Found One

Well we found a house that we like. Since it's an older home, it'll need some updating on the inside. Great backyard, with a door at the back gate that leads to the covered playground area of the elementary school. Nice gated pool too. 4 bedrooms with 3 full baths. Plenty of space throughout the house. I think we are going to put in the offer tomorrow or friday. Be in prayer about this. I pray that if this is the right house, everything will run smooth, as far as negotiations, inspections, apprasial, and closing.

The Big Top

We went to the circus on Saturday night. Kinda of a last minute thing. After scouring my van for 5 minutes I found the free passes that we had for the girls. Not that it did any good, we ended up spending a fortune. We paid $15 for parking, cause who wants to walk far in 100 degree weather with two toddlers. Then we paid $27 a ticket for the adults (3 total). Hey I'm a firm believer of getting good seats. Then cotton candy was $10 each, but they did come with a cool hat. Then nachos, peanuts, coke and water. I spent well over $100. But I do have to say it was awesome. We were on the edge of our seats. I was so nervous for the performers, especially the ones that would walk on the outside of the big wheel, and the tight rope walkers. Funny thing though, the acrobatics are now being called sky surfing. weird. Anyways, it was a success, 2 minutes before it was over, we high-tailed it outta there, and managed to beat traffic. Can't wait until next year.

Great for kids

Just a reminder
www.starfall.com

This website is great for toddlers and kids learning how to read.

My 1 year old can recognize the letter A, say "Ahhhhhh" and "Apple"

Be Still

As I frantically search for the cd that has our 2005 and 2004 1040's on it. As me and my husband battle over the "perfect" house. As my little one clutches my neck as I leave her in daycare. As I wonder how I'm going to pack everything before Aug 25. I will calm down and remember this verse.

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Sold

Well they accepted our counter-offer, and they are also paying for the title transfer which will say us another $3,000. God is so good. Now we've got to get pre-approved, find the perfect house, pack and move all hopefully before Aug 28. This will definately be a crazy month. Keep us in your prayers.

Cars

This morning I was on 820 taking the girls to school. I noticed two cars on the right of me, one trying to get in.

Me: "Just let him in"

Isabel: "What are you saying mom?"

Me: "I'm talking to the car"

Isabel: "Why are you talking to the car. It doesn't have a mouth. Only us, only
us have a mouth. Look see (as she points to the car), see the car doesn't have a mouth."

Me: (Laughing) "You are so funny"

Isabel: (Laughting) "No, you funny. You talking to a car and it doesn't have a mouth. What's wrong with you girl"

You know I should take her to go see the movie Cars, so that she can see that some cars do have mouths.

We have an offer

We got an offer on our house. Yeah!. Not what we were wanting, so we counter-offered. We'll find out today if they accept. They want to close on Aug 28. God is so good. Just last Sunday our pastor had us write down a specific prayer on a card. Mine was that we'd sale our house before Aug 31. How awesome is that. I'll keep you posted on how things go. We still need for find a house for ourselves. We'll be doing that this week. We've been looking all along, but now we have to go and look at them. This month is going to be hectic. Pray that God will give us wisdom in finding our next home.

Wanna do some good?

SUMMER SIZZLER 5K RUN/WALK

This Saturday at River Legacy Park at 7:45 am
$8 to enter before game day, can register at "The Runner" on west Pioneer.

Donated packaged/boxed/canned foods are encouraged for the Arlington Life Shelter; part of the race proceeds will go to that organization.

Makes no sense to me

President Bush on Thursday signed legislation extending for 25 years the Voting Rights Act, the historic 1965 law which opened polls to millions of black Americans by outlawing racist voting practices in the South.

Article
Why just 25 years... Why not forever? Am I missing something?

This little piggy cried all the way home

Last night I was giving the girls a bath. Emma kept standing up, so I walked over to the bathtup to sit her down. As I approached the tile-lined tub, I slipped on some water on the floor and my right foot slammed into the tub. I screamed so loud. I though I had broken all my toes. After the numbness wore off I surveyed the damage. My middle toe is what was hurting. I couldn't bend it forward or backward. Today it still hurts, no brusing though, so I guess it's not broken, plus I can walk fairly well, although the shoes I wore today are a bit difficult to walk in, so I'm just kinda dragging my foot. I hope no one steps on it on accident. I'm liable to hit them if they do.

Google Spreadsheets

Just discovered the coolest thing, for me anyways. Google Spreadsheets. Why is this the coolest thing. Well for me and my husband, we keep our budget on a spreadsheet.
Usually I save it on a usb drive and carry it with me, just in case I need to view it or pay bills. Sometimes, Eddie wants to look at it, but can't because I left it at home, so I can't email it to him. What's cool about google spreadsheets, is that you can upload your spreadsheet into your exsisting google account (ie. gmail). Then you can invite someone to view it. Google will then send them an email and they can make modifications to it. The spreadsheet stays in the account, so it's their to view or modify at anytime. This is great. Just another way technology makes my life simpler.

Fighting for truth, justice...

I saw Superman Returns this weekend. I liked it. I loved the opening scene of the movie, where the theme song is played. Disappointed that they left out "American Way", when describing what Superman stood for. Also wasn't too thrilled that his costumn had changed a little bit, a dark red cape instead of a bright red cape.

One section of the movie stuck out.

Superman: I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior, but I hear them crying for one everyday.

Superman is remembering Jor-El's last message to him from the first film]
They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son.

We do need a Savior, and we have one in Jesus Christ. Just as Jor-El, sent Superman to save the world. God sent his son, Jesus Christ to save our world.

For God so loved the world that he sent His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

The spell has been broken

It's been about 3 weeks since someone has looked at our house. After getting in the word, praying and getting rid of things I don't need, the dry spell is over. We got a call yesterday that someone wants to look at our house today at 10am. I got home at 8:00 last night and started cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. Eddie is mowing the yard as we speak. I hope this is the one.

"Daddy, I pray that you will send the perfect people for this house. I pray that you will sheild their eyes to any imperfections. I pray that Eddie can finish mowing the yard on time. Thank you for all that you have given us thus far. Love you. In your Son's name I pray. Amen"

I couldv'e been a artist, nurse, or vet

Back when I was a youngster, It was always instilled in me that I would go to college. The only other person who had graduated from college was my Aunt Irma. She was my favorite aunt, she was my only aunt. I really looked up to her. She is a COBOL programmer and gave me my first computer in the 3rd grade. A TI-994A. Ancient.
Anyways growing up I wanted to be a programmer like her, but as years passed I would change my mind.
In the 2nd grade I decided I wanted to be a nurse. I would play doctor with my friends. When they would get hurt, they would come to me for a diagnosis. Weirdos. Didn't they realize that I really wasn't a nurse. Anyways.
In the 3rd grade I won 1st Place City-Wide for a Fire Prevention Poster contest. I won $25 and a bike. I kept that poster for like 7 years until one day I got mad and tore it up. I still regret that. Also in the 3rd grade I won 1st runner up in a programming contest. I still have the program that I wrote.
In the 7th grade I decided I wanted to be a vet, until I took biology in the 10th grade. I couldn't even disect a frog, it was the grossest thing ever. Ok being a vet is not for me.
So I switched back to programming. And that is what I do today. I like it, it's challenging. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

How to get back Family Time

How to get back family time and save money at the same time.
With our daycare cost going up, we needed to find a way to save some money.
So we cut out Dish Network, our home phone, and internet service.
This is going to save us $140, which is the amount per month that our daycare cost rose.
Totally ok with me. The only two shows that I watch are General Hospital and Grey's Anatomy, both which show on basic channels. Granted I'll miss DVR, so that means I'll have to bust out the old VCR if I ever need to record anything, or just call my sister to DVR something for me.
Don't really use the home phone much. Everyone calls me on my cell phone anyway.
Internet isn't being used much, because both Eddie and I have access at work, or my mom's or my sister's house.

