Brandon's Puppy

Zoo Day

It should not be 84 degrees on December 29th...it's unnatural, even for Miami! We spent the day at the zoo with my sis and her two boys, and a few friends, and it felt like late spring/early summer. We did have a great time though, and we've decided to take the boys to the Seaquarium tomorrow before our annual passes expire on Wednesday. The following are just a few of the pictures I took. Now it's time to take a shower, and going to bed. Good night!

Checking out the meerkat exhibit.

Pointing out the "gee-af".

Levitating.

Close encounter.

My boy the ferocious jaguar. LOL

The kiddies.

Batboy Mikey

Cousins and BFFs

Note to Self

Among the many things I would like to do this week while I'm on vacation, I need to contact my auto insurance agent's office. My renewal is coming up, and although my premium only increased by $79 for the upcoming coverage cycle, I was looking for a decrease, not an increase. I have to talk to them and see what benefits we can do without, or what deductibles we might be able to change in order to lower my rate. I'll put them back for the next cycle, but right now, even those extra $13 a month hurt.
All that to say: Self, remember to call them tomorrow and see what can be done.

Twilight

I finally saw the movie this afternoon, and I loved it! There are definitely some key moments from the book omitted from the film, and thus the story doesn't flow as well as it should on-screen. For example, you don't see Bella and Edward's love evolve, it seems as if Bella just happened to become infatuated with the dangerous hottie in school. They also omitted a lot of Bella's clumsiness, which is a key element throughout the story. The baseball scene was awesome, as were the beautiful landscapes when Bella and Edward spend time in and around the forest.
I found that at times Kristen Stewart's acting was a bit forced, and I don't think she and Robert Pattinson had enough chemistry to pull off the illusion of their characters' overpowering, dangerous, eternal love story (am I sappy, or what?!). However, Robert Pattinson as Edward...wow. I wasn't too keen on him as Edward from the interviews and trailers, I saw, but he convinced me throughout the movie. He played the character, or a version of him at least, with perfection, and I'm glad to read he'll be in the sequel.
There's a lot more I could say, but I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't read the books or seen the movie. I won't go see it at the theater again, but I'll definitely buy the DVD when it's released. That's what, a thumb and a half? I won't promise you you'll love it, but there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours.

During my Vay-Cay

I plan to:

-Renew my license and registration (yes, I know my birthday passed. I was waiting for my time off.)

-Have a playdate with an old friend and her kids.

-Have another playdate with my co-worker and her little boy.

-Go to the new exhibit at the zoo with my big sis and the four boys.

-Replace the freon in my car. The A/C system has been having trouble cooling. We know it's not the air conditioning compressor because I already had a mechanic check it out. He told us what to do, and it's easy enough that we can do it at home. I'd like to get it done before it gets hot again. Being in Miami, that could be any day now.

-Do some scrapping.

-Get a mani and a pedi (preferrably after I do some scrapping so that I don't mess up my nails).

-Figure out how to kill the ghost ants that have inhibited my home. They are everywhere. I'd rather not buy the expensive pellet things at the home improvement store. Does anyone have any home remedies for it?

-Meet up with C for coffee/shopping/lunch/all of the above. ;-)

I'll be adding to this list as I think of things. I know there's more, but it/they have slipped my mind.

Saturday

It seems like Matty is finally getting over whatever he has. He had no temperature, and he's been more playful throughout the day.

I'm finally going to go see Twilight tomorrow! YAY! I'm so very excited...I know a lot of people say the movie doesn't do the book justice, but I don't care. I just need my Twilight fix. I'm between books right now, not sure when I'll get to read Breaking Dawn, and the movie will hold me over for a while. I hope...

Brandon will be six two weeks from tomorrow. Since we'll be going to Orlando sometime in the spring, we're having a "small" (HA! nothing with us is ever small!) get-together at our house the day of. I'm glad I'm on vacation next week, I can go buy the party supplies and order the cake. All that will need to be done the day of is picking up comestibles. I know I'm ordering food, I just don't know if it will be cheap, quick and easy, like pizza, or more expensive but filling, like Imperial Rice. Any suggestions?

I realized earlier today that we did not take a family picture, of just the four of us, on Christmas Day. Didn't do it last year either. There are, however, three hundred pictures of every inch of paper being torn off of every gift the boys received. Next year I'll have to remember: less gift pics, more family pics.

Feeling Pretty

My friend Claudia is debating whether to purchase some cute, sexy lingerie. It’s not very practical, but it is absolutely adorable. Sometimes a girl has to have a little something to make her feel special, practicality be damned. I say she should go for it, a belated holiday gift to herself (and hubby, of course. LOL) What do you think? Should she go ahead and splurge?

