Brandon's Puppy

How Could I Forget?!

It completely slipped my mind in my earlier post to mention that Matty is 10 months old today. I know I say this quite often, but I really can't believe he is so big already! My friend K and I were talking just this morning about how a year ago we were enjoying a pizza lunch (half the office was away at a conference, as they are now) and I was pregnant, and my due date seemed so far away. And now here we are, just two months shy of Matty's first birthday...
That reminds me, I should really book the park for the birthday party. Otherwise, it will end up being at my house, and that is just not possible. I can't fit that many people in my house!

Sweet Treats

A few years ago, a former coworker received a cookie gift basket from her daughter for her 60th birthday. Everyone in the office had something to say about it, it was so cute! I never got around to asking her where her daughter ordered it from, but I was recently searching online for gift baskets and found them at DelightfulDeliveries.com. The site was recently recognized by Hot 100 as being among the best in the nation for the coming year. Here’s their press release:

DelightfulDeliveries.com Recognized as Hot 100 Retail Website

Internet Retailer Ranks Website Among Best in Nation for 2008

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DelightfulDeliveries.com, the premiere Internet Gift Retailer and America’s #1 Gift Basket Website, today announced it has been named one of The Hot 100 Retail Websites for 2008 by leading industry magazine, Internet Retailer. The Hot 100 list represents the best of what retailers are doing online, highlighting innovation and setting the standards in online for what the rest of the industry should be doing.

DelightfulDeliveries.com, a privately-held company, with one of the largest and most unique selections of gourmet gifts, ranked alongside larger sites such as Dell, Nike and Amazon.com, by building its award-winning site on selection, functionality, speed and the complete customer experience. A recent re-design has improved the customer’s shopping experience to make holiday gift-giving easy and enjoyable, including rating and reviews, behavioral recommendations and free shipping offers.

“We are extremely honored to be recognized as a pacesetter in online retailing,” said Eric Lituchy, Founder and CEO of DelightfulDeliveries.com. “We pride ourselves on using the latest technology to make gift-giving fun and easy. Being named among the best in the nation validates we are succeeding in our efforts to deliver the best possible customer experience.”

In addition to making Internet Retailer’s The Hot 100 list for 2008, DelightfulDeliveries.com was recently recognized by Inc. Magazine as part of its Inc. 5000, which highlights the fastest growing private companies.

DelightfulDeliveries.com offers over 2000 unique and delicious gifts from America’s best brands to the finest boutique shops. Consumers can easily shop the site by gift or food category, occasion, type and best-seller. Corporate gift-givers can choose from hundreds of customized gourmet treats.

For additional information, and to see a complete selection of gifts available, visit www.DelightfulDeliveries.com.

About Delightful Deliveries

DelightfulDeliveries.com is an award-winning website that began in 1998 and quickly established itself as one of the premier Internet gift retailers. Its mission is to bring great products to gift-givers, while providing world-class service. The company selects its offerings from a broad variety of fine food gift products for consumers and for corporate gifts, and gathers them in one place to make the selection process quick and simple.

I was browsing their easy-to-use site, and they don’t just feature cookie baskets. They offer chocolate baskets, fruit baskets, gourmet food baskets, floral arrangements, a variety of gift towers, and baked goods as well. The “It’s a Boy” cookie basket is adorable, but then so is the lollipop basket. My friend is a lover of all things chocolate, so maybe the Box of Treats is a better option, and she can use the box in the baby’s nursery. They've got plenty of options for other ocassions too, like the Snowman Tower, the mouth-watering Dancing Deer Black Forest Cake, the Over the Hill Birthday Colossal Cookie, and the Organic Fruit Banquet for the health-conscious folk. They feature popular brands like Mrs. Fields, Ghirardelli's, Starbucks and many others.
So many cute choices. I guess I’ve still got plenty of time to decide. I've got to go get a snack now. Suddenly, I'm craving something sweet...

A Few Things

- It's Friday! =) =) =)

- I made another cheesecake last night, and brought it to work today. I guess everyone liked it because it's long gone.

- We're putting up our tree tomorrow. Which means I have to clean tonight.

- My birthday is next Friday, and my friend K's wedding is the Friday after that. I tried on the dress I wore for my best friend's wedding in the summer of 2002, and it fits! Hooray! Now I just need shoes for it.

EOAS, Week 19

I have a confession to make. I've been delaying the EOAS postings because I am quickly running out of pages. I've got maybe two more sets to share, and then I'm done with Brandon's pages. I've been a bad, bad scrapper and have yet to start Matty's book. Well, that's not entirely true. There is one page done. I just can't seem to find the time to scrap. I'll plan to sit down for a couple of hours on a given day, but then I feel terribly guilty that there are things to do, like laundry, or cleaning, or folding laundry...
I think I'm going to have to go to a Crop at the local scrapbook store to actually get some pages done. (Claud, Lilli, you in?)
So here are a few more pages, all from the Fall of 2005. Hope you like 'em!

I had blogged about Brandon playing the piano when we took these pictures. To this day, he will visit Adrian and Lilli and he'll sit at the piano and try and play.

These pictures were taken a day or two after Hurricane Wilma. Marilu was just days away from having Andrew, and we were all frustrated from being couped up in our homes during the hurricane, so we decided to head out and enjoy an afternoon at the park. So much fun was had, the kids didn't want to leave!

Our first trip to the pumpkin patch. I love the pages I found for this layout!

That's it for now. More soon! (How soon, I don't know, but soon.)

Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd

I’ve always had a bit of a crush on Johnny Depp. I watched 21 Jump Street when I was younger, and that’s when I got hooked. I’ve seen almost all his movies, but my favorites are “Benny & Joon” and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. I haven’t seen “Benny & Joon” in ages, but my absolute favorite scene is where his character, Sam, is making grilled cheese sandwiches with an iron. It’s completely bizarre, but absolutely brilliant at the same time. He and Mary Stuart Masterson were just perfect together in that movie.
As for Pirates of the Caribbean…Jack Sparrow is one of my favorite movie characters. On the surface he’s a self-absorbed, deceitful, immoral pirate, but throughout the trilogy there are glimpses of a good and moral person, even if he still is a pirate. I have no particular favorite scenes because any scene with Jack Sparrow is a riot. If Jack Sparrow’s around, trouble is sure to follow. I’m looking forward to getting the DVD for “At World’s End” in December.
Speaking of December, that’s when Johnny’s recent movie, “Sweeney Todd”, hits theaters (the 21st, to be exact). I had to visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site to find out what it was about because I had no idea what the storyline was. Turns out that Sweeney Todd is unjustly sent to prison, and loses his family while he’s there. He seeks revenge on those that convicted him, with Helena Bonham Carter as his accomplice. It’s dark and morbid, typical of director Tim Burton. If you want to hear more about it, you can also visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace. It seems very interesting. I'm going to coax hubby to take me to see it.

Internetless

The network at work was down for most of the morning, including phones, email and internet.
I texted wb at 10:02am:
ARGH! Network down at work. No email, no internet, no phones, nada! =(.

Once the connection was restored at 11:51am (there went any hope of leaving work early!), I emailed her to let her know I was back in business. I found our exchange quite humorous:

Me: (Email subject: "Did you get my text?") We're back up..YAY!
wb: Yes, but I didn’t notice until you emailed. Yay!
Me: I felt so….lost without internet. =/
wb: I thought I felt a disturbance in the force!
Me: You know what, I’m blogging this!! LOL

I loved the Star Wars reference. It amused me.

Writers' Strike

So far, I haven't been affected by writers' strike in Hollywood and NYC, but I will feel its effects very soon. ABC has stopped production on most shows because they've run out of scripts. This includes Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Desperate Housewives, which airs it's last new episode this coming weekend. My other favorites are okay for now: Journeyman and Nip/Tuck. Rescue Me is still up in the air, though. Check out your favorites with this handy-dandy little chart I found at zap2it.com.
I hope the writers and studios come to an agreement soon. They deserve what they are asking for.

Apogee Search

I’ve come across the name “Apogee Search” a couple of times, and I thought they were just another search engine, but that’s not the case at all. They are one of the largest search engine marketing firms in the world. T If you make a living from the internet and need to increase your traffic, then you should definitely look into the services offered by Apogee Search. These include paid search advertising, natural search engine optimization, pay per call management, ad exchange management, and online media planning and buying. They offer customized Dallas SEO strategies based on the needs of their customers, and in turn will boost visits, and sales for your company. I strongly urge you to contact them for a consultation, and in the meantime, check out their site and blog for some useful marketing information.

