Halloweens

Halloween seemed to last a lifetime this year. We had:

One kid's Halloween Party. - Fun - except that I creeped some parents out with my get-up.
My brother's Halloween Party. - Fun - He was a great Elvis
School Halloween Parade - Cute
Music Class Halloween Party - Fun - except that I creeped some kids out with my get-up.
Dreamworks Halloween Party - Nice - good food - and I went as a tree.
Q-Family Halloween Party - Fun! (Even had a clown partner!)
Treak Or Treating - Tiring - and Fun
Harmony/Glenn Halloween Party - FUN! Frankenstein and his bride were the hosts!

So, as you can see we had a lot of Fun - as always - and I'm glad I don't have to paint my face for awhile now! And I don't have to try to force Effie into a costume! We can relax for awhile - that is until Friday when I start freaking out about Effie's Birthday party right?

And I started music classes at Celia's school. Now I get to see all the little kids she talks about all the time. And I get to see what kind of little trouble makers they are. They are definitely a rowdy bunch of 5 year olds - which makes me happy. Celia is the little miss perfect one, trying very hard not to do anything outta place. Poor kid. I hope she loosens up a bit! I keep telling her that I spent most of 1st and 2nd grade in the "Thinking Chair" and that it was NBD - so to just relax.

So here are the 3 funny quotes of the day:

We fixed up Celia and Effie's bedroom today while my folks played SuperFriends with them and when Effie got back she noticed that her shoe rack was on top of her cardboard house - then when she went to look for her shoes, she saw them in a new place and said "Oh! My shoes are in anothers direction nows!"

Then in the evening while I was putting away laundry, I could hear Alex and the girls watching YouTube clips, then I heard Celia scream "I LOVE this singer SO much! What's his name again?"
Then Alex responded - "Sammy Davis Jr"
The funny part is that he was not joking. Here's the clip she so loved in case you are curious as to how funny this child is, and how funny Alex is. Not that the song or singer is funny, but what 5 year old today loves SDJ? I guess Celia.



Then while we were taking a walk in the dark tonight - and the chasing game was never ending, and the duck duck goose outside the liquor store was more fun than you'd think - Effie kept running and saying "Nah nah nah - You can'ts catch me! Runs runs as fast as you tan - you tan't tatch me I'm da Shingerbread mans!" I love my little Shingerbread man. She's so so so so cute.

Thank you everyone for all the Halloween fun. There is a lot lot lot going on right now, and it's all fun, manageable, and life is wonderful. I hope you are all happy too. Disneyland on Tuesday for Goo Goos' 3rd birthday. See you there?

Mucho

There's always so much going on. And that's a good thing.... I'm sure.
The weekend was good. Real good. I'm a bit tired of one of my jobs, and every night before I have to go to it, I get cranky, complain, then say I'm gonna quit. Then I go, have fun, remember I'm not too bad at what I do, and go on from there. So whatever with that.

Celia had a day off Friday, and we stayed busy, took a late walk, and did a long music class that lasted over an hour. Saturday we made it to the beach. It had been over a year (I think, if I'm not over-exaggerating which I can tend to do) since we'd gone. And it was so so so wonderful. Effie was in a constant state of euphoria the entire time, and I had a perty good time myself.

Every time we go to the beach, I remember my parents' complaints about sand. Well... yeah, sand can be gross and get in your butt, all over your car, all over our stuff, in your hair, and is messy, but it is definitely worth the hassle to see your kids have fun. Right? Maybe my folks didn't think so, cuz they didn't take us to the beach much - they left it to my brother to take me (thank you Freddy, and don't worry mom and dad, I don't hold it against you). But that's ok, cuz now I can go whenever I want, and deal with the sand however I like right?

But something funny happens at the beach. It doesn't happen to me a lot, or in many places, but it seems that when you're at the ocean, things kind of slow down, and moments kind of just... well... they almost stop. (One other place this happens to me at is when I walk over a freeway over-pass) Maybe it happens by the sea cuz the beach is so far away from my kitchen sink and dirty dishes, or maybe cuz the beach is so immense that it makes you feel so teeny tiny. I don't know, but I like that feeling, and even though it made me sad that I kept my kids away from such a great place for so long, I was still so happy I was there.

