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It’s not so much that I never wanted to throw her her own party, but I just never got into the mood. It’s no excuse, I know. On my better days over the summer, I had envisioned her Halloween Extravaganza. … Continue reading
This gallery contains 7 photos.
It seems like just yesterday when we had our first child. I was rummaging through some pictures I was lucky enough to have saved since I lost all of them when my other computer crashed. We were crammed in one … Continue reading
Obviously, I am now a mother of two girls who are both below the age of 5. So I found it funny when Dex and I were at McDonald’s by the house last week while the girls were in preschool judging the new “in” crowd. The high school apparently has privileges to eat out for lunch and there were a bunch of kids hanging out at the McD’s, sort of like we used to do back in the day. It made me realize that it was over 15 years ago when I was a freshman in high school. Am I really this old? Yes!
Anyway, these boys had long hair combed almost like a comb over and skinny jeans with sneakers! YUCK! What the heck is going on in this world? Only girls should be wearing skinny jeans- so I thought! So this is when the subject of us talking about what I would say to my girls if they brought a guy home that looked like this. Of course, 10 years from now, who knows what the new fad will be? I’m almost hoping it would be the baggy jeans, spiky hair or even that famous under shave to remind me of Dexter back in high school. I now KNOW that I will be like what my parents used to be when they told me Dexter looked weird and he looked like a gang banger. To me it looked NORMAL back then. Now what’s normal to teenagers nowadays is so weird for me- like “what are you thinking” kind of weird. The times have definitely changed and I am on the other side of the street. It just seemed like yesterday, but it’s a nasty reminder of how long ago it actually has been. Lord please help me have an open mind and make this easy.
We’re parents now but it is still hard to believe sometimes. When Dex and I reminisce about the past, I feel like it was just yesterday. We just have to giggle and laugh about them because soon enough, it will be our turn on the plate. Like I said, I pray that it will be easy and fun! Dex is going to get payback for all the things he put all his girls’ parents into. I believe there were plenty in his time. *chuckles*
The month of August has been a mixture of many emotions for me and those around me. It was a very busy month filled with so many things that I had been looking forward to all summer. It started off with the celebration of uniting two lives together with the wedding of my brother. It was an event to remember with so many special memories of those we love- FAMILY and FRIENDS. Then it was off to celebrate the 7th birthday of my nephew Rolen, whose birth and survival was truly a blessing from God. Every year, we try to make it a point to celebrate his birthday no matter what the circumstance. I remember being a week old mother to Jasmyne and coming to his party confused and barely knowing what to do. This year, Dexter and I did some magic to be able to come since it was our weekend to work. Then came the celebration of my 5th Wedding anniversary with the husband, which deserves its own post on here. It came with little planning, but we had tons of fun. Next on the list for the third weekend was the homecoming party for my brother and his new wife. Everyone was excited to hear from them and talk about their wedding and honeymoon. A time to once again share stories and laugh about all the things that happened.
All of that was cut short by the news of the tragic death of my aunt, who was very dear and close to my heart. Nothing could have prepared me or anyone of us for the news. It was one of the most heart breaking things I think I have ever had to deal with because we were so close to her. The sudden and unexpected loss turned our world upside down. Our family came together in prayer and to share our memories with her. My last memory of her was at that birthday party we just had to attend and thankfully did. We went with on the lazy river three times and all I could remember was how happy and satisfied she was with her life. She was free and she was smiling and she was truly happy with how everything had fallen into place. Her death reminded me that life is truly precious and waking up is a blessing. I say reminded because I already know this, but tend to not live up to it. Every second is a gift. All the material we hold here on Earth, we cannot take with us. What we do take with us are the memories and feelings of how we treated and cared for one another. This is all the stuff we already know, but can sometimes forget with the hectic schedules we have in our life. Did you get to say goodbye in the midst of the morning rush? Did you say I love you before you hung up the phone? Did you make your child feel special? Did you spend enough time with them or were you busy working so much to buy that special something? Part of the mourning process is also coming to terms with the regret of what you could have changed, but you realize that you can no longer change it. The second that has passed, you can’t get back. So live every second of your life like it were the last. At the moment we remember it, but will we live up to it after a week? After a month or even a year? Sometimes, it takes these events to make us realize an important lesson, but do we really stand up to it on a daily basis? I admit that I don’t, but I will definitely try my hardest.
