Really, Really Random

It's not that I don't have anything to say... it's just that I have so much going on. And I am so tired. And more importantly, I am tired of being so tired. I need a break.

Quick Update: The husband and I are still married. Yay!

Alex is doing ok in school and in baseball. He's found a great group of friends that he's been hanging out with. I let him go to the mall. By himself. With said friends. And he came back alive and not in hand cuffs. I would say that makes me a successful parent. Wouldn't you?

Isabel is loving softball and is doing a wonderful job on 1st base. She's made friends with our new neighbor - Emily. Isa will be 12 in 20 days (so she told me this morning). Barely?! I for sure thought she was going to be 13. /sigh

Nic is being a pickle. For reals. I do not know what I am going to do with that child. He is still the most sweetest, cutest, and lovable child... But some days I'd like to ship him off to my mom's house. Mom: If you are reading this "S.O.S"

The dogs are okay. The house is great. The landscaping is a work in progress. I am in the middle of a sneezing fit. Crud! Achoo.

The husband and I went and saw the Lincoln Lawyer a week or two back and now I want to marry Matthew McConaughey. Pretty please!?! I've been watching all of his movies; well the ones I can get my hands on. So far - the Wedding Planner. Nextflix doesn't have ANY available to "view now." Darn them.

That's about it. Well. Except for... I think every post should have a picture [or two or eight]... so here are some pics from my trip to San Antonio last year. I think we went in May - it was for work. My hotel was RIGHT on the Riverwalk. It was so very Selena-ish. Loved it.

Speaking of Selena [Helllooo J-Lo!]... I am LOVING the new American Idol format and judges!! And I about died when the Hulk came out and surprised James!! Oh. Right. Back to the pictures.

Love how GREEN it was. Well, not that last picture. That one's a bit gray. Or is it grey? Happy Monday, regardless.

Sun Devils

They shoulda been called Sun Divas, really!
[hey - i posted a few other posts today, scroll down and check them out!]

Isabel had her softball Opening Ceremonies today! To try and make it go as smoothly as possible, just her and I went. I am the Team Mom, after all.

Her first game is on Tuesday night.... Today was just a parade, some bonding time, and team and individual pictures.

Her team has been practicing like crazy and they are doing a wonderful job learning the ropes and getting to know each other (very important in softball, me thinks).

Here are a few pics from today:

And what photo shoot would be complete without Crazy Photo?! =]

If you counted, you'd see that we had a few girls missing. Sad.
I will try and get another team picture during our first game!

You Pick

I couldn't decide what to title this post.
Spring Break for us peeps = A TON OF BACKYARD LANDSCAPING
Which is why I've been MIA.
We had to rent an auger. Whatever that is.
We found some very neat things deep in the ground, in our backyard.
Including rock, clay, metal plates, etc.

Isa helped a ton. So did Alex. But on this particular day, Alex had a baseball game.

So... now that you've had a chance to looky-looky, which title would YOU have gone with?!

Dem dar granite in dose holes!

Armageddon

The little girl that could.

I am not going to lie... picture #2 had me singing a little Aerosmith...

Watch you smile while you are sleeping
While you're far away and dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Where every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure

Don't wanna close my eyes, I don't wanna fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you baby and I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause even when I dream of you the sweetest dream would never do
I'd still miss you baby and I don't want to miss a thing

And yes... Just like the movie, our first auger broke. We had to take it back and trade it for a new one. So, our little backyard adventure took a bit longer than expected.

Besides dirt, we now have 2 Tipu trees, 1 Lemon Tree, 1 Lime Tree and 5 bushes of some kind - all neatly in their little dirt homes. YAY!!

Tortilla Flat

At the very beginning of Spring Break - on a day momma didn't feel so hot, papa took Isa, Alex and Alex's friend Cesar to a little place called Tortilla Flat. In addition to this tiny not-even-a-speck-on-the-map locale, they also visited Canyon Lake and tried their hand at fishing. Here are some pics from their trip:

isa took this next of the bird [?] - she is so proud of it, she wants me to get it printed and hung in her room!

this picture below reminds me of an old western

I am bummed I didn't get to go along, but Nic and I stayed home and hung out like homies.
[okay, I slept on the couch and he played Toy Story 3 on the Wii]
[for who knows how long]

House full of stuff...

It's been a great weekend so far.  I had Marcos' side of the family over for a fiesta. Complete with homemade Carne Asada, rice & beans. And Mariachi music. Nothing out of the ordinary at our house, really.

After we stuffed ourselves like a pinata - we went outside to enjoy the WONDERFUL [don't be jealous] weather.  Took some pics of the kids. Well, some of the kids. Others [the teenagers] wouldn't fall for my bribes. Damn them.

Meet Elias. And just so you know - and as he tells me - it's not EE-LIE-US. It's EL-EE-US. And there's his older brother, Ethan (pronounced as it's written) above him on the slide.

This is their younger brother, Lucas. Or Luca as we call him.

He thinks he's a pirate. Or something.

Every time I pointed the camera in his direction, Mr. Ham made a face.