Effie was a madwoman when it came to the waves. She wanted to literally sit underneath them. When she saw all the bubbles she'd freak out and scream screams of joy, and she could care less that it was cold. In fact, she'll only let me rinse her in the bathtub if I put on cold water. While Celia was shivering, Effie was perfectly fine. She's a cold blooded Virgo that little Effie. And hot headed too. Is that a Virgo trait? Ha. Alex scooped out a little lagoon for them, and Effie would run down the slope of sand and just jump right into it. When we got there, Celia was terrified of the waves, but as soon as we got into the water, she held my hand, and was almost as happy as Effie. It really was so much fun, and even worth the 90 minutes of traffic we had to deal with on the way home. Whatever to that too.

And today we did the carousel, and a 60 minute wait for the medium paced pony rides at Griffith Park. (not at all worth the wait) We had to listen to parents yell at their kids the entire time, who don't know how to stand still for an hour. Parents are lame. I can't even stand still for an hour. I kept telling Celia we could just come back during the week when no one was around, and she kept saying to me: "NBD mom. NBD" (No Big Deal) It's our new thing around here. Any time someone starts to complain about something, someone ends up saying NBD. It works. Really it does. Just try it. When you get pissed, or tired, or stressed out, just think to yourself "NBD. NBD". There is always something worse than what you're going through.

After we did the park stuff, we got to enjoy Tony's birthday, and an evening of story telling by the Q sisters. I was just happy to listen for a change, and not have to be the one telling Effie the never ending stories for once. Thank you ladies.

And it's late. 12:50am to be exact. And I better go. At least the beans and the carnita are cookin, so I don't have to starve for too long tomorrow. And... (too much and... I know) tomorrow is my last day as a Spanish teacher for awhile. Yeahoo!
See you kids around. Again, if you have any costume suggestions for me - or costumes to give me... holler.

Adios amiguitos y amiguitas.

Yodleyhee

Hoo...

How's it going everyone? Do you still read this blog? Well... I still write it.

Today I woke up late, long story, but I remembered my dream that Alex had to walk miles in the snow with prisoners, and that I was going to the beach, and stopped at a salt water taffy place that sold deep friend hot dogs in the shape of ice cream cones. Weird.

And today, we had a long date day, cuz the kids were with the Horlicks, playing Super Friends and eating chicken, and taking a ducky. So we left the eastside, as we cruised around in the LA overcast - which we used to do a lot as youngins, and ended up at St. Vincent's as usual. Didn't get much, except a Wonder Woman costume too small for me. On the way there we passed a bar, and some East Los vatos were hanging out, and I thought... what a life those guys have. They get to chill out at a grungy bar all day, and kick it with the same old vatos all day, then Alex said, they were lucky cuz they probably go home to a nice hot bowl of caldo from their wives who let them hang out at the bar all day. Ha. Sometimes (at least to me) Alex can be the funniest man in the world. I mean, not that that last comment was that funny, but for reals, he is quite the funny one.

So Celia has begun school anxiety. She's really nervous about us getting her to school late. As of Monday she had been tardy twice. Once on the second day of school when mom and dad were just figuring the whole drive to school thing, and I was able to walk her right to her class, and the second time on Monday when Alex got Celia to the gate as they were closing it on her. So yesterday she told me "Mom. I don't want to get to school on time. I don't want to get to school late. I want to get to school early so I can get in line with my friends." Ok - fair enough.

So this morning, my alarm clock died! I mean really died. I woke up. Saw sunlight. Bad sign. Cuz Celia always wakes up when it's still a little dark. I asked Alex: "What day is it today". He said "Tuesday". I said "S#$t". I had big plans to wake Celia up early, so as not to rush. That didn't work. So, I got her up calmly. Did all the morning stuff calmly. And got her in the car calmly. Then I broke the news to her.

It went well. She didn't get upset, cuz I told her I had a note for the teacher to explain the tardy, and I'd take her to the office, etc, etc. She was a brave one, and the day ended up ok. The other morning fiasco was that there was chicken nuggets in the cafeteria today, and she wanted them, but insisted on taking her lunch box as well, so I had to write another note to ensure that she would get in the nuggets line even though she wanted to take a lunch box. (She ate the nuggets, even though she said they were a little too brown). The last time I sent her to the cafeteria, she took her lunch box with her, never got in line cuz she was too scared, and ended up eating some carrots and water for lunch. Ugg.

