Random thoughts.

Today we went swimming at the Slappeys house (for those of you who know them). It was fun. I now have a new battle with my three year old (on top of the poop one). He will not go to bed immediately like he used to. He changes clothes, pull-ups, underwear.. you name it. We have got to break this cycle by the time that I put him and Alex in the same room at the end of next month.

Tonight I cleaned out my fridge. With clorox. Can anyone say "nesting?" I mean I can't tell you the last time I cleaned it like that. It has to have been a year. Gross. It wasn't too bad. Its gotten spot cleanings since then but tonight was the full on cleaning.

Big Jorge has a big CNOR exam this saturday. After that he is ALL mine. I have a honey do list that is growing longer by the minute. I am feeling the pressure to get this stuff done before August. Because I know by then I will be too miserable to move much (lol).

Well I must go.. I am looking up new recipes online. Which Kim, I wrote down your pasta one (even though I might need some extra insulin for it, lol). If any of you have some easy, yummy, 6 ingredient or less, recipes to share with me, I would greatly appreciate it. Oh and any crock pot recipes too, for main dishes.

Gracias!

Oh and I was looking through old photos and found some cute ones I wanted to share.

Jorgito and his hat from Mexico!


My sweet Alex saying the Pledge!

It's all good!

Eva is just a tad bit "above normal." I'm 29 weeks 1 day and she is measuring 29 weeks 6 days. Not that bad. And I also asked the untrasound tech to "make sure she is still a 'she'." She got a kick out of that. She also got another really good "shot" of our proof. There is no denying Eva is a girl. ;-) The tech also let me just watch Eva for a few minutes. Oh our precious our little girl already is. She stuck her tongue out at me and had her hand under her chin and the other hand holding that arm. Too cute.

I also had a very encouraging talk with my doc (i heart dr. R) about the whole birth plan and also the plan b of induction (if medically necessary). He is "confident" we won't have any problems and said that he is "assured that I will get through an unmedicated birth with no problem." He is all for letting me do whatever I want to do (within reason, lol) to get through the process. He is also not as concerned about how much insulin I am on as long as the NST's (non-stress tests are normal). Which I begin those next week. Once a week, people, until I deliver. So those with multiple children imagine that "stress." Finding childcare once a week for the next 10-11 weeks for a doctors appointment. Oh well..

So that about sums it up. Thanks for praying.. those of you that did. So far so good. Now onto the non-stress tests.

Big girls don't cry?

Maybe not, but this momma sure will. Today I have a dr's appt to measure how big my little Eva is. This may not seem like such a big deal for a typical pregnancy.. but I can assure you it is a big deal for me. Besides the obvious: who wants to push out a 9 lb baby? (yes, Natalie.. besides you, lol). There is a bigger chance that big baby means induction and bye bye natural birth plan.

You see this is how it works. If Eva is measuring two weeks ahead (as the little tape told last month) then she is getting too much sugar. Which means more insulin. I am already at 52 units of insulin a day (5 shots in the belly) and my last pregnancy topped out with around 80. But I have 11 more weeks to go.. and so far we increase 4 units each week so you do the math: that would be 96 units of insulin at 40 weeks. Crazy. At those numbers (which is what I was on with Jorge) I would end up in the hospital at 37 weeks for a week until 38 weeks so that I could be induced (which is exactly what happened with Jorge.

So as you can tell.. .in a perfect world she would measure normal, we could continue to hope for no induction which would mean we could hope for the unmedicated birth. Sooooo.. please pray. My appt is at 3pm.

I'll keep you posted.

He ain't goin' nowhere..

Gotta love that grammar. I am an emotional person. I can, at times, be a little high in my expectations of my relationships with my peers. As you may well know about me, I am very outgoing and I love to meet new people. However, I have only a few close friends. I have many people that I love to connect with and hang out with (when the opportunity arises), but i have very few friends that know me deeply and still want to be my friend.

Im not trying to play the martyr. I know, I have a sin nature and sometimes my personality or my views can be a bit much for some. Those are generally the people that associate from a distance. Occasional get togethers, etc. But my true, true friends are the ones who know me well enough to give me the benefit of the doubt and love me unconditionally. I can probably name five. (besides family).

