffic free ride home, we decided that the day was just too wonderful and gorgeous to sit inside and waste away. So J picked up some panninis and pasta salad and set up the backyard for some water play.

The boys LOVED it. I LOVED it. I think we ALL LOVED it. It was such a wonderful way to end our busy day (and wash off all that sweat) and wind down for some evening homework.

Once in a while, it's fun to just stop in the middle of your week and have a great time... wouldn't you say?

I think my boys would agree =D

While the boys washed the rest of the day off in the bath, I snuck out to Michael's to pick up some liners for the next day's Bento Box lunches. And I lucked out on great sales! Most of the things I need and wanted from the Paula Deen line were 60% off! How amazing is that? So I walked away with cupcake liners for $.50! SCORE! And nothing, I mean nothing I bought was over $1 - loving being frugal at the moment, ha!

The boys lunch today:

First tray: Crispy, Chicken Breast strips, ketchup, and sliced carrots

Second Tray: Walnuts, Animal Crackers, Trader Joe's Apple Bars, Goldfish

(And just for fun...)

A Dr. Seuss Pencil Eraser Top and Gummy Worms for a Special Treat

In Routine

2010-08-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a great busy weekend. Occasionally, I help the hubs with the biz when it's a huge event. He had enough staff to run the party but needed someone to run errands, and after 11 hours of non stop driving from here to Timbaktu I drove endlessly. I have to say that being busy is a great sign that not only is our business is thriving, but I get a new perspective of just how blessed we are to have what we do and also be reminded just how hard the hubs works. I can lose that perspective in my day to day routines, especially when it's as repetative as it is.

With the boys back in school and reconstruction of our home underway, I find a lot of things on the homefront completely disorganized and unfunctional and as a result our home isn't running as smooth as it should. Now, that I know pretty much the schedules of all the kids and myself a school year resolution of organization and calm is our goal and so far - though a bit tired, due to my own inability to sleep on time, we're starting off very well.

Back to the weekend - Our busy schedule didn't end just there, we had a floral appointment on Sunday for a friend of our gettings married at the end of October. So we visited their home and talked wedding, toting our two younger sons along. It's funny how you can relive your own very special day with every couple we meet - known or unknown, and still have so much fun helping them plan their big day.

Afterwards, we picked Brandon up from his Step Mom and Dad's place, then headed home where my sister and her girlfriend met up with us. We spent the evening chatting and watching some television over delivered pizza and leftover gallons of Haagan Daaz ice cream left over from the event the day before. One of the many perks of being married to a caterer is the abundance of leftover prep food that we don't want to go to waste. We buy in bulk at a local warehouse that caters to caterers and restuarants, so we're always left with tons of veggies, fruits, breads, and well, whatever else doesn't get used by our chefs. Tonight, we're having veggie and chicken breast penne pasta and I can't wait!

M doesn't have class today, so he and I have been spending some cuddling time over bowls of veggies and strawberries and playing games and just spending some quality toddler and Mommy time together. Later today we'll be picking the boys up from school alongside our carpool and then our routines start for the school week.

Life's been great, nothing to complain about on the home front. Sometimes I wonder just how much I need to function healthy. I wish I saw my friends and extended family more often, but then there are days like today where I realize that my life is just so perfect the way it is, why tempt fate and add unnecessary drama? I've got enough to keep smiling throughout the day, everything else is just a bonus. I am blessed beyond comprehension, sometimes I wonder what I ever did to deserve all that I have.

Happy Friday the 13th!

2010-08-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

What a Friday the 13th! Woke up on time, got the boys out the door at the right time, but GASP! Dang traffic! I'm not sure what happened on the freeway this morning, but it left me with an anxiety attack this morning. I managed to get the boys to school with 2 minutes to spare... PHEW!!

I stayed up pretty late last night filling out registration and emergency info x2 for the kids last night and as a result I had put off making their lunches and snacks. I ended up making them this morning, they weren't as elaborate but simple and delicious and somewhat healthy.

(Snack: Danimals, Goldfish, and Animal Crackers. Lunch: Trader Joe's Pizza, Carrot Sticks w/Ranch Dressing, Ritz Crackers, and Treetop Fruit Snacks)

After getting home from a very chaotic morning, I got home and kissed the hubby goodbye as he made a mad dash for the door to make his appointments with potential brides and run errands for our very big event tomorrow in Palos Verdes. I made a few phone calls to some potential clients and placed special orders for tomorrow's event - I've been trying to help the hubby out, which is really hard when I've got M bursting through our office doors proclaiming, "Mommy!!!!! I want Brobee. Again! Again! Again! (repeat)." Afterwards, M and I spent a lot of time cuddling and eating breakfast while watching Nick, Jr. I got him started on some coloring and was determined to get some of my projects underway. I was able to sift through a mile high pile of paperwork that needed to be sorted, organized and refiled everything, got most of next week's schedule underway, and all under an hour! Yay me!

We had some of our chefs come by the house and get a lot of the prep work done for tomorrow's event, then my good friend Cynthia came by with her mom and friends and visited for a while. I felt kind of bad because I had to get the older boys from school, drop B off with his Step Mom, then go grocery shopping for a few needed items for our Chefs. I got back and hung out with Cynthia for an hour before she had to head back home. The hubs got home a short while after our chefs were done prepping, then my sister paid us a surprise visit =D

I've been craving Pork Adobo lately. I truly need my Filipino dish fix at least every other week, and so when I can't make my way over to my parents place, I google, LOL! It turned out pretty good considering I didn't have all the ingredients. Goal achieved.

Well, I've got a big day tomorrow helping the hubs out with tomorrow's errands and the event itself. As we speak I've got about 72 wine glasses waiting to be cleaned and packed for transport, at the same time laundry is going. We're going to be so tired after tomorrow, I really don't want to spend my entire day Sunday cleaning, especially when I've got a florall appointment at lunch. I so LOVE wedding season!

First Day Of School

2010-08-12T22:44:00.001-07:00

Yay! The first day of school finally came for our older boys. D and B were so incredibly excited. We had gone over to the school yesterday to check out who their new teachers and classroom assignments were to bring some ease to their anxiety. We were able to scan through the roster and check out if any of their classmates from years past would be there too. It was a great thing, since I had undersestimated the parent congestion this morning. I came about 30 minutes early after picking up our carpool and every surrounding street (even the short cuts I thought NO ONE knew about) were jam packed. In a desperate effort to get my kids to class on time, I dropped them off at one of the valets and asked B find D his class.

Fortunatel, B's Dad and Step Mom had already made their way down to B's class and were able to help him out. Can I just tell you how incredibly proud I am of B? He's such an awesome big brother, he made sure D got to his class, met his teacher, pointed out old friends, and even filled out some questions that teachers generally ask, like 'did you bring your lunch today? who's picking you up?' Granted, I felt horrible for not being there personally to see them walk through the thresholds of this exciting new school year, but I felt that I would do nothing but be rushed and irritated and maybe even nostalgic - wanting to hug and kiss my boys till they sat down, and even then contemplate whether or not I should let go??

I was especially excited for today because I learned from a friend how to get my kids to eat a more diverse diet for lunch and snack without me being there taunting them with bribes. BENTO BOXES!!! So last night I stayed up way later than I should have and made these cute Bento Lunch and Snack boxes. I have spent the last 2 weeks working up my supply box and I have but one more shipment to complete my collection.

After picking up the boys, I had nothing but great reviews and empty bento boxes! I had packed them molded boileed eggs, wheat thin crackers, baby bel cheeses, and sliced nectarines for snack. Then for lunch, I had sailboat and train pb and j on wheat bread cutouts, gold fish, cucumbers with ranch dressing, and strawberries with sugar. I couldn't believe they didn't even touch the sugar! WHOA! Of course, I had to ask if they got tease, but they said that the kids were more interested in what was next in their boxes, haha!!

Matthew had class today and it was our turn for snacks. I was a little worried because he had woken up about an hour before anticipated and just before leaving I could see that he was getting a little bored, tired, and irritated. I showed him these cute little snack bags I made for his class and suddenly he was excited again. I was cleaning his car seat so it was in the house, while I got his shoes and socks together I came down to see that he had already buckled himself in with a bag of animal crackers in one hand and a bag of animal figures that we got from the California Science Center in the other hand. I had to giggle, it was just way too cute!

Preschool drop off went without a hitch and as usual at the end of the day, he had nothing but GREAT things to talk about with a huge fantastic smile!

After school, D and M had Dr. Appointments - the wait was far more entertaining though haha!! It's amazing the things that we come up with to keep the time ticking and the meltdowns under control. We played with the tongue depressers and pretended they were swords from the medieval times, then they became light sabers on an episode of star wars, then shields from walking mummies. WOW!! Imagination grows wild with time and you can't help but relish in these moments, for they pass us far too quickly, well at least for us parents.

Day Before School Starts For The Older Boys

2010-08-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

This afternoon the boys and I headed over to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles to take a look at the anime and Pokemon collections and of course to do a little Bento Box Accessory shopping for the upcoming lunches I'll be making. It's officially the last day of Summer Break for the boys and we thought it would be fun to give them one last hoorah!

Afterwards, we trekked onto the California Science Center a mere 15 minutes away. Many of our friends had gone recently and totally recommended that we should go, especially to the Ecosystem exhibit. I have to say, even I was in Awe! Everything was amazing and they had a great staff to explain things and interact with kids. There were a lot of hands on activities, which my boys love. And they were pretty much free to explore. The only down side of our visit was that it was still Summer Break, so I'm assuming that many parents had the same idea as we did, because the museum was PACKED! But it was okay, the weather was actually gorgeous so we didn't encounter any of those sweat smells one gets when coming in from the heat into air conditioning - BLEGH!

They boys also loved the Aviation and Space exhibit which was actually in another building, a short half a block from the original center. That was really hard for my boys to keep moving through, naturally they wanted to stop and play with every single thing, but being the "let's see everything" mommy, I had to hurry them a long to see other things.

Back at the main center, we also went through the Lost In Egypt exhibit, which I guess was interesting for the boys. They were more interested in seeing the pyramids and building techniques than they were about seeing the really cool mummies behind the red rope. I managed to get them in for a good 15 minutes while I marveled at the exhibits. Meanwhile, they tried to read the wall scriptures in the next room. Anyhow, the whole thing was a blast and I'm so glad we were able to go, even if only for a couple of hours. I might end up taking the kids on a less busy day next time, so we can actually get to see and hear about the different things without a time constriction.

We started to head home about an hour past what I had planned to avoid traffic. But this video made it all worth while!

After about an hour and a half in horrible Los Angeles traffic, we finally made into our valley. We had one more stop before heading home. We had to stop by the school and find out what classes the two older boys were assigned to. What an exciting time for all the kids, all the parents were huddled up at the school office window while the kids reunited with classmates from last year. My own boys were able to see a few friends each and they were so happy to see each other.

Well, tomorrow is officially the first day of school - weird being at the end of the week and all. Oh well! Both boys are so excited, I can't believe they'll be in the 1st and 4th grade! What the heck?? You know what this means??? This means I'm getting OLD too! HAHA!

Bittersweet, Yet Oh So Exciting

2010-08-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

The day has finally come where my little NOW preschooler has left the nest - okay, I know it's only twice a week for 3 hours at a time. But this is HUGE! Matthew and I have never been seperated for longer than an hour and normally I'm within a few steps away from him in another room.

Right before leaving, J decided to come along to see Matthew off on his first day. We were all so excited that he was able to do this. And quite honestly, I felt comforted to know that Jerry would be there for me to fall back on in case I lunged for the preschool class and snatched back my son, ha!

When we got to the classroom, all the parents were crowded before the doors. We stayed back a little and let the crowd of both experience and rookie moms have at it with their kids. Matthew was really observant, he didn't cry or get nervous nor did he kick himself out of his comfortable position in his daddy's arms to run around. Instead, he looked around and just watched the kids around with different emotions. Some were crying, some were overly excited, and some did the same as Matthew - just sat with their parents and waited.

