A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

Time for a random post because none of them in and of itself warrant a post ...

You Lazy Bum!

Because that's exactly what I was yesterday. I seem to recall reading somewhere that people get fatigue in the 3rd trimester once again.  I don't remember having that with Liliana, though it's entirely possible that I did.  Truly we haven't been getting to bed NEARLY early enough and I probably end up falling asleep close to midnight, and wake up around 6:10.  That's not enough sleep for someone growing a beautiful girl, but it still doesn't excuse the horrific way I acted yesterday.  I got home around 5 pm and was lazy from the start.  Work has been exhausting this week, but STILL that isn't enough of an excuse.  I had Evan cook dinner, he kept telling me to relax, don't stress, just to take it easy.  While he was giving Liliana her bath I told him I was going to go check if our bed was still comfortable (yes, I literally said that).  Next thing I know, he's walking in the room telling me it's 10 pm and to keep on sleeping.  And that's what I did.  I slept from approximately 8:30 pm to 6 am.  I did wake up for about 30 minutes to talk to him, shower him with kisses, and thank him for all his help, but still ... I slept approximately 9 hours if I had to guess.  Talk about a LAZY BUM!

SEVERE Back Pains

I didn't blog about this, but about  a week ago, I woke up with SEVERE back pains that eventually led to some contractions.  They happened for about 3 hours straight and I started panicking thinking I was going to deliver Gloria at 30 weeks.  We ended up going to labor and delivery and my doctor fortunately saw that everything is still completely and 100% closed, like it should be.  He also told me to take it easy and that these back pains were probably causing the contractions.  Unfortunately I'm not totally rid of the back pains.  They came back a couple days ago, but I didn't have nearly as many contractions because Evan and I know that means "lay down!" and he proceeds to put Bengay on my back, give my Tylenol, and give me massages through my near screams of pain.  I had some back pain with Liliana, but nothing like this.  I don't know if it's the chairs I use at work, or what, but let's just say that summer break couldn't come any sooner.  My body is trying to have this girl WAY too early and relaxation is going to be amazing.

Let Me Hear the Tinkle!

 Tomorrow, we start potty training Ms. Liliana.  Truthfully, she's been ready for a while.  She's been telling us she went poo poo since she was about 16 months old.  She loves the potty and asks to sit on it.  We have, truth be told, been lazy and haven't wanted to tackle it.  But, now she's not really giving us a choice.  She's going to the potty all on her own, taking her pants off, and peeing.  Yeah ... I think she's ready.  Since Evan is off this weekend and since he goes back to a crazy rotation in a short week, we decided this weekend was just as good as any.  It's officially potty training weekend!  No diaper, just resolve, paper towels, and two pottys.  Let's hope it goes smoothly!  I mean, it would be pretty great to only change one set of diapers and to only BUY one set of diapers at Target!  C'mon Liliana, we can do this!  She's already saying she's a "big girl" and when she did go all by herself without being provoked, she was SO darn proud of herself, it was adorable!  She was running around the house wanting lots of love and attention.  And I'm ready to dish it, if she's ready to dish the pee and poo into that potty.  ; )

I'll come back with a 31 week t-shirt project tomorrow hopefully.  That's what I had planned on doing today, but as seen above, our bed was just too damn comfortable.

The New Ride & My New Fears

We officially did it.  We traded in the "cutesy college car" for the "shaggin wagon."  Yes, I call it the shaggin wagon frequently when in reality it's just a mini-van, but shaggin wagon just sounds cooler, and makes me giggle like an 8th grader.  Don't worry, I'm not disillusioned by what it truly is.

All last week we went test driving.  EVERY SINGLE day.  We would put Liliana in the old, small car, get harassed by car salesmen, and went to four different dealerships.  I know other people take much longer to do their car searches, but since we had quite a restrained budget and knew we would need a used car, the options were more limited.  I'm going to admit, this car buying stuff was overwhelming to me.

Evan kept telling me "what do you think?  This is your car sweety, give me some input.  I want you to be really happy."  But the truth of the matter was, I couldn't process it.  I'm usually so much more of a go getter, but fortunately, Evan stepped up to the reigns and handled the whole thing like a pro.

Bringing a second kiddo in to the world, just the concept of it, is starting to really freak me out.  This happened with my pregnancy with Liliana too.  I just get overwhelmed and stressed: will I be a good Mom to baby #2?  Will I have enough time for Liliana?  Will Gloria get the love she deserves since I obviously will still be caring for Liliana as well?  How will I handle doing all of this by myself since Evan works such long hours?  Am I a bad person for being proud of myself when people ask "oh are you staying home now?" and I respond "no, I don't think being a Mother means you have to stay home."  All of these questions are enough for me ...

And then we added on a car?  A new payment in addition to an extra daycare payment?  A new responsibility?  I mean, both Evan and I got slight raises for next year, but those only cover the car payment.  How will we handle an additional $600 daycare payment? 

Evan was so patient with me as we test drove and I stayed quiet.  I immediately knew I didn't like the Mazda 5.  I didn't feel safe in it.  Safety is a BIG issue for me and one I don't cut back on.  If there is a model with more airbags, we're paying for it.  I think that's a good place to put your money.  That is partially why, when we finally narrowed it down, I wanted a Toyota Sienna.  They have the best crash testing results and if that means we spend a little more (which we didn't b/c we got a fabulous deal), so be it.

Now it was all about narrowing it down.  We found 2 in Conway and 1 in Little Rock that were within budget.  One in Conway had 56,000 miles on it and was fixed up with all the amenities: leather, DVD player etc.  The other in Conway had 43,000 miles on it and had all those fixings too.  The one in Little Rock had 43,000 miles on it, was still VERY nice (top of the line, just not "limited") and was originally listed within $2,000 of the one in Conway.  Our plan was to just see the best deal we could get.  By the time Evan had done all his research (or as our car salesmen said "how many trees did you kill??"), the negotiating wasn't all that bad.

