Got Kids, Need Valium.

Natural Disaster.

2010-03-04T10:24:00.004-03:00

For my followers and to the people who randomly check in on me... thank you! I appreciate you for being so loyal. It means a lot to me that you stop by, and that you take time from your day to read my blog.

The following is my account of the events that happened on Saturday February 27, 2010.

I told my husband that (Friday) night that I thought we should have tuna sandwiches. I made a big bowl of potatoe salad the night before and I really didn't want it to go to waste. In my heart I knew that it would. He laughed it off, and said that we would eat it tomorrow. And then told me, "It's not going to go to waste. " Ha.

We have made a habit of taking the kids to pizza hut on some Friday nights. It's a short walk and we have enjoyed having a taste of the states pretty close by. Everything was as it should be. We laughed, had a good time. And we made fun of the Chileans for running out of straws. The service was how it always is. Slow. But the pizza was delicious. We didn't leave a single scrap .

We walked the short distance back to our high rise apartment building. Resumed our normal nightly routines, and got the kids into bed. There wasn't anything that was out of place. And by that, I am not referring to my cleaning. In fact, everything was pretty calm.

Maybe a little too calm. Who would know that in a few short hours, our lives would be so incredibly shaken that we would be questioning if we would live or die. In my thirty-err **cough**cough** years, I have never thought that I was about to die. Not once.

Sleep is always a beautiful thing. I treasure it actually. It's one of my favorite things. Since having two kids, I realize how much I used to take it for granted. I may have been dreaming. I certainly don't recall it at this point. I just know that I was most definitely sleeping.

Around 3:43 in the A.M. our queen sized bed complete with two grown adults began to slide back and forth on the hard wood floor. Unlike an alarm that you expect to snap you out of your sleep, being shaken so vigorously is an unnatural way to awaken. We looked at each other as we took only a a few moments to realize what was happening. Earthquake.

{Now at this point having been in the country for approximately 20 months, we have experienced some quakes. Those have been like hiccups in comparison to what was currently at hand.}

My husband said only this, "GET THE KIDS!" I didn't speak, I only ran. To Eddie's room. A blissful, young, innocent and unaware sleeping child lay there. I still don't think I spoke. I snatched that kid out of his bed and into my arms. I heard my husband scream from the other room with intense panic in his voice. "WHERE IS ALEXA!!??!!??!!??" I yelled back, "OUR ROOM!" We both ran back to our bedroom, and she still lay there in the bed. Asleep. He grabbed her up and we went and stood in the door frame of the closet. I cannot even put into simple words how violent the movement was. There were noises. Glass was shattering and falling. It didn't sound close. Maybe from a nearby building. Things were falling. The worst most spooky feeling was the back and forth swaying of our building. This earthquake lasted too long. The shaking went on. Eddie clung to me like a little kangaroo hanging on to his mommy. He didn't say a word. But the fear in his eyes was clear. My heart broke into a million pieces in that moment. I couldn't comfort him. I just felt this alertness that made me very quiet. It was a survival instinct.

I was thinking that my husband was standing close by, with our daughter in his arms. If the building started to fall, there was nothing that I could do. I was helpless. I was so small. The earth was so much larger. And this earthquake, at this moment was supreme. It was having it's moment. And all others beware. The shaking, swaying went on. In these moments I thought we were all going to be dead. Or worse, I would live with some of them missing. Those thoughts were the worst thoughts that I have ever had to live through. My heart hurt to even think them.

It was difficult to stand up. I propped my arms against the frame of the closet door. The sound that went along with this earthquake was (to me) like giant boulders rolling around in a metal pan. It was a very intense and deep rumbling. And you may have heard this before, people say that living through something like this is just like the movies. The movies do get it right, but they are unable to convey the feeling. The belief that you are about to die.

Once the shaking stopped, we scurried in the apartment looking for our flashlights. We were standing in total darkness. My estimate was that this quake lasted at least 90 seconds. I still don't know what the official word is. It felt like it went on forever. When we found our flashlights, we ran to the kids rooms and through our drawers looking for clothes to put on. We dressed with lightning speed. We grabbed a liter of water, my husband's briefcase, cell phone, and our passports. We headed for the staircase.

Ed carried Eddie, and I slung 34 lb Alexa up into my arms. We trucked down those stairs at a quick pace. I thought of the people in the twin towers having to run down 10 times the number that we had to. I felt the survival instint that didn't allow me to think about much more. I was fleeing from the building that had caused me so much terror. The building in my mind was a deathtrap. It was where the scariest event of my life had taken place. There is no feeling that feels worse. Nothing could compare.

We exited to the street and were greeted by other terrified faces. People in their pajamas, with blankets, cell phones and scared faces. Their hair was messsy, they looked pale. Shaken. Literally and figuratively. We sat on the ground for a moment to gain composure.

Ed went to grab the car from underneath the building. It was a short walk from where we stood on the sidewalk. We got in and drove to an open space at the park. We sat there for the next 3.5 hours. During this time, we experienced the strongest of the aftershocks (so far to date) at 6.9. It was so much different being in a car, on the ground, than being 13 stories up. It was strong, but still, felt so much better.

We slept. On and off. We watched the lights in buildings flicker. Most stayed off, in total blackness. There were many aftershocks during this time. After this short sleep, and wait for daylight, we went back to the apartment. We gathered some clothing for all of us and left once again. We drove the US Embassy.

I cannot even begin to tell you the incredible feeling of relief that came over me, just when we drove into that parking lot. It felt safe. We arrived there around 10 A.M. (or so) and were able to use the phones to call our families. Unbeknownst to me, my mother in law had heard news of the quake before I was able to inform my parents. They were worried, scared and panicked for hours before I was able to call. But when I did, I know that they were thankful.

It has been 5 days since the incredible 8.8 earthquake. Thank you God for our lives. The epicenter was 200 miles from Santiago. I know in my heart that things would and could have been much different if the epicenter was closer to us. We have felt (at my last count) over 140 aftershocks. My equilibrium has me feeling like I am constantly moving. I'm anxious. And each and every time it happens, I feel nervous, like it is going to get worse.

I can tell you that living through this has given me immense perspective. Those things I once thought valuable or important, meant nothing. And everything that I owned became trash in a moments time. I am alive today. And I am thankful. I will never take one single day for granted. It is a gift. We all need to treasure the time that we have here on earth, with one another. With our families. Everything else is just fluff. We, as beings are important.

Again, I thank God for our lives. For I would not be here otherwise.

My life right now has changed. I've been back to our apartment twice. Both times I have felt scared. And I certainly did not feel safe. We took pictures of the damage. I believe it is pretty minimal when you compare it to the people closest to the epicenter. I cannot live there again. I am happy though. We have news. My husband has a new assignment and we are leaving Chile.

We are coming home to the United States. Nothing pleases me more. Again. Thanks to God and to the many people out there who have prayed for us, for my family. I appreciate it. More than mere words can express.

My kind friends on facebook have given me love and support with their words. Something that I needed in these days since the quake. I don't know what I would have done if faced with silence. It has meant the world to me. I don't know if they will ever truly know what it means to me.

Thank you all!

10 Truths about today.

2009-11-12T18:51:00.006-03:00

1. I woke up this morning with this sinking feeling, that I did something wrong last night. I wanted to stay in bed and not get out. Except that the little people were making noise. So goes my duty. Perhaps it was a dream?

2. I haven't brushed my hair all day. I took a shower, yes. But then I put my hair in a pony tail, and it's been that way since.

3. I was inspired by my friend's facebook status to make pancakes. I haven't made them in a while. And man, they were good.

4. The kids asked for hard boiled eggs today for lunch. And avocados. And prunes. They ate it.

5. I've washed 3 loads of laundry, hung them out to dry. (for my new readers, that's the way we do it here in Chile.) And folded two loads that were dry and waiting on me. (Read: hanging since yesterday) Swept the hallways, kitchen, laundry area, master bedroom and bath. Mopped the kitchen and my bathroom. Changed the sheets on the bed. And sat down.

6. I washed the dishes 3 times today. Cooked dinner. Realized that the package of ground beef I took out, was too small for meatloaf. We had spaghetti instead.

7. Eddie complimented me profusely on the taste. He promptly gobbled every bit down. Usually it's a struggle to get Mr. Bird eater to eat all of his food. Alexa is the better eater of the two. She was hard pressed to finish. Go figure.

8. I'm leaving for the states on Monday night. I haven't packed a thing.

9. I still have another load of laundry yet to do. Rugs.

10. Oh, and I cleaned the honey off from the footboard of my bed. Don't ask.

7 days.

2009-11-09T09:42:00.008-03:00

On Monday November 16, myself and the two kiddos will be flying. Yeeeeeeeeeees! It's true. And actually this trip was pretty much a bonus. As it turns out, dh has some kind of a class to attend for a while and didn't want us to stay alone here in Chile. So take a guess where we are going!?

Did ya guess? Did ya? Did ya?? Oh well, that was an easy one. Yes, we are going home to Tucson. Well, you know what they say... home is where the heart is.

Oh looky there.......

Helloooooo baby................. momma misses you! Yes she does. Mommy is going to get in you and drive you and love you and put the windows down, and turn on the music and we are going to go to the mall. And after that, we are just going to go and it doesn't matter where we end up. I love you Chevy babyyyyyyyy. Er. Um. Excuse me. I just really miss driving.

And did anyone check the calendar?? Because I know that I did. Why looky loo there.... it's time for Thanksgiving. Yes. It's time to be thankful for all the wonderful blessings in our lives. And I am greatly blessed. I have an amazing family. I do. Even though we all do not see eye to eye on everything, we are still family. And I love every one of them. I am overjoyed that I have the ability to be able to come back and spend another holiday with them. More importantly, my children and I are healthy. So yes, I have many many things to be thankful for.

Oh hey! In looking at the calendar, did you also notice that I'm arriving just in time for November 20? Can we say holy ~~hotness~~ jail bait! Wow! I can't wait to see this movie.

It's my favorite time of the year. Really. And not just because they are releasing a movie with a bunch of hot guys in it. I swear. I love Turkey day. I can't wait to get my hands on some shopping too. I've been cut off over here. Mainly because the prices here are way higher than in the states. But also, because there is no Target. So it's just not the same.

Yes. That's how I roll. I'm going to put on my red heels, red embellished sweater top, and puffy red skirt, and I'm hitting the big red dot. Or no. I may just wear jeans. But still, Target is on the agenda.

And then after that, I will be going here. Because I love this store too. Why? I just do. So that should be good enough for you. It's good enough for me. And my kids like the weird mannequin people that they have on display. Let's hope they still have them when we go back.

I won't even talk about the food. Let's just not.

So that's all I've got for now. I'm going to go pack some stuff. And ~~drool~~ look at the New Moon posters. Anyone with me on this? Will you be seeing it?

So. Just a few questions for today.

2009-11-07T16:11:00.002-03:00

Why is it that children can and usually do nap when they are in a daycare or preschool setting? And then when they are at home with you, they absolutely refuse.

What is it about letting kids help you bake, that gets them so excited?

How come kids like to wake up earlier on weekends than they do on week days?

Is screaming mommy as scary as screaming daddy?

Is an ipod/iphone as insanely addictive to an adult, as say... xbox/wii/PS is to a kid? Wait a minute. I already know the answer to that question. Maybe my question should be this... how do we stop it?

And for the record, we do not own a wii, xbox, or a playstation. I'm just sayin'.

And finally, why isn't there any chocolate in this house??

Disastrous. Must go shopping.

Ever flown with kids?

2009-10-06T11:10:00.004-04:00

Before I delve into my posted topic of choice, I just wanted to say that I missed you. I missed my blog, and my readers. And I have really missed writing. I can't say the frequency with which I may be posting again, but I can say that I am here, for now.

So, flying, yeah. Traveling is one thing, but flying with children is an entirely different thing. I'm not talking about hopping on a plane from Ft. Lauderdale to Tampa, as that hardly qualifies as actual flight time. But I'm talking good solid air time of 4 hours or more. Switching planes? Yeah, those are good times. More than two planes? Ah, the fun never ends!

How would you enjoy flying with 2 small children, without the help of a spouse, friend or anyone traveling with you. Doesn't sound too appealing? No? Aww... come on! It's not so bad.

First of all, you want to make sure that you travel with underwear in your purse. (that is, if you are a woman. Otherwise, carry them in a backpack, dad.) They will come in handy. And it matters not that your child is potty trained. You will still need them. Accidents happen, especially when you aren't prepared, or are traveling without underwear on your person for the little people.

You will need to have an arsenal of doo-dads to entertain the kids. Markers, writing pads, crayons, play-doh, stickers, gum, gummy bears, crackers, and thumb-tacks. Whatever keeps them happy, and focused on not screaming, or kicking the man or woman in the seat directly in front of theirs. (I was totally kidding about the thumb-tacks.) Really.

I also like to take along a goody bag of snacks for the plane. Most flights don't offer food, and kids inevitably want to eat. You can purchase a cheese tray on the plane for $4.00 (and they only take credit cards) but little Susy and Michael would surely fight over the one piece of cheese that comes on the said cheese tray. (weird.) But oh well. So I bring my own munchies. If the kids haven't eaten everything entirely in the time that they have been sitting and waiting to board the plane, once you get into the air, they will surely be begging for something.

And if you are thinking or wondering why I would allow them to eat their "plane snacks" before actually being on the plane, then maybe you haven't yet flown with children. Maybe I used them to entice the children off of the furniture that they were leaping off of. Perhaps I used the snacks to keep their mouths otherwise engaged instead of screaming about each and every plane that they saw. I also might have been trying to get through the first of 3 legs of flight and 22 hours until our final destination. So a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.

Oh yeah, and I also recommend that if you have a long flight, or even two or more flights, that your little plane snack goody bag, be big and fat. So that when your kids are behaving like maniacs before even setting foot onto the first plane, it won't really matter if they dig into the bag.

Oh and carry a big purse (or backpack) and make sure it's one you don't mind getting dirty. Now is not the time to bust out your Louis Vuitton, or your brand new Coach. When you jam it under the seat, you will feel bad after the kids start jumping on it, kicking it, or if you spill something on it. So go with something that you wouldn't mind if it took a beating. OK, so snacks and entertainment items are covered. Good. Don't forget the headphones. On longer flights, they do tend to play movies, and the kids can have fun listening to the music or watching the show. If you have a portable dvd player, all the better. Also make sure that your headphones are either childproof, or are ridiculously cheap, so that when your son takes them apart piece by piece, it won't really matter. It only cost you $2 bucks to begin with.

Once the plane is in the air, this is the time that your children will tell you that they both need to use the restroom. So as a rule of thumb, make them go before you board the plane. Now, having said that, and even after I made mine both go, they both still said that they needed to use the restroom. Fun times. Now on one of our last flights, I did have an incident with a flight attendant yelling in my face that I could not take both my children into the bathroom. I won't go into that here. In fact, I did earn a bottle of red wine out of that ordeal from first class, and apologies from the rest of the flight crew.

I have since trained my small kids, that they will be left alone, and not to be scared. They have to buck up, and deal. Whatever that means. But they get it. And they didn't get kidnapped on the plane and taken underneath like that one Jodie Foster movie. (weird) They were both OK. Since I didn't mention it before, anti-bacterial wipes come in handy at this point. Airplane bathrooms are gross, germ infested flying porta potties of doom. Use the wipes for everything and get out as quickly as possible. Sanitize your hands once you reach your seats with your germy stuff that you carry in your purse/backpack.

So, things are progressing smoothly, and you realize that you are only 40 minutes into your 2 hour and 10 minute flight. Lovely. But time does pass, and you ensure your son that you won't fall out of the sky. Because you are optimistic and do believe it's true.

You manage one leg. Arrive safely at the next airport. But not before praying and thanking God for your safe arrival. You must, and I repeat must look around you for ALL of your belongings. As you know, your children don't care about throwing things on the floor. They do it at home, so why should a plane be any different? It's not. check for the books, markers, earphones, your wallet, credit cards, and cell phone. While you were with one of the kids in the bathroom, it is a very good time to snoop through mom's purse (or dad's backpack). Because after all, all the cool stuff is in there. You might be surprised to find something under the seat that you never took out. Trust me on this.

After deboarding the plane with your little ones, and their little drag along suitcases and cutesy teddy bears attached, you will need to find your next flight. Find the bathrooms, and then agree on food. And you never want to stray too far from what your children normally eat, as this could affect their delicate digestive systems, and thus cause you to need those underwear I told you about earlier. I'm just sayin'.

Now, if you can make it through one flight, I'm sure you can get through the rest of them. It gets easier, I promise. I've done this now many times. And I think I'm becoming a pro. You suck it up. You go with it. Kids are not the best little travelers. They have accidents, they drag little bags, and they walk slower than everyone else. They get tired and cranky and they want to whine. They do whine. Other people look at you like you are the devil because your kids are kicking their seat. They shoot you nasty looks in the terminal too because your kids had just been sitting still for nearly 3 hours. But you let them act a little wild, because after all, they didn't throw up on anyone and they didn't scream their bloody heads off. They made it, and they didn't hurt themselves or anyone else. So you can count it a success.

By the time you make it to your 3rd flight, you feel like crap. You are eyeing down the bar with such a strong intense eye, that the bartender starts to pour you a double. And you aren't even inside the doorway, you are just out of reach. The people that give you dirty looks, now become frightened because the look on your face is actually way scarier than theirs. Your children are now climbing the zoo display in Miami international, and the security guard, who thought of approaching you, felt a little intimidated, and turned the other cheek.

You are able to clear a path to the bathroom quickly with a single growl. Children in towe, and swifter than you imagine possible, you are able to strip down a potty trained child, and redress in a moment. Like I said, accidents happen. You praise yourself for being prepared. You scoff, to yourself, how you liked those underwear, as you trash them. (sigh)

For all that you've been through, you still haven't had the most fun yet. Your two previous flights of the day were only a warm up for traveling overseas. Luckily, we weren't headed to Paris. Had we been, I think I would have definitely hit the bar.

Now comes the fun of an overnight flight. Sleeping on a plane with children is very uncomfortable. Long. And well, uncomfortable. That's the best I can say about it. They play a movie in flight. Though the kids won't remain awake for it, it's there if you want to watch. Of course you will need new headphones. If you remember correctly, your son (or daughter) had dismantled the last pair. Or maybe left them under the seat on the last plane. But still. If you can manage to sleep a little on this plane, you are golden. And if your children can sleep, all the better.

What you don't want to hear, as we did on our first flight over, is "code blue, code blue". If you are unfamiliar, a code blue is pretty universal for cardiac arrest. Flight attendants went running, they called for a physician, and I'm thinking, great, emergency landing. But alas, the physician had determined it was not in fact an actual code blue. Had it been one, I'm certain, we would have made that landing.

Anyway, by the time the sun rises, you are ready to ~~die~~ eat. And thankfully, two bonuses on this flight are dinner and breakfast. Though small enough not to qualify, you are thankful that there is anything at all to scarf down. Your kids may have had the best overnight flight to date, and may be louder than entirely necessary for anyone on board at that early of an hour, but again, you stopped caring about 9 and 1/2 hours ago. Not to mention, that as you boarded, the friendly pilot came on the loud speaker to announce that a slight volcanic eruption in SW Colombia has caused them to change your route due to the heavy ash in the air, and has thus added 40 minutes to your flight time. Lovely.

So children, loud? Perky? Happy? Thrilled to have jugo de naranja?? (orange juice) No biggie. And the only ones who really need to adjust, are the single people who have no children, and are annoyed. So at this point, you are again, thrilled to have made it this far. Thrilled to have been tossed a croissant. And grateful that you finally landed at your destination. After praying through the descent and landing, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

Can't wait to do it all again. Bring it baby, I'm getting good at this. Maybe next time I will have the wine on board.

When Mommy Bloggers meet.

2009-07-15T01:16:00.003-04:00

Just recently, I had the good fortune to score a meet up with one super talented writer and mommy blogger. I was actually a little bit nervous. Ya know? Like here I am, with my drug induced blog, maybe she wouldn't like me. Or maybe she would have one of those phone calls that people get in the middle of a blind date to save them from some horrible fate of spending countless minutes alone with a boring person. She'd get that phone call and then dash off, leaving me alone with my bottle of wine and Valium. Or maybe she was scared that I might try to offer her some Valium as well. Maybe she was hoping I had some? I don't know. Many thoughts ran through my mind.

Of course when we initially talked, we had made plans to go out without our children. Upon her suggesting that, I was immediately in love with her. For, who knows, only than other mothers what it is like to try and go out WITH your children and have a coherent conversation with anybody? It's just about impossible.