In Case You Didn't Know

The actress that plays Kate on Nip/Tuck is not the same actress that was in the movie Summer School. Kate is played by Paula Marshall. Rhonda was played by Shawnee Smith.
I know, I know, you couldn't go on without this clarification.

That is all.

;-)

We've been there so many times, we can pass for locals!

My birthday is fast approaching, and I’m still not sure what I want to do to celebrate. Back in the day (also known as “before we had children”), hubby and I would hop in the car, along with our friends, and drive down to Key West for the day. Sometimes we’d take the World Famous Conch Train Tour, or we’d rent scooters and drive ourselves around. And of course there were times when we’d just skip vehicles altogether and see it all on foot. Each trip was always different, but two things remained constant: we’d have a celebratory birthday lunch at one of the restaurants, and we didn’t leave Key West until after sunset.
We haven’t done one of these day trips since we’ve had kids. Logistically speaking, it’s a lot harder for everyone to get the day off, and we don’t have the ease of fitting in just one or two cars like we used to with all the baby gear in tow. When I saw that Trusted Tours and Attractions was having a contest where new subscribers to their e-newsletter are automatically entered to win 4 free tickets to tours in a city of their choice, and that the offer ends December 14th (a week after my birthday), I took it as a sign. We may just be headed down South for my birthday in two weekends.

Trusted Tours and Attractions offers tickets to a variety of cities: Atlanta, Boston, New York, Savannah, Washington DC…my choice for the free tickets? New York, of course!

The Colors

The meme I posted below reminded me that I should share the pictures I took of a rainbow. It was visible on my way to work on Halloween morning, but as you might have guessed I was driving. By the time I was at a stop and could get a decent shot, it was gone.

Did you see that there were two?

The Colors of Friendship

I mentioned earlier today that wb tagged me with a lovely friendship meme. I am quite touched that she considers me a good friend, as I do her. Thank you, friend.

The Colors of Friendship

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. All claimed that they were the best. The most important. The most useful. The most beautiful. The favorite.

Green said: “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.”

Finally Indigo spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: “Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.”

And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening, thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor, rain began to speak: “You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.”

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands.

The rain continued: “From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow.” And so, whenever a good rain washes the world and a Rainbow appears in the sky, to let us remember to appreciate one another.

Now, for the tagging.

Claudia, you've been my friend for over 15 years. We've been through so many things together, it's only fitting that you be the first person I pass this on to. Love you!

Lilli, for lack of siblings, you sure do have a lot of friends that love you like a sister. Never doubt that I am one of those. Lots of Love!

Tere, I haven't known you as long as I've known these other lovely ladies, but you are one of the most intelligent, funny, strong women I know. I hope our friendship continues to flourish as the years pass.

Marta, you are practically family. I can't explain why I love you and your family as much as I do, having only known you for less than a year, but I do. It's something I can't explain. Whenever my day needs brightening, all I have to do is go to your blog and read your wonderful posts. You truly are Great! ;-)

And last but not least, Just Me. I do hope that someday we have the opportunity to meet in person. Maybe we can meet halfway? ;-)

Payday loans

I just looked at our checking account balance online, and I’m so glad that both hubby and I get paid on Friday. Though it’s been less bumpy than anticipated, I’m still adapting to getting paid just once a month. Hubby gets paid weekly, and that’s our saving grace. If that weren’t the case, we’d have to resort to other options, like applying for quick pay day loans online. The process is fast and easy, we meet the requirements, and it’s free to apply online. As each month passes, we're adjusting more and more, but it's nice to know this option is there if an emergency arises and we need cash fast.

Scary Santa, part 2

Claudia just posted about how Christian clung to her like a monkey last week when they attempted to take his picture with Santa. We had much of the same at our house this weekend. Hubby and I took the boys to The Falls on Saturday afternoon (they have one of the nicest looking Santas in town) for what I hoped would be the simple, painless process of taking a picture with Jolly Ole St. Nick. I was wrong. Things were going well while we were in line, even while we waited for the "elf" to set up the camera properly. Matty interacted with Santa while I was carrying him, smiling and waving, but once I sat him down, that was it. The tears would not stop until I picked him up. He was trying to wiggle off of Santa's lap, and putting his arms up so daddy or I would pick him up. We tried taking a few shots to see if some of them might look like perhaps Matty wasn't crying, just unhappy, but no luck. I picked him up and consoled him and we took one of just Brandon which looked great, but we didn't buy it. Just one sheet was $15.99, and I wasn't going to spend the money if the entire point was to document Matty's first Christmas. We can do some holiday-themed pictures at home for free. (*wink, wink, nudge, nudge* aimed at Tia Lilli and her mad photo skillz).

The (screechy) Sound of Music

I confess: I am a band geek. I learned how to play violin in 8th grade and played clarinet throughout high school. All that time spent learning instruments and now, 15 years later, I can’t remember the difference between a Treble Clef and a Bass Clef. It’s a shame, really. I never bought either instrument, but perhaps if I had, I’d dust off the old violin and get some lessons to strengthen my very rusty skills. I’d much prefer learning by watching a DVD in the privacy of my home, rather than going to a private teacher or school and completely embarrassing myself.

8 secrets/things I haven't blogged about

Claudia tagged me with this meme, 8 secrets/things I haven't blogged about. I agree with her, I'm not going to reveal my secrets because then they wouldn't be secrets, and what's the fun in that?! So here are 8 things I haven't blogged about, in whatever order they pop into my head:

1. I saw a peacock on the way to work yesterday, waddling it's way towards a street from someone's front yard. It's in a neighborhood near the highway, a shortcut I take to avoid some of the traffic on 8th Street after dropping off Matty. I found it very strange to see a peacock in this particular neighborhood (Westchester, for those familiar with Miami). It's not uncommon in areas like Coral Gables, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, but it just seemed so out of place in Westchester.

2. Hubby lost his wedding ring last Wednesday. He was frantically looking for it all over the house late at night, even losing sleep over it. See, he works with his hands, and sometimes he puts it in his pocket when it bothers him while at work. We concluded that it must have fallen out of his pocket somewhere, and we were hoping it would turn up, either in the car or our driveway or his work station. He woke up on Thanksgiving and headed over to his job before having breakfast to take a look around. No such luck.Well, he shows up to work on Friday, and guess what he sees on the floor as he's getting out of the car? Yup! It was there. I told him if he has to take it off while at work, at least put it on the glove compartment or the ashtray of his car for safe-keeping.

3. I'm thinking of going back to school in the near future, maybe the next year or so. There's a graduate program that only requires ten classes, and I'll have a Master's Degree in hand in a year and a half. The only set-back is that I have to pay the taxes (but no tuition, part of my employee benefits) and they are do at the start of the semester. Maybe that can be a goal for next Fall. We'll see...

4. We made a pitstop at two Targets on our way home from my sister's on Sunday night, looking for Matty's Christmas present. At the second Target, I got off and ran in to look while hubby stayed in the car with the boys (they were both asleep). I ran into Cristian Castro, a famous Mexican singer/actor. Well, I didn't really "run into" him, but on two different ocassions when I was going down two different aisles, there he was, with his wife (maybe girlfriend? I heard he was getting separated a while back) and daughter. I'm a chickensh** when it comes to talking to famous people, so I didn't say hi, and I should have. He was a frequent customer at my husband's old job, and even got me an autograph once (I thought I had posted about that, but now I can't find it...oh well.) And, I was going to call hubby and tell him, but I absentmindedly left my phone in the car. Doh.

5. I never told you guys about the awesome deal I got on a double stroller two weekends ago. I went to Babies R Us looking for the Jeep double stroller, the really light one that folds up like an umbrella. It retails for $79.99 plus tax, which is fairly inexpensive for a double stroller. Well, I'm looking around the stroller area and waltz to the end of the hallway where they have clearance items. There it was, the double stroller I was looking for, opened up and on display, the open box right next to it. I guess someone must have bought it, opened it up, was not pleased, and returned it. Even the wheels were perfectly clean. Since it was an open item, and I had a 15% coupon in my purse, I got it for $58.20. I was so delighted...and still am!

