Anxious, Nervous, Excited and more,

Yes, I am all of the above. Anxious about our trip to DC. Which we leave in 6 days. Nervous about the drive. I am not sure how we are going to manage 16 hrs with the kids, but I am prepared. I have bought things to keep the kids entertained, like coloring books, games that can be done in the car, and my mom is giving us dual portable DVD players as our Christmas present.I told our family that the kids do not need anything. Which is true they have WAY TO many toys and cloths, some which they have not worn yet. I am very excited about all the places we are going to visit in DC.

I got my grades from school today and I am very happy. I got a B in ENC 1101, which is great, considering that the class was very hard for me. The professor graded really tough. I got an A in my math which I knew; the lowest grade I got in the class was a 91%. I am very happy with how school is going. Last semester I got A's in both of my classes. Next semester I am taking ENC 1102 with the same professor I had in ENC 1101 and I am also taking another Math course. I am planning in getting A's again. I am hoping that when I finish my Associates that I can get a scholarship for my Bachelors. I can't believe that we do not qualify for financial aid. I have to get loans. Luckily Jose classes are paid by his job.

The kids are doing good. We are still having issues with Anthony and potty training for the most part is is fine. It just sometimes, I am not sure if he forgets or just does not want to go to the bathroom, so he pees or poops on himself. But he only does it when we are at home when we are out at someones house or at a store if ask to go to the bathroom. I guess eventually he will get the hang of it.

I have not been going to the gym consistently but I have noticed the changes. In my clothes especially. Most of them are looser then they used to be. Even in my picture I can tell the difference. I have not weighed myself because I don't want to yet. I know that I haven't lost that much weight but I do feel that my muscles are toner and I like it. I want to tone my mid area more and my arms. Maybe in about another month or so I will weigh myself.

I finished reading the Twilight saga. I was happy with the ending. I would like to see the movie but I know that I will be disappointed. The actors can never meet the images that I have made up in my head. Plus the book is usually always better than the movie.

I probably won't write again until next year.
I want to wish all of you all Happy Holidays and a Happy and safe New Year.

From the V Family

I have been sucked in......

I am not a reader. The only books I really read are True crime books. I am not into fantasy books but about 3 weeks ago my sister in law gave me Twilight to read. She said that I would really like it. I was very skeptical. The book was around the house but I really was not interested. Jose LOVES to read and he does it every night before we go to bed. So last week Thursday we were in bed, while Jose was reading I said hey why not just give it a try. I had no idea what I was getting into. I read the book in 3 DAYS, yes 3 days. I could not put it down. I borrowed the 2 next ones from the series from my SIL. I read NEW MOON in ONE DAY, I am still surprised. Right now I am reading ECLIPSE which I started yesterday and I am more than half way through. I don't have the last one and neither does my SIL so I might have to buy it. I am actually getting sad that I am going to finish the series very soon and will have nothing as good to read.

There is a lot that I would like to write about but all I really want to do is read.

Thanksgiving was OK. My dad caught on fire with one of my candles and my oven broke as we were cooking the turkey. We ended up finishing the turkey on the grill. I was so glad that all our sides were already cooked and just had to be heated. In the end everything turned out fine. My dad is fine but I can't say the same about his shirt and the turkey was pretty good. So I can't complain. Luckily our family was not hungry because they both had gone to someone else's thanksgiving before coming to our house.

Well that is it, well not really I just really want to get back to my book. I am so happy that the kids take 3 hour naps at the same time.

Co op Share

I was on the website from our co op. I am really excited for the things we are going to get this thursday. I could use most of it for thanksgiving dinner.
Green Beans (I plan on making Green bean casserole)
Cucumbers
Red Kale
Green Leaf Lettuce
Yukon Gold Potatoes(Gouda cheese mashed potatoes)
Sweet Potatoes (maybe a sweet potato pie)
Garlic (You can never have enough garlic)
Acorn Squash
Green Onions
White Mushrooms (could use for the green bean casserole)
Poultry Bouquet (no clue, but this is the main reason I love my co op I always get new things that I have never tried before.)
Cranberries (cranberry sauce)
Empire Apples (Apple Pie of course)
Persimmons (I have never had these but I have heard of them on a show with Gweneth Paltrow and a chef that were in Spain on the PBS channel.)
Navel Oranges ( these are going to keep Jose out of the kitchen)
And for the extra fruit share that I do we are getting Pineapples, mangos and kiwis. The last pineapples we got were DELICIOUS. They were so perfect we ate the 2 we got in one day.
I wonder if the mashed potatoes will be different since I am using Yukon potatoes instead of Idaho potatoes.Oh well, it will have to work. I have to figure what to do with the Acorn squash. I found this recipe but I am not sure how Jose will react. He might not eat it.
We are having about 15 people at the house for Thanksgiving, and Jose's sister and I are doing all the cooking. Things are coming together just right let hope things stay this way.

