Whirl-Wind

Sunday is almost over & NO one is feeling well. Lele is the only one, at this point! The Karo Syrup did it's job this wkend! Friday nite w/the Anaconda poop in the toilet - haha! - & her second BIG dump today! I know, TMI. But hey! It's a HUGE deal in our house! This poor girl has not had a BM in wks! Whoohoo. So happy for our little mama.

Let's see...Friday, Graciella didn't go to school bcuz she was recovering. She did go to her 2 bday parties later that day though! Antonia had a rollerskating party that nite! I did accompany her to that one & I DID get my skate ON! Yeah--- I did. AND not only did I NOT fall but I managed to help Antonia & pull her up from falling one Mealeean times! (that's how Leleanna says it!) Okay, just for any mom's reading this: PLEASE do write down the number, address, attach a little map for the bday location on the invites. THIS was totally ridiculous! It was crazy! Even using MapQuest & the internet, NADA. The website said NOT to use these bcuz it will give you the WRONG location! Ya think?! OMG. No words....

{can you here the crickets?}

Lord, yes I did say some choice words driving around, making U-turns, on cell w/husband, heading this way & the other...but did you see the dust ALL settle when I knew my daughter was a happy camper, w/her friends at the bday party? They all cheered her name as she walked in! How great did that make her feel? Then, it was back home to check out Lele, eat & back to the store for Antonia's gift. Graciella was going straight to her next party w/a mom & some other girls. Yay. Got home, wrapped gift, got ready & we were off for a nite of LOUD music, bruises, cake, pizza & soccer friends. Antonia had a blast too. This was a first for her! For me, I won't leak the year I last rollerskated. heehee We got outta there about 1045pm, & headed to Graciella's party. It was a sleepover but she had soccer the next am. Surprise. Suprise.

Saturday am, we all (incld Gramma) headed up to Scottsdale for two games. First one, girls lost & second, they won! Graciella did a great job as forward, if I may add. We stayed up there between games for lunch & headed home afterwards. Daddy made a storage trip & came back w/Xmas decorations. Carlos & I put up the tree, I washed G's uniform & I put up as many Xmas decs around the house as I could... 3am rolled around & Antonia is getting sick. Wonderful. She sleeps on the top bunk & wanted to stay in her bed. That girl is such a trooper when she gets sick. She stayed up in her bed w/a big bowl lined w/a plastic bag. At this point, me & Graciella felt as though WE were going to be sick. Again. I was tempted to take some Zofran but I held off. Why is all this happening in ONE wk? Maybe to get it ALL overwith asap. ?? Carlos took care of her, as I slept on & off. Didn't quite work. I felt horrible when I did wake & had to get ready for Graciella's tournament game this am. When we left Lele felt fine, daddy felt sick & Antonia was feeling a tiny bit better.

G's game went great! She volunteered to play on defense when her coach asked & NO one stepped up. One regular d-player was not coming. But she did an awesome job! Her tummy was hurting too but you could never tell. She saved 2 goals from crossing the line, these were TOO close. She was backing up the goalie. Thank God these two talked beforehand! But all in all, she helped save more. Those 2 stood out! All the girls did great & worked well together! Fantastic dynamic w/the new additions to our team! Did I mention our Goalie?! Whoohoo Amree! Awesome-Ness! =) Even with the lite rain at the end of the game couldn't take away from these girls shining! Us parents were so proud!

I am so-- exhausted. Daddy still feels horrible. Graciella's tummy hurts. Lele has an Xray first thing in the am to see if this wkend made a difference. I know it did! Antonia is scrapbooking next to me & will be going to school manana. Yay. I'm hoping Graciella is feeling better though. And I'll just have me some more toast.

Have a good nite all. Sweet Blessings-
xo

Bdays, Halloween & Sneak Peak

Oct. 30th: Mischief Nite: I had it when I grew up, did you? Out here, no one really does it. However, the nite before a football game some houses get TP'd & such... then it takes me back! ha!

My mom's 79th bday. She'll tell you that she's 39 still. UGH! It was only funny the first 20 yrs you told this lie ma--! We had a small party for her here at home w/Carrie, Rob & Gia, all 5 of us & Gramma's friend, Dot. I even went crazy & printed 100 pix from Costco that same day to fill her album (she thought I would never do it!) I filled up w/pix from this year only! And I still could of added more!

The curly candles: Graciella's idea =)

Lele & Gramma

Dorothy: Gramma's new bff =)

Graciella & Giavanna

Lele, Gia & her mommy xo

Gia & Carrie

Oct. 31st, Halloween: Leleanna had a game (surprise! surprise!) at 8am the next morning. They won & Lele killed it! Daddy had to hold her back! She scored 5 goals! Whoohoo! Supah Stah---! Did you lunge fwd & throw your arms up in the air, while saying Supah Stah---?! Try it again, w/emotion people! heehee

The Dream Team: Jenna, Sera & Lele

Final score: 12-2 Thunderbolts!!