After Christmas

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Hubby had to go to work today, so I'm alone with the kids until this evening. I may go hit a post-Christmas sale or two with my sister and her kids later today.
Yesterday we went by my grandparents' in the morning, then my sister's for brunch, then we hosted our grupito gathering. Both boys loved all their new stuff. Brandon loves the vsmile console and all the new games. He also got lots of books to develop his reading skills. Matty loved tearing at the paper, but hasn't taken to any particular item yet. Then again, he's still feeling icky so he'd rather cling to me than play. I posted some pictures in the extended entry. We got some happy news yesterday: Felipe's going to be a big brother! Lilli is about 8 weeks, and the new baby is due just a few days after Felipe's 2nd birthday. Congrats, you guys!

What did Santa bring you?

Christmas Eve, just before leaving our house.

Brandon putting Santa's Magic Key outside on Christmas Eve before going to bed. Otherwise, Santa couldn't get in the house and drop off presents.

A team effor to open the VSmile console.

Reading a letter Santa left him at Titi's house.

My older sis with our niece Brooke, 5 months old yesterday!

Matty eating grapes with Tata.

Brandon and Beka

C-man opening one of his presents.

Just a small part of the aftermath.

Merry Christmas!

Dear Editor,
I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in the Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."

Merry Christmas to you and yours, be they young or young and heart.

(source)

A Christmas Miracle

I say this news story last night and it tugged at my heartstrings. A military mom came home after a year and a half in Iraq, and was greeted by her four-year-old running to her. Doesn't seem out of the ordinary, except that the little girl, Cheyenne, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was an infant, and her parents were told she wasn't supposed to walk again. She endured over 200 hours of physical therapy and proved the doctors wrong.
What a wonderful gift for the mother, and of course the rest of the family. A beautiful story, just in time for the most magical season of all. Merry Christmas!

Santa's almost here!

I was up till 1:30am last night wrapping presents. I didn't get started until around 11pm, so that's not too bad.

Matty is running a fever. His school called me around 3 yesterday afternoon that his temperature was 101. I had a friend pick him up, and she watched him at her house until I got out of work. He was better throughout the evening, but when I checked on him before going to bed his temperature had spiked up again. We took him to bed with us to be able to keep an eye on him. Needless to say my five hours of sleep weren't very restful with an extra person in the bed. He's at my MIL's until I get out of work today. He has no other symptoms, maybe it's a tooth coming in?....

Speaking of work, today should also be considered holiday. Why, oh why, must there be work today? Hopefully we'll get out early. There are rumors swirling, but no confirmation of that yet.

I treated myself to a Peppermint Mocha Twist on the way in to work this morning. I'm worth a $4 coffee, right?

Christmas Eve Eve

Yes, the blog was broken over the weekend. I don't know how it broke, it was just fine when I browsed throught my blogroll on Sunday. Thankfully, the most awesomest uncle ever fixed it on Monday morning. Even if I don't post, I feel naked without it. I really should create bookmarks of all the blogs on my blogroll...

Anyhoo, time for random rambling, because I'm in a talkative mood. My co-worker lent me Eclipse yesterday morning. Guess what page I'm on already. Go ahead, guess. Fine, I'll tell you: page 461, Chapter 21. I read for over three hours last night, finally went to bed around 12:30. I just couldn't put it down. There are tentative plans to go see the movie this weekend with a friend. I say tentative because we've had to reschedule the last two weekends in a row.

We went to the Holiday Park in Coral Gables on Sunday evening. I haven't been there since I was a child, and I was so excited to take my boys! Brandon loved it, especially the wooden locomotive. Matty, on the other hand, clung to me like a monkey. He wasn't having it. We didn't even attempt to take a picture with Santa, that's how cranky he was. But he loved the big tree across the street at City Hall, and all the lights around the park. I'll have to remember to post some pictures later today.

I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve! I still have to wrap all the presents we bought take the train out from under the tree so Santa can drop off the gifts tomorrow night. I might have gotten that done while Brandon slept over at his Nina's house Sunday night, but I got a(nother) allergy attack, and did nothing but lay on the couch after we got home from the Park.

I'm happy to report that I stayed on budget, and I got the kids (well, Brandon. Matty doesn't know any better yet) things they wanted. There are several small things for each, and one semi-big thing for them to share. And I'm glad they didn't discover the hiding place, though I'll definitely need a new hiding place next year. Matty's gotten very exploratory lately, and next year will be more difficult for both shopping and hiding. I know several people who got their kids swing sets this year. How do you hide something like that?!

