Sometimes Change Is Good

Only my husband can push me out of my comfort zone and get me to do things I wouldn't normally do on my own.

About a year and a half ago he made me go and get my ears pierced. I am kinda afraid of needles and don't deal well with pain so I never wanted to do it. After some convincing from him, we went to the mall and I got them pierced. Didn't hurt as bad as I thought.

So two days ago he was at it again. I was complaining that my hair was too long and needed to be trimmed. Now he loves my hair as much as I do and has always said that if I cut it he'd be mad at me. But he suggest to me that I should do something completely different to my hair. So I say... the only thing that will make it look different is cutting it very short. I've had long hair pretty much my entire life and never really worn it any different. So when he agreed that I should cut it short I was shocked.

So off we went to the salon.

I was so nervous. I must admit. But once I sat in the chair I had this surge of braveness and told her chop it off and hurry before I changed my mind! So she cut it and we didn't look back. Yes... it was scary... but I donated the hair to Locks of Love. The ONLY other time I've ever cut my hair it was even longer than I had it now and I also donated it. So I knew I wanted to do that again.

Like my husband said. Hair grows back. And my grows fast. So I am happy to donate the hair... and now I feel free. And I won't get headaches as much. LOL

So here she is cutting off my hair...
That came off my head! Nooo!

I couldn't believe I actually went through with it!

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And here's the Final product! Tada!

I like it... but it's taking some getting used to.

What's in a name?

Princess Arielle

So my Dad has a hard time understanding why we pick the names we do. I figured I can explain. Naming our kids is fun. We love the names we've picked and Jr and I pretty much don't have a hard time agreeing. So let me explain...

Arielle: I love the movie "The Little Mermaid" and have always liked the name Ariel. Jr and I decided that any girls we had would have "A" names because we tend to like them better. So I mentioned Ariel one day and he liked it. He also suggested to put -ELLE at the end instead because my name also ends in -ELLE. So her first name was born.

Marie-Grace: My first thought for her middle name was that I wanted it to be hyphenated because my husband's first name is hyphenated. His first name is actually James-Henry... he goes by James... but we call him Jr. I think it's very unique so we started thinking. I like very simple middle names. So Grace popped into my head.

The day we found out we were having a girl was Nov. 15th 2007. That was my Grandma's birthday who passed away 21 years ago. Her name was Graciela. I found it ironic that I was thinking about the name Grace if we were to find out it was a girl... and the day we do find out happened to be my Grandma's birthday. So we decided Grace would have to be part of her name. Not only that... but my mom's middle name is Graciela and we wanted to honor her as well.

Nov. 15th also happens to be my Mother-in-Law's birthday. Her name is Maria Teresa. Jr wanted to honor his mom as much as I did mine... so we decided Marie would fit perfectly with Grace. Also his Grandmother was named Maria Elena.

So we got to name her after her 2 grandmas and 2 of her great-grandmas!

So it might have been a long name... but we put so much thought into it. Her name is very special and we love all the meaning behind it. It fits her perfectly and I love it!

Labor of Love

I was induced Friday morning. And we are now proud parents of another beautiful baby girl!
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Labor was fairly easy. Of course I am a wimp and got the epidural, as I did with my first two babies as well. Hey I'm not trying to be a hero! Although with this one... I did have about an hour of hard contractions that brought me to tears before I got it done. But from start to finish my labor only lasted a little under 7 hours. Thank Goodness!

Here I am getting ready to push. Not in any pain but we had to wait for my Dr. to arrive, and for 15 long horrible minutes I had to resist the urge to push. So they put me on oxygen because the pressure was intense and I was having a hard time breathing and concentrating on NOT pushing!
But as soon as the Dr. arrived I was able to push. 15 minutes later, I was a Mommy again! Best feeling in the world!

She was born on April 4, 2008 at 3:11pm

Wow! My biggest baby. She weighed 7lbs 9oz. and was 19 inches long.
So how was labor my mom asked? There's my answer...

With an epidural... piece of cake. LOL

Here I am holding her for the first time. Definately an emotional moment. Then I FINALLY got to eat. My mom is the best!

And she got to bond with Daddy for the whole night while Mommy rested. My poor Hubby only got 1 hour of sleep because he was taking care of us. He's the best! So meet Miss Arielle Marie-Grace!
Here she is bonding with her big brother! He's so proud of her already.
Here we are just waiting to be discharged so we could take her home!

Sweet Baby... Made With Love

Jr and I would just like to say Thanks to my Mom and Dad for coming down here to help us this weekend. Arielle was definately surrounded by love coming into this world. Mommy, thanks for everything you've done for us especially! You are Wonder Woman... and we can't say Thanks enough. We all love you!

Jr, Michelle, Diego, Alayna, and Arielle

I Pity The Fool...

The conversation went a little something like this...

Via Text
My Sister: You're going to be a Tia again!
Me: To who?
My Sister: Us! (Meaning her and my brother-in-law I guess...)
Me: Really? Are you sure it's yours?
(Must have confused her cuz it took her a while to respond)
Sister: Well, duh!
Me: Oh I see.
(Pause)
Sister: That's it?!
Me: Oh yeah... April Fools to you too.
Sister: Jerk!
Me: I may be half asleep still... but Stupid I am not!