The place in Little Rock gave us a MUCH better deal, it would have been about $4,000 difference just for leather seats, and we decided to be practical.  Those leather seats weren't worth $4,000 to me.  I told Evan I wanted less mileage for sure b/c this car is going to be our everything as a family.  Evan will drive his current car to work, but if we ever go out as a family, my car will be the answer.  This took the 56,000 mile one out of the equation.  The other one with 43,000 on it was 2 years newer, which you would think is a good thing, but it drove much differently and though the amenities were nice, we weren't fond of the way the 2009 drove.

When it was all said and done, we had negotiated a HECK of a deal!  They gave us Kelly Blue Book "excellent" rating for my car (unheard of when trading in), knocked off thousands of dollars off the asking price, and even brought down the financing rate by  nearly 3% because of our AWESOME credit scores (yeah, I was proud of that!). 

When we left, I felt SO much less overwhelmed.  It was the exact opposite.  A HUGE weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  And I smiled, proudly, as we left the dealership in the new (well, new to us) MINI VAN BABY! ; )

We're still fighting over who gets to drive out while we're out and about.  We went to Toys R Us that afternoon and bought Liliana her new playground (that my parents got her for her birthday) and that box was HUGE.  It would have NEVER fit in an SUV, but it slid (tightly, but still fit) in the van.  We've already had this van full of stuff a couple times (let's just say our budget hasn't been doing so well, but our master bedroom makeover is coming along beautifully) and couldn't be happier.

PS Sorry that was probably more than anyone ever cared to read about a new car, but this was a BIG deal to us.  It was the first car we've ever purchased together as a married couple and we did it as a complete and total team.  We never argued and actually had fun throughout the process.  I'm so lucky to have a husband that cared about our safety, our happiness, and most of all, making sure I was happy with our shaggin wagon. ; )

A Minivan Mom?

A couple days ago Evan and I were eating dinner, just talking about life and he mentioned "how are we going to fit the two girls in your car?"  We laughed about it and said "haha they'll NEVER fit in there!" and kept laughing.

And then we kinda just looked at each other and had an "OH SHIT" moment. 

One of those ... why hadn't we thought about this sooner moment.  I'm 30 weeks pregnant and NOW we think about it?

I LOVE / ADORE / WILL CRY if/ when I have to give up my car.  It's my first real car, it took me through my college days, my law school days, and my first two Liliana years.  It's cute, has nice leather seats, a sunroof, GREAT brakes, was the safest package that money could buy, etc.  My parents bought me that car and to me, it was like a Bentley.

She looks like this (this pic is off the internet. this isn't my EXACT car.  Mine has the nice low grade tires):

But fitting two girls in it?  IMPOSSIBLE. 

Evan and I have considered (and still are considering) switching cars.  In other words, I would drive his 4Runner and he would drive the Mazda.  Slight problem though: Evan then wouldn't be able to drive the Mazda if he ever has the two girls with him.  This would involve us having to plan ahead day by day just in case he would have the luxury of picking them up from daycare.  He would still be forced to have both car seats in there because they require different ones since they're very different sizes.  Also, god forbid we EVER have friends try to sit in our cars or have guests come to town.  Even in the 4Runner, with the two big carseats that are on the market these days, I can't fit someone in the middle.  Ridiculous, I know.

So this left us thinking "we need a new car."

This wasn't a concept we had wrapped our heads around.  We originally thought "how about a crossover?"  Something like this:

Then, we realized this was WAY out of our price range (mainly because our budget is ... oh ... ZERO dollars). 

So on Monday, we set out to test drive this puppy, the Mazda 5.

It had quite a few criteria that we were looking for: sliding doors (GREAT for putting kiddos in car), captain chairs (again, GREAT for putting kids in cars and you guys should see how much Liliana loves running through these things), and VERY affordable. 

Slight problem:

I hated it.  I hated the way it drove.  It was too small (with the third row up, it literally touched the window so I had NO storage).  My idea of a crossover was either too expensive, didn't have the captain chairs, or just wasn't practical for me.

What to do what to do ...

Yesterday, we went and test drove one of these. 

Yes, she's 5 years used.  Yes, she's got 45,000 miles on her, but the price was within reason and the car?  JUST what we needed.  Just the right size.  This car was designed for someone with a family.  There are baskets to store stuff in the perfect spots, Liliana has TONS of room to sit (in other words, no kicking our chairs), and the world, while looking like a complete Soccer Mom kind of world, just seemed simpler with it.

We still have LOTS of looking to do.  We're going to go test drive a few more cars, but for now, I think it's relatively safe to say, I might join the minivan world.  Don't know which minivan I'll join it with, but man these ugly things are PRACTICAL!

And while there's nothing wrong with being a Soccer Mom, I am not one.  I am a full-time working Mom with two kids and a husband that works about 90 hours a week.  I just might be a minivan necessity Mommy.  And you know what?  That's a ok with me.

PS Plus, they're called shaggin wagons!! YEAH BABY!!! ; ) 

Little Things in Poor Quality Pictures

Sure I could have written a post about some meaningful things if I wanted, but yesterday's post was pretty heavy and I felt like writing something more light hearted the next few days if you don't mind.

Affordable Maternity Tips:

For starters, let's talk a little bit about maternity style.  My style is WAY different this pregnancy from last.  I'm having a little more fun with it, wearing some cute dresses that are NON-maternity and making them look a little snugger.  With my first pregnancy, I tried hiding it as much as possible.  The law firm wasn't too keen on even mentioning the pregnancy where at my current job, they're so sweet and always ask how things are going.  As a result, I have found two things to be VERY helpful:

(1) layering tanks, such as THIS one.  They usually put them on sale (like today old navy has 30% off of the entire website).  I have the navy one and am wearing it in this picture.  I love putting these under sweaters or cardigans.  They're REALLY comfy and PLENTY long. 