These are Elias' shoes. LOVE THEM! Ethan has a pair, too!

This is Nicolas. Or Nico. Or Nic. Or Nickelbutt. Or Nick, Jr.

But wait.

You already know him.

Mr. Pirate aka Mr. Ham aka Luca.

Nic. But an upside down version.

Which turned out way better than the pineapple-upside-down cake I made.

Can you say smoke-filled kitchen.

Grrr.

Cute Nic.

Handsome Elias.

Darn. I just said EE-LIE-US.

Sorry dude, it's habit.

We wanted to name Nic Elijah (and call him Eli).

But Elias was born first... and we thought that it would be weird to have two cousins with

such similar names.

Elias and Elijah.

So she [SIL] chose EL-EE-US.

We chose NIC-OL-US

My Sister-in-Law, Cristina. The mom of Ethan, Elias, and Lucas.

After they left, we had seven kids remaining. My four other nephews and my niece.

16,15,10,8

and then my three.

They had a great time, me thinks!

I made them pancakes for breakfast and then sent them off to the pool.

And that's where they are now.

Before the family showed up yesterday, we got our Saturday chores done.

One of them was grocery shopping.

I decided to pick up some fresh flowers.

I LOVE YELLOW ROSES!

Marcos is the one who told me to get them... so I did!

And then I found these purple flowers!!

Take a gander, if you will at the shelf (Goodwill find) and the small table thing (Goodwill find).

I am not sure if it's in its permanent spot, but I like having the table there.

I am going to go to Lowes tonight to find some cool knobs and maybe some gel-stain to age it a bit.

I love having STUFF in the house. The hallway doesn't seem so empty now.

I had this plant there originally... but moved it to under the utensils.

Everything seems so small in the pictures...

I promise it looks normal size IRL.

Marcos hung up my framed art.

Not MINE. But you know what I mean.

Ross - $16 each.

Sorry for the Orange Crush photo - but this is what the hallway looks like now, when you walk in. There is still a lot of hallway behind me, that you can see in this photo.

And the girl. To the left.

That's Amber. My niece.

And finally... I found these oil-rubbed bronze tin/metal/stuff things... [see #2 on this post]

And fell in love with them.

Today - I need to get another house plant (hooked on house plants!), we are going to get some blinds for the kids' rooms (finally), and some screws and anchors so I hang up my new stuff in the pantry hall.

I took down all of that colorful plastic stuff (not sure I ever shared a pic)... and am replacing it with classic stuff. I even changed up the clock.

I decided to keep the stripes... but just go for a more traditional look.

Lots to do... but first, I need to drag those kids outta the pool and get them on their way! Marcos is taking Alex to the movies. Isa and I and Nic are hanging out here - getting stuff done. I am trying to design the backyard because the Lemon and Lime trees MUST go IN this week. Now that the dog run is up, no more excuses!!

Hope you are having a WONDERFUL Sunday! It's the start of Spring Break for the kids and VACATION for Marcos and I.

P.S. Sorry for the quality of some of the pics. I am taking my camera back to Best Buy this week to try and see if I can get it replaced (there is a scratch on the lens - makes little ghosts, energies, or just dust particles - which then makes me have to change things to B&W and Sepia).  I vote for a bigger and better camera. Maybe if I get the job just posted for. Maybe.

No. 14

Oh the pain and suffering I put him thru just to get a picture.
You'd think I was asking him to eat bugs. On a stick. At the Grand Canyon. On a rainy day. Without a mule.
Freak.

Oh but he's my freak and I lurve him mucho.

BTW, speaking of mucho... anyone else's Blogger log in page in FRENCH?! I know enough to know it's not English (or Spanish or German) - but that's it. Weird.

P.S. Picture's of Isa playing her game coming soon! She has a scrimmage next Friday. Stay tuned.

P.S.S. Today is chore day & BBQ day - the in-laws are coming for food and stuff. And then I get all of my sabrinos (nephews & niece) for the weekend. That's 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 children in my house - at the same time. Yay!

Spring Treats

Alex had his first game last Tuesday and I never shared with you the pictures I took. The rug rat was not on the starting list - so I could barely get any pictures of him (had nothing to do with the fact that he hates having his picture taken. nothing).

Combs ended up losing by a lot - but our guys had the SPIRIT... and did a fantastic job!

And finally... see that cute kid in the #14 jersey?! Yep, that would be Alex.

I found out that the boys had their usual lunch around 10:45 - and the game didn't end until almost 7pm. No one fed them!! So, I made a few trip to store this week and purchased the Snack Pack.

Think that will tide them over for their first away game?! I drove it down to the school at 1:30 just before they loaded the bus to leave. Another mom brought the drinks!

What you can't see are the Uncrustables - you know, the frozen PB&J sammies?! Love them! Thought they would be nice and easy for the ride over.

I have lots to share about Isa's softball team - but I will save that for another day! I am wiped out!

P.S. Did you take note of the hand sanitizer? Yes, I am that mom.
P.S.S. I got a text message from Alex as they were pulling away that said "ight. love you mom."
P.S.S.S. I should have bought some tissue. My heart swoons for that kid.