6. Brandon and I re-organized the playroom on Thursday morning, and I told him that sometime very soon we were going to sort through his older toys and pick out stuff to give to charity. I've been telling him for a while that he has way too many toys, and that there are kids in the world that don't have any toys, at all, and that he should share his toys with those kids. So I asked him on Thursday, when we were organizing, "Brandon, what are we going to do with some of your toys?" and he said, "Give them to the kids that have no toys, mommy." He gets it. I'm so proud. :-)

7. Brandon, Matty and I went to our friend Vivian's house for dinner last night. Her husband made spaghetti and meatballs, which was quite tasty. Their youngest, Julie (who will be 3 in February), requested a second helping, and said, "I want lots of snakes, daddy". How cute is that?!

8. I was tagged by wb last week, and haven't gotten around to passing that one on, but I will. I need to take my time since I need to do that coding thing. In exchange, I am tagging you with this one. =P

About our driveway

We just got a notice from our HOA that we have to resurface our driveway. It’s got a couple of oil stains, and the seal looks quite worn. We’re going to attempt to re-seal it ourselves next week. Let’s see how that goes! I'm guessing it should be easier to do than, say, resealing garage floors. Sometimes I wish we had a garage. We could use the storage and it would be nice to be able to protect the cars from the elements. Then again, it would be nice to not have to worry about every little nit-picky thing the HOA nags us about.

Monday, again?!

Are you all still recovering from the long weekend? I am. I didn't want to get out of bed this morning, and I didn't even do half the things I wanted to do. Our backyard still needs a makeover, the house needs cleaning, and the bills need paying and filing/rganizing. I'll be cleaning the house bit by bit throughout the week because we would like to put up our holiday stuff over the coming weekend.
The pluses: all the laundry's done, the Christmas shopping is done (except two gifts which we're holding off on for a couple of weeks so that my credit card can cool off), and we got an AWESOME deal on an artificial pre-lit tree on Saturday. That takes tree-shopping off the list! :-)

Visuals!

Thanksgiving Day pics are now on flickr. Check them out here.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

You may recall I mentioned a couple of weeks ago how Matty mimics others laughing. Last weekend we captured it on video (well, not we, Claudia. I was off-camera making him laugh, she was videographer.)
Enjoy!

A Slice of Deliciousness

On Tuesday evening, my uncle called to see if I would bring dessert to Thanksgiving dinner. I told him that I could try and make something, and he suggested I make Marta's Dulce de Leche Cheesecake. It seemed like a toughie, but I thought I'd give it a try. I went to work on Wednesday determined to purchase anything I might need after work. Fortunately, I was let go early, just a bit before 3PM, and went to the supermarket to get the essentials before picking up Matty. I picked up Brandon, got home, put the cans of condensed milk in the slow cooker as instructed, and headed back out for a couple of errands. We got home a couple of hours later and I made dinner, bathed the boys and took a shower before the baking began. I didn't go to bed until 1:30 in the morning, but it was well worth it because the end result was absolutely delicious! (or at least that's what everyone said. I hope they were being honest, not just being nice.) It was tasty but not repugnant, as some cheesecakes can be. I'm making another to take to my sister's house tomorrow for a small get-together, and maybe next week I'll try to make an Oreo cheesecake (I saw the recipe somewhere.) What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

May you all have a joyous, bountiful holiday.

Love, The Dufaus

Waiting for lunch

We were supposed to start our Thanksgiving luncheon at 12:30, but apparently the food was delivered late or something, and now is when the "prep volunteers" are getting everything ready. I didn't have my usual mid-morning snack this morning, and I'm so hungry right now, I'm extremely tempted to run downstairs and get a bag of chips or something. But, knowing my luck, as soon as I get on the elevator the party will begin, and I'll be last in line for food.
Hopefully we'll get to go home early after we stuff our faces with that yummy food, but for now, I'm just sitting here...waiting...

The Importance of Customer Service

We’ve all been subjected to lousy customer service: that rude waiter at your favorite restaurant, or the cashier at the mall who is on the phone instead of ringing up your purchases. There’s also those occasions where the service has been exceptional, and you want to spread the word about your experience and that wonderful salesperson you encountered. Measuredup.com allows you to share your frustrations or your praise. Companies that monitor Measuredup.com and likely address the situation, be it good or bad, giving you the the last word in customer service. The site is very user-friendly, and I'm particularly fond of the "smiley" faces used for ratings.
What do you think of it?

It's Booked!

After a couple of obstacles, Matty's baptism is finally booked for January 20th. Closer to his birthday than I wanted, but I've got proper time to plan and prepare. Their birthday party will be the following weekend, the 27th. January is going to be quite a busy month for us.

I have to get him his own outfit instead of using Brandon's, which I thought would be a sweet touch. Brandon was baptized when he was 7 months old, and there's no way Matty will fit in it when his baptism is 10 days before his first birthday!

Hard Work and Achy Backs

Hubby’s been working his a** for the last four months, and he’s completely useless to me when he gets home from work. He’s the car wash guy at one of the local hubs of a car rental place, and it’s weekends like this one coming up that really do a number on him. His back aches, his legs ache, his arms ache. Every couple of days I’ll give him a massage, but it’s just not enough. There are days when he’s so busy at work that he hardly has time for lunch. He usually has a day or two off a week, but then I need him to help me run errands, chase the kids, or do things around the house and he simply does not find the time to rest his weary bones. As it is he’s prone to backaches, no thanks to a herniated disc and scoliosis, which he’s suffered from since he was a child (so bad it stunted his growth).
I told him that next time I go over to Walgreens I’ll get him a tube of Freeze It Gel to ease his aching back, shoulders and muscles. Since it can be used up to four times a day, he can take a roll-on tube to work and have it there for the really crazy days.

If we won a year’s supply of Freeze It, it would be a great thing. Not only would it be beneficial to hubby, but I’d benefit from it too. There are days that the baby will wake up early in the morning and in order for us to get some much needed sleep, hubby will bring him to our bed. I end up on the edge of the bed in a semi-fetal position, resulting in lower back pain. Freeze It helps alleviate arthritis pain too, and I know a bunch of people who could try some from my year's-worth supply when they come over to my house.

I appreciate hubby working so hard, but with this constant aching, I'd much rather he take it easy, for his sake and mine.

What to do, what to do

I'll be 31 in a little over 2 weeks. We won't be having a big bash like last year since there are two costly events coming up (the baptism and the boys' party), but I would like to do mark the ocassion with some sort of outing. I would like to go see the new Disney movie, Enchanted. Another idea is going to dinner, since that's a luxury nowadays. Or should we just be frugal and cut a cake at home with a small group of family and friends?

Thoughts?

They say it's the thought that counts, right?

It's so aggravating to see the perfect presents for my loved ones, and not be able to buy them. Case in point: this Globetrotter's LogBook® would be PERFECT for my cousin Alex, who loves to travel. It’s a souvenir book that lists all 193 countries in the world, and includes items like maps, time zone information, and currency information, and a detailed flight register and vaccination log. But my favorite feature (like the scrapper that I am) is the sections within each country for personal mementos: a postage stamp from Italy, a postcard from Greece, a petal from a tulip in Holland.
The book is from Belgium, and sells for 12.95 Euros. That’s just under $20.00. Not bad at all! But alas, we are only purchasing gifts for children this year.

I should have been home, blogging

Hubby, our friend Adrian, my sister and I went to a baptismal class last night. They provided us with certificates that I need to show at the church with when I go reserve the date for the baptism (which I'm doing tonight). Can I just say it was a big waste of time? I know I shouldn't say that, but really, it was. It is my understanding that these classes are required by the Church to elaborate on the meaning of baptism, and the responsibilities of the parents and Godparents. The four volunteers from the church that led the talk were very nice, but it just dragged on. One particular person went off on a tangent for quite a while. And to close, they were going to show a video but there was only audio.
At least it's done with now, and the planning can resume. I just hope there's availability before the end of the year.

Money makes the world go 'round

The current state of the economy is not being very kind to most people. It’s not just the plunging housing market, but the rising cost of oil, groceries, daycare…everything is getting more and more expensive. It seems like money doesn’t stretch like it used to. Consolidating bills is a great way to lower monthly payments while reducing interest rates. If you’re really in a rut, applying for bad credit loans can help you get back on track financially by rebuilding your credit history.