What does this all mean. More family time.
Since the girls are going to start preschool on July 31, I'll need to start giving them a bath at night. 8:00 bath, in bed by 8:30 and hopefully asleep by 9:00. They will wake up at 7:00 is order to be in school by 8:00. Sounds like a plan to me.
With no cable I'll have the time to play with my kids more, clean more, and other stuff. This is going to be good. (I hope)... it will it's just an adjustment.
And I've also started bringing my lunch and cooking at home everynight.
Amazing how much money is saved when I do that.

We're back and in one piece.

We had a great time in New Braunfels. We went swimming at the Mushroom pool which is located at the resort at Schilterbaun. It only cost $7.50, and was a beach type pool. That was fine with me, at Isabel's age, I think she had more fun here than she would have at the big park. We also spent time at a library listening to Joe McDermott play his guitar and sing for the kids. It was quite hilarious. We also went to Inflatable World, which was a old theater converted to a space that housed tons of different bounce houses and slides. This was cool, because for $5 you could jump all day, leave to eat, and come back and jump some more. They even kept one of the screens up with a few chairs and had a movie playing for parents.
Eddie and Emma arrived on Saturday night. I was so happy to see them. When I picked Emma up, she just layed her head on my shoulder the entire time. I think she was happy to see me too.

As Eddie was telling me about their trip, he says,
"You're gonna kill me"
"Why", I asked
"Because I didn't use the car seat the entire time we were there."
"Why" I asked again in a more frightened voice.
"Because none of the cars had seat belts"

Can you believe that? No seat belts. My first question was "didn't your mother know that?" I mean she did say she'd see if one of her sisters would provide a car seat so we wouldn't take ours. She goes down there every year, how do you not remember that none of the cars have seat belts?

Anyways, I'm glad that they made it back in one piece.

Schlitterbaun: Here we come

Tomorrow, Isabel and I will be driving down to visit Dixie, a friend of mine in New Braunfels. We'll head out to Schlitterbaun on Thursday. I have fond memories of Schliterbaun. Dixie and I went there when I was 16 years old. We had a blast, and I'm sure we'll have a blast on Thursday... See Ya.

A great surprise

Eddie called me this morning from Mexico. I was shocked because he didn't take a calling card with him. I was wondering how the heck he was calling me. Then he said "Happy Anniversary!" Oops I forget, completely forgot. I'm so glad he remembered. We've been together 10 years and married for 7.

Happy Anniversary Eddie, may we make it to our 50th.

Recent Talks

So many new things...

Eddie and Emma are in Mexico. Isabel misses them. She has been asking about them alot. "I want my Daddy and my Emma"... I want them back too.

Isabel is in the "WHY" stage. Example.
"I've got to wash clothes"
"Why"
"Because they are dirty"
"Why?"
"Because we wore them and got them dirty"
"Why?"
"Just because"
"Because you said so?"
"Yes, because I said so."


On Saturday, we went to the Taste of Dallas. After a while, Isabel wanted to get out of the stroller and walk, but didn't want to hold my hand. This was my opportunity to talk to her about strangers.

"Isabel, you have to hold mommy's hand, beause if you don't, a stranger, who is somebody you don't know, will grab you and take you away from mommy, and then you will never see mommmy again."

"I don't want the stranger to tak me away." "Go away stranger go away"

Let's just say she never let go of my hand, in fact she held it tighter.

I Dare You

Isabel is not a person who likes to give kisses, and neither am I. Let me clarify, I can kiss my girls all day long, and even my husband. What I don't like is kissing other people. Let me clarify further. In Eddie's family, when we go and visit, we get a peck on the cheek when we arrive and when we leave. I hate that. They know it too, cause they've stopped doing it to me. The furthest I'll go is touching cheek to cheek, but even that is pushing it. Heck in my family, we don't even hug when we see each other on a weekly basis, a simple "What's up" is good enough for us.
But, we are teaching our girls that when they see other family members, they should greet them with a hug, and when they leave, they should give them a kiss.

Isabel hates kisses. If I ask for a kiss, she'll flat out tell me "no". And poor Emma has picked up her habit as well, although not as bad.
If you attempt to kiss Isabel, she will wipe it off immediately, which totally cracks me up.

Well last night we were at my in-laws, when we were getting ready to leave. Isabel keeping saying that she wanted to stay there. So I opened my big mouth and said, "If you give Lito (her grandpa) a kiss, you can stay". She said "Ok". Went right over to him and gave me a kiss on the lips. I was shocked. So needless to say we let her stay the night. I know now, that I shouldn't dare Isabel to do anything, because she will call my bluff.

End of the Spear

What a great movie. We saw this movie this weekend, and I really enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend renting it. I won't go into any detail about the movie, in case you haven't seen it, but I will say one thing. It amazes me how the Gospel can reach anyone in the world, if we are willing to take it to anywhere in the world. I thank all of the missionaries that give their lives to reaches people that live in jungles and people that live in dangerous areas. Although not all of us can travel to Ecuador and present to Gospel to different tribes, we can reach the people in our own backyard.

A New Tradition Begins

Yesterday was our first official 4th of July Celebration as a family. In years past since my girls are only 1 and 3 yrs old, we wouldn't go out and watch the fireworks. Last night, we headed out to Lone Star Park. What a great time we had. As we were getting out of the car, an empty shuttle came and stopped right behind us. That was cool, because we didn't have to park. Then as Eddie was talking to the driver, the driver gave him free tickets for all of us to get in. What a blessing. Inside they had free face painting, bounce houses, a petting zoo and pony rides for the kids. The lines were ridiculously long.
My kids got to see the ponys from the side lines, got the pet the animals that were brushed up against the fence. The only lines we stood in were the bounce house slide (I'd say about 10 minutes), and the face painting (which was slow). As soon as Eddie came with the nachos we got out of the face painting line and headed for the car. On the same row as our car, we set up camp on the grassy median. Let me tell you, this was the perfect spot. The girls got to run around, and when the fireworks started they were right in front of us, and we could still here the music from inside the park. About 5 minutes before it ended, we headed for the car, and were about to get out of there without too much headache. This was a great time.

2 Down

We paid off 2 debts today... Yeah!... It feels good doing that.
I can't wait until the day when I can scream I'm debt free.

High School Reunion

No I'm not going to my high school reunion. I it feels like I've been to one.
Within the last 2 weeks I've seen 2 people that I went to high school with.
First was Laurie Rios, who in college, got married and became Laurie Alavarez, who then got a divorce and remarried and is now Laurie Nieto. Since we hung out in high school and college, somehow my got in touch with my sister, and then with me.
After emailing her, we saw each other this past Saturday at my nephews birthday party. She hasn't changed much in appearance. What has changed about her is that now she is following Christ. She told me that before going to Arlington High, she always went to a Christian private school. I would've never guessed. We talked about our churches, and she mentioned that she was praying about moving to a spanish congregation. I gave her info about the church. She said that she was going to send her kids there this summer for VBS. Cool. We are going to have lunch tomorrow.

Today I was at Albertson's durning lunch. I was walking in when I saw Monica. For the life of me I can't remember her last name. She had a little blond boy with her. That kinda caught me off guard, because Monica is Hispanic.... Anyways, as she passed me she was putting on her sunglasses, and I recognized her. Something told me to say something. So I said "Monica". She stopped took off her sunglasses and starred at me, like as if to say "who are you?" I said "Michelle Gomez" using my maiden name, because I knew if I used my real name she definately wouldn't know who I was. Still starring at me she asked "Where do I know you from?". I replied "High School". Then it registered with her. I'm thinking in my head.. I know I look totally different, I've gained weight since high school, and she of course is a thin as she was in high school, she probably can wear the same clothes.

Anyways, we chatted for a while, and then I asked her where she was going to church. And told her where I was attending. She said "You know we've been thinking about moving to a spanish congregation, wow this must be a sign from God"...

Anyways, she suggested that we exchanged numbers and get together. So we are going to have lunch next week.

I'm so glad that God has brought these two people back into my life.
Did I mentioned in 2 weeks, I going to go visit my friend Dixie in New Braunsfels.
We've been friends since High School.

P.S. It just dawned on me what Monica's last name was. See I've been recently listenting to this awesome band called Del Castillo (recommended by Dixie). Anyways.. that was her name, Monica Castillo.

No Excuse

On my way to work I saw to women walking for excersize. The thing that caught my attention was that there children were walking with them. Children younger than 10. Amazing. What a great way to spend time with your kids and exercise. 2 weeks ago I adopted the same idea. I pull my 2 kiddos in their wagon as I walk. Not only is it great exercise, but they have a blast getting a wagon ride. Now I have no excuse not to exercise.

Fastest Scrapbooker on this side of the Pecos River

My God-daughter is turning 15 on July 4th. Her mother asked if I would create a scrapbook for her. "In a week?" I asked "No way". I said I would maybe get a couple of pages done. But by golly I'm finished. I created a book of 15 2-page layouts. Wow, I've never worked so fast in my life. It's a great book if I do say so myself. I should start a new buisness.

A Printed Copy

Does anyone know of a EASY way that I can print out all of my blog entries. If ever Blogger were to go out of buisness for some reason, I don't want to loose all of this.

It was the clock.....

Update from post titled 6:08 am. It was the clock. I mean the clock went off at 5:07 instead of 5:15. But we didn't notice. I now make it a point not to get up until 5:30.

Preventing SIDS

For all you new moms out there.

Is there a simple, cheap and trusted intervention that can cut a baby's risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)?

Yes, there is: The pacifier.

According to Hauck, they may have a direct effect on opening the airway. Babies who suck on a pacifier may also sleep less deeply and arouse more easily than infants who don't use them -- seeking the device if and when it falls from the mouth. Other experts have theorized that the pacifier's bulky handle leaves a protective airspace around the baby's nose and mouth as it lies upon the mattress or pillow.

AAP recomendations for preventing SIDS include:

1. Put infants to bed on their backs,
2. Only use firm sleep surfaces and keep soft objects, such as pillows and heavy blankets, out of the crib,
3. Give baby a smoke-free environment both before and after pregnancy,
4. Keep baby in the parents' bedroom, but not in bed with you,
5. Don't allow baby to get overheated. Infants shouldn't feel hot to the touch.

(By Meryl Hyman Harris HealthDay Reporter)

I followed each of these guidelines. Until this day, my kids kick off any blankets that I put on them. They are so used to not using them. I would just use the "Back to Sleep" zip up blanket on them when they were little. Now, in the winter I put on them in sweats.

My little one never used a pacifer, she still sucks on her first two fingers. She'll be 2 in October. I'm trying to break her of this. When I see her when her fingers in her mouth, I ask her to remove them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I don't want her sucking on them anymore because they are now kind of crooked. Oh well I'll keep trying.

1 down 1 to go

Since Isabel has turned 3, it seems to me that she has passed the "terrible two" stage. She is more polite, for the most part she does what I ask her to do, and she is so helpful. Now don't get me wrong, she has her moments, when she gets selfish and doesn't want to share, or doesn't want to take her shoes off before going to bed.
That kid loves shoes. She can spend an hour in her closet trying on shoes that don't even fit her anymore. She loves wearing dresses and slippers, and if you give her lipgloss she, can sit for what seems like eternity applying and re-applying. I had to telkl her yesterday that you only apply lipstick twice a day (at least if you buy the one that stays on forever).
Emma is now in her "first adolescense (terrible twos)". "No" is now her favorite word. And if she doesn't get her way, she'll throw what ever is in her hand clear across the room. That girl has a good arm on her. She constantly picks fights with her older sister. Scratching, pulling hair, has even bit her once or twice. Even through all this, she is still the cutest little thing. It's hard for me to get mad at her, cause she just smiles. Her favorite thing is Dora the Explorer. She will have me read her book over and over again. I need to get her a new one. I will try to remember these times, because even though they are difficult at times, she'll only be 2 once.

6:08 am

And I'm at work. A mistake I think. I'm not supposed to be here until 6:30-6:40.
The alarm went off at 5:00, or so I think. Eddie reset it to go off at 5:15, supposedly. I got up when it went off, jumped into the shower, did my hair, got dressed, got the girls clothes ready, put the girls in the car, and got some yoguart from the fridge. I was pulling out of the driveway at 5:35.
Now, either I am Wonder Woman or the clock had to have been wrong. I'll have to check tonight and make adjustments. I can't be coming into work early, wouldn't want my boss to think that I'm trying to look good. (right Jeff?).

Another Game

Last night Isabel came up to me with her arms extended out and her hands extended into fists.

Isabel: Which hand
Me: That one (pointing to the one on the right)
Isabel: (opening her hand, with nothing in it) Um Nope
She puts her hands behind her back and pretends to fiddle with them.
Isabel: Which hand
Me: That one (pointing to the one on the left)
Isabel: (opening her hand, with nothing in it) Um Nope

This went on and on... It was so cute.

Game 6

I turned the TV off right after the 3rd Quarter. I figured it they won then I would watch Game 7, and if they lost, well I don't want to see them loose.

They lost, and I'm glad I didn't have to witness it.

Tonight is the night

Mavs have got to win this game. I'm going to be so disappointed if they loose.
After work, I'm going to head home to my family. I think I'll stop along the way to get a magazine or something for my husband. He's been working alot lately and is tired. Hopefully this will cheer him up. If the weather cooperates, we'll head over to Mansfield to my aunts house to go swimming. Eddie is wanting to try out the girls' life-jackets. I think we'll just throw them into the pool. (Just kidding)
Anyways, I downloaded the new Selah cd from itunes titled Greatest Hyms. I love hymns, and they do an awesome job on this cd. My favorite is "His eye is on the sparrow" and "Bika Mono (Pass me not) / It is well with my soul". I highly recommend this cd.

In other areas...
We dropped the price of our house another 20,000. We haven't had someone come to see it in 2 weeks. We just want it sold, we enought cash to put down on another house. As soon as we sell and move to a more affordable home, Eddie will be able to quit his part-time jobs. Keep this situation in your prayers.

Happy Father's Day

To my Dad, aka God, aka Lord Almighty, aka Master of the Universe.

Just wanted to let know know how much I love you. Since conception, you have been there to protect me. All the times that I fell you lifted me up and held me in your arms. You always would give me wisdom when making decisions. Eventhough sometimes I disobeyed you, you still loved me as you punished me. You have been so good to me.
You are just the coolest dad. You always give me everything I need and even somethings I just want. You have given me some of the best gifts a girl would want. A mother and sister who loves me and would do anything for me. My grandma who told me about your son, Jesus. A husband, my life partner, who loves you just as much as I do. Children to call my own. Children that make me laugh, and give the best hugs and kisses. Thank you for teaching me about being humble and helping others in need. Thank you for putting people in my life that minister to me and that I can minster back to.
I cry "Abba", Father to the best Dad in all of the universe. Nothing and no one can compare to you.

Happy Father's Day
From your "favorite" daughter,
Love always and for eternity,

Michelle

ATTITUDE

"Your attitude should be the same like that of Christ." Phil 4:13

For the past couple of months I've worked with someone who is a ordained minister of a local Christian church. At first, I was nice to this person and would try to be helpful. All I got back was ATTITUDE. This person was hired because of who she knew within the company. This person was hard to teach, hard to work with, and just plain not pleasant, to me or any other co-workers. I went to her supervisor concerning this matter. Later I found out that many of her teammates did the same. The supervisor had a talk with her. Let me tell you that helped so much. Today it was like talking to someone new. Nice, polite, mouth shut while learning, just a 180 turn-around. Funny thing, is that today, the person that got her the job, resigned. So now, she is back to being the rookie, new kid on the block. Funny how things work out. I'm glad there has been a change, it will make working with her all the more better.

Despite all of this, I look at myself. Do I always display the attitude of Christ?
At work, with my husband, with my children, at chruch, with the people I interact with. No not always. So I remind myself, I represent Christ everywhere I go, to everyone I talk to and interact with. I represent Him.

Philippians 1:27
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ

Angels watching over me

The weirdest thing happened this morning. My alarm is normally set to go off at 5:00 am. Well this morning I was awaken by the electricity going off.. How do you ask? The TV, turned off and on by itself, which made tons of noise and the answering maching made noise when it came back on. This really freaked me out. I looked at the alarm clock, and it was blinking 12:00. I got up and grabbed my cell phone and saw that it was 4:55 am. I'm so glad it happened when it did, cause I don't think I would have woken up had it happened at 2:00 am. Thank you guardian angel for waking me up on time.

Weight Watchers

Well I decided to do Weight Watchers, on my own. I don't have the time to go to meetings. I started it on Tuesday and have been doing good keeping within my point value, which is 24 per day and an extra 35 for the whole week. I think I used the whole 35 today at lunch, just kidding. I had tacos, and I have no idea how many points those are, my guess is 3 tacos is about 18 poiints. What I do know is that I won't be going and eating at Chiptole anytime soon. The burrito I get is 24 points. I did figure out if I get the bowl instead, and cut out the rice, it would drop the point value to 11. I guess I can live with that. I even went and took the girls for a walk this evening. I pulled them in the wagon down our street, and let me tell you it's a long street. I took me 23 minutes to get there and back. It was a good walk. I think I'll make it a habit. Just me, the girls, and my ipod.

Conversations....

While eating dinner last night.

Grandma: Hey Isabel what's that are your hand?
Isabel: A boo-boo
Grandma: Ahhhh.. What were you doing?
Isabel: Falling.
Grandma: (laughing)
Isabel: I fall and I fall again.

Moments like these

Emma and I have an ongoing game that we play.
She'll yell out "Mama", and I'll yell back "Emma", well go back and forth for what seems like eternity. It's funny, because she'll copy me on how I say her name. If I whisper, she'll whisper. If I use a low voice, she'll use a low voice. I cherish moments like these.

1/2 Way There

Dear Diary....

Well I'm 1/2 way there. I started scrapbooking Isabel's Cinderella party pictures on Sunday night, and continued last night as well. Isabel is excited at seeing her book, and still remembers details of the party which was almost a month ago. Like when Cinderella painted a butterfly on her hand. Hopefully I can finish the book this week. What an accomplishment that would be. I think I'll go down to Walmart at lunch, I hear they have a great Disney section for scrapbooking materials... So far I have spent $48 on this book, and that is not counting the materials that were already on hand.

Galatians 5

"Love your neighbor as yourself."

It's not about me. Being a servant of Christ can be summed up in two words.

Consider Others.

If nothing else, Christ considered you when he died on the cross for your sins.

Consider others feelings, put their needs above your own, don't be selfish.

I'm talking to myself here.

GH Marathon

Since I was away on my mission trip (actually my grandma's house, but we help out alot there), I didn't watch General Hospital. So yesterday when I got home at 7:30 I started watching the last four days worth, I finished at 10:00. Isabel had spent the night at her grandma's and Emma had fallen asleep in the car, so it was perfect.
Monday and Tuesday were good, I couldn't skip Wednesday and Thursday. We'll see what today is like. When it comes to GH, I'm a junkie, been on it since the 80's and I was born in 1975.

The Joy of the Lord is my Strength

Yesterday was the last day and Isabel and Emma went to Sophia's house. Sophia started taking care of Isabel since she was 1 years old, and Emma since she was 3 months old. Since Isabel is 3, and Emma almost 2, I'm going to put them in preschool starting in August. In the meantime for the next 2 months their Aunt Lily will be taking care of them. She just finished college and will start teaching 1st grade in August. This should be a good summer for them. She will enroll them in the summer reading program at the local library, and do lots of other things with them as well.
As a thankyou gift to Sophia, I bought her a Precious Moment. The minute I saw it, I knew it was perfect. She still takes care of 2 other babies, so her hands will not go idle. It was so cute, just wanted to share.....

The Faces of Emma

Face 1
On the drive back from Odessa...
Emma and Isabel both had plastic cups with cereal in them. Evidently, Isabel finished hers and asked if Emma would share.
Emma kindly transfered cereal from her own cup to Isabel's cup.

Awwww, how nice she shared. A Kodak moment.

Face 2
Same drive back from Odessa 3 hours later...
Emma and Isabel both had plastic cups with cookies in them. Evidently, Isabel finished hers and asked if Emma would share. Emma said no. Isabel preceed to scream "dame, dame" (traslated "give me some" "give me some")
As Isabel is throwing a fit, Emma quietly took the cookies out of her cup one by one and threw them on the floor. Then she threw the empty cup to Isabel as if saying "Here, take your cup, but you won't get no cookies"

Toooo funny, to get mad

Memorial Day (UPDATED)

It's Memorial Day, I spending my time in Odessa,TX with my grandparents. Our spring family mission trip. Eddie is remodleing the breakfast nook today. My Wuela and I made ribs and chicken for lunch. We had guacamole, potato salad, and baked beans to go with it. Mmmmm good. In our room I have a Dora video running non-stop it has 4 videos on it and will keep playing over and over again. Emma has barely left that room. I on the other hand have been watcing the Deadliest Catch marathon on the Discovery Channel. I like this show it's very interesting. Hope everyone else had a good Labor Day.

We Did It

I took the step and removed the front of Emma's crib. Now it's a toddler bed. When Isabel moved to a toddler bed she was 16 months old. I had to get her accustomed because, Emma was on the way, and needed the crib.
Emma is almost 20 months old. I put on the Dora sheets, pillow and conforter. She liked it. The one thing about moving a baby to a toddler bed is that they have to learn how not to fall out. When Isabel was learning, she had the priviledge of falling out onto carpet. Emma has wood floors in her room, actually the whole house does. So, to make the falling out of be painless, I put her Dora blowup bed next to her bed so when she fell out it wouldn't hurt.
At 12:30 Eddie found her on the Dora blowup bed. At 4:30 she had the top half of her body on her bed, and her bottom half hanging off of the side. It'll take a couple of weeks, but she'll get the hang of it.

Galatians 1

Amazing Grace...I was blind but now see.

God is so good. To take a man, Paul, who was killing Christians, turn his life around, and use him to preach the Gospel. That is a wonderful testimony. God shows me that there is hope for the alcoholics, drug addicts, the "nobodys" of this world. Everyone matters to Him. He can use us, in our most pitiful state, if we just let Him.

Lord, I will continually pray for all the "nobodys" of the world, the people that society has pushed aside. I pray that you would open their eyes that they might see your love and grace that you offer freely. I pray that you would us them and us in a mighty way to further your kingdom, by spreading your Gospel to the lost.

My Two Dads

Isabel got this doll for Christmas
It's a Little People® Learn-to-Dress® Eddie™
As you can see "Eddie" is a fighterfighter, just like my husband Eddie. Needless to say this is a cool doll to have.
Yesterday after picking up Isabel, she starts to whine "I want my daddy!"
I said "We'll see Daddy in a minute"
"No, I want my other Daddy!" she replies.
I give her this what are you talking about look.
"That one", she says as she points to the "Eddie" doll.
I had to hold in my laughter! I don't think she would be calling the doll "Daddy" had it's name not been "Eddie"

A little selfish

The other day, I had Isabel by the hand and we were on our way to my bedroom. Emma was on the couch watching Dora. I stopped and asked
"Hey Emma, do you want to go with us?"
Isabel immediately responded with.
"Say no, Emma" "Say no, Emma"

To be or not to be that is the question

My counsins had to grow up with a drug addict father, and no mother. They lived with us when they were younger, but then one day the drug addict father got upset because the younger one was spanked for acting up in school. He took them away. Weeks later, we get a call begging us to take them back. Sorry no can do. The older one went to live with an aunt, actually several aunts, my mom included. I took the younger one to live with his mother, who was stable at the time. The older one ended up living with a friend durning high school. The older one will make it, going to college in the fall. Don't know about the younger one. ADD, no parental involvement, barely goes to school, always getting into trouble.
Sad just sad. But I'm a firm believer that it shouldn't matter what enviroment you grow up in. If you want to make something of yourself you can, you have the power to be somebody. I pray that these two boys both make it.

Books, Books, and more books

The Scholastic warehouse on 360 and Mayfield is open to the public this week until Thrusday night at 8:00 pm. You can get 50% off on all books. It's a great deal.

The ABCs of my life

The ABCs of my life.

Accent: Pure Texan, born and raised.

Bible Book that I like: Colossians

Chore I don't care for: Mopping

Dog or Cat: I love dogs

Essential Electronics: Cell Phone... can't leave home without it.

Favorite Cologne: Obsession, by Calvin Klein

Gold or Silver: White Gold

Handbag I Carry Most Often: $12 small purse from Target

Insomnia: No... I can sleep anywhere, anytime.

Job Title: Software Developer

Kids: Two girls; ages 3 and 19 months

Living Arrangements: I live in a big house with my family. Hopeing to downsize soon. (the house, not the family)

Most Admirable Trait: Generosity, I think

Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: Bitting the 2nd grade teacher. After 3 paddles, I never did that again.

Overnight Hospital Stays: 2 -- the births of my daughters

Phobias: Tight places, and the dark

Quote: To be or not to be, that is the question.

Religion: Not religion, a relationship with Christ.

Siblings: One sister, Felicia

Time I Wake Up: 5:00 am

Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Mushrooms (is that a vege?)

Worst Habit: Loosing things...all the time.

X-rays: CT scan on my head (I'm normal)

Yummy Stuff I Cook: Chicken Enchiladas, yummy to my tummy.

Zoo Animal I Like Most: Polar Bears..at the San Diego Zoo

Circle One: M F B

In a recent conversation with Isabel, she made the following comments.
"Daddy's a boy, like Jacob. Mommy's a girl like me."
"What's Emma?" I asked
"A baby"

Cinderella Party - Part 2

Here are some other pics from the party. Cinderella did an interactive story with the kids, they played 3 games. Then they had makeup and face painting, and balloon animals. The kids had a blast. (Click on the pictures to view a larger image)

Cinderella Party

The party was a success! First we went to Libby Lu to get her hair done.

Then we went to the church where Eddie and I had it decorated with pink, purple, and silver balloons.

Here is Isabel in her Cinderella outfit and Emma in her tinkerbell outfit.


Here is the cake that my mom made.

John 16

I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

Lord, just incase I didn't ask in your name.

I pray that you will move us to a new home in Arlington, by the end of the month of June. I pray that an offer will be put on this house by the end of the month of May. I pray that you will heal my daughter of bronchitis, and remove the ezcema from Isabel'a and my eyes. I pray that you will give me help with my asp.net project at work, and that I complete it soon, real soon. I ask all of this in Jesus name.
Amen

I got boogers

The one thing that I hoped not to pass down to my children was my allergies. But I did. Actually I really don't know if I did or not, because Eddie never had allergies until he moved here, within the last year he's acquired them. Isabel allergies are acting up, which inturn makes the ezcema around her eyes flare up. We went to the doctor today, and he gave me samples of Eucerin. Let me tell you, it's made a world of a difference. No bumps, and just smoother skin around the eye. I get it too, so I tried it on myself, and it works. Not completely gone, but looks alot better, not dry.

Emma, she's got bronchitis. Poor thing. So not only is she on an antibiotic, he told me to give her some of Isabel's Histex as well. He's hopeing that will help all the mucus. If she's not better, he will put her on albuterol. Isabel was on that as well through an inhaler, before being put on Singular daily. I hope it doesn't come to that for Emma.

I on the other hand have lived with allergies all my life. I'm used to it by now. I don't take drugs, unless, I'm totally sick. Allegra 180, and Nanonex. Prednasone, if I'm really bad off.

As I sit here writing, Isabel is sniffeling, saying "I got boogers"... I know honey me too.

My Identity

I didn't realize how important a driver's license was until I lost mine.
I can't withdrawl money from a teller, without a signature card.
I can't show it to the officer when I get pulled over.
I can't get a copy of my birth certificate.
I can't purchase anything with my debit card, if they don't have one of those keypads to punch in your PIN.

So today, I'm on a mission. I'm going to have my sister get a copy of my birth certificate for me... if she has time.
Then I'm going to take that along with my social security card, marriage license, and insurance card to the DPS office to obtain a driver's license. Then I'll exsist again.

John 13

14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

Serving others. People who say thank you, people who do things for you in return, nice people, grateful people. That's the easy part

Serving others. The people who betray you, cut you down, people who don't appreciate you, people who are hostile against you, people who don't notice. That's the hard part.

Lord, help me serve others with a sincere heart. Not wanting anything in return.

Not Just Another Day

I remember my 16th birthday. I got a bathing suit from my mom. It was a one piece black suit, but it showed major cleavage. I loved that suit. Looking back, I don't see how my mom ever let me wear it.

I remember my 21st birthday. It was the funnest weekend, my friends took me out, we danced all night, then the following day, we went to a Jay Perez concert at UTA. I knew the bass player farely well, so they sung Happy Birthday to me... that was cool. We were sitting on the first row in the stands, and there were guards standing on the track not wanting us to get out of the stands. After much protest, and the ok, from the lead singer, I was the first to climb over the rail, soon others followed and we began Tejano dancing on the track. It was fun.

I remember my 24th birthday. I was graduating from College and I traded my 2 year old Honda Civic for a new Honda CRV, as a present to myself. I was also getting ready for my wedding in July.

I remember my 29th birthday. Just two days before I gave birth to Isabel. On my birthday, I begged the doctors to let me go home, even though I still had high blood pressure. They did, and I had a cake waiting for me when I got home.

I remember my 30th birthday. I was moving into my new house and unpacking. Not fun. I finally had a 80's party at my house in June. It was a blast. We had a costume contest, Limbo contest, and other games. Me and David (a friend of ours) did a rendition of Bohemian Raposdy for everyone, it was hilarious.

And now we come to today....

It's beautiful, simply beautiful

My mom gave me my birthday gift early yesterday. We went out to eat at my favorite restaurant The Cheesecake Factory. I got the name bracelet that I wanted (this was a gift from my girls) and I got four charms for my charm bracelet.

Thank You! I love it.

My Little Hurricane

2003 Hurricane Isabel hit the US. Earlier in the year, Isabel hit our lives. And it's been a whirlwind ever since. You have kept us on our toes. From late night feedings, almost chopping off your pinking (not literally), learning how to walk with the help of SMO's, teething, getting rid of the pacifier, learning how to talk, learning your abc's, learning how to ride your bike, POTTY TRAINING, and now you are 3. Happy Birthday.
Hope you have fun today at Pump It Up and at the Fort Worth Zoo. I pray that you will have a wonderful year and I'm so proud of you. You did a great job yesterday as you sang "He's got the whole world in his hands" and "B-I-B-L-E" at church for the special. You are such a big girl. I can't wait until your party on Friday. I hope you have a blast. I love you.

Bootcamp

Ready to get fit, try bootcamp. There is a bootcamp near you. Riverlegacy Park, in North Arlington.
Forget all that other stuff that I asked for for my birthday, this is what I want. This is what I need.