My family and I can still feel her soul roaming this Earth. I now REALLY believe in life after death because her presence is so intense. If I doubted it before, I believe it whole heartedly now. Many of the stories seem almost unbelievable, but they are really real. Could her sudden death have put her in the same position as we are in? Did she wish she could have said some things that she never got to say? All I know is that she will truly be missed by everyone whose life she touched. I pray for her every night that she may find her way up to where she belongs. I ask that you all do the same. Please pray for the soul of Maudy Santana- that she may rest in eternal peace. We love you Tita Mauds!
Two days from today, my brother will be married! People have slowly been trickling in and we’ll probably spend the bulk of our day today coming to and from the airport picking up all of our out of town guests. My girls are happy bees because there are so many kids in the house to keep them busy. I am secretly happy too. We’re having a mini reunion/barbecue at the house today to kick things off. Tomorrow will be the rehearsal and dinner. I’ve got lots of little beauty errands to do in the morning, including another mani-pedi day with my daughter. That is always fun and exciting. I hope the Lollapalooza and Market Days traffic do not hinder all the festivities going on though. I’ve prayed all week for beautiful weather, and I think we will get it. Saturday will be a busy day because Jasmyne will be the flower girl, so I have to keep myself on a tight schedule. I’m hoping she will walk down the aisle. I’m pretty confident that she will because we’ve been having our little talks so I can build her up to it. I don’t think anyone understands how stressful it can be to have a little child as part of a wedding. I want to keep the bride and groom happy and not disappoint them. So far, I’m one for two and hoping for perfection this Saturday.
Janelle is knocked out right now. They really need the sleep. They’ve been going to bed well past 130am the past two nights. It’s so hard to keep them on a bedtime schedule because they both sleep with us and there is no way in hell that I am going to bed before 10pm. That is just nearly impossible. What I do love about it is that we all woke up at 11am today. Yippppeeee! I got my sleep on and that’s all that really matters. Anyway, I’m so looking forward to my brothers wedding weekend. It’s been two and a half years of wedding planning. I know that it will be a beautiful wedding and that the bride will look just as beautiful and perfect. They both deserve it after all their hard work. I can’t wait! Until then, enjoy your weekend. Be safe!
Remember when you were young and your parents had so much advice for you? Like don’t do this and don’t do that and remember this and remember that. I remember some of those things and would tell myself I had my own way and had my own life to live. Ironically, after having kids, I could totally picture myself being that type of parent. I think I have mentioned this in my older posts. Life is truly meant to be lived, but once you get to a certain point, you live it backwards for others- like Benjamin Button sort to say. I have no regrets in my life and I love living the life I live, so don’t get me wrong. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I am living it with the right man. Honestly, if it were not for me having the husband that I have, would I truly be happy and content with where I am now in life? If I didn’t have the hubby that I do have, I would probably have more stress raising the kids or doing more mommy things all on my own. I would probably have more nights alone because not all husbands are like mine- the one who prefers to stay home with the family instead of going out with friends. I was blessed with a husband who is so understanding and a husband who took in my family as if it were his own. I have a husband who is committed to family and knows what being a husband and father mean. In more ways than one, I am very lucky.
So remember when your parents told you to slow down? Don’t get married too quickly. Enjoy your life. Go to school. See the world. There’s so much more. I picture myself as being that kind of parent because when I look all around me, I see a lot of people rushing through life without stopping to take a breath. They finish school. Get married. Buy a house. Have babies. The end result however is divorce for many of them. If only having babies could come as the last step. Unfortunately, having babies is the TEST that many couples have to go through. Many people have not been there and done that. They didn’t get to enjoy life or go to school or see the world and only realize that once they have kids. Now these poor kids are suffereing having divorced parents because their parents did not realize they were not ready until the babies came into their life. I wish there was a course in college that covers all of this. That building a family is a bond and a promise. It should not be one that just ends in divorce because you have chosen to give up. Divorce is almost as popular now as getting married. You just sign a paper and voila- it’s done. Unfortunately, when kids are involved, it is not as easy FOR THEM as it may be for the parents! Truly, I think that before you become a parent, you have to have the right mind set and maturity level. Just because you’re married and have a house does not constitute you to have the right to bring a baby into this world. Having kids is a much greater commitment than having all of the above. It breaks my heart to see this trend.