It's so easy to just pull out a credit card and charge things we don't really need. I've been there, and I still do it from time to time, but I stop myself by thinking about my children and the things I can otherwise do with that money (save for their education, pay off our house). The strategy works, since I want nothing more than to provide for them as best I can, and do I really need another shirt or pair of pants? I can save that money, and the interest potentially incurred, and put it in the bank for the things that really matter.

20K, for real this time!

I've passed 20K hits. Funny thing, the 20K visitor? It was none other than me! I clicked on the blog last night to go down my blogroll. LOL
But, visitor #20,001 was someone who dropped by from Warsaw, Indiana.

Thanks for coming by and reading! yOU ARE THE BEST!!

True friends are forever

I was M.I.A. yesterday because I spent the day with a very old, very dear friend of mine, his wife, and their two kids. I've known C since I was about 10 years old. He was the first boy I ever had a crush on. He's from New Jersey; our families would cross paths during summer vacation every year at the Hilyard in Miami Beach. I eventually outgrew the crush, and the hotel has been gone for a few years (replaced by, what else?, condos!), but our friendship has survived both time and distance. They moved to South Florida about two years ago, but this is the first chance in that time we had finally been able to coordinate some time together.
We had lunch and hung out for a while, and it was great. I took a moment and reflected on how cool it was that our kids were playing together. What a difference from last week's reflective moment.

On a related note, the Sheraton Bal Harbour was demolished yesterday morning to make room for even more overpriced condos. The Sheraton holds a special place in my heart. It's part of those childhood memories of staying at the beach with family and friends. In the evenings, we'd hound my aunt to let us walk two blocks to the Sheraton at night-by ourselves!- with the other kids staying at the hotel (C and his family included) to play video games and buy candy and magazines from the gift shop. Most of the time we got to go, albeit with a chaperone.

It so sad that my children will never get to enjoy these places as we did, but I'm comforted in knowing I'm creating new memories for them to hold dear 20 years from now.

A Matter of Perception

Recently I was thinking how something so simple as vocabulary can completely alter our idea of something. For example, if someone mentions a home with a conservatory, you think of an extension to a home with a beautiful landscape visible through the windows of a gorgeous Victorian-style home with perfect landscaping in the middle of Europe somewhere, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and winding roads.
Now, what do you think of when you hear the words Florida room? Same theory, different picture. You may imagine a gathering room in a home in Florida, with a backyard full of palm trees and tropical flowers blooming. The sky is a clear blue, and you can almost smell the salt air from the beach a few miles away.
Conservatory, sunroom, Florida room, family room: it’s all the same thing. Neither is any lovelier than the other. It’s just all based on what you’ve been exposed to and what your imagination comes up with.
All this to say: I need to work on my backyard this coming weekend, desperately. I’d like more pleasant scenery to look at than 2-foot high weeds.

It's Finally Here!!

What is, you may ask? The Harvest Festival, of course! Many people I know, including me, look forward to this every year. I didn't budget for it this year, so I probably won't buy anything...ah, who am I kidding?! I always get at least an ornament or two. They have so many cute things! Last year I purchased an outdoor decorative stake with a wooden gingerbread man holding a swag with four little hearts with each of our names on it. That reminds me, I don't think I had Matty's name put on it last year, I'll have to take it and have it written in.
Anyway, for those locals who'd like to go, it's held at the Fair Expo Center from 10-5 Saturday and Sunday. Check out the website I linked to above, there's a $1 off coupon in there somewhere. My sister and I will be there tomorrow around noon. Who else is going to be there?

(p.s. this is not a paid post...I love this festival so much, I have to give it props.If you've been, you know what I'm talking about!)

Personalized Presents

Last year for Christmas, my Godmother gave Brandon a personalized book featuring him and the characters from the movie Toy Story. The year before that she got him a personalized stepstool shaped like a train for his room. This year she plans on getting him the "My Special Christmas Adventure" book. Can you tell she's a big fan of personalized gifts for children?

Sad

Sorry for the lack of blogging today. I’ve been feeling a bit blue. This post from Tere hit home with me today, and while I may not share all the sad, complicated details why, I will say this: A year ago, what I considered a very special friendship ended. It is very sad to know that a friendship that spanned 15 years was not a friendship at all. The other person ended it because they blamed me for something that occurred in their life that I had nothing to do with, except I offered a shoulder to cry on. I’ve attempted communications several times in the last year, even apologized for what I *didn’t* do, to no avail. While I still maintain contact with the person’s family (who I hold very dear), I have not seen or spoken to this person in months.
I know that things happen for a reason, but it still stings. It’s for the best in the end, I know, but that won’t stop it from hurting.
(This post may be deleted later …it was a bit therapeutic to write it out, but it really shouldn’t be out there.)

A necessary evil

I realized last week that I neglected to inform you all on the status of my home equity line request last month. Unfortunately, I was declined. The bad news: our loan to value amount is too high. The good news: I got my credit score, and I'm happy to report it's currently at 696. I was in shock! I've never been so close to 700 before. If I had a small business, it's be a breeze to get a small business loan and use that to pay down my debt. Then again, if I had a small business, my debt would surely be higher and we'd have other problems to deal with.
There's nothing more we can do but wait (im)patiently for the housing market to stabilize again so our value goes up, and the loan to value ratio widens. In the meantime, we're keeping our heads above water by spending wisely and cutting costs.

Vocalizations

Matty has been quite the barrel of fun lately (more than usual). He has conversations with his pacifier and toys while in the car when we're driving to the sitter's house. He uses different tones and inflections. It's a riot to hear him! And he mimics laughter. If he hears someone laugh, he laughs too. It's a very amusing sound- part laughter, part fake coughing. I'll see if I can get him on video and post it.

The Marvels of Modern Medicine

I’ve got some unsightly battle scars courtesy of my pregnancies, and no, it’s not stretch marks. I’ve got spider veins on both my thighs, though my right thigh has significantly more than my left. The culprit is that dang preeclampsia I was diagnosed with while pregnant with Brandon. Not only was I swollen everywhere, but I gained 41 pounds. While this is in the “normal” range, it did take a toll on my body. Fortunately, with Matty’s pregnancy, I only gained 13 pounds and was back to my pre-pregnancy weight in no time. But the spider veins remain. They are usually not a problem but sometimes, when I’ve spent too much time on my feet (shopping, theme parks, etc) or in one position (like sitting at my desk at work) they sting and hurt until the next day. If it gets worse, I’m considering laser treatment to get rid of them. Have any of you had experience with this sort of thing?

Because I Deserve It

As a reward for his good behavior at the dentist, Brandon and I made a pit-stop at Target before dropping him off at school. He was pleased with his selections, a train and freight car from the $1 section that had an uncanny resemblance to Thomas. I returned a pair of pants I bought him last week because the button didn't snap. I purchased a couple of Christmas gifts for him and Matty, and he didn't even notice! Best of all, I bought myself an early birthday present: A PacMan video game (Like this one, but not Super Pac Man. I got "regular" Pac Man)! It was on sale, just $10 this week, and I've wanted one for a long time. I can't wait to get home and play with it, but I'll be responsible and do the things I need to do first.

Pearly Whites

I took Brandon to his very first dentist appointment this morning. I'm proud to report that his teeth are perfect! Not a single cavity, no swollen gums (gingivitis), nothing! The dentist did say he has a bit of cramping, that it's not really a problem now, but it will be when his permanent teeth come in. We'll deal with that when the time comes.
As far as his behavior, I cannot complain. He let them do what they needed to do, the only thing he complained about was the light in his eyes. He was amused when the spinning thing (I don't know the name of it) tickled his tongue. The toothpaste tasted like watermelon, and the flouride tasted like berries, and he was lovin' that! He chose a new toothbrush (blue, of course) with a green dinosaur cover for the bristles, and he was also given a plastic snake, a toy car, and two little sheets of Thomas stickers. One of the stickers said "Great Patient" and he was showing it off to all his classmates when he got to school. He gushed, "Know where I got this? At the DENTIST!!", to all his friends.
Overall, a complete success! =)

My Little Pumpkin

Just got back from the portrait studio with my sister and the two boys. We did a winter shot (which I'm not sharing just yet because I'm not sure if it's the picture we'll be using for our Christmas Cards) and Matty's first Halloween/Fall pictures. Yes, I know, a little late. We hadn't been able to coordinate the visit to the studio. Anyway, enjoy the pictures of my little pumpkin!

