Vicky's (not so loca) Vida

A whole new world

2011-09-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

Mateo started kindergarten last week and I'm home alone with Tomás for the majority of the day. Freddie lives and works in Norfolk, VA so we don't see him very often. Once again, I have to adjust. Not that I have loads of free time, but the time I do have is much more flexible since I don't have to co-op at Mateo's nursery school, pick him up, coordinate playdates and activities, entertain and feed him. Chayla is at school as well so Tomás and I play, run errands and -during his naps - have time for myself. I never thought I'd see the day! I'm trying to be productive with that time by reading, surfing the internet, getting caught up with the rest of society and writing. I don't like writing, but it's something I need to work on so this is a great place to do that. I'm keeping this blog as well as starting a blog geared towards helping other military spouses. It's really just posts about some of my experiences and what I've learned. I hope it can help others in my situation. Please feel free to check it out and share it!http://nyams-notyouraveragemilitaryspouse.blogspot.com

Back on the horse

2010-11-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

It's been more than a year since I last posted and a lot has happened. Primarliy, I had my second son, Tomas. His birth was an incredible journey. He's six months old now and the journey continues. We bought a house in MD and I am finally laying down some roots. Freddie is living in Norfolk while we maintain our lives in MD. Chayla is in full pre-teen mode and Mateo is in full-on crazy mode. Motherhood is a whole other experience when you are juggling more than one child, a husband who is not around, deciding to settle down and doing it all alone. The hardest part to navigate is not having time to myself. That's why I decided to start posting to this blog again. It's probably the only outlet I have.

So here I sit at 10:30 at night "talking" to no one instead of just going to bed and trying to rest before Tomas starts his nightly torture test. As soon as I close my eyes that kids wakes up. I probably would feel better about everthing in life if I just could get a full nights rest.

Hopefully I will be able to keep this up because I need the outlet. Now, I'm off to my other outlet - TV!

Calm before the storm

2009-05-17T11:41:00.001-07:00

Let's face it. I can't keep a routine for crap. It's been a month since Freddie went underway and it is only now that I pick up the blog again. It's ok. It has taken me a month to readjust to life with out Freddie. It's hard to sleep at first. It's also hard to make less food and have no one to talk to late at night. On the positive side, the need to keep busy has given us the chance for new adventures. Chayla is in a fencing class. While she fences Mateo & I play (hopscotch, kickball, sprints). Mateo is in a sports class which he loves this time around. I've started a diet. We are looking forward to lots of traveling this summer (FL, MA, VA, NYC, DC), but also the quiet of being home & enjoying each other.

Today is a cool, quiet Sunday. Chayla is with her BF, Ariel, and Mateo is napping. My Dad is in the hospital (nothing serious, thank goodness), and so the house is completely and utterly quiet. Boy, do I appreciate this! It's rare to have quiet. It allows me to think; thinking that is not frenetic nor interrupted and therefore much more productive. I have about 30 minutes more of this so I will end my entry for today and go lay down to soak in the quiet. The storm will wake from his nap soon.

Round 2

2009-04-14T20:45:00.001-07:00

And so it begins...again. Freddie was deployed. He left on Easter Sunday and will not be back until September. Again he leaves during one season to return in another. Again, I will try to keep a blog while he's gone so that he can keerp up and catch up with us when he does get to a port. Luckily, I finally downloaded Skype and will be able to video call him when he has internet access on land.

After our Christmas vacation in Puerto Rico Freddie had been in CT pretty regularly preparing for this mission, so it never really felt like he was home. We knew early on that he was going to leave in April but we didn't know when. Then without much notice, he told he'd have to leave sooner than he even expected. We had to cancel our Spring Break trip to FL and I scrambled to plan mini-trips with the kids all week while he was at work. We actually had a great time with him last week, but his departure day came way too soon.

