Shake your booty

No kitchen until Wed (I hope it doesn't last longer). This sucks b/c I have to bake cupcakes for Mateo's class party on Thurs and for the Halloween party I promised the kids on Friday. This is nothing compared to the mess in my house and the fact that we can't use the kitchen to wash dishes or make food! The only sink I can use is in the bathroom, and that one was recently replaced and I don't wanna push my luck. I hope my bad luck ends soon.

Mateo was fighting sleep tonight. He ended up calling me over because he had to go potty. I didn't know if I should believe him because he is capable of lying at this point. So I gave him the benefit of the doubt and took him to the potty and sure enough he peed in the potty!!!

At dinner he was being silly. He kept getting out of his chair and singing, "shake your booty, shake your booty." He would shake his booty as he sang and cracked himself up. He managed to get Chayla and I to participate as well. I wish I had the camera on me!

Commissary debacle

Boy was I happy to sleep in. Mateo didn't really wake up until 10am!!! This was because he didn't nap very well yesterday and still went to bed late. I digress.

I went to the commissary today to buy all the baking supplies I'll need for Halloween (the actual day and the school parties in between) and Mateo's school's bake sale. I planned on shopping today b/c I have little time for it during the week. I had gotten everything on my list and went to stand in the check-out line. This was the most monstruous line I've ever seen, and to boot, Mateo decided he'd had enough. While I waited for 30 minutes, Mateo got increasingly hystercial. He was sprinting up and down the aisles and then screaming just for the heck of it. I was 1/2 way through the line when he lost it completely and I had to leave. I was so mad. I wasted two hours of a perfectly good Sunday. Mateo knew he was in trouble and did not protest when I put him in his crib for his nap. He tried to win my affections when he woke up by saying, "I'm so sorry mami." It warmed my heart a little.

Chayla had warned me not to put our jack-o-lanterns outside. When Mateo & I came home from the store I witnessed a squirrel, as fat as a cat, munching on the eyebrows of our pumpkins. Dang squirrels.

And for those moms who can appreciate...I made it to the gym tonight!

Domestic bad luck

Today was a lot of fun. I've made it a routine to have pancakes on Saturday mornings and the kids can eat loads of them. No sports class today so we took a field trip to the dreaded Walmart. I knew this was the place to buy all the Halloween crap I wanted at a reasonable price. This meant a trip out to the boonies where I found gas at $2.39/gallon--woowhoo! Everytime Halloween goes by I wish I would've decorated and had more fun with it. This time I decided to go for it and even plan a little party for the kids on Friday; something special while Dad is gone. We bought so much fun stuff: pumpkin garland, window clings, a table cloth, door mat, spiders, candies, cupcake decorations. We carved pumpkins, hung up garland and lights, and decorated the pictures on the wall with spiders and webs. Then we played "Let's Go Fishing":

BEFORE


DURING


AFTER (Mine is on the left, Chayla's is on the right)


FISHING


This is why Mateo's pumpkin was not carved


After all that fun I tried to make dinner but, the oven caught on fire! This did not happen because I don't know how to use an oven, but because of the bad luck I have had in my house for the past few weeks. The kitchen floor is being redone and I've had one issue after another. The last of which was that the contractors spilled a frying pan full of oil (gross, I know) all over the stove and didn't bother cleaning it or telling me. When I tried to bake a pizza today the oven caught on fire. The grease was burning and I tried to put it out by blowing at it! I thought it was a piece of bread or something that fell through the cracks. I turned off the gas and then called my Dad to help. He had the brilliant idea of using the fire extinguisher. That worked much better than trying to blow it out (ha!).