Fabulous Photography

Have you heard of PictPicture.com?

Here's their press release:

November 10, 2007 - "PictPicture.com has just launched their new socially driven photography website. It will be providing photographers a new system for sharing their work and providing fans of photography with an innovative way to provide feedback and enhance the photoblogging community. PictPicture will host photos from sources around the world, and users will have the ability to vote their favorites to prominent spots on the front page, putting user-generated, user-approved content at the forefront of photoblogging. Photographic artists, aspiring photographers, photoblog owners, or anyone interested in good photography should check out PictPicture.com.”

Irony

A month or two ago, I cancelled my text message option and hubby's wireless internet option from our cell phone. It's cut our wireless bill by just under $15. But, in the last two weeks I've been texted 27 times, and had to reply to 14. That's $6.15. So much for trying to save money!
There are some that can't be avoided, like my friend K who needed me to find out something for her while she was in class, and that was the only way to communicate the information to her, but really? There shouldn't be that many. I didn't have that many when I did have the text package!

No Wonder I'm Tired!

WB described her busy schedule last week, and I just laughed. That's nothing compared to our usual agendas. That's what most of my weekends look like, and sometimes it's unplanned. For example, we didn't have "many" plans for this past weekend (for once!). On Saturday we were spending the day with my BFF Angie and her daughter Em, who just turned 4. The plan was to go see The Bee Movie, then go to a pizza place for lunch. Sunday was to be spent at home cleaning while hubby watched football and tended to the boys. Alas, that is not at all how the weekend panned out. Let's start with Friday night. I received a call from a dear old friend (not because he's old, but because our friendship is old. I've known him since I was a 'tween.). He and his wife were going to be in the area (they live in Broward) and wanted to come by and see Matty. We planned their arrival for about 6:30, which would give me about 10 minutes to spruce up the house a bit (not much time since it was turned upside down, but I'd do my best). Things were going according to plan, until hubby calls me during my drive home to find out if they mind postponing until next weekend because he got free tickets to the Auto Show. So now rather than just rushing home to spruce up the house and make it presentable for a night in with friends, I had to rush home to feed and change the boys and head right back out once hubby got home from work. Once hubby got home, we got to the convention center within half an hour, but it took us almost an hour to find parking. We were so frustrated we were on the verge of forgetting the whole thing, but at the very moment we were about to give up, a parking garage appeared right in front of us. (Okay, no not really, it was there the whole time, we were just on an unfamiliar street, so I didn't know it was there).
We walked the 6 blocks to the convention center, met up with a friend of ours outside, and walked through the show for a good two hours. That extra hour we spent finding a place to park would have been better inside the show, it felt like missed so much since we had to rush through it. The boys were well behaved, considering what a long day it had been.
(The rest is in the extended entry...It's going to be quite a long post.)

We got home at 1am, and woke up on Saturday around 7:30. It seemed like we hadn't slept more than an hour, we were so tired. But hubby had to go to work, and I had plans to go to Toys R Us for the weekend doorbuster sale (which I was supposed to do on Friday night, but that got pushed aside, obviously) before heading to the movie theater. I rushed through the toy store with the boys in tow. I think I spent more time in line to pay than the time I spent finding the items I purchased!
We left the store and arrived at the theater 10 minutes before the movie began. It was the first showing of the day and we had the theater practically all to ourselves. The movie is hilarious! Brandon loved it, and Matty sat through most of it (his first movie theater experience!!). After the movies and on the way to the pizza place I made a pitstop at a friend's house so she could see the boys, and drove a few blocks over to another friend's house for the same reason (but they weren't home).
We pigged out at the pizza place (it was one of those buffet places), and then headed over to my mom's, but not before stopping at my Godmother's house to check out an issue she had with her computer. We spent the rest of the evening at my mom's where we had dinner with her, my brother, my grandparents, and a family friend. Brandon didn't want to leave, and I had to drag him to the car at about 9:30pm.
Yesterday was the only day that somewhat mirrored the original plans. My older sister called me around 10 that Mikey wanted his cousin to come over and play, which worked out for me since I had to clean. After breakfast, I dropped him off and went to do groceries before heading back home. I did so much laundry I forgot how many loads there were. I cleaned the two bathrooms, and decluttered the kitchen counter and dining room table. I still have to do the floors, but that can be done during the week after work. Mind you, during all this hubby was in the living room entertaining Matty while the Dolphins game was on (and the losing streak continues...SHEESH, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE GUYS?!). I finished shortly after the game was over. Hubby fed Matty while I made a quick something for us for a late lunch. I took a shower and we headed to my sister's to pick up Brandon. We were going to just pick him up and go to Target and Walmart (ugh.) to pick up some things we needed, but ended up just hanging out and having dinner there.
The frenzy continues tonight. After work, I'm picking up the boys and we're headed to the mall for their holiday portraits.
So far there are no plans for tomorrow...let's see how long that lasts!

I made a list, and I've checked it twice!

I’ve become quite a savvy shopper lately. I’ve been clipping coupons for months, and I’ve been very good about actually taking them with me when I go to the grocery store. I have also kept an eye out on the early holiday sales, and have taken advantage of some of them the last two weekends. There are a couple of items that I will end up purchasing online because they haven't been in stock at the store. NCNatural is one of those sites that provides listings for coupon and discount offers for a variety of online retailers.Their site is very easy to use, and is updated daily. I’ll be using using the Target and Disney Store offers in the very near future. My goal is to finish my shopping before December even begins, and with just six gifts left to purchase, it looks like it just might happen!

Birthday Wishes

Happy birthday, my friend!

The big little guy made this for you this morning. I wanted to take a picture of it with them next to it, but we just got home and they are both asleep. We had a busy day today, but didn't want you thinking we forgot this very special day. Hope you had a great one!

Grandpa's Gaffe

I heard this story earlier today about a grandfather that picked up the wrong child at pre-school. During lunch, I saw that the story became a topic of discussion over at GoodyBlog. The writer asks:

So how well supervised is your child's school drop off and pickup areas? Is there a list of approved adults who can claim your child? Do the teachers actually check I.D.s? Any good or bad experiences you've had that we can all learn from? Please share with the rest of the class ... and also be sure your child's grandfather knows what he looks like.

I'll answer these in order, then I'll share a little story to illustrate the effectiveness of the system at my son's school.
The entrance to Brandon's preschool faces the receptionist's desk, and to the right is the director's office. To the left is a foyer-type area with a doorway, and beyond that doorway are the classrooms. On the receptionist's desk is a touch-screen monitor where parents and guardians have to punch in or punch out the kids. The kids cannot be dropped off or picked up in this area, they must be walked over or picked up in the classrooms. When the child is enrolled in the school, part of the informational package is a form which lists those persons authorized to pick up the child. The child will not be released to anyone on that list, with the rare exception in the event of an emergency. ID's are checked, and a copy of the ID is attached to the list of those people approved to pick up the child. When a person other than the mother or father comes to pick up the child, the adult that receives them (receptionist, director, and/or teacher) checks the file and matches the person to their picture, then grants them permission to pick up the child. If they are not familiar with the school, they are escorted to the classroom where the child is located.

Now on to my story:

This past October, my mom took the day off for my grandmother's birthday. We were having a gathering that evening, and it was going to take me forever to get there since I had to go pick up Matty at the sitter's, and then all the way home to pick up Brandon (I've mentioned before the school is four blocks from our house). My mom offered to go pick up the boys for me since she wasn't working, and she'd be back at my grandmother's about the same time I'd get there from work. She had no trouble getting Matty since I had called ahead and told the sitter, and described her, but she ran into a dilemma at the preschool. I had put her on the approved persons list last year when Brandon had first started at that school. But this past Fall, when I received the Pre-K packet, I neglected to do so as there were less lines available for approved persons. I chose the four people who lived the closest, since these would be the ones more likely to do me the favor. My mom called me from the school, "I'm not on the list, they won't let me take him." I had to speak to the secretary, explain what happened, and told her to pull last year's file. I told her how far away I was, the reason why my mom was there, and that if she took her over to Brandon she'd see that that's his grandmother. Since her name was on last year's paper, she let my mom take him, and I added her to the list the following day. If that older file hadn't been there, I would have been S.O.L.