 (2) Thin belts such as THIS one. I have a brown one on in the picture above.  It helps to show off the bump and although this picture doesn't show it (because that is truly the most hideous picture of me ever), it makes you look thinner.  I wear them with shirts like this AND to help keep up some maternity pants that are still too big when my regular pants and the bella band aren't what I want to try and do that day.  PS These belts are CHEAP with the 30% off right now.  At target they're 12.99, but without the 30% off! 

I'll probably do a post on maternity style some time. I feel like I've learned a lot through the two pregnancies.  Maternity style kinda sucks, let me tell you.  There are some gem places out there, but in general, you have to TRY to look cute and that gets tiring when you're growing a little baby and chasing a toddler.

My gal

Liliana has been a complete DREAM lately.  She is getting easier and easier each month and Evan and I are really relishing it.  Going to restaurants isn't a challenge anymore, she can always communicate what she wants just by using her words, and she is just very sweet in nature.  She's still rambunctious, she still gets in trouble, yes ... but those moments are just REALLY rare now.  It's nice.  She, more than ANYTHING though, CRACKS US UP.  Case in point.  This is what she looked like when I woke her up yesterday morning.  Seems that during the night she got in a fight with Elmo and Hippo and wanted them to stay AWAY!!!

She untied her bumper, moved them as a barrier, and slept happily away.  SILLY girl with TONS of personality!  LOVE her.

Godparents

We  really hit the jackpot when it came to godparents for our two girls (Gloria's godparents haven't been asked yet, but we already know who we have in mind and we know we've hit the jackpot with them too).  Liliana's godparents are my cousin Joanna and Evan's best friend and my very close friend Mike.  They simply ADORE her.  Mike came to visit last weekend and even asked for Christmas money to go towards his airfare from family members.  What 20 something year old guy does that?  A GREAT one, that's who! 

And Joanna?  Well she sent us some GORGEOUS goodies yesterday (this isn't a rare thing for her to do.  She is always spoiling her).  Anyway, here's Liliana modeling some of her new gear this morning.  Can you say cute?

Water Bottles

It's funny the things you notice when you become a parent.  I love those plastic cups with straws but most of them have a rubber band on the straw.  This doesn't work too well when you have a toddler that can just tug hard and take the straw out (equals mess).  So when I saw this at Walmart last weekend, I snatched this puppy up for $4. 

The bottom of the straw is wider and won't come out when the lid is screwed on.  Liliana already tried taking it out, unsuccessfully.  Cue Mommy's evil cackle! 

yes, I realize I just wrote an entire paragraph about a water bottle.  It's the little things that make you happy sometimes.

Gloria's room

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that we would be painting Gloria's room.  WELL ... we've been busy.  Evan worked A TON two weekends ago and last weekend.  We would have had time this Sunday afternoon, but if you recall, my butt was in the ER for being a complete moron.  Therefore, for 2 weeks the room has looked like this.  The brush work is done, but the rolling isn't done yet.  The room looks like a mess.  I just keep the door closed and it makes all my problems go away!

I have no clue why the picture looks disoriented like that on Blogger.  Sorry.  But you can see on the bottom that we still have a ways to go!  : )  It will get done this weekend though b/c Evan's off the entire weekend and quite frankly, I'm wanting it done!  I'm sick of having the door closed!

Tomorrow I'm going to post about progress for Liliana's big #2 bash!  It's going to be SO much fun!  Small and simple, but great.

Friday's Little Things

(1) I am SO freaking glad it's Friday.  This week has gone by REALLY slowly for me.  Usually the weeks fly by, but time is CRAWLING by this week and I'm guessing next week will be even worse because it'll be closer and closer to finding out if we're having a bambino or bambina.

(2) Speaking of whether we'll have a lady or a gentleman, I'm having SERIOUS panic attacks because we don't know the boy name yet.  Seriously.  Like, full fledged feeling hot at my desk when I realize I feel kicks and don't know what we'll name them.  I have this WEIRD desire to know the name (or at least 2 contenders) when we find out the sex.  I want to IMMEDIATELY start calling them by name for some reason.  We are SET with the girl - first and middle name.  As for the boy, we came changing on nearly a daily basis.  By we, I mean I do.  Evan's cool as a cucumber about it all.  I do think I know what I want, believe it or not, and it isn't even a name that I've mentioned on here before.  I don't have a middle name to go with it yet ... we'll see!

(3) Last weeks Glee was brilliant.  I am a Michael Jackson fan, but not a huge one by any means.  That show, somehow made me a bigger fan.  It was cleverly done.  I think it's kinda dumb that Rachel and Finn are engaged though.  That being said, TRULY, if Evan had proposed to me when I was 18, I would have said yes.  Isn't that crazy?  I knew he was the one for me even that young.  And you want to know something even crazier?  I don't think my parents would have been unhappy.  They always knew too.  Now ... about next week?  DUDE! RICKY FREAKING MARTIN!  I CAN'T WAIT!  A Puerto Rican on Glee?  I am SO there.

(4) Over the weekend, Evan and I went on a date and saw the Descendants with George Clooney.  I know everybody loves it, but nobody told me the movie was REALLY freaking depressing.  Seriously.  Like, bawling in the movie theatre.  And it isn't only the pregnancy hormones.  The movie is about a guy finding out his wife was having an affair on him and she's in a coma now, so how does he recover through this and still raise his two daughters who he has never really been there for.  Sounds like a picker-upper huh?  I would recommend renting it, because it is brilliantly acted and the story is compelling, but I wouldn't pay $9.00 to need a box of Kleenex.

(5) Since I started my whole "Lacefield Home Renovation" project, I've been pretty addicted to HGTV.  I've watched all the Color Splash on my OnDemand and can't get enough.  Have you guys discovered houzz.com?  It's like pinterest, simply for decorating.  ADDICTING.  Evan and I have been pinning stuff and just writing messages back and forth to each other.  We've had a pretty good time with that.