What to do at 4:00am in the morning if you are bored.

http://www.smalltime.com/dictator.html

Holding Pattern

It's 2:51 am Sunday morning. I'm at work. I arrived at 1:15 to help with the install of Interaction Client on over 200 machines. We started the install and each one only got to install about 4 machines, before it came to a screeching halt. Before then the electricity went out and we had been running on the generator for about an hour. Generator is back up and now a new telephony board is being installed on the server. Hopefully we can continue the installs within the next 10 mintues..... There is no plan B. So with a Mexican Coca-Cola in hand, and a snickers in my belly, I bid you adeiu, all you people out there in dreamland.

Spider, I'm gonna squish you like the freaking bug you are

Ok, it's that time of year again. All the bugs are coming up from under the ground. We've got worms, spiders, and june bugs. June bugs are staying outside, but the spiders and worms are coming in. These aren't just little spiders either, these suckers are huge. As I was taking clothes to the laundry room, one was crawing into the kitchen. Since I was barefoot, I couldn't step on it, so I had to call for back up.
This morning I jump in the shower and there is a worm on the wall by the faucet.
I let it be, since I really don't know how to kill it. I mean if I chop it up, it'll just mutate. So I take my shower. At the end of the shower I look back and it's gone. Holy cow, where the heck did it go? I can't find it anywhere. My hope is that it fell and went down the drain. My fear is that somehow it got on me or got in my hair. So I washed my hair again. Well after freaking out for about two minutes, I found it at the bottom of the wall. Great I'm safe.
I hate bugs. I wish they'd just go away.

It's Pinky w/ no Brain

The other day I put on mascara. Now I don't know how old this mascara was, but lets just say that it's been forever since I've bought mascara. Well since it was an allergy day, I got home and rubbed, rubbed, rubbed my eyes. Well life happened, and I went to bed without taking off my makeup. At 11:00 I woke up with pink eye. For the rest of the night I got up every 2 hours to put Vigamox in it. At 5:00 in the morning I called Jeff (my boss) to let him know that I probably wasn't coming into work. I tried logging, was successful, and then got booted out. So I went back to bed. I woke up at 7:30 and started my day, I was able to log back into work and worked for about an hour. By 9:00, my eye was clear, so I put in a fresh pair of contacts, loaded up the girls and went to work.

Note to self: Buy new mascara, take off mascara at night.

Congratulations Graduates

We have 2 people graduating in our family.

First I like to say congrats to Jacob Gomez. You made it through kindergarden with flying colors, you can write cursive, tell time, know all your numbers, and can read. This is just the beginning, I pray that you will continue to excel in school in the years to come.

Last but not least contrats to Lydia Valenzuela. Six years, wow they flew by fast, but your done with college. Wow, Magna Cum Laude, that is too cool. And not only graduating with honors, but you already have job. Wow, the principal wanted YOU, because her daughter was going to kindergarden! How cool is that. Those first graders are going to be blessed to have a teacher like you. This is just the beginning, I pray that you will continue to excel in school in the years to come.

Music by Evard Greig

I couldn't be more proud. Isabel watches Little Einstein, and on Saturday morning, I caught her singing one of the classical musical pieces featured on one of the episodes. On Monday, I was singing it too, which sparked a debate within the IT department on what the name of the song was. I swear, we'll do anything to take a break.

John 7

18He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth;

Just as Jesus spoke and worked only to honor the father, I should work to honor the Fahter and not to gain honor for myself.

Lord, thank you for giving me a job that I love. I pray that I will always honor you in the work that I do, and that I will give all honor to you. Lord when I finish this project everyone will know it was because of your wisdom that I was able to complete it.

Who is Jesus #1

What God says about Jesus: Jesus is God. His name Emmanuel means "God with us"

Hebrews 1:8
But about the Son he says,
"Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.

John 5:22-23
22Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

Who do you believe Jesus is?

Nightmares

In two weeks, Isabel will have her Princess Ball. She is starting to get excited about it. I'm starting to have nightmares about it. I don't know why. I just want it to be perfect for her, I can't wait to see her face light up when Cinderella walks through the door, and I hope she doesn't bust into tears whenever Cinderella leaves.

On Saturday, someone looked at our house. I got the call at 9:30, that they wanted to see it between 11 and 1. So for 1.5 hours I busted my butt to make sure that everything was in it's place. Do you now how hard that is to do, especially when you and a 1 and 3 year old wanting to "help you". At 10:15 I put Isabel in the car, and at 10:35 I put Emma in the car... they were listening to a saturday morning kid radio show, and I kept going in and out of the garage cleaning things. Finally at 11:05, I jumped in the car to leave. As I turned the key, the car made the sound like it didn't want to start. Heck it had been running on battery for 45 minutes.... So I started praying... please, please start... it would not have been cool, being stuck there when prospective buyers were on their way..... after 3 seconds it started... Yes! And off we were, for our fun filled day, with no showers and no breakfast, but a clean house.

I, I, Sir

Yesterday the kids and I were playing tag at the park. My 5 year old nephew and my 3 year old daughter were chasing each other. Isabel slipped and fell.

Jacob: "Come on get up, take it like a man"

Mother-Birth Day

Every year I get jipped on the gift thing. See my birthday is on May 10 and that either is near Mother's Day or on Mother's Day. So to make it easier on my loved ones, I have complied a list of the perfect gifts.

1. Dixie's (Corner of Randolmill and 360 across from Office Depot)
Name Bracelet
Number of Strands 2
Bracelet Size 7.5
Type of Bead Silver with Fancy Beads
Strand 1 Wording Emma
Strand 2 Wording Isabel
Strand 3 Wording

Total Price $45.00

2. Charms for my charm bracelet from Dixie's
"Jesus Loves You" charm
Your Price : $4.00

"I Love Scrap Books" charm -
Your Price : $8.00

Husky charm
Your Price : $6.00

Letter V charm
Your Price: $4.00

Pink Ribbon charm(enamel)
Your Price : $6.00

Taco charm
Your Price : $5.00

State of Texas
Your Price: $4.00


3. Products from Philosophy
footnotes set $32
rockstars $36

4. Monster iCarPlay FM Transmitter $79.00

How will a church family equip me for life?

Don't have a church to call your own? Afraid of making a commitment?
This is for anyone who isn't currently attending church, or who attends but is not a member.

How will a church family equip me for life?

1. Will help me focus on God
Ps. 34:3, Matt 22:27-38,

3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.

2. Will help me face life's problems
1 Thess 5:10-11, 1 Peter 3:8, Galatians 6:2, Romans 12:5

2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

3. Will help me fortify my faith
Hebrews 6:1, Ephesians 3:10

1Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,[a] and of faith in God,

4. Will help me find my ministry
Ephesians 2:10, 1 Cor. 12:5, 27

10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

5. Will help me fullfill my life's mission
Acts 20:24, Rom. 10:13-14, Colossians 3:15

24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

How do I become a member of a church family?
Acts 2:41-42, 46

41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

Grocery Basket Quiz

New Game... Guess what I was going to do with the items in my grocery basket.

2 Oranges
2 games of Dominoes
Vinegar
Tostito Chips
Mild Salsa
Coffee Beans
Coffe Filters

Date Night

Friday night is the big night. Eddie and I are going out on a date. It's been months since we've been out without our girls. I think it's very important that couples continue to date after they get married. Got this from Bowden McElroy

Dr. Scott Haltzman says … “Keeping a marriage thriving doesn’t require much more of you than when you were dating.”

Your mission, Mr. Newlywed, should you choose to accept it, is to direct all your attention to making your wife feel like the most beautiful, bright, and wonderful woman in the world, just like you did when you first met her. Here are some practical tips to bring back that lovin’ feeling.

First, learn to listen.

Second, spend time with your wife.

Third: Show you love her with words and deeds.

Fourth: Think: “long-term dividends.”

