Birthday Wishes!

Today, I would to send birthday wishes to 3 very important people in my life. My mom turned... well she turned 30 today! 30... because my older brother is 29 already. Wow he caught up to her quick! Also my two cousins Valerie (14) and Alexis (15). It's funny to have 3 people on the same side of my family share a birthday. So happy birthday to you all! And many many more!

(Alexis as a baby)

Now I especially want to tell you about my cousin Alexis who turned 15 today. Here she is. Isn't she gorgeous?

Alexis holds a very special place in my heart. She's my little cousin, and she's my friend, but she's also so much more. I am 8 years older than her but I have also felt like she was a daughter to me. Yes, I understand that it would be quite impossible for her to be my daughter with such an age gap between us... but that's what I feel.

I have watched Alexis grow up to be a beautiful young lady. When she was little, she was my mini-me. We were ALWAYS together and she followed me everywhere. I never got tired of her. She did everything with me and I used to love dressing her like me. We matched a lot of the time. Pretty much we were inseperable. And of course I grew very attached to her.

By the time she hit her pre-teen years and I was a teenager... we didn't spend as much time together. But I always tried to make sure she knew I was there for her. I watched her accomplish many things. She has made me proud in so many ways. I don't know if she even knows this but she has.

I've watched her grow into her own person and discover who she is. She is beautiful both inside and out. She loves everyone and although she is quiet and reserved she has a heart of gold. I see her take care of her younger brother and sister and love them when most people wouldn't even want to put up with them. She loves her parents and you can tell by the look in her eyes. Ok so maybe her mom stalks her from windows with video cameras... but it's good to see she is rarely embarrassed by her parents. Once you realy get to know her you'd see that she is funny, loves to read and always has her head stuck in a book, she loves animals, she also enjoys watching scary movies which is something we definately have in common, and she truly just has a love for life.

So my baby, today on your "quinceañera", I wish you all the best that life can bring to you. You are a hard worker and I know that you will go far in this life without a doubt. It doesn't matter what you decide to do, you will succeed and make a difference. My life is better because of you... better because you are a part of my life. I want you to always know that I am here for you whenever you need anything. I love you more than words. Happy Birthday.

Love your cousin Michelle

Alexis and my aunt... the lady resposible for raising such a wonderful child

My New Pets

I've been dying for a puppy for some time now. But living with my parents has prohibited me from owning one. My daddy hates pets and won't let us bring a dog to the house. Even if I promise to take good care of it. So as we were walking out of the house two nights ago... my husband walked into the rocks in front of our house and caught me this!

I don't know how he saw it in the dark, in the rocks, and with him being sooooo tiny! He's no more than an inch and a half long including his tail! Growing up in Arizona we're used to these little lizards everywhere. Not a day goes by when we don't see a few. After he picked it up (Can you tell he grew up here in the desert? These suckers are quick and he's a pro at catching them.) he came over to me and said, "Baby, I got you a pet. He proceeded tp show it to me. I had no idea what he was even doing in the first place so I was scared at what he might show me. But it was a teeny tiny baby lizard.



I always have my camera on me so I immediately snapped the above picture!



We brought it into the house and remembering that my Brother-in-Law had an unopened brand new reptile tank... we went to his room and showed him my pet and he quickly got up to open the tank. My husband and his brother were like little kids putting the tank together and playing with the lizard... who I was calling "Tiny".



Soon my sister and nephew (my kids were in bed already) came over to see what all the commotion was about. My nephew was so curious to see what was in my husbands hand. So my husband holds out his hand to show him and the lizard jumps out of his hand and onto the floor. Panic broke out and my husband quickly picked up the lizard before we lost it under furniture. My nephew had us laughing so hard because he kept saying, "No I'm scared!" The best part was when he came over to me and said, "Tia, I'm scared... No! The dinosaur is gonna get me!" He had us in tears laughing so hard. So with that I decided to name him Dinosaur... Dino for short.

(This is Dino in his new habitat)

After he was all set up my husband decided that one was not enough and he went into the front yard and caught me another one. This one is regular sized and not as cute. But he did it for me and that's all that counts. Plus who finds so many lizards at 12:00 at night?