(6) Liliana fell at daycare yesterday.  She is in to this new thing where all she does is RUN.  No walking allowed for her anymore.  As a result, she's falling more often and she did in the playground.  The daycare immediately called me and they were so apologetic.  I kept telling them not to stress.  Liliana has fallen in front of me at least 5 times this week.  We don't have cat like reflexes.  They even called me last night because they were wondering how she was doing!  She doesn't notice, but her face does look pretty beat up.  You can see the bruising underneath her eye and then the main cut under her nose.  Poor baby girl!!! : (  Mommy's heart broke for her.  She still smiles though ... and those eyes ... dear lord.  GORGEOUS.

(7) That's it.  I had lots of thoughts ... and none of them were that "little" either.  Have I mentioned I'm excited for the weekend?  I need sleep!

If you were my DVR ...

If you were my DVR, you would be pretty busy Monday - Wednesday, and slow on Thursdays.  I don't really watch anything on Thursdays (unless of course I'm missing something and a reader lets me know!)

If you were my DVR, you would know these are the five shows I simply can't live without (in no particular order, because that wouldn't be fair to make me do that):

(1) Sunday:  The Good Wife

- This is the ONLY legal show I watch.  I normally can't stand other ones, just like Evan can't stand Grey's Anatomy.  Sometimes being a lawyer or a doctor messes shows up for you.  But this show is so brilliantly done.  It is absolutley amazing: it's sultry, intelligent, thought provoking, and CLEVER.  They NEVER have a repeat legal case and ALWAYS make me go "how did they think of that?"

(2) Tuesday: Glee

- I know I join about 30 billion others when I say I enjoy this show.  I have to admit, they have had some episodes that I've felt really lackluster about.  Alternatively though, they have had some episodes where I am in amazement.  There have been about a handful of episodes that I watched twice ... in a row.  NO show has made me do that before.  That is why it is still on my top 5.  I do wish they'd do more popular songs.  I like seeing their interpretation of it.  I hate when they do songs that are boring or that I've never heard of before.  Also, I'm really in love with Artie.  His songs are THE BEST.  Mercedes voice is too loud for my taste and Santana has a good voice, but it doesn't compare to Rachel's.  Artie though?  He's my man!

(3) Wednesday: Modern Family

- This show absoultely CRACKS ME UP.  My favorite character is probably Gloria, or Mitch.  I love the humor in the show, the way they handle serious issues, and the delivery of everything.  It ALWAYS makes my Wednesday's better knowing I get to watch an episode.  The husband and I ALWAYS watch this one together and have a great time while doing it.  Even if he's working, I wait until some time when we're together.  It's one of those shows that you'll find yourself thinking about during the day and you'll randomly let out a chuckle thinking of a joke ... then everyone around you will think you're crazy.

(4) Wednesday: the New Girl

- This is a new show that stars Zooey Deschanel.  I'm not sure it would make my top 5 if it weren't for the fact that Evan DIES laughing when watching this show.  Hearing someone be THAT happy while watching a show makes you love it too.  According to Evan, the relationship between the guys on this show is just how guys act when they're together.  I think they act like morons, but funny morons!! ; )  If you don't have a big sense of humor, I don't recommend this one.  You have to be silly, be okay with crude humor, and be willing to just go with it.

(5) Monday: How I Met Your Mother

- This is one of those shows that you should follow from the beginning to truly enjoy it.  The characters are so well developed.  The stories can be serious, but are usually quite silly.  You grow to love the characters and rejoice in their happy moments and get truly angry with them when they mess up.  You also think it's hilarious when they have to wear a Duck Tie for a year.  I am getting SLIGHTLY annoyed that we still have no idea How Ted Met the Kids Mother, but I'm hoping they have a plan.  You can't have a 15 season show without letting me have SOME kind of idea!  The concept will get annoying if they're not careful, but so far, they're handling it really well.

Honorable Mention: Revenge/ Parenthood

-  these are good shows too, but not top 5 in my opinion.  Revenge is about a girl that moves to a town just to hurt those that conspired against her father and eventually let to his demise.  It's dark and the acting isn't always stupendous, but the story is at least interesting.  I can see how this would quickly become horrible if they make it too ridiculous with the story line.  So far they've been reasonable and kept you interested.  Parenthood can be boring to some.  It takes a while to get attached to the characters.  It's a very realistic show, which is probably why people don't like it.  THIS WEEK though, they have a character cheating on his wife and truthfully?  I might stop watching it because of that.  I know, I know it's only TV, but I don't even like SEEING it.  Plus (ready for stupid comment?) that character would NEVER cheat on his wife in real life!! They're doing it for ratings!! (done with my rant now)

What's on your DVR?  Am I missing some gems?

A lot of little things

I don't really have one thing to post about today, mainly lots and lots of little things that wouldn't make an entire blog post:

(1) Liliana, Ms. 16 month old baby, has started telling me when she poops.  And if I say pee pee, she holds her ... well that area.  Yep, I'm in shock that she's doing this.  This weekend, we're going to buy a potty seat.  This is about 10 months earlier than I expected to be tackling this.  I'm not usually the Mom that says "stop growing" but in this case, I wasn't prepared!  I wanted to read up on this and how we're supposed to tackle it.  Suppose we'll just be winging it ... unless people have advice on potty training kids earlier than usual?

(2) Sherman, the new pup, is doing really great.  He is a totally different personality than our other dog Linda.  It's funny how they always say each child is different, but I'm starting to see that even in our dogs!  Linda was much more refined and quite frankly, bitchy.  Sherman is more destructive (although he hasn't done anything bad yet ... he just likes to nibble on feet a LOT!) and yet more sweet natured.  He's at that adorable puppy stage where running looks more like leaping.

(3) Evan finishes the worst two months of his entire residency career tomorrow.  I am so freaking excited.  To celebrate we're getting a babysitter on Saturday night and going to a new restaurant in town that always has long waits.  It's a very casual place but they have waffle fries like chick Fil-A, but they're sweet potato.  Look, don't you want a bite?

