A trip to Hollywood

Ok so my birthday is coming up in about 28 days... and seeing that I was born in Hollywood California... I figured I'd showcase some pictures from a Girls Only trip to Hollywood that I took this summer. It was my first time there and I just wanted to walk all the famous streets you see in movies. We only spent a couple hours there so we didn't see a whole lot. I hope to go back again and take the star tours to see famous houses! I've also never been to the wax museum and would love to do that. We did have a lot of fun though.

We parked right across from the very famous Roosevelt Hotel. Marilyn Monroe posed for her very first ad on the diving board of the pool here. And it's said she also haunts this hotel. Her image is said to occasionally appear in a full-length mirror which used to hang in her poolside suite, but the mirror is now next to the elevator on the lower level. I would love to one day go inside and possibly stay here.

Here we are... on Hollywood Blvd. And the excitement begins.

Our first stop. Man's Chinese Theater. Wow what a site. We didn't go inside but we walked around and looked at all the prints in the cement.

There's my hand compared to the Governor hand. Big difference!

My cousin's Alexis and Jessica standing in front of the fountain. All the change that is thrown into this fountain is collected and donated to Hollygrove. Hollygrove is an orphanage where Marilyn Monroe lived in her youth until she married at the age of 16.

Here I am measuring my hand to Marilyn's. And I love her little tiny heel prints!

The next stop... Kodak Theatre. Home of the American Idol Season Finale. The place is huge!!! And not to mention gorgeous inside. We decided to pose beneath the signs that describe each of us.

Here's my aunt Kika under her sign.

My sister in law Jennifer... the self-proclaimed white girl. But being in our family for 8 years now, I think she's just as Mexican as us.

And my cousin Rebecca! Enough Said!

Looking for a restroom... yes sometimes we have to stop and pee. Especially with a pregnant sister in law.

My aunt said, "No Rebecca, I know your secret, you don't belong in here."

Me and my daughter Alayna waiting for the rest of the girls to finish using the ladies room.



The staircases were gorgeous inside the Kodak. This picture doesn't do it justice. And me and my cousins walked up and down them many times.

Then it was time to head on home... but not before we got some Starbucks...



And some souveniers... of those that we admire.



And of course a trip isn't complete without posing in front of Marilyn's Star.

And last but not least, the El Capitan Theatre as we walked to our car.

My name is Michelle and I was your tour guide for today. I hope you had fun on my journey in Hollywood.

The Missing Blogger...

So I have been MIA for quite a few days now. Yes, not too cool. But let me just tell you my story.

On Friday night I thought I felt my daughter a little warm and thought that maybe she was coming down with something. My mom said that she wasn't warm and maybe I was imagining it. Well that could have been the case because I've been a little sick lately and maybe it was me who was warm and not her. Well, mother's intuition was right and she woke up Saturday morning burning up! So right away I gave her some children's motrin to bring down her fever. She was pretty much her normal self. She had a little soup to eat and was playing with her brother like usual. But by noon she kept complaining that she was cold. Seeing that she was burning up still... my mom put her in the bath and tried to cool her down a little. We dressed her and she was still crying that she was cold and wanted a blanket. Now every doctor I have ever talked to has always told me that when a baby has a fever, to take off all their clothes and don't cover them with a blanket. But as hot as her body felt... her feet were cold as ice and she was shivering... no ex that... TREMBLING. Finally we made the decision to take her to Urgent Care.

My daddy accompanied us to Urgent Care. While we waited her played with Alayna to keep her busy. It was cute. They took her back rather quickly. It wasn't too bad of a wait. She was miserable by then and very tired. She fell asleep for maybe 10 minutes while we were waiting for the doctor to see her. Once the doctor came in and woke her up she was mad! She screamed and wouldn't let them touch her. We had to forcefully give her some motrin. She had a temperature of 103 and they thought she had an ear infection. We went home and that was it.

She pretty much was whiney and miserable the whole rest of the day. We didn't sleep much and I was miserable.