This was all brought on because as I was looking for invitations online, I came across DIVORCE PARTY invitations. It was pretty interesting and it hit a soft spot in me. There are now celebrations for these things as much as you celebrate your wedding. How ridiculous is this? So if you are reading this, make sure you enjoy life and get everything out of your system before you bring a person into this world that we live in. Parenthood is a commitment of both parents guiding their children together as a family!
I understand that it cannot always happen this way if you have children before you get married, but if you guys get married first and then have children, you should stay true to your marriage vows and work harder on being a family. Being a single parent is hard. So to those who have children without getting married and surviving on their own, much props to you. Things happen in this world for a reason. To those who are committing themselves to marriage, I hope that you have made a conscious decision in knowing your lifetime partner is there to the very end- or to the very least, that you two will work things out to the best of your abilities when the going gets tough. Some people get married just to get married and walk down the aisle. They do it without really thinking about what it really is. They are just fulfilling their childhood dream of having that fairytale wedding. Marriage is not an act of getting married on that one bliss filled day. It is a future and a forever status. It’s so easy to step out and just give up. We have to work much harder than just taking the easy way out! More importantly, we have to stop getting married just to get married knowing in the back of our minds that you can divorce. You have to be truly sure that he/she is worth it in the end so that fighting for that person will be worth it as well.
I don’t get this very often, so it deserved a title of it’s own. It’s called PEACE AND QUIET! I don’t quite remember the last time this happened. Dexter is at work. Jasmyne is at school. Janelle is sleeping. My parents are in the Philippines. My brother moved out. Wow! I’m alone in the house with no TV or other people talking. I cleaned the first floor, well most of it anyway. I was staring at the wall for like a minute soaking in all the quiet. I kid you not. I literally was staring at the wall like a crazy woman. I think the last time this happened was just before I had Jasmyne, when Dex and I were still living in our town home. Crazy, huh? Well I’ve got another hour of it before it ends. Then I have to pick up Jasmyne from school and run some errands. As usual, errands usually means going to Target and entertaining the kids at the library or other places.
We just returned from our little vacation over the weekend. We wanted to trek out somewhere before we had to work opposite schedules due to the fact that my parents will be gone. I didn’t expect it to be as cold as it was, but we had a great time. The resort we stayed at in Wisconsin had everything indoors. I love The Dells for their downtown area, but it’s okay. We’ll just have to revisit over the summer. I love The Wilderness Resort. We also drove to Minnesota to the Mall of America. I must say, I enjoyed it more this time around. Jasmyne definitely enjoyed it more too. Maybe because I was pregnant when we went there over a year ago. Now we’re back to reality.
I must say that I miss my parents a whole bunch. With my mom as an extra hand and my dad doing the cooking. Them being gone in these little bits of time every now and then, however, I think rejuvenates me. It gives me that space that I need and it DEFINITELY makes me more independent. At the same token, it also helps me to appreciate their presence more. Sometimes, you can take things for granted when it’s always around you. I have to wake up early and make breakfast for the kiddos. I have to do the laundry. I spic and spanned the house. I have to do this and that without relying on my mom to have to hold the baby so I can do one thing or another. We usually take turns doing something when my mom is here. Without my mom, obviously I found ways to do it on my own. I’ve been alone with the kids before, but it’s not usually starting from the morning. Normally my mom will be here in the morning and leave in the afternoon or something like that. Nothing beats them being here though, but like I said, the itty bitty breaks do wonders for me. The one thing I can’t do is cook, so when Dex comes home, we’ll be eating the adobo he cooked two days ago. The one we’ve been eating since two days ago. HAHAHAHA!
This weather kills me. I can’t believe that it’s this cold already. It’s not even November yet. Hopefully it”ll still warm up a bit in time for when we go to the pumpkin patch. I can’t wait. I think both of my girls will enjoy it this time around.
Things I’m looking forward to this month: Janelle turns ONE and her first birthday party after Halloween. Jasmyne’s Halloween party at school with her classmates. The pumpkin patch. Our work Halloween get together with the kiddies. Everything Halloween. I think Halloween is making it’s way up to my list of favorite “holidays” of the year!
Anyway- stay warm and have a safe one!
I still can’t believe that October is already here. I NEVER know where time is going, but everyday is bringing me faster into tomorrow. October means fall and coldness, which I hate. I do love the changing colors of the leaves, but that is about it. October is the birthday month of the hubby. October is also Janelle’s birthday month- which means, she is turning ONE this year. Yes ladies and gents. The party planning has been in the works and almost done. I’ve done the invites and booked the place. We knew we didn’t want it at our place this year. I wanted it at a children’s place and Dexter wanted it at a restaurant. The hubby won and the date is set.