Hubby called a short while ago, a co-worker gave him a $50 gift certificate to Outback for Christmas. Totally unexpected, and totally awesome. I can't remember the last time we went out to dinner, at least not to a place without a drive-thru window.

We weren't able to send out Christmas cards this year. It wasn't just a money issue, though. I could have budgeted the money for the cards somehow, but before I knew it we ran out of time. Matty needed a haircut before the picture (still does!), and I didn't have outfits for them to wear. I don't mind sending out an electronic greeting to my loved ones on Thursday with a cute picture of the boys opening their presents or something like that, but what about my family members that are not techno-savvy? I've had a photo card made every year since Brandon was born, except this one. I know it's not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, but it still makes me sad.

Alright, I've bored you for long enough. I'll be back later with those pictures from the park.

Uncle Val

My Uncle Val is the hippest, far-outest, super coolest cat I know.

PJ Day

Brandon went to school in his favorite pajamas today. It's Polar Express Day, and they are going to watch the movie, play some games, and eat cookies with hot chocolate. He was so excited this morning that when I woke him up he jumped out of bed, took off the pj's he had on, put on his new favorites (Transformers), brushed his teeth, grabbed his Santa hat and his teddy bear, and had his backpack on in less than five minutes.

Doesn't he look like he's ready for a fun-filled day?

Finders Keepers

One of the perks of hubby's place of employment is that he will ocassionally find items that customers leave behind. That's how we ended up owners of a brand-new GPS last year. We recently "acquired" two very nice golf-size umbrellas. It's how Brandon's piggy bank gets filled so quickly, with all the loose change hubby picks up at work. And within the last month alone, hubby has been able to fill his gas tank with a few bucks (well, more than a few) he found.
Yesterday I benefited from his recent discovery: a new package of a specific kind of ladies' toiletry item. Just in time, as I am currently hosting an unwanted but certainly welcome (I know that's an oxymoron, but you know what I mean) visitor. Made my day. That, and finishing my Christmas shopping while hanging out with an old friend, who treated me to dinner as a belated birthday gift...thanks, C!

Have you ever come across anything that crossed your path at just the right moment?

I'm accepting too

Pam’s recent post about needing new jeans reminded me that gaining a little weight isn’t all that bad. As I mentioned in the comments, it’s a sign that we have plenty to eat, which is a good thing. I have been struggling with those last few pounds to get to the weight my doctor says is right for me, but to be honest, I refused to worry about it anymore. Becoming a gym rat, using weight loss pills, and denying myself the foods I love won’t make me feel any better than I feel now. Not that gluttony is good, either. I don’t mean eat everything in sight. Moderation is the key, but a couple of extra pounds on a happy me is better than a skinny, starving, unhappy me.

That and this

I must have hit myself with the headboard while sleeping last night. The right side of my jaw has been hurting all day, and the apple of my right cheek is tender to the touch. That, or hubby punched me in the middle of the night. I'm figuring it's the former though.

I plan on finishing my Christmas shopping tomorrow. I have three gifts left to buy (yes, still), and I'm headed to KB Toys after work. I just found out they are going out of business, and I've got a gift card with a $13 balance. Perhaps I'll get those three gifts with not much out of pocket.

I know I had a lot more to say, I kept thinking about things to blog about while I was at work. Those things elude me now, though.

Counting the days

10 days until I'm officially on vacation.

(Yikes, I should finish my shopping, shouldn't I?!)

10 days until Christmas Eve.

(YAY!)

11 days until Christmas.

17 days until New Year's Eve.

18 days until 2009.

(Happy New Year!)

28 days until my first-born turns 6.

(And we're still not sure if we'll be going to Orlando...)

47 days until my baby boy turns 2.

...but who's counting?

Brotherly Breakfast

Saturday morning. Matty refused to sit in his high chair, he wanted to sit at the table with his big brother.

sniffly

I seem to have gotten a relapse of the cold I had last week, and last night it was accompanied by a runny left nostril. Yes, just the left one. It wouldn’t stop, and it felt as if I’d triggered my allergies again. I’ve been getting them more and more frequently in spite of doing everything I can to avoid them. I’ve been vacuuming frequently, and though it’s not one of the Sebo vacuum cleaners (which I've heard are one of the best allergy fighters out there), our vacuum has a Hepa filter and works pretty well. I’ve tried to keep the dust around the house to a minimum, and when it is time to dust I have hubby do it so I don’t stir it too much and start sneezing. The only thing I can’t avoid is the nasty building I work in.
I can’t wait till January. My employer changed medical insurance carriers, and now we don’t need a referral to see a specialist. This means I can finally go see an allergist without too much hassle. I’m making my appointment as soon as the holidays are over.

the silence is broken

You can blame Twilight, aging and sickness for the quiet around here.

