Video Time!

It's short movie time!

Here are some recent mini videos I have taken in the past month... Grab some popcorn cuz there are a few...

This is always one of the very first words in any of my kids' vocabulary...

This is what I go through everytime I leave the house without the kids... but usually it involves more kisses and hugs than that...

One night we were watching SYTYCD and I guess Ducky and Alayna were paying attention to all the partner dancing they do... so they decided to try it out themselves. One girl, one boy, and a well choreographed routine!

Arielle giving Grandpa a massage... she sees Diego do it all the time so she likes to do it too.

Arielle is like a little puppy sometimes... and it makes her excited...

This is Layna trying to tell me a story but she is easily distracted...

Ok so here's her whole story about one of her favorite movies... Can you guess what movie she is talking about?

Sometimes my daughter just likes to break out into dance...

This show is like mesmerizing for kids... and it's my godsend. It keeps all kids quiet and settles down... yup. Yo Gabba Gabba...

And Arielle is little Miss Bossy and likes to chat her life away...

One fish, Two Fish...

Summer in our household means the kids wanna do a whole lot of swimming. All 3 of my kids love the water. Diego is a great swimmer now. And my Dad is teaching him how to dive. And Alayna is a pro with her floaties. But she will not even jump into the pool... even with the floaties on...

That was until tonight...

I was cooking dinner and my Dad offered to take Diego and Alayna swimming for a bit while I finished up. Exert their energy, work up a hunger, and then send them to bed tired. Of course I was sooooo surprised when he comes to the door and calls me out not even 5 minutes later to show me this:

I cannot tell you how proud this makes me! It's amazing to see her overcome her fear out of nowhere like this! That's not Alayna at all... she's stubborn and likes things her way. And for her to just take off those floaties and jump in, is like a miracle. Just a few days ago she wouldn't even jump from the wall with floaties.

And what blow my mind is... I woke up and this morning and told her, "Alayna your birthday is in one week from today!" I can't believe my baby girl, my princesa, my pride and joy will be 4 years old next week. This is really starting to hit me all of a sudden. Her baby years are slipping right through my fingers and I can't grasp them long enough to freeze time any longer.

So I took another video to document this occasion:

So they swam a good 45 minutes and then it was dinner time. And boy were they happy about it. Out of nowhere they started chanting about how yummy the food was. I had to capture it on video too. They were so funny. They must have seen it somewhere because they broke out with this in unison.

Silly Kids!

4th of July Festivities

Busy week kept right on going with a busy weekend!

Saturday:
The 4th of July happens to be my cousin Marya's birthday. She turned 19 and so we were invited to her house at noon for some lunch. My aunt made some really good food and my cousin Gaby baked her a cake and some cupcakes. Nice little gathering!

Here's my Daddy and my niece Tallynna.


Mmm cupcakes


Marya and her niece/Goddaughter Fernanda


Happy Birthday Beautifu!


After her little celebration... we headed back home because we had decided to bbq that evening. And we had lots of family over.

Here are my girls in their 4th of July attire


My brother being... well... HIM!


Oh no poor monkey!


Once everyone arrived they went swimming



While my lovely husband started the grill


And drank some soda...


I love this man!


But my favorite part of the WHOLE day was when the kids did this:







Who needs fireworks right?

Well apparently not us because we decided to forego a fireworks show this year. It's like the first year in a LONG time that I haven't gone to see them. But we did see a few from the backyard as the neighboring stadiums put them on.

So the kids just kept on swimming and playing








And we kept right on grilling and eating... It's what we do best.

Kika is an awesome cook!


Sunday:
My friend Tiff invited us over for a BBQ at her house. I love Tiff... have I ever mentioned that before? Well I do. She's a very good friend.



Jr finally got to meet her husband Kevin. It was fun. The kids and Jr swam. We ate. I drank a bit of Sangria.


Arielle enjoyed her new pool toy



Thanks for inviting us Tiffany!

The Week Is A Blur...