(This is T-rex... but I call him Rex for short)

So now I have two little pets courtesy of my husband Junior. I may not like creepy crawly things... but he sure does know how to make my day (or night in this case) because he thinks of me always. He said I wanted a pet and for now this was the best he could do. To go through all the trouble of setting up a home and catching them for me is incredible. I can't believe he he thought of me when he saw a baby lizard. He the best, more than I can ask for!

Baby Juan Jr Part II

I just can't get enough of this kid right now... so I'm sharing with you 2 of my favorite pictures from this weekend. WOW! Two posts in one day? I'm setting a personal record!

These are some little slippers I bought him while he was here this weekend. I LOVE them so much and he looked adorable in them!

A weekend with my nephew Juanito

This Juanito. The newest member of our family. He's 2 months old. And this weekend (yes the WHOLE weekend) we had the pleasure of babysitting him... along with his two older sisters, my nieces Brianna and Tallynna.

And let me tell you this was an experience. It was a joint effort put forth by my mom and I. We took turns with him. He put me into practice mode and made me remember what I'll be going through in a few months having a brand new baby. My kids are big now. They dress themselves, they're potty trained, and pretty much don't want my help with anything. So it was like WHOA! All of a sudden I was trying to figure out a baby I knew nothing about.

Throughout the weekend I guess that would be my favorite part. I got to know my nephew. Yes I'd seen him many times in the past two months but I didn't really know him. He likes to smile a lot! He loves to be talked to... and tries to talk back. Of course all I hear are funny baby noises... but he really was trying to have a conversation with me. Another thing is he likes to be held. OH NO! That was bad. I'm pregnant... and already have major back problems... and this baby wanted to be held. I'd say that was the hardest part.


The first night he was with us he didn't sleep very well. I think he was Mommy and Daddy sick. We tried a lot of different things but he just cried and cried. Until finally, my mom wrapped him up like a burrito and he fell asleep. He didn't have an easy night and my mom was tired. So at 6am she was knocking on my door and he was handed off. Luckily my husband is great with kids and he played with him and talked to him and even got him to laugh. A real laugh!


Another thing we learned is that he is indeed a boy! Yes we've seen male parts but that's not what I am talking about. When he would cry we'd prop him in front of the TV and put on sportscenter. It seems to be ALL my brother watches at home and Juanito definately takes after Daddy. He'd right away stop crying and go to sleep! Yeah I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes! So he layed for a long time on my orange body pillow with my daughter and watched sports.

My kids fell in LOVE with their baby cousin more than they already were.

Diego, my son, was so excited when I told him we were having another baby and he demanded that we bring home a boy! (He even told us to keep the reciept in case it was a girl) So for him bonding with a little boy was so much fun. He's such a great big brother already to his sister that I have no doubt in my mind he will be incredible again. All he talks about is that when his baby cousin and baby brother are bigger he is going to show them how to play sports.

My daughter Alayna, has shown me such a different side to her as well. She's very stubborn, rough, and always wants all the attention on her. She's used to being our princess and I have been very worried about how she would react to a new baby brother or sister. My husband and I have agreed to include her in everything so she never feels left out. But knowing her personality and suddenly being thrown into the middle child position might make her rebel. She's only 2 but she has such a strong personality. But she loves her baby cousin so much! She wants to help with everything and was so excited that I included her when I took him a bath, or changed his diaper, and she even helped me feed him. It's nice to see that she may just be able to be okay with having a new baby in her life. Of course I still have to watch her because she loves the baby so much that she wants to be on top of him kissing him! It's adorable to watch though.

So we had a busy weekend but it's fun bonding with a new baby!

We've been BOO-ED!

What is booed?


It's a Halloween take on "Secret Santa".

It originated when neigbors started secretly leaving small gift baskets, a BOO poem, BOO instructions and a BOO sign at a neighbor's door.

In turn, the neighbor is asked to BOO two others, leading to a chain reaction--and Halloween fun. You'd deliver the BOOs secretly to a friend's doorstep--and watch the BOO signs multiply.

People now incorporate this with family, friends, and even co-workers. It's takes a little creativity, a little work, but it's a whole lot of fun!