Now I am in single-mom mode until the Fall, although my Dad is still here to help us. I'm anxious for warm weather and new adventures with the kids. I'm worried about my job coming to an end, but excited about the possibilities even if there are none to be seen as of now. I will travel this summer, visit my friends and family, and fight the good fight against the worry and sadness that can so easily take over when your partner is not around to talk to, to comfort you, and to reassure you are doing an amazing job. I'm not alone in this endeavor. Thousands of military spouses endure much worse for much longer. I'm glad to have supportive friends and family. So if I drop by your house this summer without warning, just remember--the Navy sent me.

non-triumphs

2009-02-28T19:47:00.000-08:00

clearly, I do not know how to stick to a plan. I wanted to blog every day, but there is nothing to share or I can't remember it. My work out routine was derailed by a cold. Now I have to start the 32 days all over again. Boo.

At 5pm I realized I completely and utterly forgot to coordinate a meeting time and place for the group of girls I (try to) mentor. They were going to a college workshop and I forgot to call them last night. Luckily it worked out but I felt like such a dumb ass. To boot, when I checkd my email I realized I forgot to cancel with a friend who had invited me over tonight. Not that she was waiting for me, but I it's pretty rude not to respond to an invite. I don't know where my head has been these past few days. Perhaps my brain isn't functioning properly due to the pressure I feel from this head cold. Maybe I need a Blackberry.

I was feeling pretty down. Then Freddie took me shopping this evening. I hate shopping. I'm too short and "stout" (as I like to put it) to make clothes shopping an enjoyable experience. My husband is great because he dragged me to a few stores, pointed out nice things and never gave up on me. I'm pretty near impossible to go shopping with. I happily report I bought an outfit. I even bought some accesories. Oh wait, just one. In any case, it was a small triumph in a day full of non-triumphs.

State of the Union

2009-02-24T19:36:00.001-08:00

I'm too much of a fan of Obama to be genuinely critical of his speech today. I know he tried to be honest and hopeful. I'm realistic, yet optimistic. I agree with Bobby Jindal that Americans can do anything and appreciate his insight, even if it wasn't all too clear to me.

For eight years I watched Bush's speeches, not in their entirety of course, I had to read them b/c I couldn't stand his smirks or laughter. Never did he make a genuine plea to the kids in this country, but tonight Obama did. It doesn't take much to make me cry, so it's no surprise that I teared up during Obama's speech. Tomorrow I get to go to work armed with a new mantra for me and more ammo to use on the kids I work with: "when you drop out of high school, you not only quit on yourself, you quit on your country!"

The challenge

2009-02-23T20:23:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure I am stealing someone else's idea, but I don't think they'll mind. I am going to share some of my goals with anyone who's interested. The idea being that I will feel more obliged to follow through with the goals since others will supposedly be paying attention to my progress. I already mentioned I wanted to keep up with this blog. The 2nd goal on my list is my 32 day challenge. Starting on my 32nd birthday I plan on going to the gym/workout for 32 days in a row! 2/32 down. While I hope to lose weight and feel stronger, the real goal is merely to make it to 32 days of physical activity. I'm not very good at maintaining anything for longer than 2 weeks so this challenge will be multifaceted.

Hopefully I can make a habit of this work-out thing. My high school friend, Angela, is a triathelte and her blog is a great inspiration and reminder to me that my pitiful 1/2 hour run is a drop in the bucket! I don't plan on an Iron Man competition in Hawaii, but I do plan on a few 5K's this year, starting with #1 on Sunday.

Wish me luck!

32

2009-02-22T18:24:00.000-08:00

So today I turn 32. I want to use this opportunity to start and continue a few things, one of which is this blog.

This weekend was one of the nicest birthday weekend's ever! We had a wonderful family dinner on Friday, followed by family game night. We are trying to plan family events and outings every weekend since we already know when Freddie will deploy again (end of April until August). Friday we attempted family bingo & pizza night at Chayla's school. It was too crowded so we left and opted for Armands pizza followed by Trivial Pursuit- Lord of the Rings edition. I know it's cheesy, but we are big fans of the movies.

Freddie made an appointment for me at a nice hair salon and I finally got a haircut that I love. Last year's haircut made me look like a soccer mom and I came home crying. Later that evening when I got in the car for our dinner date I came across a box with a beautiful pair of pearl earrings. We had a delicious dinner at Ceviche, a place in downtown Silver Spring. Then today I got a delicious breakfast, beautiful cards from the kids and a pair of gold earrings from Chayla. After an awesome workout I came home to birthday cupcakes and they all sang for me. Mateo was so excited for me. I wish I would've taken video. The final present was a beautiful book published by the NY Times that documents Obama's historic road to the White House. The book was a reminder to me of all the change the country has experienced and the good things I have in my life.