Antonia had a game in Scottsdale at 11am. Yep. You guessed it. Ran home after Lele's game, let puppies out & left that quick! Antonia had to be there by 1015! Her team played a good game & tied 3-3. Another game they SO should of won. The girls are still young though & learning from their mistakes. =) I'll keep it as that! heehee

Trick-or-Treating: Carrie, Rob & Gia gave candy out at our house, while I took the girls around our neighborhood. We were ready to start walking before the sun went down! Whoohoo! We ended up going around w/a neighbor & her son. Not many people were in the Halloween spirit! boo--! The girls had fun though. By 630, we were outta here! And off to a party! We brought cupcakes to add to the tons of food Grace had at her house.

70's rocker chick, Cinderella & my China girl

I love this pic. But not those For Sale signs that are ALL over!

We saw the Jesson girls long enough to take a quick pic!

Nov. 1st:  I had set my alarm for 450am bcuz we HAD to be out of the house at 615! Nope. Didn't go down like that. Of course, my iphone had to switch time zones that am. ?? I check the other clocks, once I turned my cell alarm off & they all said 6am! What?! Really?! Then, here comes Carlos walking in from work! So instead of having an hour to get myself & 3 girls ready... we had 15-20 mins! We left about 625am & jumped on the freeway headed out to Maryvale. (I learned this when we got there bcuz of the sign! duh! haha!) Anyway, it was hot. Once again. The girls were playing w/out a key defender. So that meant Graciella would be playing her position. She usually plays fwd. She does an awesome job though as def & no one gets past her & her tiny self! =) They have a new girl Maddy too. (she switched clubs - lucky us!)That was her first game & she scored our one goal! Go Maddy!! I'll hold my comments to myself, just in case someone reads this & has NOT heard them first hand! =) The girls played tough & held their own. Graciella hurt her knee, so bad Coach Beny had to carry her off the field. This is when Del Sol scored 3 goals. ?! Need I say more? I know G does not hold down the fort by herself back there, the other team members have to step up & do their job! Okay, I'll leave well enough alone. The other team's coach received a yellowcard! yay! And one of his players did too! That team w/the elbows! Whoo! It was bad. Soccer at this level is rough alone. But to teach your girls to go that extra mile & 'hurt' the players? Nope. Wasn't working. Graciella ended up going back in & was okay afterall. Thank God!

Graciella left w/a teammate & her family & we headed home. But NOT w/out a stop to QT first! =) She came home w/this! Interesting, I know. ?? I think a guy made it at Margaritaville.

I got this in the mail from a Rice Babies giveaway. =) Thx again!!

Nov. 2nd: Happy Birthday Carlos! Also, Happy Bday Harley! Yep, my husband & puppy share the same bday! We love you & appreciate all your hard work daddy! xo

Carlos had to rush off to work after we did cake & gifts. =/

We decided to take the boys for a walk & afterwards, we took all the Halloween decs down. I even had to drag the huge ladder out to reach the spider above garage. Ugh! That's all I meant to get done, but then we raked, swept and took the party to the truck! The girls went to town & cleaned all the garbage in the Suburban. They even broke out the cleaning wipes & wiped everything down! Whoohoo!

Hugo, Graciella, Antonia & Harley

(I like this pic but it's blurry! I took it w/iphone but I took the Rice Babies pic too same way! Hmm. Perhaps, I need to hold my breath next time!?)

Nov. 3rd:  Whew! I wish I could of flown to a tropical beach somewhere by myself for the day! I don't know what's going w/Graciella. She's 11 now & no it's NOT the whole pre-teen thing. She's a good kid but goes thru the same thing everyday. I cannot take it anymore. So, on that note, she was told as much that morning before school. I had volunteered ALL day in Antonia's & Lele's class, so this took my mind off all that happened in the am. =) After school, she was okay & went off to practice okay as well. We'll see. Perhaps I'll go more into detail at a later date.