Hitting the Gym

So I finally went to the gym. It has been two weeks since I started going. I feel really great. My attitude is better and my energy level is better too. I had a couple of sessions with a personal trainer that were pretty intense. Today I tried spinning and HOLY CRAP was that hard, I was only able to do 30 minutes. They do have kid care but Anthony doesn't want anything to do with it. He went crazy last Friday when I was dropping him off so Jose is going into work late so that I can go to the gym in the morning, which is really great.

Sometimes I wonder if staying home is the right thing to do. I mean what am I supposed to do when he starts going to school and throws a fit. The kid care has fun things to do they also watch all his favorite movies. We have been having a lot of trouble with Anthony lately. I know that we want our kids to be perfect but I have realized yesterday that kids have to be kids. Eventually things will get better but not easier because as they get older things just get a little more complicated with our children.

Fall is here....

I have been so happy for the last two days because the weather has been AWESOME. Most of you might know we live in South Florida. We have crappy weather and crappy people too. People here are the biggest asshole but you know what I have to say that it must be the weather. Hot and sticky just does not make people happy. People here are nicer this time of year and that must be the reason why. Anyway yesterday it was in the low 80's and today it was in the low 70's all day and this whole week it supposed to be the same. The kids and I have decided to do everything outside. Like play and eat outside for most of the day; except for naps. We have to take advantage of days like these. We used chalk and decorated our side walk for Halloween and took lots of picture of Anthony and Gaby wearing their long sleeve matching shirts. Even though it was not cold out but I wanted some fall pictures of them. I am a very happy camper so much that tomorrow morning I am going to go running with my neighbors dogs. Like I used to before the weather gets crappy again.

Co op

So I had mentioned a couple of months ago that I joined a co op. Well since then I have actually been hosting the group in my house every two weeks. The guy that was doing it before decided he did not want to do it anymore so I volunteered. It is not that bad the truck drops off the vegetables and fruit at my house. A helper and I separate it into 30 totes, 2 totes per member. I don't mind doing it. Hey I get my share for free and whatever is left over which is usually greens like lettuce and kale. I like being in this co op. We get a lot of yummy things. For example yesterday we received egg Plant, Onions, cucumbers, zucchinis, juiced carrots, Rainbow chard (which I have no idea what to do with), Green Leaf Lettuce, Garlic, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Roma Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Yellow Onions, Bananas, Red Delicious Apples, Green Grapes,and Oranges. I also do an extra share of fruit because of the monkeys they eat a lot of fruit, even though for that I do have to pay, I don't mind. It is a lot less than I would have to pay at the supermarket. Anyway yesterday I also got my fruit share and it is A LOT really we got 24 pomegranates, 6lbs of strawberries, and 3lbs of raspberries which now it is probably only about 1lb left, thanks to Gaby. I just hope that the kids can eat them fast enough before they go bad.

Potty Training

Since we got back from Orlando. I have stopped putting Pull Ups on Anthony during the day. I am surprised that it has actually worked. He has been going to the bathroom all by himself. He even wakes up from his nap with a dry diaper. Well he has had a couple of accidents but as soon as it is happening he runs to the bathroom. I am hoping that he will be done with Pull Ups by the time we go to DC in December. I think it will actually happen. This morning when he came to our room he had already taken off his night diaper and had put on his underwear. So we definitely have progress. Gaby actually is following the lead I have not sat her on the potty but she points and wants to sit and do the same thing. So maybe be by this time next year both of them will be completely out of diapers. Which would be great, we would definitely save some money there.