So the night came, and McMommy rolls up to my hotel. The valet swings open the door and the most beautiful girl behind the wheel of the car offers me a huge smile. I jump in the car and we hug as if we've been friends our entire life. We start talking. And honestly, I don't think we ever stopped.

If you read her blog, then you too know how awesome she is. I don't have to tell you that. There is a reason that you keep going back. Well, having met her, I can tell you that she is even more awesome in person. The likability factor just goes up. Is that a word? Well if it isn't, then it is now. And I don't even care.

She's sweet, thoughtful and extremely considerate. The fact that she likes red wine and cheesecake has absolutely nothing to do with it. Nor the fact that I drank most of the wine. I had to. It was in both of our best interests.

So we went to McMommy and McDaddy's favorite little restaurant. I couldn't have been happier that it was nearly storming out. We were going to go elsewhere, but we decided on this little love shack. I say that, because the atmosphere is romantic, cozy, and all that you would imagine of the perfect little Italian getaway.

There was a bottle of wine. There was some complimentary wine. There was a cute young waiter from Brazil. (Was it Brazil?)I mentioned something about my birthday, and then a bit later, the lights dimmed. (I could barely see McMommy) and then our table was surrounded. By men. (Why weren't there any girl waiters/waitresses?) Just curious. But only men surrounded us, and they sang. Happy Birthday! To me! I couldn't even believe it. It's not like I went out of my way to tell everyone. And it really wasn't my birthday. Actually, it had passed roughly two weeks ago. Or so. But who's counting?

I did bring my video camera, and was able to capture some of our evening. I chopped it up, so please forgive my editing skills. There was a lot more, but I do want you to come back and read my blog. If you see me acting like a total goof, then you might really think I am hitting the Valium.

And yeah, I also realize there is a piece of hair in my face. It's bothering me too when I watch the video back. I also meant to say that "I have 4 children in my care and custody" not "4 children in my possession" as I know that you don't "own" children. It's the Cabernet talking. (Really really good Cabernet.)

So, without further ado...

working on my post folks

2009-07-12T19:44:00.003-04:00

I know, I know. The big dog.... A.K.A. "McMommy" from The McMommy Chronicles writes a post that included some things about me and now my little blip of a blog is being checked out. I see you guys!!

Honest, I will work on posting my videos with McMommy soon. But I just wanted to say that my laptop hard drive has crashed. Actually it crashed when I was still in Chile, so we had to wait until we got here to get it fixed.

I also just arrived in Tucson this afternoon. I'm a bit jet lagged and I need some rest. So I wanted to write something so you guys knew that I was still alive. And I didn't forget.

And I don't take it lightly that I just had a hot date with a far beyond outstanding member of the blogging community.

More details to come.

Where have I been?

2009-06-24T10:31:00.005-04:00

That is the question.

Here are the top 10 things that have kept me from blogging.

10. The temperature. I'm cold. It's cold here. It's cold inside my apartment, we have a tiny heater. And my fingers are way too cold to type anything resembling sentences. Here is evidence. We took the kids out the other day. And yes, I realize it's June. But still, Brrr......

9. I'm teaching my cat some new tricks. Like how to stay off the kitchen table, how to hide from a preschooler and a toddler and how not to sleep at the foot of the toddlers bed. It's slow going.

8. I've been reading. Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins. Excellent book by the way.

7. I've also been listening to CDs. Not just music, but "Get the Edge" CDs by Anthony Robbins. Highly recommend. If you have never heard Anthony Robbins speak or read anything by him, I suggest you go immediately to the store and buy something. Go now. I can't wait for you. Just do it. You won't be sorry.

6. I have not been drinking cokes, or eating crappy foods. Well, except for my birthday (June 16) I did have some food that would fall into the crappy category. It was good though.

5. I've been visualizing the beach. We are getting ready to return to the United States. First up, Florida.

4. I have been coloring, painting, cutting, pasting, reading, running, and practicing writing letters with my kids.

3. I have been on Twitter.

2. I have been working on my cardiovascular health.

And the number one reason I have been unable to create a blog post:

1. Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. She has shredded my muscles down to the very bone. I could not lift my fingers to even type the word hello. I invite you to get the shred dvd and hop to it. This chic is hard core. And I am totally not lying to you when I admit that the second day, after trying her workout, I could not walk. I could not sit. And yes, I whinced, in pain for most of the day.

But now that I am 17 days into it, I LOVE her. Anyway. I just wanted to let you know where I was. And also one more teeny tiny thing. I need a break. I've been blogging for quite some time. And right now, I just need to take a little blog vacation. So I thought I'd let you all know that too.

I'm sure you guys may have been there before. Ever? Anyone? Bueller? Well, that's where I'm at. Please feel free to follow me on Twitter. I have an account there, and I check in often. I have a link there on my sidebar to the right. Feel free to give me a shout hello. :) :)

Hope to see you all again soon. Ciao~~~

WW, Confession and a shelf.

2009-06-17T09:39:00.004-04:00

So, yesterday was my birthday. And I 'claimed' that I would not eat cake. I need to confess. Though I told my husband not to buy me a birthday cake, I did allow him to buy me a slice of cake. This came from the bakery down the road, it's ONE slice of black forest cake. And though it was still cake, it wasn't a WHOLE cake, which would equate to me eating a piece of it every single day until it was gone. This one is already gone, and was enjoyed very much!

And I may or may not have posted this picture here before, but I know I've talked about IKEA stores and their stuff. Well, about 31 days ago, we received some items that I ordered from them. And as I was putting together the shelf, I noticed that the very last piece was broken. I called them up, and thankfully they have an excellent customer service department. They immediately sent out the broken piece. It did take a while, as we are in another country, and the address I had it sent to was kind of a "back door" way for us to get things here.

Here is the finished product. I received the piece and was able to finish it up in about 5 minutes from the point where it was in the above picture. The kids absolutely LOVE it! And so do I! Way to go IKEA for having such good service and awesome products!

For more WW posts please visit 5 Minutes for Mom, Seven Clown Circus, and the Mostly Wordless Wednesday H.Q.

Happy Birthday to Me.

2009-06-16T00:01:00.003-04:00

Today is June 16, it's my birthday. And I am thirty-hmphshh *cough* years old today. I will not be eating cake. I told my husband not to buy me one. So I'm posting a picture so I can enjoy it. Besides, the cakes that I could buy and eat here, are not that good. Trust me, I've tried.

We don't have any special plans for the day. And I'm actually going to wait until I return to the US to buy myself something nice. Yes, I buy my own gifts. My dh actually did get me something too. He gave it to me already. It is a 100 pesos coin mounted in a setting, to wear on a chain. I have been asking for that for a while. So kudos to him for buying it for me! Yay!

OK, I've got nothing else. So if you would please, join in with me while I sing to myself:

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday dear Leslie, Happy Birthday to me~~~~~~

New Day.

2009-06-15T10:13:00.004-04:00

I've got nothing exciting to share. I'm down 4.5 lbs since I started working out on June 7. I guess that's pretty good. Considering it has only been 8 days. I keep expecting the numbers to be bigger. I think I've watched too many episodes of Biggest Loser. I don't think I'm going to drop weight like that. Not to mention, they are in the crazy camp of losing weight. And they do the treadmill while they sleep.

The kids are getting excited. Why, you ask? Well I don't think I've officially announced it yet. But we are heading back to the states! I couldn't be happier.

It's technically summer time for the US, and that means that Devon and Alyssa are out of school. So we want to get back there to visit them. Amazingly enough, my husband was able to swing the time off from work. He is only going to be staying for 2 weeks. We are all flying to Miami in July.

I can't even tell you how much I miss Florida. We haven't been back there since when I was still pregnant with Eddie in early 2005. We are staying at The Westin, right on the beach. And I am even more thrilled that we waited to make our hotel reservations. The price has dropped! So that's a bonus.

We are even able to rent a mini-van now to cart around all of these kids. 4 kids, plus 2 car seats won't fit too well into a small economy car. So with the price drop, it allows us to get the bigger car. I'm really looking forward to this trip.

We are staying for 4 days to visit with my husband's family there in S. Florida, and then we will be flying on to Tucson.

So, since I'm heading to the beach, I will be pushing hard with my workouts. Also, I just wanted to let you know, that I will not be eating cake tomorrow. (it's my birthday) I have been very good with my food choices lately, and for that I am really proud. OK, so though I will not be eating cake. I'll probably be thinking about it a lot. I love BIRTHDAY CAKE. Like, in a big way.

Oh and since I am thinking about it, today is June 15. One year ago today, we first arrived here in Santiago. Wow! It's been a year already. I can't believe it. Also, technically we now have less than one year left to go until we can move back to the US. DH says that we can leave out of here on June 1. Trust me, I'm counting down.

If you care to take a trip down memory lane with me, here is my first post from Chile.
We've Arrived!

Eviction Notice.

2009-06-12T00:01:00.000-04:00

(5 lb representation)

Dear Fat,

I am writing this letter to inform you that you are no longer welcome here in and on my body. Your soft and fluffy nature is no longer comforting. Instead, your presence is more of an annoyance. I cannot fit into most of my jeans without discomfort. I am unable to wear those cute clothes that I bought before I became pregnant.

You made me think that you cared about me. First it was just one extra pound of you. And then you invited a friend. They in turn asked their entire family to come. And what's more, they have no intentions of leaving, ever. You crowd around my legs and midsection and mock me every single day as I try to figure out what to wear.

It does not soothe me to know that you have made me into one giant pillow for my children to lay on, moosh, or play with as a toy. It is not amusing. My patience has gone. I tried to be nice. I thought if I cut down on eating so many cookies, you would get the hint and just leave.

It is obvious that you, your friends and their family have decided to stay for the long haul. Well I want you to know that I am not OK with that. You see, it's going to cost me a lot of money to replace my entire wardrobe. And frankly, I'm just not in the mood.

I have nice clothes. And I have made a decision. I will be wearing them again. I just wanted you to know, it's time. I also want you to know what's coming. You see, I feel stronger now. I know I can take you on. You don't scare me anymore. Nor does a little hard work. I am going to defeat you. When I say these things to you, I want you to know that I am very serious.

Cardio. Exercise. Jillian Michael's. 30 Day Shred. Be very afraid. I know cardio is your ultimate enemy. I don't feel sorry for you. You have overstayed your welcome.

Please take this letter as formal notification of your eviction. You must vacate the body within 30 days. There will be no negotiations. I'm done with you. Please say your goodbyes. Pack your things. It's time you go.

Wordful Wednesday, time flies.

2009-06-10T08:48:00.005-04:00

I'm not sure if I remember the year this picture was taken, so I am going to guess 2000 or 2001. It's a photo not of Alexa, but my step-daughter Alyssa. I know. I know their names are similar. And for the record I had the name Alex picked out for my daughter back in the late 80's.(For those of you who don't know me well, and wonder about it.)

She was so little. I met her in 1999, at just 13 months old. And she had only 4 teeth.

I do know that these pictures were taken at my mother's house in Tampa. This one was dated 2001. Here is Devon too. I met him just 2 weeks after his 6th birthday. Seems crazy to me.

This one was taken at Seaside (I think it was called) down in Miami.

All I want to say is that time flies. This next picture was taken December 31, 2008 at my mom's house in Tucson, AZ.

Alyssa is now going to be starting the 5th grade. She turns 11 at the end of the year. Devon likes to ride dirt bikes, motor bikes, is quite enamored with the young ladies and loves talking on his cell phone. He turns 16 (*gasp*gasp*cough*choke*) at the end of this year. Wow.

For more WW posts please stop by 5 Minutes for Mom, Seven Clown Circus, & Mostly Wordless Wednesdays HQ.

My new best friend, and the bachelorette.

2009-06-09T15:19:00.004-04:00

OK, so take a look at this woman. How amazing does she look?

Yeah. Well, if you don't know who this is, her name is Jillian Michaels. And she is one of the coaches on tv's hit show, The Biggest Loser. It's a pretty cool show. I've seen it. But not religiously since we are out of the country. But I have watched it in the past. This chic is one hard core coach. She has a DVD out called the 30 Day Shred. I just started it.

All I want to say is, OMG will someone please help to get me up off of the floor! She ain't lying. If you can keep your butt in gear and do this amazing yet short workout, you WILL see results! I am so sore. But I am doing it. Loving her. I highly recommend this DVD if you are thinking about working out, or are too lazy to get to the gym. (that was my excuse)

Jillian is cool. Not to be confused with another Jillian from the tv show The Bachelorette. Yes, I'm watching this one. Look at how cute she is. And petite! You could put her in your pocket! I don't know how I got sucked in, or why, as I haven't watched the bachelor version of the show in a while. But there is something likable about her, and I just want to see her end up with one of the good guys from the show.

My favorites so far are Kiptyn, Jake, and Edward. I think the foot fetish guy is a bit weird for my taste (I think it's Tanner). Also the guitar guy Wes, I think that they should both leave next. I'm not into either one of them. Though I'm glad to see Dave leave last night. He deserved it. What was his deal?

For you Chic Fil A lovers.....

2009-06-07T11:13:00.002-04:00

OK, so I totally stole this video. My lovely friend Casey over at The Ever Changing Life of a Military Wife had posted this video today. And well, if you are in the mall or live near a Chic Fil A today, oh well. Sorry you can't have any. (It's Sunday) But on Monday, feel free to grab a sandwich and some waffle fries. At least you have the option to. I can't.

I love them, and I too can't wait to get back to the states to have some of their yummy goodness. Nom Nom.

After this weekend, I will never do____ again.

2009-06-06T19:51:00.006-04:00

Last night we were invited over to a co-worker of my husband's home for dinner. That all sounds innocent enough. Well, it was. The couple was absolutely lovely, their kids were respectful and polite. One of them, even knew very good English. So we had nice conversation, good food, err.. sort of. Our wonderful hostess made Paella. For those of you who do not know what this dish is, here is a picture.

It mainly consists of seafood ingredients. Clams, mussels, shrimp, sausage, and rice. It can vary a little, but those are almost always present. Sometimes more seafood can be thrown in as well. I used to like Paella. But after this weekend, I swear I will never EVER eat mussels, or clams again.

Here is how I spent a large portion of my night last night.

Today, I am feeling better. And this actually happened to me 8 months ago. Shortly after eating mussels. But never again. I can not, will not even take a remote chance, ever again.

I weighed myself yesterday, because I am starting Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. Well, from yesterday to today, I lost 3 lbs from this episode. And I have some broken blood vessels around my eyes. So yeah, it was a really rough ending to my night. I am forever scarred. I will never look at shell fish the same way again. Period.

Will they ever stop making messes?

2009-06-05T11:33:00.006-04:00

I just want to know. It seems to me that my kids make messes every day. Some of them are bigger than others. And if you read yesterday's post, some are certainly more costly.

Today is no different. I only left them alone to take the clothes out back. Yes, here in Chile, we hang our clothes out on a rack outside. So anyway, I came back inside to hear laughter and squealing. I walk in to see this:

Both of the kids had chocolate milk drenched shirts and socks. You might not be able to see it clearly in the pictures, but the substance on the floor and walls, is actually the milk. Of course I took pictures. What kind of ~~mommy~~ blogger would I be if I didn't at least do that?

And on an unrelated note, here is a video of some fellow bloggers, put together by Toni at A Daily Dose of Toni. Yours truly is also featured in this montage, and besides, I absolutely love this song. I think I always will. She wanted to put together a "faces behind the blog" type thing. I like the idea. So here is the video. Please take note of the web addresses, because the links in the video are not functional. Just a heads up there. :) Enjoy~

Blog Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Linkathon from Toni Patton on Vimeo.

New Challenges.

2009-06-04T09:15:00.004-04:00

Often times things in life do not go as we had planned. It is up to us how we perceive the obstacles in our paths. We can give them a much larger meaning, by getting very upset, and letting it take over a large portion of our time. We can spend a great deal of energy worrying over the event. Or we can choose to just accept the things that happen in stride and let it go.

No matter what you do, you cannot prevent those things from happening. The only thing that is within your grasp, is how you choose to handle it. And remember that the little people are watching you. They look to us, to see how they should react when things go bad. So if I yell and scream and lose my temper. There is a good chance that they too will do the same.

Here is our latest challenge. The wallpaper in our (rented) apartment keeps mysteriously disappearing. {When taking this photo, Alexa says to me "Mommy, it looks like a penguin!" and well yeah, I can kind of see that!}

Here is a spot in the living room.

And this is in the dining room.

Here is the culprit.

For more A Thousand Word Thursday posts, please head over to see Jen at Cheaper Than Therapy.

Wordful Wednesday and a tag.

2009-06-03T09:52:00.004-04:00

So last week was it? I posted my very first Wordless Wednesday post. And well, I came across this other blog, that does "Wordful Wednesday" posts. I loved that idea! How nifty is she? Her name is Angie, and her blog is Seven Clown Circus. Please stop by and take a peek.

Also, I was tagged by my dear friend Stephanie at Serenity Now! to participate in this meme. I was told to go to my 6th folder and pick out the 6th picture in it. Pretty random right? Well here it is, Mr. Cutie himself. Baby Eddie. I don't remember his exact age here, but I'm thinking 5 months?

My "baby Eddie" as I used to refer to him, is now 4 years old. He was DIFFICULT to potty train. He is a Star Wars lovin', rambunctious, bird portion eating, fireball. He runs at HIGH speed nearly all day long. He has a big heart, and he gives lots of hugs. This morning he told me that he wants to be a gun-fighter and a fireman when he grows up. I'm so proud of him. He's thinking of the future. lol~

OK, now I'm supposed to tag some people to play along. Don't feel like you have to, it's ok if you don't. And if I don't tag you and you would like to play along, feel free to tag yourself and come back here and let me know. I would love to take a look!

Patrice
Alicia

OK, sorry. I have to go make pancakes now. Baby Eddie is bringing me the pots. Have to run. Have a great day~

Here are the rules:
1) Go to your photo files
2) Pick the sixth folder (open)
3) Pick the 6th photo
4) Write a story about the photo
5) Tag six people (don’t forget to tell them that they have been tagged!)

Recap. MTV Movie Awards.

2009-06-01T00:11:00.005-04:00

As a heads up to my fellow Twilight fans and friends, the New Moon trailer is out and you can watch it over and over and over again. Until November 20, that is. (or is that just me?) I did not watch it 10 times already.
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON trailer in HD

I would just like to say that Andy Sambert was a great host, I think he did a excellent job. I love him on Saturday Night Live too.

If you didn't watch the show, it's worth catching it again, MTV always plays it over and over if you missed it!

Twilight really mopped the floors with the awards. They won quite a few. I love them, and all things Twilight, so you won't hear any complaining from me. Speaking of Twilight, can anyone tell me what is up with K-stew? Anyone?

Let's start with, what was she wearing? And why can't she smile just a little bit more? It's not as if her job is actually difficult. She gets to work with Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Come on. Really? If I got to kiss them and get paid for it, I don't think you'd be able to wipe the smile off of my face. Ever. Get out of town people, please!

Oh yeah, and here she is accepting her award for best female something or other. I actually think she didn't hold a candle to those that she was up against. (Angelina Jolie and Kate Winslet) In my opinion, she is just not even in the same class. The funny part about this clip is that she drops her award. Kind of makes you speculate as to if she may be on something. Maybe?? What do you think?

And then I had to roll out laughing at the WTF award. And I think it's perfect that Amy Poehler won it. She's freaking funny as ever. For those of you, and my mom who might not know what WTF means, it's "What the F#@!" OK? Got it?

You see, the thing about this award show, that I really enjoy is that it makes you laugh. You can't help it. And I was trying not to laugh so hard that I woke up my kids. It was really pretty funny.

I don't know what the plan was for that Bruno guy(Sasha Baron Cohen). But it ended up where he was naked butt up in Eminem's face! OMG OMG, can Slim Shady actually go to an awards show where he is not involved in some drama? Can he? That was awesome, and so wrong, all at the same time. Eminem steamed out of there. What a riot.

And one finaly funny, Jim Carey had a voice over of himself, and what he is thinking. It had me crying when he said he wished someone would overturn Prop #8 as he was talking about the good looking kid from Twilight (Rob Pattinson). OMG, classic.

OK, it's late. And sooner than I know it, my kids will be up and jumping on me, begging for pancakes. Or strawberry cookies. That's all I can think of. But like I said, worth a watch.

Totally Random.

2009-05-29T15:23:00.005-04:00

First of all, I'd really like to thank those of you who stopped by my blog yesterday and read my post. The comments you left me were very sweet, and I can't tell you how much they all meant to me. To know that there are so many kind and caring people out there, it just brings a smile to my face. No matter what is going on in our lives, there is always a reason to smile. Thank you guys for that!