The other thing is that she has become a little miss I have to be good all the time. I've tried to explain to her that her mother was less than perfect, and sat in a "Thinking Chair' for most of 1st and 2nd grade, but she needs to have a "green card" everyday. No... not that kind of green card - the one they give in Kindergarten if you are good everyday. Yellow means warning, and let's not even get into what red would mean or blue ... cuz that's not gonna happen. But she was so afraid of the yellow card, that she held in potty way too long. No accidents - just a melt down when I picked her up from school. She said she had her hand raised for too long, it was un-noticed, and the teacher never saw her. Which meant, she was suffering in silence. I told the child that when you gotta go you gotta go. Listen to your body, and she said she would NEVER get out of her seat without permission no matter what. (I'm gonna have to talk to the teach about that one) It was a tough one to explain, but she wants to be so good it's funny to me. (I never seemed to care about that kind of stuff - but maybe it's an oldest child thing, cuz from what I remember, my sister was a pretty good student - minus during second grade when she had a wack teacher).

Anyhow. We can't forget the other child. She does exist you know, even though she was born second. My Effiekins. The goo goos is the funniest thing. I've been recounting to many people how we turned the lights off on Sunday and she went frantic throwing her hands in all our faces, saying "I can'ts see Mom. I can'ts see you Dads. I can't finds you Celia!!!! I'm BLIND!".

She also has a new thing about stories. Well, she's always loved us to tell her stories, but she's really into stories all day long. Whenever there is a moment of silence, you can expect Effie to say "Tells me dat storys about when Batman and Robin got their chonies on fire by Captains Colds", or "Tells me dats storys of when Effie wents to the forest of feewings, and she was with the Care Bears". Or "Tells me a stories of when I was a baby in yours tummy". I mean, you can't just tell her a story. It has to be the one she suggests, like "Tells me da storys of when Minnie walks to the forests and the wolfs has to learn to makes her a apples pie."

So cute. I know I've said it before. But the child is too cute. All day. Every day. All the time. And if you are not seeing her, or spending time with her, you are missing out, cuz this cutest thing in the world won't be cute for long. Before you know it she'll be 13 years old and not cute. So here's your chance! Hurry! Before she can properly pronounce a K or a T! Get her while she's CUTE!

So, I gotta go. It's 11:43. Still have lessons to plan, and dishes to not do cuz it's now Alex's job. Good night!

Eyyyyyy

Is "eyyyyy" how you would pronounce what the Fonz says? Well, I really wish I were the Fonz.... but I don't want to be a guy. How could I be a girl version of the Fonz....?? I wanna be the Fonz cuz he always wears the same thing and it looks so cozy. I told my students today I was likely meant for sisterhood - or to be a nun, cuz I like wearing the same thing everyday... even though I never do. If I had a cozy white t-shirt, and cozy jeans- and shoes - I would like about 7 pairs of each to wear every day. Don't get me wrong. I like fancy clothes and know I'd be good at sporting them. But I also like simplicity. I went to St. Vincents on Sunday and bought a bunch of new blouses (well, new to me) and sweaters.. and I dug em all, but while I was looking at the clothes I realized why I don't have decent outfits. I'm too lazy to shop! I was tearing through the isles, and looking and looking... and all the while I wanted to do something else. Maybe it's in my blood. Shopping just ain't my thing. That's why I appreciate all you (most of you who read this) who clothe me. Thank you for your old shirts, tank tops, shoes, etc, cuz you are much better at shopping than I and I appreciate your help. Ok. Seriously.. I have some of the same shirts that I've been wearing for years, if not decades now, and it's embarrassing. Enough said.

And this past week was buusssyyy. My mama's been feeling not-so-hot so say your prayers for her - (are you better now mom?) Work has been nuts.. but FUN! Teaching Spanish is always... interesting. I mean, teaching anything to high schoolers is perty cool. They are more interesting than babies in that they laugh at my jokes rather than my silly faces. Well, they laugh at the silly faces too. You can scare them in a way you can't scare little children. You can say bigger words to them. But they are less interesting in that they are not as cute. Plus, they are pubescent. And that in itself should be considered a disease. A disease worth being quarantined for. I mean, just think about it. Well, to speak for myself, I think I should have been isolated or sent to a deserted island from 14-about 17. And I wasn't even really bad. Either way... I'm with 13-16 year olds for 4 hours a day, 3 days a week, and it's... well.... it.... uhhh.... sometimes makes me fear my future with my own children.... or .... sometimes makes me happy that some kids are actually... or can be... wonderful - even during puberty.