On Sunday morning we woke up to the same thing. She was still running a fever. She was still crying all day. And this time she wouldn't eat. My kids are rarely ever sick so this was draining for me. I have a 4 year old who doesn't really need a lot of care just a lot of attention. He loves to talk and although he's very independent and does most things for himself... he does demand a lot of attention from me. It was hard to balance listening to him and caring for a very sick, very whiney, very hot-headed two year old little girl. And then being pregnant and dealing with everything that goes along with that... boy was I at the end of my rope Sunday night. My husband took over and I got some much needed rest.

Monday morning I wake up to her crying for some juice. I get up and discover that she doesn't really have a fever anymore. I made some french toast for breakfast and to my surprise she actually ate a piece! I was thinking things were finally looking up. Boy was I wrong... way to rain on my parade. After breakfast she then started to complain that her mouth hurt. I didn't think anything of it though. At lunch I made some soup and she wanted a bowl. I started to feed her and when she opened her mouth I noticed that she had sores in her mouth and on her tongue. I called my husband at work right away. He said to call my mom. We decided to take her back to the Doctor. At this point she couldn't even drink out of her sippy cup and her mouth looked a little swollen. The doctor took a look at her and decided that they looked like fever blisters from her having such a high temperature. She prescribed some medicine that would somewhat numb her mouth to make it more bareable but there was nothing we could do to make them go away any faster. She said that they could take 7 days and maybe even longer for them to fully go away. Until then we were to give her soup and cold things to drink. We bought her some otter pops and that's the only thing that seemed to soothe her somewhat. But she still wouldn't eat any food.

Today... well that wasn't any better. It's 8:01 pm as I am writing this and she's only had a half a bowl of soup to eat all day. Nothing to drink at all. She doesn't even want otter pops at this point. What kids turns down ice cream? Well the one that is really truly in pain I guess. She looks like she's been in a fight and some one got her good right in the kisser. She's has only stopped crying for a total of maybe 45 minutes ALL DAY. There was a point in the afternoon where I really though I was gonna lose it! Not because she was being annoying but I could see just how much pain she was in. She kept saying that she was hungry but any attempt to put soup into her mouth and she'd start crying again. As a mother it breaks my heart to not be able to fix whatever is wrong with her. I felt so helpless just sitting there watching her cry and hold her hand to to her mouth saying "ouchie".

I finally just had to get up and walk into the other room. I couldn't take it anymore. As I sat there thinking of what I could do... I suddenly realized that she was all of a sudden so quiet. All I could hear was my sister blow drying her hair and my nephew splashing in the bathtub. And if you knew my daughter... you'd know that that was a "uh-oh what is she getting into moment". Well I start walking around the house looking for her and I find her...

Yes I find her alright...

Not where I'd imagine to find her... or how I imagined to find her...

Yes... there she was...

In the bathtub... with all her clothes still on... splashing around happily.

What was a mother to do? I let her splash and play for 10 minutes in her clothes. Hey it kept her quiet! The most quiet I had had all day!

The rest of today has been the same though. No eating, just crying. But Daddy is home now and it's his turn. So that finally gave me an opportunity to sit here and write. Thanks for listening to me ramble on and on. It's been very theraputic for me. I needed this. Hopefully I won't go this long without a post again. But with kids life is unpredictable and who knows what tomorrow has in store for me. I am heading to bed early tonight. Talk to you all later.

First Day of Preschool

Today was a monumentous day for me. My 4 year old son started pre-school. I totally wasn't prepared for it at all!

I got a call Monday morning saying that Diego was accepted into the program and that I had an appointment on Thursday (today) at 11:30 to meet his teacher and fill out all necessary paperwork. So today, I took him to the school and started the process to enroll him. It only took half an hour and I was getting exciting for him. He was gonna be a pre-schooler! She filled me in on all the rules and activities that will go one this month and mentioned that he would be placed in the afternoon class which is from 12:30-4:00. After we were all done with paperwork, his teacher says... "Ok we're all done! See you in half an hour for his first day."

What?!?!?!!

So soon? I definately wasn't prepared. My husband and I had been picturing in our head of the day we'd both drop him off for his first day. The first thing he told me before I went was... "Don't forget to let me know what day he starts so I can get a lunch break to come home and take him." So I hurried up and called him right away after the initial shock wore off and apologized that he couldn't be there. He called my Best Friend who is Diego's Godmother... to come and join me. Luckily she called in sick to work today so she rushed to the school and made it right on time.

We both walked him into his class and I signed him in. Since he's in the afternoon class the first thing they do is feed them lunch. So right away Diego washed his hands and sat down to eat. We said our goodbyes. He kissed us and that was that. But I couldn't walk out the door. I kept looking at him hoping he'd be sad because I was leaving him alone... but no. He didn't even look to see if I was gone because he was in his own world. My friend and I just kept standing there staring at this little independent boy. And it was then that I realized that he didn't need me... and in reality it was I who needed him. A piece of me wasn't ready to let him go yet. I wasn't fully prepared. And although I knew that this day was fast approaching, I didn't know the rush of emotion I would feel. A few minutes passed and my friend and I looked at eachother with tears in our eyes and finally walked out.

A second later the teacher's aide walked out behind us and asked me... "Is this his first day?" To which we responded yes. She said, "Wow! He's doing great!" And before I could say anything, my friend replied... "Yeah, but we're not!!!"

So we walked back to the car in silence. Each of us reflecting on what we had just experienced. How could this baby be so grown up? It'll probably take me a while to get used to this but I know it's a good thing for him.

So congratulations Diego! Mommy loves you!

Maternity Photo Shoot

I love love love maternity photos. There is something so precious about them. A glowing beautiful woman and a growing baby.

I took these 3 years ago of my cousin Vanessa, when she was pregnant with her first child. Now she's currently pregnant with her 3rd!! They still remain some of my favorite pictures I have ever taken.

I am trying to convince my husband to let me get some done professionally a little closer to when I am due... I'm due in late March. I would really like something like this as a memory.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Everyone please help me wish my Daddy a very Happy Birthday!

I love you Daddy! Hope today is a good one!

The Boy Who Loves Cameras

My 4 year old son Diego takes after his Mommy and Grandpa... he LOVES taking pictures! So my camera was MIA for a couple of days so I asked my husband to help me look for it. After looking in every place that it would usually be... I said to my husband... "I bet that it's behind Diego's bed because the last place I remember putting the camera was in the top drawer of the file cabinet." (And the file cabinet is at the foot of his bed)

So I lift up his matress and there it is! Of course it was dead so I couldn't even get it to turn on. So after I put it to charge, I go over to Diego. And I ask him, "Diego, were you playing with my camera?" To which he responds No. I said, "Are you sure?" And of course he still denied it. So I ask, "Then what was it doing behind your bed?" And he says, "Maybe Alayna put it there."

So I left it at that even though I knew it was him. And when I finally was able to turn on my camera to download my pictures... This is what I found...

Alayna digging in the top drawer of the file cabinet

Alayna's foot while she was sleeping

The Culprit who loves taking pictures of himself

The rest of the incriminating evidence

And there was way more but this was all I needed to make my case.

Digital Scrapbooking

It's no secret that my favorite thing to do is take pictures. But I also have many other hobbies and interests. Anything that lets me be creative, I can get into.

When my son was born (4 years ago) I decided that I was going to make him a scrapbook to document his whole first year of life. I bought a scrapbook, some paper, stickers and all that good stuff. I figured that since my daddy loves pictures just as much as I do... that maybe he'd want to join me every Friday night in making a page for our books. So we started doing a scrap night every week and soon we'd both completed a whole album. It started to get pretty expensive after a while and we stopped doing it.

Soon after I discovered digital scrapping. It the same as on paper except that you use various programs to put together a page that you can later print out. I love to use photoshop. And I prefered this method because it gave me m0re room to be creative with my pages. I could alter pictures... create my own paper and elements... and that provided me with endless opportunities while keeping money in my pocket! And not only that... but I could print multiple copies of the same page for different albums if needed. To me, it was a better way of preserving my pictures.

So now... I would like to share with you some of my favorite pages. That I have made in the past 3 years of digital scrapping.

Kids at the Park

I took these pictures of my kids playing at the park. Everyday is a photo opportunity for me! I am NEVER without my camera and my kids are so used to it that they don't even notice me anymore.