Gaby is 17 months old now. She is a VERY feisty little girl. She makes these faces that makes her look evil. She is passive aggressive. She'll hit you or throw a toy at you and then kiss you. Her daddy is crazy about her. She is definitely a daddy little girl. She hates time outs and gives you the evil look as she is walking to the corner, and it makes me laugh every single time. I have to make sure she doesn't she me laughing because then she won't go to time out.

Anthony and her get along most of the time. Which I love, they make up games, well actually Monkey Doodle makes them up and Gaby just follows him around. She eats like there is no tomorrow. Really! She eats ALL DAY LONG! I am so glad that she is active little girl because if she wasn't she would just be a big butter ball. She says many words and will only say them on her terms. Here is a video of my monkeys playing on the scooter together.

Baking

I have not baked in a long time because I thought that my oven was broken. So yesterday I decided to try to turn it on and it did. So I asked Monkey if he would like to have some cupcakes and of course he did. So we went to the store Monkey picked out some Halloween sprinkles and vanilla frosting. Anthony and I baked Chocolate Chocolate chip cupcakes. He helped me, I would measure the ingredients and he poured them in the mixer. He had a blast.As you can see.

I am so excited about Halloween we have Gaby's costume but not Monkey's yet. The other day we went to the store and they had costumes and he picked Handy Manny from the Disney channel. I will ask him again if says he want that one I am going to make it because I don't want to over pay for a costume he will only wear once and plus how hard can it be to make a handy man costume. I am so excited that I even got Moha a outfit.

Monkey Doodle turns 3

I am so happy today my first born turns 3 years old. He has changed so much, he can have conversations with you, tell you what he does and does not want to do. Potty training we are having trouble with again. He was doing so well but as long as he does not start Kindergarten with diapers I think we will be OK.lol!

Happy 3rd Birthday Monkey Doodle! I love you!

NO QUIERO (Don't want...)

That all I hear most of my day from Monkey Doodle.

No quiero bano. (bath)
No quiero comer (eat)
No quiero domir. (sleep)
No quiero parque. (park)

I can not believe that my monkey is going to be 3 years old in 18 days. We have decided to not have a party because that weekend after his birthday is my 5k run in Orlando so we decided to celebrate his birthday there. I have mentioned it to monkey but I still don't think he understands,even thought he still remembers parts of our trip when we went to Disney in December. We have planned a Character breakfast in Animal Kingdom. Animal Kingdom is very kid friendly plus what kid does not like animals.

I am really excited about my 5k run. It is going to be in Disney Animal Kingdom it is called Expedition Everest Challenge. We will have an obstacle course where we will be climbing, crawling and other things we have to do like answering questions to continue our run. It is definitely not your usual run, not only that but it is at night.

Sad Day

I just found out that Randy Pausch, the professor from Carnegie Mellon University, has died. He is the professor that wrote the book "The Last Lecture". I am sad because I think of his kids, two of them are the ages of my kids. I can't imagine not being there for my kids as they are growing up. How do you explain to a one year old and a two year old that their parent is no longer around. I don't even want to think about it because I just get teary eyed. My sympathy goes out to the Pausch Family.

I'm still trying new foods w/o meat.

I have been trying new recipes and even tofu. Which I don't mind the other night I made pasta with Italian sausage that was made out of tofu and it was really good. Jose even had some and liked it only after he ate it, I told him that it was tofu. He says he felt betrayed but it IS the only way that I can get him to eat new things. The kids are still eating meat and chicken, when they are older they can decide for themselves if they want to still eat it. The organic produce group is going great I LOVE IT. This week we got strawberries and they were scratch that they are delicious, we still have some left. I also like it because I get vegetable that I have never tried before like kale. I found this recipe on the groups website and it was awesome. We got alfalfa sprouts and I have no clue what to do with them so it anyone has any idea please let me know. Today for lunch we had Zucchini Quesadillas I like it a lot I changed it up a bit. I did not have corn, I put mushrooms, that I got from my group which are devine, and I added a little Braggs Liquid Aminos

No Style

I do appreciate when Jose helps in the morning with the kids but this is why I dress the kids and not him.

She is even upset. He thinks it matches because they have the same colors.