In the course of life, there are times where fellowships are strained and I truly believe only the strong (deep rooted friendships) survive. (amen to that my honk-honk friend..you know who you are..we are a testimony to that one for shizel). But then there are times where friendships that were growing somehow come to a halt and start to dwindle until it just fizzles out. Why this happens is multifaceted. I don't know about you, but I have experienced this a few times and it always breaks my heart. Because I have this high expectation that I want everyone to be my friend and that is just impossible. I am going to annoy the fire out of some people or for whatever reason their desire for a deeper, less superficial relationship is not what they want.

This brings me to the point of this post. Last night Big Jorge and I are laying in bed and I am pouring out my heart about one such situation. As I am talking, he is listening patiently and truly trying to empathize with me. I also, as I am talking, realize how incredibly hard it must be to live with such an emotional person (granted most of this is brought on because of my pregnancy). Im lamenting to him about how difficult it is to realize that a friendship I thought I had looks to be almost extinct. (not you honk-honk! lol). He listens to me and comforts and then we go to bed.

As I wake up this morning I am comforted but because of a different realization. One that I have had so often before and of course I have to communicate it, again, to my dear sweet husband.

Me: Honey, I just want you to know how awesome it is for me to know that no matter who I lose touch with over the years, or how many people change their minds about me, you always love me and you are truly my best friend. No matter the good the bad and the ugly. Even though Im emotional sometimes.
Him: Sometimes?? (*wink*)
Me: Thanks. okay. Emotional alot. Its just awesome to know that you ain't goin' nowhere.
Him: Only in your dreams. (now this is a funny line since during pregnancy I dream he cheats on me).
Me: That's hilarious. Seriously. thank you for loving me unconditionally. All of me.
Him: (He grabs me and pulls me close) and says, "I do and I will."


Now tell me that ain't a good man.

Meet Kevin Esparza! And other fun stuff..

One of my husband's sisters, Veronica, had her baby on Saturday: Kevin Ernesto Esparza. He is so cute and of course Jorgito was all about holding him. Alex, on the other hand, was clueless.




We also had the wedding for one of my little sisters, Esther. She married Mr. Bryce Horswell of Minnesota. I actually made it down the aisle and everything went off without a problem. Of course I was so busy that I only managed to get ONE picture and she doesn't have her veil on in this one. I will get some pics emailed to me later and I can post those then.


CUTE STORY: while visiting Veronica this evening Jorgito and I decided to walk across the street to get some food (albeit fast food). While ordering, a homeless man approached the counter to ask our cashier for change for a dollar once the drawer opened. She agreed, so there he stood next to us while I finished my order. Jorgito walked about two feet away from me and walked up to the man and said, "Hello" in the cutest toddler voice ever.. I turned and smiled just in time to see the man's face light up as he said, "well hello little man, How are you?" To which Jorge replied, "good." I just continued to order and then asked Jorge if he could help me get the drinks. I may be completely wrong but I think the man was a little surprised that I didn't grab Jorge away and keep him from talking to him. But it was such an example of God's love.. unconditional.

You see, I was thinking, "Jorge you better stay right next to me." But when Jorge saw this man he didn't see anything different about this man than seeing any other man. He greeted him as happily as he would a man in a suit. That was just neat for me to watch. I didn't want to pull him away because that man needed that greeting just as much as any other person, maybe more. Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart.

Victory in JESUS!

This is us thanking Jesus for helping us go Poo-poo on the potty.

The big boy gets to flush it down!


Yeah!! Well I can't tell you how happy this makes me. Sorry for the gross picture but I just had to take it.. that's just me. To add to the excitement of the day.. I am headed out to Esther Terry's (little sister) rehearsal and rehearsal dinner for the wedding tomorrow (that me and my big belly are in) and Big Jorge's sister Veronica is headed to the hospital to have her baby! Crazy times.. If we make it through this weekend it will be a miracle.

But thank you Lord for Poop!

It's 9 o'clock ..what are you doing?

Me? Im working on 35 minutes of sitting in the bathroom with my 3 year old who won't poop on the potty. He hasn't gone all day so I know he has to and as soon as I let him go to bed he will poop in his underwear.. so here we sit.

Hopefully not for long. I can definately see where those clips on America's Funniest Videos come from of the kids falling asleep on the toilet. this may be my chance at $10,000.

Poop and Prayer.