I'm grateful I had such a wonderful birthday with my beautiful family. Here's to many more! Cheers!

Vegging out

2008-11-30T17:44:00.000-08:00

Mateo was sick since Thursday and I thought I had avoided catching it, but alas, I did not avoid it. I woke up feeling like crap but since we had accomplished so much this weekend I decided it was ok to veg. We all woke up late and eventually we all snuggled up in bed to watch The Incredible Hulk. I think Chayla and I enjoyed it more than Mateo. He likes the nicer version of the Hulk; the one that gets excited about "weekends, sunny days, and the ice cream truck." It really is a quote from his book.

No word from Freddie yet. These last few days are going by so slowly. Since I haven't heard from him even by email, I'm worried that he won't be back for a while more. He just better be back by Dec 23rd because we have tickets to PR and I am getting the heck out of Dodge and on to tropical paradise!

ABC's and F

2008-11-29T17:45:00.000-08:00

How good it feels to have a clean and organized house. First room to suffer a purge was Mateo's room. I hadn't done anything in his room since...I don't know when. He still had 12M clothes in his drawers and baby gear in his closet. I made a nice pile of stuff to give my sister-in-law who will add another Santiago to the family next summer. I sorted clothes by size and what I would keep for the next boy (which I am determined to have) and stuff to give away. As I was putting stuff in the attic I found a whole other bin full of clothes a friend had sent to me when Mateo was one. I had forgotten about it and now he has twice as many clothes as he'll ever need for a two year old. I rearranged his room to make the most of the very small space and I finally hung up the wall decorations I bought before he was born. As I laid him to bed last night he said, "thank you for cleaning my room mami." He finally has a room.

I continued the furious cleansing in my room, except there was so much s$*%t everywhere that I only managed to pick up my clothes & change the bed sheets as I watched Big Love, the HBO series on polygamists. I love cable shows like Six Feet Under, the Tudors, and Dexter, especially b/c they are on demand. I digress.

Chayla was very intrigued at my ability to organize. She is quite the organizer herself so she pays attention to that type of stuff. I offered to organize her room as long as she promised not re-organize everything the minute I left the room, which used to be the case in Austin. So I spent the better part of the day transforming her room and discovering that she isn't as organized as I thought. It was all superficial! She had a wide variety of bags full of junk stuffed in various containers. The bookshelf did not have books on it and her floor was littered with remnants of her arts & crafts projects. Lord. I told her that the key to keeping organized is patience. Instead of stuffing to get things out of sight, she had to think about what she was doing and putting items in their place. We'll see how long this lasts.

Mateo played around the house as Chayla and I worked. He was pretty good today. We found out that he could sing the alphabet song by himself. I'll post the video as soon as he lets me take it! I also discovered that he picked up the unsavory language I use in the car. I hate driving in DC- people are SLOW! I guess Mateo figured out that the F-word is used after a moment of frustration. When he couldn't find his magnetic letter A that flew into the living room after Chayla kicked it, he expressed his frustration with a big, "F*#%, I can't find it mom!" Boy, did I underestimate his speaking abilities.