I was watching some old videos of Jasmyne the other day. It dawned on me that we rarely take videos of the girls. I have NONE of Janelle and very few moments of Jasmyne. Those few moments we did capture of her brought back some tears. Those are memories frozen in time through that video. There were so many of those memories that we did not capture- and how I wish that we did. So starting now, I have vowed that as important as pictures are, so are videos. Those are the times that I cannot get back. Janelle is not walking yet, however, if you left her for an itty bitty minute, you will see that she made her way to the second floor of the house or that she is sitting on top of the couch. She is not talking, but she is babbling a whole lot. She can also “sing” a song copying your tone of voice. I gotta get all these cute little things she does on video.Jasmyne already started preschool and she loves every moment of it. I secretly enjoy taking her to school and picking her up. The whole process is so emotional for me, even after so many weeks. She is going to miss her first field trip next week due to our scheduled mini-cation, but it’s okay. There will be plenty more to come.
Janelle’s first birthday is a milestone for not only her, but for us as parents. It has been a tiring year, not so much because of Janelle, but because of the fact that she is the second child. I thought having one was tough- but obviously the second one made life even tougher. I feel like Dex and I battled a war and we are so very close to coming out of it alive! Many people think that just because my parents are around we got it good. I ADMIT, we have it very good in a way that we have a second set of hands most of the time. We can go to work without worrying about the babysitter. My mom is great and I appreciate it all, but people don’t know that when we are not at work, we are home with the kids. We have rarely left them with my parents to go out and party or go to the movies or go on a date. We know that is our responsibility and we’ve owned up to it. If we are not at work, we are with the kiddies. Dex and I were talking about growing old together a couple of days ago. How 5 years from now, I will be 35 (I let the cat out) and that is still pretty young. The girls will be 8 and 6. WOW! It’s amazing that we will still be young and the girls are already that old. We not only get to enjoy our youth together, but also enjoy our kids as they get older. Then I feel at ease that we made the right choice of having them when we did. We had a chance to enjoy each other before having kids and we’ll still enjoy each other after having them too. There is always a rainbow at the end of a rain- and I believe that all the more now.
Currently reading: 90 Minutes in Heaven
Looking forward to: Wisconsin Dells and Mall of America Trip
My dad comes back today from the Philippines. We’re actually all ready to pick him up, minus the hubby who is at work. Thank goodness it looks like a beautiful day outside. Finally! That finally deserved its own sentence with an exclamation point. Anyway, I’m gonna miss it. My mom is never one to sleep alone in the dark- kinda like me oddly enough. So while my dad was away, Jasmyne was sleeping with her at night. There were some days when Jasmyne refused to sleep with her and wanted to sleep with us. I felt bad and didn’t want to turn her away, so my mom would be sleepless in her bedroom on those few occasions- with the lights on may I add. I enjoyed the cuddle time at night between the hubby and I. We got to talk and well, you know the other stuff too! It’s weird when Jasmyne is there because she can sense when Dex and I are sleeping next to each other and she has been pushed to one side of the bed. Even if we try to trick her and put a pillow to simulate one of us, she will know. She will wake up and then have a hard time falling back asleep. So I missed her with us at night, but I’m gonna miss the quality time with the hubby at night even more. I know I can “train” Jasmyne to sleep on her own without a problem, but due to some constraints, we’ll just have to wait it out a little bit longer. Her bed is in our bedroom, but having us too close to home makes it difficult for her to transition. Although, she has slept in her bed about 5 times already. I can’t wait until the day!
Anyway, I started reading this book I’ve been meaning to read since a long time ago. It is part of the Something Borrowed and Something New series, but not a continuation of the two stories. If you haven’t read the above books yet, then I highly recommend it. This new book is called Baby Proof and it is something that totally relates to me in some ways as you may have guessed from the title. It is about a woman who knew from the start that she NEVER wanted to have babies. She thinks that society has totally twisted everyone’s mind about the steps to take in life to make you complete. OKAY SO OBVIOUSLY THAT PART does not pertain to me. I was, however, part of her “society” because I’ve known since I was young that I wanted to get married and have children. I guess she is right. i don’t know where I have would have gotten that idea so young in my life. I wanted my first child at 30, but it came earlier than expected in my life calendar. This brings me to another topic that she covered in her book.