My three year old has no paci. Today at nap time I, once again, found him playing with his poop. This time he was putting the poop on his little yellow toy bus. He got his spanking and then I sent him back to bed without his paci. he only asked for it once and then fell asleep. I explained, when he woke up, that when he poops on the potty he will get his paci (for bedtimes) back. My sister, Mishka, had a great idea too. If he continues to put poop on things (even without his paci) then I start taking those toys away. But guys here is what I need:

For you to pray! This may seem like a humorous event, although I assure it is not. This is a sure sign of the passive aggressive sin of my toddler. For whatever reason he has decided to dig his feet in and fight. And we can not let him win. It would be one thing if it was just the issue of him not pooping on the potty. But when he continues to play with it, regardless of consequence, its a much bigger issue. I need to know if you would commit this to prayer. Pray that his heart will be repentant and that he would obey.

On another note I went to Bible study this morning. It's our summer drop in series. But today was about trusting God with your finances. An issue that we have had lots of fun learning this past year in a deeper way than we have had in our five years of marriage. Anyhoo.. one of the practical applications at the end was to remember those times, and tell others, when God has provided for you in a way you didn't expect. Well, recently I was just thinking about how cool it is that even though I have not one stitch of girls clothing for Eva's arrival (having had two boys) God has provided so much already that her closet is already full. My sister, Mishka, gave me a ton of dresses (0-6 months) and she has more to follow, although it will get harder because they are off season. She also gave me a box full of tights and even a box full of girl shoes. But then my neighbor down the street has a little girl that is the same season as Eva (even a September baby) and brought us a box full of everyday clothes that are soooo cute. Eva's bedding was paid for by a gift certificate that I had for two years to Pottery Barn and could never find anything that I could stomach spending all that money on. But boy I had no problem using that gift card on some pink bedding! And even have some left over to spare. (thanks mom and dad terry). On top of that my friend Christina wants to host a baby shower for me at her house and if we can knock diapers out of the way I will literally have no need of anything!!
Isn't God good? Yes!

Oh yeah, I was also running out of maternity clothes (everything was getting to small b/c Eva is in a ball right in the front of my belly) and my sister dropped off two boxes of clothes she forgot lent to someone else and that person brought them back. The cool thing is that I hadn't told my sister I was in need of some more clothes (because I already had one box of her stuff already). My point is I am always amazed at how much God deals in the details.

Therefore I know he can answer our prayers as we pray for Jorgito and his poop issues. Now that is some serious detail!

Furious!

Well he's done it again. I said i was done with the Pull-ups..and he pooped in his underwear (bedtime). And after I made him go sit on the potty for 20 minutes. He holds it. Waits until he's in there and then poops in his underwear. I cant believe it. It gets better, though. Then after he gets his spanking I walk him back in the room only to realize that he was pulling the poop out and putting it on the bed rails. Little balls of poop all on the bed rails.

Im done people. I told him if he does this stunt again he will get another spanking and I will throw his paci in the garbage! End of story.

This is not funny anymore.

That's what I get...

well last night my dear husband and I sat down to watch a movie. We had put the boys to bed but knew that Jorgito had not fallen asleep yet. As the custom lately he will come out of his room at least three times to ask to go pee-pee. Since he went before we put him in bed and he had a poopie earlier that day (one a day is his record) I told him "no. its time to go to bed or you will get a spanking." Well he came out one last time and my husband had mercy on him and did the explaining one last time. But mommy took it one step further. I told him "Jorge if you come out of this room again i am going to take your paci away." He said, "okay mommy." And off he went to bed.

Fast forward 45 minutes and Big Jorge asked to pause the movie so that he could go to the bathroom. He comes back 10 seconds later and says "do you want to come look at what your son is doing?"

Well obviously NOT..

I brace myself before I enter his room. He was playing with his train table. The catch was the obvious smell of poop in the room (it about knocked you over when you walked in) and then the brown poop all over his hands. He had reached in the back of Pull-up (which I am SO done with), got it on his hands and then smeared it all over some of his toys. He didn't come get me because he didn't want me to take his paci away! That's what I get for telling him that.

People this child did that once when he was about 8 months old and that was the first and last time he ever did that. Are you telling me that now my 3 year old is going to be fascinated with poop NOW?

**Even as I type this 12:45 p.m.. he just came out of his room (naptime) having done the same thing (the touching the poop part) but thankfully this time he did not play in it.

at least there is comfort that he won't be doing this in kindergarten.

Calling all the "crazies"

Okay people its time.. time for the PEP TALK. However, there is one criterion you must have met in order to give any "pep." You have to have experienced a (a good one, I might add) natural, unmedicated childbirth.