(4) One REALLY  bad part of our week?  We found out our air conditioner is having MAJOR problems.  Like, $1,000 bill problems.  And that's WITH a home warranty ... the original bill is $6,000.  SO, our trip home to San Antonio for Thanksgiving is kinda not happening now.  My car got a brand new transmission in August ($2,500 bill) so these two HUGE expenses make the trip home impossible. We're really upset about it all, but that's what happens when you're both not making big paychecks.

(5) I made this chilly on Sunday night.  It was DIVINE and probably the easiest chili recipe I've ever made.  Highly recommend.  Link found HERE.  PS It makes A TON ... we're eating two dinners with it this week and had two more batches that went in to the freezer for future consumption.

(6) So I have no idea where my daughter got this from, but she's an artistic little girl!  At daycare, they say she refuses to give people her crayons because she goes to TOWN on them.  She covers the entire page in her scribbles.  And she's even trying to mimic me when I draw shapes.  Neither Evan nor I are artistic but my Mom is.  It must be from her.  Anyway, I want to get her this for Christmas.  I have a feeling she would never want to let it go!

Have a good weekend! YES, I know it's Thursday, but I like thinking ahead.

State of Things

I've been a wee bit emotional the last couple days.  While I'm so truly thrilled for our upcoming future and change of pace, leaving THIS life reeks havoc on me as well. 

The packing is going REALLY quickly.  Yesterday we finished everything but decorations.  Today we tackled decor around the house.  Liliana's room was the first to have all pictures and frames taken down.  That had me crying.  Seeing that bare wall made me realize that I will NEVER get to see her nursery like this ever again.  I still remember setting up her nursery with so much anticipation and knowing that this stage in Liliana's life is over goes straight to this Mommy's heart.

Our garage looks nuts.  I would go there and take pictures, but going over there would stress me out and make me tear up all at the same time!  It's JAMMED with boxes.  They're labeled "Master bedroom, Master bathroom, Liliana's nursery, etc."  They're ready to be packed into our moving truck.

Evan's GRADUATING FROM MEDICAL SCHOOL in four days!  Could I be more proud?  I don't think so.  I can't believe my hubby will be a DOCTOR soon!  I find smart men SO very sexy ... and my husband is BRILLIANT.  He deserves all of this success.  And I can't believe I get the HONOR of hooding him since I have my doctorate too!  Both of us in our robes will make for an AWESOME picture!

The other thing that has me tearing up?  My baby girl is going to be ONE YEAR OLD in 5 days.  Just thinking about it tears me up.  I can't put my finger around WHY I'm so darn emotional about it.  I've known this day has been coming since last May 21st, but somehow, since we've been so crazy busy planning Evan's Graduation party (27 people coming in for the weekend, so yeah, I'm rather busy), AND packing up an entire house and moving soon, I just haven't prepared myself for it.

She's doing SO many crazy things.  She's freaking brilliant by the way (not just saying that!).  She looks at our dog, says "the doggie!" and barks imitating our beagle.  What the heck?  Two words TOGETHER?  That my friend is supposed to be a TWO year old milestone!  OR, she'll tell me "the bottle, uh oh!" and throw it across the room.  HAHA!

She's SUCH a big girl and I just can't believe how quickly time has gone by.  Gone are the days of my baby BEING a baby.  She'll always be my baby in my heart, but I know that she's no longer in newborn clothes.  She's growing up and she'll be a little girl/ lady SO very soon.  It's a WONDERFUL day, yet one I can't help but think "can't I just have ONE more day with her being my tiny baby girl?"

SO yeah, that's the state of things.  LOTS of transition.  LOTS of changes.  LOTS of emotion.  But MOST OF ALL ... LOTS of excitement.

When You're Broke

You window shop.

I once saw a Gilmore Girls episode (fabulous show in case you guys haven't seen it) where Lorelie and Rory are broke so they decide to window shop.  They notice a couple of cute items in the Forever 21 window and think "there's no harm in window shopping right?"  So they enter the store and quickly exit with pain on their face saying "horrible idea, that just made the urge to shop even worse!"

Have you guys ever done what I just finished doing?  I went on the Forever 21 website and put about 15 things in my cart.  It totaled about $300 (and if you do the  math by the way, I was buying cheap things right?).  I did this entire thing knowing full well that (a) I don't have the TIME to be window shopping, (2) I don't have the MONEY to be window shopping, and (c) I don't have the heart to be window shopping!

I quickly exited out of the website and unlike Lorelie and Rory, it actually DID help me!  I got a little shopping bug out of my system, realized that really and truly I don't need anything, and thought to myself, well at least now I know that if for some reason our house would sell tomorrow, I could go to the mall and celebrate.

Want to see some of my imaginary purchases?

Cute little shirt for the weekend ... maybe going to the park.

Another casual shirt for the weekend.

Oooo ... loving this one!  I'd wear this to a picnic!

 How about some dresses?  Shall we?

I like dresses, a lot.  I could wear dresses every single day.  And this one?  I'd wear it on a date.

This one's so "easter-y" looking.  I think I'd wear this to a luncheon.

 

This one's a little fancier ... maybe for a nice dinner.

Maybe next time I get my shopping bug I'll go to Old Navy! After all, when you internet window shop, the world is your oyster!

Teen Mom

I have SO much to tell you guys about ... I was just in Little Rock for 5 days and had a couple job interviews, found a daycare for Liliana, AND saw our house for the first time.  It was VERY productive, quite busy, but mostly exciting.  Now that we saw our home and now that I know where I want to work (which I'll keep hush hush on this blog until I hear anything), I just want to move there!  I want to be in our house and start living our lives there!  We're just sitting here going through the motions in the mean time.

ANYWAY since the main thing I truly do want to tell you guys about is the job interviews, and since I don't want to talk about those until I know more, I've decided to write about something I've wanted to write about for quite some time. 