A few minutes later I looked over to the hubs and saw that Matthew had his pacifier in his mouth. I thought that it might be a good time to wean him off of his pacifier by telling him that in the classroom he wasn't allowed to have it. But as empathetic as J was, he told me maybe it would be better if he kept it since it was his first day and all. But to both of our surprise, Matthew popped the sucker out and handed it to me with a big nice smile, "here Mommy!"

WHOA!!!!!

REALLY!!!!

Okay, who am I to fight this incredible gesture? Instead we placed it in his pocket and told him that if he needed it, it would be right there in his pocket.

We said our goodbye's, with J and I holding our tears back and just incredibly proud of our little guy for not having a complete melt down at the thresholds of his preschool class. We were proud parents, waved goodbye and went towards our car. I looked over to J and he was staring at his phone and we both just said, "awe."

I think I'm starting to understand that even though he's the youngest, he's not my "baby" persay. That's a tough thing to accept and allow. It truly feels like just yesterday I wrapped him so tightly in thermal blankets and held him in my arms thoughout the night just smelling his sweet skin. He is the last of my bunch and now I find myself in unfamiliar territory. A few hours a couple of times a week in a home oh so quiet, its deafening.

When I picked Matthew up from class he ran to my arms, holding on to a piece of paper with his cute Clifford Drawings and Paw Craft, elated to see me just as I was to see him. We stood there just hugging and giving sloppy kisses. I couldn't wait to hear all about his day, he kept rambling on and on up until we got about a block away from the school, when silence crept up again. I turned around to see my preschooler fast asleep.

He slept a good 2 hours afterwards at home, and it was so nice to be able to put him down and still manage to do some housework while he napped and the older boys were at Taekwondo class. For the first time in a longtime, I was able to do things at a slow pace. It was exciting and it was bittersweet and though the years pass through, I enjoy these moments where curiosity and new found amazement bewilders even me.

Back To School and Turning Over A New Leaf

2010-08-09T16:37:00.001-07:00

*Not quite the expression they had when I told them school starts this week, but it's very similar. Just kidding, the boys are actually pretty excited - we'll see how long this enthusiasm lasts through the year, ha! This photo was actually taken while waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland our last family vacation.

So yes, Summer Break is officially over for the boys and we're looking forward to a great 2010-2011 school year. Brandon will be starting the 4th grade, Daniel the 1st grade, and Matthew - preschool...

Scrreeeeeeeeeeech!!

Yep, Father Time has finally caught on and tis' the year in which I have to let my youngest baby boo boo, cutie pie of a baby boy go off to the educated world of preschool. Yes - a little melodramatic. Heck! It's only 3 hours twice a week. But a mother can only understand the releasing freedom of having your toddler velcro'd to your rear during all times of the night AND day. So, 3 hours/twice a week sounds perfect for now =D

We spent the last couple of months doing summer activities and ended it with a 3 day "vacation" in Disneyland last week. This past weekend we've done nothing but prepare for this coming school year by purchasing Back To School supplies and clothing, getting hyped up for all the exciting new things to come for all of them.

We visited Matthew's classroom yesterday afternoon and I have a very strong suspicion that I had a harder time getting through the thresholds of his class. The moment I said, "this is your school" I don't think his pacifier could have hit the pavement any stronger and his legs run any quicker. He's definitely ready to start preschool and though I'm elated by his ability to transition so easily into preschoolhood, a part of me is sad and kind of jealous of the teachers who will be able to spend those two afternoons with him, while witnessing his curiousity grow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Turning Over A New Leaf

Having to make new and more lasting adjustments in life lately, has made me realize that I need to reevaluate where I'm headed and what I want at the end. I may not be in control over outside influences in my life or the fact that life goes on whether or not I want it to, but I still want to be able to function healthy after all that is said and once was said is done and over with.

My children are getting older, though I wish they would stay babies forever despite all the headaches and tears I have cried over the lack of sleep I've had. I woke up one morning thinking, I've spent my entire life waiting for someone else to catch up with me so we can move along in life together and support one another. But sadly as those moments have come and gone, I've found myself alone and bitter, and it saddens me that I'm left alone scavenging for a little company or support.

So, it got me thinking. Now that I don't have to be constantly home with my now preschooler and summer is finally over, wouldn't it be nice to accomplish some of those goals I've been putting in the back burner for most of life?

With that thought in mind, I've enrolled to resume my college classes. I may not have lived my life in the conventional and traditional way, but in a way I think this is better.

Explanation? Sure.

I could have done the "right" thing right after high school and had gone to college, finished in 4 years, went on to medical school and finished in 5 years, then specialized and finished in another 3 years. But heck, what fun would that have been? Right? In today's world, no one ever does things the "right' way anyhow.

I remember telling an old friend/now ex friend about how I wanted to go back and finish school and become a doctor of some sort. She looked at me and said, "you'll never finish. And besides, medical school won't accept you. You're too old." That kind of put a big ole wrench in my life's plan, so all hope died and I refused to even attempt going back to school.

Until....

I realized that who was she to tell me that I would never finish? Or anyone for that matter? Who was I to give my goals and dreams to death? I've never been a quitter in my life and I don't think now is a good time to start. I thought long and hard about whether or not medicine was something that I still wanted to work towards and I knew that there would be a HUGE responsibility to my commitment. BUT, I also knew that there was NOTHING I could possibly do or blame that can prevent me from finishing this time around.

I'm married, I have 3 beautiful sons, I have a beautiful home, and a great support system. Right now, it's all I need to reaffirm what I have known for years now. I'm ready to go back and finish school. Everything I have right now, would be things that I would have longed for as a single college medical student. I know this. And now that I have everythign that I have ever wanted, becoming a doctor is the only thing left on my list that is left for me to accomplish.

I'm hoping and preparing that with a little prayer, a strong will, great time management, and determination, the years will pass by faster than I can worry about it.

It won't be an easy road, but it's a journey I'm willing to take.

The Late Night Rabbit

2010-07-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

I had a really hard time falling asleep last night, but when I finally did I felt a light tap on my shoulder. Brandon was hovering over me, terrified and unable to catch his breath, he whispered to me, "Mommy, there's a rabbit in my bed."

Half asleep myself, I had to ask him to repeat himself, and thought perhaps he was just sleep walking so I rolled out of bed, forgetting my glasses, and guided him back to his room. He froze at the threshold of his bed and I said, "Sweetie, there's nothing there." He showed me that Daniel was sleeping in the guest room and that there was something in his bed. We couldn't find the remote control for the light switch, so the only light in the room was coming from the street lights outside of our window. I reached over toward the spot he claimed was the rabbit, a little skeptical myself, and was startled to feel that it was warm. Admittedly, I felt a little scared, so I shamelessly asked Brandon to pick up the toy sword that was from the toy box to poke it and maybe it would just move and get off the bed. When I asked Brandon to do this, he stared at me with the, "Are you serious? You're the adult here!" look.

So he spent a good five minutes poking it and then it started to move... a very big IT started to move. Remember, I don't have my glasses and I started to freak out a little bit, that is... until Brandon turned around and started laughing.

"Oh, it's Daniel"

This wins Best Rude Wake Up Call Ever Award in our family.

My poor, sleeping, baby boy was poked and whispered over for a good 20 minutes, LOL!

It wasn't till I got back to bed that I realized that I was terrified of a RABBIT! HAHA!

So I Was Thinking...

2010-07-26T00:12:00.000-07:00

I love Sunday mornings, especially when Jerry doesn't have to work. The house is always calm, not too many frantic screams of procrastination and panic linger, Lucky isn't wound up from all the excitement, and a blanket of laziness hovers over us forcing us to just enjoy the morning fresh breeze that lightly embraces our bedroom.

It's overwhelmingly wonderful. Something we're forced to take in when we are always ready for the unexpected 90% of the time. Sometimes, it just nice to hide beneath the covers where the warmth of your significant other is enough to keep you there for that extra ten minutes.

I left shortly after rolling out of bed to meet up with an old, dear friend of mine to talk about the florals I would be doing for her wedding in October. See why I love Facebook so much, reconnecting with old friends that you're convince no longer remember you, ha! Anyhow, her brother and sister in law moved about 30 minutes away from me and while she lives over an hour away, this was a great opportunity to catch up and talk about flowers and well... LIFE!

After a fantastic afternoon with the girls, I headed home and started straightening up the house, getting a little organized for the week, and spending some much needed cuddle time with Matthew while the older boys spent some time at our neighbor's pool. It was just such a relaxing day that we opted for chinese take out for the day and now... everyone is sound asleep... and well, me? I'm up watching Serendipity for the 3rd time. I love this movie... just LOVE this movie.

And while the kids are fast asleep, the hubby snores his dreams away, and I listen and mouth every word of Serendipity, I started to think about everything that happened today. Mostly about what we girls talked about today while at my floral appointment with an old friend. How LIFE just happens and how we (moms) are flustered so much.

We talked about how guilty it was to get so angry and yell once in a while - not so much at our children, but definitely at their direction. How mom's are so harsh to one another are each other's biggest critic. The mom "scene" is a total massive clique that exists everywhere. We're judged, we do judging, we care or we don't care, we want more than we need, and we can't help but get sucked into this black hole of perfection that we conjure up in our heads.

Personally, I found happiness when I just stopped caring. There will always be a heckler in your life that finds justification to rant and rain on your parade, this happens usually when everything you think is going so well in your life. That heckler almost always happens to be someone you would least expect to do so. And i think that this is what hurts the most. So there you are, hurt by someone whom you were oblivious to, with nothing more than the heart that taints your sleeve. What do you do? Do you just stand there and cry and hope that it was all just a horrible, horrible dream? Do you chase and explain that this person was wrong? Do you move on and brush it off?

I've done all three in the same instance, and I realize now that I should have just gone straight to the last thing. Just don't care... I know, it's a little ironic when we moms are programmed to do nothing more than just care. What I mean to say is, care... for what matters. Not for those things or people that don't matter. A woman, especially a mother, can drive herself insane worrying and caring about what everyone and their mama thinks. Care. But care more about how loving your children affects you, not about how much caring for your child seems to other moms who may or may not agree or disagree with how you parent. Care about being frugal because it's the budgeting and hitting your weekly goals under your budget is far more trendy than budgeting and FAILING because you just had to have that new Organics Low Fat Milk every SAHM has been talking about.

I'm controlling, I'm guilty of taking whatever people think of me to heart, I need to have order and organization in order to function sanely throughout my days, weeks, months, and year. I do it because I need to, I need to feel self validating because I loathe in the idea that I'm useless without that "paying" job in the corporate world. I color code and organize my daily life to function for me because when I cross that one item on my list, it's like getting a pay raise for this quarter. I schedule my children's activities and go that extra mile to cut their sandwiches into shapes because I know they'll enjoy it and remember it for years to come, rather than argue with their pleas of boredom and meal time battles of "being allergic" to whatever I place on their plates that they swear will kill them. I do this all because I care about me - the person who matters the most in my world. I would be absolutely useless if I were an unhappy mother and wife, filled with resent and regret. I care about me because I function better as a person when MY goals have been reached for that one hour in the day in which I feel complete chaos in my life.

It doesn't happen all day, every day, but it lasts long enough for me to function the next three hours productively as a mom and wife. It's like an all natural red bull, it gives me wings to feel useful rather than useless. So I was thinking...

It's actually okay to be the way that I am, even if some might think I'm clueless. It's actually okay.

Pool Day

2010-07-20T23:26:00.000-07:00

I didn't fall asleep till late last night... yeah, yeah I know what's new right? Anyhow, I had a total of about 5 hours of sleep and though that may seem like a triumphant and victorious event in a house full of boys, it still wasn't enough.

Today was pool day for the kiddies, but before we could get ready for that I knew my house was in serious need of some tender loving care. So I sped cleaned and straighten up a bit before Cynthia and her girls headed over for a little lunch and playtime before heading out to the pool.

