Totally Random.

First of all, I'd really like to thank those of you who stopped by my blog yesterday and read my post. The comments you left me were very sweet, and I can't tell you how much they all meant to me. To know that there are so many kind and caring people out there, it just brings a smile to my face. No matter what is going on in our lives, there is always a reason to smile. Thank you guys for that!

Now on to my totally random post today. I just got finished eating a bag of m&m's. Well actually I made myself put them away, as it was a pretty large bag. And I felt like I could probably eat the whole thing. So I made myself do it. There was a small argument. But I won. The smart and sensible me, won. :) But man alive, were them suckers ever good.



Just a little while ago, as I was trying to watch Justin Timberlake on SNL, I hopped onto a link and then I get this message. I was totally and seriously bummed. I get this "error" message a lot when trying to view video links. I can view quite a few, but there are some I can't see. Hulu is one of the sites. Huge bummer.

And for the record, if you haven't seen Justin Timberlake on SNL, you should. He is absolutely one of the best guest hosts I've ever seen. (in my opinion). He is hysterical.

Today is the first day that I'm all bundled up inside my own home. I am wearing a hot pink v-neck fleece pull over from Old Navy. And black Fila sweat pants. (also fuzzy socks from JC Penney, but who cares right). Anyway, I just checked the temps right this minute, and it is at 57 degrees. In the "supposed" warmest part of the day.

If I hadn't mentioned it before, I am a HUGE baby, a wimp if you will, in regards to temperature shifts. I'm talking cold weather here. I do not, nor have I ever lived in a climate where white frozen crystals fall from the heavens above. Just has never happened. I didn't own a coat until recently. I'm a Florida girl through and through. So yeah, I'm bundled. The miniature heater is on. And I'm getting ready to break out my parka.

OK, next item on my random list: I let my son sleep with a shovel. It's true. He won't sleep without it. And he asks for it every night. Sometimes during the day I have to take it away from him. He gets a little carried away and will on occasion, hit his sister with it. But every night, like clock work, he asks for that shovel.

How do you guys feel about ipods? Do you have one? Do your children? And if they are begging you to buy them one, at what age do you think it's appropriate to buy it for them? Well. My kids have one. Each. And they LOVE them. Alexa sleeps with hers.

OK, yeah yeah. I know. It's not really an ipod. But my daughter, who is 2 actually started that. My dad has an ipod and he used to let her listen to it. When I bought these for Christmas, she just instantly started calling it her very own ipod. It was cute, it stuck and it didn't cost anywhere near the price. Also, it came pre-programmed with kids music and has an automatic shut off. So it doesn't matter if they sleep with it on, it turns itself right back off. I love it. One of my better finds.

And now I hear little people waking up from their naps. Time for mommy to get off the computer~~

A Thousand Words.

I've debated with myself whether or not to share this with anyone. And well, I'm just at a loss now as I need my blog to help me vent. In this country where I feel alone and very isolated, I need to be able to express myself. And quite frankly, the party involved doesn't seem to care one iota, and hasn't spoken to me since February 8.

Yes, that's right everyone. I have family issues. And it would be great if there were some reasonable and logical explanation for things. Like say, my husband shot my brother in the parking lot of the liquor store over a fight between which team was better. Or maybe I called my husband's wife a two-bit hooker. But none of those things have happened. My brother is not married, and neither one of them would be in a parking lot of a liquor store fighting about any team since they aren't huge sports fans.

Here is where it all started. January 25 was my sister's birthday. (I'll try to keep this short) I invited my sister to the movies (and her daughter). I didn't immediately invite my brother. He witnessed my conversation, as we were outside watching my children ride their bikes. I called my mom from my cell phone and invited her. She declined. And when I stopped there, he made some comments to me about not being invited. I then quickly extended the invitation. By then, it was too late. He was offended. I had wronged him. He didn't speak to me until February 8th.

It was my niece's birthday, and they came over to the house. (My mom's house) They came over to get birthday presents and to have some cake that my mother had made for her. My brother was there too, and he was in another room. He knew that they had arrived. We went to the kitchen and started to get things together to sing happy birthday to my niece. So once we started, he came in late. But he still came. Afterwards as we were getting ready to cut the cake, he started in on my sister. He said something very closely to this, "How come nobody came to get me? Are you guys going to start treating me like Leslie is now?" And honestly, at this point, I snapped.

Really? Like Leslie? Mind you, he has been the one ignoring me since Jan 25 because I didn't extend my offer to attend a chic flick movie to him quickly enough. I hurt his feelings and he chose not to speak to me. During the beginning of the time he chose not to speak to me, I tried, but my words fell on deaf ears. So I just stopped trying. He was mad.

I then directed my comments to him, we exchanged some pretty heated words. For he felt that he was right in his anger and his position. I felt that he was absolutely losing it. For who acts this way? We argued. And he told me that my presence (as a guest in my mother's home) was not wanted and I should leave. I quickly reminded him that at least I contribute to the household. I then went in for an abrupt and piercing comment. I called him a mooch. (by definition: –verb 1.
to borrow (a small item or amount) without intending to return or repay it. 2.to get or take without paying or at another's expense) And by that, I meant that he was mooching from my parents. Living and eating rent free.