Confession time:

Hello, my name is Cristina, and for some twisted and nutty reason, I record and watch the show Teen Mom.

I have read COUNTLESS blogs about women saying this show makes girls wants to have kiddos and makes teen pregnant look fun.  I could not disagree with them more!  I don't think I'm watching the same show as them.  I think Teen Mom makes motherhood look absolutely horrifying.  In fact, even though I'm a mom, the show makes me wonder "am I ready to do that?"  It teaches you how big of a responsibility it is.  It makes the stress of being a mom, the stress of keeping a relationship with the Dad, and of course, HOPING to not completely mess up the babies life look impossible.

So here's what I think about the current Mommy's:

Kailyn: From what I can tell, this girl kind of abused of some very kind parents.  Joe's parents were more than willing to have her live there as long as she didn't date somebody else and she just went and dated somebody anyway!  I'm sorry, but your kid is like 6 months old ... can't you not date for a little while?  She has trouble securing finances, went to go live with her Mom, rarely gets to see her son, and works at Sports Authority part time.  Doesn't exactly sound like that would make a 16 year old want to get pregnant, does it?

Leah: This little couple is SO southern and their grammar makes me want to pull my hair out.  They're actually trying to be together, but they had TWINS and got pregnant only after a month of dating.  This, I think, would make young girls realize not only the importance of safe sex ... but, how about getting to know the guy before sleeping with them?  I don't get how girls sleep with their boyfriends after such a short period of time.  Get to know the guy!  Anyway, one of their twins has development problems and every time they show the little girl, I cry.  I know, I'm such a wimp, but it just breaks my heart.  I imagine Liliana going in to get an MRI and it makes me cry!  I think this couple is trying their very best, but the stress of getting married and having twins is SO much to handle at 19.

Jenelle:  This girl ... well ... she should have NEVER BEEN ALLOWED to have sex.   I'm sorry if that sounds cruel, but she's a joke of a parent, if you can even call her that.  Her Mother has custody of her kid and while her Mom is pretty crazy too, at least she doesn't get high all the time, so she's more successful than Jenelle.  Again, this girl DEFINITELY doesn't make it look fun to be a parent.

Chelsea: Out of all the girls, I think Leah and Chelsea are giving their kids the best chance at having a normal life.  While the Daddy of this baby is a loser, and even though Chelsea has yet to graduate high school, she seems to do a good job with her baby.  The best thing Chelsea has going for her is her Dad.  Her dad is VERY involved in his granddaughter's life.  Again though ... NOT fun.  She can't get her GED because all she does it fight with the Daddy and take care of her daughter.  She's HOPING to go to beauty school and I don't doubt she would have achieved that goal had she not gotten pregnant.

SO there you have it.  I personally like the show.  I'm aware it's trashy reality, but I like seeing the babies grow, I like thinking to myself "well I'm a WAY better parent than they are!" and I like the message ... "this is HARD work!"

ANOTHER thing: I've read on some people's blogs that these girls get paid by Morgan Freeman to be on the show and that's ridiculous.  Correction to these misinformed readers: the girls get money FOR THE KIDS college fund.  I think that's a great payment. 

You guys might disagree with my opinion on the show, but these are my thoughts!  Being a pregnant teen sounds terrifying and I think this show shows that.  Heck, being a pregnant person, no matter the age, is terrifying. I think as long as people REALIZE that you're probably never really "ready" to be parents, then you'll be ok.  It's a learning process as you go...but for one hour a week, I like feeling like parent of the week! (haha)

MORE Random Things on my Mind

I haven't blogged in a few days and I've actually had the intention to do so every single day, but I get too busy doing other things.  Since I had a bunch of blog posts in mind, I'll just break them up in to things going in our life right now.  I think the real reason that I haven't blogged is because I can't really blog about the things on my mind.  It's about Evan.  He's applying for residency programs and I have to stay mum about what he chose (whether Urology or OB/GYN) and all that this entails.  ANYWAY, let's start with my randoms huh?

What I Can Say About Evan's Decisions

For my new readers, let me give you a little background.  My husband is now in his fourth year of medical school and he is having to decide what to do with his life.  Needless to say, he has been rather stressed about it all.  He finally decided what career path he wants and I am SO happy for him.  This away rotation really helped make his decision and I'm confident he chose right.  Now starts the application process.  Oh my.  The applications themselves will cost approximately $1,000, but that's honestly the smallest of the problems.  He's applying to quite a few out of state programs to ensure he gets a residency spot and this means LOTS of airfare and lots of traveling (well, assuming he gets some interviews).  In applying to spots, this has left us asking "would we live here?"  For instance, we chose NO to New York City because we don't want to have our little baby girl and live in the city with a salary of $45,000 (what residents make).  We can't rely on my getting a job when taking these things into consideration, because what if I don't?  I'm obviously going to be looking, but we can't say "oh yeah, and you'll be making $60,000 with your job, because with today's economy, there are BIG chances it won't work. The other scary thing is that we cant' really afford for me to travel as well.  The residencies in medical school work really stupidly.  After he interviews, we'll list our favorite programs in order and then on one day he'll get an envelope, open it up, and it'll TELL US where we're living for the next few years.  Yup.  That envelope will contain our fate.  For now, we're planning on me traveling to a select few if he gets an interview simply because we wouldn't mind the locations at all.  SOOO sorry... nothing can really be revealed for a few months, but I will update on whether he's getting interviews and whether Liliana and I are joining him on the trips.

Where Am I?

 I have somehow managed to not mention what's going on in my academic life lately.  I've still been happy with my decision not to practice law.  I have been studying for one of the teacher certification exams and ... it's kinda hard!  I know you're thinking "oh you stupid girl" but I'm doing something called a generalist test where I would be certified in social studies, math, science, and English for 4 - 8 grade.  Well, did you know that 8th grade math is actually rather difficult?  Also, I forgot ALL of it.  Even still, I like it.  I'm set to take it on September 27th, but if for some reason, I'm not ready for it, I can postpone and that won't be the end of the world.  I'd like to keep it there though because we're going to New York on September 30th for my brother in law's wedding and I'd like to be stress free as much as possible for that trip.  This will be Liliana's first airplane ride, so wish us luck!