Six more weeks

I was in a pretty bad mood this morning because stupid Enterprise car rental is charging me for a broken windshield on a car I rented in Lakeland back in July! I'll never use them again. So, I took this mood to work with me and kind of but it on the backburner while I interpreted at a meeting. As I sat listening to these parents I was transported back to my high school experience. My parents were very strict and allowed me very little freedoms. This poor girl was dealing with the same issues. As the Dad sat there explaining his stance, I started to feel a little post-traumatic stress. I totally blame my parents for making me a social retard, but then again, I thank them for keeping me in check. After the meeting a florist calls me and tells me he'll have to deliver my flowers to my house. Flowers??? Who could they be from? Sadly, the only person it could've been from is hundreds of feet underwater. When I looked at the little card it WAS from my wonderful husband. His last port visit was over 2 weeks ago, so he planned ahead and had them delivered on exactly 3 months since he's been gone. 6 more weeks!!!

On a random note...
Last weekend when I was in VA and driving to Target we passed what you may consider a typical "redneck" -- an older, heavy-set, white man wearing a trucker hat, suspenders, and probably some kind of boot. This man was waving a huge flag at the intersection near the entrance to Target. I turned to my friend, sighed, and asked her what this crazy guy had on his flag. To my complete and utter shock, he was waving the faces of Obama and Biden and encouraging Virginians to vote Democrat. I started screaming in the car, "it's a good day in America, people! Let's get out and vote!" I think I scared the poor guy who was trying to cross the street in front of my car. Sorry guy.

A week in the life

I'm finally able to sit down to write, albeit at midnight. I have to add photos and will get to that tomorrow/wed.

Thursday Mateo had a great day at school even though he had a hard time saying goodbye. Friday we had no school so I was able to enjoy a day "off". I worked out and then took a nap. I realized the nap was more from a long week than it was b/c of the workout. Saturday was the last day of Mateo's sports class. As usual, no love for the Coach but he showed some serious love for mini-me Lacrosse:



I again took a nap and FINALLY felt rested like I haven't felt in years. I guess I need a couple of naps/week to recharge. That night we snuggled up in bed and watched James and the Giant Peach:



I fell asleep before the kids. I tried to keep Mateo in the bed with me (hey, I'm lonely!) but he decided to leave by saying, "ok mami, I take a nap", which meant he wanted to go back to his crib. Alone in my king-size bed.

Sunday Chayla went to an Orchid in MD and had a blast. She came back with caramel popcorn, pumpkins, a carving kit, and apple cider. Her friend's Dad is very generous. Mateo and I headed to VA to say goodbye and good luck to my dear friend Julia who was headed to Quantico for FBI training. Then we had a chance to play with Stacey & Clooney. They accompanied us to Target, where I was inspired by the cool displays so I bought some stuff to decorate the house. After work, I played with Mateo outside. I don't know how but many of the neighborhood kids ended up in our yard and a "leaf fight" ensued. We had a lot of fun gathering and throwing the beautiful leaves from the 2 huge trees in our yard. We then raked them up into bags that look like pumpkins; you'll never see kids work so fast to clean a yard(later that night I found lots of bits of leaves in Mateo's wild mane of hair, and even better, in his diaper & butt crack!) Then we took that spider web cotton to cover the bushes with, as Mateo calls it, "espider aweb":

Chayla turned in her 3rd Native American project. We battled it out with this one. It encompassed so much info that she didn't know how to categorize it all. Luckily for her, she's incredibly organized and creative so the end result was beautiful:

Mateo went to school today and didn't even look back to say goodbye. I think he has finally warmed up to his school. Although by the expression in his school pictures you'd think he was in prison. All the pics that were taken were the same, serious, I-look-just-like-my-dad face. This is what he wore the day after the last debate:



On our way to school I give him his usual pep talk and he was excited to start his day. When I paid attention to what he was saying as I drove, it turned out he was walking about Go, Diego, Go! He said, "Diego and Alicia. And baby jaguar. They find shark and octupus." They sure do. I was wowed by his summarizing skills. This evening I asked him to clean up his Mr. Potato Head a few times. He finally did. He quietly came over to me and said, "I'm sorry mom". I asked him what he was sorry for and he responded, "no clean Potato Head." Que lindo. On the flip side, when he doesn't get what he wants he says, or screams, "that's so mean!"

