Patience, Please ...

Just asking for patience while I learn more about blogging since I still cant even post links & I've gotten complaints from some friends who say they cant leave a comment. Still working on that, so sorry. Also, I try 2 leave comments on some blogs I know of & I cant. ??

But anyway, we had a good weekend. My husband's relatives from PR came to visit us in Fla whom we havent since since 2003. It's amazing how big the kids have gotten. The girl is only 7 & 1/2 & the boy is 6. Pretty big for their age, right?

So, Eggy tells me he wants another baby. I'm like: "You're kidding, right?" But deep inside, I do want another, just not yet. Angel isnt even fully potty-trained; although, we are working on it. I didnt realize how hard it would be w/the boy. I mean, my daughter was pretty easy w/the potty-training & was out of diapers by 2 & 1/2. Angel, on the other hand, might take an extra year. But it's OK, I will have patience.

Angelice knew her entire alphabet by 1 & 1/2; whereas, my son isnt even half-way there. Especially with the talking. I mean, Angelice spoke very clearly @ 2yrs & in complete sentences. Angel will say things like: Me want ochlate milk, Me go Papi, I wuv u, etc. The evidence is clear... boys are slower and require more patience (in my opinion) .... But they are both, regardless, bundles of joy & pride.......

debt or no debt...

Today was one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Half the fun of shopping is getting a great buy. But sometimes those great buys can get you into trouble. You know what I mean: You really cant afford it ... but you tell yourself, " I just cant resist such a great deal!" So, you charge it. Pretty soon you have a credit card bill larger than you expected. Well, starting in the NEW YEAR 2008 (or better yet, starting NOW) decide not to charge anything else. Tell someone your plan & have them check up on you. You might even have to stop shopping for a while to resist temptation. But trust me, not having debt will be an even bigger thrill than finding the next great buy. I know about this. My husband & I paid off a huge credit card bill 2 yrs ago & tore/cut-up that c.c. so as not to do it again, you know? The balance on this card was over 5k. What a great relief when we went in the bank & paid it all off. This action has actually made me smarter as a shopper {Do I REALLY need this, where can I wear it, Is it cheaper elsewhere, Are there any sales coming up? etc...} So how do you change perspective? Henry David Thoreau said: " We make ourselves rich by making our wants few."

Family picture coming soon ...

Merry Xmas!

Do you believe in Santa Claus? Here's the story I learned: In 4th century Turkey, a wealthy teenager heard about a poor & starving family. If the family didnt get some money fast, the children would have to be sold into slavery. So late one night, the teen went to the family's house & tossed a bag of gold coins thru a window. The kind boy eventually became a priest known for his generosity to the poor and needy. As he aged, he grew a long white beard & had a big belly beneath his red robes. Ring a bell? His name was Saint Nicholas -- better known as Saint Nick. Cool, huh?
But, do the holidays @ your house have to be perfect? The gifts have to be wrapped just so, the decorations have to be hung on the tree like this. The Xmas cookies should have this color icing. To avoid that intensity, I let our traditions turn out a little differently this year, and that's OK. I let my kids decorate the tree this time (it's OK they didnt hang the ornaments just right; you should seriously see our tree this year! Luckily, I only let them put on 1/2 of our ornaments. The tree is now only decorated from the top to the middle. The bottom part is pretty much plain since the little man of the house decided to accidentally break some of the ornaments. AND, the frosting on the sugar cookies wasnt the way I would've wanted. but .... I just let it go. In our celebration, I forgot perfection and remembered my family first.

3 birthdays, 2 parties, 1 tired parent...

So, it's official. I am now 34 yrs old. Today is my birthday, yes it is. Yesterday was Angelice's best friend's bday & of course we attended her party. Then, after that we came home, ate a little, changed clothes & went to 1 of my good friend's 50th bday (see above pic) ...

Today, tired as I was, we attended Church, as usual. BUT, it was a different morning for a change. My spouse gave me the gift of service (in addition to cute, sexy PJ's frm VS (Victoria's Secret), I was also able to sleep in late with hardly no interruptions along w/breakfast in bed. I also received gift cards to go out to eat & go shop (from my supervisor). It was a good bday.

On another note, my daughter is now on "winter" break for 2 weeks. What is she supposed 2 do all these days now? {besides fight w/her little brother} . She's not happy about having to be out of school 4 this long. She absolutely loves school! They had a fundraiser selling chocolates & misc.. well, she was actually the top seller in the WHOLE school! (Thanks to my job); as a result, she won a free limo ride to Downtown where they took her out for pizza as well & received a bag of other prizes. Awesome, huh?

