Learning not to say NEVER...again??

In the course of 10 1/2 years of being a mom we have had a good number of pets marching through our home and they have varied from a beta fish, a rat, a toad, a snake and of course a dog. And from all those mentioned above there is one that I hated. I remember myself telling Josh "I'll never have another beta fish"
Well, the Lord has a way to teach me things in such a way, that finally it's getting through my hard skull that I should not say Never.
Let me explain.
Our little Matthew started to have some anxiety issues last year while we were in Alabama, and while we were a little worried about it we thought that it was just a phase because of "Kindergarten", and that it would go away at some point. Sometimes doubting that it even was anxiety I thought that he either just wanted attention or he was just being a little...well bratty.(nice mom ha?) Well, here we are almost 9 months later dealing with something that is very hard for me to understand. First because I'm a very practical person and second because I have never dealt with anxiety myself. Josh on the other hand having dealt with some serious anxiety/panic disorder issues almost 6 years ago knows first hand the feelings that my child describes that are so foreign to anybody that has not felt them before, has been the biggest help on how to help our sweet boy when he has an episode, which usually happens when he eats.
So in the process of learning how to distract him in a not so obvious way, we decided to listen to his plea to get him a fish. It occurred to us that if we placed it close to the table it may help to focus his attention somewhere else.
Here I am with an other beta fish and glad that it's serving (a little bit) its purpose...and having to clean the slime,poop,food full fish bowl it's not so bad after all.

The hot desert!

Almost two weeks ago we moved in. We arrived to Yuma Arizona where we had left all our belongings in storage almost two months ago. When we got to the office where we were going to sign the lease and get the house keys it was 9:00 am and already 102 degrees. At 1:30 Josh and the two guys he'd hired to help us move got to the house and started unloading our stuff but had to stop for several hours since one of the gentlemen got sick because of the heat, that at that point was 110 degrees in the shade... (Now these men work for a local agency and are used to the heat but they usually work very early in the morning). But the break was needed for my hubby since the only food he'd had was coffee and a muffin at 6:00 that morning when we left SD. Needless to say that they did't have time for the second trip and we didn't finish moving that day. But the next morning God gave us a cloudy and cooler morning, so that the kids and I could help Josh load the rest of our stuff.

At last we are settling down, with boxes still here and there but happy to be close to Josh's work. The kids are happy to have their toys, some of which they've not seen for over a year.

We also met our next door neighbors who seem to be very nice, happen to have 2 boys the same ages as ours, and were awaiting the arrival of our family since our landlord told them about us and our boys before we even got here. They also have a beautiful pool, which my kids already enjoyed a few evenings ago.

Now to find a new church family. I don't know how hard it'll be since there are no PCA churches in this city, and it wont be either New Life or Westminster...

Free is great!

Our great friend Stacey with whom we have been staying for the last month has been very gracious to us. All along we'd planned to stay with her for 3 weeks or so until we picked and rented a house to live in, but for many reasons, the biggest one being that most of the houses we looked at (and that would work for our family)were not ready to be rented until July first or so, (or they had been rented already) we are still at Stacey's house. That is until July 9th. Because July 10th we are moving into the house we rented.
And all of this to say that a few weeks ago when Stacey announced that she had to go the following week on a work related trip to Palm Springs, I was so relieved thinking that that was the perfect break for her, from being with us all this time and having my boys around with all their energy and boyishness.
And so thinking along those lines, boy was I surprised when she asked if the boys and I would like to come with and enjoy the cushy life of a fancy hotel. Needless to say that we were ON for the expense free mini-vacation.
The boys had a blast! From the breathtaking pools where they spent every minute except when they were eating or sleeping, to the games and characters from the Nickelodeon special they were having pool side at the hotel, to the visit with one of Matthew's best friends. And I...well...I got to eat, relax and also got to visit our great friend Zsuzsi (Sami's mom) and our friend Salam, enjoy a delicious Mediterranean meal, have a catch up conversation and enjoy seeing all of our kiddos playing together just like 8/9 years ago.
BTW I do feel a little bad that Stacey had get up early and go to work while we had all the fun =(

Oh...now I remember!