As an aside, I don't understand how the grandfather failed to recognize that the boy he picked up wasn't his grandson. But that's a whole other blog post.

What's your take on the story?

Making It My Own

Early next year, when we get our income tax return, we plan on paying off the living room and bedroom furniture we purchased last fall. The boys’ room will be remodeled with their new furniture around the same time (I still can’t believe the deal I got on their bunk beds!). Our next big room makeover will be the kitchen, though this may take some time. Our appliances are new, so that will stay the same. We’re not sure if we will be resurfacing the white cabinets or getting new cabinets altogether. It depends on the price, but we are changing the color, probably a medium cherry or maple tone. We're getting new countertops too. I am eager to replace the ones we currently have, which are black formica and I have to dust it every day, even when there is no mess to clean up from cooking. Since we plan to change the countertop, we will also be extending the countertop area behind the kitchen sink. It’s intended as a place to eat, but the space is very narrow, and there’s no room under the countertop to sit comfortably. We’ll also purchase accessories to match the new color schemes, like a cute wood breakfast table and new bar stools.
We had remodeled the kitchen in the apartment we lived in before because we knew we would be selling a couple of years later. This time, we want to do it for us to enjoy. I hope we can manage it within the next couple of years. I’ve been saving clippings and ideas for our kitchen since we moved into the new house almost two years ago, and am anxious to finally have it how I’d like.

EOAS, Week 18

I know, I know, I've been slacking with EOAS again. I've had this post drafted for the last three days and just haven't had time to finish it. I hope you enjoy this next batch of scrapbook pages, which range from Spring through Fall 2005.

This is one of my top five favorite pages. It's so simple, but so sweet. While my little sister was living in Virginia, she'd call my dad's house every Wednesday evening during our family dinners because she knew that would be the perfect time to talk to everyone. I wonder who her favorite conversations were with?

Easter 2005: We had an egg hunt for Brandon at my grandmother's house. When he'd find all eggs, we'd hide them all over again. That happened like five or six times before we all got tired of it and went inside to eat the goodies hidden in the eggs.

4th of July 2005: Don't you just love that picture on the right?

Die-Hard Dolphins Fans, no matter what! They need all the encouragement we can muster this year. 0-8...Sheesh!

A few choice words for google

You Suck! I could have picked choicer words, but this is a PG site.
As I mentioned yesterday, my google rank is now a 2. It went down from a 4 in a matter of hours. Thanks to them, I qualify for just 15 posts with PayPerPost this morning (13 really, because 2 are fully reserved).

Bastards. =(

Profitable Paid Blogging

It's been a little less than 3 months since I started writing paid posts, and I could not be more pleased. Here's a summary of my earnings so far:

PayPerPost:
88 posts
Total earned $799.98 (Paid to date $464.30, To be paid $335.68. Four posts are pending review)

Smorty:
3 posts
Total earned $22.80 (All have been paid)

Linkworth:
1 post
Total earned $15.00 (Pending)

GRAND TOTAL: $837.78

All that was done with a google rank of 3 or 4, but I just noticed I got pushed down to a 2. I hope I can keep up this kind of track record. These extra funds have come in real handy lately.

The Best of the Big Apple

I just heard about the New York CityPass, which includes admission to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim, the American Museum of Natural History, admission to the Empire State Building, and a water tour sightseeing cruise of the Manhattan skyline with Circle Line Tours. What a great deal! It’s quite inexpensive, $65 for adults and $49 for kids ages 12-17. The special runs from December 15 through March 15. This would have been the PERFECT Christmas present for my mother-in-law and brother-in-law if we were taking our trip to New York City this winter.
This package would definitely keep us in budget for the trip since it saves up to 50% per person, when compared to purchasing tickets separately at each location. And it saves time too, since we wouldn't have to stand in the ticket lines at each attraction. Out of the six featured locations, hubby and I have only been to the Empire State Building. We’ve never been to any of the museums, which is a real shame. I told him that our next trip needs to include at least the MoMa and The Met.
I’m going to keep it in mind in case we end up going to New York before March, thought I doubt it. I wonder if they have any kind of Springtime or Autumn Specials…

Not a "Secret" Anymore!

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony finally announced their pregnancy last night, right here in Miami. It's the last show of their tour, and according to JLO, she didn't want their fans to be preoccupied with anything other than the concert tour experience. I don't buy that excuse, but I'm glad they finally announced it. Marc Anthony has always been a private person, and you can see in the beginning of the video that Jen tells him she wants to tell the audience about the baby, and he agrees.
Whether this should be news or not and whether they should have said it earlier or not is not important. What is important is that these two people are bringing a life (lives?) into this world. Babies are miracles, and I am extremely happy for them and their growing family. Congratulations!

Oh, BTW, I REALLY wanted to go to the concert, but I never got around to buying tickets...it would have been great to be there for the show and the announcement. =(

'Cause Kirsten can't last forever

Hubby and I have decided that our next car will be either a hybrid SUV or a gas-efficient car like a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Accord. It’s been nice not having a car payment in the last almost-three years, but my car is closing in on the 150K mark and it’s inevitable: eventually we will need a new car. We’re hoping to extend the life of my car for another year or so, but we have been trying to plan ahead and be prepared for dealing with a car payment in the future (hopefully later than sooner). Fortunately, we can research our choices by going to CarsBlvd.com. I already requested a Honda car quote, just to see what’s out there. If you’re in the market for a new car, give it a try. They provide you with up to two quotes, and it’s fast and best of all, free!

Curiouser and curiouser

You may recall I mentioned in this post that Matty decided to play jungle gym with our barstools. He ended up getting stuck, became frustrated and called out for help (shortly after the last picture I took). As usual, my camera was on-hand and I was able to document his antics.

He's also acquired an affinity for the throw rugs in the kitchen. He'll lift them up by the corner and flap them up and down. I haven't gotten that on film yet, but I will!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

This morning when we woke up the temperature was 58 degrees. I dressed in my long sleeve button-down shirt, my cute argyle sweater, khaki pants and brown boots. I dressed up Matty in a long-sleeve thermal bodysuit and long pants (he usually heads to the sitter's in his pj's). I stepped outside and the weather was perfect! It's a beautiful day outside, not a cloud in the sky.
The only thing I don't like about this time of year is the time change. It's quite annoying to get home at 6PM and it's already dark. I get home and I lose the drive to do much of anything. Other than that though, it's great. Even my hair likes it, since the frizz stays under control. ;-)

How's the weather treating you in your neck of the woods?

So Fresh and So Clean

I recently had the opportunity to sample Biotene toothpaste, and it could not have happened at a better time. I had never heard of this brand before, it’s specifically for those who suffer from sensitive teeth and dry mouth. While I usually do not experience either of these, I have had a bit of dry mouth lately from a cold I’ve been incubating. Said cold (and probably stress) also triggered a couple of cold sores inside my mouth. It was quite uncomfortable to brush my teeth, as the sores stung when the bristles of my toothbrush would skim along the sores. You might be familiar with a common cold sore remedy of applying baking soda or salt to a cold sore to make it heal faster. Well, it just so happens that to be that the active ingredient in Biotene is potassium nitrate, which is approved by the FDA to treat hypersensitivity.
I've been using the toothpaste for the last four days, and my cold sores are just about gone. The flavor was a little funny, but not necessarily unpleasant. At first, it reminded me of those sticks of bubble gum that would be included in trading card packages. As I brushed my teeth, that semi-sweet taste diminished and a baking soda-like taste took its place. In spite of the lack of minty-freshness abundant in the more popular brands, there was no aftertaste, just a clean feeling.
It was an unexpected surprise that Biotene sensitive toothpaste cured what ailed me. I'm a creature of habit and will stick to my regular minty toothpaste, but it's good to know there's a product out there that can successfully alleviate the pain of cold sores and sensitive teeth.

What's next, prohibiting High-Fives?