And that's where things fell apart. For that hurt him pretty badly. He stopped talking and he left the room. A few minutes later, he met me in the hallway and he handed me the key to my truck. As he always kept my spare. He told me, from this moment on, "You can consider that you no longer have a brother."

Harsh, considering what brought this all about. Extremely harsh. He told me that I was hurtful and mean. He considers not one single ounce how he can be hurtful, or even how ridiculous this whole argument truly was. Over what, a late invitation to a movie?

Yes. Well there is more that has happened since then. And some hugely spiteful acts recently on his part. Before I left the country, I sent him an email telling him that I am sorry. But alas, that was still not good enough.

I'm certain that when my family reads this, it will send him into a tailspin. But this is my blog, and since I need to get this off my chest. That's exactly what I am doing. Thank you for reading.

For more A Thousand Words Thursday posts, please hop over to Jen's blog at Cheaper Than Therapy.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. And I am grateful to all of our service men and women. I am grateful to have the freedoms that they fought so hard to give to each and every one of us. I appreciate the sacrifices they have made, and also those of their families. My heart and my prayers are with those who are now in harms way. May God keep you safe until you return home once again. You are not forgotten. I thank you!

Now I have to talk about something really serious. While I was on Twitter this weekend, I came across a link where someone was talking about some devastating news. I hopped over to take a look. And it was just heartbreaking.

A fellow blogger and mommy, just got some earth shattering news that her two year old son has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. I can't even imagine. I don't know what to say. I don't know this woman or her family, but I certainly have compassion for them, and I don't know what I as one person can do to help her out. But I am going to try. She and her husband are living paycheck to paycheck and they also share one car. While they are making ends meet on a daily basis, it seems that they need some assistance to help them out while their son gets his lifesaving chemotherapy treatments. I have donated some money to them, as she has a paypal button posted on her blog on the right sidebar. Please, I urge you to consider donating something to this family. Even if it is only $5 dollars. I know that we all throw greater amounts of money down the drain each week on frivelous items. I couldn't imagine being in her shoes, and I pray that I never am. But if you could just give a little, I'm sure it would make a huge difference.

If you are unable to give anything to this family, please stop by and give her some love and encouragement. If you are the praying type, she and her family can use all the extra prayers they can get right now. You can find her at Manic Mother.

Now I'm going to go and hug and kiss my babies.

Gi-normous blogroll

I am participating in a blog link-a-thon! Me and about 300 other bloggers out there did too. We listed our blogs over at momdot.com .If you care to check out some new blogs, please feel free to take a peek at this list and see who's out there. It's fun way to "meet" new people and find other great blogs!