Yes, I remember the beach, the food, the beautiful SD weather, the outrageous amount of $ people pay for it, Oh wait.That's not a good thing ha? oops!
It's been a great thing to be back in SD, our family, our friends, our church, my brother's loving way of letting me know he loves me by punching my poor biceps every time he goes by when we're together... even the extra pounds I gained in just these past few weeks...well, actually not that. The truth is that we are being very spoiled by everybody and it's nice to know how loved we are.(Thanks Stace!) The down side is missing the people we left behind in both GA and AL (and some now in Missouri) along with the greenness everywhere...but not the humidity. (is greenness a word?)
We've been so busy visiting and getting together with everyone that I kind of neglected my blog and besides I don't think that all of you want to read my blog everyday.
Thanks for your best wishes to Matthew who had 4 separate celebrations for his B-day.
They also experienced their first strong earthquake and both of them totally freaked out. But it was also a good time to remind them that it is not us that are in control but God.
And now in Spanish...so my mom'll stop getting mad at me=}

Oh ya me acorde!
Las playas, la comida, el buen tiempo (perfecto diria yo)tipico de San Diego.
Es bonito estar de regreso en SD y poder disfrutar desde la compañia de nuestros familiares, amigos, Iglesia, estar cerca de mi hermano mayor y su peculiar manera de enseñarme que me quiere, al darme un puñetazo en mis pobres biceps cada que pasa junto a mi cuando estamos juntos =} hasta eso kilos que acabo de engordar desde que llegamos aqui. Bueno... tal vez eso no lo estoy disfrutando.
La verdad es que ha sido pradrisimo como todos nos han concentido desde que llegamos, especialmente a los niños, es muy bonito saber cuanto se nos quiere.
Lo unico triste es el haber dejado atras los amigos que conocimos en Georgia, Alabama y algunos en Missouri, y el paisaje tan hermoso que hay en ese lado de el pais. Lo unico que no extrañamos para nada es la humedad en el verano...(guacatelas)
Cambiando el tema,gracias por sus buenos deceos para Matthew quien tuvo 4 fiestas de cumpleaños...pobres de mi hijos se ve que nadie los quiere=D
Y hablando de ellos hace unos dias tuvieron su primera experiencia con un temblor...y los pobres estaban super asustados. Pero fue la oportunidad perfecta para recordarles es Dios quien esta en control.

Happy Birthday!!!!

Six years ago my little Matthew was born...

We are here!!

We had planned to leave Georgia last Monday but for many reasons we had to depart one day later, which gave us the opportunity to spend two wonderful nights and mornings with our (Canadian/Georgian)friends Coralie and Jonathan and their adorable kids, meaning that we were starting our trip in a great way!
We left Georgia Tuesday morning around 9:00 AM and got to San Diego Saturday around 7:00 PM. It was a great adventure for our whole family (that includes our pets of course) Our kiddos had a great time and so did we. We got the chance to make a few stops along the way. We got to stay in New Orleans, walk the French Quarter and eat some Awesome Jambalaya and Po Boys(sandwiches)at Mothers restaurant, and have the best coffee with chicory and beignets (French doughnuts) at the Cafe Du Monde, our hotel was very nice and our snake escaped during the night inside the moving truck!...it was found later on that day very stuck in the dash board but it only took two hours to get it out=D
Texas was BIG...and well... big! But by no means as boring as I had thought, the country side was beautiful throughout and the gradual change in the vegetation was amazing. We stopped in San Antonio (where the snake escaped in the hotel room and it only took 1/2 hour to find it this time)and in El Paso, and of course we had to eat Steak! But the highlight for the kids was the hotel waffles in the shape of TEXAS!!
Next on we stoped in New Mexico and visited a little town (pueblo style) and Matthew got the best souvenirs ever or so he thinks, a hat a revolver and a rifle.
Our last stop before SD was Yuma Arizona and also the place where we put all our belongings in storage, because we are going to live there, while Josh's job is in El Centro CA, (40 min from Yuma)
Thank you all for your prayers and best wishes, and sorry for taking soooo long to give an update, it's been a little crazy haha

Not bragging... Just sharing!!!