Did you hear the story in the news today about the girl that received detention for hugging her friends in school? I heard about it on the radio this morning on the way to work, and made it a point to look up the story when I got to the office.
It's a completely ridiculous scenario! I understand the school officials' points that it's a rule in the student handbook, and they must enforce it, but the rule was obviously written too vaguely. The rule states, "Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved”. It is absurd to consider all displays of affection "in poor taste" and "reflecting poor judgement". Displays of affection are a sign of friendship, politeness, and even respect. In most Hispanic cultures, kissing someone on the cheek and hugging them is as much a part of saying hello or goodbye as shaking hands is in the "Anglo" world. This town would be in an uproar if that happened here.
Clearly the rule is intended for students who are caught making out with their boyfriends and girlfriends throughout the school, and needs to be re-written with it's true intent in mind. I can only hope that the parents' participation in the upcoming school board meeting knocks some sense into the school officials and they reword their policies, and focus on more important "offenses" than a teenager showing affection towards her friends.

I wouldn't have this problem if we'd just win the lottery! ;-)

I was just going through the pile of junk mail we have on the kitchen counter from the last couple of days, and stopped for a moment to ponder the weekly home improvement advertisements. Every week as I look through these ads I am reminded that we need to replace the hideous chandelier in the dining room. We have several classic chandeliers in mind, but they would all require us to upgrade our dining room table, and purchase a matching buffet table with a hutch for the wall leading to the kitchen. These aesthetic changes are not anything we can do anytime soon, but at least it's free to imagine our rennovated dining room.

A Thank You Note

My stepmom just sent me and my sisters and brother an email, which caused me to shed tears of happiness:

"I just want to thank all of you for my last night birthday party. I know that some people do not understand all the emotions you can feel under the table (she and three of the boys were playing under the dining room table before dinner), receiving kisses and touches and the most beautiful “Hatty birthday” song that any grandma could hear. In addition, the bath ceremony was as funny as always, with the addition of Maxx, who performed as a champion. I recognize that 5 is too much for me at the same time, but guys, life is too short , that you have to live every day as your last day. My “boys” loves me and shows that love to me; each one on their own way. Next year we will see Tyler, Maxx and Matthew join Brandon and Mikey, playing around, fighting between them, but enjoying their relationship, tied by the family love. And now they don’t know any thing about real life but I’m sure they will never forget a situation like last night reunion. Thanks again, all of you, Amanda, Maura, for accepting me in your lives without any reserve… Mary and Luis , I don’t know how to express my gratitude to you, for your unconditional love and understanding, for accepting Amanda and Maura as your sisters Without it, my marriage would never be successful…
I also have a word for my other kids, my “in laws”, I can’t see you different from my own children, I love you all."

I'm so blessed. =)

Aftershock

Sheesh...I am exhausted.
While it was great fun having all the boys together last night to celebrate my stepmom's birthday, it just completely wore me out. All of us took on the other's kids at one time or another. It was fascinating to see them all interact with each other throughout the night. I've loaded the pictures to flickr. There were just so many cute ones I couldn't decide which ones to include in this post.
I'll be back later, got a couple of things to do that require my full attention. TTFN!

Holiday Shopping, and a bit of a rant

I officially started my Christmas shopping this past Friday. So far, I’ve bought five gifts out of twenty-two. Yes, twenty-two. The bulk of that is kids, including my own. I took advantage of a “doorbuster” sale at the toy store this weekend, and I’ve also been keeping an eye out on special online sales and early holiday specials. We’ve got a budget to stick to! There are a few items I will be getting before the end of the week, but some of the gifts can wait until BlackFriday. I’m keeping an eye on the pending sales through Black-Friday.net. You may recall I registered my email address with them a few weeks ago. I have gotten a couple of notifications from them already, I think one was from Sears and the other from Walgreens. You all know I’m anxiously waiting for the Target ad to be released.

There was some controversy last week regarding a certain retailer and their discontent with sites "leaking" their Black Friday deals. I don't think it's that big a deal. Black-Friday.net provides easy access to the holiday sales, and if I know that a certain retailer will have awesome deals, I'm willing to go to their store or to their site and spend my money. It seems to me like that retailer is being a petty, whiney, little (insert appropriate noun here) and they won't be getting my money any time soon!

Happy Birthday, 'Bela!

Today is my stepmom's birthday. She's pretending that she doesn't know that we (we as in me, hubby and the boys; my stepsis and the boys; my stepbro and Tyler; and my little sister) are all coming over tonight to have dinner with her and spend some time with her. She's pretending it's just a regular Tuesday night, but it's not. It's her birthday, and we are giving her the best gift we can imagine, and it doesn't cost a cent: time with the five loves of her life!
Happy Birthday, mama. We love you!

Watch out, Europe, here we come! (Eventually...)

A little less than five years ago, I had the opportunity to go to Europe with my mom, sister, aunts, uncle and cousin. I didn’t go. Brandon was just a few months old, and I didn’t want to be away from him. A part of me regrets not going, but I think hubby would have divorced me on the spot had I gone to Europe without him, and left him with a newborn to tend to for two weeks to boot.
Our goal is to go for our 10th anniversary, which is in 2012. It seems like a long ways away, but it’s really not. 2008 is right around the corner. We all know how fast the years go by, and before we know it, our trip will be here. I found a site that offers not only Europe hotel guides, but over 500 travel guides for cities in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, Australia and other international locations. I was looking through the travel guide for Italy, specifically Rome. Vatican City, the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum…I am so eager for this trip! I told hubby as long as we go to Rome and Paris, I don't care what other cities we visit. Then again, Greece would be nice too. So would London. On second thought, it looks like he won't be having much say after all! ;-)

I'm too tired ot think of a witty title...

Here are a few pictures of the boys at the birthday party we went to yesterday. The party was farm-themed, and included pony rides, a petting zoo, haystacks and cowboy hats. It was Matty's first time exposed to animals up close, and he was fascinated with all the baby chicks, rabbits, goats, ducks, kittens, puppies and roosters running around the pen. I was carrying him against my hip, and he was squirming around me, leaning down trying to get a better view of the animals. Oh, and as you can see, Brandon can't quite make up his mind what kind of pet he would like. It's not happening anytime soon, but we have talked about getting a new pet for the boys (maybe next year?). I'm a dog person, hubby is a cat person. Looks like Brandon won't mind either one!

Close-up of Matty holding the saddle reins...so cute!

Matty, meet Kitty. Kitty, meet Matty.

Don't You Want to Know What Lies in 'The Mist'?

I saw a commercial for The Mist by Stephen King a couple of nights ago and I told hubby, “We have to go see that!” The story seems very interesting, not your typical horror movie about some chainsaw-wielding killer or self-proclaimed scientist tricking people into deadly traps. The Mist is the film adaptation of a short story written by Stephen King in 1980. It tells the tale of a thick, opaque mist that rapidly engulfs a town in Maine, trapping a group of residents in a supermarket. David Drayton, the story’s narrator, is the first to realize the menacing things lurking in the mist. As the townspeople’s panic and fear grow, and all reasoning disappears, David is not sure which is worse: the unknown terrors outside the supermarket doors that lie within in the mist, or the madness that has spread among his friends and neighbors. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
I’ve been a fan of Stephen King for as long as I can remember. I read “It” in middle school, and was deliciously terrified by Pennywise the Dancing Clown. A year or so later, I saw the mini-series on TV, and I don’t think I slept much that week.

The Mist hits theaters November 21st. In the meantime, you can visit the movie’s site for trailers, photo galleries, cast and crew bios, and much more. See ya at the movies!

Student of the Week

Today was Brandon's first day at Student of the Week at his school. He says:

"Jaylynn cut out a picture of Thomas for me. I cut out a picture of a dinosaur for daddy. I was line leader. I helped the teacher put the crayons and pencils away. I played in housekeeping (centers). I ate different macaroni (??). I did a lot of things."

That's it, straight from the source. Check out the poster I made last night:

When we get it back from the school, I want to figure out a way to take it apart and put it in his scrapbook.

Is it Monday again already?!

This time change thing has me frazzled. I did not wake up on time, and traffic was a nightmare.
But, it's 67 degrees outside (so nice!), and Brandon is Student of the Week at school! I made his poster last night, and it looks great. I was going to share a picture I took of it, but it will have to wait until I get home because I couldn't find my camera this morning.
I also need to share pictures of yesterday's party, where Matty rode his first pony. He loved it so much, he started crying when we took him off the pony.
More later, I have to get some work done.

So how was your Saturday?