Seriously with the schedule I have the weeks fly by. One moment it's Monday then the next day it's already Saturday. I can't believe that in 4 more weeks Diego will be going to 1st grade and Alayna will be starting pre-school. Crazy.

We've been taking full advantage of the summer and having lots of fun though!


Wednesday:
We took my Mom to her Dr. appointments... My kids know this spot all too well. This is in the hallway just outside the office. We don't go in with her because the office is tiny and with 3 kids and 1 stroller it's just too much. But the view is cool. And on Wednesday it was windy and threatening to rain out there...


And later on that evening it actually DID rain...



Thursday:
I went over to my brother's house because my sister-in-law agreed to help me with tons of Alayna's birthday decorations. Her birthday is in 2 weeks so we are in full planning mode... I have so much to do.


Meanwhile my neice Brianna helped feed Arielle...




And Arielle screamed her head off the whole day. Not uncommon for her. And she has the highest/loudest scream ever. Drives us crazy! She's uncomfortable and fussy when she's not in her own home... so she drove us up the wall.

Until, Jennifer gave her this toy to play with...


And she was happy for at least an hour.


And then we ended up spending the night there... And Jen and I stayed up cutting out decorations until 2:30am... we're dedicated. LOL


Friday:
We just did a lot of hanging out.

Diego was really really attached to this kitten (Jen's cat had 4 kittens and only 2 are left... soon it'll be just this one left as the other has a home already). He was so cute walking around carrying the kitten.
He was so sad that he can't have it... because my parents won't let us have any pets at their house.




Isn't it cute? And I am definitely not a cat person... but it's too adorable. Even I could agree.




And Arielle was fascinated but it too... she looked for it whenever Diego put it down.






Later Diego brought out the black kitty (so it wouldn't get jealous) and Arielle wanted to kiss it...


She kissed it like a dozen times.




Then Arielle shared her love with me... she was in a very loving mood! (Pictures by Diego)





And Brianna went outside to play with their dog Rosco. But since my kids are afraid of him, namely Alayna, she had him on a leash as she blew bubbles for him.

Rosco loves bubbles!



He caught it!






It was a fun to spend time at their house... but then we went back home...

And the kids and I watched the Princess Protection Program for movie night! We popped popcorn and got settled in... oh and took some pictures to to commemorate this bonding occasion.



What? We like to have fun!

Alayna's First Haircut

Since before I ever had a daughter I always knew I wanted her to have long hair. 

Most of my life up until I had kids... I always had long hair. I loved it. It was my pride and joy. It was beautiful. If I can scan some old pictures one of these days... I will show you. My parents never cut it... except occasional little trims just to keep it healthy but nothing noticeable. The very first time I EVER cut my hair I was in the 4th grade. And it went from past butt to above my shoulders. Talk about drastic. I really wanted it done because for 10 years I only knew long hair. I remember my Dad never wanted me to cut my hair. He used to always say he's be mad if we cut it. And when we did we were scared for him to see it. Now if you know my Dad, like really know him, you know he doesn't get mad. So it wasn't like we really feared him... but we knew he'd be shocked. I can't remember if he liked it or not... "Daddy, did you like it?" Probably did... my Daddy doesn't really care. And after that I kept it just below my shoulders until 6th grade. I always missed my hair and grew it out again (btw my hair grows REALLY fast anyway) and continued to have looooong beautiful (well taken care of) hair until I had Diego. And I chopped it off to above my shoulders again. And grew it out. Then chopped it again when I had Alayna. And grew it out again... and chopped it off again not even a week after having Arielle. Yes... I am weird. But guess what I am growing it out again. And everytime I do cut it all... I donate it to Locks of Love. It's so special what is done with the hair... and I feel proud when I can give that gift to someone else. I've done it 4 times in my life.

So, I get off track, but the story was... Jr and I decided before we ever even had out daughters that if we had girls... we wouldn't cut their hair. Everyone knew how strongly we felt about this. My parents really understood because they too did the same with us. (My sister was in 2nd grade when she first cut her hair) And both him and I loooooove long hair. Simple agreement right? 

Wrong. 