1. http://www.notalwayscharming.com/

2. Fairy Blog Mother

3. Crazy Adventures in Parenting

4. Engineer a Debt Free Life

5. Sweet ‘n’ Sassy Girls

6. Good Golly Miss Blondie

7. SavvySuzie

8. For The Love of Baby!

9. http://lovemy2dogs.blogspot.com/

10. Blessings Abound

11. Coupons, Deals and More

12. Hairstyles For Girls

13. http://www.thedivinemissmommy.com/

14. A latte in the morning

15. KiddiesCorner Deals

16. 3 Kids and Us Mom Blog

17. The Ohana Mama

18. Coupon Queens of Laurel Run

19. Today’s Journey

20. http://confessionsofahousewife.com/

21. My Charmed Life

22. http://www.doublebugs.com/

23. http://3boys1girlandadog.blogspot.com/

24. New Sue Review

25. Suzanne Calling

26. Just For Me…and You

27. Time Slides By

28. Babes and Kids

29. Declutter a Little Each Day

30. Grocery Savings for Real Families

31. Life Starring Ellie and Eve

32. So Cute Crafts

33. Brea’s Mommy

34. Are Muffins Just Ugly Cupcakes

35. It’s A Beauty Filled Life

36. The crazy suburban mom

37. Donna’s World

38. Momma’s Gone Over the Wall

39. Mommy’s Quiet Time

40. Joyce (Saving My Cents)

41. My Trendy Tykes

42. The Not-So-Blog

43. Confessions From HouseholdSix

44. SiPPyCuPSand FiNGerPriNTS

45. http://www.couponmommie.com/

46. http://www.crackersandchaos.blogspot.com/

47. Giftfully Simple

48. Just For Fun

49. Digital Mommy

50. Me And Craig

51. Parenting Princesses

52. http://mylastshredsofsanity.blogspot.com/

53. Inside My Head

54. Petit

55. My Love Lucy

56. FreckleBox personalized gift

57. Baby Lulu Dress

58. Blog 4 Mom

59. 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires

60. Jolly Mom

61. My Life My Journey

62. Maman And Gourmand

63. http://jessmalexander.blogspot.com/

64. The POSHpreneur

65. A Blog of Goodies

66. Christy aka The Write Gal

67. LookWhatMomFound

68. Peanut Butter & Smelly’s Dad

69. Lucy

70. Angry Julie Monday

71. The Mogul Mom Blog

72. Angela

73. Deal-ectible Mommies

74. Christy’s Creations

75. Lisa

76. http://www.booksnboys.blogspot.com/

77. Wannabe Supermom

78. Thre Craft Momma

79. Internet Toddler

80. http://lifeisasandcastle.blogspot/

81. Kristen of La Dolce Vita

82. Cranberry Fries

83. http://www.mud-bug.com/

84. The Mom Buzz

85. http://nightowlmama.blogspot.com/

86. Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls

87. Mommy Cracked

88. EclecticBird

89. Mama Mentor

90. Moomettesgram’s Musings

91. Moomette’s Magnificents Reviews

92. Moomettesgram’s Favorite Recipes

93. Diaries of a Domestic Goddess

94. Go Graham Go!

95. NerdFamily Things

96. NerdFamily Blog

97. Making Money Keeping Money

98. NerdFamily Food

99. Flying Giggles & Lollipops

100. http://themorrisbunchblog.com/

101. http://www.simplybeingmommy.com/

102. A Kindred Spirit’s Thoughts

103. Two Of A Kind, Working On A Full House

104. D-Lo’s Lounge

105. Free Sample Freak

106. What Mommies Need

107. Mom of 2 Boys, Wife of 1

108. icefairy’s Treasure Chest

109. Cheaper Than Therapy

110. Therapeutic Reviews & Giveaways

111. Lily Bean Designs

112. Dirty Diaper Laundry

113. Dance Momma

114. JamericanSpice

115. Mombalance

116. A Pocket Full Of Buttons

117. Ordinary and Awesome

118. Reviews and Giveaways

119. Subjective Beauty

120. Tales From A Shopaholic Mommy

121. Mommiemayhem

122. IE Mommy

123. http://blasianbabynotes.blogspot.com/

124. Amber Woodward

125. Grammy Janet’s Place

126. Outnumbered 3 to 1

127. ShimmerMeBlue

128. Dev’s Favorite Giveaways

129. Joyful Money Saving

130. 1stopmom

131. A Modern Mama

132. PourSomeSugarOnMe

133. Fancast

134. Lollipop Baby

135. Lola & Ben

136. idoby2celebrants

137. Sue Jackson

138. Cackleberry Kids

139. Gifts By The Stars

140. Jemma

141. Handmade Kids

142. Ollie Rose

143. Babasfarmlife

144. Banquet Manager

145. Monkey’s Momma

146. This Mom Can Shop

147. EcoLabel Fundraising

148. Divine Chaos

149. baby kakes ink alphabet onesie

150. tee from recycle me

151. http://lizzie-q-homemaker.blogspot.com/

152. marla mandell bread (5/17)