The 5th grade Regional Math Tournament took place yesterday and my 10 year old was a participant, as well as the chosen designer for the t-shirts for the competition. Each competitor had to come up with a design for their school team and it had to combine the subjects of "Literature and Math".
If you've been around my son for a while you may know that there are two things that from a very early age have been most important in his life; food and books. And as you can see his design captures his entire person. (I love that kid)
Anyway, as the time for the event approached I saw in my Josh's face that overwhelmed look that I used to get as a little girl when a million feelings got a hold of me. So with a "quick" (I might say lightening speed) hug he left to be with the other kids.
The way the tournament was set up was new for me. (there were 120 participants) They were taken away to a classroom where they took an individual written math test, then they took them out to the auditorium where all the parents and teachers were, split each school into teams of two and started an open competition with a huge wall projector and a big timer. The principal read the question out loud and the kids had to write their answer on a paper which was taken immediately by a teacher. The points they got were for speed and accuracy. It was nerve racking, but I loved every minute of it because each time the principal read the name of Josh's school with the answer and the "it is correct" or "it is not correct" Josh waited for the answer, then looked across the room to give me a smile or a thumbs up. It made me want to freeze time. I love being his mommy.
At the end of the day his team got two awards, the school won two awards as well, and Josh got 1st place out of all 120 students in the individual category.

A princess...

Who says that boys and girls are made the same...? I say bologna!
As most moms do, I enjoy listening to my kids play together, (that is, the few minutes of play they can squeeze in between fighting about anything and everything) I love to see how their brains create and piece together make believe stories.
As my boys were playing together yesterday I heard the word "princess" and being that that is not a common word in this household, I inched myself close to where they'd built a mini lego city. To the side of it was a big wooden scorpion.
After scrambling all over their toy bins they finally came out with a penguin girl toy, the closest thing they could find that looked somewhat like a princess. Feeling the need to help in the obvious game of rescuing the princess form the mean bad scorpion, I asked -Don't you guys have a mini lego princess Leah? (from Star Wars) -To which my 10 year old answered -Yes but we need a girly princess- and before I could ask anything else my almost 6 year old piped and said -We need a princess because that is what our Guardian Hero Scorpo, likes for dessert!-
...needless to say that there were no more questions asked, I'm starting to understand the meaning of the word "Speechless".

There is spring in the air...and for Georgia/Alabama that means there is Pollen in the air!!

My intention was to take a picture of our (black) jeep, which until a few days ago was yellow!! I've never seen soooo much pollen in my life. Everything from the roof tops to the water at the pond was YELLOW. But it rained...I was a little miffed that I didn't take a pic sooner, so that our Socal friends could see how cool everything looked, and our Georgian friends could...smile?
But here are some pics of the pollen being washed away by the rain.
Which was a good thing I guess... since Matthew had hay fever just last week and the Dr. said that I had to keep him away from the allergen(pollen)haha good luck doing that!
So after cleaning the car inside and out and a few oatmeal baths for Matthew (and the Oh so blessed Benadryl!) the rash is almost gone,the car is starting to look a little yellowish again, and we even got to go to the Reptile Fest Saturday!

So thankful!