As for the house, the electricity is fixed and we have heat. We actually had the misfortune of spending the coldest night of the week w/o heat. The bathroom sink broke and I cut my finger but someone replaced it today. Tomorrow starts the renovation of the kitchen floor. I'm not excited about having our fridge in the dining room and limited access to the stove. The up-side to this issue is that I will have to cook much less - something I truly appreciate.

It takes a village

Today I accepted an award from the Governor's Commission on Hispanic Affairs for Educator of the Year. I was flattered and humbled to be in the presence of people who dedicate EVERYTHING to help the community. As a young educator, I hope to be like the abuelita they honored today with a Lifetime Achievement Award, whose only words of gratitude were, "I love my students!" The keynote speaker was incredible. He is a Neurosurgeon at John Hopkins who came from Mexico as a child, was a migrant agricultural worker, and eventually became the 1st Latino valedictorian at Harvard Medical School. Wow.

Here I am with the wonderful woman who nominated me, Genny Segura (Policy Analyst for the MD Commission on High Education):



I sped back to school to prepare for the 1st Hispanic Family meeting of the year. I returned home to cook dinner, deal with the electrician, change clothes and go back to school for the meeting. It was a little unorganized, but our parents are so patient and grateful for the help. I was touched that they wanted to sign a petition to try to convince the school district to keep funding my position. I worked with some amazing teachers and got great feedback from parents. While Wall Street runs amok with greedy capitalists, it's touching to work alongside people who care about those in their communities. We all need to change the culture of education in this country. We can begin with accepting the belief that it really does take a village to raise a child.

It all works out

Today was one of those days I questioned my ability to be a good mom. I think I'm a pretty great mom on any regular day, but I'm constantly looking to be the best I can be. I don't operate in the same way some mom's do who buy all organic food, never let their kids eat candy or watch TV, have their kids in various activities through out the week and read to their kids for hours every day. Many moms like that need nannies or people who clean their houses. I'm realistic. I just want my kids to be happy and feel like I love them.

Tuesdays are packed so I feel like I have to choose between necessities, one of which is getting some exercise. I often wonder why so many moms "let go" of themselves. Well, not everyone is disciplined in the same way, and I'm certainly not disciplined with exercise. I can see how so many of us put ourselves last. It's so easy to forgo what one needs to make sure your loved ones are ok. Without Freddie here (physically and emotionally since we can't even talk!)I DO have the time to focus on myself even if I have to do everything else on my own. As I wondered when I should go work-out, I made sure that during the course of the day I had spent enough time with Mateo. I feel better about going to the gym knowing he was napping, but nevertheless I wondered if I do enough for him. I wonder if I'm not causing Chayla irreparable damage with my demands on her to be respectful, mindful, and studious. I decided to work out and when I got home I was in a great mood, received a package from Freddie and gave Chayla good news. Shortly thereafter I went to Mateo's crib and was greeted by a handsome boy who was unbothered with my workout.

Then I gave the kids the stuff Freddie sent them, read his AMAZING letters, and reflected upon a successful day, knowing I still had the rest of the evening to go! It's tough job, but someone has got to do it. They make it worth it:

Our lunch date at McDonalds (gasp!)


Goodies from France & Scotland:


That's right, a Spider-man comic book in French!

Da-da-da-da-da-Dora!

Another beautiful autumn day. I took Mateo to the park where I was forced to go down these narrow slides and swing from zip lines (well, I wasn't forced to do the zip line :) I did my best to wear him down for his afternoon nap but I was completely unsuccessful (I wore myself out). He spent the better part of an hour screaming in his crib. I finally put him in bed with me where we both fell asleep. I needed that nap to be able to make it through the day; I had planned to translate through the rest of the day. It's now after 10pm and haven't done a thing. Still trying to figure out how to get things done while Mateo's awake OR effectively ignore him.