I want that ...

Is your family's motto "I want that" ? The lists of I wants can go on & on. For my kids, it's "I want that scooter, I want that game", etc. For us, it's "I want that car, I want that bigger house." It seems that no matter what we have, there's always more. I always try to teach my older child the old "being content with what you have" lesson. It's true, most of us already have what we need ... it's just a matter of controlling what we want & WHY.
But now that Xmas is around the corner, talk about extra pressure. We still haven't even gotten our kids' presents yet; however, we have shopped for everyone else. I don't even know what to get the man of the house! He actually wanted a Wii, but yes they are indeed sold out . I promised him I'd get it for his bday in August.
On another note, I am so tired of my kids bickering. It seems that's all they do lately. It takes alot of my energy. I try to make sure the rules are clear along w/consequences. I even include a rule on keeping their hands to themselves, but I've learned that rules & consequences are worthless if we arent consistent & quick in responding to their constant bickering. So I stop what I'm doing to find out who broke the rules & then I apply the discipline. I heard that once kids see that rules are & will be enforced, the problem with bickering should @ least get better. But this is an every day thing in my case. My husband's family says it's normal & just let them be.
Dont get me wrong, my kids luv each other dearly! They have their happy times & their "crappy" times. I just wish they were hardly ever fighting over nothing! But, I also heard that this is good 4 them b/c once they're bigger, it means they will be closer as brother & sister. I'll let it go.... Instead, I will focus on enjoying my family & friends in the spirit of the season!!

we got 'munked....

Yep, we went last nite 2 see "Alvin & the Chipmunks". funny, funny, fun-nay! Anyone with toddlers will be sure 2 luv this & will absolutely wanna see it again 4 sure! Another good thing about living out here: the theater we go to only costs $4.50 for kids & adults so we attend almost weekly. The last movie we saw, "Bee Movie" didnt have the kids' attention for long. It lacked something.
Anyway, we have got some pretty crazy weather. After weeks of 80+ degree temperatures, tomorrow it's supposed to drop to the 50's & 40's, which isnt so bad and I look forward to it actually. yea, we need sum good ol' cold Northern air for just a coupla days to cool us off for a while so I can let the A/C rest a little.
So, I can't wait till Thursday when hopefully my treadmill will be fixed. (my wonderfully built 242 lbs husband was on it when it stopped just like that). and i can tell u that the pounds are piling on already, I can feel it.
well, aside from that, I have some news! I actually spoke 2 my father for the 1st time in more than 10 yrs! yep, it felt so weird; especially since I didnt grow up w/him. For the 1st time in our 12 yrs together, my husband actually spoke to his father-in-law. W e i r d* I felt. I guess the past is the past & I feel that now is the time 2 establish a relationship w/the man known as my "father" b/c he's not getting any younger & neither are we. Plus, my daughter is actually excited about "having a grandfather". she said "I thought I only had a grandma" (which is my mother-in-law") I never met my husband's dad since he passed away in 1988 which happens 2 be the same yr my mother passed on. Well, life is short so one of my mottos has always been to forgive & forget or let bygones be bygones....

It's all about the kids..

So today I took my kids to my friend's son's bday party. Angelice is now 6 & being a girl, didn't care for dressing up as a pirate. My son, Angel, who's only 2 didn't care much for it either. They just had a blast jumping on the Moonwalker & runnin' around@ the playground {the party was @ the park} .. All together, they collected 4 goodie bags of candy from the Pirate piñata which I've already carefully sorted out: the ones i'll be taking 2 work to put on my desk & the one's they're allowed to keep (which are actually very limited) ... I do this after every party we go to, especially on Halloween ....



Yesterday was all about the kids, too. My husband & I took them to our annual neighborhood "Christmas activities" party. Free gifts, free photos w/Santa Claus & a Bounce House, not to mention the free goodies AND BEST OF ALL, 87' degree weather? Who would wanna miss this? I LOVE MY NEIGHBORHOOD! I love being a Floridian!



Yes, I've been livin' in the South now for 7 yrs & they have been nuttin' but awesome, fun-filled & exciting. Always something 2 do, somewhere 2 go. Quite Frankly, we havent even traveled in 4 yrs because really, why travel when we've got it all so close? We live by the Mouse , Seaworld, Universal, Downtown Disney (all of which we've visited in the past 6 months) not to brag, of course, but u see my point, don't u ??

More Florida life coming up later on .............