Aliw and her family met up with us at the community pool with newborn Baby Aeon

The kids and dads had a great time in the pool, while we mommies went gaga over Baby Aeon. Seriously, can't get enough of her - she's ADORABLE!

It was actually a beautiful day here in the valley, though sunny and in the high 90's there was a nice breeze coming in so we barely felt any of the heat =D We stayed for a few hours and chatted beneath the shade and had a great time.

The kids were extremely tired by the time we got home and Matthew snuck in a little nap before dinner. I wasn't up for cooking tonight so we decided to pick up some In N' Out - Yummos! We didn't do much for the rest of the day, which was nice - given, we've been going non stop this entire summer. Now that it's coming to a close, I realized that I haven't taken advantage of some quiet down time. So I've decided that it was time to enjoy the summer with only one theme in mind... RELAXATION.

Nothing wrong with that right?

Simply Irresistable

2010-07-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

It's the weekend, and while most families are out and enjoying the great California sun, the kids and I have been stuck indoors while Daddy works hard making wedding dreams come true.

I can't say that I'm not jealous, but I can't say that I'd rather be out there than home with my kids.

It's not as glamorous as sitting poolside with an Au Pair who tends to my children while I sunbathe and work on that "perfect tan" that all the major magazines squawk about. Nor, is it as busy as the last few weekdays have been, bombarded by endless activities to keep the kids entertained and out of headlocks. No, no, no.... it's a quiet, calm, and relaxing weekend. Intentionally so as well.

I need... yes I said, I... I need some time to just catch my breath and enjoy the simple things that make my days worth having. The house is in disarray and I know I'll probably get the "husband's scold" that I don't do anything while he works hard for the money, but I don't care right now. Because after all, it is but one argument that will blow over then fixed before the next evening. A mere sacrifice to what is absolutely needed in my life. I need to stop and just be. Just be a care free, adolescent like, girl who just couldn't be bothered unless my favorite show came on or a best friend calls. It is but just one day isn't it?

A guilt free day, I suppose. Don't get me wrong. It's not like i'm letting my children starve to death, sit in their own filth, or allow them to kick each other in the head till they pass out. Nope. Not like that. I'm just not this overly crazed control freak, passing out at every site of disorganization in my house. I'm just not feeling guilty for not try or struggling for perfection today.

Instead, I'm just enjoying the simple and irresistable faces of my children.

Like, when they get over their new found "friend" or "critter" they find in our yard, or when they excitedly put something away without me uttering a word of direction, or their needing sighs when they first wake from a nap with their arms desperately reaching for you.

Yes, those moments are so much better to relish in than to aimlessly and continuously run around the house picking up every single piece of chaos around me.

A small sacrificial price to pay for the little moments that simply remind me that these moments are the ones I overlook when caught in the hustle and bustle of maintaining life any other given day.

I've gotta remind myself to stop a few imes during the day and just be. ,

Full of Contentment

2010-07-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

Today started off really lazy, Jerry and I didn't make it out of bed till about 10 am and even then we kind of glided throughout the house.

After breakfast, he and I started working on a catering order for Braised Short Rib of Beef for about 75 people for a wedding tonight. I discovered that Jerry's incredibly stressed in the kitchen, where I was sort of at ease. Maybe because it was because I was used to being in a kitchen and knew that it would be finished and it would taste great in time for delivery. Who knows!

While Jerry and I worked relentlessly in the kitchen, the kids played not-so-nicely in the living room, making forts with the couch cushions and jumped around like super heroes. After the ribs were in the oven for a nice two and a half hour sauna treatment, Jerry got ready for work and headed off with the kids to Grandma's house. I was able to clean up a little bit in the kitchen, have a calm lunch, and watch a little TV of a show of my choosing...What did I watch you ask? Well iCarly of course! HA!

The ribs turned out amazing, but when it was time to transport the pans over to the hotbox in our delivery van the execution wasn't amazing at all. I underestimated the weight of the pans and at first try spilled a good portion of the juice all over my legs and feet. After screaming in excrutiating pain, I thought I gimmicked a fool proof plan - yeah... Not so much! Anyways, after about 20 minutes of agonizing and migrain inducing planning, oh! and about 5 cups worth of searing rib juice all over my newly mopped floor and carpet, I finally got the pans into the hotbox it so stubbornly refused to go into.

I headed over to our kitchen in Sun Valley and met up with Jerry to trade cars, then headed over to my mom's house to pick up the boys. Who were exhausted beyond belief after spending the afternoon swimming in the pool and eating endless amounts of ice cream. But when I mentioned that we were going over to Ninang Aliw's house, their eyes perked up and they were so excited to meet Baby Aeon

Before heading over to Aliw's house we stopped over at Yoshinoya to pick up some dinner for all of us. Man! I miss Yoshinoya... I know it's ghetto but I can't help but love the stuff! HAHA!

When we got to Aliw's house, I couldn't help but swoop Aeon into my arms... there's something about holding a newborn baby that just fills me with contentment. I long for another baby but know that it isn't an option right now. Maybe, one day. Maybe.

We spent the entire evening swooning over beautiful Aeon, taking pictures and putting cute flower bows on her, catching up with Aliw and just enjoying each other's company. I really miss my Aliw. My beh. She was there for me when I really, really... needed that best friend that I thought no longer existed. It's amazing what great friendships you can earn through the storms in your life. I hope she knows just how much I appreciate her and everything she's done for me. I only hope that I can return the favor, it's just a shame that I live so far from her now. If I could, I would take care of Aeon 24/7 - I love her THAT much, lol!

Jerry's still at work right now, and I took this short break to blog about just how wonderful our day is. Tomorrow, we're going to a BBQ at our friend Jerevi's house, then to Cynthia's house to celebrate Jamilah's birthday. It will for sure be another great day.

Summer Activities - Theme: All American

2010-07-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

I didn't get a chance last week to blog daily since I was usually out with the boys and by the time I got home I was too exhausted to thoughtfully post something that would do justice to our week

Last week, was All-American week, as the 4th of July passed we thought it would only be right to explain to the kids just WHY we celebrated the holiday and who we had to thank for that.

We didn't start our week till Tuesday, I had a lot of housework to catch up with that I ended up not doing for the week with the arrival of Baby Aeon and the 4th of July holiday. So, on Tuesday we packed up the car and headed over to Cynthia's house in Palmdale. We thought it would be a fun and educational activity to get all the kids to write letters to the Marines over seas

After we finished up all of our letters to our beloved Marines, Cynthia had a great idea of getting all the kids to make birthday cards for her Eric's birthday which was the next day. The kids were so excited and gathered again at the table and got started on their very "personal" birthday cards.

The boys and I ended up sleeping over that night and Cynthia and I were able to get some girl bonding time once the kids fell asleep.

Wednesday rolled around and it was Eric's birthday! We didn't have too much planned for the day, so after breakfast the kisd started to work on these cute foam visers that Cynthia picked up.

After we had lunch, the boys and I headed home while Cynthia and her girls stayed home to celebrate their Daddy's birthday.

Thursday, we were supposed to go to Cupcake Tree but Brandon came home late and Cynthia ended up staying home to get her home ready for Jamilah's birthday party this weekend. But later on, the boys and I headed over to my cousin, Janette's house to go swimming.

Friday, we had a late start but headed over to Cynthia's house for a lemonade stand!

The kids had a blast screaming, LEMONADE! And I think her neighbors were a little shocked that the kids and parents were out there in 102 degree weather. So many people were kind enough to just donate $5 for a $.50 cent cup of lemonade. Our first customer said, "it's so rare to see this out here." The kids were so happy, especially with walking away with a substantial profit. We think we might do this every other week =D

So that was our week in a nutshell, I need to do a better job about blogging daily about our summer activities. But we had a great time! Next week will be all about our Solar System. Can't wait to share with you.

Help?

2010-07-10T01:27:00.000-07:00

Yikes! It's been an entire week since my last post... but with good reason! I was busy having a blast with my boys. Is that a blogging world crime? Ah well. Don't care.

Yes, I'm due for a major blog post of our All-American Themed week, but I thought I would share with you something a little different and hold off on the Summer Activities we had this past week.

Since I've been busy with the boys doing all their fun summer activities, the weekend is pretty much the ONLY time I get for catching up with housework and running errands for the family. Like grocery shopping. So after coming home from a very long and hot day with the kids in Palmdale, I dropped the boys off with their dad to spend some bonding time before Jerry dove into his busy weekend schedule. I headed off to the grocery store, just another mundane errand... or so I thought. After checking out way under my budget for groceries, I walked over to my car, full of mommy pride that I had accomplished such a thing. I started to think about how I loathed the thought of even having to budget and not giving into the culinary indulgences that the grocery stores so intelligently display before you. Although I had came out with every single thing that was a necessity for the week, I realized that there were SO many things that I had to put away. And I hated it. Up until this elderly woman shyly walked up to me.

I had seen her at the corner of my eye while I yelled at myself silently, but paid no attention. When she walked up to me I knew that she was going to ask me for money. I also knew that I wouldn't have said no and before she uttered a single word, I was already scrounging around my purse looking for change.

The lady, "Excuse me. I'm SO sorry to bother you but my grandson and I just lost our home and everything that we own. And I've been walking around asking people if I could wash their windows for a bit of change so that we can eat."

I don't know what it was, but my heart fell heavy and I couldn't help but listen to her story. There was a look in her eye that resembled that of desperation and emberassment. She didn't stand too close, nor too far from me. In fact at one point, she stepped back. Perhaps thinking that I would shrug her off, like the many people before me had. I reached into my purse and passed the change that would do nothing to feed her and her grandson for the night, and opted for something a little more substantial. I handed her the money and there was this unbelievable gaze at the money I handed to her. A sigh of relief and contentment, appreciation and gratitude was released through her eyes. Over a few dollars... dollars that I would have mindlessly spent over things that I may or may not need or want.

The lady, "Oh my... I... Thank you. God bless you. Are you sure? Can I wash your windows?"

Me. "No. No. No, there's no need for that. I hope it helps you guys tonight. I understand."

I understand? Do I? Maybe. I mean, I've never been homeless, but I've been hopeless. I've never gone hungry, but I've felt like I was starving. I've never asked for help...

I've never asked for help.

No matter how hard things were in my life, I've never asked for help. I've always felt like I needed permission to ask for help, before I asked for a little help. That was the ONLY part I understood about this poor lady's situation, having to ask for help. As she walked away from me slowly, still dumbfounded by what I had given her, I smiled at her thinking in my head about just how difficult it must be for this lady to ask for help. Sure, she's asking for help. But was it because she LOVES doing it, I don't think so. She's doing it because it's necessary to survive. I'm sure some will say, she should get a job or whatever... but is it my perogative to give her advice rather than a few dollars to feed her and her grandson so that they could sleep well tonight and think about a better way tomorrow?

I can go on and on about how I think she needs to do this or needs to do that. But right now, she - a person in my community - is hungry, tired, cold, and seeking help. Who am I to turn her away because of my own selfish reasons? Should I have turned away and believed that "someone else" would have given her enough to sleep well tonight?

She and I went our seperate ways, but I found myself sitting in my car watching her ask one more person for some change, then I saw her run over to her young grand son. She showed her what they had and before the store closed, they walked hand in hand together. I drove away after that, I'm not sure what they did with the money I gave her, but I drove home thinking like I didn't do enough. Then I cried. I cried because I knew that tomorrow they may go to bed hungry, that maybe they won't have enough. And there really isn't enough that I can do personally that can help that person.

But she helped me. She helped get grounded and really appreciate everything that I had, as minimal as things are in my life. I have enough.

Summer Activities - Theme: The Ocean_Day Four

2010-07-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

Today was Water Safety and Pool Day!!!