I have never been booed but I had heard of it before. But tonight, was our night! Out by a little bush in front of our house was a little package. I picked it up and brought it over. It was actually from my aunt but my kids didn't know that. So I showed them the package and they were so excited by the story I read to them.

So right away we got started on our 2 packages. We filled them with halloween goodies. Now we have 2 days to deliver them and I hope our recipients like them!

Kika's Spooky Halloween Party

My aunt Kika loves Halloween so this year she decided to throw a party! Last week we were delievered an invitation by the hostess herself. My son Diego was very excited because he was the one who accepted the invitation. He was honored when my aunt told him that he was invited. As soon as she left he was brainstorming ideas of what he wanted to be. So we came up with Dracula. Of course he's only 4 so he didn't really know who dracula was. I got on the internet and googled some pictures and started telling him stories about him. I told him that he was a vampire and vampires suck people's blood! Typical boy... he was so intigued by my stories. He also learned that vampire can turn into bats and they sleep in coffins. Boy was he ever excited for this party now!

So Saturday was the party. It was so much fun! Everyone was dressed up in costume and there was so much food! Pizza, chips, salsa, cookies, cupcakes, candy, and plenty of drinks! They kids played games to win prizes and they even had a dance party.

My aunt did a great job with her decorations! Her backyard was adorable... I mean spooky!

My Dracula and my Snow White had a good time.

Here's some pictures of the event:

My cousin's Mattew & Alexis... I mean Garth and Wayne

My Rocker uncle Edgar

My parental Unit - The pimp and his "hooker"

My nieces Brianna and Tallynna

I was the Bride of Frankenstein...

Aww me and my my Dracula!

Meet my other half, my husband: James

I am the reflection in his eyes... he only has eyes for me!"

So I got a survey sent to me on my myspace and I thought I'd post it here since I didn't have an idea for today's post.

Meet my other half, my husband: James

Whats his name?

James but we call him Junior. Actually his real name is James-Henry Udell (Last Name Here) Jr. (And trust me our last name is strange and funny)

His Birthday?

*March 7th

How long have you been together?

*Over 3 years

How long did you know each other before you got together?

*Well we'd known eachother like 10 years but hadn't seen eachother in like 3 years

What features attracted you to him first?

*He's skinny... lol. No I dunno he doesn't have like attractive features... maybe his eyes. He speaks through his eyes.

Hair style?

*Ummm not much of one! Usually I buzz him with a one all over

How did you meet?

*We went to school together when we were little

Do your parents like him?

*They didn't at first but I think they have grown to understand and respect him. He's a rough person to get to know. So maybe they'd be better at answering that question.

Does it matter?

*Umm to a point yes... but I was still making my own decision. Now that they know him... I definately value their opinions.

Do you trust him?

*With my life!

Does he let you wear his pants?

*I wear the pants in this relationship! LOL... But I wear his sweats.

Do you have a shirt of his that you sleep with?

*Not one specific... all I wear to sleep are his shirts

Can you picture having kids with him?

*I already have 2 with him... and another on the way!

Is there one thing that bothers you that he does?

*Smoking definately.

Does he have a temper?

*Yes, oh my yes, I haven't seen it in a long time but when you push him he gets super mad! He's definately learned to control it a little better.

Are you happy to be with him?

*Absolutely!

Does he embarrass you in public?

*He tries to. But I am not one to get embarrassed easily.

Does he have any piercings?

*Yes his tongue

Does he have any scars that you know of?

*On the back of his head he has one in the shape of an L... he's got a few.

Is he Outgoing or Shy?

*He's very outgoing! He makes friends with anyone anywhere! I'm like geez!

Does he love his mom?

*Truthfully, they have a Love/Hate relationship but of course he loves her! They just butt heads a lot!

Would he hang out with you and YOUR friends?

*He has to! He loves my friends since I don't have many.

Does he sing?

*No but I get serenaded at bedtime sometimes. Or when we're listening to the country station in the car and my song comes on he sings it me. Ha Ha! He's gonna hate that I just told everyone that!

Does he snore?

*No... I'm the snorer

Do you like his friends?

*He doesn't have any actually. He's like me we don't really hang out or trust too many people.

So in a nutshell that my Husband. He's boring and has no hobbies. But he loves me and my kids to death and never fails to show me or tell me that. And that's why I love him so much!