Gone Vegan

We have decided to go vegan for 30 days. We have been doing it for almost two weeks. It has not been too bad. I made vegan chili, pasta, and a black bean soup with tortillas. I found this two blogs Kitchen Parade and A Veggie Venture. I have gotten a lot of ideas and they all sound very yummy. The only problem I have is Jose, he has said that he misses eating chicken. I will not quit I want to change up what we eat.
I have also started to buy organic veggies and fruits. I found this really cool website with Green Buisness. On there I found a site where they have groups all around Dade and Broward county where you pick up two totes of veggies, fruits and greens that are from local farmers and are organic. They are called Organic Produce Buying Club of South Florida . The best thing is that the group I get my produce is just two roads down, it is actually closer then the supermarket.
I have been pretty busy also, I have a class Monday-Thursday from 10am-11:50am, then a 6pm the kids have swimming classes and then I have to do homework and or study. I don't know how I am getting through but I can not wait til I am done with school. I have stopped walking/running in the morning because I am just too tired to get up and I still doing the 3 mile run in September so I have to start training again.

Grossed Out

I can not believe what I just saw. I am studying and I hear our cat "Moha" opening the bathroom door and I figure he just trying to drink water out of the toilet, as usual, but then I hear water and I go to look. For a second I thought he was peeing in the toilet but he is actually peeing in the SINK. That is so gross, I could kill him if we had not paid tons of money to keep him alive. The worst thing is that he did not even move when I walked in he was like "Hey, some privacy please?" I am wondering how long he has been doing this, luckily I clean that bathroom often because it the one all our guest use since it downstairs, but I am so grossed out right now. I should have taken a picture.

Tired as Hell

I do not know how I do it, but I have been in school for a week, and managed to stay alive. Monday we got back from our AWESOME cruise. I recommend Carnival Cruise line, we had so much fun and actually relaxed. Monday night I had my first test on 4 yes 4 chapters, and I got 100%. I was so happy, today I had a presentation and I got a 96%. I am feeling pretty darn good about myself. I have been able to manage everything I usually do and study. I am a little worried about when I have to take more than one class at a time, one class takes a lot of time and since I would like to get a scholarship, I MUST have good grades. I will not accept anything lower than a B.
So back to our cruise, did I mention that it was AWESOME. We left Friday afternoon got on the ship at around 12:30a.m. We enjoyed lunch and a drink on the deck.

After that we walked around to familiarize ourselves with the ship. We got a stateroom with an ocean view and that was very nice, I just realized we did not take a picture of it. Oh well! So that night we had a great dinner and we were sat with two couple from Venezuela, which was great because we had a lot in common we actually became friends. We laughed a lot with them and our Maitre'd (I think that's how you spell it). They really want you have a good time, everyone treats you like your royalty. I was just happy that I did not have to cook, clean, or hear crying babies, except for Jose when he got sick Saturday night. Our cruise went to the Bahamas for a full day on Saturday we were I think the first to get off the ship it was like 8 am but we wanted to enjoy our time on the beach and we did we had it all to ourselves most of the morning.


That night was the Captains dinner thats when everyone dresses really nice, and they honor the Captain, they even had a cocktail hour but we missed it we did not know that they were having one, but that ok I still got to eat lobster for dinner and it was delicious. I have to say this has been one of the best or even maybe the best trip Jose and I have done. Can't wait till I get to go on another cruise maybe even for a longer time.

Lot's to talk about........

Well since the last time I wrote many different things have happened. I have been extremely busy, with finishing the kids bedroom, planning Gaby's first birthday, going to tons of birthday parties, and a Major one I started school.
So finished the kids room a long time ago it's just I have not had time to write about it, or post pictures of the finished product. Anthony loves his room, he plays there all day but we have to watch out for him because the other day I thought he was taking a nap and it turns out that he was painting the RUG, yeah I almost had an anxiety attack, so I called Jose and told him he had to come home or not I would kill our precious little Angel. Our rug is ruined but we are going to change it out sometime in the future to hardwood floors, so it does not bother me as much anymore. That's that.
Gaby turned 1 this past Saturday. We had princess party, not Disney Princesses, it turned out really well we had almost 60 people. She got tons and tons of cloths and it all very cute, also many toys which all make lots of noise.YEAH!!
So now about me I have started to train for a 3 mile run that I am going to do in September with my sister in law. I am out shape so running 3 miles for me is a lot. Every morning at 6:30 am I borrow my neighbors dog, Spooky, and we speed walk and run 2 miles. It started out just walking but I been running a little more every week. I am really excited about the run we are going to get matching outfits with our last names on the back. I sister in law is very athletic she does triathlons, maybe someday I'll do one with her. What else this week I started school I am taking 2 class but since summer term has 3 different sessions I am taking one now and it finishes in 6 weeks and the other starts June 24. They are both only six weeks, so they are very condensed for the class I am taking now we have a test every week, I have a oral presentation next week Wednesday already. It's going to be tough because this weekend Jose and I are going on a Cruise to the Bahamas. Which means I am going to have to study and work on my presentation while sunning by the pool, but I am ok with that. I am just happy that Jose and I can get away for the weekend by ourselves.
I also got a new laptop today thats all mine so I don't have to share with Jose anymore. That's why this post will not have pictures, all the picture are on the OLD laptop. I have to go, I need to get some studying done tonight.