We slept in a little late today to rest up from our venture yesterday and boy did we need it =D Cynthia and her family headed over to our house around 1:30 and we had some lunch, while the kids munched on some garden turkey "wrap ups" and "beach ball" canteloupe melons - we, parents had some good ole' turkey and genoa salami on whole wheat bread sandwiches. Cynthia was kind enough to bring some ice cream for all of us and the kids just loved it. Today was great because our hubbies (Jerry and Eric) were able to come join us for our fun day in the sun =D We had originally planned to talk about water safety prior to our trip out to the community pool, but because we were running late and the kids were antsy to get in the water, we opted to just head over to the pool.

Once we got there, the kids were ecstatic almost to the point where they almost jumped into the water unprepared. Water safety tips would have been great at this point, but can you really stop a child from his own excitement? I think not =D A little later, Aliw and her gorgeous boys met up with us at the pool. And before we knew it we were playing Marco/Polo. Do you remember that game? I used to love it till I realized I sucked at it. HA!

Anyways, I didn't take many pictures because for the first time in a long time, I was too busy having fun with the kids and hubby IN the pool rather than sitting on the side lines getting lunch prepared or complaining about the heat, LOL! I actually didn't mind tanning a shade darker. Now, if only I can tan EVENLY my summer would be perfect =D

After a few hours in the pool, I bathed my kids in the shower and Cynthia's family headed over to our house for dinner, while Aliw and her boys headed back to the valley (bummer!). We chose to pick up some chicken from El Pollo loco, since I was EXHAUSTED after all that fun at the pool. Cynthia and I had a great time chatting it up while our hubbies watched a couple of movies and the kids enjoyed playing.

While Cynthia and I sat at the dinner table eating with the kids, we thought it would be a great opportunity to talk about their day at the pool. We asked what were their favorite parts, what were fun things to do in the pool, and what games they liked. We also talked about what the numbers on the sides of the pool meant, what they would do if they saw their friend struggling or drowning in the water, and why it was so important to not run alongside of the pool. The kids did great conversing and problem solving with us. It was a great conversation about water safety and we could tell that our kids were pretty knowledgable on water safety - now if we could only get them to remember that while there. Ah! That's what parents are for, the kids are their to make us cringe when they get too close to the pool without a floating device, LOL!

Before we knew it, the Newbern's headed home and I was off to the valley to visit my parents who were in town for a couple of weeks. After visiting with my kooky mom and my sister Karen and her GF, I headed home - where, I realized that I had no pictures but the one above from our day today - FIRST I KNOW! But that's okay, so long as I document what we do, right?

At the end of the day, I'm sitting here typing away and just reeling from all the wonderful chaotic things we've been doing and just thinking how amazing it is to be this tired for some pretty cute kids. It's all worth it!

Summer Activities - Theme: The Ocean - Day Three

2010-06-30T21:56:00.001-07:00

We woke up early this morning and got ready to take a Beach Bus over to Santa Monica Beach to spend the entire day getting to know one of our great beaches here in California. In order to conserve some energy, we all hopped onto a commuter bus in lieu of taking 5 different vehicles and enjoyed a ride with 4 other families and a few strangers and hit the beach.

The hour long trip was filled with great conversations and children sharing excitement for the bus ride alone. Isn't it funny how exciting a bus ride can be for a kid? Anyhow, once we arrived at the beach, we gathered together and Sunnie (a really great friend of ours) headed a conversation about what exactly we were doing there. It was great to let the children know that although it's great to enjoy the beach, we need to respect it as well. After a short while our Heal the Bay speaker came and started to talk more about how our actions affect the beach, sea life, and our lives not just for now but for generations to come. We, parents were amazed at just how knowledgeable our children were and how caring they were to what exactly was going on. There were moments that even the parents were in shock and awe at some of the important facts our speaker shared with us. After a short lecture, we were handed over bags and safety gloves and the kids were ready to get cleaning.

Matthew and Riley did a great job helping pick up some trash, until a flock of birds came by and stole their attention. I couldn't help but stop and take photos of them chasing them around the beach. I love seeing Matthew around with his friends and enjoy their time together.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Jamilah were on a mission to get their designated area cleaned up. I overheard them talking a few times about how they needed to concentrate in one area and then move on. They had a system down and team work was at play. I absolutely ADORED it!

Leslie was a great auntie and teamed up with Brandon and kept a close eye on the little ones. Brandon was determined to get everything on the list that the speaker gave us, but thankfully there weren't any six pack rings or condoms on the beach. LOL!

After we cleaned up the beach, we gathered again and set up a picnic at a grass area near the beach. the kids enjoyed their kabob lunches and played at a nearby playground. Shortly after we split up into groups, so while some of the parents went up to the farmer's market Cynthia and I headed down to the boardwalk to stroll and take in the sea air.

The kids started to get restless so we bought some ice cream and the kids sat on the beach wall while watching the gymnasts and their moves and took in the fresh sea air.

Around 2pm we met up with the other parents and headed into the Santa Monica Aquarium. The place isn't huge and overwhelming, but had a lot of interaction with live sea creatures. I thought it was great for the kids, to be in an environment in which they are all hands on. The people who volunteered there were very kind and gave lectures that involved our kids. The kids loved seeing all the sea creatures and knew a lot of stuff about them, seeing that we talked about it prior days before. The excitement on their faces after learning new facts about the other living things in the sea was priceless. The kids still talk about how sea kelp is in everything that we use, like chocolate and make up.

We had about half an hour to kill before the Beach Bus was going arrive to take us back home, so we headed up to the pier and rode the infamous carousel. It's a less modern version of what we normally ride at our local mall but none the less the kids had a great time. So much so, they asked for more but time was a ticking and we had to gather our group together to head over to the pick up site.

We hit a lot of traffic on the way home, but we seriously did NOT feel it since we weren't driving. It took us about an hour and a half to get home and for most of the ride home, Matthew was asleep, Brandon mingled with his new friend, Bailiy, and Daniel sat up front behind the bus driver with Jamilah. Cynthia, Bella, and I even got a good nap towards the end of the bus ride.

When we got back to our drop off point, Cynthia and I packed our kids into the car and headed out to CPK for dinner. We had so much fun talking to our kids about our day and munching down on some yummy grub. The kids were starving at this point that it wasn't much of a battle to feed them their pizza's, so as a reward we got each of them a sundae - BONUS! We didn't tell them about it, so when the waitress came out with them, the kids' eyes were lit up with joy.

Cynthia and I went home right after and as soon as we got home the boys went straight into the bath and as we speak are enjoying Jungle Book 2 as I anxiously await for them to fall asleep. I'm exhausted but had so much fun today with my kids and friends. One day completely changed how we think about trash and our environment, one day was all it took to make our kids a little more aware of how their actions affect our world today and our futures.

So even if you don't volunteer to clean up a beach one morning this summer, keep in mind when you DO go to the beach the pictures you see above, because these kids are the ones who help pick up that plastic bag or beer bottle you couldn't walk over to the trash. These kids are cleaning up your mess to make sure that they can enjoy the beaches with their own children in the future. Or even just take away with you that even though it may not be a BIG thing, little things count just as much.

Tomorrow will be about water safety and pool day at our community pool. Can't wait to share another great summer fun filled day with the kiddies.

Summer Activities - Theme: The Ocean - Day Two

2010-06-29T22:53:00.000-07:00

We continued our Ocean theme today for our Summer Activites. Cynthia arrived about 9:30 this morning, and brought along some breakfast goodies. She was kind enough to make blueberry pancakes and bacon for the entire family. After, we headed to the backyard and started to work on our first project for the day; Seashell Treasure Totes. I figured that since tomorrow we were headed over to Santa Monica Beach for Heal the Bay and then spending the entire afternoon at the Santa Monica Aquarium, it would be a great idea to make some canvas totes for all the great treasures the children will be sure to find.

The kids had a ton of fun putting their creativity to the test. And while they decorated their totes, the mommies enjoyed their coffees.

A short time later, Janelle and her boys Ryan and Anthony arrived and were just in time to participate in our "If I Were An Octopus" Activity. While I got started on prepping the "Sand Dollar" Cookies and began lunch preparation, Cynthia started with the children on their octupus tentacles loaded with a ton of fun facts. Like, did you know that an Octopus has over a hundred suctions, that they are venomous, and they have NO bones?? Interesting, huh?

For lunch we had "Beach Ball" Melons with whip and Chicken Hot Dog Octopus over Cheesy Shells and Ocean Blue Sprite. Yummy!!! The kids LOVED it and I have to say, I was pretty happy with how well everything turned out. The sprite even had sea shell shaped ice cubes!

After lunch, the kids started to decorate their "Sand Dollar" cookies with icing and sprinkles. I think they had more fun decorating then actually eating the cookies, LOL! Sugar load I guess. But with all the fun they were having it didn't really surprise me.

Cynthia and her girls had to leave a little earlier than planned because Jamilah had gymnastics. So we skipped out on Movie time and let the older boys run off and play, while Aliw, Janelle, and I sat around the living room and do what house wives do best, MINGLE and CHAT! LOL! Before we knew it, time had flown by us and it was time for every one to leave. Sometimes it's so sad having to end the day.

After the girls left, I made dinner for the family. A simple meal of breaded pork chops with sauteed mushrooms and gravy and sauteed spinach and rice. I love dinner time, when we all sit around the dinner table and listen to each other's day of how their day went and of course our live entertainment of Matthew, singing and dancing. When we asked him what he did today, he said "I go park, and slide and slide and slide." Well you can tell from this post that we DID NOT go to the park today, LOL!

After the kids took their baths and ate dinner I snuck out to get a little gym time. It's funny how it's something I dread till I get there, then I can't get enough.

Tomorrow is going to be another great day, but an early one!

Summer Activities - Theme: The Ocean - Day One

2010-06-28T21:11:00.001-07:00

Like most people, we're pretty tight on a budget. So my goal this Summer is to keep the weekly costs for activities to be under $50.00 each week for 3 boys ages, 9,6, and 2. Today's total cost? $6.00 total

Last night, I spent about 2 hours organizing our craft cabinets and totally stoked about kicking off our Summer Activities. My friend Cynthia and I, both decided that every week would have a theme. This week is everything about the Ocean!

Cynthia and her girls came over to our house around 10:30 a.m. and we immediately got started after a short coffee greet. We headed into our backyard with our water bottles half filled with water. We had each child pick a color of food coloring for their "ocean" water, the filled them up with sea creatures, stones, pea gravel, and glitter. Afterwards, Cynthia filled the bottles about 3/4 full with regular cooking oil, then I glued the caps and tightly screwed them on. Heaven knows we did NOT want the kids to spill their cute little projects.

The kids did great and were incredibly patient. While each child played with their Oceans In A Bottle we talked about what sand was made out of, why the ocean water was so salty, why the ocean water looked blue and how that related to the color of the sky. We also talked about waves and under currants and I showed them how that worked with their Oceans In A Bottle. The kids listened carefully and asked so many amazing questions and answered quite intelligently as well. As much as we amazed them, they amazed us more with their insightfullness.

While we sat around with the Q & A, we started to talk about the 5 great Oceans of the World. I printed out a map and asked them so many questions. It was a fun 30 minutes of Ocean bliss. By the end of our conversation, the kids new all the oceans, which was the biggest and deepest, which ones were the coldest, WHY it was the coldest, and WHERE the oceans were located.

After the Ocean In a Bottle Activity, we started on lunch. We made some Starfish Tuna Sandwiches, Orange Mandarin Seashell Kabobs (pointy parts of the stick were cut off of course. Hello! I know what my boys are capable of! LOL), and some Ocean Blue Sprite. The kids were a little hesitant at first to drink the Blue Sprite, but once they found out it was Soda they were pretty excited to down them, LOL!

After we had lunch, we trekked on and started on our Ocean Scene Activity. I printed out a coloring sheet of different sea creatures and had the kids color the sheets. Then to practice their fine motor skills had them cut them and glue their creations onto the front of a ziplock bag filled with gel toothpaste and glitter. To finish it off we gave them some sea creature stickers to offer the finishing touches.