You can't fool me!

Have you ever been pranked or played a good April Fools joke on someone?

My Princess Alayna

I have a little Princess and her name is Alayna Danae. She is 2 1/2 and one amazing little girl! Sometimes I think how can I have room in my life and heart for ANOTHER princess? She may be a brat... but there is a side of Alayna that only I see. She is super super sweet. She loves to cuddle and be hugged and kissed. She is soooo girly. The dresses, the shoes, the hair, makeup, and nails. Everything! She hates getting dirty. She loves to sing and model. And she's quite the actress whether she tries to or not. Yes. Drama Queen! One little body with so much personality and attitude that's for sure! She's definately a free spirit and is usually dancing to the beat of her own drum.

She's like my little best friend.

So I wanted to showcase her in some pictures that I took after the birthday party on Monday. They definately to me show her personality.

See the princess? She loves to wear dresses but plays rough in them too. We have to constantly remind her that she's a girl and should be showing her chonies. She's catching on...

Rockstar Hair! She was the only one at the party with Purple hair and Green/Blue nails. All the other little girls were in pink. And as much as she is an all pink kind of girl... she also shows that she doesn't always follow the crowd. She does her own thing... free spirited.

Her prissy little stance! Showing off her cool chanclas quite proud of herself for making them. She loves to model and show off what she's wearing. And she puts together the weirdest outfits! But she has her own style.

But she's still my little baby. Sweet and innocent.

I hope she's ready to share us with a little sister. And I hope that she is able to adjust quickly to the new changes she's about to face. She loves babies... but I don't know how she will react to a baby taking her place.

Rockstar Diva Birthday Party!

Cassidy the birthday girl!

On Monday afternoon, Alayna was invited to a birthday party for one of my friend's from theknot daughters. She turned 5 and had the cutest rockstar party ever! It was girls only, so Alayna and I attended while Jr and Diego spent some quality time together.

So what was on the itinerary? They got to do a craft, paint their nails and toes, get their hair done, and just be little divas for a few hours. They girls were truly adorable!

Of course I had to take a lot of pictures!

Here's Alayna making her flip flops that she got to take home with her. Such an easy project! We just tied the material around them and instant "cool shoes"!

Ta-da Mommy! All done and proud of her work!

The diva process begins... with the flip flops and a pink boa!

Little Kaylee (the daughter of another knottie)

Isn't she just the cutest little thing... flirting with my camera!

Oh look at the attitude... she kept saying "Don't touch my nails Mommy"

Next it was her turn to get her hair done.

It was so cute because all the girls got to pick what color they wanted to paint their hair... and they also got sprayed with glitter!

All done!

She wasn't mad... she was just getting tired so she looks like she was crying or something.

Now here she is getting her pedicure done. She was attracted to that bright blue color. She got it on her fingers and her toes. Kinda funny because usually she's a pink girl.

And fixing the nails she messed up!

Look at those adorable little piggies!

Blowing the nails to make sure they dried this time.

They took all the girls outside for a group photo! Don't they look so cute?

After everyone was all done... they ate cake and opened presents.

We had so much fun and Alayna enjoyed it so much! She's such a girly girl!

Diego's 5th Birthday

Today my oldest baby turns 5! As I sit here pregnant and just about due with my third baby... I wonder... How the heck is time going by so fast? I just want to keep them all little forever and ever. But obviously that is never going to happen as Diego has proven. He is one independent little boy. He no longer wants to be called my "Baby"... even though I try to explain to him that he will ALWAYS be my baby no matter how old he gets. I feel with each and every day that he needs me less and less. I try and hold on to the baby in him but somehow I feel him slipping away. I understand he's starting a new point in his life... he'll be a kindergartner this fall and I will then have to share him with the world. But I must admit, I am selfish and wish I could just keep him home with me forever.

So in honor of my little man... I wrote a little poem and made a slide show for him. Happy Birthday Diego Ray... and many many more! Mommy loves you!

Yours was the first heart
I felt beating inside of me.

Yours was the first kick I
felt that warmed my heart.

Yours were the first eyes I
looked into and glimpsed a
small reflection of myself.

Yours were the first hands
that gripped my finger and
grabbed a hold of my soul.

Yours was the first smile
that filled me with joy.

Yours was the first cry that
was music to my ears.

Yours was the first laugh that
brought peace to my heart.

Yours was the first love that
made me understand the joy of
motherhood.

You Were First.

Diego,

I have always loved you. All my life I imagined having a child of my own. It was my greatest ambition to be a mom, and then you came along. And when you were born, I was born. The real me with a new reality, a new world, a new hope, a new purpose... That was you. So much a part of me and yet so completely you.

I love you.

Those words mean more than you’ll ever know. I carried you close to my heart all my life until I met you.I live my life for you, my first child, my first baby... The one who made my dream come true. I thank God for you. For who you are and who you are turning out to be.

There’s nothing you could do to make me love you more, except be who you are… forever!
I will live on through you whoever you turn out to be will always have a little part of me as well as your children, and their children. Our bond is immortal.

Sometimes I feel you put a lot of pressure on yourself to be perfect or to set the best example for your sister. I always want you to know that I love you just the way you are. In my eyes, you're as close to perfect as anyone can get.

I love you. I love you. I love you.