Post Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T11:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a bit hysterical. At first it was smooth sailing as I cooked up a storm. I was so inspired by the Puerto Rican dishes I was making, I put on some music and was dancing in the kitchen. As the pernil roasted in the oven, I fried up the plantains for mofongo (which eventually just turned into Puerto Rican stuffing b/c I couldn't make it into balls). I really got into mashing up the platanos with the bacon and garlic in the pilon I got in Brazil. What a great time. Until Mateo rolls up into the kitchen as I was trying to cook the arroz con gandules. The first step to this dish is vital. If you don't get the seasoning right, the rice just taste like rice. So in walks Mateo and begins having a fit, pulling my leg, screaming, hitting me. I don't even know why. I eventually put him in time-out until I could finish. Then I go "talk" to him but he was not interested in what I had to say. Then Chayla was skulking about since she was annoyed too. She was trying to figure out what I had told her to do earlier in the day so she could be allowed outside to play. I was so frustrated with telling her to do the same thing everyday that I simply told her that when she remembers what I asked her to do and does it then MAYBE she can play (eventually she made a list of all these things to which she must refer before she asks me to do anything). It's funny how quickly she "remembers" to brush her hair when playtime depends on it. So as Mateo was hysterical and Chayla frustrated I tried to deal with the cooking, which had been going so well up until then. Luckily I finished and even got to rake the front yard before finally getting to shower. Mateo only took a 30 minute nap (part of the bigger problem too) so I wasn't able to do much else but shower. Then we sat down to our sad little dinner. I say sad, not because of my food (it was actually delicioso) but because it was just us 4, minus Freddie. This is the 1st Thanksgiving I can remember that he wasn't around. Except for the fact that we were dressed nicely, it just felt like a regular ol' dinner. We gave our thanks, ate our food, yet we were still bummed about Freddie's absence.

After Mateo had 2 slices of pumpkin pie we went to my coworker's house to hang out and meet another Puerto Rican family. That was nice given that we weren't with our own extended family. Mateo got along fantastically with her family, giving hugs, talking, and sharing nicely. I could hardly believe my eyes. He was a perfect angel. I figured it was because he thought all these loud, brown people speaking Spanish were family. Leave it to Mateo though to not disappoint. He had a massive break down right as we were leaving to go home. He squirmed all over the floor and screamed as I tried to put on his puffy coat. I thought I had almost made it out of there having given the impression that I had these two well-behaved, cute kids. Just kidding.

He fell asleep in the car and we got home safe and sound (there were some seriously deranged drivers on the Beltway last night). As I laid him down in his crib he said he loved me very much. While I had been angry earlier, his little voice melted my heart. I went to bed last night thankful for having this love in my life and BEGGING for a little patience and guidance to get through the terrible two's. 7 months to go.

Another day in November

2008-11-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had to work the craft.bake sale at Mateo's nursery school. It's the annual fundraiser and it was actually much more fun than I expected. I was glad to see so much spending in support of local crafters and our neat,little co-op. All our baked goods sold, which is AWESOME considering how much effort parent's out into it. I wasn't the only one up until the wee hours of the night baking. I'm a little over baking, but I realize that it's not so bad and I can actually do it pretty well. All from scratch too!

Mateo has been cracking me up. He just gets funnier and funnier (altho he can be a pain in my butt just as much). It's a daily occurence that I tell him I am going to eat him up. Lately he's taken to protesting it. Yesterday when I asked him if I could him up he said, "no! You can kiss me mom," as he placed his little finger on his lips and smiled at me.

Today I was looking at the Victoria's Secret catalog that we randomly got. I flipped through regular Pj's, perfumes, sweaters. When I got to the lingerie part Mateo looked at it and exclaimed, "yuck, mom. Catwoman, yuck!" It's pretty hysterical that he associates lingerie with the 1960's version of Catwoman and that he doesn't like it! I think that my Dad was a little sensitive after I made this comment to him because when he saw Mateo with a book about ballet, in the shape of a ballerina's bag, he said he shouldn't hold it, "it's for girls." Well, I snapped my neck as I turned to stare down my Dad and proceeded to remind him that Mateo is allowed to like any book he wants!

Chayla's bday party is all set. I decided to just pay for it! I will have a clean house and no planning headaches! Chuck E. Cheese is getting a sweet check from us on Dec 6th and in return will provide 10 kids with pizza, tokens, and all around fun!

Krispy Kreme Kraziness

2008-11-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

I really should start watching the local news. Apparently this weekend there was another incident involving one of our students (playing with a gun, someone got shot). Luckily the student is ok, but you can sense the community's growing concern about our school. In my humble opinion, our school is pretty awesome. We have kids from all around the world who manage to get along pretty well on a daily basis. There are plenty of resources and lots of staff who gives a damn. That's more than in other places just a few miles away. I went to a high school that was on the opposite end of the diversity spectrum. I was one of a dozen or so "Spanish" kids in the school and I was the only one in all of my advanced classes. Today I created a list of Hispanic kids who were former ESOL and I was beside my self when I saw over 600 kids in our school who fit the bill. This doesn't even count the students, like me, who never needed English as a 2nd language. We have kids from Nepal, Cameroon, Haiti, Colombia, Albania...you name it. Everyday these kids get along just fine, but some community members get in a panic when there is a streak of violence OUTSIDE of school. I repeat, it takes a village to raise our kids. Instead of complaining, I wish more people would dedicate some time to our school and come by to check out the amazing work of our staff & students .

Sadly, I don't know if I will be back in 2009. My position is grant-funded. The money comes from a MD Dept of Ed School Improvement grant. When our school's academic performance improves, the grant is cut, or parts of it are. My pay is part of the deal. I think our school did improve, thank goodness, but now I might not be able to come back. It's hard to get too invested when I don't know if all my work will be of use. I'd love to create more programs to get the community involved in our school and to continue addressing certain communication gaps, but alas, it all depends on the grant. Can my school get a piece of that bailout plan???

On a lighter note, I took Chayla for her yearly physical and found out upon arrival that the appointment is for tomorrow. I was so mad, until I saw the Krispy Kreme next door. Chayla and I sat down to a delicious donut and some chit chat w/o that annoying little brother :). After dinner I gave Mateo his donut. Why did I do that? He was literally jumping off the bed. My brother told me I should've just given him some smack! Fortunately for me, he jumped on that bed so much he wore himself out. Still, my kids are night owls like me and they can't fall asleep until 10pm. I'm hopeful that when Freddie returns he can help me put these kids down a little earlier. These are the days I wished I followed a schedule like most of my friends who have little ones.

Fish fight

2008-11-16T20:48:00.001-08:00

I have avoided writing because I know that when I get online I spend far too much time in cyberspace.

Mateo reached a whole new level of maturity today. Instead of "no" he now says "i don't want to." I'm in for a whole new world of hurt. He also fought me for 1/2 an hour about putting away his fishing game. He had thrown the fish all over the floor. Later he asked for juice and I told him I wouldn't give it to him unless he cleaned up. He refused, screamed, kicked, yelled, hit. You name it, he did it. I had to clean up the damn fish and put him to bed. He said he was sorry, but I didn't care at that point. After he finished his milk I brought him to my bed to hold him for a few minutes, as I like to do these days before he get any bigger, and when I took him back to the room I asked him to help clean up the toys in his room. He did a wonderful job. As I laid him down he looked up at me with those droopy eyes and told me, "I don't want put away pish mom." I don't know what he has against those fish.

Yesterday Mateo & I went to Stacey's house to watch Kung-fu Panda and play with her dog. He loves that dog, and in turn, adores Stacey. He's come a long way with her. The first time he met her he screamed bloody murder and thereafter would avoid her by creeping along the walls instead of walking next to her. Last night though, he gave her a kiss, sang (I like to move it , move it!), and danced for her. He also did a little Kung-fu with her. Chayla wasn't with us because she decided to go across the street to partake in a memorial dinner and ceremony for her friends' grandmother who passed away 40 days ago. She was unfazed by attending a ceremony for a dead person which was officiated in Chinese (???), in a house full of Vietnamese speakers and food. I'm so impressed that she is being exposed to such a variety of cultures at such a young age.

I know that most of my friends don't have children as old as Chayla so it's hard to find good advice as to how to deal with her. She has already reached the stage I thought she'd reach when she's 12 or 13. My older coworkers who have teenagers have told me they believe she may get her period soon. Can I just express how terrifying this is to me? Imagine how Freddie will feel when I share this theory with him.

I made homemade chili and oatmeal-carrot cookies from scratch today. I forgot how good cooking makes one feel. I wished I liked cooking more. In any case, Thursday I will spend many hours baking for Mateo's school's fundraiser and for Thanksgiving, I will make pernil and mofongo. I'm gearing up for two-weeks of serious cooking.

Tempered happiness

2008-11-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

I awoke with joy in my heart and puffiness of the eyes. I cried last night for several hours -- from when his victory was projected until he left the stage after his speech. I went to work today and yelled out to Chayla as she left the car, "it's a great day to be an American!" to which she rolled her eyes in embarassment.

I got to work and yelled the same thing to my office mates. My coworker said that she too was excited but our happiness had to be tempered by our grief. Grief? I said, "yeah, I've been grieving for 8 years." Little did I know that the reason they barely smiled at me after my proclamation was because of the immense tragedy our school was enduring. This weekend one of our students was shot and killed as he rode the bus home Saturday night. He was a sweet, cute, fun, popular, 14 year old honors student who I had briefly worked with. I had even met his grandmother before. I was already emotional so I just let the tears flow. I felt bad for the loss of such a young person and I felt incredibly retarded for not having heard about it earlier. On any normal day I deal with sad events in the lives of my students. This was the first time I've had to deal with the loss of life. It borders on unbearable.

So I take stock of what I have and what I do. While I worry about not making enough money to better my family's quality of life, I know we are fine and that my work serves the greater good. I love my job and believe, for now, it's where I need to be. I just wish I made enough to cover my graduate school loans :)

Rest in peace Tai.

Divine Intervention

2008-11-04T22:04:00.001-08:00

I found myself awake last night, filled with anxiety about today. I waited until after the morning rush to cast my vote. The kids went with me and together we touched the screen for the Obama/Biden ticket. My eyes welled up with tears as I saw my "X" by that name. After 2 years of talking to friends, family, and total strangers, I felt like my part was done. I remember demonstrating at W's inaugration on a cold January afternoon 8 years ago. I was so mad and filled with disbelief, but that paled in comparison to how I was to feel over the next 90+ months. The first time I heard Obama speak, I KNEW this day was inevitable. So to all my friends and family who listened to me and bore with my love for politics, THANK YOU! I'm especially grateful to think that my children will grow up seeing a beautiful, intelligent, pregressive family of color living in the White House and think that ANYONE can live there--ANYONE!

Yes we can!

If tonight isn't an example of Divine Intervention, I don't know what is!

Halloween

2008-11-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

I've slowed down on my posts because life has sped up. As I stated when I first began this thing, I'm not a good writer. Given I lack this elusive talent, it takes me a lot longer than I'd like to write a post. Can I just mention how much I love the Fall? Living in Texas made me forget how beautiful trees become during this time of year:

Our kitchen was completed in the nick of time. I was able to bake the cupcakes for Mateo's Halloween party at school on Thursday 10/30. Wed nite I also had to translate for an open house at school, come home and help Chayla finish her Power Point on the Pueblos, bake cupcakes, and put together a Halloween costume for Mateo. Exhaustion doesn't begin to explain what I felt. Chayla goes to school early on Tues and Thurs so I can take Mateo to school on time. I had to co-op for the Halloween party so I had to be there early, but I got to partake in the festivities, which is a bonus. Here is Mateo and friends in all their glory:

After his party we booked it to Chayla's school to hear her presentation. She worked so hard over the last few months to learn and create with such detail and care. I'm so proud of her:

Halloween was so much fun. I invited the neighbors over for dinner. The adults helped the kids get ready and then we separated into two groups:

Sarah and I took the "babies" out and these novices performed like veterans. They rolled up to the first house and without prompting yelled, "Trick-or-treat!" They were so cute as they looked up at the candy-givers in such disbelief. They almost couldn't believe they were getting all this candy without a fight from mom. The best part was their reaction when no one answered the door: "WAKE UP!" Talk about persistence! Mateo & Audrey managed to hit up at least twenty houses and could barely wait to dig in when they got home, well past their bedtime:

Luckily for me the election coincides with the end of the grading period so I have had a long weekend. Knowing this I was able to put aside quite a bit of time to hang out with the kids on Sat and Sun. We went to the park on both days and also took a little field trip to the nearby stream. The weather was amazing, the foliage gorgeous, and the kids had a blast with the rocks. Mateo threw every "rocky-rock" (as he called it) in his peripheral and Chayla collected them- very telling of their personalities.

Here's a neat video of the kids as they enjoyed a day of outdoor exploration and just being kids:

Shake your booty

2008-10-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-26T17:23:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-25T20:07:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-21T20:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-06T19:34:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-10-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-04T19:56:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-03T17:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-01T18:49:00.001-07:00

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.