To end the day, we moved the coffee table over and laid out blankets and pillows all over the living room floor. The kids changed into pajamas and we had MOVIE TIME!! To go with our theme, today we watched FREE WILLY 2. I don't think any of the kids had seen it before and it was a short break from the animated films they've been watching. They absolutely loved it. So much so, the tiny toddlers went straight to nap time, while the older kids sat quietly with their snack mixes and milk and enjoyed the film.

After the kids woke up from their naps, Cynthia and her girls headed home. Meanwhile, Jerry offered to make dinner and delighted us with some home made chicken soup. YUMMY! The kids are much calmer with today's routine and I haven't had one meltdown yet. Heck! Daniel even finished his entire dinner without much of a battle, LOL! So I'm hoping that with this new routine the boys will be happier. As for me, I'm headed off to the gym to get some gym time - MUCH NEEDED! and then home to get some rest.

We've planned for the rest of the week to be just as great and I can't wait to share them all with you!

Day Date With My Boys

2010-06-25T23:42:00.000-07:00

I'm still feeling a little feverish, but a Mother's Promise, is a mother's promise. And well I had promised the boys that I would go on a movie date with them and watch Toy Story 3. Though my intentions were to take them out on premiere weekend, things came up and then I became incredibly sick, and well the moment I started to feel a little better I took advantage of the small window of relief and took my boys - who oh so deserved a day date with their mommy.

Cynthia and her girls joined up with us at the movies, and after we got our trays of popcorn, candy, and Icee's we found our seats in the movie theater and prepared for a movie that we thought was going to be HILARIOUS, but turned out be heartwarming and touching.

Maybe it was because I was watching the final movie to a trilogy that started 11 years ago, when I myself was just an adolescent. Or maybe it was because I found it ironic that I was now sitting beside my own children laughing along. Or maybe it was because this time... I was the mom with her children at the movie matinee. Whatever it was, I couldn't help but just be very emotional.

No joke! I cried just about the entire last twenty minutes of the movie, thinking... oh my gosh! Is this REALLY the end... Andy's going away to college.... What will happen? WHAT WILL HAPPEN??? Okay, so you maybe think I'm nuts in overthinking and looking way too deep into a cartoon movie. But it's emotional and you can't help but put yourself in a character's perspective. But then again, maybe that's just me?

Nine years ago, when I had my first son, I sat in the hospital room, ALONE, with a newborn baby boy that would NOT stop crying and the first motherly thing I did was lay him between my legs and started to cry. One would think, a mother would say, "Shhhh.... sweet little one. Don't cry, everything will be okay, no matter what." But NOPE!!! I said, "oh my God! This is my life for the next EIGHTEEN YEARS!" Little did I know that 9 years later, half way through my "death sentence" I would want nothing more in life but to just stop time and hold him in my arms forever and ever. I mean if I'm bawling in a fictional CARTOON movie, can you imagine me in REALITY???? I'm gonna be a mess. I already know it. And then I have to repeat the process two more times.

There is a very, very strong bond between mother and child. And though I have no daughters, my sons are truly my everything. To accept the idea that one day, there will be no nerf darts darting across my face while I stare at my computer screen, that there will be no fights or arguments to referee, and that one day there will be pure still silence for a period longer than 10 minutes in my house is beyond what my heart is willing to comprehend.

To see the end of a cartoon trilogy that has literally grown with me from adolescents into motherhood is truly sad. To accept that I'm officially a grown up without even thinking for now after I watch a cartoon at the movie theaters my worries now consists of how I was going to maneuver my car the opposite direction of McDonald's instead of wanting to head directly there is bitter sweet.

Day dates with my boys won't last forever. Heck! My oldest son already doesn't want to hang out with me. So embracing these moments for as long as I can, till time gets the better half of life, is all that I can do.

Blegh!

2010-06-23T22:49:00.000-07:00

I was gonna blog tonight about our awesome adventures we had yesterday in Universal Studios, Hollywood tonight. But the hubby, traded cars and my camera is in the company van. So what good is a story without pictures right?

Well, you're still not going to get any pictures tonight seeing that I STILL don't have a camera. Aren't you paying attention people? My camera is in the company van that is currently not here.

Okay, great! We're all on the same page, LOL!

Anyhow, sometime between the last hour of Universal Studios and late last night I started to feel blegh! That's right.... BLEGH! It's a descriptive word, ya-huh!

At first I thought it was just me being a pain in the ass having spent 7 hours in my Easy Tone shoes, in the heat... walking uphill 70% of the time. But then the headache started to creep in and suddenly I just felt BLEGH! My head was pounding, my throat was swelling and in pain, and the body aches started to find it's residence in the most akward of places.

Without intention (I SWEAR!) I got home after dropping Leslie off at home, and just passed out on the bed. Yeah, big deal right? But oh wait! I did it at a quarter to 10, with all the kids awake and the hubby completely unaware that I was checking out for the night.

The last thing I heard was, "You're gonna wake Mommy!" and they did, plenty a time, but I didn't stay awake long enough to care. I just wanted to lay down and sleep, and drift off to another place where my body DID NOT HURT!

By morning, I was worse! The kind of worse, where I'm actually crying with all of my children around, because it's that painful. It was like being in labor with all of my children nagging me for something. It was painful to say "yes" or "no" or "not right now." And so I found myself just crying towards their direction saying, "it's not you, Mommy just doesn't feel great right now."

On a side note to all you fathers out there... when your wife is sick, don't stare at her like you're disappointed that the the kitchen isn't clean or expect her to do anything but be sick. Cuz honey! When YOU'RE all sick and rolling around the bed, taking way too much medicine than you should, complaining about whatever ailments you have, we (wives) don't stand in one place with our hands on our hip, with the expression of "PLEASE!!! Just get up and get to work cuz bills gotta get paid!" No, we cater to you and we try our best to make you feel comfortable and wait on you hand and foot. We treat you like we want to be treated.

So.... that should give you a jest of how my morning went. Until, he redeemed himself and took the kids out to the pool and gave me space to breathe. But instead of resting, I cooked dinner cuz when the bunch is hungry, patience is out the door, which means Mommy needs to oblige.

The kids spent the early evening after eating dinner painting outside in the backyard while Daddy worked on one of the company vans. He stepped out for a little bit to grab some supplies and came back with an extra surprise of STARBUCKS! Yummos!

The kids are fast asleep, I'm on my 2nd dose of night time cold meds... and I've gotta pretty strong feeling that I'm about to stop making sense - or have I passed that stage already? None the less, I'm falling asleep. So night all!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T12:47:00.000-07:00

Amazing Day!

2010-06-18T00:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy day here in the Bernat household.

I spent my entire morning running around the valley trying to get some issues with our insurance company regarding the fire resolved. It's always nice to find out that the location you thought you were headed was an office, only to find out when you get there that it's really a PO Box (SUCKS ASS!) Only in LA would it take me two hours to finish up something that should typically take 30 minutes, but with all the unexpected traffic and unnecessary detours, it took me FOREVER!

After a very short time home, I had to head out to Costco to pick up some grub for the NBA Finals party we were having at the house. I have to say I LOVE going to Costco without three kids begging for Oreo's in bulk. It's so relaxing and stressless, but I have to say watching the other moms wrestle and plead with their kids only brings empathy, I feel ya ladies! I think at one point, I was almost tempted to lug one child into my cart to relieve some of that stress in that mother. LOL!

We thought it would be much easier to just buy the sandwich platters they sell there, but when I got to the display case it normally is in there were none. So like a mom ... errr... maybe more like an irrate woman who's told that there really aren't any bonus gift bags left at the cosmetics counter, I stood there impatiently waiting for the deli dudes to open up that glass window. When they finally did, they told me there weren't any left - AH! But no ... unacceptable... yup! you got it deli dude... I AIN'T LEAVIN' so i waited for them to get me a new batch, LOL!

The rest of the evening was Laker Nation. We had so many great friends come over (Aliw, Emilio, Eric and Cynthia and there gorgeous girls, Cynthia's cousin, Kit and Paul, Aaron and Tyler, Mark and Diana, Chris, and Ernie) to watch the game and celebrate. In true form, we basked in food, drinks, and entertainment.

The entire game had us on the edge of our seats, we cheered, our heads fell to disappointment, and then lifted again. Personally, I thought it was too close - but maybe that's my anxiety talking. LOL! When it was all over we jumped and screamed, high fived each other, hugged, high fived the air, and sometimes searched to hug something. Anything! The energy in the living room when the purple and gold confetti started to fall was UNREAL! Love watching important sporting events with great friends. There's nothing like cheering in unison for something we commonly enjoyed.

CONGRATULATIONS LOS ANGELES LAKERS!!!

2010 NBA CHAMPIONS!!!

Do you see Mama Aliw? Isn't she cute!!! Thanks girl for not going into labor, despite all those gut wrenching moments =D

We joked around afterwards and thought, hmm??? Now what?? The only thing to root for is the FIFA games. But I'm not a big fan. What I'm a real big fan for is the upcoming arrival of Baby Aeon!!! Yes... I think I'll wear purple for her too. Afterall I've got all that purple eyeshadow left over from the finals series! HA!

Laying Back

2010-06-16T23:17:00.000-07:00

One of the things that I love about summer vacation, is that there really isn't a place that we most absolutely need to be at at a specific time. I LOVE NOT having to be anywhere and have to be rushed to get somewhere, where we stand around and kind of look at each other like now what? Waking up a little late in the morning, not rushing through breakfast, and just lounging around are the moments I cherish the most. My boys are old enough to entertain each other "together" by means of playing hide and seek, tag, water play, and just about anything. I have to say that this is one of the pluses of having all boys, I'm not worried that one will be left behind or excluded because of their "boyz only" rules that they like to spring on me. Watching them play and listening them in another room when they think i'm not there is so entertaining. Moments that fuel my laughter and find a pocket in my memory to cherish for years to come.

After a very relaxed morning, the boys rushed upstairs to to do whatever it is that "boyz only" are allowed to do in the privacy of their semi closed bedroom door. I spent a few hours tidying up the house and making tuna sandwiches for lunch and just enjoyed not beng rushed. By early afternoon, the boys were going stir crazy and Jerry thought it would be great to take Lucky and the boys to our community park. So I seized the moment...

No, no, no....

Not to relax! Are you crazy??

I seized the moment to catch up on laundry! HAHA!! Laugh all you want, but this mama is going to bed with all but one more load of laundry to wash and fold tonight. You'll be envious of me when you've got those last five loads to do over the weekend. LOL!

I've been feeling pretty BLAH-zay the last week or so, so I haven't been going to the gym. It's horrible I know!!! I blame Aunt Flo for the last 3 days. But tonight, while Matthew fell asleep early I snuck out of the house long enough to get a two hour cardio in. While I was there, I loathed it! And there were at least 3 instances, where I almost yelled out, "SCREW THIS!" But instead kept trekking. Changing your playlist on your iPod can really motivate you, HA!

Tomorrow is Game 7 and I'm hoping to get my cardio in, in the morning. We'll see how that goes. Like I said, I'm not rushing to get anywhere, I'll find my way to the gym eventually but time is on MY side for a change.

Let The Summer Begin

2010-06-16T00:33:00.001-07:00

Summer officially started at 3:15 p.m. last Friday, but it being our anniversary weekend, our kids spent most of the weekend with family. Sunday was a very, very disappointing Game 5 of the NBA Final Series, but was heroically saved by great friends and food at a BBQ held by our good friend, Jerevi.

Brandon came home from visiting his dad and step mom over the weekend on Monday night and of course the water works brigade came storming in. I've been dreading those drop offs as he cries and cries, begging for one more day. Ironically though, after they left and said good bye, I looked at Brandon and said, "that's enough. Are you ready to go to the bathroom and wash all that off?" He nodded yes and spent a good 10 minutes in there, but was all smiles once he came out. He even stayed up with the rest of us and played some games on the XBox. Come morning, he had forgotten all about it. I'm pretty glad that his dad and step mom won't be coming this weekend to visit, only because it's going to give our family some routine into this summer vacation. I have every intention to make sure they have some fun.