Chayla worked on an essay about surfing. She writes better than many high school students I know. Then she spent the rest of her day on the Pueblo poster & map project. She's incredibly talented; she can draw better than most adults I know- including me!

For all his crying, Mateo showed me how much of a big boy he really is becoming. TWICE he obeyed my request to clean up the mess he made, the 2nd one being his room. I couldn't believe he actually listened to me AND that he put stuff away where it belongs. Hope this lasts. While I spoke to grandma, Mateo was watching Dora the Explorer. She normally starts off with questions for the kids, but my son never answers. He stares, open-mouthed, and jumps around later in the show. Today he actually conversed with her:

Dora: Hi! I'm Dora, what's your name?
Mateo: Mateo
Dora: How old are you?
Mateo: Two!

It doesn't sound like much, but it made his Mama proud.

Four days

I haven't written since Tuesday b/c I spent my evenings (the only time I have some peace) speaking to Freddie. Sadly, he left on Friday morning and will be incomunicato until end of Nov. I think this time it was a little more difficult for him to say goodbbye. While we miss him, this whole deployment is far harder on the person stuck in the sardine can underwater who cannot see the light of day.

On Yom Kippur I tried to rest. That didn't work. By the time I knew it was time to head to DC to see Alison and Izzy (in from NYC). We figured out that both our kids LOVE the Wonder Pets on Nick Jr. Mateo can sing a good chunk of the song, and Izzy knows all about teamwork! Here's a link to youtube with an adequate version of the opening to the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_a7lxnSeqk&feature=related
Mrs. Powers (Alison's mom)makes one mean baked ziti. Izzy loved it so much she made sure the sauce found its way to her nostrils and hair:



When Mateo and I got home that evening he was so excited to see Chayla. He said, "Chay-ya, I'm so happy to see you!" Then they embraced:



Today we had Coach Doug's wee-sports class. Mateo finally participated; he has one awesome throw. Sadly, he still has not warmed up to the Coach. He hides behind my legs or cries when Coach approaches us for some one-on-one instruction. The great thing about this class is that it wears him out so he goes down for his nap pretty easily. I still feel bad that Freddie isn't there to partake in these things with his son.

It was such a gorgeous day that I finally washed the cars, buffed the bumpers, and refilled some fluids. I rounded up the neighborhood kids and they "helped" me. It was more work to correct what they did than if I would've done it myself to start. Nonetheless, I promised them I'd hosed them down after they helped. They had so much fun pretending it was summer. We finished off our day with hot dogs, chips, and apples slices.

It seems impossible to get anything done during Mateo's waking hours. Do any of you moms have suggestions?

For Freddie

Freddie is in Scotland and will be able to see this blog from an internet cafe. I'm posting a few things I know he'll enjoy.

Despite being a serious and attached kid, he is enjoying school:
Mateo, the ladies man:
It was picture day at Mateo's Nursery School today. All morning I tried to make sure he was in a good mood for school. He was fine at breakfast (oatmeal is his favorite!): (Yes, those are the 43 presidents of the USA on his placemat...gotta start young).

I spent an hour trying to get him to cooperate with the photographer, to no avail. When I came back to pick him up his teacher declared he did take pics and she even got the class to take a picture together. Ms Kathy, the miracle worker. Here are pics of Mateo in his picture day clothes. I tried to tame those Puerto Rican curls.

Here's a pic of Ms. Chayla, who is growing up before my very eyes

Mateo in action:


I tried for 1/2 hour to post a video of Chayla dancing. I can't get it to work! Arrg!

Glasgow

While the economy crashes around us, a war rages on, and McCain pretends that Palin is smart and he is an agent of "change", I continue on in my own world. I'm involved, but these days it's from a distance. I'm just trying to make it until December when Freddie comes back. I imagine that's what so many military spouses HAVE to do - make it day by day.