Lele & I took pix for a sneak peak before the sprinklers went off & the sun went down! Thx to Connie & Gary for holding them, so I can get the perfect pix! =) {they just happened to be going tor a walk!}

Please leave a comment & let me know thoughts on color combos, prints, etc! I will def use your input in the NEAR future! Thx a bunch!! xo

ToDaY

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

~CARLOS~

Daddy, the girls & I love you more than ever! Thank you for ALL your hard work to make it possible for me to stay home w/our girls. I know we are REAL short on time these days, but never let that take away my LOVE for you & the fact that the girls LOVE you dearly! (really, the only thing that they love just as much as me, is to see you w/a big smile on your face, laughing away enjoying the moment!) xoxo

P.S. - We love you too daddy! xo - Sebastian, Francesca, Harley & Hugo

Hanging w/the Bikers

Sunday morning, we met up w/a few couples & went for a ride. Gorgeous day to do it (not a cloud in the sky!) & it got hot! I didn't think to put scun-screen on (as Antonia calls it!). Oops. Our first stop was Four Peaks Brewing Company in Tempe. I had this huge mushroom & Swiss burger w/these beer battered fries?!!! YUM---MEE! Finished it all but one tiny bite! ha!

Shaunna & Rich

Next, we took a little ride & got on the freeway towards Saguaro Lake. We made a quick stop at this little beach on the lake. The women we were with reminisced about coming here in high school & getting trashed! Hmm... not me! I was too busy for all that! I grew up back East too. I never understood what the big deal was to drink till you puked!? However, Carlos & I took some self-pix. I'm excited! We so-- need more pix of him & I. We have barely ANY! Sad I know! But I made a promise to myself to just do it & take them, regardless if it's not a good hair day or whatever! NO EXCUSES! We've been together so long & we honestly don't have the tons of photos we should have! Sad. Here's one from that small beach.

See the road sign?! Take note of that & how much or LACK of a shoulder, there is...

Next stop, Lakeshore Restaurant right on the lake. Nice views. Patio & steps leading down to the marina. Everyone drank beer & I got a Rootbeer float w/some powdered donuts! I felt like such a kid! Oh well. Beer is just nasty! Soaked up the view of the water, mountains, boats, jet skis... it was beautiful! (I thought to bring the girls back here, they'll love it!) I can go there everyday! Great photo-op for that self-pic! =)

Here's a few of the other riders:

Carol & Miles

Jason & Bart

We hung out there for awhile & headed out through the curvy, hilly roads. For SOME reason at one point, I saw that our bike was TOO close & over that solid white line on the shoulder. I also saw the pavement had big chunks missing from it w/sand & small rocks. My reaction was to raise my butt off the seat so I wouldn't hit these bumps hard. When I did that, Carlos felt me get light & couldn't turn the bike back towards the road. I thought to myself, I have to jump off this thing bcuz NOW we were hitting those missing parts! I wasn't scared, I just was thinking of a way to jump off! (luckily, we weren't near the parts of the road that just go downhill towards trees or cacti!) Carlos handled it like a PRO! He saved us! Whew! His ankle got tore up from the floor board & rocks but other than that... NO SPILL! That was a thought! This is why I was going to jump! I didn't want this huge, heavy Harley Fatboy that had a hot engine & pipes rolling OVER ME! But Thank God, it didn't come to that! I just got off & sat on this rock for a few mins. The other riders had turned around by then & rode back to us. The guy behind us saw the whole thing. He saw me come so high off the seat & he thought we were going to spill! He told Carlos he couldn't believe he got us out of that! He never saw riding like that! He's done it twice himself & it didn't end up like us! He came over to Carlos, shook his hand & gave him a man hug! The couple in front of us, saw us in his mirror & got worried too.

Surprisingly, my adrenaline didn't kick into high gear. Had that been the case, I would of been possibly air-vacced out of there. Nice huh?! It's happened in the past. Adrenaline kicks in big time & I'm off to the hospital via ambulance! I wasn't even shaking afterwards. Carlos said that he was thinking of how to steady the bike over the broken up road & not having my adrenaline kick in. I LOVE THAT MAN! He saved the day! Wow. We were lucky.

So-- off to The Monastery in Mesa. (by Falcon Field) Little ride to get there. Gorgeous out! It was pretty cool place. Neat-o! hee-hee. They had an inside bar & outside tables, bar, band, ping-pong tables, volleyball sand-courts, bench swings... you can buy meat there & cook it yourself outside! We sat outside & saw this PINK firetruck pull up. Yes! I grabbed the camera & left real quick to take pix! They were having a 'boob ride' (I read a sign inside the bar!) to raise $ for this girl that worked there. We also heard 200 bikers were coming. ??? No room whatsoever for bikes & people! We never saw them though! =) We had left to get truck & pick up girls from Tucson.

On our way home! Happy to be ALIVE!