We went on a cruise in 2006 to celebrate my parents 25th wedding anniversary. Some 20 family members joined us and all without kids. At the time we only had Diego and Alayna. And for a week we left them with my Mother-in-Law (who wasn't my in-law yet since we weren't married). On the last day of our cruise once we finally docked back in San Pedro, California we called my mother-in-law to check on our kids. She then informed Jr, in an evil way might I add, that she had cut our 1 year old daughters hair and given her bangs. Of course Jr makes the mistake of telling me this while we're still on the boat waiting around to be called so we can get off. I was beyond furious! Furious can't even described how mad I was. I couldn't believe that my monster-in-law... err mother-in-law... had the audacity to cut knowing that it was one of the only things I was so passionate about. One of the things I wanted to save for a time when we could do it together. It was something SO special to me. Weird... maybe... but I always envisioned taking her for her first haircut. I had to wait another 36 hours before I even got back to Phoenix to pick up my kids.

To say we were mad was an understatement. We arrived to have her rub it in our face that she cut her hair. Of course she pretended it to be innocent and even saved me all the hair they cut off. What I did after that was a blur... I remember a lot of yelling on my part, more yelling on Jr's part,  and some crying from his Mom after all was said and done. (Don't get me wrong my mother-in-law can be a nice lady... but 95% of the time she likes things her way... and she's used to ruling her kids lives.) Oh an a door flying off the handle. It was a really big argument. (And we've never had a huge one like that ever again... I think she got the point with me. She still tries sometimes... but she hasn't crossed me again.) Needless to say she didn't see her Grandkids for almost 8 months. Yes we were bitter... hair is nothing to be mad overthere was nothing we could do about it. It wasn't just about her hair... obviously hair grows back. But it was about the principle that she never respected us enough to follow our wishes. No matter how crazy she or anyone else thought they were. She was is our child and we want to raise her and groom her as we please. So we put it behind us... and still continued to never cut her hair.  (And just so you know... I never kept the hair)

Well today we woke up and Jr's verbally running through a list of our agenda for the day. And then he asks... "Alayna's birthday is in a little over 2 weeks and so is her party... should we take her for her "first" haircut." (It is her first okay? That incident was erased from memory) So we did.

Nothing special. They took 2 inches off the bottom and gave her a few long layers. Anyone else may not notice a huge difference but it was enough for Jr and I... and her hair is back to being healthy and easy to comb. It was getting really tangled and I would spend too much time trying to comb it out. But today I popped the brush in and in literally 30 seconds it was all untangled. Sooo much better!

Anywho... after all my long stories... here's some pictures to document this special occasion. And I hope when we really chop her hair off for the first time... we can also donate her hair to Locks of Love.

She really liked the whole process... she thought it was fun sitting in a chair and getting her hair washed...

See how her hair came to a point at the end... and it was SUPER thin down there too.

Hair goes up... thumb goes in... this relaxes her... soothes her.

Right before they added her layers

All done! Not dramatic but we can see the difference!

She's such a goober sometimes... she was saying "I love my new haircut!"

And she requested a picture of her "new face" in the car... like her face had changed or something... Haha.

What's On My Tube?

Weekends are a great way of catching up on my DVR shows. Usually I have a jam packed planned out weekend... but these past few days have been very low key. No plans. Nothing. So I did just that... snuggled in my bed with my remote and a soda watching my shows.
So I figured I share with you people... What's on my tube:


So You Think You Can Dance: My favorite show of all time! What I love about this show is the diversity of dance they present and how awesome the routines they come up with are. Every week there's something new to amaze me. I jumped off the American Idol bandwagon and never watched it last season. It's just not there for me anymore. There's no passion in the show anymore. There's no emotion. And with SYTYCD almost every dance can touch you. And you can plainly see these dancers are passionate about what they do. This season has been awesome! The top dancer were ALL good... and it's so hard to see anyone go each week. It's so entertaining the show flies by. I love love love love LOVE this show!