Ironically enough, just a couple of weeks ago, I was having this same exact conversation with a couple of co-workers. One of them had five children and her youngest is about to start college. Another one has elementary age kids. One of them didn’t have kids at all and was not even married yet, so we were kind of giving her ideas about this process we call life. I love having kids and I DON’T regret ever having them at all. I just wanted to clarify that, but I think if given the choice again, I would wait until later in life. We were all discussing how once you have kids, you can’t really say: Oh once their 18, I’m gonna be free. In actuality, you will be worrying and feeding your kids until your day has come at the end of your life. There really is no magic number. So my response was how right they were. I wanted to have kids younger so that when they get older and I don’t have to worry about them anymore and I am still young. But look at my parents. We’re all pretty old, but they still worry. They still do their life’s schedule based on mine (ours). I look at my aunt’s and uncles and think the same thing. Even my grandma was worried about her children until her last breath. So my conclusion, which is like the conclusion of the woman in the book is this: why have them earlier if you will have all your life to worry about them anyway? You may as well have them later, except she absolutely preferred not to have them at all. She thinks that if you want to have kids early to get it over with, then that means they are a bother to being with. If you want to have kids later on in life to prolong the process, then doesn’t that mean you are making yourself suffer? That was according to her eyes. Anyway, I am not finished with the book yet. I am assuming she will end up having a child accidentally. I am assuming she will reap the benefits of it- the happiness it gives you and totally take back every bit of negativity she said about the “process” in the first place.
I can write a book about these topics without a problem. I guess the point is, whether you are young or old, you have to be truly ready to have children. Not just one person, but as a team. It is definitely a leap. I think it is the MAIN cause of today’s high divorce rate among people. They follow what society has told them should happen after marriage without really thinking deeply into it. It really takes two special people and an unbreakable bond and team work. Thank goodness I know I have found that other person who is special for me. Special enough for me to know that he is definitely the right person to have had fathered my children and perfect enough as a husband for me. It’s pretty rare nowadays to find that. Whew!
Have a happy weekend everyone!
So I was never a big fan of Easter, but after having two kids, this may soon become one of my favorite holidays ever. When we were young, it was fun to decorate eggs and have an egg hunt with all my cousins (who happen to be mostly boys). That was a faint memory. As all the kids became older, Easter kind of became blah in our family. I was talking to one of my co-workers and I told her that I never in my life got an Easter Basket. She was so shocked! I never made my own children Easter baskets either, because it was never a thing to do in my family. In fact, I it never even crossed my mind to make them one. Neither did the hubby, cause he never got one either when he was younger. Maybe it was because I grew up with so many boys and Dex grew up in a family of only boys as well. She proceeded to tell me that her parents STILL made her and her brother Easter baskets. That was the one thing she was looking forward to this weekend. She doesn’t go home to see her parents too often since they live out of state, but she couldn’t wait to come home to see what was in her basket. Mind you, she is in her 30′s. Then this rang a bell in my head. I’ve told Dex that I wanted to start family traditions during the holidays- and this has got to be one of them. I will be making my children Easter baskets until the very end. I am so excited to start this.I am so late in the game that I will need to buy my stuffers and make it today, the day before Easter
We were supposed to go Easter Egg Hunting at one of our local parks today, but it is too cold out. Jasmyne and Janelle caught a cold from their cousin last week, so I don’t want to make it any worse. Tomorrow we are going to Easter Mass and then having brunch at Hilton Indian Lakes Resort. I loved this particular one after searching and searching for a brunch location because they have a knee high (only for kids) buffet line. They also have pictures with the Easter Bunny, balloon artist and their very own Easter Egg Hunt. I think it will be cute to come to a place where all the kids are dressed for their Sunday best. After ward, we invited family and friends to come over for dinner. I don;t know who will be showing up, but we’ll just have the place ready for whoever ends up coming. It was a last minute thing. It’ll be okay since Dex and I are still off on Monday and I will still be off on Tuesday. Yeah baby! I’m so excited.
I had a pretty eventful morning and also booked our little one day getaway to Wisconsin Dells. Due to scheduling reasons, we can’t really go until the end of May. We’re going to be staying at the Wilderness Resort. I’ve heard lots of good things about the place. Plus, it looks like there are plenty of indoor and outdoor activities to do with the kids- all in one place. I’m loving summertime already.
Happy Easter Everyone!