Closing out September

2008-09-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

We had a fairly calm day thanks to the Jewish New Year. We feasted on a grand spread of Jewish foods like Keugal and Challah at Stacey's. It felt like Thanksgiving.

Mateo couldn't wait to see Clooney. While I ate breakfast he brought over my flip-flops and told me to put them on. He had to go see Stacey and Clooney! Not only did he enjoy Clooney's company he also got to climb a fence at the dog park.

Our little garden gave up its first harvest (I use that term losely). We picked our first tomatoe. We planted pepper and watermelon and we have flowers and melons, but it's unlikely we'll actually get anything to grow enough in what's left of the warm weather.

I asked Mateo if he was a baby and his clear-as-day response was, "no, I'm a biiig boy!" He certainly is.

Shanah Tovah

2008-09-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the start of the Jewish New Year and the beginning of the High Holy Days so none of us have to go to school (gotta love the East Coast). I'm glad I don't have to get up early, but I like my job, so I'll miss not being there. I got all sorts of great news today. The 9th grade vice principal (who is also Boricua) and I are staring a Latina mentoring group and we learned that it received funding! Unsolicited no less! Now we'll get to take the girls on trips and buy bait, I mean, pizza. Today I found out I will receive an award too. I had a great day today, even if Wall Street did not.

We went to Michael's to buy supplies for Chayla's 2nd Native American Project: the Pueblo Kachina Doll. On the way there Mateo asked me, "Mami, where we going?" When I told him his response was "Holy cow, I like it Michaels!" He's never been to Michael's before. Chayla is in heaven at the craft store so she took off in one direction and Mateo in another. I finally got Mateo into a shopping cart by telling him a monster was going to get him. Little did I know that there actually were scary figures throughout the store in prepapration for Halloween. I guess now he'll listen to me when I ask him to sit in the carrito.

My good friend, Stacey, invited us to have Rosh HaShannah dinner with her tomorrow. It'll be Chayla's 1st Jewish celebration and she's prepared by reading a kid's book I got for her. Mateo is just excited to see Stacey's adorable dog, Clooney. Mateo was in a corner playing quietly, when all of the sudden he blurts out, "I can't wait go to Stacey and Clooney! I can't wait!"

Also of note is "Chayla and Will". Last year she tells me she knows that Will likes her. I asked her how she knew and she said because he looked at her. Well, I laughed, but I guess it was true. When we went to meet the teacher, he followed us home on his bike. Two weekends ago he came by with his dad in their mini-van, but we were out. I told her she could tell him to call beforehand next time he wanted to visit. After checking with me, this morning she gave our number to the neighbor who is still at the same school with Will. Chayla's got game! I'm pretty sure I never had game like that.

I tried to "potty-train" Mateo tonight (not that it can be done in one night). I knew he hadn't gone #2 yet so I took off his wet diaper and slipped on his Spider-Man underoo's. I kept checking him, and reminding him that he needed to use the potty. Afer a bit he came running to me saying "ca-ca". I ran over to him in delight thinking he had given me sufficient warning and he was going to use his potty successfully on the first try. He hadn't pooped on himself...only peed all over Spidey and his Amazing friends.

Dust Bunnies & Violins

2008-09-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

It took a lot of trying, but I gathered the energy to clean. This isn't just any cleaning, I cleaned under our King-sized bed! Holy dustballs! Chayla and I swept, vaccumed, and then swiffered under that sucker. I think my shoes, which reside under our bed, were thankful. The cool thing was that I found Freddie's memory box amongst the shoes. I dug up a bunch of old pics from when he was a little boy. Now that Mateo's hair is long, he looks even more like his dad. It's funny to think that one day he'll be a man.

We watched the Goonies today. Mateo was into it for 5 minutes but Chayla was the one that cracked me up. When Andy (the cheerleader) accidentlly kissed Mikey (Sean Astin) she turned her head, covered her mouth, and giggled with embarassment. The funy thing is I remember having the exact reaction when I first saw it back in (dare I say) the 80's!

I took Chayla to rent her violin. It's a very exciting adventure we're embarking upon: a daily 15-minute dose of screaching "twinkle, twinkle little star". Wish me luck. At least she's adorable.