Now on to my totally random post today. I just got finished eating a bag of m&m's. Well actually I made myself put them away, as it was a pretty large bag. And I felt like I could probably eat the whole thing. So I made myself do it. There was a small argument. But I won. The smart and sensible me, won. :) But man alive, were them suckers ever good.

Just a little while ago, as I was trying to watch Justin Timberlake on SNL, I hopped onto a link and then I get this message. I was totally and seriously bummed. I get this "error" message a lot when trying to view video links. I can view quite a few, but there are some I can't see. Hulu is one of the sites. Huge bummer.

And for the record, if you haven't seen Justin Timberlake on SNL, you should. He is absolutely one of the best guest hosts I've ever seen. (in my opinion). He is hysterical.

Today is the first day that I'm all bundled up inside my own home. I am wearing a hot pink v-neck fleece pull over from Old Navy. And black Fila sweat pants. (also fuzzy socks from JC Penney, but who cares right). Anyway, I just checked the temps right this minute, and it is at 57 degrees. In the "supposed" warmest part of the day.

If I hadn't mentioned it before, I am a HUGE baby, a wimp if you will, in regards to temperature shifts. I'm talking cold weather here. I do not, nor have I ever lived in a climate where white frozen crystals fall from the heavens above. Just has never happened. I didn't own a coat until recently. I'm a Florida girl through and through. So yeah, I'm bundled. The miniature heater is on. And I'm getting ready to break out my parka.

OK, next item on my random list: I let my son sleep with a shovel. It's true. He won't sleep without it. And he asks for it every night. Sometimes during the day I have to take it away from him. He gets a little carried away and will on occasion, hit his sister with it. But every night, like clock work, he asks for that shovel.

How do you guys feel about ipods? Do you have one? Do your children? And if they are begging you to buy them one, at what age do you think it's appropriate to buy it for them? Well. My kids have one. Each. And they LOVE them. Alexa sleeps with hers.

OK, yeah yeah. I know. It's not really an ipod. But my daughter, who is 2 actually started that. My dad has an ipod and he used to let her listen to it. When I bought these for Christmas, she just instantly started calling it her very own ipod. It was cute, it stuck and it didn't cost anywhere near the price. Also, it came pre-programmed with kids music and has an automatic shut off. So it doesn't matter if they sleep with it on, it turns itself right back off. I love it. One of my better finds.

And now I hear little people waking up from their naps. Time for mommy to get off the computer~~

A Thousand Words.

2009-05-28T08:54:00.005-04:00

I've debated with myself whether or not to share this with anyone. And well, I'm just at a loss now as I need my blog to help me vent. In this country where I feel alone and very isolated, I need to be able to express myself. And quite frankly, the party involved doesn't seem to care one iota, and hasn't spoken to me since February 8.

Yes, that's right everyone. I have family issues. And it would be great if there were some reasonable and logical explanation for things. Like say, my husband shot my brother in the parking lot of the liquor store over a fight between which team was better. Or maybe I called my husband's wife a two-bit hooker. But none of those things have happened. My brother is not married, and neither one of them would be in a parking lot of a liquor store fighting about any team since they aren't huge sports fans.

Here is where it all started. January 25 was my sister's birthday. (I'll try to keep this short) I invited my sister to the movies (and her daughter). I didn't immediately invite my brother. He witnessed my conversation, as we were outside watching my children ride their bikes. I called my mom from my cell phone and invited her. She declined. And when I stopped there, he made some comments to me about not being invited. I then quickly extended the invitation. By then, it was too late. He was offended. I had wronged him. He didn't speak to me until February 8th.

It was my niece's birthday, and they came over to the house. (My mom's house) They came over to get birthday presents and to have some cake that my mother had made for her. My brother was there too, and he was in another room. He knew that they had arrived. We went to the kitchen and started to get things together to sing happy birthday to my niece. So once we started, he came in late. But he still came. Afterwards as we were getting ready to cut the cake, he started in on my sister. He said something very closely to this, "How come nobody came to get me? Are you guys going to start treating me like Leslie is now?" And honestly, at this point, I snapped.

Really? Like Leslie? Mind you, he has been the one ignoring me since Jan 25 because I didn't extend my offer to attend a chic flick movie to him quickly enough. I hurt his feelings and he chose not to speak to me. During the beginning of the time he chose not to speak to me, I tried, but my words fell on deaf ears. So I just stopped trying. He was mad.

I then directed my comments to him, we exchanged some pretty heated words. For he felt that he was right in his anger and his position. I felt that he was absolutely losing it. For who acts this way? We argued. And he told me that my presence (as a guest in my mother's home) was not wanted and I should leave. I quickly reminded him that at least I contribute to the household. I then went in for an abrupt and piercing comment. I called him a mooch. (by definition: –verb 1.
to borrow (a small item or amount) without intending to return or repay it. 2.to get or take without paying or at another's expense) And by that, I meant that he was mooching from my parents. Living and eating rent free.

And that's where things fell apart. For that hurt him pretty badly. He stopped talking and he left the room. A few minutes later, he met me in the hallway and he handed me the key to my truck. As he always kept my spare. He told me, from this moment on, "You can consider that you no longer have a brother."

Harsh, considering what brought this all about. Extremely harsh. He told me that I was hurtful and mean. He considers not one single ounce how he can be hurtful, or even how ridiculous this whole argument truly was. Over what, a late invitation to a movie?

Yes. Well there is more that has happened since then. And some hugely spiteful acts recently on his part. Before I left the country, I sent him an email telling him that I am sorry. But alas, that was still not good enough.

I'm certain that when my family reads this, it will send him into a tailspin. But this is my blog, and since I need to get this off my chest. That's exactly what I am doing. Thank you for reading.

For more A Thousand Words Thursday posts, please hop over to Jen's blog at Cheaper Than Therapy.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T09:28:00.004-04:00

Today is Memorial Day. And I am grateful to all of our service men and women. I am grateful to have the freedoms that they fought so hard to give to each and every one of us. I appreciate the sacrifices they have made, and also those of their families. My heart and my prayers are with those who are now in harms way. May God keep you safe until you return home once again. You are not forgotten. I thank you!

Now I have to talk about something really serious. While I was on Twitter this weekend, I came across a link where someone was talking about some devastating news. I hopped over to take a look. And it was just heartbreaking.

A fellow blogger and mommy, just got some earth shattering news that her two year old son has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. I can't even imagine. I don't know what to say. I don't know this woman or her family, but I certainly have compassion for them, and I don't know what I as one person can do to help her out. But I am going to try. She and her husband are living paycheck to paycheck and they also share one car. While they are making ends meet on a daily basis, it seems that they need some assistance to help them out while their son gets his lifesaving chemotherapy treatments. I have donated some money to them, as she has a paypal button posted on her blog on the right sidebar. Please, I urge you to consider donating something to this family. Even if it is only $5 dollars. I know that we all throw greater amounts of money down the drain each week on frivelous items. I couldn't imagine being in her shoes, and I pray that I never am. But if you could just give a little, I'm sure it would make a huge difference.

If you are unable to give anything to this family, please stop by and give her some love and encouragement. If you are the praying type, she and her family can use all the extra prayers they can get right now. You can find her at Manic Mother.

Now I'm going to go and hug and kiss my babies.

Gi-normous blogroll

2009-05-23T21:16:00.006-04:00

I am participating in a blog link-a-thon! Me and about 300 other bloggers out there did too. We listed our blogs over at momdot.com .If you care to check out some new blogs, please feel free to take a peek at this list and see who's out there. It's fun way to "meet" new people and find other great blogs!

1. http://www.notalwayscharming.com/

2. Fairy Blog Mother

3. Crazy Adventures in Parenting

4. Engineer a Debt Free Life

5. Sweet ‘n’ Sassy Girls

6. Good Golly Miss Blondie

7. SavvySuzie

8. For The Love of Baby!

9. http://lovemy2dogs.blogspot.com/

10. Blessings Abound

11. Coupons, Deals and More

12. Hairstyles For Girls

13. http://www.thedivinemissmommy.com/

14. A latte in the morning

15. KiddiesCorner Deals

16. 3 Kids and Us Mom Blog

17. The Ohana Mama

18. Coupon Queens of Laurel Run

19. Today’s Journey

20. http://confessionsofahousewife.com/

21. My Charmed Life

22. http://www.doublebugs.com/

23. http://3boys1girlandadog.blogspot.com/

24. New Sue Review

25. Suzanne Calling

26. Just For Me…and You

27. Time Slides By

28. Babes and Kids

29. Declutter a Little Each Day

30. Grocery Savings for Real Families

31. Life Starring Ellie and Eve

32. So Cute Crafts

33. Brea’s Mommy

34. Are Muffins Just Ugly Cupcakes

35. It’s A Beauty Filled Life

36. The crazy suburban mom

37. Donna’s World

38. Momma’s Gone Over the Wall

39. Mommy’s Quiet Time

40. Joyce (Saving My Cents)

41. My Trendy Tykes

42. The Not-So-Blog

43. Confessions From HouseholdSix

44. SiPPyCuPSand FiNGerPriNTS

45. http://www.couponmommie.com/

46. http://www.crackersandchaos.blogspot.com/

47. Giftfully Simple

48. Just For Fun

49. Digital Mommy

50. Me And Craig

51. Parenting Princesses

52. http://mylastshredsofsanity.blogspot.com/

53. Inside My Head

54. Petit

55. My Love Lucy

56. FreckleBox personalized gift

57. Baby Lulu Dress

58. Blog 4 Mom

59. 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

60. Jolly Mom

61. My Life My Journey

62. Maman And Gourmand

63. http://jessmalexander.blogspot.com/

64. The POSHpreneur

65. A Blog of Goodies

66. Christy aka The Write Gal

67. LookWhatMomFound

68. Peanut Butter & Smelly’s Dad

69. Lucy

70. Angry Julie Monday

71. The Mogul Mom Blog

72. Angela

73. Deal-ectible Mommies

74. Christy’s Creations

75. Lisa

76. http://www.booksnboys.blogspot.com/

77. Wannabe Supermom

78. Thre Craft Momma

79. Internet Toddler

80. http://lifeisasandcastle.blogspot/

81. Kristen of La Dolce Vita

82. Cranberry Fries

83. http://www.mud-bug.com/

84. The Mom Buzz

85. http://nightowlmama.blogspot.com/

86. Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls

87. Mommy Cracked

88. EclecticBird

89. Mama Mentor

90. Moomettesgram’s Musings

91. Moomette’s Magnificents Reviews

92. Moomettesgram’s Favorite Recipes

93. Diaries of a Domestic Goddess

94. Go Graham Go!

95. NerdFamily Things

96. NerdFamily Blog

97. Making Money Keeping Money

98. NerdFamily Food

99. Flying Giggles & Lollipops

100. http://themorrisbunchblog.com/

101. http://www.simplybeingmommy.com/

102. A Kindred Spirit’s Thoughts

103. Two Of A Kind, Working On A Full House

104. D-Lo’s Lounge

105. Free Sample Freak

106. What Mommies Need

107. Mom of 2 Boys, Wife of 1

108. icefairy’s Treasure Chest

109. Cheaper Than Therapy

110. Therapeutic Reviews & Giveaways

111. Lily Bean Designs

112. Dirty Diaper Laundry

113. Dance Momma

114. JamericanSpice

115. Mombalance

116. A Pocket Full Of Buttons

117. Ordinary and Awesome

118. Reviews and Giveaways

119. Subjective Beauty

120. Tales From A Shopaholic Mommy

121. Mommiemayhem

122. IE Mommy

123. http://blasianbabynotes.blogspot.com/

124. Amber Woodward

125. Grammy Janet’s Place

126. Outnumbered 3 to 1

127. ShimmerMeBlue

128. Dev’s Favorite Giveaways

129. Joyful Money Saving

130. 1stopmom

131. A Modern Mama

132. PourSomeSugarOnMe

133. Fancast

134. Lollipop Baby

135. Lola & Ben

136. idoby2celebrants

137. Sue Jackson

138. Cackleberry Kids

139. Gifts By The Stars

140. Jemma

141. Handmade Kids

142. Ollie Rose

143. Babasfarmlife

144. Banquet Manager

145. Monkey’s Momma

146. This Mom Can Shop

147. EcoLabel Fundraising

148. Divine Chaos

149. baby kakes ink alphabet onesie

150. tee from recycle me

151. http://lizzie-q-homemaker.blogspot.com/

152. marla mandell bread (5/17)

153. ozone socks 5/15

154. Belly Bumps to Baby Hugs

155. Hip T

156. ThenComes Baby

157. Homemade Gourmet

158. Fresh Pure and Simple

159. MomDot Mom Blogs

160. MomDot Mom Reviews

161. Bloggers Give Charity

162. Organic Baby Resource

163. Potamus Prefers

164. The Army Wife

165. Through Hazel Eyes

166. Frugal Rhode Island Mama

167. Just Jingle

168. And Twins make 5!

169. Frugal Plus

170. Christie

171. What Happened To My House?

172. Miracles on Mama Street

173. Heck Of A Bunch

174. Blog Designs by Susan

175. mommy23monkeys

176. Hanna

177. Got Kids Need Valium

178. Womb At The INNSANE

179. Katie & Kimble Blog

180. http://adventuresofastayathomemom.com/

181. The Frugalicious Mommy

182. Penny Pinching Diva

183. Another day. Another thought or two

184. Beauty4Moms

185. http://www.evilflu.com/

186. Little Miss Julia

187. Mrs Zeee

188. Cheryl

189. Frazzle Dazzle SuperMom

190. Florida Mealtime Savers

191. Inspiration Station

192. Mommy’s Kitchen

193. Saving with MamaNordy

194. Saving SAHM Sanity

195. A Little Piece Of Perfect

196. Nodin’s Nest

197. Lil Miss Eco

198. Laryn Strickland

199. HeatherMama

200. The Gerber Babies Blog

201. WhateverSuccess

202. Women Who Win

203. http://theburbblog.com/

204. Happy Healthy Families

205. Sweeps4Bloggers

206. dramaqueensmum

207. The Mom Trap

208. Multitasking Mama

209. Mama Michies Musings

210. Little People Wealth

211. Belly Beyond

212. Kim Kihega

213. Mom Fuse

214. Juanita

215. Adopt a Do

216. On the Refriderator Door

217. Christine

218. Little Diva

219. My Household Junk

220. I’m Here….Really

221. http://greer5intexas.blogspot.com/

222. mary

223. http://www.nicolesnickels.net/

224. Lori Newman

225. http://kris-jay-caity-izzie.blogspot.com/

226. Debb

227. Shawn Ann’s World

228. Peke Moe -NZ made baby sleep sacks

229. A Simple Kinda LIfe

230. Sweet Serendipity

231. Bouncing Off The Walls

232. Jane Loedding

233. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

234. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

235. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

236. Musings from Me

237. Veronnica

238. The Adventures of Miss V

239. Mudd Kids

240. Mom Most Traveled family travel

241. Relishing the Dirt

242. Good, True and Beautiful

243. http://frugallivingandhavingfun.blogspot.com/

244. The Last Blog on Earth

245. A Wrestling Addicted Mommy

246. Rae

247. http://www.thesidelinesoflife.blogspot.com/

248. Dore’s Diaries

249. Blog by Donna

250. Lisette

251. Pillaging With Buffie

252. Mom of Faith

253. GODSOWN

254. flutterbyechronicles

255. shelley

256. Life In A House Of Blue

257. kristen

258. Alex the Fey Thriller Series

259. MamaCheaps!

260. Donalacasa

261. A Jewish Journey

262. http://learningtogetherhandinhand.blogspot.com/

263. BethinNC

264. Stuttering Shell

265. Don’t Blink

266. Life is Sweet

267. Lisa

268. http://www.sahmsue.com/

269. m.e (cathie)

270. Run DMT

271. Princess Ratbag

272. Michelle G

273. http://www.nathansfight.com/

274. Moody Mama Says

275. Laurie Ann

276. Cooking During Stolen Moments

277. A Simple Walk

278. Vanessa

279. middleagedmom

280. Ramblings Of A Wannabe Writer

281. Oh My Baby

282. Fordcast Sunny

283. Lisa Miller

284. http://www.thedivinemissmommy.com/

285. Bibs & Cribs {very cute stuff}

286. My Lil’ Budget Book

287. Misadventures in Baby Raising

288. My Mommy Said

289. Milk & Honey Mommy

290. Milk and Honey Mommy

291. Amy O’Neal

292. Parenting Children

293. A Girl And Her Life

294. MarieLynn Boutique Blog

295. Born Fabulous Boutique Blog

296. The Pitter Patter Boutique

297. Stephanie Deese

298. Brea’s Baby Boutique Blog

299. digiscrapping.net - Heather Manning

300. Kids Activities Blog

301. Two Little Whales Cloth Diapers & More

302. 3 boys & a dog

303. Karen ~Georgia Angel

304. http://mynotsohurriedlife.blogspot.com/

305. Shannon Blogs Here

306. A Virtuous Woman

307. Secrets of a Southern Kitchen

308. Dreamer

309. Lollipop Book Club

310. Mommie Daze Virtual Baby Shower

311. Heck Of A Bunch

312. MomSaves4U

313. Barely Domestic Mama

314. http://www.babylovingmama.com/

315. Professional Family Manager

316. Kathleen

317. Coaching The Family

318. Frugal Creativity

319. Easy Being Green

320. Dandelion Bubbles

321. Shelly aka The Attic Girl

322. Foxtoybox-Discovery Toys

323. http://beauty4moms.blogspot.com/

324. Colleen - Mommy Always Wins

325. Playground for Parents

326. World of Discovery

327. http://andbabymakesfourperrine.blogspot.com/

329. A Little Bit Nutty

330. Mahayla’s Mommy

331. Mommy Goggles

332. The Shopping Mama

333. If I Could Escape . . .

Other happenings around here? Well not much to report. It's been a lazy kind of weekend. We are planning to take the kids to a movie. The only issue with going to see a movie here in Chile is that children's movies are dubbed in Spanish. All other movies are subtitled in Spanish and play in English. So we are cutting out all kids movies, because the kids get bored with the language and don't pay attention. We are thinking of going to see Night at the Museum 2. I'll let you know how that goes.

Hope you are all enjoying your Memorial Day weekend. And to those of you who have asked, we do not celebrate memorial day here, but we did have a holiday on Thursday which landed my husband both Thursday and Friday off from work. So that was a bonus! Enjoy it everyone~~

**edited to add~~ I will be leaving a link to this post on my side bar. If you care to check back here, you can find the list over on the right. **

I love the mail.

2009-05-21T00:01:00.001-04:00

For us, getting mail isn't just getting bills. It means care packages from home. And we received one of those just yesterday. In it, were some glow sticks. Amazingly, these little things can keep the kids busy for quite some time. I can't quite photograph them in the dark, while they are dancing and screaming and squirming. This is the best I got. But you can tell by their faces that they just love it! Thanks Vicki!

I also just received a gift I bought for myself for Mother's Day. It's a purse from Calvin Klein. I got a beyond amazing deal on it from this place called Rue La La! They have designer merchandise for discounted prices. If you would like to check them out, just click on the link. I'm also pretty psyched that they ship to military APO addresses, that in itself is a reason to shop anywhere. For me.

Rue La La

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-20T12:46:00.005-04:00

I've never done one of these before, the wordless Wednesday thing. But I didn't feel like actually thinking today. Here are some things around my house. (Apartment actually).

And I heard some noise from the bathroom, water running. Of course, this is what I find. Because they're kids, because they can. They do.

Monday~la~la~

2009-05-18T00:31:00.000-04:00

I am totally aware that the title of this post makes absolutely no sense. Other than the Monday part. But I'm OK with that. I am.

Friday in the mail we received one kid sized activity table. Adorable I might add. It is adjustable from 16-25 inches. So you can keep it far longer than the smaller tables. It's also heavy duty and I'm pretty sure it's made for preschool or daycare usage. I bought it because I could never find a table big enough to hold the kids arts supplies on top of the table while they were working on a project. This one is perfect. It's not overly big, and like I said, not too small. Here it is in the kids play room. If you are interested in the table, I bought it here. Also the little stools are from Ikea.

Speaking of Ikea, I also ordered a Trofast storage system. It's just a wood shelf and it has colorful plastic bins that slide into the shelf. So the toys are basically hidden. Very cute idea for kids storage. I love it. So of course I couldn't wait to put it together. I didn't notice until the very last step, that the final board in my project was in fact broken. I was so bummed. I called the company immediately. They apologized profusely and told me that they would send one replacement board to me right away. Now how is that for customer service? I took a picture so you can see exactly how close I was to being finished before I realized what happened. I thought I would also mention, this was a cinch to put together. I had this put together (almost) in the time it took my husband to cook dinner. Yes, I was assembling a shelf while he was in the kitchen cooking. I like it that way.