Earlier today, on my usual weekly run to Costco for some necessities, I picked up some workbooks for the older boys to work on to fill in those gaps between the freeze tag and hide and seek runs in our home. I'm determined to give them some educational bouts during the day daily while they vacay during the summer. Sorry. But there's no such thing in letting the mind rest, I personally don't feel it's healthy to just stay idle when you've got a young mind like a sponge to soak up everything that it can. Believe me, when you get older the longevity of remembering certain things is short lived. So after a great lunch, I had the boys do about an hour of work each.

The rest of our afternoon was spent out in the California sun. It was pretty hot today, about 95 degrees, so by late afternoon the sun had hidden behind the hills and wasn't raying down on my children. It was just enough sun to get them going. They had a great time playing with the water hose and floral buckets we had out in the backyard. It's pretty amazing how much fun a child can have with simple things, lol!

A little later, we sent them up for a warm bath and got them ready for an impromptu gathering for Game 6 with my great friends Aliw and Emilio, Cynthia, her cousin, and her gorgeous girls, and Ernie. We made some lasagna, garlic toast, and salad. Everyone else brought BEER! and of course Cynthia's infamous strawberry pie - YUM!!!

CONGRATULATIONS LAKERS FOR CONQUERING GAME 6 OF THE NBA FINALS!

At the end of the night, Cynthia and I watched our children run our around the house from top to bottom playing freeze tag. I thought it would only be fair if my boys hopped on one foot whle chasing, seeing thatt Cynthia's daughter was younger. It was HILARIOUS!!! Cynthia and I couldn't stop laughing at the kids sincerely trying to catch one another. LOL! Anyway, you had to be there.

Party Time

2010-06-07T23:28:00.000-07:00

Told you I was about a day ... or 2 ... late with my posts LOL! BUT... with GREAT reason.

My kids have a more busy social life than I do sometimes. That sometime was this passed weekend. We had a total of 2 kids birthday parties, 1 Bridal Shower, and my friend's birthday party to go to all in one day.

After a much dragged out morning, we finally got out of the house and headed out first to celebrate our friend's son's 7th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVAN!

The boys had a blast by the poolside, despite the heat. They were entertained by a science guy that do a spectacular job of entertaining all of the kids. Whenever you see amazement in your children's eyes... you know it's been a great day.

Afterwards, we headed over to Scooter's Jungle (an indoor bouncy house) to celebrate another friend's son's 10th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY EUAN!

Thankfully, this place was air conditioned and the kids had a blast bouncing around - well let's face it who wouldn't want to jump around crazily - SAFELY!!! They loved all the games and activities. We didn't stay for lunch because we had to get going and head over to my mom's house. My plan was to take the kids to the 3rd party, but at this point I was mentally drained by the meltdowns and opted to leave them at my parents place while I headed over to the Bridal Shower and eat peacefully.

Afterwards, I picked up the kids and brought them home... BOY! Were they ready for some down time. Let me tell you... a toddler without a nap is no joke! After I handed them off to their daddy, I quickly changed and got ready to celebrate our friend, Angelli's birthday in Pasadena.

I go out maybe once every other week - if at all... So this was a much anticipated night for me and boy did I go out! I think I drank way too fast, enjoyed the entire time there, but on the way home had to ask our driver to pull over so I could vomit - yup! One of those nights - and you'll probably find a you tube video of me barfing all over the side walk somewhere in Burbank thanks to friends (ahem! JARBS!) who likes to capture those moments =D Geeze! Thanks, hahaha! The plus side though...yes! There is a plus side =D I woke up with NO HANGOVER! WOO HOO!

Come Sunday morning, Jerry was feeling under the weather and slept in till about 2 p.m. - which was so needed because we were all preparing for Game 2 of the Lakers V. Celtics NBA Finals game. We had our great group of friends over and enjoyed our Ghetto themed party. We had Ghetto Dogs AKA California "Dirty" Dogs, Street Corn, Sour Mangoes, Tacos, and so, so, so much more! We decked out in our Purple and Gold and though they lost (damn refs!) we still cheered them on till the bitter end! Watch out now!!

Today, marks the first day to the last week of school for the kids! THANK GOODNESS!!! Summer session could NOT have come any sooner =D Living in the desert, the heat can get to you, even if you're only driving ten minutes away. LOL! Earlier today, Aliw stopped over with the kids to give the kids a chance to play and we sat around, ate, and watched the 2010 MTV VMA's on TiVo - total chick/chill night. She's due any day with my God Daughter, Aeon and I am so unbelievable excited! Can't wait to meet the buttercup!

I'm off to do some laundry now and try to get my week back to normal. Till tomorrow - or... well, you know what I mean =D

Catch Up!

2010-06-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

First of all, congratulations to our beloved Los Angeles Lakers for the vicotorious win over the Boston Celtics on Game 1 last night

I'm usually about a day late in my posts, but I think I'll start working on that. So much happens in a day, by the time I blog about it too much has gone by.

Yesterday, was pretty eventful. We had a short nice visit from Aliw and Emilio and ate some breakfast in the morning. Then headed off to the boys school where Brandon recieved an award for completing his Accelerated Reading Program. It was the last award ceremony for the school year and I'll admit, I was in tears! Sometimes you have to stop and take a moment and just look at your kids outside of the homely box. It'll take your breath away and for a brief moment you bask in the achievements that your child has accomplished and realize, "WOW! I had something to do with that!"

After the ceremony, Jerry, Matthew, and I headed over to Paneras for lunch. A very rare moment in which Daddy is out to eat with us =D So we enjoyed being together. Love Paneras BTW, it's so yummy and healthy. I wasn't feeling the whole sandwhich or bread thing, so I opted for Macaroni and Cheese... preferrably from the adult menu but the hubs wasn't sure so he ordered from the kids menu. Just as well, seeing that I wouldn't have finished any portion bigger.

When we got home, we had to get the house ready for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. A very procrastinated and poorly planned gathering of friends. We had a few people over for the evening and enjoyed watching the game wearing our Sports Enemy shirts.

I was a little tipsy last night, so I chose to go to bed after our last guest left. Today, it's all about catch up and all about getting back on routine. I didn't end up going to the gym last night, so you can imgaine the guilt I feel right now especially after all the yummy food we ate last night. The house is in serious need of some attention, and I honestly don't want to spend my entire weekend stressing over undone projects. So that's my mission today is to get everything done. But I'm at a poor start right now, seeing that I'm spending most of my morning side by side my tot watching Yo Gabba Gabba, facebooking, twittering, and blogging rather than do what is so blatently staring at me in my face. Oh the housework beckons. BLAH!

Blog you later.

Happy Birthday Mom

2010-06-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

Today my mom celebrates her birthday. We took advantage of the long weekend yesterday and celebrated with our fantastic family and had burritos, BBQ, and an impromptu home made cake.

You'll have to exuse it's mess. Being in a kitchen that really isn't mine has taken it's toll on my culinary skills. But you make do with what you have.

We had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend, most of it was just hanging out at the house with Matthew recovering from HFMD and Jerry and I taking advantage of just hanging back and relaxing for a change. Things have been hectic the last few weeks and it was nice to just do nothing. Have you ever done nothing? It really puts you out of your element and you have to find ways to hold yourself back from doing things that must be done.

While mom celebrated her big day we all sat down and ate and just had a movie day, we watched Orphan, Home Alone, and Pearl Harbor - all great movies in it's own genres. Spending time the family really brought us down from our on-the-go lives. Sitting back, laughing, and relaxing with people you love can really make things look differently.

It's a short week this week and summer vacation is only a few weeks away, as usual I'm more excited about this than the kids. Like I said, the last few weeks have been so hectic and with getting new schedules into place and not having enough time to do what I must to keep my home a happy home, I've put projects to the side to make room for things of priority - like organizing our pantry and master closet. It's safe to say that I've got most of the priorities into check and am so excited that I've actually finished most of my housework done. I find myself this morning with not much to do and my mind out of a fog of chaos that I find myself in lately most of the time when I wake up.

To help with I created a checklist for the older boys that helps them earn points (and to keep track of the points when Mommy can't remember) The points can get them anything from a free choice book or to save up for that ultimate toy (with a price cap of course). The boys are pretty excited and because they're so easily pursuaded to do most of their household chores, my mornings with them go much MUCH easier. Thank goodness! And to think I didn't even need my cup of joe this morning.

Today, we have Taekwondo and I'm hoping that Jerry gets home early enough from an event that I can sneak in a couple of hours of work out at the gym before I hit the sack. Schedules and routines work great with the kids and the hubs but moms always have that "tentative" bolded and written right beside her schedule - you just never know when you've gotta make room for something higher in your priority list =D

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes?

2010-05-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

Or was that Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease (HFMD)? Yesterday afternoon, I grew concerned because not only was Matthew not feeling well, but his sores on his tongue were starting to blister. To make matters worse, I had this gut feeling that I should check our Motrin bottle for the recall - I never did it thinking I had bought it so recently that there was such a slight chance that the bottle would be on the recall list. I was wrong of course, and immediately panicked. Called the pediatrican and requested that Matthew be seen immediately.

I started to run different scenarios as to what caused the sores in Matthew's mouth. Was he allergic to Motrin? Were the causes and side effects of the recall apparent right there in my son's mouth? Or was it something else? Something worse? Something completely different from all of my other concerns?

After examing Matthew, the doctor said she knew exactly what it was but wanted to check a few more things. Apparently HFMD has been running a muck in our area and a lot of kids have been coming in with symptoms of HFMD. Seeing that Matthew has older brothers that are in elementary school and he visits the Kids Club at the gym on a daily basis, it would make sense that he had a greater risk of contracting the disease. Unfortunately, there is not real treatment for HFMD, just treating the symptoms and keep him away from other children for the next week. The doctor prescribed a few meds to help the pain and after giving it to him, he finally ate and fell asleep without a fight. Phew!

I on the other hand was extremely tired and miserable. I had been battling a cold and sinus infection since last weekend,, and the exhaustion finally caught up with me. Jerry was a saint and watched the boys while I took a nap and tried to rejuvenate. I woke up less tired, but still feeling awful. Today, I'm still feeling pretty blah. We had anticipated just relaxing for the most part then heading over to Cynthia's house for Bella's birthday with just Daniel, but as we were about to head out the door, my parents called and asked if they could watch the Laker game. Bummer that we missed the party, but my parents made up for it by cooking some yummy dishes and watching the game with their very, VERY funny comments. I promised Cynthia that i would make it up to Bella some time this weekend, when Matthew is all better.

On a Side Note:

Thursday night, the girls, my cousin, and I headed out to Arcight to watch Sex and The City 2 -

Okay... I'm gonna go out on a limb here and risk social suicide, but I have to say it. I enjoyed SATC 1 more than this one. It was entertaining - but I think I expected more. There were too many lulls, but enough comedy to keep me entertained. It almost felt like a very long episode of just the series, it didn't have the WOW factor that is expected from movies. I was so deeply disappointed. The only scenes I enjoyed were the "sip!" moments at the bar with the mommies and the candid snapshots of Aiden - oh Aiden... yes! I know! Anyhow, wasn't impressed and I hope they make an SATC 3 to redeem themselves because this was just blah!

Back to reality:

I'm exhausted, AGAIN! So I'm gonna sniff up some Vapo Spray, take some Nyquil and go to sleep - BLAH!

Sick Day

2010-05-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning in pain, exhausted, and wanting nothing more but more sleep. Matthew struck up a fever right before bed last night and like all we mothers know, there is no such thing as a quick remedy to a sick toddler. Nope. In reality it means endless hours of tossing and turning and constant worry, only to be awoken the next morning exhausted and frustrated and empathizing with the weeping puppy eyes your toddler locks with your own eyes, followed by pleading with a higher power for relief, not only for your child for yourself as well.