I hope date night this becomes a tradition.

A Day of Rest

So this morning I woke up at 5:00 am. Emma still had a fever. So I decided to keep her at home. This of course was wonderful news for Isabel, since she hasn't been wanting to go to "Hermana's House".
I thought this would be the perfect day to wash clothes. Lo and behold I as out of detergent. Great. So, I'm going to cook a pot roast instead. Working from home is a challege, because my NIC isn't compatible with our network, so in order to work, I have to connect straight into the modem, which is in the office, and my girls are upstairs. Besides it's slower anyways, and I hate moving slow. Well gotta run, pray that Emma will get better by tonight.

Cooking Out

For the past 2 weekends we have cooked-out at my in-laws house. Great food. Carne Asada, beans, rice, potato salad, guacamole salad, tortillas. Can't get better than that. This past weekend, my sister brought out the game UNO. The good old-fashioned one. Since none of us had played in a while, we had to read up. Once we got going we had a blast, you remember, Draw 2, Reverse, Skip, and the all powerful Draw 4.
I can say that even though it had been my 5 year old nephews first time, he won the first round. I love this game.
On Sunday, I went to church and dropped off Isabel with my sister. Emma was feeling under the weather. Low-grade fever, and vomitted once. We had a great time though. After 3:00 she awoke and we watched "A Bug's Life" together, played soccer, and played climb over mommy's legs. My mom was great, she brought Isabel home, so that I wouldn't have to get Emma out just to pick up Isabel. Isabel was exhausted. With no nap and a fun filled day at a birthday party, she was out like a light. So it's 8:30, and the girls are asleep. Will this will be the night that I go to bed early? In my dreams.

A Hotdog by any other name.....

A co-worker of mine was telling us about when he worked on a pig farm. I can't go into the details without sounding totally gross. But lets just say, I don't think I'll be eating another hotdog ever again..... One word. Afterbirth.

To go or not to go, that is the question

Eddie and I are debating wheather to go to Mexico in July or not. Well I'm the one doing the debating. See, I've never been to Mexico. It's not like we are going to go to Cancun, or Cozamel, or Puerto Vallarta. No, we would be going to a little bitty town outside of Guadalajara. And I don't know how far from the city it is, my guess 30 min to 1 hour. Anyways, Eddie is telling me horror stories of how when he went to visit his grand-parents in the 8th grade (13 years ago), they didn't have running water, and the toilet was out back. Today I think they have running water, but I'm not sure where the toilet is located. And of course no central A/C. I need more information before making my decision. It's going to be really hot in July. Money is another key factor. Round-trip airfare is $400 a person. We'd have to get 3 tickets, since Isabel isn't free anymore. Eddie keeps reminding me that it's not going to be a vacation. We would just be visiting family. His grandparents did make a trip down here when we got married in 99'. So I want to go, I just don't know for how long.... We'll see.

lin·ge·rie n. 1. Women's underwear

So I was trying to find how to spell the word lingerie. My first stop was the website of Victoria's Secret. To my amazement, I couldn't find the word anywhere. So what do they call their lingerie? Well they have different collections. There is the Body by Victoria Collection, Glamour by Victoria Collection, IPEX, Very Sexy, Angels by Victoria, and then there is The Emma Collection. Wow, they named it after my daughter, how thoughtful of them. I think I'll print out the page, and throw it into her scrapbook.

First Job

The question was posed to me yesterday by my sister-in-law who just turned 16.
"Where should I work?" Now that she's legal to work, she wants too and that is cool.
My first answer to her was "Putt-Putt"....You see when I was sixteen, me and my best friend Dixie went to apply at Putt Putt. The first question they ask is about transportation. How are you going to get to work? I had no idea, since neither of us had cars and our parents work, finding transportation would be hard. No job at Putt Putt for us. So we did the next best thing and that was modeling lingerie. Easy money. $20 for a hour. See, Dixie's furture sister-in-law would have lingerie parties at different womens' homes, and would use us as her models. Now, if my girls ever came up to me and asked me at the age of 16 if they could be lingerie models the answer would definately be no, and not just no, but HELL NO.

Memory.....

Just the other day, Isabel was upset because she didn't want to go home. So she cried and cried in the car. After ignoring her, she quieted down, then she said.

"Mommy, sing Barney to me, I'm sad"

So I sang... in case you don't know the song here goes.

I love you, you love me
We're a happy family
With a great big hug
and a kiss from me to you
won't you say you love me too.

Don't Leave Me

Isabel is starting to be more clingy. Now she cries when I drop her off at the sitters in the morning. So I've been making it a point to spend more one on one time with her. Last night before bed we read her "Little Touch LeapPad" ABC's book, read her bible, sang songs, and watch Diego. I can't wait until she starts pre-school, so that she'll have a more structured day where she is interacting with lots of other kids, and also learning as well. Pray that Temple Days will have an open spot soon (end of May), if they don't I'll have to put them in Children's Lighthouse, which is great just alot more expensive.

Easter 2006

Easter this year was good. We spent Saturday at my in-laws eating fajitas, rice, beans, potato salad, cake, just chillin out back and relaxing.
Emma found a dirt pile and started playing in it. With her two hand she was transfering dirt from the pile to the back door. After she threw a bunch in her face, we decided it was time for a bath for all the kids.
After the bath she crashed, and I wanted to crash too.
On Sunday we awoke, and headed off for church. The drama was awesome, especially since Eddie built the boxing ring that was on the stage. Afterwards we ate more fajitas, rice, beans, potato salad, cake. The egg hunt was a success.
Afterwards we went to eat at Spring Creek with my mom and sister. Before we met them, my mom was hit from behind while exiting I-20. The girls who hit her didn't pull over and just took off. Of course my mom and sister followed them to Razoos. When they got there, the girls had entered the building. So my mom, called the cops. Turns out that the driver had a suspended license. Wasn't going to get charged with hit and run, because there was no damage to my mom's car though. Idiots! Had they pulled over, my mom would have just let them go since there was no damage.
Anyways, the day ended with another easter egg hunt at my sisters, while Eddie attempted to buy some shirts for work. After going to 3 stores that were closed, and changing a flat tire, he came home empty handed.
All in all it was a great weekend.

It's a horse, no a cow, no it's just Emma

The other day, after dinner the girls jumped into the wagon and I began pulling them around. The Isabel preceeded to pull Emma around as Emma kept moving back and forth between seats. Finally I was tired of the wagon, so I got Isabel's bike out, and she rode for a while, as Emma pulled the wagon. She's a strong girl, that Emma.
We played on the slide and then it started to get chilly outside.
That's when I started rounding up the girls. Isabel started to come in, but Emma headed straight for the grass. The tall grass. The grass that Eddie is going to mow this weekend. The grass that probably contains all kinds of bugs and spiders.
The grass that goes up to Emmas waist.

"Emma come here"... no response. She proceeds to sit in the grass, bend forward and take a whole bunch into her mouth and pull. Oh my gosh she's eating the grass. She does this twice as I'm telling her to "come here" At this point I go into the grass to retrieve her. And let me tell you how afraid of the grass I am. 1) I'm allergic to it. 2) Did I mention the bugs 3) I was wearing flip flops.

I can't wait until that grass gets cut.

Spring is in the Air

And so is all the pollen, mold, wagweed, and anything else that aggrevates our allergies. They started yesterday and haven't stopped. Last night I started having nasal drainage, which caused a sore throat. Today, I still have the sore throat, but now I also have a sinus headache.
I've got to get my Allegra and Singular for Isabel transfered over to this side of town so I can pick them up at lunch. Great another $60.
The bright side of today, is that I should get my van back from the shop, and Friday is only 2 days away. Friday, I'll get a free 10 minute chair massage at work, and the week will be over. In the words of Isabal "Horray! Horray!"