On a totally unrelated note, we went to McDonalds this weekend. That might seem like an everyday or even weekly occurence to some, but to us, that just isn't so. I would not be lying to you if I told you that each of the worst McDonalds meals I've ever had, have been had here. In Chile.

There is no speed. There is nothing even resembling speed. There are a bunch of employees milling about behind the counter that talk and laugh and cannot control themselves long enough to even take your order. The young girl kept breaking out in laughter and talking to the other girl next to her. Customer service? No such thing. Non-existent. I'm sorry. Hot fries? Not going to happen. Ice? Where do you think you are? The U.S? You will be served cold fries, an average hamburger, that is also cold and a teeny weeny kid sized soda. Unless of course you SUPER size it to our American size medium. Again, I am not kidding. You will wait an incredible amount of time. All the while the girl, or guy will keep looking into your cajita feliz (happy meal) box to see what they may or may not have put in there already. They had to touch that box like 5 times. I almost started screaming, or crying I am not sure which. I mean, ordering a hamburger and fries should not be that painful.

The McDonalds experience here has been an ENORMOUS let down. They are slow, they serve crappy food, and for crying out loud, I wish people would stop STARING at me like I'M A CIRCUS FREAK because I speak ENGLISH!!!

It's Friday! Yay?

2009-05-15T11:34:00.003-04:00

Today is Friday and my son is running around screaming like he just drank a small bottle of hot sauce. His sister is chasing him, imitating also, as it is so much fun to irritate the mommy. Why do they do this? And what does this have to do with it being Friday? Um. Nothing really. I just felt like stating that fact.

I stayed up super late last night watching the 2 hour Grey's Anatomy season finale. And yes, I do mean late, because I watched it via a "slingbox" hooked up to my mom's cable back in Tucson. I then can turn on my computer and watch any and ALL of my mom's cable channels through the internet. Pretty sweet device if you ask me.

But anyway, back to Grey's. OMG. It was just. THAT. GOOD. And comparing to the previous 4 seasons worth of cliffhangers, this one was by far the best. Yeah. They always manage to make you cry like a blithering idiot by shows end, so don't watch it with anyone that you wouldn't mind seeing you that way. What more can I say, I cannot wait for season 6.

Today the dh is heading over to the embassy to check our post office box. We are expecting several packages. Momma has been doing a little online shopping. One Calvin Klein purse, one Trofast storage system from Ikea, one kids activity table, and a USB SD digital card reader. My computer no longer recognizes my SD card. Another reason just to scrap the whole thing and start with a newer, faster model. Did I mention to you it's SLOW as molasses? No? OK, well it is.

So today I am participating in Scary Mommy's Flashback Fridays. If you don't know who she is, click on over to her place and check her out. In fact, join her. You can link up to her blog with one of your old posts. You know when. Back when it was just you and the crickets. Here is the one I'm linking with today.

OK, Someone get me outta here!

Wish I were here.

2009-05-14T08:22:00.005-04:00

I really miss this kitchen. There was lots of counter and cabinet space. I actually didn't realize exactly how much space I had, until the movers brought ALL of the boxes here to this apartment. As they stacked them one upon the other and lined them up in my new kitchen, it quickly became apparent that things would not fit. Besides the very obvious fact that my old kitchen had a dishwasher and garbage disposal, I just miss it being all mine. I don't feel that way about this kitchen here. It still feels foreign.

When I think back to my old house, I think of the living room and how many hours my family and I spent there. This is the home that I brought both of my new babies back to. This is the place where they both learned to crawl and then to walk. I can remember all the baby gates and safety measures I had put into place to protect my kids. I can also remember how overly protective I was. Seeing these pictures may just look like a kitchen and a living room to you. But to me, they are filled with joyful memories. Laughter and love.

Technorati Profile

Raw and unedited.

2009-05-13T10:14:00.004-04:00

This is what my daughter looks like in the mornings, with all of that crazy hair. Before I get a chance to brush it. With loads of detangler and a spritz of moisturizer. It takes a very long time. Her hair is super CURLY. She gets that from her father. And from my mother. Their hair has curly tendencies. I had just asked her to go brush her hair. This is her response.

And here we have my little wild man. Check out the crayola marker in his belt loop. He loves to stick anything in there, much like a gunfighter and his gun belt. Eddie pretends. In looking at these pictures, I realize it's time for another hair cut.

I'll put that on my list of things to do. Right after we do our daily "air-crafting". In case you don't follow me on Twitter, my son says to me the other day, "Mommy? Can we do aircrafting today?" And I look at him, a little puzzled, "What's that honey?" And he replies, "You know, cutting paper, pasting and stuff." Awww, he wants to craft! Since we've been back to Chile, I have decided to keep them home with me vs. putting them into daycare. And I've also taken to doing daily preschool type activities. The kids are loving it.

This picture above of my son with his monkey looks so sweet. You'd think he was actually mild mannered, wouldn't you? If you do, I must inform you that I'm rolling off of my too small, queen sized, kitty fur shed upon bed. I'm laughing hysterically at that thought. Like I mentioned above, he. is. wild.

Oh and I wanted to share one more picture. Since Winter time is fast approaching us here in Chile, it's starting to get a little cold. And for those of you who don't know me, or know me well. I. am. a. wimp. I don't do cold temperatures, I don't do snow. I was born in Puerto Rico, I lived in Florida for most of my life, and I also lived in warm weather climates for the other portions of the time that I was not in Florida. Most recently, Tucson Arizona. (Can we say SCORCHING?)

Anyway, here is the little heater that we just bought. It was 15,000 pesos (roughly 27 bucks). It's pretty small. But we are testing it out to see how well it does.

So far, as long as it's facing you, it works. And because it's so small, it only works well enough to warm one small room. So if you leave that room, run. Quickly. OK, OK, I'm being dramatic. But since the temperatures haven't dipped below the 50's I'm OK right now. I already told dh that we need to buy another one. A BIGGER one.

Me, the Mariachis & a Swingset

2009-05-11T15:00:00.004-04:00

So, the nice guy at the party (whose birthday it actually was) sent me some photos. Pretty nice of him, no? Well if you missed me talking about the party, you can read about it here. And if you are too busy, on your way to work, or your cat just threw up on your bed/floor/purse. I'll just tell you that I went to a party that mariachis were invited to. And yes, it happens here in Chile. I ran them down before they could leave. It's my duty as a blogger to get pictures for you guys. That and my mom reads my blog regularly, so I have to do it. Here they are:

I was actually happy there in these photos. Can you tell?

Oh and I also ran across this giveaway. And because I like giveaways so much, I thought I would share it with you, my readers. So who doesn't like free stuff? Or a shot at free stuff? Click on the link below for your chance/s to enter the contest as well. It runs through June 30. So hop on the bandwagon.

My kids would LOVE this. In fact, I think I might actually LOVE it a little bit more. I can see myself sitting in a lawn chair reading a good book, while the munchkins slide down the slide, and swing for hours at a time. Ah..... just envisioning it makes me smile.

$3862.00 Complete Kit set - Finished product features 5’ x 5’ x 6’ deck, two 7’ swing beams, rock climbing wall, climbing net, ladder, slide, and numerous other features! This kit will be shipped to the winning customer’s residence within the continental U.S. Assembly is required; full-color assembly manual provided.

Please go to: Momdot.com for more information.

Happy (early) Mother's Day!

2009-05-08T19:36:00.003-04:00

So, I just wanted to say it. Now, before it's too late. Or before I forget, or get too busy chasing around the little people. I made a little video today. I made it for my mom, because she gets so much out of seeing the kids. And right now she can't see the kids. I wish I could change that.

So I made this for her. At the beginning of the video, you can see exactly how small Alexa used to be when we first arrived here in Chile. You can also see how short her hair used to be. She's grown so much. Eddie looks nearly the same, but he's grown.

Mom, I'm thinking of you. Hope you enjoy the video. And I promise I will take more videos of the kids and post them here. Thanks for everything. I love you!

Do you collect things?

2009-05-07T09:26:00.003-04:00

I collect giraffes, and giraffe things. I have had a life long love of giraffes. I don't exactly know why. I just do. I find them fascinating. And I get all giddy and silly when we go to the zoo, and I even get a chance to feed them. I think that is just really cool.

So of course, I had to do this. You could see it coming, couldn't you? My family did.

Nurses Day and what else? IDOL.

2009-05-06T09:46:00.005-04:00

First I'd like to give a shout out to all my nursey friends and fellow bloggers. And to all of those I don't know. It's Nurses Day, and you ROCK! You are some of the hardest working men and women that I have ever known, worked with and beside, and I know that you all work long hard hours and handle a tremendous amount of stress on a daily basis. And I tip my hat to you on this day. Kudos to you for choosing this as your profession. I admire all that you do!

Now, if I may discuss last night's American Idol. It's still so fresh in my mind. While both Allison and Adam felt right at home performing rock songs this week, both Danny and Kris were not cut out to be the rock and roll type. I love them. I do. And they have their own little unique characteristics that make them that much more likeable each time you see them. This week was just a little hard to watch. I will however, give them huge props for their duet. They sung Renegade, and I thought it was awesome! I thought that their voices complimented each other very nicely.

As for Adams performance, he brought down the house. He was spot on. But then again, when is he not? I was not at all crazy about his too small fitting pants. But hey, who am I to say what rock star types should be wearing? I'm just a mommy blogger slightly out of touch with the US stuck in some Chilean apartment only a thousand miles away. Whatever. It's his gig.

Young Allison, well the girls got pipes. And no matter what happens, she is going to have a very bright future in front of her. I didn't like her song Cry Baby so much, but that's just my personal preference. She sang it well. I just didn't like the song. The duet between her and Adam was fantastic. Those two together were a joy to hear. Two screamers. Loved it.

Now having said all of that, I'm still in the tank for Danny. I cringed at his performance of Dream On. I did. If truth be told. But that doesn't mean that I'm off his team. My dh even had some derogatory comments about him. But I think he's just jealous because I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Whatev. He looked good. And I agree with the judges. Though rock is not his thing, I give him high fives for even attempting to pull that off in front of the audience that he had. Oh and Slash? He SUCKED. I don't care that he's a great guitar player. I can appreciate that fact. Trust me, I do. Been there. It's just that as a mentor? Come on, NO! Once again, I reiterate, he SUCKED. So there. That's my opinion, in a nutshell.

Now on to my regularly scheduled day. I'm playing preschool in my house every day. I'll have to take pictures of the kids play room once the table I ordered arrives. It's going to be really cute. Every day I am doing different things with the kids and basically I'm trying to imitate the things that they do in preschool/daycare. Complete with naps, because napping is the best part of my day. Peace and quiet.

And on a an extremely ecstatic note, my daughter Alexa who is 2 years and 7 months old, has started to poop on the potty. Regularly. I wouldn't say she's potty trained yet, but this makes me happier than you might expect. You see, Eddie, who just turned 4, just recently became potty trained. So yes, her success now, is leaving me feeling rather happy.

Twitter and Danny Gokey

2009-05-03T10:09:00.007-04:00

Let's talk about twitter. I think I may have been nudged into it by my sweet and very beautiful friend Melissa over at Spoiled Mommy. And ever since then, I've twitted, tweeted, twittered. Whatever. It's just a really cool site, that allows you to keep up with family or friends, or anyone really. You can type in a few things to let people know exactly what you are having for breakfast, what color your socks are, or even that your child/cat just threw up on your purse/rug/bed. Anything goes.

Well, lately, it has kind of become like a vice to me. I need to get on to see whats going on. I mean, you can actually follow the news and find out breaking stories, way before you ever would have gotten around to turning on the tv and watching it the old fashioned way. I'm not kidding. I turned on my computer and then I saw @RyanSeacrest say that Danny Gans had died. And this was mere hours after it had happened.

On a side note, if you have never seen this man perform in Vegas, he was AMAZING. Also, you can find out that there was an earthquake in LA, before the news begins to pick it up. People are tweeting it! Oh and then there is the ever popular @aplusk (Ashton Kutcher) who says cute little things about his wife: "#followfriday @mrskutcher cause she's my wife and I'd follow her to the end of the earth." Oh come on now, that's just sweet.

I'd like for my husband to sign up on twitter and follow me. But hey, that ain't happening. He's more of the, I'll call you on the phone kind of guy. And that's OK, I'm fine with that. Just don't ask me to get off twitter. You see, I'm also following the Swine Flu, and getting updates as they come in. A word of warning though... it can be a little addicting.

By TwitterButtons.net
OK, now on an American Idol note, I must talk about my new love. Danny Gokey. I was scouring the internet for videos and pictures of him when I ran across this website. I can't tell you what a great fan website it is. If you like Danny Gokey, then I'm sure you can appreciate the hard work that is put into this site. It's called I heart Danny Gokey. Go take a look. I'll wait.

I keep watching this video over and over again. It is from last Tuesday nights performance. He sang Come Rain or Shine, or was it Come Rain or Come Shine. Whatever, close enough. In fact, I went to itunes and downloaded it. I am also awaiting an autographed picture in the mail. *sqweee* My husband just told me today that he now thinks that I am going to ditch him and run off to stalk Danny Gokey. I ~~could~~ would never do that.

And though I have enjoyed Adam Lamberts talents and each and every one of his highly theatrical performances, let's be honest, that Adam has insane vocals! He deserves to win too. It's just that he doesn't do it for me the way that Danny does. I mean, there is just something about his totally adorable glasses wearing, sweet smiling face. With that amazing angelic voice and his slightly awkward attempts at dancing, it's all very endearing to me. Did I go overboard? Am I packing my suitcases? No. But I am mildly in love with him. Just mildly. He's my favorite. And I hope he wins. I do. But no matter what happens, I will be tuning in. Yes, even here in Chile, via my slingbox. I can't wait.

Just some stuff floating around my head.

2009-05-01T19:59:00.004-04:00

I'm so tired. I went out with Chileans last night. And as you know, they eat late. Well, maybe you don't. I do. I've mentioned it here in my blog. But I am way too lazy to go find it and link it right now. So just trust me, I said it before. Like I was saying, Chileans have dinner late. Like 8 PM or later. And we were invited to a birthday party for a coworker of my husbands.

I was extremely hesitant in going. For a whole bunch of reasons. I do not speak Chinese. Ok. I don't speak Spanish either. But what's the difference. Nobody would be talking to me. I asked my husband if there would be alcohol. And he in turn asked me if these were in fact Chilean people. I guess my answer was yes. So I told him I would go. I'm doing my wifely duties. I put on some cool clothes. Well, at least they were cool enough to get some sweet compliments out of dh. Oh yes, and I put on some black heels and grabbed my red leather fossil bag that is absolutely bee-you-tee-full. I think my red bag was a hit all in itself, but that's besides the point.

What was my point? Where am I going with all of this? I have no clue. I'm just babbling here. Babbling as my 2 and a half year old daughter teeters dangerously on the arm of my desk chair that I am sitting on. I can't make her stop. She doesn't listen to me. Unless there is bribery.

Whatever, there was lots of alcohol last night. And there were people that stared at me like I had a third arm. I took my camera though, as if that would be my lifesaving tool in the evening. I could just snatch it out of my darling fossil bag and start snapping pictures of the people staring at me. That would sure break the ice, no? Yeah. Well that was my plan. I took my camera. Just in case. You never know when you are going to need it.

So there we are at this party, of sorts, with lots of people (American music playing in the background) lots of food (very good food) and loads of bottles of alcohol lining the top of one table in the very back of the apartment we were in. So what's a girl to do. "Si, por favor, mas vino!" For you folks out there who know less Spanish than myself, that little phrase means Get me some damn wine. Or something like that. See? At least I know the important stuff. I mean, I think I could probably call 911 and get assistance. Even though 911 really isn't 911, it's more like 133. Or so I am told.

I digress. As we were sitting there staring at each other (I mean me and the folks who don't understand me) the doorbell rings. And I look over eagerly, as if I might recognize our next guest (I won't). But it was something to do. The mariachis had arrived! ~Ole!~

I was psyched. No really. I was. Because I know mariachis. I am Latin. Or Mexican, or Greek. But it doesn't matter, because Mariachis can make the world a better place. And people dance about and act silly. People have even been know to sing along. I did. Now, if you are wondering how I, a person who is not bilingual, is going to sing along to a song sung by Mariachis in an apartment full of Chileans that I don't know, it's simple. When I was in elementary school, and before I really realized that I can't sing a tune to save my life, I was in chorus. Or at least I participated with a chorus at one point. And we performed in San Antonio, Texas in a very large auditorium in front of a huge audience. Guess what we sang? Cielito Lindo. You might not be familiar with that song. And that's OK, but it's a good one. I've grown up hearing it. And like I said, I sang it with a choir. {See Enrique Iglesias sing it here}

So jumping back to a point I made earlier about bringing my camera. It's moments like these, that you are so thankful that you are prepared. Thankful that you thought ahead. I was going to snap pictures now. This was my time. I was fitting in. I was going to be one of the cool kids at the party, because I know all the words to Cielito Lindo, and my appreciation for Mariachis had to make me look cooler. So I grabbed my camera. And snapped one picture. Then my battery died. I. am. not. kidding. I was so mad. I felt like a huge dork. There I was thinking I'm all cool and prepared, and as it turns out, I'm not cool. And I'm not prepared. I didn't charge my stupid battery. So I shoved it in my purse. And that was the end of my photo op.

They played and everybody danced around. And it was pretty neat. My husband even gave me a sort of compliment. I think. He said, "As the night goes on, my wife's Spanish gets better and better." Or was it something like, "The more wine my wife drinks, the better her Spanish gets. " Yes. I think it was the latter. But there is truth in that statement. Because I was talking to those people like we were best friends. And since I'm being truthful, 2 or 3 of them actually spoke English. And I actually did have a good time. That too, might be related to the food that they kept offering me. Food and me, we go way back. I like it. A lot. Especially good snacky type finger foods. Foods that it's OK to shove into your mouth whole. They kept coming around, offering, tray after glorious tray. And in my book, that's a win win situation.

So, though I don't have any pictures to share with you right now. I was in some pictures that were taken by other people. I left my email address with someone last night. And I pray that they send me some pictures. As the mariachis were leaving, I ~~accosted~~ politely stopped them. I made them take pictures with me. Er, I mean, I asked them to take pictures. I was polite. But I think the little one was afraid of me.

The whole time that the mariachis were there, I kept thinking "Swine Flu". And then, "Aren't Mariachi's a Mexican thing?" and then, "Are these Mariachis really Mexican? Or are they Chilean?" umm, "Who ever heard of Chilean Mariachi's?" I wanted my husband to ask. I felt I needed clarification. He wouldn't. Something about it not being right and all. But I still wondered.

I think I may have had a little too much red wine last night. But in keeping with the whole honesty bit, I don't go out very often (read: at all). And I don't drink. A lot. So just a few glasses, was pretty much a lot for me. But they were soo good. And I do admit, I had a nice time. Chileans are pretty cool. {I may or may not be posting pics of this in the near future.}

Reason #126 why I don't cook more often.

2009-04-30T00:01:00.001-04:00

Kids. Mmm-k?

This is the only evidence I have that my children do not like to let me cook. Since I am unable to both cook and photograph myself at the same time, these pictures are a bit old and were taken by my loving sister on my daughter's first birthday. (And at present, she is 2 1/2).

Small differences

2009-04-28T15:51:00.007-04:00

Life has changed somewhat for me, us rather, since we moved here. I mean, it's modern, it's a big city. There are nearly 6 million people living in Santiago. It's fast paced. I have everything that I could possibly need here. It's just different.

For one thing, we have chosen to live in an apartment building. I used to think of apartment buildings as 2 or 3 stories. (Except of course if you live in New York). But here in Chile, that is not the case. Ours is a shorter building, the floors go into the teens. Many of those around us are much taller.

When we go outside to play, it looks something like this. Sometimes we take the motos (motorcycle), sometimes we take other toys.

This elevator isn't very big. I'm glad it has a window. It keeps the kids occupied.

Both of my kids have been begging me for a dog. Why? Because it's in their nature. Don't all kids ask for dogs? Well, could you imagine trying to train the puppy to go outside? Grab the dog, wait for the elevator....... and then ride xx number of floors down, walk outside.... yeah right. The poor puppy would have already finished on your leg, in the hallway, and in the elevator. That would be horrible. But somehow, people do it. My kids want a dog so bad, they even pretend to be dogs. My brother and I used to do this too when we were little. Here is a picture of Alexa being a dog. She corrects me sometimes and tells me that she is a puppy, not Alexa. *sigh* So no. I don't want to even think about what life would be like with a dog in this apartment building.