Our Papi (that is how you write daddy in Spanish, but when Matthew writes notes to him he does it as it sounds in English, "POPEE")has been gone for 42 days, it's been pretty hard, some days more than others. We miss him tons, specially at night time, when he becomes the narrator for our kids books, (he can make the COOLEST voices for tons of characters on our favorite chapter books,and he remembers which voice to make for each character...that's pretty amazing if you ask me) so not only the kids but I have also enjoyed for the past 10 years his fun story time reading.
So as the days go on, missing him more and more, I've also realized how much he does at home, not only with the kids but also helping me around the house in so many ways that I didn't realize before he was gone. And all those feelings made me think of friends that for some reason or another are single parents, it has convicted me of how little, if anything I've done to help them, if not with the heavy emotional burden just with the every day needs that arise.
I know that 2 moths are nothing compared to years with husbands deployed or facing the cruel reality of divorce. I've been blessed with so many of you, friends and family that are there for us praying and/or calling every so often to encourage me. I've also been blessed with a friend that I would not have known if we hadn't moved here. She is a wife of a busy husband and a mom of a toddler and a baby, she is also strong in her faith and love for Christ. She has made room in her busy life to reach out to our family in very specific ways. For some reason(I don't know)I tend to withdraw a little from people when I'm dealing with my own feelings...But her thoughtfulness(and always sweet smile)have made keeping my distance hard. So I've learned instead to lean on her for support. Thank you Coralie.
And THANK YOU all of you for your love for us too!

From the mouths of babes...

So as you've noticed my poor blog has been abandoned for at almost 4 weeks. (more on that later)
Today I took Matthew to get a very needed hair cut. He climbed onto the stylist's chair and proceeded to talk to her about everything going on in his life. (EVERYTHING!)
When she was almost done, he told her that he was going to have a birthday very soon and that he was thinking about getting a new pet. She asked what kind of pet he was thinking about getting, to which he answered very seriously:
-Well I was thinking about a goat but since my mommy says that we can't have goats at home I'm thinking about going with a reptile. I'm not sure yet... But what I'm sure of is that I don't ever want to have a pet KANGAROO- and before she could ask why? he said,
-Because you know...kangaroos kick people in the crotch-
The lady gave me a look and trying to contain a laugh she said -Who told you that?-
and Matthew replied, -Well My brother told me about it a loooooooong time ago and I didn't believe him, but then I saw it with my own eyes one day on America's Funniest Videos-
That's how I know that kangaroos kick people in the crotch.

Hurring up....

When we found out that Josh had to take off back to California we immediately knew that we had to DO a few things before he left.
The first one was to go to the Atlanta Aquarium!
So we went last weekend. It was Awesome! our whole family loves animals (especially Jr) and being the biggest aquarium in the world we got to see creatures that we've never seen before, the biggest hit with the kids was the Whale Sharks (they have 4 of them...wow!) and the other one was the Manta rays, (they have 2 of them) We enjoyed every minute of it.
A big THANKS to Grandpa Danny and Pilar!(Since this trip was a Christmas present from them:)


The second thing we HAD to do, was to have an Authentic Southern Meal!...
Some of you may wonder why we had not for the past 8 months?...Well... our plan was to live here for many many years so we thought that we'd have plenty of time to do that. Yes, we have tried some things here and there but not the whole thing...
So...we headed during the week to a well known place in town. And order as it follows; Fried Catfish, Collard greens, Coleslaw(which is sweet),Hush puppies, cheesy grits and sweet tea!
The fish was delicious so were the Hush puppies(I chose not think about the amount of fat we were consuming in ONE meal, so that I could enjoy it!) the rest of it was so so, neither of us is a fan of sweet tea but wanted to have the whole experience so we drank some of it. The only thing that was soooo hard to swallow were the cheesy grits(or as they called them Georgia Ice cream)
I actually though about changing our family rule about never spitting out food when trying it. Needles to say that the grits were send back almost intact.
We had a good time!
And yes...I have to go back for some more catfish and hush puppies!

What a day!

We had an incredible day yesterday. Even though the news had been announcing that we were going to have snow, we were very skeptical about it. I decided not to send my boys to school since they were going to be dismissed at 12:00.
So they got up in the morning and waited in front of the window for a few hours until the first flakes of snow started to fall, at which they threw on their robes and ran outside to taste said snow. It took hours for it to start sticking on the ground and because everything was closed down due to the weather, Josh came home at 2:00 from work, and that was just what we needed since his schedule has been changed, and now he has to work some days 12 1/2 hours. (because of the Toyota recalls)
After having a treat of "Black Bottom Banana Bars"(it's basically banana bread with unsweetened chocolate) my kiddos favorite, we cozied up with our snow gear and headed outside to play.
One of my best friends(she grew up shoveling snow in the winter...) told me once that she thought that God gave us the beach and the snow to see us play in it. And I whole heartedly agree.
We played outside for about 3 1/2 hours, from snow ball fights to making snow...figures and topping it off with my hubby's favorite thing to do. Offroading in the mud (but yesterday was more like brown slush) until our jeep was producing black exhaust smoke and there were no more huge puddles of mud...
We were reminded that there are a lot of hidden blessings in the common every day things that we take for granted.