Radio

Excuse the yellow font, but I'm going for fall themed introductions today...I can't wait for fall!  It's my favorite time in Lubbock.  See, in San Antonio the leaves don't change, but here in Lubbock it actually changes seasons.  YAY!  ANYWAY, if you can't read, the yellow font says "Radio."  In Lubbock, I NEVER listen to the radio.  It's all country music and country isn't my favorite to say the least.  Here in San Antonio, I've listened whenever I'm in the car and .... holy crap I hate the radio.  They literally play the SAME 5 songs.  For instance, last week I was meeting my godmother for lunch and when I arrived they were playing a rap song.  I don't mind rap, in fact, I like it a lot.  But, it bothered the crap out of me that when I left the restaurant and got in the car, the SAME EXACT song was playing again.  Radio hosts have a WORLD of options...why must they insist on boring us.

Rihanna

Guys, I have a mad crush on Rihanna.  I love that new song she sings with Eminem (yeah I know ... am I 16 or what?).  And after seeing a few of her videos on You Tube last night, I realized she single handedly has the best body in Hollywood.  She has officially taken the hot body award from Jennifer Lopez and moved Jennifer Lopez's big butt aside.  Whenever I've gained some weight, I always take a picture of a celebrity and post it as my computer background.  Jennifer was on the background for a LONG time...I mean she's beautiful and Puerto Rican so I was in love.  But, Jenny has had a couple kids and although she still looks FREAKINGISHLY HOT, my new lady love is Rihanna.   Behold the new picture that will appear on my lap top as I continue trying to lose the baby weight and get ready for my curvalicious dress that I plan on wearing to the New York wedding.

Well I think I've bored you enough for today!  Hope everybody has a fabulous weekend!  We're heading back HOME after a long month away from our home sweet home.  While we're going to miss San Antonio and everybody here, we can't wait to put Liliana back in HER nursery and we can't wait to put ourselves into our COMFY bed.  Nothing like sleeping in your own bed...can't wait. 

Random Things on my Mind

 I often think about my blog post ideas while in the shower.  And every few weeks I have lots of ideas that wouldn't make for a full post, so I do these random little ones.  I've always been a girl of A LOT of words.  When I was four, I got in trouble for speaking too much in class and my Dad asked me why I kept getting in trouble.  I emphatically responded: "DAD, I HAVE THINGS TO SAY!!!"  So, without further ado, here are the things I want to say today:

Linea Negra:  So for those of you that don't know, the linea negra is a black line that some women develop during their pregnancy on their abdomen.  Hispanic and African American women are much more likely to develop it.  Since my family is Puerto Rican, I was pretty sure I would develop one and lord did I.  The thing is HUGE.  I know I should actually cherish this line on my belly because after all, it only solidifies the Hispanic in me, which I love, and it came about because my beautiful Liliana was growing in my belly.  However, I HATE this thing!  I don't know why, but it just bothered me.  I didn't like the way it made my pregnancy belly look...it wasn't a nice smooth area but was divided by the line.  Evan thinks I'm ridiculously silly and that he never even notices it.  Anyway, the saving grace?  It goes away after pregnancy and usually around 12 weeks, unless...you're ME!!! I am 11 weeks post partum and the line is as pronounced as it was when I gave birth.  Now I think this line is just playing jokes on me.  As I am losing my baby weight, I just notice the line more than ever.  Sigh...I'll update when it goes away, but I might be commenting about that in another year...blah.

Our Date this Weekend:  Guess who is having her first sleepover?  LILIANA!  On Saturday, Evan's Mom (now referred to as Grammy) is taking Liliana for the night so we can get some sleep.  Before Evan started his away rotation this week, we had been switching every evening so we weren't sleep deprived, but since he's now working, I took all nights this week but one (I didn't even want him to take that one, but he got up before I did...he has really missed his night time with Liliana and I have to admit sleeping through the feeding helped tremendously).  Anyway, Evan and I have decided to take advantage of the time and we're going to eat at an Italian restaurant named Bravo and then go see a movie at the IMAX.  I am freakin giddy with excitement!  I already know what I'm going to wear and get butterflies whenever I think about just being able to have a few hours with him.  Does this make me the worst Mom ever?  I mean, I know I'll miss Liliana SO much that night, but on the other hand, I am just thrilled to spend an evening with my husband.  We both are so looking forward to it.

Taking Liliana to the Lake House:  One of the best parts about visiting in San Antonio is that we get to go to Medina Lake.  My parents have had a lake house there since I was really young and we have so many memories of going there and tubing or skiing.  It really is a blast.  Well, on Saturday we're taking Liliana to the lake for the first time!  Now I know this will not be easy carrying her everywhere and we probably won't be dunking her underwater like we've been doing in the pool since she's so young, but I can't wait to see how much she loves the feeling of the boat moving or to start acclimating her to just being on the boat in general.  Evan and I eventually (in about 30 years when we can afford it) want to have a lake house and a boat, so she better start getting used to it!

Free Shopping:  I went shopping on Tuesday and never had to leave  home!  My amazing sister-in-law let me go through all of my niece's old clothes and just pick out anything I liked.  My niece has a CRAP TON of clothes.  Seriously, it is inspiring. Letting each other borrow our children's clothing is going to not only save us a bunch of money, but it'll help prevent these clothes going to waste.  Liliana has already outgrown at least 20 of her outfits and she only wore some of them twice.  What a waste!  If my brother and his wife ever have another girl then hopefully they can use some of Liliana's old clothes too.
So I went through tubs and tubs of clothes and picked out anythign that struck my fancy.  The only difficult part was that Sofia (my niece) was born in January and Liliana was born in May.  However, Sofia tends to wear her clothes about 3 months younger because she's a small dainty girl and Liliana is wearing clothes a tad bigger because she has now been sweetly nicknamed Chunky Monkey or Roly Poly by my family members (yeah, she's getting some serious chunk on her).  Look at some of my finds!!!