I am not sure that I have even spoken about our incredibly small ovens. But here is a picture of mine. I was baking some muffins. And yes, it's just a little wider than a 12 count muffin pan. I have some larger bake ware, and some other things that won't even fit. It's also been fun trying to convert Fahrenheit temps to Celsius.

Another thing I've had to get used to is seeing an actual grocery cart inside my home. We use it to bring the groceries up from the parking area, which is below the building. I'm thankful for it, because it would be a pain to lug up so many bags, back and forth. It's just weird.

While on Twitter the other night, @themomjen was talking about Oreos. I was desperate for some, thinking that I wouldn't be able to get any here. When we went to the store, this is what I found. A small package of Oreos. I used the pen as a reference for size. They were very good.

Now, I'm not going to go into the milk again. I've already discussed that in another post all of it's own. So if you are interested in finding out why I don't eat cereal while I am here, please click on this link and read all about the kind of milk they have here.

One last little bit. We don't take the trash out. Anywhere. We have a trash shoot inside of our apartment. Sometimes I worry that when I open the door, someone from the floors above me will be dumping some garbage, and it will come into my apartment if I open the door. Probably not, but I don't really want to take that chance. I always open and close our door very quickly. And it always makes a loud noise when going down and banging and clanging it's way all the way down to the bottom. You can hear the noise of the people above you throwing out their garbage as well. It's just a bit weird.

So there you have it. A peek into my life. I will be here for another year.

Birthday Boy, Cake and a Storm Trooper.

2009-04-26T18:34:00.006-04:00

So, as promised, here are a few pictures from this evening. My baby boy turned 4 today. I can hardly believe where the time has gone.

And thanks to the internet, we were able to have my family back in Tucson join us to sing happy birthday to Eddie. It was so sweet, the kids loved it.

Would you look at that face?? This boy has been asking non-stop for this storm trooper helmet. And by non-stop, I mean every single day. He loves loves loves Star Wars, Clone Wars, and storm troopers. Like I couldn't have ever imagined.

Here is my little storm trooper. Worth. Every. Penny. And then some. He is soo happy!

And lastly, I will leave you with a word on the cake. Whipped frosting, raspberry filling (in between layers) and yellow cake. Though I didn't share with you the details of Alexa's birthday cake when she turned two, I'd like to say that this one was better than the last. I was pleasantly surprised with it. It isn't exactly the same kind you would get at the bakery back home, but it is what they have here. And it was pretty good, not outstanding, but good.

So there you have it. I have a 4 year old and a 2 1/2 year old. And new toys to keep them both busy. Oh and cake. I think I hear it calling me.

A Bakery. And take #3 on Donuts.

2009-04-25T15:52:00.007-04:00

Today we didn't do too much. We cleaned. And then we decided to try out a new bakery. It isn't too far away, but we still had to drive. The other one that we usually go to is within walking distance of our building. The reason that we chose to go over there, was because we have been told that they have been voted the home of the best empanadas in Santiago. We were given this little bit of information by one of the locals. So they must know what they are talking about, right?

If you aren't familiar with empanadas, they are basically a pastry type thing usually stuffed with cheese and or meats. They are delicious, and worth a try if you have never had them before. They come with two types of crusts. The first is more of a doughy bread like exterior, and the second is very flaky and light. The flaky ones are my favorites.

So when we pulled up to the place today, there was a long line. And it remained long the whole time we were there. People just kept coming. When we left... the line was still long. I took my camera with me because my mother was asking for pictures of the bakery that we always go to. I have been raving about how nice it is. Sorry mom, I didn't get pictures of that one, but I did take pictures of the one that we were in today.

The empanadas, by the way, were fabulous. I also wanted to relay my latest donut experience with you.

We bought this little gem. Just for me. I wanted to give this place the benefit of the doubt. I mean, ALL donuts made in Santiago couldn't be bad, could they?? I was about to find out. I cautiously set it down and took pictures. For it looks fabulous, delicious even. Don't you agree?

This particular donut is a creme filled (like custard in the states) chocolate iced donut. I was very hesitant as I took my first bite. It was soft. Fresh. Brownie points to them for getting something right. The creme was good, not overly sweet. But the chocolate was not what I was hoping for. And that's 3 for 3. I am quite sure now that they use the unsweetened chocolate to ice these donuts with. In 3 separate locations the chocolate has been the same. Not sweet and hard. But in this instance, at least the freshness of the donut and the creme, really hid the fact that the chocolate wasn't sweet enough. Not like a chocolate covered donut you would purchase back home. It looks pretty sure, but I'd like to get that good gooey chocolaty taste to go along with it. I guess I will just have to wait.

Tomorrow I will be reporting on their birthday cakes. I don't think I posted anything on my blog about the cake when Alexa turned 2. But Eddie's birthday is tomorrow, and we have ordered a cake for him. Pictures to follow. So stay tuned!

Trumped by a Colonel.

2009-04-24T20:57:00.002-04:00

Lately I've been all about schedules. I am adhering to them for the sole purpose of gaining a little "me time" in the afternoons while BOTH of my children take their much needed (and strongly opposed to) naps. So, it seems to be working out nicely. The kids sleep, and I get some time to recharge my batteries too. The kids have a way of running me down to my little nubs. They wear me down. It's just what happens. So schedules. Yeah. It's a must.

Speaking of schedules, we also have a bed time ritual that we love to stick to. The kids get a cup of milk, a story and we put them in their beds. And this all wraps up by 8 pm. Life is good again.

I have also begun to adopt one day a week where I do not cook. I have chosen Friday as this day. Monday through Thursday, I have cooked every single night. When my husband comes home, we have dinner ready to eat. And that too is good. The kids are at an age right now where they can play with each other, and not drive me up the wall long enough to allow me to make something resembling food for dinner. It's a blessed thing.

So on Fridays we are either going to go somewhere and pick something up to bring back home to eat, or we will all just go out to a restaurant and eat. Doesn't matter, I'm not cooking. And the cooking thing... well that's all just very domestic of me. I didn't cook that much when I was back in the states. Truly. It would have interfered with my shopping. But I'm not minding it so much. It's working for us. Of course it's working for him, but I'm not minding.

So tonight. Let's get back on track shall we? We had plans to go to this Peruvian chicken place. The food is really good. And it's not too far away. I was looking forward to it. When my husband walks in the door tonight, he tells me this, "Here's the thing...." When do you ever start a conversation like that? I had the feeling that he was about to change our plans. And. I was right.

He tells me that there is this Colonel at work who had invited us for dinner. Now normally, that wouldn't be such a bad thing. The part about this that makes it bad is that Chileans actually do things a little bit differently than we do in the states. About dinner time?? 9 PM is the standard. Seriously. Anything earlier than 7 PM is just not done. So the dinner request was for 9, and our kids go to sleep at 8.

We were told that we could bring them. Sure. And I'm absolutely positive that this Colonel and his lovely wife and their other house guests were going to be all too understanding when my 2 year old and (nearly) 4 year old started losing their grip with reality, boundaries, behavior and manners all due to their little bodies being tired and hungry. No. I think they would be highly annoyed. I think they would wish that they hadn't invited us. Or more accurately, they would have thought twice about saying, "sure bring the kiddos." It's past their bed times, they need their rest, and yes, they do need to eat at a more respectable hour. They are children.

So I opted to stay home. The husband went without me. And yes, our dinner plans were changed. I'm OK with that. Because he loves me. And because I just bought CS3. For those of you unfamiliar with what that is, it's a photo editing software. I wanted it. I bought it. There you go. And I will make him take me out another night.

Such is life. Things here are different. And I am appreciating the differences. It's a good way to be. I can't change it, so I must just go with the flow.

June 26, 2006

2009-04-23T14:19:00.007-04:00

My little man was 14 months old exactly. Here he is pictured with his older brother and sister. (my gorgeous step-kids)

Eddie and I were at my mom's having dinner (I was about 7 mos pregnant with Alexa at this time). Eddie of course ate like a little bird, so he was finished with dinner before everybody else. He went to play in the living room while we finished up. The living room was adjacent to the kitchen, so we could still hear him and peek at him from where we were. He had a cardboard poster tube that he was playing with.

He must have fallen because he began to cry and scream. I went in there to check on him and pick him up from the floor. He opened his mouth and the bright red blood started running down his lips. My panicked heart began to race as I swooped him into my arms and ran into the kitchen. I quickly turned on the faucet and started to rinse his mouth as he screamed. He had blood and water that had drenched the front of his shirt. I kept rinsing. My mother was crying, my father was white as a ghost, and my brother said that he might throw up and left the room.

When the bleeding stopped, I took my finger and pulled back the side of his lip. I wanted to see where the blood was coming from. I felt instantly ill when I spotted one of his teeth was completely sideways in his mouth. He started making a funny movement with his lips and tongue. Instinctively I put my hand up to his little mouth. He spit out one tiny perfect little white tooth, root and all. I looked at it in horror.

My 14 month old baby just knocked out his own tooth. I couldn't believe it. And what's more, I couldn't believe that I held it together when all of this happened. My little man was bleeding and crying and losing the tooth that just finished growing in! I was so upset.

I called the dentist immediately to ask for advice. After our brief consult, it was decided that we do nothing. He said that if he was going to do something like that, knocking the entire tooth out was best since he didn't expose any nerve endings. He recommended he be seen for x-rays in the next day or so just to be sure, but it sounded like he did a great job at his tooth extraction.

Eddie was playing with the cardboard tube. He had it in his mouth and then fell down directly on top of it. The force from the tube hitting the ground, and then subsequently his tooth, was enough to knock it out.

Ever since then, I have been right on top of both of the kids and reminding them not to put anything in their mouths, much less running around with anything in there. Both of my kids have fallen and hurt themselves in the mouth since then. And there have been 4 or 5 times where blood has been shed, and each time I relive the moments when my little baby knocked out that tooth. I cringe on the inside as I peel back their lips to check for broken or missing teeth. I cringe and pray that it hasn't happened again. Once was enough. It's still fresh in my mind because I relived it again last night. Alexa fell down and came to me with blood on her lips. After a quick inspection, I knew that she was fine.

Eddie has been to the dentist 3 times since then, and things look great. He actually looks like a little hockey player now. And honestly, it's his signature look. He's missing a tooth. But that wouldn't be Eddie, not any other way.

Here is the last picture we have of him with of all of his teeth. Taken just 2 weeks before the incident.

And here he is today. Well, not actually today, but recently. Even missing a tooth, I think he's rather handsome. Oh and the little guy that made me a mommy turns 4 on Sunday. (sniff, sniff.)

McMommy goes to Chile!

2009-04-21T21:42:00.010-04:00

The day that I got the call, I was pretty surprised myself. When I heard that she was coming to my neck of the woods, I was enthralled. I started planning immediately. I took time off from work. Oh wait, I don't work. I thought about it though, if I did have a job, I might actually take a day off, so that we could go play, and see the sights. Or at the very least, swing by the local Dunkin Donuts. Because if you know McMommy, then you know she's pretty big on the ole DD.

So anyway, she flew in and we immediately hit it off. We laughed, we cried, we talked for hours. I took her over to some shops. We walked around and bought a few things. She had a great time, as did I.

I was sad that she only came for the day. But still it was nice having her here. I took pictures of our time together. Hope you enjoy the slide show.

OK, but seriously. I'm a huge McFan of hers. She would totally love me if we ever did meet. She's cool like that.

As an aside, I need to mention that the donut pictured in my slide show, was nearly as bad (tasting) as the one I had blogged about previously here. I wish I were kidding. The chocolate was horrible and unsweet, the donut was hard and it was just generally bad. I can't believe that dunkin donuts in south america could be so different than the states. But yeah. True.

Here are a couple of shots I took while we were there. To give you an idea of pricing, and for comparison $1 USD = 583 CLP (chilean pesos). At least for today.

And for those of you non math whizzes out there, the cost for one dozen rock solid unsweetened south american dunkin donuts is going to run you about $10 dollars. Just thought I'd throw that in there. Oh yeah, and they do NOT have iced coffee or coolattas. Actually they do have them, but their coolattas are fruit flavored. They come in orange, mango or banana. So if you want an iced coffee of any sort, you are just out of luck.

Once again, thank you to McMommy for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed your stay here!

Museum Time

2009-04-19T16:08:00.005-04:00

So, the family is feeling better. We decided to get out for a drive and stop by The National Museum of Natural History. My darling daughter was decidedly uncooperative for most pictures. So I don't have many of her. Eddie posed for a couple. And my husband has a slight photo phobia. So. I posed. I'm a poser.

I'm not too sure what this next guy is, but I think it had something to do with some old rituals. But I think he looked pretty cool.

And here is miss pouty thing. She started asking to go home half way through the museum. Nice. All in all, it was a good day. The kids did have fun. And I wasn't too traumatized by driving through the city. We only got minimally lost one time.

Sand Mountain.

2009-04-15T14:54:00.004-04:00

OK, so it really wasn't a mountain at all. It was more like a sand dune. But it was so much more fun telling it to two kids and trying to give them something to look forward to, on a really long drive. These dunes are located right off of I-8 about 15 miles from Yuma, AZ. and actually inside the California state lines. There was a place to pull off, so we did. I took these pictures on the way back from our recent trip to Disneyland.

Thankfully, it wasn't a huge dune. I actually had to sit down. My legs were killing me trying to climb up that sandy hill. It was also pretty windy. We had sand everywhere!

My view from the top......

And a look at our car from the top.

It always pays to stop and smell the roses. Or in this case, to climd a sand dune with your kids. I think Eddie loved it almost as much as his daddy did. (He's a big kid after all.) And Alexa, well not so much. She demanded that her daddy carry her.

Let there be silence.

2009-04-13T16:41:00.003-04:00

I am beside myself with happiness. Both of my children are napping. Honest. I think it helps to have their own rooms. I'm not sure if Eddie's sickness should be taken into account or not, but I'm just going to be thankful that they both went down without a hassle. Mommy too got some much needed sleep. You see, I'm still not over being sick myself.

I'm contemplating dinner right now. And as you can clearly see, I'm blogging instead. Dh called from work to chat, and he offered to cook. Who could turn that down? Really.

The concierge called up here a little while ago. I have no idea what he wanted. He spoke very very fast. Then when he realized that he got a hold of the non-bilingual wife residing in this apartment, he asked for my husband. I told him that he wasn't here. He sounded disappointed. "oh, ok." And that was that.

I think I will venture out tomorrow. I need to check the embassy for some packages I am expecting. A certain little boy is inching closer to his 4th birthday (April 26) and I am waiting on some presents that I had ordered for him.

OK, must go be domestic. Or maybe I will just go and eat some chocolate creme oreos.

Chile, take two.

2009-04-12T21:23:00.001-04:00

We arrived in Santiago on Wednesday morning just after 7 am. Corona made the trip, and seems to be in good spirits. We were given a bit of a hard time at the airport with him. I had the necessary immunizations done for him, including rabies and his current health certificate. Documented. But apparently the paperwork that we had with us was not satisfactory for them. The lady had to call supervisors and spend a lot of time on the phone talking about how we didn't have the right paperwork. I happened to have a receipt with the list of immunizations he received and they seemed to be ok with that. They let us leave with our cat, but minus the cat food.

I wish I could say that we had a lovely weekend. But that would be a total lie. I have had a fever for the past couple of days. A terrible cough and I'm very congested. Much of the last 4 days has been spent in bed. And today, when I feel a smidge better, my son now has a fever and I am trying to keep him and his sister apart. Though I fear that the germs we all have, may have been shared already.

So. No fun things this weekend. I just hope to get us all well. Just wanted to post that I am back in Chile.

Driving to Disneyland.

2009-03-31T21:18:00.013-04:00

It was very slow going, considering my nearly 4 year old in the back seat had asked if we were at Disney when we hadn't yet left the city limits of Tucson. Lovely. Our highest elevation throughout our trip was at 4185 feet.

There were 4 US Border Patrol check points between Tucson and Anaheim. When I asked Alexa what the doggies were "sniffing" around the cars for, she replied cheerfully, "dog food!" Of course.

Upon our arrival, after driving for what felt like 3 days, we checked into the hotel and we drove straight over to Disneyland park. They have a nightly display of fireworks right behind the castle, that was neatly choreographed to the music of many Disney movies. The elaborate display was a good explanation for why their hot dogs cost $6 dollars and single bottles of water cost $3 dollars.

After a good nights rest, we headed back to the park. Here are just a few of my favorite shots.

Oh, and for the record... Alexa took one look at Mickey Mouse and said, "uh-uh". It was not happening. He even made some gestures for her to come to him, and she responded in kind with a loud shrill scream. Tears quickly followed. Eddie turned out to be my best subject by far. Day one is complete, and I'd like to call it a success. Fun was had by all.

Picnik.

2009-03-19T01:17:00.003-04:00

This is one of the neatest things I've seen in a long time. I have to admit. I've never even heard of this website until the ever fabulous Mcmommy shared the news with her readers on her new review blog. First of all, it's a simple, easy to use photo editing website. You don't have to have mad skills, you don't have to own photoshop, or paint shop either. It's almost impossible to make mistakes. You can also upload pictures pretty fast. You can cut, crop, fix red eye, add fun effects, text and make photo collages. I jumped on there tonight to check it out, and it's really a lot of fun.

In just under 10 minutes, I made collages and edited a few photos from the ones that I currently had on my computer. Then it allows you to save the pictures right back to your computer, or even to your photobucket account, or facebook. I highly recommend this site. Go check it out for yourself. Here is a sampling of what I did. If I felt any better, I would have done more. This website is really quite cool. Picnik.

Me being crafty.

2009-03-16T00:06:00.004-04:00

So, I have my cat carrier all ready to go and fly down to Santiago. My only issue was that it was all hard, plastic and would probably get a bit cold during the flight. So I started looking for some type of pet bed liner type thingy that would make the carrier a bit more cozy for my cat. I found a few cute things at the store. But they were either too small, or way too big. There was nothing that was just right. Then I just decided that I was going to get an old towel and throw it in there.

I honestly didn't like that idea very much. So I decided on making something myself. I have a small creative streak in me, and I can operate a sewing machine. So I headed off to Joann fabric store today and bought some supplies. I didn't have a pattern, I was just going to wing it as I went along. I figured it wouldn't be too difficult since the cat carrier bottom in question is simply rectangular in shape.

Here is what I came up with. I bought a 1 inch thick piece of foam, a little larger than the carrier. I cut it down to size when I got home. I then bought the fabric. One side is a cute purple and black leopard print, the other is a fleece tie dyed purple. It only took me about 1 hour from start to finish. I think it came out pretty cute. And now, my cat can relax in style. Oh and I will be adding puppy pee pads to the carrier. But I'm really in love with the fabric I found today. Here is the top of the bed (liner).

And this is the underside. Of course, it really wouldn't matter which side you use. I just love it. I also bought extra fabric. I think I might make something larger with it, once we get settled in.

I love projects where you can do it yourself. I am especially fond of the super easy ones. And this bed was a cinch to make. What do you think of it?

random-ness

2009-03-14T01:02:00.005-03:00

Today I went to a lovely place for lunch. It's called Chopped. They make your salad to order, and cut it up right in front of you. I could tell that it was going to be good when we couldn't even get a parking space out front. The entire lot was full, and people were parking in adjacent lots and walking over just to get in. The line was very long, and every seat in the place was taken. While we stood in line, and while we ordered I kept eyeing the colorful salads that were whisked by me, and marveled at the size of the salads that were being eaten at almost every table. They also serve soups and sandwiches there, and have a few good choices for their kids menu. I pondered how I was going to eat a salad of that proportion. In my lifetime, I have never ever finished any single salad that was placed in front of me, not one that was ordered as a main dish. You see, there is always too much. So I always end up leaving some. Today was different.

I.ate.the.whole.thing. Oh, how yummy it was. I mean, I just couldn't stop. You see, sometimes I have a real problem with salads because the person who prepared it, did not cut the lettuce up in small enough pieces. And this salad had perfectly chopped pieces. It was amazing! I kid you not. I enjoyed it so much. I am actually plotting when to drag any one of my family members back there again. Oh, and to let you in on a little secret, they use a tool called a mezzaluna. It's an arched shaped double cutting thingy. It's soo cool.

So we went promptly over to Williams Sonoma and purchased one. Well, actually my mom got one from that store. I bought mine from Crate and Barrel. Mine came with a wood chopping block. I love it. I want a salad right now.