Well it has been a long time since I last wrote. A lot has happened last week we had a bad week I had a miscarriage, I wasn't even aware that I was pregnant. Even though we do not want any more kids, I was sad that it happened. Me and birth control just don't get along. I got pregnant with Monkey Doodle on the depo shot, and now I had an IUD and I still got pregnant, only 6 months after putting it on. When I got the IUD they told me that when I started my period that it be long and painful, but when my menstrual was going on it 15th day and very very painful cramps, I knew that something wasn't right. I researched for miscarriages online and I knew that that's what was happening to me. The next day I went to that doctor with Jose and it was confirmed, my doctor was very worried that I might have a Ectopic pregnancy so that same day I had the IUD removed and had a sonogram done. Luckily it was not ectopic, then Friday I had a d and c done. Friday was hard for me I was very emotional but I felt a lot better on Saturday, back to my normal self. It was really hard for me to not do anything on Friday I am just not the person to lay on the couch all day. Well that was that.
To keep my mind off what happened I decided to finally decorate the kids room. It is not completely done but I don't have much left. I painted green and red. Yeah I know strange colors but I am very happy on how it turned out.



I have to say I love IKEA. We finally got one in south Florida, it is my new favorite store. I still have some wall storage I have to get, I went yesterday to IKEA and the did not have it. I bought these giant leaves also that I want to put by the bookshelves, and dresser that they also ran out of. Hopefully by this weekend the room will be completely done. Anthony likes it a lot, every time he walks in he says "wow, mommy pintar" (wow, mom painted). I am very happy with it and can not wait till it is done, and move on to the next thing which is their bathroom. I be posting pictures of it soon.

3 hours

I have never spent this much time at the playground but I really wanted Monkey Doodle to get tired. I made it through,the kids are asleep, at the same time now thats a miracle. I do not know what to do, I want to take a nap but I feel like if I do one of the kids will wake up.
This morning I woke up made lunch for the three of us and went to the park. We got there a little before 11 am and left at 2 pm. They both fell asleep on the way back home. I think I am going to do this more often.
Last month I found a booklet for different activities for every single day and most are them are free which is great. It is the best thing ever they have crafts and story time in different areas, movies at the park, they even tell you when restaurants have family day, so that you can go with the kids and they have someone entertain the kids while you eat. I try to do at least two activities a week just to get out of the house and it has been working pretty well. Anthony has a lot of energy and I have to find ways to have him let it out and this booklet has helped me so much.

8 months old

Well Gaby is 8 months old. She is crawling and standing up now, she has two teeth that came out about a week ago. She is eating solids, she loves strawberries, well any fruit or food that you put in front of her. I actually think she eats more than Monkey Doodle did at her age. She follows us every where we go and she gets really excited when Monkey Doodle comes in the room, he makes her laugh, he does silly things like jump and pretends that he falls a hurts himself, and she cracks up. Its funny to see her look up to him, I hope that they can always get along but I know that this will not always be, so I will just enjoy it for now until it ends. The other day we put them both in the play pen and they were doing so well, Monkey Doodle actually wanted to sleep in there with Gaby and this morning we did the same thing and he was playing peek a boo with her. It was so adorable. On Fridays we go to the library for story time and a play time, one Friday during playtime Gaby was playing with a toy and another kid came a took it, Anthony got mad he went to the kid and told him that was Gaby's toy and took the toy back and gave it to Gaby. I thought that was so sweet. I love my babies.