We skipped group today, seeing that both Matthew and I were feeling under the weather. I have to admit that I missed all the parents. It's my one day of normalcy, where I know that I won't be judged for being frustrated with little things. That I won't be branded as a mother who doesn't care because I get a little tired of being tired. Instead, I spent my morning cuddled up next to Matthew watching the Wiggles with an occasional break to make a snack or a meal.

When Matthew's really sick, he wants to just cuddle, he wants me to be near - it's so wonderful wanting to be needed that way, but also frustrating at the same time because I think of things that would make him feel better but I can't get away long enough to do what I need to, to do it. So for those occasional breaks - I prepare myself for the worst and know that he will cry, and he will beg to be held, and he will eventually come to realize that I'm not leaving. Matthew spent most of his time on top of the closest piece of furniture to the kitchen. In this case the side table.

In the afternoon, I had to to an appointment with the hubs for a bride and her flowers. Then met up with my sister and mom for a quick bite. It's funny how Matthew is completely different when I'm not around. I spent a few minutes in my car just staring through the window at my son with my family. It's when we locked eyes that the tear works started and tantrums beckoned me back into the restaurant.

Afterwards, we headed back home to pick up the older boys, then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out. Jerry went out with his buddies tonight (a fair trade off as I'm going out with my girlfriends to watch Sex And The City 2) so the kids and I set up camp and watched The Tooth Fairy. Daniel was so cute trying to wiggle his tooth a little harder, completely excited to meet the Tooth Fairy. I honestly hope he doesn't expect me to sprout some wings - I think I may disappoint and know that a cookie and a smile may not veer him from reality. And unfortunately my amnesia fairy dust is all out of stock. Ooops!

After hours of battling with Matthew for bedtime, he's finally fallen asleep. Thank goodness. I can officially enjoy some quiet time, that is... until his motrin wears off and we battle for meds doses. Like a good mommy, I'm mentally preparing myself.

The next two days are minimum days for the older boys, oh the activities I have in store for them =D

Tooth is Looth

2010-05-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

After picking the boys up from school the other day, Daniel excitedly ran up to me to let me know some important news, "Mommy! My tooth is 'looth'!" How exciting!! I asked him if he was excited, and he said, "Mommy.... how long will it take for this tooth to come out? Because, I really want to give it to the tooth fairy." Then it dawned on me, WOW! Daniel's hitting his first childhood milestone. I mean he's hit all the milestones in infancy, toddlerhood, and preschool. But losing a tooth is HUGE in elementary school. Kind of like when teenage boys hit that point of differentiated octaves of voice changes until they get that deep manly voice and proudly proclaim, "I am a MAN!" Or maybe it's that other milestone in teenage years that usually occur during prom night that I don't wanna know about with my kids...

Anyways....

One milestone at a time, right? The tooth! Well, he's been wiggling the little thing all day till he goes to bed and is eagerly anticipating the day that it finally comes out. I thought it would be fun if we made a little Tooth Fairy Bag to officially hand over the pearly white tooth over. He thinks it's a great idea, and well what do good mommy's do - well, you know other than overwhelmingly put more on their plate than normal - we get excited alongside and get crafty.

Mad Hatter Tea Party Baby Shower

2010-05-23T23:01:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday, together with a great group of girls (Akit, Awit, Aileen, and Cynthia), I hosted a baby shower for my great friends Aliw and Emilio, welcoming their daughter Baby Aeon into this beautiful world. For months we had been planning the ultimate baby shower to celebrate with both family and friends this wonderful blessing of life. This will be the first baby girl in our group that we were able to organize together and man! was it an awesome and spectacular event.

We transformed our beautiful yard that overlooks Canyon Country into a beautiful and serene tea party. We blanketed the guest tables with grape colored linens and lavished it with beautiful tea cup pots and colorful vases, small tubs with tiny bottles of sparkling water and sodas, surrounded it all with bold colored crystal stones and tiny candle votives.

Beneath the patio we layed out a horseshoe shaped buffet with every Filipino dish imaginable and accented it with a few dishes of chicken picatta and wild mushroom rice pilaf. We topped it off with a huge fruit display and tubs of refreshments. The guests' utensils were wrapped in fuschia pink and lime green napkins and gently tightened with a lavendar bow.

Inside, we transformed our dining table into a sweet tooth lover's delight. Desserts ranging from white chocolate macademia nut cookies to strawbery shortcake cups. We had made tiny jello desserts which reminded some guests of jello shots - so of course we had to oblige and provided them with double jello shots topped with whip cream. At the entry way, we had a table set up with large pregnancy photos that my wonderful friend Eric Micah Photography took a few weeks back. We also had two large canvases for guests to sign and greet the wonderful couple with many blessings and congratulatory wishes. On the other end of table we had cute baby shower favors for the guests to take home and continue the magic of Alice in Wonderland with them.

Akit and Awit were in charge of the baby shower games. One of them was the "Guess How Many Diapers" are in this baby shower diaper cake that Akit made. It was quite entertaining to hear the guesses ranging from 50-200. And just in case you were wondering, it was 72 newborn diapers LOL! BUT... I think the most entertaining game of all was the one where you have to guess how big the mommy to be was. And boy were some of those strings long... LMAO!

At the end, we had a wonderful time together as a "family" - we were able to organize and host a baby shower for one of the most wonderful people in the world. Secretly, I kept thinking of how excited I was to hold Baby Aeon in my arms. I plotted the many things I would do with her, the different outfits of floral bows and tutus I would cover her in until she screamed in sighs, and how I wanted so much to just hold her. I'm so blessed to have Aliw and Emilio in our lives, she is the God Parent of Matthew and I could honestly say that I trust a handful of people with my children's lives. To know that she feels the same about me with her daughter and asking me to be a God Parent as well has brought so much joy into my life. I can't wait!

CONGRATULATIONS ALIW AND EMILIO.... AND FOR THE RECORD AND FOREWARNING FOR YEARS TO COME... I WILL BE THAT GOD PARENT THAT SPOILS THE HECK OUT OF YOUR DAUGHTER! HA!

Monday Happenings

2010-05-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

I know I was supposed to post pictures from the Strawberry Festival, but the truth is I'm far too tired to get into a technical argument with blogger and the loading of my pictures. So instead I'll post about that later. I have to say that I had a blast. It wasn't at all what I had expected but I still enjoyed myself. If you know me at all, you know that I hate crowds - in fact, it's the reason why I prefer online shopping during the holidays and refuse to go clubbing now.

They had so many different things that I wanted to try, but because of the massive lines and crowds, I was turned off by it and opted for the little mom and pop stands with little to no line. If you're a parent you know that pushing a stroller - no matter how great it is - can be a challenge on grass, then dirt, then gravel, then grass again. Like, when you see that little break in a crowd where you can scoot your way over to the other side, but then get stuck in rubble - well yeah, that sucks!

Anyhow, other than my obvious challenge - we had a great time and got to take home a case of strawberries at a fraction of a price. cool deals! We got home and made a Filipino Beef Steak and Onion dinner and called it a night.

-Monday-

This love/hate relationship is getting tiring my dear Monday, I love you because you're a new beginning but I hate that you come so quickly. Last night, I ended up staying up till 3 am because I had to go through 3 months worth of receipts and make copies for our insurance company. At one point, I grew nauseated and just couldn't stand fighting with our copying machine. Urrrgh, but I finished! So when I woke up this morning, the first thing that came out of my mouth when the alarm went off were, "I'm exhausted!" slammed the snooze and went back to sleep. My dear hubby knew I stayed up late going through literally hundreds of receipts and tried to surprise me by taking the boys to school. But I'm a creature of habit and I had to get up, I knew if I had gone back to sleep there was a great chance that I may not want to get up again - and well, it's Monday! Can't let that happen.

After I dropped the boys off, I spent some time with little Matthew having breakfast and watching some Nick Jr. shows - brace yourself, I know how exciting Ni Hao Kai Lan can be for you readers. After a few hours of working, Jerry took over toddler duty and gave me an opportunity to sneak out to run some errands in peace. The weather's been odd here in LA - yesterday it was so hot you could tan within minutes, this morning we woke up to a misty rain - weird! But that's LA weather for you. So anyhow, the thought of having to carry a tot across a slippery parking lot was not idea. So I took advantage of these few hours before having to pick up the boys and headed over to Target to grab a few "necessities" then to Staples to make more copies of those dang receipts, and then worked out BY MYSELF for an hour and a half - okay, well the half was more me enjoying an uninterrupted shower and changing at a pace far slower than the mad dash to find a towel at home.

After I picked up the boys I headed over to the grocery store and grabbed a few needed things we needed for dinner tonight. My great friends, Aliw and Emilio, were heading over with their boys to talk about the baby shower this coming Saturday and well to let ALL the boys hang out for a bit. We munched on some Turkey cheese burgers on wheat buns and sweet potato baked fries, then headed out for some Juice it Up (I have to say that this is far, far better than Jamba!). Then we made an impromptu visit to the store to find more things we may need for the baby shower.

-The Baby Shower-

Oh I cannot wait to show you pictures of the baby shower we will be throwing for Aliw and Baby Aeon, it's seriously one of the most cutest and unique baby showers I've ever had the honor of throwing. Seriously! Stay tuned, I guarantee your toes will curl in cuteness!

Well, I didn't realize just how tired I was until my feet felt the satin touches of my sheets. Suddenly I'm exhausted, and the organic four cheese pizza I reheated (since I didn't want to waste food) suddenly isn't as tempting anymore. Oh but to waste...

Till the next time =D

Amazing Weekend

2010-05-15T22:04:00.001-07:00

We've had such a great weekend so far! Thursday we headed over to our very own Newhall Coffee Headquarters in Valencia and spent some time with our cool SCV tweeps! Yes... I said tweeps... our little close family of twitter friends.

It's pretty cool actually, because Mitch (the cool guy who owns and runs Newhall Coffee) gave us a VIP tour of how they roast coffee. Man!! It was awesome. We got to walk through the stacks of beans just waiting to be roasted together with other beans from all over the world. Then, we were brought back to the roasting room with our lil' hairnets and watched as a new batch went into the roaster and pure nirvana scents of coffee at it's best filled the room.

Mitch renovated a corner in his warehouse into a little kickback spot with all the coffee your cute lil' heart desired and couches your lil' tooshies could not depart from. So after the VIP tour, we all headed back to chill and relax with all of our tweeps (get used to it people) and chatted for a bit. Meanwhile, the kids played with a basket of Thomas the Train toys, Matthew of course climbed onto those stacks of coffee beans and I of course, naturally, screamed and shrieked in horror.

Afterwards, Cynthia, the kids, and I headed over to the infamous little cafe in SCV, Eggplantation. I have to say, if you're ever in this town you need to head over here. They have every omelette you can imagine and more stuff if you're just not in the mood for eggs. The staff is super friendly and nice. And you seriously feel at home. It's a cute, little cafe in downtown Newhall, and it seems (purely from observation) that everyone knows everyone there. It's gotta Cheers kind of feel to it.

Friday, we spent the evening at the Paseo Club's Kids Festival in Valencia. Mainly promoting my good friend's husbands photography business. They had a booth there and we motherswhodon'tthinkthingsthroughrealistically decided to bring all 5 kids. WHAT MAYHEM! We had to keep reminding ourselves... as long as they have fun (repeat). We had a few bouts of tears and meltdowns, but overall I have to say it was a success, despite the fact that Cynthia and I actually gave up with the kids at one point. Held down that "it is what it is" attitude.

They had a ton of games, food, entertainment, and giveaways for the kids. I know my boys had a great time. How do I know? The sweat rolling off there face said so.