Look at these gorgeous dresses!  

The green one was bought in Puerto Rico so it's even more special. 

These are just a few casual outfits to wear on our little adventures to the park.

Little girl clothing is just the cutest isn't it?

Lubbock winters are actually pretty brutal, so all these outfits are really going to come in handy.

We gave that cardigan all the way to the left to Sofia right after she was born but even though it said 0-3 months Sofia didn't fit in to it until much later because baby clothes sizes are ridiculously dumb.  So, now Liliana will get to wear our gift to Sofia, haha.

 Here's the rest of everything else I'm borrowing.  It's so exciting to go shopping, spend absolutely nothing, and I got to do it all in my pajamas, awesome.

Now, before I end this blog post, I have to show you guys an obligatory "look at how cute my daughter is" picture.  The lady with her is my Aunt.  My Aunt and my cousin (her godmother) are obsessed with her!  I can't say that I blame them. ; )  Have a fabulous weekend!

Liliana 11 weeks old with my sweet Titi.

Lots of Little Things

I haven't really blogged about life in a few posts, and I have a lot of things that I want to talk about (surprise surprise right?), so I decided to do another post full of lots of little thoughts I've been having...

So You Think You Can Dance

Does anybody else love this show?  It's by far my favorite show of the summer and I look forward to watching some of it every Wednesday.  I always take at least 30 minutes study free to see my favorite dancers.  This year, my favorite is Alex.  He's amazingly talented.  In case you missed his dance last week, it was a hip hop routine with Twitch (a contestant from seasons past) and it was freakin' awesome.  Even Evan enjoyed it.  The guy is a ballet dancer...would have never guessed it when he danced like this. 

Fourth of July

I love this holiday.  This year was different from normal though.  Since I can remember, the fourth of july has been spent at the lakehouse.  Evan and I have been together for 8 fourth of july's now and this was the first year that we didn't spend it at the lake.  Normally, we go to Medina and all of our friends and family join us.  We ride around on the boat, jetski, eat too much brisket and watermelon, and then put on a hell of a fireworks show.  I'm always in charge of getting money out of the guests before we go buy the fireworks.  Usually, I accumulate well over $100, so we get a show that lasts quite a while.

This year though, thanks to the stupid stupid stupid bar exam, we stayed home in Lubbock.  My Dad and Grandpa came up for the weekend and you know what?  We still managed to have a pretty great time!  Evan, my sweetheart of a husband, knew how bummed I was not to be doing fireworks, so he bought this little package of fireworks we could do in the front yard.  None of them involved fire per se (not allowed in city limits), but we all were outside throwing confetti around our front yard with Liliana in our arms and Linda scared as crap because of the noise.

That being said, I can't freakin wait to go to the lake next year.   I missed not chewing out Evan and my brother for not playing safe with fire...it had become somewhat of a tradition. ; ) 

Liliana, of course, was dressed up with her pretty fourth of July outfits! She had to take part in the festivities too after all.

Toy Story 3

As I said, my Dad was in town this last weekend.   My Dad and I have this tradition where I take him to see a Pixar movie as his Father's Day gift.  We've seen Wally (bummer of a movie), Cars (kick ass movie), and both Toy Story's.  So this year, the timing couldn't have been better.  And let me tell you people...this movie was amazing.  Somehow, the Pixar guys did it again.  It's just as funny as the previous two and my Dad, as usual, was laughing harder than anyone else in the movie theater.  We had a great time even though we looked pretty dorky in our 3D glasses (that was his request).  Anyway, highly recommend you watch it.  I guarantee you'll love it. 

Bar Subjects

Last week, I received YET ANOTHER book in the mail for my bar prep.  I was kinda angry at first until I realized it's an ultra-condenced outline of all the subjects.  Do you know how many subjects are on this thing?  26!!!  Yeah, 26 subjects that I have to completely memorize.  Apparently, they want me to be a lawyer that can do it all.  Here's the thing, I don't wanna be!  So, can I opt out of those sections that I'm not particularly interested in?  I wish...

So, for your reading pleasure here are all the subjects one has to master to pass the Texas Bar Exam: Torts, Contracts, MBE & Texas Real Property, Criminal Law, MBE Criminal Procedure, MBE Evidence, Constitutional Law, Oil & Gas, Trusts, Guardianships, Wills, Texas Criminal Procedure, Texas Civil Procedure, Federal Civil Procedure, Texas Evidence, Commercial Paper, Bankruptcy, Agency, Partnership, Corporations, Secured Transactions, Community Property, Family Law, Consumer Law, Federal Income Tax, and last but not least, Federal Estate & Gift Taxation.

No problem right?  Oy...

Haircut

On a happier note, guess what I did today?

That's right, I chopped off my hair finally!  It was so long overdue people...long long overdue.  It had been approximately 5 months since I had been to get it cut.  I want to look respectable during interviews (if I'm lucky enough to land some). 

Personally, I love it!  My brother usually hates when I cut my hair short, but he'll have to understand that I'm going to be a professional woman and I have to look the part!!  So, Danny, if you're reading this blog ever...deal with it! : ) 

"Baby You're Turning Heads"

People, go to Hobby Lobby...now.  My Mom went to Hobby Lobby today and found these things called "baby, you're turning heads."  They're a bunch of bands or hats with separate bows that you can buy and change out.  They are the cutest thing I've ever seen.  My Mom came back with a band, two little hats, and three bows. The bows are each $2, the band is $1, and the hats are $4, which I find really affordable.  It's a heck of a lot cheaper than Etsy. I'm in LOVE!!