The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Season 2 just started last week and OMG it was an incredible one hour.... SOOOOO much stuff happened! Let me tell you about the show. It's about a girl named Amy (shown right) who is 15 years old, a band geek (pretty band geek) in high school, and she ends up pregnant by the most popular guy in school who is nothing but trouble. A rebel kid who is in foster care and has a troubled past. The show depicts a whole group of high school students and their sex lives. Molly Ringwald plays Ann, Amy's mom who is going through a divorce. It's kinda a great show because it really does show everything Amy went through once she found out she was pregant. Telling her parents, going to the Dr, dealing with school and gossip, growing up, maturing, and even deciding if she wanted to keep her baby or have it adopted. The show is funny and real. I laugh and I cry. It's very positive and talks about all the issues teens face when it comes to sex, peer pressure, and family life. 

There's a little of everything Amy the innocent girl, Adrian the slutty girl, Grace the cheerleader virgin,

 Ricky (the guy who got Amy pregnant) is the rebel, Ben (Amy's boyfriend) the geek, Jack (the Christian Jock), and the parents who are trying to raise them with all their own problems. It's really a great cast!

At the end of the first season Amy decides to keep her baby and she gives birth to a baby boy, who her sister names John. This 2nd season is proving to be as incredible. So much happened in just the one hour season premier! SO MUCH! And it looks like AMy is going to have to learn that having a baby so young is more work than she could have ever imagined and even though her parents love her, she'll need to grow up and start doing things on her own.

If you've never watched it I really recommend it... especially if you have teenagers in your life. Very insightful to the way they think. Tuesdays Nights 8/7c on ABC Family

Jon & Kate Plus 8: I know I know... I shouldn't watch this show. But honestly I can't stop watching. The kids are so cute and it's fun to see how a family with 8 kids functions. Sure they don't show everything but this season is very real. I have cried numerous times watching this marriage fall apart. And I don't even feel like Kate is only to blame. Sure I can agree that they put on a huge front for the sake of the show. But your job is what keeps your family afloat and after so many years of doing the show, without it, they would have a tough time taking care of their 8 kids. It's not impossible... normal people do it all the time. But this has been their job for the last 5 years. It's so sad to see all the stressed in their lives finally get the best of them. You can see Kate wants to continue with the show and her books whereas Jon wants a more normal life now. It's a hard situation to be in... but I can't help myself and still watch the show every week.

16 and Pregnant: This is a show on MTV about young girls who get pregnant. It documents

 their pregnancy, up until the birth, and after. Each episode (1hr) highlights one girl and her journey. It's eye opening for teenagers. I identify with the show a lot... maybe that's why I watch it... because I had my first child at 18. The only difference is, these girls mostly don't have a support system, and I always did and still do. It's sad to see how lost these girls are with no one behind them. Interesting show. Some of the girls grow up right away but others try to still be teenagers and think someone else will take care of their child.

So those are the main shows I watch... among other reality TV shows. I love reality tv... no matter how scripted some may be. I enjoy seeing other people live their lives. I guess it's just fun to see how different my life is from theirs. I learn a lot sometimes... and it's quite entertaining... especially all the drama.

Yet Another Trip to the Park

My friend Jessica and I took our kids the park yesterday to have a picnic. After having lunch... and Gustavo feeding his to the birds... the kids ran in the grass for a while. And it was a little warm but cloudy so we didn't have to deal with the sun beating down on us.



But it quickly turned into a photoshoot for me...

Diego:





Alayna:













Arielle was NOT amused with Alayna and her continuous posing:


But she kept watching her regardless:



Then Gustavo even joined in on the fun... and he LOVED posing then running to me to show him the picture:







And finally Jessica joined in on the fun...







And after that we drove to my mother-in-law's house so all the kids could play together.






This is my nephew Luis:





After we went home I caught Alayna and Arielle playing through the sliding door... Alayna was "helping" my Dad with the pool and Arielle really wanted to go out there! (sorry our door is dirty... we had a Luau the other day)


Then the girls got ready for bed (Diego went to spend the night with his cousin) and they LOVED modeling their pj's: