Arianna's Baptism

Yesterday, Junior and I got to baptize my best friend's daughter Arianna. I speak for both of us when I say we were extremely honored to be picked. We both LOVE Arianna to death and look at her as if she is one of our own children. Jazmine is my best friend and also the Godmother of my son Diego, so I was so happy that she chose me to be Arianna's Nina.

So it was a very great day. She was the ONLY baby being baptized yesterday. Usually they do up to 20 babies and sometimes more but this month only one baby was signed up so we got a very personal and intimate ceremony . It was actually really nice!

Also it was cool because she was baptized in the church where I had my quinceañera 8 years ago! The church looks totally different because back then the alter was a stage that had a cross hanging over it and that was about it. There was a podium and a chair... but nothing else. Now it's really very beautiful!

So here are some of my favorites... unedited:

It was WAY too hot to dress her beforehand so we waited until we got to church to dress her.

There's the beautiful dress we bought her!

Nino, Arianna, and Nina

Jr stealing a moment with Arielle before we started.

Hanging around

4 Generations

Me and my Goddaughter

Arianna being blessed by the Deacon

We are now officially proud Godparents

Jazmine, Junior, Arianna, Me, and Andrew

The Parents

Me and Arielle

She's such a goober now!

My Family

Update and Father's Day Pics

I have a new layout! Yipee! I was getting tired of just the black. I worked on it all day yesterday. I still have more to add but for now this makes me happy. And I switched from a 2 column to a three column and that took some work. Now if I could figure out how to get the ugly border off from around my title I would be even happier... I am working on it though...

So I've been really busy lately... hence the lack of posts. First, I baptize my Goddaughter tomorrow so I've been busy with that all week. I should go back to my regular blogging after tomorrow. Second, all of our computers in this house or messed up in one way or another (still). My laptop won't turn on AT ALL. My Dad's will turn on but won't connect to the internet AT ALL. And the family computer will connect to the internet... but none of the icons are showing up or the bar on the bottom where the start button is. So we cannot access any folders or programs unless I plug in my external memory and open it up using the internet. Very frustrating... thus making it harder for me to access any pictures or anything to post.

Also I am planning Alayna's Birthday party and DIYing mostly everything... so that's keeping my busy too... in between running around and taking care of the kids.

But I promise I'll get back to normal because I have a lot of pictures to share.

Speaking of Pictures... I do have these from Father's Day to share. They aren't edited so because I have a new camera to play with and haven't quite gotten around to figuring out all the setting... they are a little overexposed it looks like. But anywho... here they are:

Arielle's First Time in the Pool
And surprisingly... she LOVED it... not one cry.
Daddy loves his baby girl
Mama's Boy - Juanito and Jen
Tallynna, Diego, and Brianna
My precious nephew Juanito
My brother who adores his niece Arielle
The kids were put into time out for not following pool rules. And Juan thought he'd punish them more by splashing them. Meanie!

Jr and the Little Mermaid
What are they all planning over there... they look to mischievious!
So tired after a long day...
Me and my Princess Alayna (Picture taken by Brianna)
Diego Ray Lightning McQueen

SYTYCD Top 18

Ok tonight was kinda ok for me. It wasn't as exciting like last week where I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. And this week I found myself wanting to doze off.

So here's the order in which I liked the dances:

1.) Courtney & Gev
This dance was so pretty it gave me chills. Maybe Courtney was a little more aggressive than Gev... but I really liked it. It was raw.

2.) Kaytee & Joshua
Again.. they are awesome! The only reason it's not at number one is because although it was great at fast and right on... I just like the emotion in the contemporary routine.

3.) Chelsi & Mark
The are oddly perfect! I really enjoy watching them... they are consistent.

4.) Kherington & Twitch
I really liked the performance! It was pretty and Twitch is just impressing the heck out of me! Wow he was good. I knew he would have potential. Beautiful dance.

5.) Chelsea & Thayne
I didn't get the dance at all. It was ok I guess but nothing impressive. They did the routine and will get by. Both are great dancers.

6.) Kourtni & Matt
As much as I like Kourtni, she seems to be struggling! And Matt is still an awkward dancer to me.

7.) Comfort & Chris
Both of them needed to put forth more effort. I was disappointed that Comfort didn't rock it!

8.) Jessica & Will
Will is very good. But Jessica just bugs me now... I don't really care for her or her routines. She drags will down definately though.

9.) Susie & Marquis
They suck... enough said. Marquis is a very good technical dancer but neither of them are good enough.

So you see who I think should be bottom 3 couples... but as for who should go?
That's hard... it's a toss up.

Girl: Susie
Guy: Marquis but I wouldn't be sad if Chris left.

What about you?

RIP Little Buddy

I didn't want to add this to my previous post only because it was a little off topic but it's still part of the awful Friday the 13th that I had.

I get a phone call from my cousin Rebecca in California last night. Her pet guinea pig Henry died. She's had him for a few years and has always been attached to him. I've never seen someone love their pet as much as Rebecca loved Henry. She goes on to tell me that they thought he was depressed because he wasn't acting like himself... and so they took him to the vet. Turns out Henry was actually a she... and that she had developed a tumor that spread and wouldn't be making it through.

She was crying. And after the night I had I could totally feel for her. I am so sorry this had to happen.

So Becca... if you're reading... I am sorry about Henry. We all loved him. The way he squeaked every time you came around... the way he squeaked when he heard the fridge open up, and how good of a pet he was. And cute too by the way.

And Henry... I hope you have a plethora of lettuce up there in guinea pig heaven!

Friday the 13th is Awful

So I wake up yesterday morning and I realize it's Friday the 13th. Wow. Cool. I hadn't even noticed it before then. So I get ready to start my day. I feed and bathe all three kids, myself, and make sure my husband gets ready for work and are out of the house by 10am. It was gonna be a good day since I had a play date at my friend Lindsay's house with some girls from our playgroup... or so I thought...

I get to Lindsay's house at 11:00, right on time, and I am the first one there. Cool. I am never early anywhere I go! So the kids are playing and having a good time and us mom's are sitting around talking. I get a phone call from my mother in law and it goes a little something like this...

Me: Hello
MIL: Hey how are you doing is everything fine? (Sounding kinda anxious and worried)
Me: Yes everything is ok... (sounding kinda confused by her tone) Why?

Then I tell myself... I am on the phone with my Mother in Law... she's a strange creature. Her and I don't get along much anymore (we used to up until a year ago when I got married) and she never calls me... So we continue...

MIL: Is Jr at work?
Me: Yes I dropped him off a couple of hours ago... why?
MIL: Where are you at?
Me: I came to my friend Lindsay's house for a play date with a group of moms and all of our kids. WHY?

Can you sense that I am still not fully understanding why I am even on the phone with this lady?!

MIL: And the kids? How are they?
Me: They're fine. They're playing. And they've been good.
MIL: Oh ok... well God bless you guys and I love you.

Ok totally weird.

So I am left with a weird feeling after talking to her. Her and I don't have the best relationship. Long Story. But it stems back from the fact that she can't stand me, or my mom, and although she pretends to... she can't stand my sister either. My sister and I are both married to her two youngest sons (which drives her crazy that we "took" them from her (as she puts it) and we all used to live here at MY mom's house. Although my sister and her husband are now in their own house, Jr and I are still here at my mom's. And nothing drives her more crazy than to see her son depending and putting his trust into any other female... whether it be me (his wife) or my mom (his mother in law).

It's no secret that we've had our share of problems with money and what not. Most are from bad choices we made when we were younger... but a lot of it is just pure bad luck. Because no matter how hard we try to fix our situation... as soon as something starts to look up for us... we're quickly reminded how much our life can suck.

So she does everything in her power to kick us when we're down. And she hates the fact the my parents are the complete opposite and no matter what problems we face they help us out. She HATES it! But come on... I am not begging for support here... we truly have had a hard time. I personally thank God everyday for my parents. They love me and my family... and without them I certainly don't know what we'd do. I don't like to seem like I hate her... because in reality I don't. She's a nice and sweet person some of the time... but pretty much ever since I have known her she makes Jr feel like he's a screw up... like he's not good enough... and like he's not worthy of her love. (This all from his own mouth... and also from the confirmation of seeing it happen first hand.)

So back to my story. So since we only have one car... I dropped Jr off at work in the morning and drove to Lindsay's house. I left her house a little before 4pm and Jr didn't get out of work until 7pm. So to kill time I decide to go to my BFF Jazmine's house so that I wouldn't have to drive all the way back home before going to pick him back up. It was a hot day and gas is $4 a gallon! So I hang there for a while and then leave again to pick up my husband and get home after a long day. As I am turning into the parking lot the car makes a funny noise and sounds like the engine had stopped but the car was still on. I thought maybe it was because the AC was on full blast. So I quickly shut off the AC completely... we were already there after all. And continue to accelerate a little and the car goes back to sounding normal. It freaks me out a little bit especially since I have my 3 kids in the backseat. So I see a parking spot right in the front and quickly pull in and park. When I am parking the car slightly jolts like if I had pressed on the breaks but I hadn't. So I park it... shut off the car quickly and text Jr that I am outside.

He comes out not even 5 minutes later and I tell him that his car just started making funny noises as I was turning into the parking lot. He turns the car on to see what what I am talking about (of course laughing at me because I know nothing about cars and can only describe things by showing him visuals and adding sound effects)... he sees that something is definitely wrong and turns off the car... all the while repeating a profanity over and over. I remind him that the kids are awake in the backseat and the slight overuse of the "F" word is not a good idea. He lifts the hood and says, the car overheated and it sound like you blew the engine or the gaskets. I stand there semi confused because he's speaking in a foreign language and staring at him to see if he by chance would translate what he just said into terms that maybe I could understand. Well he doesn't and I watch him unscrewing this cap that he says is to the part that holds the water... and after a few minutes of trying to get it unscrewed the cap blows off shooting some green-tinged water all over the place like Old Faithful. Luckily I had already been standing far enough back that nothing happened to me... but my husband was splashed with this hot, icky water. After completely scaring the living daylights outta me and making me scream... I run to get my kids out of the car for fear that it may just explode... not likely of it happening but hey... that's what I thought.

So we call my mom to come get us since she was just getting off of work and worked near there. We sit and wait for her (outside of the car) and I see Jr's mind racing a mile a minute. That's how he gets when something happens. He stresses about and it and it's all he can think about. So I of course start feeling really bad. He sees my face and asks what's wrong. I ask him, "Are you mad that I broke your car? I didn't mean it. I don't know what to do if a car overheats... and if you don't want me driving it anymore I understand. It's probably gonna cost a lot to fix it huh?" And he says to me, "Don't worry it's not your fault. I didn't check it to make sure it was running good enough for you to drive it. It's gonna cost us a lot but we'll figure it out." Of course I feel so sad because Jr does everything he can to make sure me and his kids are always taken care of and happy and it hurts me to see the disappointment in his face. Not towards me, but towards that fact that he struggles so much, after all he just started working 3 weeks ago (after more than 6 months of not having a steady job, moving to Tucson and then having to move back, etc)... and things can't just be good... they only get worse.

My mom finally arrives, it didn't take her very long, and we decide that the kids and I will go home with her and Jr will attempt to drive the car to his mom's house to see if we could keep in there for 2 days until Jr could figure out what we need to do to fix it.

After we get home I call him to make sure he made it to his mom's ok. He sounds upset.

He tells me that his mom picks a fight with him and tells him that his car is broken because of his own fault. That he never does anything right... that he sucks at life... and no she isn't gonna let him keep the car there... and she's not helping him with anything so not to even ask. He tells her that he doesn't want her help with fixing the car but that all he wants was to keep the car there until tomorrow (his day off) when he could go back and try to fix it. She then goes on to say that maybe if his wife (meaning me of course) wasn't such a horrible mother it would have never happened. (What that meant or had anything to do with the car is beyond me but she likes to start drama... it's her nature) This makes him furious that he drags me into the conversation (because he knows how many times she's talked bad about me to my face and I stood there and took it out of respect for her being his mother) and he asks why she's saying that. She said that I am a bad mother because when she called me earlier in the day I was at my friend's house... and that I shouldn't be focused on taking the kids over to other people's houses and be more focused on making sure the kids are going to their Dr. appointments. What this meant... again... beyond me. My kids all go to their doctor regularly... they are all up to date on their shots. Diego has an appointment next month for his physical since he is starting kindergarten, Alayna has her yearly well-check in September, and Arielle is only 2 months but is current on her shots and is doing perfectly fine. So when I hear this I am outraged at the fact that she is being mean over something that doesn't even make sense. I am not a perfect mother but I do my best everyday to do what's right for my kids and for someone like her to say that I am unfit is ridiculous. She doesn't know what kind of parent I am when she only sees me like once a month. And my parenting skills or lack of, have nothing to do with the car overheating.

Jr gets home and my mom and I are waiting for him in the computer room. (yes he did drive the car all the way home like that) He immediately breaks down into tears. I have NEVER in the 4 years we've been together seen him cry. I didn't know what to do but throw my arms around him and tell him over and over that he doesn't need to focus or stress over negativity... and know that he has a wife and 3 kids who love him more than anything. Seeing those tears roll down his cheeks and onto his dirty muscle shirt brought tears to my eyes as well ( I am tearing up just thinking about it again)... but I contained my emotions because I didn't want him to feel even worse. I am not sure what my mom was feeling at the moment but she did tell him... "I may only be your mother-in-law but I love you too". That definitely brought tears to my eyes. That was an emotional moment for me because 4 years ago she couldn't even stand Jr. And now she's the only one who is there for Jr and I. (Along with my daddy of course).

So it was a tough night for us. We went to bed early. Well earlier than usual because 11pm is not early.

And now that I have had time to clear my head I sit here with pure frustration and anger that his mother could be so mean. I know that's how she is. She belittles all her children, plays favorites with them, and turns them against once another... and as if that wasn't bad enough... she disowns them at the drop of a hat. It makes me very sad that a woman can be like this to her own children. And makes it even worse when it starts to affect the one person who means the most to me (along with my children of course)... the person who has sacrificed so much to make me happy. I hold nothing against her but I don't think that I could ever look at her the same way again. Sure down the road he might forget all about this (he's got a good heart and always does) and decide to reconcile with his mother... but she's caused so much damage to him in his life (all from when he was growing up) that I can't see past this. She can hate me all she wants. She can think the worst things about me, and I can just brush it off because there always has been/and will continue to be people who don't like me. But how can she hate her own flesh and blood?

Goodbye Rayven and Jaime

Last night I had a chance to gather my thoughts on elimination while watching the whole show again with my Daddy who was catching up from being in Mexico for 2 weeks. And I concluded that the women are definately the stronger dancers this season. None of the men jump out at me and say WOW! They're all good I am not gonna lie... but I am not swayed in any male's direction as of yet.

So I thought ok bottom three couples would be: Matt & Kourtni, Jaime & Rayven, and Marquis & Susie... yes I know Jessica & Will messed up royally... but they would be spared. Ok this was soooo not the case and Marquis & Susie were safe? This boggles my mind!!

My votes to leave were Rayven and Matt. Rayven is good but just doesn't have the IT factor for me... I think she's a great dancer, I just didn't really like her. And Matt... I'll say it again... he's awkward! There's just something funky about him. But of course he stays because he's the only one remotely tall enough to dance with Kourtni. I don't think Jaime should have been eliminated. This makes me sad. I really liked him and don't think they gave him enough credit.

So until next week...

SYTYCD Top 20

OK so I am so happy to finally be able to start watching this show. I've kinda watched the auditions but not fully. Pieces here and there. But once the competition starts I have to watch. So I am kinda taking a page from my Daddy's Blog and doing a weekly SYTYCD post. I will post my opinions and critiques... which I wrote down before I even heard the judges because I don't want to be swayed by them.

These are my opinions on the show: In ranking order from most favorite to least favorite and NOT in order of appearance... (And excuse my overuse of Awesome, Cute, and anything along those lines because I will probably use it)

1. Katee & Joshua's Hip Hop -- HOLY CRAP!!!! Awesome. Ok guys, c'mon after 4 seasons of watching this show, I have to say this was the SINGLE BEST Hip-Hop routine ever. It actually moved me on an emotional and spiritual level. The choreography, the chemistry, the vulnerability, Wow. Katee was definitely the performer and Joshua complimented were the amazing technique. For me, this was perfection, and should rank on some of the best of the series. I was as stunned as Nigel. I completely loved the ending with the exchange of the shirt. Brilliant. Katee just left a sour taste in my mouth after the last show and when I heard they were doing Hip Hop I knew Joshua would do good since he's a popper... but Katee actually left me feeling pleasantly surprised.

2. Chelsie H & Mark's -- I love Mia Michaels. She creates such beautiful pieces and has proven to be awesome time and time again. This was beautiful. She blows me away. I love the balance between beautiful contemporary ballet and kinda quirky. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

3. Kherington and Twitch's Broadway -- Or should I say Twitchington? Both of them are really very good! I was rooting for Twitch since he just missed his chance last year. I thought he might have a hard time with Broadway but he did awesome. he was totally in character and rocked it. Kherington is just a natural. She's so cute. They totally remind me of Musa and Natalie from last year who I loved to death too! These two will go far.

4. Chelsea T. and Thayne's Cha-Cha -- It was HOT! Definitely Hot Tamale Train status! Thayne reminds me a lot of Benji! And Chelsea is absolutely stunning! Wow what a great body. The whole dance was great. Lots of energy. Since I have nothing to complain about then I will just say she does need to move her hips a little more for a cha cha. It wasn't enough hip action for me. But it was great!

5. Comfort and Chris's Jive -- Aside from far too much personality overriding technique, I felt this was actually a pretty good routine. It certainly showed Comfort was no "slouch" in the showmanship department. She surprised me because she is a hip hop dancer. Now while I think Chris is not a tree, and I do predict he'd be the boy most likely leaving the competition this week, he really has to bring it, because he is liable to be easily lost in the crowd.

6. Kourtni and Matt's Jazz -- I gotta say this was a little better than the judges said. The choreography was cool. I liked the routine itself. Matt is too gigantic to be up there doing the jive and maybe that's part of the problem. Kourtni is a way good dancer though! I think he kinda brought her down.

7. Rayven & Jaime's Hip Hop -- I have to give them credit for being the very first number of the whole entire season let alone the show. It was pretty good and I think Hip was right to start the show off with tons of energy. I don't have anything special to say about the dance in particular but I do have to give props to Jamie, which the judges didn't seem to at all. He popped, locked, and funked like the best of them. This guy has a lot of energy and is very versatile, and it's too bad the judges didn't see that. The routine itself wasn't that bad, it just wasn't particularly memorable.

8. Courtney and Gev's Disco -- I thought I was watching the same show as Nigel. While he and I agreed about the best routine of the night, I have to say I COMPLETELY disagree with him on this one, and I'm sure America will too. Disco is about personality and lifts. He focused too much on the details of the technique and less of what the couple actually brought. Those two have a great partnership, one of the few couplings whose personalities both shine, and I agree with Mary and Dan on this one. Nigel was WAAAYYYY too harsh. He did almost drop her more than once but the routine was fast and hard. Technically they are not all the way up to par... but it's the 1st week. Cut them a break!

9. Jessica and William's Tango -- Hmm, I greatly disagree with Mary on this one. How can she be saying that Jessica had major technical issues then proclaim them the couple to beat? Do not get that. It was hugely overrated. Yeah, Jessica is pretty good... and I like her a lot, but the character tonight and the technique were not right. YOU DO NOT SMILE GLEEFULLY IN A TANGO! William was good too, but he needs to show more personality I think. I think they could do SOOOO much better.

10. Marquis and Susie -- Its the waltz. Its boring. It was messed up. The only good part of the routine was that Susie actually demonstrated shes more than just a Shakira wannabe. I think she could improve some more. I give her points for effort though. Marquis, WHY WERE THE COMPLIMENTING HIM! I wanted to scream at the judges because he nearly stumbled on his pirouettes and was on the verge of dropping Susie in multiple lifts. Yet they praise him. Wow....just no. This routine gets my lowest score because of so many obvious mistakes that were made.

So that's it. All in all a great kick off show! It's very hard because I didn't completely dislike anyone.
My votes for who to leave?

Guy: Matt or Marquis
Girl: Rayven

Who are your favorites and not-so favorites?

Jenni's Baby Shower

On Sunday I went to my friend Jenni's Baby Shower. It was thrown by her sister and she did an amazing job! From the decor, to the food, to the fun... it was a beautiful party. And Jenni got a butt load of gifts! Little Tristan has everything he needs and wants already!

Of course I took my camera... and I took a few pictures (because I was busy with Arielle), but unfortunately never noticed that I had it in the wrong setting. Boo! My pictures don't look so nice so I had to edit them a little and I am still not at all satisfied with them. It makes me sad. But here they are:

They had a jungle theme since little Tristan's room will have the same theme. I personally love it because it was the same theme I was planning on having if Arielle had been a boy.

Such and awesome diaper cake! I love it.

We got to leave advice for Jenni and it was put into this cute leopard box!


We mingled for a while and then it was time to start opening presents. She had sooo many that they were opened in intervals, in between games and such.

What a cute idea to set her up a nice place to open gifts. I do this at my kids parties but it never turns out right.

What did I get her? Among some clothes... I decided to make her a scrapbook. It took me over a week to put it altogether. All she has to do now is fill it with pictures of Tristan! I loved making it for her and I hope she enjoys it. Plus all of the knotties sent me advice and well wishes for her which I included in the book.



Then it was on to some games...

Lisa and Chelz smelling dirty diapers! Don't worry it was just chocolate...


Lindsay's turn
It's hard to tell what chocolate they are... so they had to discuss their opinions.

Jenni taking a hard look at the diaper. Get used to it... some weird things come out of babies... I know this.

Lisa

And Tiffany won! Yeah!

I was almost kid free. My mom took Diego and Alayna to the movies to see Kung Fu Panda and I just had to worry about Arielle. She did so good! And even napped for a while.

Mommy and Arielle

Then it was time for cupcakes!

They even matched the theme complete with zebra striped liners.

Here's Jenni and her sister who hosted the shower.

And here are the knotties!

I can't believe how much we've gone through girls... engagements, wedding, and now babies! This is our 2nd baby shower together. (The first was mine for Arielle) And we'll probably have many more soon!