It Lives!!!

Yes, yes, I'm alive...

Things are starting to get away from me already and it's not even (for me) the Holiday season yet! My office holiday party is in less than two weeks and I still don't have a dress. This is bad.

Thanksgiving was wonderful - 4 days of relaxation. Brenda's family came to visit and I didn't see my kids for practically the whole week. Mom and Dad kept Molly 1 or 2 nights, and Ian every night. Bridget stayed with DJ/Brenda almost every night. We'd just see them when it was time to swap out clean clothes :) Molly had such a great time with Brenda's mom - she was learning a bit of Spanish and pretty much followed her around. We got a really nice picture on Brenda's camera that I'm hoping she'll e-mail me (hint, hint)

We didn't do anything on Black Friday. Well, we tried to get Ian his driver's license but they were closed. Other than that - nothing. Saturday I stayed in my pj's until 5:30, then we went to Walmart. Don't go to Walmart when you're bored and hungry!!! Surprisingly though, the place was empty! Same thing with Target on Sunday. I guess people were so worn out from their Black Friday shopping that no one wanted to go shopping over the weekend. We still don't have any Christmas shopping done though.

Which brings me to Sprint - we wanted to get Ian an Evo for Christmas, but it's just too expensive. I can't justify paying almost $500 for a cell phone. We sat him down last night and told him we love him but the Evo's not going to happen. Maybe next year when his contract is up and the phone will be much cheaper.

Oh - J got a porkpie hat at Target - I have to say it looks really good on him! I never thought I'd find gray hair sexy, but peeking out from under the sides of the hat - it looks great! *winks at hubs*

Lastly, Bridget is in the school choir, and on the last Sunday of the month they sing at Mass. This Sunday, as we were walking into the reception after Mass, I thought I heard one kid say "There's big fat Bridget" and I almost cried. Bridget didn't hear, and I'm not 100% sure that's what I heard (you know sometimes what you hear isn't what was said), but I really think that's what he said. I asked before we left if she knew the kid and he is in her class. It breaks my heart how mean kids are. I remember going through puberty - it was awful, and I was thin. I can only imagine how bad it's going to be for Bridget. I went home and threw away the leftover halloween candy, but I know that's not going to fix it. *sigh*

Happy Birthday Ellie!

Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

(Sorry, Ellie - I set this up last night to post at 6am and it didn't work -
enjoy the last few hours of your birthday anyway...)

Oh yeah, life goes on...*

*John Cougar Mellencamp

Okay, wow, it's been a long time since I really blogged. And let me warn you now I'm drunk blogging so what you get may not be quite what I meant. I started to post this on the 19th :

"I have stuff to post about - but I can't remember what it is. Stuff I come up with in traffic or otherwise engaged. And it's brilliant! Shit."

And it's so true - in the shower and in the car I'm brilliant!! Once I get in front of the computer - nada. So, what's been going on?

Ian got accepted by Auburn University - we are so thrilled! Of course, now we need to work on scholarships and grants... He also got an invitation to apply at St. John's University on Long Island - that's too far away! He doesn't know how to walk in snow, let alone drive in snow!

Bridget went camping with Girl Scouts last weekend and had a great time - she's really got a great leader who does fun stuff with the girls.

BB and Molly got super cute haircuts today with grandma - will post pics soon. Am hoping grandma will hang out with Molly on Friday so we can go to the movies to see Harry Potter - am definitely not going anywhere near a mall!!!

Jerrod went to FL with his brother and dad last weekend to see a Seminoles game - they had a great time and his dad was happy to spend time with his guys.

Got a holiday party coming up in two weeks and have NOTHING TO WEAR!!!! I hate shopping. I can't wear what I wore last year because a - it doesn't fit and b- I wore it two years in a row. Crap.

OMG I just have to say this wine is soooo good. J picked up a bottle when we were in Mexico and I'm sorry we didn't buy more. I love sweet reds and this is excellent!

Am trying to think of what's new with me. Really nothing, been working hard and maintaining my sanity by net surfing. I'm up for a new cell phone and am hoping for an EVO (Ian wants one for Christmas so bad he's practically salivating.). I want a phone that can make calls, text with letters, facebook, tweet, blog, and that I can dictate notes into. That's not too much to ask, right?

We're still hoping to go to Oregon this summer to see Jerrod's family (whom I've never met) so I'm not sure how we're going to check out college campuses, but we need to do that, too.

I'll leave you with this - Brenda told me that when her mom and step-dad met, her mom didn't speak English and her step-dad didn't speak Spanish. When I asked how they communicated, she said "the language of love". Ian piped up "They spoke French?" bahahahaha!!!

The Holiday Season is almost here...

This is sooooo me:

(via Indexed)

Lovebirds

(Borrowed from DoJo's facebook)

Here's J and I at age 20 (Jan 1991). I don't think we were engaged yet - but we'd already been living together for about 1 1/2 years at this point. (We were so cute!)

I was thinking today that Jerrod and I have lived together longer than we lived with our parents! That's a very weird realization...when you say "I do", you're thinking you'll be together until you get old but you really don't realize how long that actually is.

It's not our anniversary or any special day, but I wanted to say I love you and I'm glad we picked each other to spend the rest of our lives with.

Bummer...

