My 31st Birthday!

You know my 30th birthday was such a big deal!  I was leaving the 20s behind and entering a more "serious" decade in my life.  Then out of no where is my 31st!  What? When? How? But, I didn't do anything but have my mom cook me her delicious mole, then just spend the evening with the company of my parents, kids, sis and hubby.

My sister made the cute and yummy cake that you see Santi digging his little hands into, trying to devour the icing.  The kids then proceeded to lick all the icing off the bottoms of each candle (luckily there weren't ALL 31 on there).

Then the night simply ended my me heading home and watching some MMA.  Nothing big, just a nice quiet night.  I guess "old age" will do that to you.

Chris' Jiu Jitsu Tournament

So, Chris has competed in almost 5 tournaments since he began his jiu jitsu career.  He has taken 2nd or 3rd and is working like an animal to one day bring home a 1st.  But, no matter what this kid just keeps make me more and more proud as time goes by.  The first tournament he ever competed, I almost lost in and began to shed tears seeing my kiddo out there trying his hardest to pull of victories.  Now, I'm just the annoying mom who's screaming out instructions (not really knowing what I'm talking about).  I say things like "get him and you know" and "just turn you know, just go Chris." How annoying and I know he's thinking it as the match is going on.  He has his medals all hanging in a nice corner of our office.  I'm sure one day I'll be posting him with a even bigger smile displaying his 1st prize medal and when he becomes and official black belt.  But more the mean time, I'll just continue to watch my little guy.

The start of a busy week!

Monday!  Too much to do too little time!  I had to insure that I made time to help Chris rebuild his newest Lego set, which included a gas station/car wash that Santizilla managed to destroy with two swipes and nearly bring Chris to tears.  So he and I managed to squeeze in about 30 minutes tonight to do so and tomorrow we will finish building the gas station portion and well as a red car.  I will soon have to post pictures of our finished project.
    On top of helping my kiddo with his stuff, I had to get all the darn grocery shopping done (Chris helped me with this as well).  And I am still up at this hour helping people with miscellaneous projects, as well as putting together thank you cards, working out and squeezing in my relaxing shower.  I'll probably be up  too late and have to get up to early, but it's the life of a busy mom.

What a weekend!

Yesterday, we celebrated Chris' 8th birthday (I know he's growing up so fast).  It was a simple event, no big huge jumpy or tons of kids, just our family and a few cousins.  We bbq'd Joel's famous chicken and everyone absolutely loved it.  Chris spent most of his afternoon having a Super Mario Soccer Tournament with his cousin Jandio (and a few of us would sprinkle in to join in on the battle).  Then we enjoyed a wonderful cake made by my Tia Cuca, who's visiting us from Rhode Island.  Then on to opening gifts, where Chris made out like a bandit with more Lego sets then his little heart could hope for. as well as some much needed new articles of clothing.
     Today was his actual birthday, but all he needed was his table and some peace and quiet from his little bro, Santiago because he was so mega busy building most of his Lego sets.  Then we followed it by ordering him pizza that he absolutely loves as our own mini celebration.
     The kids are off to sleep and I'm up past my bedtime, but I loved this weekend and loved all the great things that went on with the family today.  I want to just take a moment to thank everyone that came and know that Chris, Joel, Santi and I are really appreciative of spending time with our boy this weekend.

Let's Give It Another Go!

I'm back!  I've been very negligent of what I said I was going to try and do with some of my free time.  I've realized that I watch too much TV and need to start keeping track and sharing the wonderful moments that my family and I experience, so that other members of our family can peek in from time to time.  So I've committed to at least squeezing in about 30 minutes a day to blogging and I vow to enroll myself into a scrapbooking class, so that all these pictures that are saved on my iPhoto library are used for more than just hogging up space on my drive.  So wish me luck and you should be seeing future (as well as some past) photos and moments posted.

Jelly Belly Trip

We decided to take the boys on a FREE trip to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield.  Santi did surprisingly well waiting in a line to enter the factor tour.  Chris was so excited to be there and more excited to hear that he would get to sample jelly beans.

This picture clearly demonstrates Santi getting more and more impatient with the line!  So cute though.

Once we entered the tour Chris was so thrilled to pose behind the jelly beans wallpaper and proudly wear his Jelly Belly hat.  He was disappointed to find out that the workers had the weekend off and he would not be able to see the actual production line.  But learned a lot of great things about how jelly beans are made.

     At the end of the tour we were all given a sample bag and the whole ride home Chris was making us jelly bean cocktails.  Even better, both boys were sound asleep and we got to enjoy a quiet evening.
   Great trip!!!

Camping @ Ocean Cove

We decided to take a family camping trip up to Ocean Cove.  It was our first time headed to this area and it was absolutely gorgeous!!!  I could have definitely done with out Highway 1's winding roads because I was so nauseous after driving up.
     This is also the first year we take the kids on a camping trip and I was so stinking nervous and scared.  I knew that Chris would always be on his best behavior, but Santi is a WHOLE other story.  The trip ended up being such a great experience for the entire family and there is proof in the joy the following pictures will demonstrate.
     We did the usual cooking, eating abalone for the first time, jumping into the water, exploring the beaches, staying up late around the camp fire.  I'd have to rate this as one of the most special and memorable trips.

New Year's 2009!

Well, I can't believe that another year has gone by! Where does the time fly. Chris is now 7 and Santi is 13 days away from turning 2. There are many things that are rolling around in my head that I need to change and things that I want to change. I definitely am ready to improve my health, at this point in my life, I am at the worst I have ever been. I'm ready to start attacking the weight loss, drinking more water and adding more fruits and veggies to my diet. I'm ready to begin a successful career in real estate. I know I'm going to be great at it and put our family back on track financially. It's time to turn that around for sure! I need to start spending more quality time with my children, no more plopping them in front of the television so that mommy can get a "break." My children deserve more and time waits for no man, before I know it the kids won't have time for their mommy and will be moving on to start their own lives. Tonight, I'm going to clean up and start thinking long and hard about my goals and what direction I need to take to attain these things for myself and family. So wish me luck and let's hope that 2009 is going to be a complete 180 from what happen to me last year!