NOW YOU SEE IT....

AND PRETTY SOOON YOU WON'T
I love simple thinking, and it's not because I'm a simpleton haha.
Jr -Mommy could you shave my head?-
Me -How come hon? Are you tired of your hair style?
Jr -No! I'm just tired of dealing with it, combing it in the mornings, drying it after taking a shower, too much work!
And so I did. It was a little hard to cut his nice soft hair.
(That took months to grow)

In the proces we had to play around with it and he also asked for a Samurai hair style...which lasted long enough for me to take a picture of it, and before his dad had a heart attack:-)


And here he is, the way most of you remember him since he was 3ish.

What's going on at school...

A few days ago Matthew celebrated the 100th school day! That means the school year is a little more than half way done!(and also that they recognize and know how to count to 100) He loves to read (just like big brother) And he is doing so at a 2th grade level. He got an outstanding achievement award in November, and he was student of the month in December. As some of you know he has had very bad anxiety and although it's getting a little better we have to deal with it one day at the time. What a little trooper!

Jr is working extra hard, he is on the Math team that will represent his school in a Math competition the 1st of May.
And on that note I realize that I have forgotten all about Algebra...this is only pre-algebra, and I've already had to say -I think Papi would be happy to review you homework today.(I'm sooooo glad my hubby's brain understands Math better than mine)
Jr. has been on the honor roll and the principal's list for both quarters so far. He is an avid reader! A few weeks ago one of his uncles (uncle Steve) sent him a box full of Golden Guide books,(they're full of facts about a specific subject) I believe there were around 50 books, and oh was he excited! I mean really really excited about them.

Every day life

As most of you know my oldest son has had a passion for reptiles since he was two and could barely talk. And because of this we go on in life listening about these creatures a lot more that Josh and (especially) me would care to other wise.
But sometimes I have to pause and look at him to make sure that the person who is talking to me is my little Jr.
When I picked up both boys from school today, I handed to Josh Jr. his monthly REPTILE magazine that I had just picked up from the mail box and pointed at a picture of a lizard like (that I had never seen)and said: -Look at that rare lizard on the cover- to which he responded with out blinking -Uuuh...first of all that is not a lizard and second it is not rare, it's a California Red Bellied Newt-
So I realized today that I'm not a cool girl. There are only a few of those in Jr's life, and they actually enjoy catching lizards and looking at reptile pictures with him.(Maddi one of his best friends and Erica, his cousin)
And I'm very glad they are that way other wise he'd probably grow up thinking that all girls HATE snakes and lizards.

Seriously!!

It is COLD!! Out here, it was in the teens "yes" the teens this evening (and the forecast said it felt like 9 degrees) Seriously I can't believe I grew up in cold like this, and with no heater! But even though we've had to scramble around finding gloves, jackets and cozy beenies and socks, we have been able to enjoy the kind of things we didn't in SoCal, like...leaving big chunks of ice outside on different spots to see which one gets thicker and bigger, and how thick the ice in different containers gets and peeling the ice off the plants, not to mention the warm soups, hot cocoa and all day long pajama (and COZY robes) days we've had, as well as the endless boardgames!
(We have no cable so our board games and books get their job done:-)

Cheers Everyone!!

Our New Year's celebration was very low key compared to the past 9 years...but neither was it boring or uneventful!
Japanese food,
Movie,(NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN)
Played Scrabble till midnight,
And Cheered with sparkling cider and milk.(because Matthew still doesn't like carbonated beverages)
Even our dog got New Year's best wishes;-)
And best of all, "NO" melt downs!!! (from the boys that is)