But I have good news! Freddie called today! He ported in Scotland because something on the sub broke. We will be able to chat for the next 3 days but then he will be out of touch until end of Nov. I had hopes he'd be back at the end of this month, but the schedule has now changed. Looks like he'll return end of Nov/start of Dec. Hopefully Oct will fly by as quickly as Sept did.

My friends keep saying that this time apart must be hard for me. It's actually been a lot easier than I expected. It's nice to know that I am still a strong, capable indivdual. I'm surviving and thriving! Right now, I'm looking forward to the call from a sailor who has hit the town after not having a drink in a month (read as "eternity" in sailor talk).

Go, Diego, Go!

As I played with Mateo today he showed me a toy and asked me what it was. When I replied correctly with "Thor" he said, "Good job, Mami! High Five!" While I was preparing dinner, which involved taking out fish sticks from a box today, Mateo threw a ball at me and knocked down the fish sticks. He quickly apologized with, "oh, sorry mami. I hit your chicken. sorry." Finally, Mateo can now sing along with the opening song of Go, Diego, Go! This means he can say ONE word at the appropriate time in the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43c-c-3hn9M

Chayla put on some play clothes today and I had to do a double take; I thought they were new clothes. They were actually old clothes that she has recently grown out of. Apparently she grew over night. These pants used to be capri's.



Check out our inadvertent garden...those are tomatoes and watermelons!

Hook 'em!

I made the mistake of having a drink last night. I thought since it was Fri nite, I could sleep in on Sat AM and sleep off the effects of the drink. Not so much. Poor Mateo was up all night complaining of an earache. I took him to my bed and back to his crib 3 times. He finally slept from 6am to 9:20am straight. I didn't think he'd want to go to his sports class b/c he didn't sleep well, but he was excited to see Coach Doug. We went to the class were he refused to participate in snapping or punting the football. He just wanted me to chase him around the gym.
The rest of the day I tried to clean the house, but Mateo can be quite the obstacle. During his naptime I was able to finally hang up some pictures in the dinning room. After his nap we went to the neighbor's house to play. His friend will be 3 in Jan and so she's in the midst of potty-training. While we were there she advised her Dad she needed to go potty and he ran upstairs with her where she successfully used it. As she squealed about her accomplishment from upstairs, Mateo yelled, "you a big girl, Audy!"

Chayla got a 95 on her diorama! She spent all day outside, even forfeiting her lunch. I guess when you are 9 and are allowed to play outside all day you will forgo many things. When she finally came in she got down to business. You should've seen her practicing her violin...plucking at the strings and trying the bow. The pizzicato (plucking) is much easier on the ears. This is the next project that is due, the Kachina Doll.


No call from Freddie today, but I'm hopeful it'll happen soon. Can't wait to tell him the UT beat Colorado 38-13 making them 5-0 going to the Red River Rivalry next week AND that Navy beat Airforce!

Port of Call

Today I decided to say goodbye to Mateo before I left for work instead of just sneaking out. I squatted next to him, gave him a kiss, and told him I was going to work. Next thing you know he had jumped onto my lap, grabbed my neck, and proclaimed that he was going to work too. Dora came to the rescue though and I had to sneak out the side door. This evening I was playing with him and Mr. Potato head. I told him that the mustache won't going to stick to the eyeballs. When I showed him how it worked he exclaimed, "good point, mami!" When I took him downstairs to say goodnight to abuelo, my Dad asked him if he was "pipi". Mateo proclaimed, "not yet; mami changed me." His increasing cognizance and vocabulary not only makes me laugh, but makes me proud. He is such a joy.

Yesterday morning Chayla woke up, gave a big stretch and as she recoiled back to her pillow she slammed her chin into the bed. This morning she did it again but slammed her mouth into the bed...the mouth that now has braces! Ouch! She looked like she was in a fight, poor thing. As I type she is at a sleepover across the street with her adopted Vietnamese family enjoying a WWE Smackdown.