Here are the circumstances leading up to my need for a pep talk:

1. Im entering the third trimester.
2. Its HOT as HADES outside, although this is my second pregnancy in a row during the HOT as HADES months (September babies), and I am not having fun. ;-P
3. I have had two Epidurals with prior deliveries and LOVED IT!
4. I am wanting to go unmedicated to try something different. Not so much because I had/have concerns with Epidurals (see last point).
5. I am not looking forward to the next 12 weeks draggin' out in this summer HEAT. (see point #2).
6. I am wanting things easy. Epidurals are easy. Go in, get a shot.. no PAIN.. easy.
7. Labor is not easy.. thus the term: LABOR.
8. I need to be reminded that women do it (natural), have done it and choose to do it again (hello Natalie, Crystal, Rebecca and many others).
9. BUT WHY??? I know the answer i just need to hear it from you. that's the "Pep" part. Why is it worth it?

Thanks.. i'll be waiting for your response full of "pep"iness, while I sit by the fan. Oh and feel free to tell me to "suck it up, big gir". Im a no nonsense kinda gal. Im not easily offended.

My funny Alex!

Yesterday I talked about how frustrating it can be to parent these guys and today Im focusing on the positive. I saw these pictures that we took that sum up Alex's personality. 1. He truly is fun loving. 2. He does what he wants to do, when and where he wants to do it. Allow me to prove my points.

1. This is at Alabama Adventure. He is riding on the train. He saw his brother do the hands up in the air "yeah" excitement pose and he decided to do it. However his was just too cute for words. Fun loving little guy.


2. This is at Chuck-E-Cheese. He was playing with Skiball, walking the ball up to the actual hole and then he decided he needed a break. Which always includes putting his thumb in his mouth and, this time, one hand behind his head. I mean a guys has to get comfortable, right? Big Jorge snapped both of these pics with his camera phone. too funny.



I also visited a friend at the hospital today. She had a baby girl (which was a surprise for them). The baby, Ana Elizabeth, is half hispanic so she came out with a head full of dark hair. She was absolutely gorgeous. And of course when I saw her I teared up thinking "oh my word, Im about to get one of these." A girl, I mean. It was funny. Is that normal? You see someone's baby (albeit, gorgeous and beautiful) and think about your own little girl coming in the near future? I'm going to say yes, it's normal.

Birthday Boy!

Let me just say that we won't be doing a party like that again.. at least not for a while. Pizza it will be. No cooking. I was exhausted. Truly exhausted. In fact, I was on my feet all day except for 2 hours. I was in so much pain that night at bedtime (unable to take Ibubrofen) and vowed never to do that again. And come September 29th (Alex's 2nd bday) when I have a newborn.. Pump It Up is going to throw his party for me. ;-)

All in all Jorgito had a great time. And yes, the food was yummy.

Heavenly..

Tomatillo Tomatoes for salsa Verde. Vidalia onions for the grill (with Lime and salt to serve). Steaks. Frijoles Rancheros. Rice and of course plenty of tortillas. And last but not least candy for the Piñata.

What's the occasion? My little firstborn son is about to turn THREE! I can't believe it. We are having his party at our house on Monday night although his birthday is on the 10th. We are trying to keep it simple. But it's never cheap. Why? Because although we do simple there are always a ton of adults.. even if its just our families and a few close friends. Our families alone (mine and Jorge) equals about 16 adults. Aunts, uncles, grandparents.. etc. its wild.

Anyway.. I will definately be taking lots of pictures and will post them after the party.

Oh and more exciting than any of that.. my dear husband comes back tomorrow! 4:45 p.m could not get here soon enough!

It's OVER!

Whew... sigh.. I really enjoyed it.. but Im glad it's over.. VSB 2008 has come to an end. What a week. Now if I can just get the boys back on their 7 a.m wake up time instead of 6 a.m. Here's to wishin'.

Im hoping to take the boys to the Zoo later this evening so that they can play in the water area. Depends on how long naps go. Im going to go lay down too so IF i wake up, we can go. ;-P

I need to find bedding for the boys big boy beds coming next month. I have looked everywhere (Pottery Barn, Walmart, Target, JCPenny, Kmart, IKEA, ebay) and can't find anything I like or in our price range. If you have any ideas that would be helpful. At this point I think I will just buy some regular twin sheets in a color that matches whatever Quilt/Comforter I can find. If you have ideas for a NON-character Quilt or Comforter I would greatly appreciate it. I like patterns/prints instead of puppies/trains..etc.