153. ozone socks 5/15

154. Belly Bumps to Baby Hugs

155. Hip T

156. ThenComes Baby

157. Homemade Gourmet

158. Fresh Pure and Simple

159. MomDot Mom Blogs

160. MomDot Mom Reviews

161. Bloggers Give Charity

162. Organic Baby Resource

163. Potamus Prefers

164. The Army Wife

165. Through Hazel Eyes

166. Frugal Rhode Island Mama

167. Just Jingle

168. And Twins make 5!

169. Frugal Plus

170. Christie

171. What Happened To My House?

172. Miracles on Mama Street

173. Heck Of A Bunch

174. Blog Designs by Susan

175. mommy23monkeys

176. Hanna

177. Got Kids Need Valium

178. Womb At The INNSANE

179. Katie & Kimble Blog

180. http://adventuresofastayathomemom.com/

181. The Frugalicious Mommy

182. Penny Pinching Diva

183. Another day. Another thought or two

184. Beauty4Moms

185. http://www.evilflu.com/

186. Little Miss Julia

187. Mrs Zeee

188. Cheryl

189. Frazzle Dazzle SuperMom

190. Florida Mealtime Savers

191. Inspiration Station

192. Mommy’s Kitchen

193. Saving with MamaNordy

194. Saving SAHM Sanity

195. A Little Piece Of Perfect

196. Nodin’s Nest

197. Lil Miss Eco

198. Laryn Strickland

199. HeatherMama

200. The Gerber Babies Blog

201. WhateverSuccess

202. Women Who Win

203. http://theburbblog.com/

204. Happy Healthy Families

205. Sweeps4Bloggers

206. dramaqueensmum

207. The Mom Trap

208. Multitasking Mama

209. Mama Michies Musings

210. Little People Wealth

211. Belly Beyond

212. Kim Kihega

213. Mom Fuse

214. Juanita

215. Adopt a Do

216. On the Refriderator Door

217. Christine

218. Little Diva

219. My Household Junk

220. I’m Here….Really

221. http://greer5intexas.blogspot.com/

222. mary

223. http://www.nicolesnickels.net/

224. Lori Newman

225. http://kris-jay-caity-izzie.blogspot.com/

226. Debb

227. Shawn Ann’s World

228. Peke Moe -NZ made baby sleep sacks

229. A Simple Kinda LIfe

230. Sweet Serendipity

231. Bouncing Off The Walls

232. Jane Loedding

233. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

234. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

235. Msbuildingupdabenjamins

236. Musings from Me

237. Veronnica

238. The Adventures of Miss V

239. Mudd Kids

240. Mom Most Traveled family travel

241. Relishing the Dirt

242. Good, True and Beautiful

243. http://frugallivingandhavingfun.blogspot.com/

244. The Last Blog on Earth

245. A Wrestling Addicted Mommy

246. Rae

247. http://www.thesidelinesoflife.blogspot.com/

248. Dore’s Diaries

249. Blog by Donna

250. Lisette

251. Pillaging With Buffie

252. Mom of Faith

253. GODSOWN

254. flutterbyechronicles

255. shelley

256. Life In A House Of Blue

257. kristen

258. Alex the Fey Thriller Series

259. MamaCheaps!

260. Donalacasa

261. A Jewish Journey

262. http://learningtogetherhandinhand.blogspot.com/

263. BethinNC

264. Stuttering Shell

265. Don’t Blink

266. Life is Sweet

267. Lisa

268. http://www.sahmsue.com/

269. m.e (cathie)

270. Run DMT

271. Princess Ratbag

272. Michelle G

273. http://www.nathansfight.com/

274. Moody Mama Says

275. Laurie Ann

276. Cooking During Stolen Moments

277. A Simple Walk

278. Vanessa

279. middleagedmom

280. Ramblings Of A Wannabe Writer

281. Oh My Baby

282. Fordcast Sunny

283. Lisa Miller

284. http://www.thedivinemissmommy.com/

285. Bibs & Cribs {very cute stuff}

286. My Lil’ Budget Book

287. Misadventures in Baby Raising

288. My Mommy Said

289. Milk & Honey Mommy

290. Milk and Honey Mommy

291. Amy O’Neal

292. Parenting Children

293. A Girl And Her Life

294. MarieLynn Boutique Blog

295. Born Fabulous Boutique Blog

296. The Pitter Patter Boutique

297. Stephanie Deese

298. Brea’s Baby Boutique Blog

299. digiscrapping.net - Heather Manning

300. Kids Activities Blog

301. Two Little Whales Cloth Diapers & More

302. 3 boys & a dog

303. Karen ~Georgia Angel

304. http://mynotsohurriedlife.blogspot.com/

305. Shannon Blogs Here

306. A Virtuous Woman

307. Secrets of a Southern Kitchen

308. Dreamer

309. Lollipop Book Club

310. Mommie Daze Virtual Baby Shower

311. Heck Of A Bunch

312. MomSaves4U

313. Barely Domestic Mama

314. http://www.babylovingmama.com/

315. Professional Family Manager

316. Kathleen

317. Coaching The Family

318. Frugal Creativity

319. Easy Being Green

320. Dandelion Bubbles

321. Shelly aka The Attic Girl

322. Foxtoybox-Discovery Toys

323. http://beauty4moms.blogspot.com/

324. Colleen - Mommy Always Wins

325. Playground for Parents

326. World of Discovery

327. http://andbabymakesfourperrine.blogspot.com/

329. A Little Bit Nutty

330. Mahayla’s Mommy

331. Mommy Goggles

332. The Shopping Mama

333. If I Could Escape . . .

Other happenings around here? Well not much to report. It's been a lazy kind of weekend. We are planning to take the kids to a movie. The only issue with going to see a movie here in Chile is that children's movies are dubbed in Spanish. All other movies are subtitled in Spanish and play in English. So we are cutting out all kids movies, because the kids get bored with the language and don't pay attention. We are thinking of going to see Night at the Museum 2. I'll let you know how that goes.

Hope you are all enjoying your Memorial Day weekend. And to those of you who have asked, we do not celebrate memorial day here, but we did have a holiday on Thursday which landed my husband both Thursday and Friday off from work. So that was a bonus! Enjoy it everyone~~

**edited to add~~ I will be leaving a link to this post on my side bar. If you care to check back here, you can find the list over on the right. **

I love the mail.

For us, getting mail isn't just getting bills. It means care packages from home. And we received one of those just yesterday. In it, were some glow sticks. Amazingly, these little things can keep the kids busy for quite some time. I can't quite photograph them in the dark, while they are dancing and screaming and squirming. This is the best I got. But you can tell by their faces that they just love it! Thanks Vicki!


I also just received a gift I bought for myself for Mother's Day. It's a purse from Calvin Klein. I got a beyond amazing deal on it from this place called Rue La La! They have designer merchandise for discounted prices. If you would like to check them out, just click on the link. I'm also pretty psyched that they ship to military APO addresses, that in itself is a reason to shop anywhere. For me.

Rue La La

Wordless Wednesday

I've never done one of these before, the wordless Wednesday thing. But I didn't feel like actually thinking today. Here are some things around my house. (Apartment actually).

And I heard some noise from the bathroom, water running. Of course, this is what I find. Because they're kids, because they can. They do.