I got all sorts of exciting news today. My dear friend from grad school, Esme, text me to announce she has joined the Obama ticket. A big move by a conservative, religious gal that grew up in TX and used to date a Marine. I think she even voted for Bush in '04 (gasp!). I'm so proud of her! At work, another group I am participating in got funding. This one will be a support group for young mothers at the school. Thank goodness the budget crisis hasn't quite hit this level of education funding. A mom from our playgroup, who is also a good friend here in MD, had her baby today. We are very excited for Alison J. and her growing family. Although she was 9 months pregnant she was thoughtful enough to invite us over to her house for dinner to provide me with a respite from cooking for the kids. I'll be happy to return the favor soon.

A few days ago I had a dream in which I was speaking to Freddie. I paused in mid-conversation ans asked if he was here did that mean he was staying or going back on the sub? He told me he was here for now but would rejoin the sub until Dec. I was upset but understood his position. Today I received an email from his coworker who is here in MD. This was the final piece of good news I received today. Freddie will be making an unexpected port of call within the next few days so I will be able to talk to him by phone 20 days earlier than I expected. While I don't expect him to be able to return to us soon, at least we will be able to hear his voice again.

Cooperation

Just got back from watching the Biden-Palin debate. Since my expectations were low, I think she did better than I thoght she would. I know some 10th graders who could've come up with better answers though. Geez.

I co-oped today. It went MUCH better than last time. I arrived on time and Mateo was very cooperative. He hung out while I helped prepare the class for the day and only cried when he had to stay in the playground while I stood in the parking lot for drop-off duty. Today they had a special visitor, Ms. Betsy, their music teacher. She successfully engaged the only two girls in the class while most of the boys cried or just sat and watched. I'm convinced that women are really the ones who are the born-leaders.

Mateo did well with the other children until we got in line to wash our hands. E pushed Mateo in line. Then he pushed him in the bathroom (they were fighting for the hand dryer)and Mateo stood his ground and pushed him back. E is 3 inches taller. As a fan of Mixed Martial Arts and Boxing, Freddie would be proud of his not-to-be-bullied son. He grew more confident every moment. By the end of class he was asking his teacher: Kafy, what you doin Kafy? He's normally the serious, silent type. Today was progress!

I took Mateo to his weekly playgroup and Chayla stayed home to play with her friends, as she has already completed her Kachina doll 6 days in advance and had no HW. At the playground I could see how Mateo has benefited from school. He interacted with his friends and even the big boys there. He tried to include the girls in play and help them come down from high places. Que cute! When we got home Chayla was in the backyard w/her friends but a few minutes later they rang the front door. I open it to find 4 kids, three holding instruments and one a hat with a note attached to it. It read: "Music for money". They had collected $2.25 from neighbors. I wonder if they knew Chayla only started her violin lessons today!

The weather has finally changed. It was the first day that it was cool from dawn to dusk. As I drove up our street I noticed the trees have begun to change color. It's a nice way to start October and it's a nice reminder that we're that much closer to Freddie's homecoming.

Un día normal

Our house is so fickle. One day the basement ceiling is leaking, the next the kitchen floor is buckling, and today the lights (and only the lghts) from my bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and dining room stopped working. It's impossible to put on make up under these conditions.

The Latina mentoring group had its first meeting today. They were a little wary of being there. We asked them to answer some questions, like "when I graduate I want to..." One young lady answered "Get the F outta Maryland." At least she's honest. At home, my littlest Latina mentee (Chayla ;) asked me about how colleges decide if they want you: "Do they want to see your portfolio?" My kid is awesome. The importance of my job at home is never lost.

I attended Mateo's Nursery school's parent meeting (it's a co-op). Two and a half hours of info on bake sales and craft fairs. I have to make 4 receipes for the bake sale so please forward any faves. I need all the help I can get. Before I left, Mateo asked for water so I gave him a choice of the Batman or the Spiderman cup. He looked up into the cupboard and chose the Obama mug instead! I love my little politico.