Mateo continues to amaze me. While he was playing with his spoon he placed it on his nose. He then crossed his eyes and looked over at me. He exclaimed, "oh wow! I see two mami's." We also had a great time playing in his clean room. Chayla's old tea set and fake food really triggered his imagination. He was utterly grateful that I made him hotdogs, waffles, and special juice! Check out how fast he can climb up to Chayla's bed (I had barely snapped the pic from above).

R&R&R

2008-09-27T17:17:00.001-07:00

Rain...it rained off and on all day. It's nice when it rains b/c you don't feel the need to be outside enjoying the warmer days. It'll soon be winter and we'll be confined to the house more often, but being so busy, it's nice to take a break. My job has kept me busy, but it's rewarding. I actually look forward to going to work. Today I drove some students to Howard University to attend a Youth Leadership Conference. My route began at 7:15am and by 12:30 I was ready for a nap!

Rest...I needed some. I've packed our weeks with so much stuff to make the time fly, I really needed a nap. Work, Chayla's Hip Hop class, Mateo's school and co-oping, his sports class. Chayla is a busy gal with a better social life than mine. She went to the movies and saw Igor with her BFF Ariel. Now she's at a birthday party across the street. My 9 year old has a 9pm curfew. I never had a curfew b/c I was never allowed anywhere! Chayla is in an accelerated classroom (Gifted Center) so she has more work to do. She's a very hard worker and dedicated to her studies, so I don't mind that she has fun on the weekends. Plus, it helps her pass the time and miss her dad a little less.

Relaxation...b/c of the rain, I decided to stay home this afternoon and enjoy Mateo. Earlier, I took him to a Tiny Tots sports class at 9:30am where he refused to trap, dribble, or throw the soccer ball. We had to run a lap to warm up and as we passed a bench, he just ran right to it and sat down. He wasn't very into it today. We then watched a movie, ate popcorn and marshmallows; made playdough and a mess; and then we made and ate chocolate chip cookies. When I told him we were going to make cookies he said, "good idea Mami!" Another good quote was when we were headed upstairs. He opened up his arms and quietly said, "I wanna hold you, Mami." He meant he wanted me to hold him :) I love those moments.

Blogging Beginner

2008-09-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

I don't consider myself a good wirter. I've never really been inspired to write, but I figured I'd give this blogging thing a whirl since I need an outlet.

Freddie has been deployed since July. I was able to email him for the first part of the tour, but part II of the mission is more sensitive and communication is very limited. I have no way to communicate with him. I could call the Red Cross but I don't think missing him counts as an emergency.

I want this blog to serve as a record of our lives while he's gone. Here we go.

Chayla turned in her diorama project based on her research of the Pueblo people of the Southwest. Did you know the Pueblos would dig a hole, get in it, cover it with brush, lay a dead rabbit on it, and then wait for an EAGLE to take the bait. When the eagle landed, the Pueblo man would grab its legs and hold on for dear life, I suppose. She also got braces:

Mateo started Nursery school last week. He's a very serious little guy. While he loves to play with all the toys, he refuses to interact with any adult other than his teacher. His schol is a co-op so I have to assist the teacher a few times per month. Those were 2 of the most exhausting hours of my life. I think only labor and my Master's exam rank above it. And I used to teach! Here is how he left me the 1st day. Needless to say I was THAT mom who cried on the playground as he left.

My Dad is living with us while Freddie is deployed. He has been a tremendous help and I feel lucky to have him to watch my son. It's given me a lot more freedom and flexibility during a time when I feel a little overwhelmed. I haven't lived with my Dad since I was 18 so it's quite an experience. He's certainly more relaxed than when I was a kid but, since he has no hobbies or interests, he just watches the news and Keith Oberman. The election, the mess with the economy, FOX news, and the energy crisis serve as fodder for all his conspiracy theories. Don't even get him started.

As for me, my latest adventure has been personal training. By that I mean, I pay money for someone to motivate me to get to the gym and sweat. It's a big deal for me since I fell out of working-out once I got preggers and that was over 3 years ago. It's been a great distraction and stress-reliever while Freddie's gone.

Freddie is deep under water somewhere in the cold Atlantic. It's not a pleasant thought, but at least he isn't in a desert. For that, and many other things, I am grateful.