And Effie is so cute. Haven't I said that before. I love how she says "yours". She always says things like.

"I want to sit on yours lap"
"Alex is yours husband?"
"Can I see yours mahka?" (marker)
"I loves yours face".

And Celia has enjoyed school so much this week that not once has she asked to sleep in! I think that's a good sign right?
She has more detailed accounts these days of playing "Littlest Pet Shop" every day at lunch, where she is a character named "Poof Poof", and the game they play entails one boy who has to chase all the Littlest Pet Shop Girl Dogs around. Every time I ask her what her favorite part of the school day was, she either says "Avery" (her buddy), "Cafeteria", (lunch time), or "Leer Cuentos". (story time) So, it's going well. Today she said she loved Kindergarten " A super super bunch" with a thumbs up. Ok. So I won't take her out to home school her just yet. hahahaha.

And don't leave your kid in a car seat with a marker. In the 6 minutes it took me to pick Celia up from school Effie painted striped tights on her legs.

We put pumpkin lights around the front door today, and red streamers hanging from the front window. The girls said it was hanging fire going up... whatever that means. It's a Halloween decoration.

Ok kids. Enough said again. Have a great week. I better sleep now, cuz I've spent too much time writing this, when I should actually be doing work. Oh well.

Otra Vez

Hey everyone. It's so early I don't know what to do with my time. The girls were asleep before 8am. Kindergarten has done something to my first born that I wasn't anticipating. It gave her an appetite. I mean, she used to eat well, but now she wants to eat all the time. My little babies were always like little birdies, just picking away at food (but I hear birds actually eat a lot, so that it's not really a good analogy) - and now, Celia wants a full meal when she gets home from school, snacks, another full meal, then another snack, and then she sleeps. I'm cool with this though. I feel that her wanting to eat makes me a better mom, cuz now all the things I give her actually go into her stomach instead of laying on a plate that I look at with angst. It actually boggles my mind how much a 5 year old can actually consume. Good thing she's not into flaming hots yet, I can't afford that kind of habit around here.

Effie is still wearing that Minnie bathing suit - at least 5 times a week. Bath time is really the only way to get it off her. I honestly prefer it though to the Minnie costume. The kid sleeps right next to me, and sleeping next to a big sweaty baby in a big itchy Minnie costume is not necessarily annoying, but .... well... silly.

The new routine of school makes for a more human bedtime for me. By 8pm they were asleep. I feel bad cuz I broke a promise though. Last night we crashed in MP after Disneyland, and Celia and Effie were left to sleep by their lonesomes (like most normal children do), and Celia came to my old room to get me around 3am I think. So tonight she said to me:

"Mom. When I sleep in Cathie's old bed I like to sleep on her cozy pillows. But when we're at home in your bed, I like to sleep on your tummy. So tonight, promise me that you'll go to sleep when I go to sleep, and you won't wake up until I wake up ok? You can't leave, or get up until I do ok?" Well, I wanted the kid to sleep peacefully so I said ok. Look at me. A dishonest mother. Geez. But I'll creep back into our California King Sized - turned horizontally - bed in a few minutes cuz my eyes are starting to droop anyway. And yeah, the dishes are done, I mopped the kitchen, I put away about 18 pairs of little shoes, I picked up little scraps of paper from all over the floor where the girls had a scissors party, I finished my lesson plan for tomorrow, I watered the lawn, I put away the dishes, I did some laundry... and it's 11:55 and the only thing I still have to do besides brush and floss is.... put away the last of the clean dishes, move the laundry, make Celia's lunch, pack the music class stuff, print out all the music class stuff, and get back into bed between Minnie Mouse and the other one who won't know that I broke my promise.

Since I Have the Time

Hi Friends.
I made it.
We did it.
We had a birthday party the same day I had to work, and 100 people exactly made it through the gate in the backyard to join us. So if you made it, thanks for coming, and I hope you had as much fun as Celia and Effie. There were no meltdowns, no tears, (except when Effie begged to fall asleep with the biggest tootsie roll known to mankind), thanks to you the clean up was manageable, and we all ate enough.

The adults taking over the jumper is always a fun time. I think jumpers may just become mandatory for parties in which we can not afford a 12 piece live band. ?? Why not.