I'm no Rachel Ray

So yesterday I decided to cook. I wanted to try something new so I set out to cook pork chops, green beans, and fried zuchinni.

Step 1: Pork chops were easy, I just put some shake and bake on them and stuck them in the oven.
Step 2: Fried Zuchinni... Well not exactly fried. I found a recipe where it described how to bake them instead. I put bread crumbs on them and put them in the oven.
Step 3: Garlic Greenbeans. I opened 2 cans of green beans, since they were 2 different brands, one can was alot greenier than the other. I sprinkled garlic powder on them, and put lots of butter. I put them in the oven.

After about 15 minutes the chops and green beans were done, but the zuchinni wasn't. After about 45 minutes, they had been rotated, and still didn't look quite right. Then I remebered. I forgot to spray Pam on the cookie sheet. Oh well.

Out of the oven they came, and into our stomach they went.
On Saturday, I'll attempt to make home-made tortillas. Keep your fingers crossed.

Our little Brazillian Jiu-Jitzu Fighter

So I was telling Eddie that I might let Isabel try soccar this year, and then maybe tap and ballet next year.
So he suggests that he'd like to enroll Emma into a Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu class. He wants to train her to be the next Ultimate Fighter.(whatever) Well I found a studio in Dallas but they don't start until the age of 5, so she has 3.5 years to go. Actually, Jiu-Jitsu is perfect for girls, because it shows them how to fight in close proximity situations, ie. (someone grabbing you from behind, or someone getting you to the ground hovering over you)
Eddie was telling me on Saturday, they were discussing it a work, and as they watched Ultimate Fighter, one of his co-workers replies "Man, that Emma is gonna be bad"

Google SMS

You can now text message google with questions and get the results on your phone.

Example
Text the message: ice age 94110
The results you'll recieve back would be:

View more: 1 2 3

(1/3)Movies:
* Ice Age: The Meltdown
1hr 30min,PG,Animation/Comedy/Family,3.6/5

AMC Van Ness 14
1:15 1:50 3:30 4:30 6:00 7:00 8:20 9:30 10:30

Cool Huh!!!!

Or try these sample search terms:

Local : hospital San Jose CA
Phonebook : 2122269817
Driving directions : pasadena CA to santa monica CA
Movies : ice age 94110*
Weather : weather dallas tx
Stock quotes : tgt
Q&A : population of Japan
Glossary : define prosimian
Translation : translate coffee in french
Froogle : price mp3 player
Zip code : 94043
Area code : 650
Calculator : 160 pounds * 4000 feet in calories
Currency conversion : 5 usd in yen
SportsNew! : duke, detroit nhl, lakers, sf giants
Help : help
Tips : tips

SMS Quick Start

1. Start a new text message and type in your search query

2. Send the message to the number "46645" (GOOGL)

3. You'll receive text message(s) with results

Tip: For help send the word 'help' as a text message to 46645.

So Observant

Last night I was showing Isabel, the scrapbook pages that I had completed. As she looked at each page, she would call out the persons name of who she saw in the picture.

"Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma, Emma, Daddy"

Then she asked.

"Hey where's me?"

I had to pull out her book to let her know that she wasn't forgotten.

You give me fever.

Yesterday, Isabel came home with a fever, and continued to have one all night.
Eventhough she was sick, she played and played. While scrapbooking she sat on the other end of the table and was "cropping". I asked her is she wanted to go downstairs. She said "sure, but let me finish this first". I couldn't believe my ears. She talks like me.
As night time crept around, I went to sleep and around 1 in the morning, Isabel wakes up to go potty and then comes into bed with me. She was hot. Eddie gave her some meds and she went to sleep. Around four she wakes up again, I take her to potty and she reminds me that she is sick, and wants me to her hold. Wow, she hot, not so bad, since she is keeping me warm as well. I sure hope her fever breaks, and no other symptoms arise. I hate seeing me little ones sick.

Night Owls

Eddie and Isabel have started a nightly tradition. They both stay up until the wee hours of the night (which for me is 11:00pm) watching Go Diego Go or Dora the Explorer. That give me a chance to just lay in bed and catch up on General Hospital, and to fall sleep. I love it. I'll let them enjoy it now, because once Isabel starts school in the summer, there will be no more late nights.

Veterans Park

I just love Veterans Park in Arlington. They have walking trails, duck pond, japanese gardens, kids playground complete with swings, tire, and jungle gym, frisbee golf and hiking trails. If you've ever experienced Veterans Park, I urge you to go.

Corner of Arkansas and Spanish Trail

What'd you say?

So yesterday we are in Eddie's truck leaving the park. Isabel started mumbling something, but all we heard was f*ck.. We asked her to repeat herself "f*ck".
"What is that?" I asked
"You know fire f*ck"
"Oh... truck"
Eddie and I at this point could not contain our laughter.
"Say taaaaaaaaaa rrrrrr uck" I coach her.
"taaaaaaaa rrrrrrrr uck" she repeats
ok, good at least I can work with her pronounciation.

I remember when I was a kid I would say six but it sounded alot like "sh*t"
I couldn't figure out why older kids would laugh and ask me to repeat myself.
Lucky for me, I was put into speech thearpy, which corrected the problem"

Past vs. Present

Past: Lighters at a concert
Present: Glowing cell phones at a concert. (Smarter and safer choice)

First Day of Baseball

Starting at 11:00 this morning, the traffic was back up on 360 trying to exit to I-30. Then it dawned on me. Ranger Game. When I was in college, my aunt and uncle has seats 29 rows up in between home and 1st. So because of this, we'd go quite often. I remember the day that changed my view of baseball forever. I was sitting there minding my own buisness when out of nowhere, and I mean nowhere, this baseball smacks me in between the eyes, right where my forhead meets my nose. Of course I said "Awwwwwwwwwww" and then tears immediately came streaming down my face. I wasn't crying, but the tears were just flowing, cause it hurt so much. Before I knew it, people were all around me taking me to the baseball nurses station. This happened in the 4th inning.
Fastforward to the 7th inning... I just got back from having cold ice placed on my face, sitting in my seat minding my own business, where out of nowhere this ball starts coming towards me out of the sky. I immediately have flash backs, so I dived over my mom into the seat next to her. I was on the floor in tornado drill position, covering my head. When all of a sudden a friend who had gone with us, reach up right above my head and caught the ball. I wasn't crying, but the tears were just flowing, cause I was so scared.
Fastforward to the present.... I eventually got over my fear of baseball games, after at least 10 games, and other games where I sat in the 2nd balcony where I knew a ball couldn't reach me. It's been years since I've been to a game, and I'm fine with that.

Follower of Christ

Just spent the entire weekend at Acquire the Fire. A conference for teens orgainized and produced by teens. This years conference was of course cool. The theme was "Battle Cry". Basically it talked about how the world is in a battle for our teens hearts and minds. MTV, TV, Music, the Internet, My Space, Zanga... are all becoming the center for teens to get their information. What struck me most about this conference was that the speakers focused on calling us "Followers of Christ", instead of "Christians". See many people can call themselves a Christian, but are they a true Follower of Christ. There were many people in the bible who wanted to follow Christ, but didn't want to give up their worldly things in order to do so. See Jesus says "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34)" Deny yourself, that's a hard one. What does it mean? It means to consider others, even if no one considers you, Christ considered you when he died on the cross for your sins. It means quit being selfish, quit thinking about yourself. It's not about you and what you can get. It's about God, and why you are here on earth. Everyone was made to worship and serve Him. Now wheather they choose to do so, is another issue. Anybody can say they are Christians, but are they Followers of Christ, our Lord, our God, our Savior who lived a perfect life and paid for your sins on the cross, who rose from the dead, who is alive today, and who will come again. When you stand before Him, will you hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant!" (Matt 5:21) or will you hear the words "I never knew you. Away from me..." (Matt 7:23)

"My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet, I have heard the Battle Cry" Jeremiah 4:19