We did a little shopping. And my kids stayed with their loving Aunt. Today was a glorious day. A fabulous salad, topped with kid free time is a beautiful, beautiful thing. Oh, and did I mention that dh is coming home?? We are soo psyched about this, I can't stand it. I miss him so much. He will be getting here on Saturday.

Oh and please forgive the quality of the pictures, they were all taken from my cell phone. Here is one of me and my babes from this morning. The thing that gets me in this picture, is how long Alexa looks. Her legs, her whole self. She looks huge to me. Just huge. She's only 2 1/2.

Took my daughter to the vet today.

2009-03-10T01:53:00.003-03:00

Actually, it wasn't because she needed shots or anything. I took her along, because I was silly in my thinking. I was just plain wrong when I thought she might behave herself. Oh how wrong I can be.

My cat, who is 15 lbs plus his new carrier (not weighed), were very heavy. He sat in the car and meowed the entire ride to the vets office. I am thankful that we didn't have a longer ride. My sister was kind enough to watch Eddie for me. If I would have known that my two year old sweetie pie (read: STINKER) was going to act like an actual terrible two year old, I would have ~~begged and pleaded until my eyes bled, or thrown large amounts of cash at my sister if that didn't work~~ left her at home.

Most times, well just about every time when I split up the children, they each behave better. I think they egg each other on. To act like little wild animals. I wish I were kidding. But they do tend to be somewhat normal when they are not together. And Alexa especially. Oh. Except today. Except when I take Corona to the vet to get checked up, and for some shots. You see, this isn't a normal thing we do. Corona never goes in the car for a ride, and we rarely take him anywhere outside the home. He's a cat, not a dog. So I guess it makes sense that he stays home and lounges around.

Well this whole idea of cat in the new carrier and in the car just sent "miss thing" over the edge. She was extremely worried about him in the car. All the meowing had her asking me every two seconds if he was ok. She was singing to him, talking to him, and telling him, and I quote: "Iss OK, mommy's here, iss ok Kuh-oh-nah." All the way to the vet.

So Corona got a bit nervous and peed in the carrier. Fab. The next thing I know, they are asking me to take him out. um.... nuh 'uh. Nope. You got a hose? I told them what had happened, and said I wasn't doing it. They brought a towel, and we drug him out of his cage. (oh that sounds so bad) But you know what I mean. We had to pull him out. And then they took my carrier and hosed it down for me, then brought it back. I toweled him off, and then got some paper towels and washed off his paws and tail.

At this time, miss thing is bouncing off the wood stool there in the vets exam room. She's singing dancing, and chasing the cat around. The cat is trying to hide. Unfortunately he found that there was absolutely nowhere to run. He cowered in the corner. I tried to get her to sit. She kept opening the doors. The cat tried to run out.

And then one of the nice veterinary assistants came in and gave her a bag of goodies. Some crayons, stickers, coloring book and two lollipops. I allowed her to eat one, hoping it would keep her busy. Wouldn't you know it, she can climb the exam table and swing from it while eating the lollipop. Yup, sure can. And the table. I couldn't imagine, nor did I want to, the germs. I pried her hands off, sternly told her to sit, while I dug through my purse for the sanitizing gel. No quicker can I turn around that she is at it again. And oops! The lollipop falls to the ground. I fly to grab it in one lightning quick motion. As you know kids, they would pick that bad boy back up and replace in mouth without a hesitation. Um, I beat her to it, and quickly threw it away. She was sad.

Her sadness was quickly replaced with intrigue as the doctor entered the room. "Why is that man doing that? What is he doing mommy?" He took Corona out of the room briefly, but then brought him back. "Why is he taking our kitty cat mommy? Is he gonna bing him back to us?" I answered all her questions, yet tried to pay attention to his questions, and ask some of my own. It was interesting to say the least.

Alexa dug through the bag. She grabbed the second lollipop. Earlier she had stated that she was going to take that one home for Eddie. Aww, how sweet, I thought. She began to look at the lollipop, she thought about her options and she told me, "Mommy, I'm going to hold this for Eddie. I'm just going to hold it." And she played and jumped around, she told me, "I can see duh man right dere!" And I told her, "he can see you too sweetie!" I don't think he had any children. Just a guess. He might have. He might not like children, but to me, I think he could have acted like he liked children a bit more. And people usually do, especially around some sweet faced baby girl. The guy, seemed not to care very much for her interruptions. She spoke again, "I'm going to open this for Eddie." I told her not to. She forcefully told me, "But I WANT to!" But she couldn't get into it by herself. She then said, "I'm going to bite this for Eddie." And she began to bite on the outside of the wrapper.

I didn't care, I just wanted to finish up, get the cat back in the cage, hand over lots of money and get this little girl out of there. She was getting a little out of hand. A little.

Well, my cat is fine. I think he has the necessary documentation to fly. I will be checking again to make sure. My daughter chewed on the lollipop and cracked it in too many places for it to be worthwhile to my son, so I threw it away. I threw it away in hopes to never think about it again. Until of course we picked him up. Alexa quickly exclaimed, "we got you a push pop Eddie!" And he asked for it, right away. When I gave him the bad news, he cried. I felt so bad.

And as I am getting ready for bed, I am making a mental note to never, ever take a small child to the vet again. It was pretty tough. I'm glad it's over.

My Corona.

2009-03-07T02:41:00.006-03:00

Don't let this second picture fool you, he loves this hat. He's the kind of cat that really enjoys dressing up. Or at least he doesn't fight me. He is pretty mellow as far as cats go. If you haven't heard me talk about my kitty before, please see this post.

You can either read the previous post, or take my short version of the long story. I now have my beloved cat in my possession once again. He was being looked after by some kind people. I am leaving the states on April 7 to return to Chile.

My brother who had offered to watch over my cat for me, has since reneged on his word. A very very long story there. And maybe another day. But since he has gone back on his word, I no longer have anyone to care for my cat.

I just checked into the prices to take him along to Chile. I did not originally want to take him there with us. I felt that the plane ride would be too much for him. But now I am rethinking it. They would place him in the belly or cargo area of the plane and he would be there from the beginning of our trip which originates in Tucson at 3:05 pm, then flies to Dallas. We change planes in Dallas and then fly to Santiago. We should arrive there around 8:30 am. So it's quite the flight.

I just don't really have any other options. I love my cat, and I honestly felt bad about leaving him behind with strangers when I first moved away. I left him partly because I didn't want to put him through the flight. But now I am thinking that if I take him along, it would be better for him to be with me. In a home where he is loved. I think he can handle it.

OK, is there anybody out there who is experienced in this department? Has anyone taken their pet on a long ride? Anybody know someone who has? Any comments and feedback about this will be soo appreciated. I just want to know that I am doing the right thing.

My babies.

2009-03-06T01:55:00.006-03:00

I think I may have mentioned that I took the kids to Target to get their pictures taken. They actually caught quite a few cute smiles. As I have looked over the pictures, I realize that my babies are not so little anymore. My first born is fast approaching 4. And my little girl just says the most amazing things every day.

For instance, today she barked out a string of orders to my father after they came in from outside. It went a little something like this: "Tito, you have to go outside and close the door on my playhouse, I left it open. And you have to close the windows too. You need to put the lid on my sandbox, it needs to be covered up. And bring my bucket and shovel inside. I want you to wash it in the sink with soap and water, so I can play with it inside."

I might not have believed it, but when I arrived home from running errands today, my mother handed me this typed up piece of paper. She wrote down every word so that she wouldn't forget everything Alexa had said. My dad was pretty surprised. I had to laugh. She sounds a little bossy. But you know what? Her grandpa took care of it. He closed the door to her playhouse, and closed the windows, covered her sandbox, and got her bucket & shovel and washed them off for her too. On the 18th of this month, she will be 2 and 1/2. Phew. Looks like someone is already taking charge!

Here are a few pictures from the photo session.

Something wrong?

2009-03-04T21:38:00.004-03:00

I've often wondered if there is something wrong with my son. And by wrong, I mean some sort of behavioral thing. He is soo bad on soo many days I can barely breathe. He won't listen to one single thing I say. Honestly. For me, he is the worst. He acts without a care in the world, he behaves as if there are no consequences. And that is not the case. I have to remove him from his sister sometimes, as he jumps right on her. He is in the hallway right now crying, because he kicked his sister in the head/face.

I don't know what could be the problem. Maybe he just needs organized activities, or preschool. He never behaved better than when he used to go to daycare. I miss it so. I only began to have problems when we took him out. I think he gets bored. I also have no idea why he would act like a totally different kid when other people are taking care of him.

This has even proven true once again, as I have recently taken him to a new baby sitter's home. She told me that he was good. Not a word that I would use to describe my son. Because every single day is a chore with him. He does not pick up his toys, he does not stop doing something (anything) bad that he is currently in the middle of doing. He will repeat an act over and over again.

He is strong willed, and highly energetic. I don't know what to do with him. The days that I don't have something planned for us are immensely difficult. He irritates everyone in the house. It's sad to say, but it's true.

Anyway, I just wanted to vent. He is having a few difficult moments presently. And Eddie just told me, "Uncle Pat was mean to me." Unfortunately, my nearly 4 year old is not old enough to understand his own behavior or how it affects others. What he does understand, is when a family member is changing their behavior towards him. And his feelings were hurt.

One would think that the adult in this situation would adjust and try to be a little understanding. Try to remember that this little person, though irritating in the moment, is only a child. Instead of just being curt, and pushing the child out the door, or telling him to go away. Because that child is getting on his nerves. One would think. That did not happen in this case. And this is not the first time.

The last time I broached this subject with Eddie's pediatrician he gave me a bunch of forms to look through and papers with tons of questions to evaluate him. All of the questions did not apply to my son. They were all geared towards a school aged child. I haven't brought the subject up again, Eddie is still pretty much the same. And I still wonder if he might have some sort of ADD, ADHD, or something of the like. My dh says he is just a really hyper and active boy. One that needs a lot of exercise and play time.

I wonder about each and every one of my friends who are mothers of boys. I wonder if they too think that their sons are insanely difficult. Because, that's the best way I can put it. I think about it, very often.

my new look.

2009-03-04T00:47:00.003-03:00

Whadd'ya think? I honestly believe it was time to spruce things up around here. I gave my friend Ragan a call. Well, not really. It didn't happen like that at all. But since she is so friendly, I like to think that we are friends. After all, she is responsible for the previous look of my blog before today, as well as this current new makeover. If you too, would like a new look for your blog, head on over to Blogger Boutique. You won't be disappointed!

Today we went over to Target to get the kids pictures taken. I've actually made several attempts at photographing my own children. Eddie is the one who gives me the most trouble. He won't sit still. He runs away, he turns his head, he is just uncooperative in general. I don't know why dressing him up and taking him to Target makes him behave better. But it does. He listens, and smiles pretty much on cue. The pictures came out very nicely. It's hard sometimes when they actually do smile and look adorable. It makes mommy want to spend more money on all the cute shots. Thankfully though, I had a 50% off coupon, and it all worked out. I can't wait to get them back.

Not much else to share. Daddy is coming home in 18 days. The kids and I are all very excited. Trying to finish packing up all of the stuff I accumulated in the time since I have arrived here. So far, it doesn't all fit in the suitcases! I have to ship more boxes. Note to self: Go to post office and pick up flat rate boxes.

Just stuff.

2009-03-02T01:43:00.009-03:00

Have you ever accidentally published a blog post that wasn't meant to be? Yeah, well I've done that too. As a matter of fact, I just did it. Ooops. I am crazy like that. I'm so over my son not wanting to go to bed on time. By 9:30 pm and he still isn't asleep, I'm ready to light myself on fire.

I just finished a bag of Hostess white powder donuts. Honestly there were too many in there to count. It wasn't a whole bag. But I probably shouldn't have had them. I couldn't stop. They were truly yummy.

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen tonight. The results too were yummy. My family refers to this dish as "hamburger soup", simply for the reason that the main ingredient is ground beef. If you like soup, potatoes, carrots, corn or green beans, then you might like my soup. My family does.

I bought some space saver bags. You know the kind you see on the tv infomercials? Well I thought that I would give them a try. They actually do work! They don't come out nearly as flat as the tv claims that they do, but they do shrink down considerably in size, and yes, you can fit quite a large number of items in one medium size bag. In my bag I have 10 shirts, 1 sweater, 3 flannel footed pjs for the kids, a scarf, pair of mittens 2 pair of socks and 4 kids shirts. Here is what the before and after look like.

Also wanted to mention that I went to the largest mall in Arizona last week. I actually wept when I saw it. It's g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s! It's called Fashion Square, and is located in Scottsdale, AZ. It's roughly 2 hours from us here in Tucson. Though I really didn't time it, that's what our GPS navigator told me. We went there to visit one of the larger Dillard's stores. They were having one of their "additional 40%" off sales. And if you know me, then you know I am all over that. It was worth the trip, as we made a side stop at the IKEA store there in Tempe. Also a really cool place. Oh, and to any of you wondering if I found the missing shoe from the mis-sized pair that I bought the other day, well sadly, I did not. I did however find another pair that pleases me almost as much.

OK. So we had a lovely California club from this place called Paradise Bakery, and it was delicious. Then my mother snaps a blurry pic of me with my mouth full. Oh, and no. I didn't get pictures of the things I bought. Maybe I can make another post out of it. Tonight is just random stuff. Not to mention I missed Greys Anatomy, again. So I have to watch it now. When I get around to thinking about it. Oh and like I said before, the kid who is about to turn 4 has been giving me grief about falling asleep. I will be a happier woman once he is in his own bed once again. He does much better in his own bed. Time to run, it's finally quiet in here.

Let's see how fast I can blog.

2009-02-26T02:26:00.003-03:00

Normally, I like to think and think and edit and spell check and paste cute pictures when I blog. And most times this can be very time consuming. I wish I could just not think too much and just blog whatever might happen to pop into my mind. I'm going to try that tonight.

Today while I was at the mall, I purchased a cute pair of heels. The original price was 120.00 dollars. There is no way, ever that I would have paid that much for a pair of shoes. But honestly, when I tell you that they were about 70% off and then an additional 40% off today, it should make you gasp when I say that their price out the door was 20 bucks. I love them. I didn't take a picture of them, but I love them. Sorry, that's what happens when you blog from the cuff. I'm just going with the flow.

So when I get home, I try on my shoes. Er. Um. Pff. Oh no. The left one doesn't fit. Please, oh please oh please don't tell me..... I pick up the shoe and turn it over. Size 8. CRAP!! I don't wear a size 8. Nope. Close, but no cigar. Silly me. I only tried on the right shoe in the store. It was a perfect size 8 1/2. Now. What are the chances that there is another one just laying around? About slim to none.

You know what happened right? One of those weird people with the longer foot that the other, stole my size 8 1/2 and left me the smaller one. There wasn't another pair to be found. I wept right there on the spot. It's a shame. And you know how many people in shoe stores ring you up and check the sizes right? They all usually do. Well not today sister. It didn't happen. We could have nipped this in the bud. But noooo, they weren't entirely efficient today. Now I have to go back and return the shoes. I am quite certain I won't find the missing shoe. Or even another size 8 1/2, they were really cute shoes.

OK. I'm blogging, but I have to cut my time short. You see, I have a head full of chemicals that I haphazardly threw up on my strands in attempts to brighten up the place up there. Oh yeah, and the greys are coming in too. I'm cursed with those. Yes. Sadly. But I deal. So I buy a box every now and again and go to town.

Not wanting to frighten my children, I waited until they were sleeping this time. Last time when I colored my hair, I think I may have scarred them for life. It's not a pretty site you see, me and all this chemically goopy goop and stuff up there. Oh and it smells pretty strong too. Even the cat won't get near me. But you gotta do what you gotta do. The dh is coming to town and I can't have him seeing me looking all OLD and stuff.

So, just wanted to express myself. Wanted to blog, wanted to vent a bit about the shoes. Although I don't think that this situation will be rectified unless I buy something new, cute, or even better to replace it. So off I go, I shall let you know if I succeed. I have to at least try.

Time to rinse. Ciao peeps~

I'm not into sharing.

2009-02-25T01:20:00.004-03:00

So, I'm sitting in my bed eating a salad.

What?? You don't eat in your bed?

hmmm... Yeah. You're probably right. Eating in bed is not the best idea. For starters, there is a strong possibility that there is a 32inch flat screen in front of your face. Next thing you know it, you are watching reruns of Greys Anatomy, and you have a bedside fridge (filled with junk)on your nightstand. A few salads, cheetohs, a box of ho-hos and two months you've gained 50 lbs. I can see how this does not bode well. Maybe I'll rethink the food in bed thing.

But for now, let's just go with it shall we? Nobody's perfect. I check the fridge for snacks, scraps, food, anything really. The state of the lettuce was what grabbed my attention. I saw that it had a sad little droop going on. It still looked ever so edible, but I knew that it's time was near. I snagged it from the container. Of course the tomatoes looked deliciously plump and vibrant. I could feel my mouth watering. I perused the selection of dressings on the shelf. Of course I could have chosen a healthier option, like vinaigrette something or other. Tcchsss. Um. No. This momma reached for the Hidden Valley Ranch. Indeed I did. I also dug around and found a chunk of feta cheese. For one, that stinky cheese absolutely rocks a salad let me tell you. And two, if you've been around these parts (meaning my blog) then you know that I was unable to procure a block, much less a few crumbles of feta cheese in Santiago. It just couldn't be done.

So I tossed up this salad concoction and headed off. Because I felt I could eat in privacy? No, no no. Silly woman, there is no such thing when you have little children following you around like puppies. At first I was ok. Really, I was safe. You see, they were engaged, enthralled with "The Gummy Bear" song on youtube. My mother was playing it for them. I watched a little. But we had headed to the room and said our goodnights. Well, it wasn't my bedtime, but the kids' bedtime. So they were going to sleep. And then Miss Alexa peeks into the bowl, and smiles. "Mmmmm, i wahn summ mommy, gimmmee summ." I looked first to her, then to my son. I thought for approximately 2.2 seconds. If I gave her a bite, then she would know how incredibly yummy it was and she would want another bite. What's worse is that thing #2 would think he was missing out and would only want some because she was having some, and then he too would realize it was the bomb salad and after 3 or 4 bites it would all be gone. And I would be left with nothing. hmpf. I said no. Get in bed. Mommy loves you. Mwah!

Evil laughter........... bwah ha ha ha ha, bwah ha ha ha! The salad is mine, mine all mine!!!!

Ok. I feel bad. Sort of. Kind of? A little bit? No. Not really. At all. It was MYYY salad. Can't I ever have anything that's just mine? Ever again? Geesh. Am I supposed to share everything? It's not like they haven't been fed. Or didn't get their appropriate snacks for the day. And they had just drank their night time cup of milk. And the girl wants to eat my salad? Look, mommy has to draw the line somewhere. Tonight, it was my salad.

For the record, I have and do share with my kiddos. (on most days)

Maybe I will, maybe I won't.

2009-02-24T01:43:00.008-03:00

Blog again, that is. I've been so blah about blogging lately. I mean, ya know. I am being both a mommy and a daddy to my kiddos. So my time is not spent on the computer lately. Or shall I say much. But we are on the countdown to return to Chile.

My husband is coming here in March and he has about a weeks worth of meetings to attend to. Once completed, we will be having some much needed family time, vacation plans also that I am currently working on. And we will be staying once again at the hotel on base. So I'm really excited about that. The kids and I have essentially been "camping out" in my parents house for the past several months. Honestly I don't mind, it's been a real joy to even be here at all and close to my family. But it will be nice to have a little space once again. I am so blessed and so very thankful to them for even allowing me this time in their home. We have had so much fun here. And I know my kids have had the best time. They have bonded with my family even more, and my parents have had the immense pleasure of waking up to little people once again. I know that it puts a smile on their faces.

So, while I haven't been blogging, I've been holding my breath. I am even scared to type these words. As I do, I feel that I am tempting fate. The minute I write out the very thing that brings me great happiness, I worry that it will all come crashing down on me tomorrow in one fell swoop. My son could decide that tomorrow is his day to rip the carpet from beneath me, to scream "PSYCH!" and laugh hysterically and tell me it was all a joke. You see, ever since January 2007 when my son first started showing signs of interest in potty training, it has been an uphill battle. One long harrowing experience. Dare I even think the words. Dare I even type them out??

My son, who in 8 short weeks will celebrate his 4th birthday is displaying signs of a fully potty trained child. ((gasp.)) I know. I know. This.is.unbelievable. Completely unbelievable. For any mom of a difficult to train child knows, this day is a most momentous one. One which brings tears of sheer joy to my eyes. It has been one FULL month. I have not had to clean up any messes on his behalf. I don't care if he can't wipe yet, it matters not. The. Boy. Is. Pooping. I feel like screaming from our short mountain tops. (I once thought they were pretty impressive. And then I went to South America and witnessed the Andes Mountain range. Beautiful.) I feel proud. My boy is pooping on the potty.