Last Thursday, a former co-worker lent me Twilight. I started it that evening and was finished by Saturday night. I devoured it (pun intended). I read Midnight Sun online between Monday and Tuesday afternoons, and I'll be starting New Moon this evening. I have plans to go to see the movie with a friend this Saturday. I'll admit it, I'm hooked.

Some of you know my birthday was on Sunday. Hubby and I spent the earlier part of the day staging the house for company, and the guests began trickling in around 2pm. My grandparents were the first to arrived, followed by my Godmother and uncle, and then my siblings, nephews and niece, and friends and their kids. My house was full of people till about 8pm. Not only did I have a great time, the Dolphins kicked Buffalo butt, 16-3. It was an awesome day.

I left work shortly after noon on Monday as a result of one of my dreaded allergy attacks. I slept from 1:30pm till the kids were dropped off for me at 5:30pm, did homework with Brandon, read Midnight Sun, had dinner once hubby got home, watched Jon and Kate plus 8, and was back to sleep until Tuesday morning. We had dinner at my mom's last night, and Matty was out of sorts, and a bit warm. Today he woke up with a fever of 101, so he's at my MIL's for the day. I feel like I got a relapse of the cold I had last week. I hope all these germs clear up before the weekend.

What have you been up to?

First Sleepover

My big sis went out last night, so the boys had a sleepover at our house with their cousins Mikey and Maxx. They had so much fun! Matty slept in his crib, and Maxxy slept on Brandon's bed. The bigger boys got a special treat and slept in Brandon's inflatable beds on the floor of the playroom. They got really excited when I told them it was indoor camping.
My sister came early this morning to pick them up as both she and I had Baptisms to go to at 10am. The boys had breakfast together and the cousins left shortly after, but not without a fight. M and M did not leave, they were on the verge of tears. They finally calmed down when sis and I reminded them they are coming back tomorrow for my birthday.
I get the funny feeling there will be a lot more sleepovers in our future!

Baby Boom

I think I might have mentioned that there's currently a baby boom in my office. There are four women pregnant, and the first of the office baby showers is this afternoon. As much as I'd like to give them all personalized baby gifts, my current financial status dictates that they will be receiving something less extravagant. I was thinking of something non-monetary, like offering to go help the new mommies out on a given afternoon, or baby-sitting services. Any other ideas?

Meme about me

CTG tagged me almost a week ago. I had forgotten about it until I was thinking what to blog about today, and then it hit me: I owe you all a meme! So here goes:

The rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Tell 7 random things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post.
4. Pass on the tag.

Thing 1: Like the other Amanda, I'm also left-handed, and it also irks me when people notice it. It really isn't that uncommon.

Thing 2: My 32nd birthday is this coming Sunday, and I'm excited about it. I haven't hit that "Oh no, i'm approaching 40!" phase yet. I hope I don't, I've always been fond of birthdays, particularly mine.

Thing 3: My sister found her running watch!! I know that's not necessarily about me, but it is random. She's been looking for it for the last four days, and driving her boyfriend crazy about it in the process.

Thing 4: I was keeping a secret, but it's out in the open now: WB is getting new running shoes! We're so proud of you, my friend!

Thing 5: I'm taking the week between Christmas and New Year's off. Hubby is not, so Brandon and I will just be hanging out. Matty will be going to school during the day, so maybe I can catch up on my scrapping, and filling out Matty's baby book, and other things I don't get around to doing.

Thing 6: I know I've mentioned this a post or two ago, but I'm running out of things, so here it is again: I love this time of year! I think once I finish my Christmas shopping, any extra money I have will be used towards more Christmas decorations for my house. It still feels like it needs something (besides the tree that hasn't been put up yet)...

Thing 7: It's 1pm and I haven't gotten much work done. Shhh, don't tell anyone!

Your turn: Claudia, Claudia, Amy, Tere, Lilli, Balou, and Ibiza.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's officially December, which means the cooler weather has made it's appearance. I love this time of year. We don't get much variance in weather around here, so when the time comes to pull out the turtleneck sweaters and jackets and UGG boots, I relish it. It just doesn’t seem like Christmas if it’s 90 degrees outside.
Oh, and a nice little benefit to cooler weather? A reduced light bill. My new bill came in, and it’s for half of what I paid just last month. Like I said, I love this time of year!