Monday~la~la~

I am totally aware that the title of this post makes absolutely no sense. Other than the Monday part. But I'm OK with that. I am.

Friday in the mail we received one kid sized activity table. Adorable I might add. It is adjustable from 16-25 inches. So you can keep it far longer than the smaller tables. It's also heavy duty and I'm pretty sure it's made for preschool or daycare usage. I bought it because I could never find a table big enough to hold the kids arts supplies on top of the table while they were working on a project. This one is perfect. It's not overly big, and like I said, not too small. Here it is in the kids play room. If you are interested in the table, I bought it here. Also the little stools are from Ikea.

Speaking of Ikea, I also ordered a Trofast storage system. It's just a wood shelf and it has colorful plastic bins that slide into the shelf. So the toys are basically hidden. Very cute idea for kids storage. I love it. So of course I couldn't wait to put it together. I didn't notice until the very last step, that the final board in my project was in fact broken. I was so bummed. I called the company immediately. They apologized profusely and told me that they would send one replacement board to me right away. Now how is that for customer service? I took a picture so you can see exactly how close I was to being finished before I realized what happened. I thought I would also mention, this was a cinch to put together. I had this put together (almost) in the time it took my husband to cook dinner. Yes, I was assembling a shelf while he was in the kitchen cooking. I like it that way.

On a totally unrelated note, we went to McDonalds this weekend. That might seem like an everyday or even weekly occurence to some, but to us, that just isn't so. I would not be lying to you if I told you that each of the worst McDonalds meals I've ever had, have been had here. In Chile.

There is no speed. There is nothing even resembling speed. There are a bunch of employees milling about behind the counter that talk and laugh and cannot control themselves long enough to even take your order. The young girl kept breaking out in laughter and talking to the other girl next to her. Customer service? No such thing. Non-existent. I'm sorry. Hot fries? Not going to happen. Ice? Where do you think you are? The U.S? You will be served cold fries, an average hamburger, that is also cold and a teeny weeny kid sized soda. Unless of course you SUPER size it to our American size medium. Again, I am not kidding. You will wait an incredible amount of time. All the while the girl, or guy will keep looking into your cajita feliz (happy meal) box to see what they may or may not have put in there already. They had to touch that box like 5 times. I almost started screaming, or crying I am not sure which. I mean, ordering a hamburger and fries should not be that painful.

The McDonalds experience here has been an ENORMOUS let down. They are slow, they serve crappy food, and for crying out loud, I wish people would stop STARING at me like I'M A CIRCUS FREAK because I speak ENGLISH!!!

It's Friday! Yay?

Today is Friday and my son is running around screaming like he just drank a small bottle of hot sauce. His sister is chasing him, imitating also, as it is so much fun to irritate the mommy. Why do they do this? And what does this have to do with it being Friday? Um. Nothing really. I just felt like stating that fact.

I stayed up super late last night watching the 2 hour Grey's Anatomy season finale. And yes, I do mean late, because I watched it via a "slingbox" hooked up to my mom's cable back in Tucson. I then can turn on my computer and watch any and ALL of my mom's cable channels through the internet. Pretty sweet device if you ask me.

But anyway, back to Grey's. OMG. It was just. THAT. GOOD. And comparing to the previous 4 seasons worth of cliffhangers, this one was by far the best. Yeah. They always manage to make you cry like a blithering idiot by shows end, so don't watch it with anyone that you wouldn't mind seeing you that way. What more can I say, I cannot wait for season 6.

Today the dh is heading over to the embassy to check our post office box. We are expecting several packages. Momma has been doing a little online shopping. One Calvin Klein purse, one Trofast storage system from Ikea, one kids activity table, and a USB SD digital card reader. My computer no longer recognizes my SD card. Another reason just to scrap the whole thing and start with a newer, faster model. Did I mention to you it's SLOW as molasses? No? OK, well it is.

So today I am participating in Scary Mommy's Flashback Fridays. If you don't know who she is, click on over to her place and check her out. In fact, join her. You can link up to her blog with one of your old posts. You know when. Back when it was just you and the crickets. Here is the one I'm linking with today.

OK, Someone get me outta here!

Wish I were here.

I really miss this kitchen. There was lots of counter and cabinet space. I actually didn't realize exactly how much space I had, until the movers brought ALL of the boxes here to this apartment. As they stacked them one upon the other and lined them up in my new kitchen, it quickly became apparent that things would not fit. Besides the very obvious fact that my old kitchen had a dishwasher and garbage disposal, I just miss it being all mine. I don't feel that way about this kitchen here. It still feels foreign.

When I think back to my old house, I think of the living room and how many hours my family and I spent there. This is the home that I brought both of my new babies back to. This is the place where they both learned to crawl and then to walk. I can remember all the baby gates and safety measures I had put into place to protect my kids. I can also remember how overly protective I was. Seeing these pictures may just look like a kitchen and a living room to you. But to me, they are filled with joyful memories. Laughter and love.

Technorati Profile

Raw and unedited.