So, as of tomorrow (Monday) I will only be hitting the internet in the evenings, when I'm at home. No peeking earlier to see what's going on and catch the latest kerfluffle. No checking e-mail to see who stopped by my blog, or tweeting about...whatever it is that I tweet about.

I'm pretty bummed about it, I think I'm more addicted to the internet than I thought. I'm afraid I'm going to miss alot.

Yeah, that picture above pretty much describes me right now :(

Randomness: How to Woo with Mariachi

When my brother got married this summer, one of the things they had at the reception was a Mariachi band. (Let me just say here it was freakin' amazing) They played several songs, but the only one I recognized was the song from Desperado - which they apparently played at my brother's request. (Smooth, Dean! *wink*)

While we were listening, one of my brother's friends from Columbia, "M", told us the story of the Mariachi. It's very interesting to me because of one big culture difference with Americans - for a successful woo-ing by Mariachi, you must be drunk. Here's what he told us:

When a man loves a woman, and wants to secure her hand, he must woo her. He waits until nightfall, gets drunk, and heads out to hire a mariachi band - which is very expensive. Then he must go back to her home, still drunk, and the mariachi will play while he serenades her. He's got to be drunk though, because tradition dictates that if you are drunk, your true feelings come out; if you're sober you could be faking it!

I think there was something in his story about walking a long distance, but that part is fuzzy to me. Anyway, it sounds so romantic (as long as you want to be serenaded by the person at your window, lol) and sweet. I really enjoyed the mariachi band at my brother's wedding; the music is wonderful!

For your enjoyment:


Canción Del Mariachi (Morena De Mi Corazon)* - (Song Of The Mariachi)

*I translated via Google translate (in parenthesis)

Soy un hombre muy honrado, (I am a good man)
que me gusta lo mejor, (I like the best,)
a mujeres no me faltan ni el dinero ni el amor. (women not missing me or the money or the love.)
jinetiendo en mi caballo, (rider on my horse)
por la sierra yo me voy, (by the mountains I go,)
las estrellas y la luna ellas me dicen donde voy. (the stars and the moon, they tell me where to go.)

Ay ay ay ay,
ay ay mi amor, (oh oh my love,)
ay mi morena
de mi corazòn. (my heart.)

Me gusta tocar guitarra, (I like playing guitar,)
me gusta cantar el son, (I like to sing are)
el mariachi me acompaña, (mariachi with me,)
cuando canto mi canciòn. (when I sing my song.)

Me gusta tomar mis copas, (I like to take my drinks,)
aguardientes lo mejor, (best spirits,)
tambien el tequila blanco con su sal de su sabor. (also the white tequila with salt taste.)

Ay ay ay ay,
ay ay mi amor,
ay mi morena
de mi corazòn.

Me gusta tocar guitarra, (I like playing guitar,)
me gusta cantar el sol, (I like to sing the sun,)
el mariachi me acompaña, (mariachi with me,)
cuando canto mi canciòn. (when I sing my song.)

Me gusta tomar mis copas, (I like to take my drinks,)
aguardientes lo mejor, (best spirits,)
tambien el tequila blanco con su sal de su sabor. (also the white tequila with salt taste.)

Ay ay ay ay,
ay ay mi amor,
ay mi morena
de mi corazòn.

Ay ay ay ay,
ay ay mi amor,
ay mi morena
de mi corazòn.

Too Cool for School

So, Monday the girls had a day off and I went in for a mandatory teacher conference. Mandatory as in, "it's the first quarter and this is you child's first year at school". I'm thinking, 10 minutes in, look at some coloring, and I'm out, right?

Well, no. That's not what happened at all. Molly's having some problems and I'm right on the edge of freak-out zone. We didn't have these issues with the older two kids and I'm not sure how I should be reacting. And yes, I said issues, not issue:

They've recommended she get tested by a speech therapist. This one I may have seen coming. The other two kids are so much older I wasn't sure if it was just my imagination. Then I was out this weekend and kind of noticed my friend's younger child spoke more clearly than Molly. I was starting to wonder if her speech wasn't where it should be, but figured if there was a problem the teacher would have said something. Yeah, she said something.

She also said Molly isn't recognizing her letters. This is going to be a problem when they start going over the sounds that go with the letters if she can't figure out what the letters are. For someone who loves to read as much as I do, this one is killing me.

Apparently Molly is also having a hard time finishing her tasks on time. She just works at her own pace, which the teacher said is fine in Pre-K, but won't be fine next year in Kindergarten.

Lastly, she said Molly is shy and doesn't really hang out with the other kids, although she has gotten a lot better about that in the last few weeks. I think (hope)this may just be transition from a babysitter to big school, because she talks about the kids when she's at home.

I don't know how to react to this. I'm worried she's going to be branded as "slow", which will follow her through school and could become self-fulfilling, even if it's not true. I worry about dyslexia and ADD. I worry that I'm over-analyzing and it's just Pre-K. I worry she's unhappy. And of course Molly, being four, doesn't answer my questions.

So, for now, we're on the wait list for a speech evaluation and going to the store for alphabet flash cards this weekend. And I'll continue to watch and worry.

Pictures of the girls' costumes:

Athena, a ladybug, and the wolfman walked into a bar....LOL, nope, just the kids getting ready to go trick-or-treating. You can see that in the first pic BB had already 86'd the wig, the other pics were taken earlier in the evening:

This one turned sideways and I couldn't get it to turn back on blogger - sorry!