As I grin largely, I turn my attention to the gravely defiant and tenacious princess who adores Tonka trucks. Next. Lord, please look kindly on me in this journey to toilet happiness and freedom from pull-ups.

Oh, and I'm not sure I mentioned anything about this, but I had the other two wisdom teeth surgically removed from my head the Friday before last. All is well and I am healing up nicely. I now have no remaining wisdom teeth lurking around to cause me distress in my later years.

OK, since I've been otherwise engaged lately, I am going to share some pics that have been taken recently of my kiddos.

Here are the stinkers:

6 weeks.

2009-02-06T02:05:00.005-03:00

I spoke to my husband tonight through his ipod touch. Ain't technology the best? He was at a Casino in Antofagasta, Chile. What was he doing there in the casino? Losing eight bucks. He's not big on gambling, thank the Lord for that.

I think I might actually want to go to a casino too if I had to stay in the accommodations that he has been in. The Chilean Air base has him rooming in with another person. I think they are more interested in saving money than their airmen's privacy. So when in Rome....
The rooms don't have tvs in them, and they do not even have a single clock. The beds are about the size of a twin, and are pretty dated. They have wood slats in them that support the mattress. On each of his trips to Antofagasta, he has fallen through the bed. I'm so not kidding. Dh has been bored a lot. Especially since they are closing the base early due to personnel being out on leave. It's the summer time still, and people take vacation right about now, when the weather is the best.

Dh returns home to Santiago tomorrow. I'm glad. His mother is coming for a visit and should be arriving on Monday. She will be staying for 6 weeks. And when she leaves, he is heading here to Tucson for a conference. Yay! I'm so excited, the kids are going to be so excited. They ask for their daddy every single day. I feel bad for them, and I know it's hard on them. But they will see him soon.

So, in 6 short weeks, we will be together again. This is a good thing. A very good thing! :)

Fireproof. See it.

2009-02-04T03:07:00.003-03:00

I think the very first recommendation for this movie came from my brother. It came again from some of my dearest friends through an email. Fireproof was released on DVD at the end of January. I knew I didn't want to just rent it. So I bought it. And I am so glad that I did. I am going to share it with my husband when I get back to Chile. I think he will like it just as much as I have.

I am blogging about it because I truly believe in it. Everything that this movie has to say. It's right on. I think that if you have a husband, wife or are engaged, you too should be watching this movie. Sadly, in our country, there is an extremely high divorce rate. Marriages seem to be failing more and more, and it seems that people do not value marriage as they should.

Perhaps if they watched this movie, it might make them think a little harder. It might make them believe in fighting a little more. It really is worth it.

Oh, and to top it off, it stars Kirk Cameron, my all time love as I was growing up. I will never forget him in Growing Pains. I think I watched every single episode.

Do your marriage a favor, and go rent this movie.

First movie.

2009-01-31T23:38:00.005-03:00

I don't remember my first movie, and there must not have been anything outstanding about it, because I have never heard any stories from my parents about it. My brother however, was very alert during his first movie. He saw "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." He stared at the movie screen for the entire length of the show. And he was only 3 months old. My parents obviously talked about this quite a bit.

For Eddie's first movie, I took him to see Shrek 3. He adores Shrek and I figured that he would sit still and not bother the other patrons. Well, we chose to go on a Saturday. And this being within a couple of days of the movies release date, the theater was packed.

I bought Eddie a bag of m & m's and we quickly went in and found a seat. I've never seen a children's movie that packed before. Shrek 3 was playing in 2 theaters. This turned out to be a very good thing. Well, I'm not sure if Eddie was getting sick, or getting over being sick. But he had a little cough. He ate some candy, and then he began to cough. Eddie has a very strong gag reflex. Well, when he coughed, he actually made that signature sound he makes right before he throws up. It gave me just enough time to get him off of my lap and turn him around. He began to throw up on the floor. There were people on either side of us, in front of us and behind us. And the smell began to permeate. I asked my husband to run and tell someone to come and clean it up. After sitting there for a while after my husband returned and nobody came back, we eventually just left that theater. Nobody showed. So we went to the next showing. (phew!) and that was honestly something I will never forget.

Today, I took miss Alexa to see her first movie. Only it was a movie for me, and not necessarily a kid movie. We saw "New in Town." But I have to report, that miss Alexa behaved herself quite well. She even helped me eat a hefty portion of a big bucket of popcorn. Because she listened, and because she sat quietly, I think I'm going to have to go again. Yay!

Yes, I know these pics aren't very good. I took them with my phone.

Bad blogger, potty issues.

2009-01-31T00:50:00.004-03:00

Sorry I haven't been around much. In essence, these days I am acting as a single parent. I miss my husband terribly. And it's going to be a tough week. He is leaving our current hometown to go visit another Chilean air base and they do not have wi-fi in their base lodging. So he and I will not be talking very much. That's just plain sad. Thankfully, he will only be gone for one week.

So for now, I am still tackling the ever draining task of project potty training. I hope that it ends soon. I pray. It's clear to me now that I have one of those kids. No matter how much I didn't want to believe it was true. I cannot ignore the signs. Eddie, is one of those children that decides in his own good time, when he will poop on the potty, and absolutely when he will not.

I have tried e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. And I honestly do mean everything. Sticker charts, rewards, gifts, snacks, candies, positive reinforcements, negative reinforcements, early training, letting him go and ignoring it, the alarm method, more sticker charts, new potty seats, new stools, potty chair inserts. I mean it, if it's been done, or written about, I have attempted it. I really have.

Eddie is going to be 4 on April 26. And I really think I might cry if this kid doesn't quit having accidents in his pants by then. He has been pee-pee trained since he was two. I've been amazed to even see that if he has to go pee in the night, that he wakes to go in the toilet. So we have long since said goodbye to diapers and pull ups for him. It's just the poop. He will NOT consistently go in the potty. He does good for like a week, and then he has an accident. And then he will mess up for a week, and then start going again. It's been like this for us. That is my son. That's what I'm dealing with.

And now, little sister is starting to adopt some of his habits. I think I might cry even harder. I caught her hiding behind a chair. She turned 2 in September. And though she's having some successes, I fear she is going to be just like her brother. *sigh*

I am so ready for the kids to use to the potty on their own. I can't even picture a day when this will happen. Other moms tell me it will come soon enough. Can it? Will it? Pleeaaase?? Pretty please?

Sometimes, rules are just stupid.

2009-01-22T22:59:00.004-03:00

I am quite sick of being a secondary account holder. It's useless. Idiotic banks won't even allow me to make a payment over the phone to a "joint credit card" between myself and my husband. Don't they want their money? Idiots.

I can't get any information, I can't change anything. Well, I actually do understand that part, but I thought banks would be all about money, so no matter who is paying, it should be all good. Whatev. I'm not in the mood.

Tonight I just tried to access our tax information for our home that we own (not really own, but we are making payments on) that we aren't living in. Dandy. I was trying to access this information because I have an appointment tomorrow with an accountant to get our taxes done. And the phone assistant tells me that since I am not the primary account holder, and the lowly second joint person on the loan, that I am not eligible to access that information. It's like top secret. Oh? Really?

What, pray tell, kind of danger or harm can I cause by knowing that we spent $11,000 dollars in interest last year? Anyone? I can't change anything vital. I can't suck all the funds out and pay them directly to myself and run for the hills. I just want the document.

I hate rules. The stupid ones especially. Right now I'm waiting for my husband to set up his online identity, because he has never had one. He has never paid a bill online. And once we do this, I can access the stupid tax information. After that, he will never need this information anymore. How stupid. But that's just me.

I'm just not supposed to shop anymore.

2009-01-12T03:16:00.003-03:00

Scared ya didn't I? You thought I meant shopping, as in like, for the really good things. Nah, no matter how painful it is, I will always want to shop. But I'm talking about grocery shopping. It's just plain psychotic.

I take my kids to the store, and people stare at us. Not in a good way either. Eddie climbs on top of the car attached grocery cart. Alexa attempts to do the same. Each one of them takes turns grabbing things from the shelves. I scold. I raise my voice, but not too loud. They laugh, they push, they touch. And then they scream. I have to stop what I am doing only a dozen times per aisle.

I try to focus on vegetables, fruits, canned goods. I can't. Alexa is trying to kiss Eddie. Eddie doesn't want a kiss. They squabble, they laugh, and she still tries. He pushes at her, and then calls for my help.... "mommyyyyyyy!!" People are still staring.

I find a box of valentines candy on the floorboard of the little car that the kids are sitting in. I place it back on the shelf. I look in the cart. There are some various items which I did not put in there. I also put those items back too.

I push onward. Carefully I move, as I realize that the kids are alternately sticking their heads outside of the car, and into the path of oncoming shopper's carts. I have to be careful, I have to watch out for their noggins, as they don't have a care in the world.

I don't know why they misbehave so much in grocery stores. I honestly just don't know. But what I do know, as I stroll throughout the building, is that I have the loudest two kids in the whole place. I know this. I attract a lot of attention when we shop. Or shall I say that my two monkeys attract a lot of attention. You just can't help but to look and see what all the ruckus is about. I'm still hoping that one day they outgrow it. Or even tone it down a bit. That would be nice.

10 things that make me happy.

2009-01-08T01:23:00.011-03:00

Besides the ever obvious (I'm thankful for being alive, and good health)

1. Waking up to two smiling faces. Followed by kisses and baby voices proclaiming their love for me. How can I not sail out of bed and get them whatever their little hearts desire?

2. M & Ms. Peanut M & Ms, M & Ms without peanuts, and mini M & Ms.

3. Blue skies and brisk weather. The fact that it doesn't snow here and get insanely cold like say, ummmm Boise. (ahem.) It's cold there. And I don't know what to do with that.

4. Finding a pair of Skechers on sale for 19.75, and no tax. Comfy, and sweet.

4. Actually not being pregnant. Not that I thought I was. I am just happy that I am not.

5. Sleeping children. It makes for a peaceful ride.

6. Hearing Alexa sing her alphabet in that sweet little 2 year old voice. Watching other people smile at her as we walk along.

7. Holding hands. Holding my babies, my husband, and yes my blackberry too. (I didn't tell you I got one of those for Christmas?? tsk.... tsk....)

8. The leftover Christmas soaps at Bath n Body works, they are now 1.12 and 1.25. I love that.

9. Pepperoni pizza from Papa Murphy's.

10. The new iced coffee from McDonalds McCafe. I like the Caramel flavor. Yum, and definitely cheaper than Starbucks. ;)

Do you have some favorites? Some things that make you happy? Feel free to make a list of your own. Let me know if you do so I can stop by and take a look!

News of sorts.

2009-01-06T18:39:00.002-03:00

It's amazing to me that I have managed even a moment or two to find a little blog time. It's amazing to me even more that some of my favorite bloggers were able to continue to blog through the holidays. Those of you who have, well, you just are the bloggy best! I haven't the foggiest what sort of time management skills you possess, but I am wickedly jealous of those.

I am sitting here stealing a moment from washing clothes, cleaning the bathroom, and kitty litter, and bedroom, all the while setting up some files on my dh's computer so he can share with his mother our Christmas pictures when he flies in to Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday, just to take this moment in time to blog for you. Well for me too, because I like it. I like blogging. Shoot, the truth is out.

Anyhow, I thought I would go ahead and let you guys in on something. I am extending my stay here in the states. I will be here for an undetermined amount of time. We have had some issues with our home, and we are hoping to get those resolved soon. I have a plan to find a job. The holidays are over, so the search is on. I feel terrible about our family being separated. I do. But sometimes life doesn't always follow the path that you had planned out. So for now I am going to get comfortable and start looking for work.

I wanted to let you know. Say some prayers for my family, if you are the praying type. We could certainly use them. Thanks again for always coming back. You have no idea how much your kind words make me smile throughout the day.

a few more pics.

2009-01-04T23:08:00.005-03:00

I just thought I would share a few more pictures from Christmas. Here is Alyssa (and Devon in the background) opening a present.

This year Santa brought bikes for the kids. Their very first bikes. Eddie had a tricycle once about a year and a half ago, but he kept flying over the handlebars and we ended up leaving it outside in the garage. It was way too dangerous. So we thought we would wait and try again. It's time.

Miss Alexa is terribly thrilled with her new bike!

As is Eddie.

And much of Eddie's time with Devon was spent wrestling with him and/or riding him.

It's 2009!

2009-01-02T01:13:00.005-03:00

Hi. It's me Leslie. I've been abducted by aliens. I was bound and gagged by 3 slender white gooey noseless creatures. They took me to their mother ship and demanded to know more about the shopping habits of humans on the planet earth. It made sense to me that they would decide to steal me since I am well versed on the patterns of sales and have the uncanny knack to find deals and steals. I have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to shopping in the northern hemisphere. We discussed the sale Dillards has annually on January 1st. A whopping additional 50% off all sale items. They were immensely pleased with this information and decided to let me go. I was released just in time for me to enjoy the sale as well. I bought 2 sweaters, 4 tops, 2 pair of socks, one jacket, and two pair of shoes. I paid 20 dollars. OK. I'm totally kidding about that part. But I did get a good deal.

I'm sorry to all my fellow bloggy buddies out there, I've missed reading and knowing whats going on in your lives, and I missed blogging about my daily nonsense. I am going to try to be better. The holidays are officially over. I think. So I'm going to give myself a pass since I am not in my normal "place and space."

Anyway lately we have had 6 people sharing one bathroom. Good times. Good times. My dh is here and my step kids were also here for a short visit. So this life in this house, has been chaotic, loud, busy, non stop, and loud. Did I already say that? OK. It seems that we ate continuously. And then when we were done eating, we were having dessert. Once we were done with that, we talked about what we would eat the next day. I don't even want to see a scale. Really. The thought is horrifying. But I wouldn't mind seeing another slice of that marble cheesecake. Can someone say, yummy??

My step son Devon is now officially taller than me. It took him 15 years, but he has now reached and even surpassed 5"7". (Me) Alyssa is a beautiful young lady. Growing up way too fast I would have to say. I remember when I was 10. Time sure flies.

Let me share a few pics: Me and Corona. He feels very festive and merry. Even if his face suggests otherwise. He loves to dress up. I have other pictures to prove it.

My darling daughter Alexa.

Alexa and Alyssa. And if you must know, I've dreamt about naming my daughter Alexa since approximately the year 1988. It's true. So while Alyssa was born first, I had dibs on the name long before I ever knew or met her father. ((wink.))

Devon, Alyssa and Eddie at the front door. (mom's house) I can't explain why they are not smiling in this picture. Maybe it was because it was cold outside. Or perhaps daddy had just said that he was going to eat all of their candy. Or because they are related, and have that "I don't feel like smiling gene." Yes. That must be the reason. At any rate, here they are:

OK. That's all the pics I've got for now. I just wanted to get online and let you all know that I did manage to survive. Happy New Year! And belated Merry Christmas! I hope you all had nice holidays with your loved ones!

Shopping with kids is bad. Very bad.

2008-12-18T21:59:00.000-03:00

Today I took the kids with me to a few stores. I had in mind when I left the house to actually buy the last few Christmas presents that were on my list. Eddie and Alexa had on their minds to play and laugh and have fun.

I first went to Bed, Bath and Beyond. It was in this store that I realized that there are just way too many breakable items within reach of small hands. Small hands that are attached to small children who are too young to grasp the concept of the words shattered, shards, or "QUIT BEFORE THEY THROW US OUT OF THE STORE!" I don't think I've ever paid attention to just how many things in this store are breakable before. Until my children got there, and started knocking things down. We left without buying anything. It was for the best.

We went to JCPenney next. In this lovely store, I only found one item to buy. I was actually quite busy moderating a fight over the one seated store stroller that Eddie and Alexa both thought that they needed to sit in. Mind you, when I bring my own double stroller, or single stroller for that matter, neither one of them want to sit in it. I end up pushing around a big bulky empty stroller through the store navigating through the small aisles and clothes racks as the kids walk by my side. So I didn't bring it. And instead, they fought. The entire time I was in the store, I was the lady with the screaming children. I made them take turns. While the kid sitting in the stroller was enjoying his or her ride, the other stood on the wheel. Which made it very difficult for me to actually push. Then the standing child would smack the sitting child, because that's just the appropriate thing to do. And then either one of them would scream. Because they were jealous, or the other one was bothering them. *sigh* I paid for my one item and left.

We then tried our hand at Target. My kids love that HUGE big red buggy that two kids can climb into the back of, and stand in or sit down. My son thinks it's his big pirate ship. Or so he claims. I told him that if he climbed on top of it again, that I would have to abandon it and we would just walk. Well he did it again. And this time he was OK with it. It was Alexa who fell apart. She screamed like I had just ran over her foot. She was so mad at me for leaving the buggy there, she almost laid down on the ground. I told her that she could stay right there with the buggy if she wanted, but I was leaving. She screamed for another 5 minutes on and off, but she eventually got over it. I think it must have been nap time, because she got cranky again pretty soon after the buggy incident. I'm not sure what I went in the store to buy, as my concentration was wrecked with my little angels and their perfect behavior.

I think I am going to have to plan just one more trip. No kids. I have no idea how I get anything done with these kids. Shopping and kids just doesn't mix. Ever.

Can we talk about gas?

2008-12-15T01:13:00.003-03:00

Really? Can we? The problem is my son. If you could call it a problem at all. I mean, he is 3 and a half years old. And he has discovered the wondrous bodily function of passing gas. He does it ALL the time. He laughs and laughs and then when you think he us incapable of more, he does it again. Passing gas is turning into a favorite past time. We call it, "tooters" in my house. And he can tooter all day long.

Does it stop? Does it get better? Does it get less funny? Or funnier as they get older? I am trying to teach him the proper manners about this, but it's hard. He just giggles endlessly and tooters on everyone in the family. Oh my goodness. Boys. {{Mommy rolls eyes and throws hands up in defeat.}}

On an unrelated note, we went to a birthday party today. It was held at a place called Pump It Up. It's an inflatable indoor play area that has obstacle courses, giant slides, and bounce houses. We had Eddie's 3rd birthday party there, and the mom of a little boy that we invited to our party liked it so much that she decided to have her son's party there too. The kids had a lot of fun, and even let me sit back and watch rather than insisting that I climb all over the place with them.

playing along...

2008-12-12T17:09:00.006-03:00

So today as I sit here blogging, twittering, watching my kids running back and forth in front of me, refusing to get dressed, dragging what few presents there are under the tree out from under the tree and stacking them... (here's proof)

I think about what I am going to do today. Oh yeah, blog. You see, I have missed my bloggy friends so it's only realistic that I do in fact show up every once in a while to say hello. And then my friend Spoiled Mommy over there is hosting "Favorite/Not so Favorite Friday" and I thought that I would play along.

Today. My ~~favorite~~ NOT FAVORITE AT ALL. No they ~~are,~~ not. No really, they are. (Sssshhhh.) Don't tell my mother. She just bought a new bag. They are Snyders peanut butter pretzel sandwiches dipped in Hershey's chocolate. OMG. Really. The bag that she just bought last night is empty. The things are pure evil. I couldn't stop eating them. But in my defense, my mother had a handful. And my brother ate ~~one~~ two. He just informed me that two were stuck together. And Alexa ate one. So I really and truly did not eat the whole bag. But my goodness. Pure evil. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

As for my not so favorite thing. I would have to say owning a home in 2007 when you are a military family holding orders to leave the country. Holding orders which state that you are to move to another location. While the government is working so hard to BAIL out people that I feel do NOT need to be bailed out, why not give our military folks a hand? The ones that work so hard to protect this country, why not give them a hand when they truly need it?

Because of the housing crisis, our home is no longer worth what we owe on it. So much like a bad car loan, we are now upside down in our mortgage. Though we have faithfully paid our monthly obligations, we are at this time facing a bit of a hardship. We couldn't sell our home in 2007 when we tried for a year. So we rented it. Our first renter bailed out when he lost his job. Our second renter didn't even make it past one month. Our home now sits vacant. And it's Christmas time.

So this military family stationed in Chile still has to meet and pay for a home that we no longer live in. And there is nobody out there willing to give us a hand. The government is not meeting to discuss our bailout. We pay, and we pray that we find a new renter. A good one, and stable. To pay the rent on time, so that we don't have to worry about foreclosure too.

Phone pictures.

2008-12-11T21:21:00.000-03:00

So here are a few pictures snapped from the phone. A moment in time from my life. From here and from there.