This is what my daughter looks like in the mornings, with all of that crazy hair. Before I get a chance to brush it. With loads of detangler and a spritz of moisturizer. It takes a very long time. Her hair is super CURLY. She gets that from her father. And from my mother. Their hair has curly tendencies. I had just asked her to go brush her hair. This is her response.

And here we have my little wild man. Check out the crayola marker in his belt loop. He loves to stick anything in there, much like a gunfighter and his gun belt. Eddie pretends. In looking at these pictures, I realize it's time for another hair cut.

I'll put that on my list of things to do. Right after we do our daily "air-crafting". In case you don't follow me on Twitter, my son says to me the other day, "Mommy? Can we do aircrafting today?" And I look at him, a little puzzled, "What's that honey?" And he replies, "You know, cutting paper, pasting and stuff." Awww, he wants to craft! Since we've been back to Chile, I have decided to keep them home with me vs. putting them into daycare. And I've also taken to doing daily preschool type activities. The kids are loving it.



This picture above of my son with his monkey looks so sweet. You'd think he was actually mild mannered, wouldn't you? If you do, I must inform you that I'm rolling off of my too small, queen sized, kitty fur shed upon bed. I'm laughing hysterically at that thought. Like I mentioned above, he. is. wild.

Oh and I wanted to share one more picture. Since Winter time is fast approaching us here in Chile, it's starting to get a little cold. And for those of you who don't know me, or know me well. I. am. a. wimp. I don't do cold temperatures, I don't do snow. I was born in Puerto Rico, I lived in Florida for most of my life, and I also lived in warm weather climates for the other portions of the time that I was not in Florida. Most recently, Tucson Arizona. (Can we say SCORCHING?)

Anyway, here is the little heater that we just bought. It was 15,000 pesos (roughly 27 bucks). It's pretty small. But we are testing it out to see how well it does.

So far, as long as it's facing you, it works. And because it's so small, it only works well enough to warm one small room. So if you leave that room, run. Quickly. OK, OK, I'm being dramatic. But since the temperatures haven't dipped below the 50's I'm OK right now. I already told dh that we need to buy another one. A BIGGER one.

Me, the Mariachis & a Swingset

So, the nice guy at the party (whose birthday it actually was) sent me some photos. Pretty nice of him, no? Well if you missed me talking about the party, you can read about it here. And if you are too busy, on your way to work, or your cat just threw up on your bed/floor/purse. I'll just tell you that I went to a party that mariachis were invited to. And yes, it happens here in Chile. I ran them down before they could leave. It's my duty as a blogger to get pictures for you guys. That and my mom reads my blog regularly, so I have to do it. Here they are:



I was actually happy there in these photos. Can you tell?

Oh and I also ran across this giveaway. And because I like giveaways so much, I thought I would share it with you, my readers. So who doesn't like free stuff? Or a shot at free stuff? Click on the link below for your chance/s to enter the contest as well. It runs through June 30. So hop on the bandwagon.

My kids would LOVE this. In fact, I think I might actually LOVE it a little bit more. I can see myself sitting in a lawn chair reading a good book, while the munchkins slide down the slide, and swing for hours at a time. Ah..... just envisioning it makes me smile.

$3862.00 Complete Kit set - Finished product features 5’ x 5’ x 6’ deck, two 7’ swing beams, rock climbing wall, climbing net, ladder, slide, and numerous other features! This kit will be shipped to the winning customer’s residence within the continental U.S. Assembly is required; full-color assembly manual provided.

Please go to: Momdot.com for more information.

Happy (early) Mother's Day!

So, I just wanted to say it. Now, before it's too late. Or before I forget, or get too busy chasing around the little people. I made a little video today. I made it for my mom, because she gets so much out of seeing the kids. And right now she can't see the kids. I wish I could change that.

So I made this for her. At the beginning of the video, you can see exactly how small Alexa used to be when we first arrived here in Chile. You can also see how short her hair used to be. She's grown so much. Eddie looks nearly the same, but he's grown.

Mom, I'm thinking of you. Hope you enjoy the video. And I promise I will take more videos of the kids and post them here. Thanks for everything. I love you!

Do you collect things?

I collect giraffes, and giraffe things. I have had a life long love of giraffes. I don't exactly know why. I just do. I find them fascinating. And I get all giddy and silly when we go to the zoo, and I even get a chance to feed them. I think that is just really cool.

So of course, I had to do this. You could see it coming, couldn't you? My family did.

Nurses Day and what else? IDOL.

First I'd like to give a shout out to all my nursey friends and fellow bloggers. And to all of those I don't know. It's Nurses Day, and you ROCK! You are some of the hardest working men and women that I have ever known, worked with and beside, and I know that you all work long hard hours and handle a tremendous amount of stress on a daily basis. And I tip my hat to you on this day. Kudos to you for choosing this as your profession. I admire all that you do!


Now, if I may discuss last night's American Idol. It's still so fresh in my mind. While both Allison and Adam felt right at home performing rock songs this week, both Danny and Kris were not cut out to be the rock and roll type. I love them. I do. And they have their own little unique characteristics that make them that much more likeable each time you see them. This week was just a little hard to watch. I will however, give them huge props for their duet. They sung Renegade, and I thought it was awesome! I thought that their voices complimented each other very nicely.