And.... the days are crazy.. but for some reason now that the party of the year is over, I feel chill. I can think straighter. I don't have little details about plastic forks and appetizers on my mind, and all I have to do now is try to manage thank you cards.

Effie has become my new dishwashing partner by the way. She's good at it too. All I need is a chair for her to stand on, a good amount of soap, and I just pass her the non-glass - non-sharp - eating utensils. She just scrubs, and ends up taking a scrubber to her arms and body, but it's all good. Now that I know she can manage to stay there next to me for the 20 plus minutes it takes me to do a load of dishes, it means I don't have to save them for when she's asleep. And Celia is always down to dry - but she can't reach the cabinets, so I put em away. Fair enough.

She still isn't that into getting to school though. She likes to say "I'm too tired for school mom, but I'm not too tired to stay home with you and Dad today." Everyday she surprises me lots of new spanish vocabulary. It's pretty exciting really that she's finally getting it. And Effie likes speaking spanish too. Her favorite word is "rosa" and she loves to answer "Si, mama" to everything I say to her.

The little rosey cakes just woke up from bed right now with a nasty fever. Damn flu season. I took her to the kitchen to hit up the over the counter Mexican meds I've been stashing, but no luck. She didn't want any. Not even Grape Tylenol with sugar. To make matters worse she's wearing the biggest, fluffiest, most uncomfortable looking Minnie costume as pajamas tonight. I couldn't convince the child out of it, so I thought I'd change her in her sleep, but because of the sickey, she's not asleep deep enough to do that. She keeps saying "Not off my Minnie Tostume! It mies pajamas mommmm!"

Poor thing. Just when I was feeling good about everything starting to chill out, she has to get sick. Yuk. Poor baby. Well, I guess that means chicken soup for lunch tomorrow.

As usual I just wanted to check in with you friends out there. Take care. Lets hope Effie recovers as quickly as Celia did from her bug last week. Be good and THANK you all for all your help at the party, for all of Celia's beautiful gifts, and for spending time with us. I'm a glutton for punishment when it comes to parties but in the end it's always always worth it.

Toe Still Hurts.

And 2 weeks of Kindergarten down already. Can you believe it.

I'm assuming it's going well for my first born because:

1. She doesn't complain.
2. She doesn't hesitate to leave in the morning.
3. Always has a smile after-school.

She has said the day is long, and she prefers staying home all day with mom and dad, but hey, if we were your parents, you'd say the same thing, so who can blame her?

And Effie... is so cute. I'm gonna have to start posting video, cuz she is the most beautiful funny thing I have ever seen in my whole life. She is still wearing her Minnie Bathing Suit, or Snow White Dress almost everyday. She always says: mom - did you wash mys minnie bayding suits? You washed it? Fors me? Oh, tank yous moms. So cute.

Today Celia said: "do you remember those people who came to our house to visit Earth? Remember - they stayed in my room, and came from Mexico to visit Earth? And we took them to the bus stop?"

That was funny. She was talking about guests we had from Mexico earlier this year, and how they visited California - but it was too funny to me that she didn't realize Mexico was also on the same Planet as California. hahahaha.

And since I last wrote - I've gotten busier and busier and busier and busier. I have 5 Music Classes to teach each week - not including 3 extra Piano classes on Saturdays. Back at the Arts High School 3 days a week, and trying to plan a birthday party.

Oh - We'll be at Disneyland on Tuesday after 2pm if anyone wants to join us. It's Celia's bday, and we are looking forward to getting back there. It's been a long 2 weeks without Disneyland. Ha.

And besides being busy - it's nice to be outside again, after the fire madness has subsided. And it wasn't too hot today so we got to walk. And my dumb stubbed toe still hurts, but was ok enough to begin walking again - so now I feel like a normal human. Did you go outside today? Well, it was NICE.... I must say. We took the girls out to ride bikes and scooters in front of Hoover High School, and it was mighty lovely.

Last night I made it to the New Bev at Midnight to see Breakin 2 -Electric Boogaloo. I won't write about it, cuz the name and title of the movie alone must make it obvious that I had an amazing time.

I just wanted to write to check in - and let you know that we are surviving Kindergarten the best we can. The hardest part is getting the kid out in the morning on time, and getting up so darn early, but it's proven to be good for all of us. I think.

Adios Amiguitos.