Sorry so picky. And I need two. Although Alex won't get his bed until he starts crawling out of the crib. Otherwise he's going to be "caged." ha!

Ahh.. sweet sleep here I come!

Missing my man.

I woke up this morning in a funk. I was depressed. Im better now. I just really miss my husband. And not just for the extra help with the kids. I only have two, they are fine and I am able to manage (sure the extra relief is nice) but I miss my man. And yes I am remembering there are military wives and single mothers who go way longer than I do without their man, but I still miss him. It does help with perspective.. but for the here and now.. im sad. Well until I get to talk to him on the phone.

Jorgito misses him too. He has been extra clingy this week. He is not a clingy kid. And everytime he gets upset he cries for daddy. It's so sad. Four more days.

VBS is going well. Each day passes quicker and quicker. I love that I get to experience other little children and see what their behaviors are like. You truly can tell the difference in a child who gets consistent training at home and the ones who don't. Not for lack of trying on the mom's part, rather the ones who have older siblings and get away with alot more because mom is exhausted or the one whose mom just had a baby so they are taking their proverbial "two steps forward one step back" because mom is exhausted. ;-)

It really helps me empathize with the moms but I also try to encourage them when they come to pick up their child. Im that worker that (if you ask "how did they do today.") will tell you if there were any issues or awesome behaviors. One of our more strong willed children had some issues pushing so I let the mom know. She has an an older child and assured me that he she is working on it at home and she was gushing about how strong willed he was. I felt bad for her because I hoped she didn't think I was saying she was doing a bad job. In fact, I shared with her that my second born is the same way and told her the story of his ordeal in the chair after dinner (click here for that story). I don't want in any way to communicate that my children have arrived or that I know it all, Im just in that moment too where she is and hoped to encourage her while also letting her know he was still struggling with that behavior outside of the home.

anyway... Other than that.. the boys and I are doing well. Gun is still loaded. Only four more days. ;-) In honor of missing my man here are some pics that remind me why he is so great! (i tried to post more than two but my computer started acting up).


He has a sick sense of humor (here he thought it was funny to have the big fish stand next to the whale-my words not his)

He is very patient..even if there are a zillion kids jumping on him.

A little warning...

Well I know how dangerous it is to post this but I must warn you (those who would think of breaking into my house) I have a fully loaded gun and I am quite capable of using it to put a cap in your rear:

My husband is out of town for 9 days. Sad. He is on a business trip with a little bit of pleasure mixed in. He has an RNFA (Registered Nurse First Assistant) training conference in Taos, New Mexico that starts tomorrow and ends on Saturday. He will be home June 8th. But he left on Friday. He got out there early so that he could visit the Grand Canyon.

Get this. He calls me to tell me that he decided against hiking down into the canyon (good news to me since I was afraid he would fall in-lol). But then he adds, "instead, Im going to take a helicopter ride through it." After finding out how much that little one hour ride would cost the following just happened to "slip" out of my mouth:

"Jorge Garcia don't you ever, and I mean EVER, complain about me wanting to go to the beach and how expensive it is! You may not be willing to dish out the money for the beach but you will dish it out if its something YOU want to do."
He agreed. Good man. Smart man.

So I may get a beach trip before the summer is over, we'll see! ;-)

Of course when your husband is out of town things happen that make you appreciate the extra help, such as:
-the first morning he is gone.. Jorgito wakes up with a 104.3 temperature (thankfully it was a 24 hour thing)
-it rains after church. which means you get to walk to the van (instead of dh picking you up) with your big belly and two toddlers, while trying to hold an umbrella.
-a giant bug crawls across your kitchen floor. Of course, its life is spared because I don't move as quickly as I used to and besides.. that is one thing that is definately my husbands job. Unless a life is in danger.
-my kids attempt to jump and rough house with me since daddy is not here for them to jump on. but again, I can not oblige their request.

I do have VBS this week. I will be with the 2 year olds. So that should keep us busy the first half of the day. The boys will probably fall asleep in the van on the way home but at least they should be tired enough to go back to sleep once they get inside the house. We'll pray that's the case.

well if I don't post again until next week you should understand that I am exhausted, worn out, or I have shot an intruder in the head and am standing trial for murder (did I mention that back in my paintball days I was called The Black Widow!). I have six bullets, but I only need one!