As for Adams performance, he brought down the house. He was spot on. But then again, when is he not? I was not at all crazy about his too small fitting pants. But hey, who am I to say what rock star types should be wearing? I'm just a mommy blogger slightly out of touch with the US stuck in some Chilean apartment only a thousand miles away. Whatever. It's his gig.

Young Allison, well the girls got pipes. And no matter what happens, she is going to have a very bright future in front of her. I didn't like her song Cry Baby so much, but that's just my personal preference. She sang it well. I just didn't like the song. The duet between her and Adam was fantastic. Those two together were a joy to hear. Two screamers. Loved it.

Now having said all of that, I'm still in the tank for Danny. I cringed at his performance of Dream On. I did. If truth be told. But that doesn't mean that I'm off his team. My dh even had some derogatory comments about him. But I think he's just jealous because I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Whatev. He looked good. And I agree with the judges. Though rock is not his thing, I give him high fives for even attempting to pull that off in front of the audience that he had. Oh and Slash? He SUCKED. I don't care that he's a great guitar player. I can appreciate that fact. Trust me, I do. Been there. It's just that as a mentor? Come on, NO! Once again, I reiterate, he SUCKED. So there. That's my opinion, in a nutshell.

Now on to my regularly scheduled day. I'm playing preschool in my house every day. I'll have to take pictures of the kids play room once the table I ordered arrives. It's going to be really cute. Every day I am doing different things with the kids and basically I'm trying to imitate the things that they do in preschool/daycare. Complete with naps, because napping is the best part of my day. Peace and quiet.

And on a an extremely ecstatic note, my daughter Alexa who is 2 years and 7 months old, has started to poop on the potty. Regularly. I wouldn't say she's potty trained yet, but this makes me happier than you might expect. You see, Eddie, who just turned 4, just recently became potty trained. So yes, her success now, is leaving me feeling rather happy.

Twitter and Danny Gokey

Let's talk about twitter. I think I may have been nudged into it by my sweet and very beautiful friend Melissa over at Spoiled Mommy. And ever since then, I've twitted, tweeted, twittered. Whatever. It's just a really cool site, that allows you to keep up with family or friends, or anyone really. You can type in a few things to let people know exactly what you are having for breakfast, what color your socks are, or even that your child/cat just threw up on your purse/rug/bed. Anything goes.

Well, lately, it has kind of become like a vice to me. I need to get on to see whats going on. I mean, you can actually follow the news and find out breaking stories, way before you ever would have gotten around to turning on the tv and watching it the old fashioned way. I'm not kidding. I turned on my computer and then I saw @RyanSeacrest say that Danny Gans had died. And this was mere hours after it had happened.

On a side note, if you have never seen this man perform in Vegas, he was AMAZING. Also, you can find out that there was an earthquake in LA, before the news begins to pick it up. People are tweeting it! Oh and then there is the ever popular @aplusk (Ashton Kutcher) who says cute little things about his wife: "#followfriday @mrskutcher cause she's my wife and I'd follow her to the end of the earth." Oh come on now, that's just sweet.

I'd like for my husband to sign up on twitter and follow me. But hey, that ain't happening. He's more of the, I'll call you on the phone kind of guy. And that's OK, I'm fine with that. Just don't ask me to get off twitter. You see, I'm also following the Swine Flu, and getting updates as they come in. A word of warning though... it can be a little addicting.

By TwitterButtons.net
OK, now on an American Idol note, I must talk about my new love. Danny Gokey. I was scouring the internet for videos and pictures of him when I ran across this website. I can't tell you what a great fan website it is. If you like Danny Gokey, then I'm sure you can appreciate the hard work that is put into this site. It's called I heart Danny Gokey. Go take a look. I'll wait.



I keep watching this video over and over again. It is from last Tuesday nights performance. He sang Come Rain or Shine, or was it Come Rain or Come Shine. Whatever, close enough. In fact, I went to itunes and downloaded it. I am also awaiting an autographed picture in the mail. *sqweee* My husband just told me today that he now thinks that I am going to ditch him and run off to stalk Danny Gokey. I could would never do that.

And though I have enjoyed Adam Lamberts talents and each and every one of his highly theatrical performances, let's be honest, that Adam has insane vocals! He deserves to win too. It's just that he doesn't do it for me the way that Danny does. I mean, there is just something about his totally adorable glasses wearing, sweet smiling face. With that amazing angelic voice and his slightly awkward attempts at dancing, it's all very endearing to me. Did I go overboard? Am I packing my suitcases? No. But I am mildly in love with him. Just mildly. He's my favorite. And I hope he wins. I do. But no matter what happens, I will be tuning in. Yes, even here in Chile, via my slingbox. I can't wait.

Just some stuff floating around my head.

I'm so tired. I went out with Chileans last night. And as you know, they eat late. Well, maybe you don't. I do. I've mentioned it here in my blog. But I am way too lazy to go find it and link it right now. So just trust me, I said it before. Like I was saying, Chileans have dinner late. Like 8 PM or later. And we were invited to a birthday party for a coworker of my husbands.