Yup, we were missing in action for the better part of the day. We went to a birthday party in the early afternoon, and afterwards went to do some shopping. I'm slowly but surely making my way through our list of gifts to buy. It's only November 3rd, and the mall was packed! We even had a small incident in the parking lot. After waiting for a space right in front of the mall for what seems like 10 minutes, the car we were waiting for pulled out of the space, and some jerk coming from behind them parked. Hubby leaned on the horn without letting go, and the guy didn't even acknowledge our presence (or at least pretended to). I got out of the car, and I saw him looking at me through the side mirror. He lowered his window with this dumb look on his face like, "what did I do?". I told him, "We've been waiting for this space for practically ten minutes. I've got two screaming kids in the car waiting to get out (this was not true, I was just using the mommy card). You need to move." He came back with "I dont' know", pretending he didn't understand. So I said it all in Spanish and he replied "oh, okay", but still had that stupid look on his face. By this time, hubby got out of the car too and I went back to the car. I swear, I was on the verge of slapping the man! At that point it wasn't so much the taking of the parking space that bothered me, but that he was trying to insult my intelligence by pretending to not understand me, and not knowing what he did.
Yeah, I know it was dumb to get out of the car, there area lot of crazies out there, but it all turned out well. We got our parking space, we got a little shopping done, and all is right with the world once again.
We have another birthday party tomorrow, and will be running some errands afterwards, but I should be back in the evening. Have a great weekend!

Are You Feelin' Lucky?

We’re not the gambling type. The most we’ll bet is a dollar here and there on the state lottery every once in a while. We’ve also played a few bucks in the casino when we’ve been on a cruise, but never more than $20. The thought of losing our hard earned money in a matter of seconds scares me. If we could guarantee a win, even just a little one, we’d probably test the odds more often. Not too long ago, hubby and I were discussing this very topic, and I did a little research. I found a website that ranks the top ten online casinos in the country, topusaonlinecasinos.com. The site itself is simple and user-friendly, and the casino rankings are updated frequently.The casinos featured on Top USA casinos are ranked by pro poker and blackjack players, and include criteria such as bonus size, payout rate, customer support, number of games offered, deposit options, graphics, and ease of use. Some of the casinos listed do have the option of playing for fun, which is great for us since hubby swears he’s figured out the best way to win at Roulette. As long as he doesn’t spend our money, he can test out his theory as often as he wants.

Pereiraville, Part Deux

(Part 1 is here)

I figure I'd better get this out soon. I'm already starting to forget little details about our weekend!

After Matty had his bottle at a quarter to 7, we all went back to sleep for about an hour. Hubby and I got up and started picking up around the room. Then Brandon woke up, half groggy and half excited because he knew he had a surprise coming up. Oh, that's right, I think I forgot to mention that: Brandon didn't know we were going to Busch Gardens. He didn't know until we were driving into the parking lot of the park. But I'm getting ahead of myself...
We picked up the room, got dressed, and prepared Brandon's breakfast. As hubby loaded the car with all our stuff, Matty woke up so I changed and dressed him. WB and sherlock went to the backyard with the boys for a while as hubby finished loading the car and I prepared our breakfast and got all our stuff ready for the theme park.

We finally headed out around 9AM (is that right, WB? I'm not kidding when I say I'm forgetting!), and arrived at the park at about 10:30AM. After parking, getting our admission tickets, and a quick run to the bathroom, we were finally inside the park at 11AM. Our first ride was the Rhino Rally. WB and Sherlock stayed with Matty while Brandon, hubby and I rode it. Then WB and Sherlock went, and took Brandon with them, he loved it so much. Then we headed towards to train station to ride through the Serengeti Railway, but just missed boarding. There was a 20 minute wait for the next one, so we walked through one of the animal attractions. We went back to the train station and missed the train again, so we walked through the Myombe Reserve and saw the chimps and gorillas, then headed over to Egypt. Hubby and I rode Montu while WB and Sherlock played with the boys in the sandbox right outside the ride. Then we tried the train again, and this time the train wasn’t going to pick up guests as it was scheduled for a service break. So we headed over to Timbuktu (which is just as far as BFE. LOL!) for lunch at the Desert Grill, followed by an airplane ride for Brandon, since his options with the “bigger” rides were limited. Afterwards we were finally able to ride the train through the Serengeti, after waiting for half an hour at the station. We got off the train in the Congo and walked over to Stanleyville, where WB and Sherlock went in first for SheiKra. Hubby and I hadn’t been to Busch Gardens in over five years and were eager to ride this new coaster, but it was not meant to be. Shortly after he and I got in line the ride malfunctioned and was shut down for the day (at this point it was roughly 4:30, and the park closed at 5). Slightly disappointed, we headed over to Kumba to satisfy our roller coaster fix.
The park was about to close so we walked out to the parking lot and chatted by the cars for a few minutes before saying our goodbyes and facing our five-hour drive home.
The ride home was uneventful. We took I-75 home, stopping at Naples for dinner at McDonalds. Alligator Alley was a bit scary, since it's so dark and all, but it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. We got home around 10:30PM, unloaded the car, bathed the boys, and got ready for another workweek.

Our thanks to WB and sherlock are a bit overdue. Thank you so much for inviting us to your Halloween party, spending the day with us at BG, and opening your home to us. We had a wonderful time, and can't wait till you can come down and visit in a couple of months. =)

How did you do it?

I’ve always lived in the same city, never had to move cross-country (or even cross-county) before. I have moved three or four times, and each time it gets more tedious. The bigger the place, the more crap we accumulate. No matter how much stuff we throw or give away, it seems to be never-ending. Isn’t that always the way?!
I’ve never used a moving company, but I have used and abused my friends and family members multiple times. I’m just a bit wary of how careful strangers will be with my things. I know some of you have moved from one state to another. What’s your take on it? Did you do it yourself, renting a truck and driving to your current location, or did you hire a moving company? With all the options out there, how did you find the moving company that was right for you?

Life Happens

Sorry for the light posting today, my faithful readers. I have a crazy day at work, and I planned on just picking up the kids, going home, having dinner, showering and being in bed by 10, but that didn't happen. I spoke to my mom on my way home, and she asked me to stop by because a friend of hers is in town and wanted to meet the boys. So that's what I did, and while we had a nice time, and it was interesting to see all the changes going on in my mom's house (she's doing some rennovating), I just got home about 20 minutes ago. I have several things to do before going to bed (laundry, dishes, prep for tomorrow, etc). I was going to write Part 2 of our trip to Pereiraville, but I'm just too tired. I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of the story. I also owe you an update from Matty's well-check visit yesterday afternoon. He's now weighing 17 pounds, 3 ounces and measures 27 and a half inches. The doctor said he's doing great! He got his flu shot, and is due for the booster in one month. Other than the discomfort of being pricked by a needle, he was a complete angel. Oh, and since it was Halloween, all the office staff had costumes on. The four nurses were dressed as condiments: Salt, Pepper, Ketchup, and Mustard. Two other staff members were dressed as a fairy and a peacock. His pediatrician was dressed as Padme Amidala from Star Wars. It was a nice treat to see everyone enjoying the holiday.
Alright, that's it. I'm going to finish a load of laundry and I'm headed to bed. Hasta mañana!

National Memory Screening Day

It’s November already, can you believe it?! November is a rather eventful month. There’s Veterans Day, and of course Thanksgiving and Black Friday (among others), but did you know that November 13th is National Memory Screening Day? The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America introduced National Memory Screening Day in 2003 in order to promote how important early detection can be in the fight against Alzheimer’s and related illnesses. A memory screening provides a baseline that can be used in the future if concerns about memory loss arise, especially for those with a family history of Alzheimer’s. Participating sites offer free screenings as well as follow up resources and educational materials about memory loss. The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America website not only provides nationwide screening locations on their site, they also have some valuable tips on successful aging. Some of these include simple, common sense things like visiting your doctor regularly, exercising daily, and following a healthy diet. Following a healthy lifestyle is definitely one way to reduce the risks.
Ongoing care for those suffering from Alzheimer’s is just as important as seeking a cure to this terrible disease. Contributions to the AFA are vital in assisting affected individuals, including the patients, their families, and their caregivers.

Halloweenie

I hope everyone had an awesome evening last night! We did, in spite of not being able to go trick or treating due to the inclement weather caused by Tropical Storm Noel. But that didn't stop us from having fun. Here are the pictures from the party we went to (as well as some of Matty from earlier in the day), and here are the pictures from Claudia's Haunted House.

More later.