I spent several hours in the ER two nights ago. My dad took a fall. It was urged, by me that he go. I'm grateful that he listened. No bones were broken, just some bruised ribs.

Driving around town. My sweet baby sleeps.

Corona and his mommy. Reunited once again.

OK, now these next 3 were not taken by the phone. But it is a cool find. I'm somewhat known for coming across bargains. One could say that my eyes are always opened. It's the true shopper in me, I never stop shopping.

Well, the other day I was looking on craigslist, and I came across an ad. An ad for a playhouse. A very large playhouse. Used. But no matter. I almost thought that it was a mistake that the person who placed the ad had it listed so cheap. Any name brand playhouse can bring in a nice chunk of change. Even used. I looked at my watch. It was only 15 minutes after the ad was initially placed. I sent an email. The person didn't respond until 8 o'clock the next morning. Later on that day I became the proud owner of a Step 2 playhouse for my kids. And I got it for the bargain basement price of just $45.00. Yes, it's true. I got a major deal on that. The house is gigantic. It had to be towed in my brother's flat bed trailer. I couldn't even believe it. Brand new that same house can be bought for a mere $499. The kids absolutely love it. And I couldn't be happier about it too.

Just hanging out at the house.

Sleeping. Believe it or not, the room was dark. lol~

Santa at the mall.

2008-12-11T02:32:00.005-03:00

Any time Dillard's has a sale they call my mom to let her know. She's a triple platinum card carrying member of the American Express Dillard's elite club. She loves Dillards. I used to work at Dillards. I like them pretty much too. But they don't call me. I have to hear about the sales like every one else. They usually put an ad in the paper.

So today we went off to the mall. I wanted the kids to see Santa. And really hoped that they wouldn't be too scared to see him. Eddie protested a little bit. But I think Alexa's enthusiasm to get to the front of the line calmed him down a bit and the fact that Santa wasn't eating the children as snacks, was a bit warming to him as well.

I was pleased that they didn't cry (like she did last year) and that at least I got a somewhat decent picture. Which I will not post, because I don't have a scanner here where I am. I did however manage to take a shot with my phone, so here it is.

When we finally made our way around to Dillards, there was a nice lady who stopped to talk to my children. She asked them if they saw Santa. They immediately began chattering to her. She had asked my daughter what she told Santa that she wanted for Christmas. And miss Alexa looked at her and told her, "I wann uh gun. But ah need twoo guns." And then Mr. Eddie chimed right in and told the woman, "But I already have a gun right now." The lady looked a bit surprised, as was I, and she said that she hoped that they were pretend guns. I nodded and yanked my children right out of there and walked away. Quickly.

What's up with kids when they do or say something like that? Why couldn't she have said I want a hello Kitty doll? Or a bike, like she told the other strange man wearing a red santa hat who didn't even have a red suit on, or a beard or even white hair for that matter? He looked nothing like Santa. And she stopped to tell him, after she called him Santa, that she wanted a pink bike for Christmas. No. Of course not. My sweet little two year old daughter tells a complete stranger, a woman, that she wants a gun. That's just nice. {Mommy rolling her eyes here.}

Ok. So we shopped very little. We saw Santa, and then we played in the play area that most malls now have centrally located by the food courts. It was here, today, that I found out exactly how aggressive my little girl is becoming. I saw her push a bigger boy. Why? Because he was a little too close? I would gather. She didn't say anything to him, she just kind of pushed him. And there was another boy there too, she started pointing at him, and it didn't look at all friendly. I called her name to divert her attention. She came over to me for a moment and then went back to play.

I watched her run around and climb on the toys. I watched Eddie too, running, jumping, happy. I saw Alexa climb on top of a turtle's head and sit there. There were two little girls near her, talking to her, but not looking happy. It looked as if they wanted to push her off the turtle's head. I got up to join her. The girls were not her size. In fact, they were quite a bit bigger. Like maybe 6, or 7 at least. When I went over there the girls began to talk to me. They told me that my daughter was telling them to go away, and that they couldn't play there. Because it was all hers. And she kept telling them to leave. I had to smile, but I was really surprised to hear this. My baby girl was telling these big kids this. I smiled at the girls and told them that they are fine, and to ignore her. I told them that she is only two and she doesn't understand how to share very well. I took Alexa down and started to take her out of the play area. She promptly dropped to the ground where she started screaming bloody murder. I walked away and when she realized that she didn't get the attention that her efforts deserved, she quickly followed.

I had to take both of my kids out of the play area because my two year old is being a bully. Nice. The girl in the picture in front of Alexa sitting on the turtle is one of the two that she was telling to get out of her play area.

In America.

2008-12-10T00:55:00.004-03:00

I've been to Target a half a dozen times already. It never gets old. The bright and shiny lights, the hustle and bustle of people parading through the doors, and up and down the aisles feel welcoming to me. The people chattering in English, ah... glorious English. I feel like I belong here.

I've been to The Wing Stop, Los Nopales (Mexican restaurant), Papa Murphy's (pizza), I've been to the base (Davis Monthan Air Force Base) to walk around with my parents. It's nice. It feels good. I remember all the times I was there before when I would call my dh and he would (or really was spared a few short moments) to come and join me for lunch in the food court. It felt safe.

I have enjoyed seeing the neighborhood homes as they all start to put up their displays of Christmas decor one by one. I have driven through the city that once was foreign to me nearly 4 years ago, and thought of the memories that this place holds for me. I've been to my house and walked through the vacant rooms. This place feels the most special of them all. I brought both of my babies home to that house. And as I walked through and inspected the state of the home, it was hard to imagine the callousness and ill regard that people have for other people's property. Though it could have been much worse, it was in fact still standing. And nothing was taken or damaged. It just looked a little sad. They didn't take good care of it. I guess that is the best way to explain it.

I can't imagine leaving this place again. I can't imagine not being here. I don't want to. But there is a big part of my life that is not here. It's missing. And I can't reconcile the two. No matter how much I try, they just don't add up. I don't want to go back there. And he can't come here. Not right now anyway. And not for good, not yet. So I think right now I just wait. I have some things I have to accomplish while I am here. Some very important things.

I am thankful though, that at least I get to see my dh in less than two weeks when he flies in to be with us for the holidays. It will be his birthday when he arrives. I am planning to take him out to dinner. I want to go to Outback Steakhouse. But I think he might want Chinese food. He adores it. Since it's his birthday, I think it's only fitting that he decide. Oh and we aren't taking the kids. Bonus.

So this Christmas, I don't really want anything at all. I have everything that I need. I am healthy. I am loved and I have a beautiful family. That's more than a lot of people can say. So while all the material things are nice, I am just very very fortunate to have all that I do. If I had to ask for anything at all, I would ask to have my family all together, for good, in America.

I've never felt so strongly about this place as I do right now. I think I have a better appreciation for it.

Not much time to blog.

2008-12-06T21:01:00.002-03:00

Though I've thought of my happy little blog a lot, I just haven't been able to make the time to create new posts. I've been running around to different places with my family. I've been going there, and here and everywhere.

My kids are pretty excited about the holidays, and are enjoying every bit of the Christmas displays that we have seen. I am planning on taking them to see Santa some time in the near future.

In other news, my husband has just booked a flight to come here too for the holidays. He will be spending Christmas with his family after all. We are all very happy about this news. And to top it off, the government paid for the majority of the tickets. I am thankful.

I hope that I can find some time to post, but I just wanted to give a little update as to what's going on with me. We are busy, we are with family and having a good time.

Whatever, I'm late. But it's still Monday.

2008-12-01T23:34:00.002-03:00

A lovely friend of mine had to remind me what day it is. Duh. I think I may be having too much fun shopping. I was not paying attention. Sorry bloggy readers. But, I want you to know that I am still hosting my weekly video thing. Anyway, I really like the idea of random videos. Then there is less pressure to record something new. Well here is my random video for today. Eddie and Alexa were having a little fun on the merry go round outside of the BX (Base exchange).

Once again, to play along just post a video of your choice on your blog and take a button. Link up to me here. And have fun. I'll try to think of a theme for next week. And I will also try to be around more this week. I've been enjoying the family and kids are running around having a blast!

Black Friday.

2008-11-28T13:16:00.005-03:00

Last night I slept on the cell phone. Not even my cell phone, it was my dad's cell phone. I needed to be able to hear my sister calling me. We had plans to head out early with the masses of people in hopes of snagging some fabulous electronic product at deep discount. The phone rang at 3:05 a.m. or something close to that. I was out the door in under 30 minutes. Sweet.

We drove in the darkness of night to some famous Mart and easily strode through the store. They did not have locked doors, so we walked right in and positioned ourselves right next to rows of boxes which held the bright and shiny toys. We were not the only ones. Within minutes more people joined, they stood near us, parked their carts near ours as they too peered at the carefully stacked boxes.

We were elbow to elbow, cart to cart, yet we were not allowed to handle or touch the merchandise until 5 a.m. So we waited.

I drank coffee and joked with the other patrons. I posed for pictures. Don't laugh. At least I had enough sense of mind to dress myself. There were actual adults in the store who failed to shed their p.j.'s. Really, I'm not kidding.

There was a little chaos in the beginning, but no fights broke out. Nobody was trampled, or hurt, no smashed fingers and no name calling. All was a success.

Ah, the joys of Christmas shopping! Why do I do this every year?? Anyone?

Turkey Time

2008-11-26T20:10:00.003-03:00

Thanksgiving day is one of my favorite holidays. Mostly because we can sit around with our entire family and we can spend the day cooking and eating. Before kids, it was even acceptable to nap too. Sometimes we have been known to go to a movie on Thanksgiving, sometimes not.

For me, the best time is spent sharing the day with loved ones. My family has grown throughout the years, and now I am thankful for more than I ever have been before. I am so thankful that my kids are here and they are getting a chance to get to know my family.

I am blessed in so many ways. I try hard not to take the little things for granted. But I truly am thankful.

I hope all of you out there can recognize the little blessings in your life. Enjoy your holidays, and have a Happy Turkey Day!

To here from there.

2008-11-25T17:19:00.002-03:00

Trying to leave one country to fly to another is serious business. Depending upon the length of your trip, it might be necessary to pack like there's no tomorrow. And I'm a packing kind of fool. I like to shove a suitcase full of junk. Or things I think I need.

In my attempted departure, I was caught up in the customs check point. I was there for 5 minutes while the young lady tried to explain to me that I needed to fill out 3 additional forms. All I wanted to know, was whether I did something wrong or not. I hadn't. But still, she sent me over to the immigration police. That was fun. I was greeted by 3 men who didn't seem to possess the best customer service skills on the planet. I managed to scribble through the forms and make my way once again to the officials who would either allow me through or deny me passage and send me sadly on my way back home with my dh. During this process, my two children took this time to let me know that they were not happy. They were fighting over cookies. The cookies spilled and went all over the floor. I think I cursed the country under my breath while my babies were throwing more crumbs on the floor. People were giving me the evil eye for my misbehaving, overly tired (because you know that at 10 pm it was passed their bed time) and cranky, whiny children. I wanted to get on the plane. The kids were crying. They called out for daddy. And the lady at the window could not have moved any slower. I was starting to think she died right in front of me. Or fell asleep.

I shall fast forward to the part where I am actually on the plane. We played musical seats. The kids slept on and off. And both needed to go pee at the same time. The bathrooms are very small. The flight attendant told me that I couldn't take both kids in there at the same time. I just ignored her really. But when I started to go into the tiny closet like room, the flight attendant charged me and ran up into the doorway. She blocked the door with her body and she stood just inches from my face. She began yelling at me very loudly. She said, "I TOLD YOU NOT TO TAKE BOTH KIDS IN THERE!!" She brought her tone down only a notch and said that I should have left one kid strapped in the seat alone while I took them one at a time. I briefly played out a scene in my mind that would have ended with me getting handcuffed at Dallas Ft. Worth airport and leaving my children stranded in the care of some child protective service agent. I decided not to go that route. Instead, I stood there with the door open, and my children using the potty in plane sight of the people standing in line. That woman was just plain wrong.

For that display, I had two other flight attendants at my seat apologizing profusely for this woman's behavior. They said that they would have let me go in without a second thought. They offered me a bottle of wine or champagne from first class. I accepted.

We were in the air for 9 hours and 30 minutes. It was a long, mostly sleepless flight for me. The kids did pretty well on the plane, considering that they are 2 and 3. Upon touchdown in the U.S. I was overwhelmingly happy to be in my home country. And even at the Dallas airport I encountered a handful of happy chatty travelers. It felt warm and welcoming. I smiled all the way through.

Our next flight was 2 hours and 5 minutes. We arrived early. But it was the longest flight. I was so tired, and felt like I could almost fall asleep while standing straight up. There is no better thing than to see your family waiting for you as you get off the plane. However, I did not see them for a bit. I had to walk down the ramp, get on an elevator and then go down to baggage claim. It was there that I saw them all standing. Backs to me. Looking at the escalator. Waiting for me and my two kids pulling their rolling backpacks and me pushing the stroller. They were waiting for me to come down that escalator. Only I had too much, I surprised them by coming up behind them. And it was good.

I slept for hours when I got home. The food is good. The milk is good. And there was even some real feta cheese and sour cream! Feels good to be home. There is only one thing missing. And he is back in Chile. Wish he were here~

You know what time it is??

2008-11-24T01:40:00.000-03:00

That's right folks, it's time for a video. It's Monday. I've made it safely to my destination. Having a lovely time so far. I'm beat tired. So I will save the details of my trip for another post. Since today is in fact my video day, I'm going to share an older video clip with you guys. It was from Thanksgiving time last year. Makes me smile every time I see it. Please feel free to share any video that you have with me. Doesn't matter the topic, or even if you made it at all. Just post a video on your blog and post the link back here. Don't forget to take a button, and leave me a comment.

Saturday in the USA!

2008-11-22T00:01:00.006-03:00

If you are reading this post, well depending upon the time, I should be in the air. My flight leaves at 11 PM my time. Check my clock on my side bar, I will be flying until 6 AM (That will be the time at Dallas/Ft. Worth airport.) And then for another 3 hours and 50 minutes I will be dragging luggage and kids through the airport. My next flight will be the short but hopefully much sweeter one. Like I said, hope. I should land at about 11:20 a.m. mountain time. It is there that I will be greeted by my dear family. I've missed them!

Think about me, good thoughts and well behaved children. I will be relaxing the remainder of the day, and hopefully I can squeeze in a nap somewhere to try and regroup and feel human again. I regret to say that I probably won't see Twilight on this day. But perhaps Sunday or Monday? I'm not at all upset about the delay. You see, it's no delay at all. I wouldn't be seeing it at all if I remained in my host country.

So, to all my bloggy friends, ciao from Santiago~ Next time I post, it will be from the good ole U.S. of A!

God Bless the USA - The most popular videos are here

Favorite Friday!

2008-11-21T11:30:00.006-03:00

Hey and howdy, going to be brief today. My keeds are acting like they've just eaten a heaping spoonful of fire ants. They are ~c-r-a-z-y~ Must have something to do with the fact that we are leaving the country on a jet plane in less than 12 hours. Yeah, maybe that's it.

So I'm participating in Favorite Friday today. It's where you write a post about your favorite and not so favorite things. So go on over to visit Spoiled Mommy here.

One of my very favorite make up products is Bare Minerals Mineral Veil. It's a very light powder cover up. I absolutely adore it. It makes your skin look so fresh and clean. I highly recommend this product to everyone. If you haven't tried it, you should! Of course, I also love all of the bare minerals stuff too. But this one, is my favorite.

As for not so favorite? Standing in line at the grocery store, and having the people behind you standing so close to you that they are touching you. Or if you take a small step backwards, you step on them for being so close to you. Definitely not my favorite thing. ugh! OK, I think that about covers it.

If you are a lovely follower of mine and would care to participate in this coming Monday's Video Me Monday, I would like for you to post your favorite video clip. It can be of anything! Your video that you made or someone elses! Make me laugh, make me cry, just share something with me! Post it on your blog, grab a button and link back to me, put your post in Mr. Linky. That's the drill.

OK. Time to feed the monkeys. Oh and for those of you that asked if I will be blogging while in the US, the answer is yes. I will be borrowing my parents laptop. Sweet!

She's at it again folks.

2008-11-19T23:16:00.003-03:00

So I'm all like minding my own business right? Yeah, and then a group of Chilean thugs bust through my 15th story apartment building window. They drug me kicking and screaming to my computer. I was forced to join twitter. I was twittering. In a sense, I think I am still. It was there that I saw OHMommy. She is having another giveaway. And why yes, she is giving away shoes. No, they are boots. And not just any boots, hot momma boots.

As I wept at the sweet words from her post, I could actually see myself being chosen this time. It's going to be fate. Or insanity. I can picture my legs wearing those. I can see them as I look down towards my feet. I can even smell the leather. I am willing myself to win.

It is only because I am a good bloggy friend that I am telling you this, but you can enter her contest too. You must visit her blog and ~~demand that she choose Leslie.~~ leave her a comment. I wish I could say that I hope you win. Well, I can say it, but I honestly won't feel it. You see, I reeaally want to win. So let me just say this, Good Luck! There. That's appropriate!

Edward, Bella, and some other stuff.

2008-11-19T14:33:00.009-03:00

OK. It's only 1 day and a number of hours before I can see Edward and Bella and all the other vamps on the big screen. Even though it's technically going to be available to be seen by me, I have to wait an additional few days. Just because on the 21st I will still "technically" be out of the country, and then I'll be flying for a good portion of the following day. And then of course from my current time zone to mountain time, I will be gaining an additional 4 hours. So I might be acting a bit off. Like, I may want to go to bed when I should be eating. I guess we'll work it out. I'm just super excited to get to go to a movie. And that movie being Twilight. So cool.

Oh and as to the status of my suitcases: not all packed. OK. Just not. Why pack, when I can blog? Can someone tell me? So while I'm blogging, I too am singing. Quietly though, because Alexa is sleeping in the next room. And if my maid slams one more cabinet door, I am going to be getting hostile up in this household. Downright hostile I tell ya. So yeah, the song:

Blackberry, Blackberry, bo-berry

banana, fana, fo- ferry

Fe-fi-mo-merry

Blackberry~

I think I have a new infatuation. And I feel Christmas is nearing... and in case any of you out there have been paying attention, you will probably remember that I do not currently have or own a cell phone. Sure I have a cell phone. But I don't think they currently work, have batteries, or make or even sell batteries for such antiquities. Seriously.

This was my last cell phone. I had to put it in my rolling back pack. I was so cool. But I couldn't zip the backpack shut. The antenna stuck out and used to poke me in the leg while I walked. It weighed 9 lbs. And I could only talk for 3 minutes and 18 seconds. It was just too heavy for longer conversations.

No seriously, I like the blackberry. It's pretty, and it can hold music too. Besides, not only is my dh not letting me take our computer home, but he stole my ipod. Oh and my friend Stephanie has one. And I'm a wimp. Peer pressure is the worst. She told me she would text me if I got one. It's free. Or something like that. Oh yeah, and Spoiled Mommy wants me to twitter. Because all the cool moms are doing it. And then Mcmommy, she went all out and posted stuff about twittering. So you can see why I might benefit from this phone. Oh, and let's be practical here. If I got stuck on the side of the road, I could call for roadside assistance. AKA my brother. Because he's good like that.

Did I mention it's hot in here? I didn't? No. I'm sure that I did. Really. I'm hot and it's affecting my blogging. I must go open the freezer. Oh, and that really wasn't my last cell phone. Honest. C'mon. You seriously didn't believe me, did you?

Monday My Video

2008-11-17T10:19:00.006-03:00

Hey again peeps! Welcome to the video version of this web page. You'll have to excuse me, as I seem to be a bit neurotic on this video. I don't usually talk so fast, er.. do I?

You'd have to ask someone who knows. Sorry that I haven't followed my own rules. But I honestly might try next week. Who knows.

So here I am, yet again:

(by the way, the rules to play along are to video tape your child either playing with or talking about their favorite toy. If you don't have children, feel free to video tape your husband or your own favorite toy or gadget. Post it on your blog, and then link the post in Mr. Linky in the box below. OK, now go have fun!)

Shoes

2008-11-16T18:17:00.005-03:00

OK. So I'm participating for the first time in the Fantasy Shoe League. My new bloggy friend Leslie has this shoe thing, and well, I'm kind of into it. So this week's theme is evening shoes. And what girl doesn't love a good evening shoe? You're supposed share a picture of a pair of shoes that you own, or find a pic of some fabulous shoes that you would like to own.

I'm a bit of a rule bender, so I've chosen two. I couldn't decide. But I loved them both. So here they are. They are by Kate Spade.