I was extremely hesitant in going. For a whole bunch of reasons. I do not speak Chinese. Ok. I don't speak Spanish either. But what's the difference. Nobody would be talking to me. I asked my husband if there would be alcohol. And he in turn asked me if these were in fact Chilean people. I guess my answer was yes. So I told him I would go. I'm doing my wifely duties. I put on some cool clothes. Well, at least they were cool enough to get some sweet compliments out of dh. Oh yes, and I put on some black heels and grabbed my red leather fossil bag that is absolutely bee-you-tee-full. I think my red bag was a hit all in itself, but that's besides the point.

What was my point? Where am I going with all of this? I have no clue. I'm just babbling here. Babbling as my 2 and a half year old daughter teeters dangerously on the arm of my desk chair that I am sitting on. I can't make her stop. She doesn't listen to me. Unless there is bribery.

Whatever, there was lots of alcohol last night. And there were people that stared at me like I had a third arm. I took my camera though, as if that would be my lifesaving tool in the evening. I could just snatch it out of my darling fossil bag and start snapping pictures of the people staring at me. That would sure break the ice, no? Yeah. Well that was my plan. I took my camera. Just in case. You never know when you are going to need it.

So there we are at this party, of sorts, with lots of people (American music playing in the background) lots of food (very good food) and loads of bottles of alcohol lining the top of one table in the very back of the apartment we were in. So what's a girl to do. "Si, por favor, mas vino!" For you folks out there who know less Spanish than myself, that little phrase means Get me some damn wine. Or something like that. See? At least I know the important stuff. I mean, I think I could probably call 911 and get assistance. Even though 911 really isn't 911, it's more like 133. Or so I am told.

I digress. As we were sitting there staring at each other (I mean me and the folks who don't understand me) the doorbell rings. And I look over eagerly, as if I might recognize our next guest (I won't). But it was something to do. The mariachis had arrived! ~Ole!~

I was psyched. No really. I was. Because I know mariachis. I am Latin. Or Mexican, or Greek. But it doesn't matter, because Mariachis can make the world a better place. And people dance about and act silly. People have even been know to sing along. I did. Now, if you are wondering how I, a person who is not bilingual, is going to sing along to a song sung by Mariachis in an apartment full of Chileans that I don't know, it's simple. When I was in elementary school, and before I really realized that I can't sing a tune to save my life, I was in chorus. Or at least I participated with a chorus at one point. And we performed in San Antonio, Texas in a very large auditorium in front of a huge audience. Guess what we sang? Cielito Lindo. You might not be familiar with that song. And that's OK, but it's a good one. I've grown up hearing it. And like I said, I sang it with a choir. {See Enrique Iglesias sing it here}

So jumping back to a point I made earlier about bringing my camera. It's moments like these, that you are so thankful that you are prepared. Thankful that you thought ahead. I was going to snap pictures now. This was my time. I was fitting in. I was going to be one of the cool kids at the party, because I know all the words to Cielito Lindo, and my appreciation for Mariachis had to make me look cooler. So I grabbed my camera. And snapped one picture. Then my battery died. I. am. not. kidding. I was so mad. I felt like a huge dork. There I was thinking I'm all cool and prepared, and as it turns out, I'm not cool. And I'm not prepared. I didn't charge my stupid battery. So I shoved it in my purse. And that was the end of my photo op.

They played and everybody danced around. And it was pretty neat. My husband even gave me a sort of compliment. I think. He said, "As the night goes on, my wife's Spanish gets better and better." Or was it something like, "The more wine my wife drinks, the better her Spanish gets. " Yes. I think it was the latter. But there is truth in that statement. Because I was talking to those people like we were best friends. And since I'm being truthful, 2 or 3 of them actually spoke English. And I actually did have a good time. That too, might be related to the food that they kept offering me. Food and me, we go way back. I like it. A lot. Especially good snacky type finger foods. Foods that it's OK to shove into your mouth whole. They kept coming around, offering, tray after glorious tray. And in my book, that's a win win situation.

So, though I don't have any pictures to share with you right now. I was in some pictures that were taken by other people. I left my email address with someone last night. And I pray that they send me some pictures. As the mariachis were leaving, I accosted politely stopped them. I made them take pictures with me. Er, I mean, I asked them to take pictures. I was polite. But I think the little one was afraid of me.

The whole time that the mariachis were there, I kept thinking "Swine Flu". And then, "Aren't Mariachi's a Mexican thing?" and then, "Are these Mariachis really Mexican? Or are they Chilean?" umm, "Who ever heard of Chilean Mariachi's?" I wanted my husband to ask. I felt I needed clarification. He wouldn't. Something about it not being right and all. But I still wondered.

I think I may have had a little too much red wine last night. But in keeping with the whole honesty bit, I don't go out very often (read: at all). And I don't drink. A lot. So just a few glasses, was pretty much a lot for me. But they were soo good. And I do admit, I had a nice time. Chileans are pretty cool. {I may or may not be posting pics of this in the near future.}