You know what was the most awesome part of my day on Friday? Coming home to a spotless and organized home all thanks to my amazing husband. See men? If you even read this. The way to a woman's heart is by cleaning her home! I mean I'm talking deep clean, look into the drawer - oh crap! it's actually organized and not stuffed with crap, kind of clean. Its been such an amazing experience coming home to a sparkling home... but I do have to remind myself to maintain, ha! With 3 boys, who am I kidding? I'm thinking because we haven't been home for more than a 3 hour period in the last few days, it may... maaaaaaaaaaay have some part in why our home has maintained it's spotless status. Just maybe?

Earlier today, we went over to Palmdale and spent the better part of our afternoon with the Newbern family, again promoting the photography business. It was such an awesome day, so much so that we didn't realize that we all got some pretty narly tans and literally browning and burning beneath the sun. Afterwards, Cynthia and the girls came over to have some Thai take out. While the kids played, the parents watched Brothers - pretty intense movie! We ended the night with Eric making his way over after a photoshoot, Juice it Up for all, and some Country Bear family movie time.

Our weekend isn't even over yet, but I'm seriously having a great time so far. Tomorrow is our family day. We're headed over to the California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard with the boys. I can't wait to stuff myself with all those great strawberries and the hundreds of ways it can be used.

So you can pretty much tell from that last sentence, that this whole weekend has been my cheat weekend, covered in layers of guilt! No worries for Monday we start our workout and diet regimen all over again.

Hope you guys are having an amazing weekend so far as well. Till tomorrow...

Back To The Gym We Go

2010-05-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

This morning Matthew and I headed over to our Early Start group - I can't tell you how much I adore this group of people. Seriously. They make me feel "normal" in this overrated world of parenting. Like ... no, my kids don't eat organic and/or healthy ALL the time - we've snuck in a few chicken nuggets here and there. No, we stay at home moms don't always look like the Desperate Housewives of Wysteria Lane, we actually don't like mopping, washing dishes, changing dirty diapers, or doing laundry in 4 inch heals and pencil skirts - yes, we find it far more comfortable and are more productive in our yoga pants and spaghetti string tank tops. No, we don't change our children the moment they wake up into the cutesy outfits that you see them trotting around in at the mall - we actually prefer that they stay in their pajamas since they're gonna get smothered anyway with the oatmeal and bananas that we serve for breakfast.

Yes - I do all of the above - because I am, afterall, NORMAL!

After our group/playdate, we headed home for a quick bite to eat and a moment to breathe. Cindy (our program coordinator) and Brenda (our already missed speech therapist) headed over for an exit Speech Therapy meeting.Yes! You read right, Mr. Matthew aka Boss Man no longer needs speech therapy. This is a HUGE milestone for Matthew and our family. When he was born and we discovered that he had Microtia - we were of course shocked and devastated. We grieved the ideal child that we had anticipated, but quickly jumped on our toes to figure out what we could do to prevent any hinderance to Matthew's development physically and cognitively. The idea that our son would not be able to hear was one that we had accepted, the possibility of him not being able to function "normally" in the real world was one we were actively resistent to accept.

Since Matthew was a month old we took advantage of the Early Start program and welcomed all the services they offered. Speech therapy was one we were excited about, it was the service that we knew Matthew would need the most and knew that we had to be actively participating in. So Brenda has been with us literally of his life. So when this dreaded day came for us to finally say good bye, I was both sad and ecstatic all at the same time. I was sad that we would have to bid Brenda goodbye but also ecstatic that Matthew had made so much progress. It's painful to see someone who had helped us for so long walk out of our front door for the last time. But thank God for Facebook! Because at least this way we can still keep in touch and she can see the hopeful milestones we hope Matthew will surpass in the future.

After Cindy and Brenda left - my sister and brother came over for a short visit and to run the hills that surround our home. So while they got their Fit on, I did some house cleaning before having to pick up the older boys from school.

This evening, I headed back over to Palmdale for our scheduled workout regimen. Tonight, we did the CORE group class - which literally kicked our asses. We did aerobic style routines with weights. Working every.single.muscle in our body. What a great work out! And believe me! I was not so gung ho during the workout but man! afterwards I was excited. It was great finishing up a class and being out of breath, in pain, and sweating. We were supposed to continue our routine with cardio and work on abs, but like I said the workout literally worked out every part of our body so we decided to stay for the 2nd class - ZUMBA! Okay, so I may not be a pretty sight to see, in fact I glide far more than salsa or bounce around the class, unlike our overly ecstatic Zumba instructor.

Okay, so I have a bone to pick - Ever see one of those women in your excercise group and just think, WHAT THE F*** ARE YOU DOING IN HERE? Yeah! There was one of those girls in there... like the only reason why she's in there is to give her confidence a little boost to see women like myself struggle with "problem areas" and of course, she gets to go home and just take that extra bite of Haagan Daaz as a reward for not getting where I am right now. Urrrgh! Okay, so I won't judge but to all you skinny women who have a cm of muffin top peering over your already too low jeans, do us women who have a little bit more of a problem and just stay in the dark corner of the studio and shake your skinny ass over there. Thank you very much.

Well - I'm beat. Tomorrow we do it all over again but at different times. Jerry will be out working the next few days and I literally won't be able to see him till Sunday. So patience have worn thin in this house especially because -someone- I'm not saying who, is a little grumpy.

Talk to you all tomorrow!

Ah! I Skipped The Gym! CRAP!

2010-05-04T23:15:00.000-07:00

So my day did NOT turn out the way I had it planned... AT ALL! Matthew aka My Boss Man woke up late further delaying my entire day's plan. I had to drive my mom back to the valley to meet my dad to get something notarized, then had an impromptu lunch date with my parents, interrupted with an unexpected call from my baby sister's school that she needed to be picked up due to an incident.

It's very rare for me to spend some time in the valley with my parents outside of their home, let alone time at the best Filipino hot spot in the valley. So when the opportunity to hang out and enjoy some traditional Filipino eats came along, I took advantage - but consciously. My dad treated us all to lunch, then I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and hanging out with my mom and Matthew. What turned out to be an "only necessities" shopping trip to Tar-jay quickly turned it to - "oh maybe I need this crap" shopping spree.

I did snag a great sale on a steam carpet cleaner that we've been in the market for and grabbed a few summer wears for the boys. It's been getting hot here in good ole' Canyon Country and I figured this was a great time to get some decent looking clothes. As exciting as this is all to you I'll keep going... LOL!

I had planned on going to the gym earlier this evening, but honestly my body was just so fighting the plan. So when Cynthia text me that she had a cut on her eye and wasn't able to make it until later a bright halo light brightened around my iPhone and I seeked solace in the opportunity. Not because my dear friend was in pain... oh no, my heart fell heavy that she had this horrid situation going on but because I was physically happy I wasn't going to work out - because I'm lazy lol. Don't get me wrong, I felt guilt! HUGE GUILT! That I wasn't going to go the gym but I was relieved that I may not have to - EXCUSE #1 I know - WHATEVA! Back on the fast track ... tomorrow, not Monday, tomorrow!

HOWEVER! I made my first trip in years to Trader Joe's and ever other than to buy a bottle of great wine. I stocked up on organic and healthier alternative snack choices for my self and family. If I don't work out for a day, I may as well eat healthy right? So while the boys were enjoying their Tuesday night Taekwondo class, I was at Trader Joe's scavenging around the aisles like a kid in a brand new toy store. I grabbed things I've never tried before and hoped for the best. There was even a moment where I considered purchasing Morning Star Veggie Bacon and Sausage Links - oh yes! I considered it.. I even came back twice, but then remembered I hadn't eaten yet and that the ONLY reason I would even consider trying it was because I was starving at the time. And the likeliness that it would sit on my freezer shelf was about 99.5% - now why waste money? slowly dear friends, slowly. I'm still adjusting to free range brown eggs and organic milk for Christ sakes!

Jerry had offered to take care of Matthew and cook dinner while we were out in the valley. The older boys requested spaghetti - Daddy's specialty. But instead we came home to a mostly organic but completely healthy dinner!

I love that Jerry is right beside me on this journey to healthier eating habits and eventual lifestyle. In fact he reminds me once a day to eat my Activia yogurt, take my B12, garlic, and fish oil pills. So when he made dinner tonight, everything was made fresh and he put tons of fresh veggies and eased up on the meat and chose organic dressing, tomatoes, and even croutons! How great is that? And it was so cute because as we all hovered over our plates, he explained to me the benefits of parsley, chives, and spinach. I love that even after being married for almost 6 years and together for almost 10, he still surprises me with great facts - who says marriage gets mundane? It's an everlasting rollercoaster of emotions and events but instead of changing partners at moments of idle, I've got one great one for all the rides!

So the jist of the day - I spent the most part of my morning with family drama but great company, I skipped gym today but ate great and healthy, and I discovered that HOLY COW my husband actually knows better than me in some things in the kitchen - who would have thought?

Destination: Healthier, Organic Living

2010-05-03T22:51:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day back to the gym in over two years - YIKES! Has it really been that long?? Anyhow, my friend Cynthia and I are on a mission - so much so in fact that we've both committed that we would work out 5 days a week for 2 hours a day. And to show how committed we are, I made a calendar complete with highlights, charts, bold and italic fonts, and baby sitting notes. Oh how the eyes deceive... for it looks so, so, SO much easier on paper than the reality of what it really is.

One of the benefits of working out with a friend is that there really are NO excuses not to show up.. you're obligated. Not only to your friend but to yourself as well, you can't sit there and make a million excuses that would work on your unmotivated mind, you HAVE to have a really REALLY good reason to not show up. Working out with a friend (and a good friend like Cynthia) makes those times on the treadmill easier with great converation.

Today, we concentrated on legs. So we did about an hour in cardio (on the treadmill and on the cycle-thingy, you'll have to excuse my gym names for machines since I seriously don't know what those machines are called) and an hour of a class. Today we were were going to do the 24 Set but thankfully, ahem, unfortunately the class filled up quick so we were forced to wait for the next class which was Zumba.

I think I did this class once, a long - long - long time ago, when I was about 30 pounds lighter and the mere impact of stomping my feet didn't cause a shock to run up my leg and into my chest. So I didn't know exactly what part of my body I could anticipate in pain. None the less, I was up for it and it's a great thing we did stay and take this class because I ended up loving it, despite the fact that I suddenly realized I no longer have any.. and I mean ANY coordination at all - whatsoever left in my body. Hoping this changes throughout the duration of the class.

Anyhow, I left the gym feeling invigorated, hopeful, and driven towards my goals and aspirations. Not to mention a little sore, okay that's a lie - ALOT sore! But it's a good sore, the kind of sore where your legs feel like they're literally going to fall off but you feel so great that you can even feel your legs that you don't care, LOL! When I got home, I was in pain and starving and though I wanted to bury my head in a kiddie pool of angel food cake, I opted for a bowl of carrots. Which ended up doing nothing more than making me more hungry and frustrated. So I turned to my trusty twitter family, where I vented on how much I really, really wanted an In N Out burger, but knowing that it was bad for me. Especially with the hubs stressing how much we needed to cut carbs out of our diet and how eating after a certain time is not good for us. One of the wonderful tweeps suggested a protein style double double with mustard - no spread. For all of you out of towners visiting the blog, that just means a cheeseburger with no bun, but wrapped with lettuce instead. DE-LISH!! It was a God sent and after an hour of debate, I satisfied my craving guilt free within minutes after coming home with it. I probably won't do that again - because eating late IS pretty bad but it's the first day, and I still pat my self on the back for not eatiing tons of carbs.

I'm exhausted but I couldn't sleep without blogging about how incredibly terrified yet excited I am about starting this new journey to a healthy life. Tomorrow I'll be shopping organic at local grocery stores and Trader Joes for some organic veggies, fruits, and eggs.... then using up all the Costco chicken I bought weeks ago to make room for some free range beef and chicken =) Geeze! I think my tongue is splitting in half - I never thought I'd be one to be so gung-ho about organic and healthy living, LOL!