Had a headache lastnite & felt yuk. And again this am. I'm thinking it's from the sun yesterday. UGH! I have TOO much to do today! Girls had fun in Tucson w/Melina though. I'm happy they got to spend some time w/her & her bf Zach. =)

Have a good day people! xo

Random- NeSS

I'm starving. It's late. I just updated Graciella's soccer team's blog. I want a coffee drink, but I don't want to wake the girls. My girls & I (minus Graciella) make the Frapp Mix from Costco w/milk & top it w/whipped cream! Yum!

Last wkend, her team took 3rd place in the San Tan Holiday Classic. Whoo-hoo!

I saw this in Costco & I want it. But I need it in a bigger size!

Yesterday, was Antonia's last day & I had volunteered for her Xmas party.

Mrs. Navarrete & Antonia

Jasmine, Sandra, Antonia, Katie, Kylie & Isha (Antonia's BFF)

Graciella finally got to wear her cute hat!

FunkaDelic Club - Sydney, Savannah, Graciella & Alexxis

These next pix are from November. Daddy took the girls for a ride on the Fat Boy. Carlos & I were in the garage & I told him I wanted to take the bike out by myself. I never did since we got it, I think almost 4 yrs ago! I have rode in the past on dirt bikes & crotch rockets, but never a Harley! So, he backed it out & off I went!

(I think I look like Gladita in the photo!)

Lele has something with loud noises!

I love this photo of Antonia & daddy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLOS

Where do I start?! I 'tried' to make it a surprise but he figured it out in the end. It was okay though. I just wanted all our friends & family to come & celebrate his bday. Charlie came & took Carlos out for a drink (which Carlos NEVER does). First tip off. Make that second. The first was I wanted him to stay for class after mass. I told him I needed to clean bcuz I NEVER have time. Pretty hard to convince him all dressed ready to go somewhere. Anyway, everyone showed but 2 or 3 from my list. I started the calls last Tuesday.


I had SO much running around to do, in a short amount of time! THX to everyone that helped me pull this off. I couldn't have done it without you!! So 16 kids, 29 adults, cake, food, beer, opening of a bottle of Tequila from 1996 (gift from previous surprise party for Carlos!) the party was a great one! I'm so happy ALL turned out well! I just wanted to do something special for Carlos. Some friends we haven't seen forever! Time flies too fast! Carlos & I decided to throw a 'just bcuz' (call it what you want folks!) party every 2-3 mos for everyone to get together! Why wait till a 'special occasion'?! Our friends are family. We've known them for years & when we need them, they're there!

Happy 44!

All Day--

Happy daddie's Day!
(as Min would spell it)

Today was sort of a busy day for Carlos. Thx so much for the YUMMY dinner (that he BBQd in this AZ heat!) He cooked after running to PetsMart, Costco, Safeway... I forget where else! I stayed home in pain still, but able to walk a bit faster! I'm using my pillow Marci! It's quite comfy & makes it all better. ha!



Thx Jeannie for my Eclair Pie! YUM!! Carlos thxd Joan tonite for it! Thx for the run to Pei Wei too. The girls loved it! Jeannie & the girls are coming over! :] Although it got loud, as always!, it was fun just sittin & talkin' w/all running around! No clock to look at, just took our time for once! Thx for the Rum cake, will taste that manana! Perhaps, we all can do Carlos' apple pie & ice cream Mon. pm. !! (If there's any left by then... he could eat it for brkfast, lunch & dinner!)



**Jeannie is truly an amazing friend. I don't know what we would do w/out her & her family!! xo



Well, daddy you deserve a vacation! Someday sooner than later! You are my rock! My best friend. My wonderful husband. My go-to guy. My very own handy man. My technical support guru. Now, my jeweler. My auto. ice maker. My research dept. My scrap proofer. My idea-bouncer-offer. My shrink. My nurse. My biggest fan. My supporter. My bed warmer. My chef. My ice tea maker... this could take a while! (Perhaps, I shall turn this into a scrap project!) The girls & I, love & cherish you more than ever. You are truly our #1. You have our heart always. xoxo

Happy Anniverary!!

Happy 11 years Carlos! Where does the time go? We were married in Gladita's back yard in West Orange, NJ. My family back home did most of everything! We just had to get there & be dressed! Billy had taken us to get our marriage license & Gladita got her friend, the mayor to marry us! Quite simple. Ha! Gladita had fresh flower petals for the flower girls, with my absolute fave - calle lillies for moi'! Beautiful! In the video, you can hear the airplanes in route to Newark Airport! They rolled out the white carpet down the isle & had an arch covered in lights, flowers & tulle. My dad walked me down the isle, from the driveway/sidewalk all the way to the back to the arch. A neighbor cooked the food. Gladita had an Italian bakery do the cake. It all turned out better than I ever thought it could! Gladita, mom, dad, my cousins, SIL & friends made it all possible! ~ I love you Carlos!! ~