Spelling

As a child, I was the QUEEN of spelling. My favorite time of year was when we would have the class spelling bees (which I would win), followed by school level (which I would also win), and then on to district level, county level, etc. Unfortunately, I always ended up missing a silly word. I never made it to the SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE. Mateo is already practicing for the days when he will be Spelling Bee champion. He just learned how to spell two new words. And he is super duper proud of himself.

The first word, he learned last night. We went to Wendy's before going to Skate Night and he ordered his favorite mandarin orange cup. After eating his oranges, we had this conversation:
Mateo: Mami, I know how to spell empty.
Mami: Empty, like what?
Mateo: You know, empty. My mandarin oranges is empty. It means NOT FULL mami.
Mami: How do you spell empty?
Mateo: Like this (he then proceeded to draw the letters M and T in the air) Get it mami? M-T. I spelled a word.

And then he picked up a new word this morning.
Mateo: Mami, I know how to spell Anne. She's my aunt Anne. She lives in Cali-forn-YA.
Mami: How do you spell Anne?
Mateo: Like this ("N"-"E").
Mami: Great Mateo.
He actually says Anne more like (Eh-Nee) so his phonetic spelling of her name is right on!

Mis Queridos Hijos 10/28/2007

Dear Tino, Mateo, and Sarah,

This week we were busy getting ready for Halloween festivities. We were trying to get costumes rounded up, Halloween candy bought, etc. Don't worry, even though Papi got the Halloween box of stuff out of the attic several weeks ago, it is still sitting on the garage floor. I'm still not good at doing projects. It's just not my thing. But, I promise I will let you help decorate tomorrow night for our Family Home Evening activity. That way you can thoroughly enjoy the Halloween decor for ALMOST 48 hours.

Tino: It's report card time.
YOU ARE GROUNDED. Just kidding. You got As in all subject areas except Reading . . . which was an A-. You also had a Cub Scout Pack meeting this week. You didn't go because of baseball practice, but you were excited when I brought home all of your latest belt loops for table tennis, wildlife conservation, language and culture, and collecting. On Saturday there was a cub scout fundraiser. The tri-pack raised $1243. In other news, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series. We sent you to bed before the game ended because you were getting really grumpy. Then we woke you up so you could see that last two outs. It's still debatable whether you would have been more grumpy had we not awakened you to see your Bo Sox win or the fact that Papi woke you from a deep sleep.

Mateo: You enjoy writing letters and numbers on everything in sight. You have also started to make the connection between letter names and beginning letter sounds. Just because I'm a Reading Specialist/Literacy Coach, I have not pushed you to achieve in the area of reading. Everything you have picked up so far you have learned from pre-school, your Leapster games, the new reading show on PBS kids, or who knows where else. I am not pushing the academics nor have I sat down with you to really work with you. You had so much fun at your Halloween party at school on Friday. And Buzz Lightyear did come to the rescue on Saturday night. At the church party I did you a favor by eating all of your peanut candies (Snickers, Reeses, etc.). When we got home from the party, I dumped out your candy, read labels, and took out any other peanut offenders. THANK GOODNESS you know what you are looking for. Because even after I had went through your candy twice, you found TWO peanut candies that I had overlooked and handed them over to me.

Sarah: You have been happy for two weeks now. You smile. You laugh. You joke around (even though we don't understand what you are saying). The most important thing is that you are laughing at your own jokes. At least you think you are funny. And we are happy that you are happy. YEAH! Both special needs pre-schools are FULL until next year . . . as in August of 2008. You are on both waiting lists, but it isn't looking too promising for this school year. You begin speech therapy on Wednesday afternoon. You had a lot of fun at the Halloween party on Saturday night. I didn't get any pictures of you because you were with Hna. Yasmin the entire evening. I don't know where you guys were hanging out, but you got the very best candy out of all three kids. I know because I have been eating all your candy. Thanks for sharing your Kit Kats, Snickers, Reeses, peanut m and ms, and junior mints with me. Oh and thanks also for the bazooka gum. It brings back childhood memories. You are very excited that you have a BIG GIRL BED. You keep going into your room and climbing into bed about 55 times a day. Now if you would just reflect upon those days that you loved taking naps. Wouldn't it be a lot of fun to take a nap in your big girl bed? Humor me and try it. I guarantee you will like it.

That's all for now. I love you!

Mami

P.S. I write this stuff in a blog. When you kids are older this will probably really date me. Blogging will most likely be a thing of the past. (Kind of equivalent to when I tell people that your papi and I had a long-distance relationship Dominican Republic to California and we communicated via- faxes.) Anyway, people read this blog. And a blogger friend has asked for updates on papi and mami as well. I think she got that idea from one of her friends. I'll be thinking about some stuff to write about us from now on. Stay tuned for next week's installment of Mis Queridos Hijos.

The Spanish Police

Mateo always likes it when you SPEAK and only sometimes enjoys "cuando hablas". He is the funkiest of all three kids when it comes to speaking Spanish. It's like a deep dark skeleton that we hide in the closet. According to Mateo, we can only speak Spanish when he decides it's going to be cool. Or when he just wants to be a smarty pants and tease his abuela/grandma in Utah that doesn't understand ONE WORD he is saying when he speaks to her in Spanish. Every now and then he will come up to me and say "mami hable espanol". So then we proceed to speak in Spanish for the next hour or until he gets bored of the Spanish game. When abruptly he will announce MAMI, IT'S TIME TO SPEAK (translation: Speak English). We have just been playing the Spanish game. He also likes to quiz me to see if I really do know Spanish. It goes something like this:

Mateo: Mami do you know how you says "star" in Spanish?
Mami: Estrella.
Mateo: Very good. O.K. How do you says telescope?
Mami: I have NO IDEA. How do you say telescope in Spanish?
Mateo: It's called "te-le-sco-pi-o" telescopio like that mami. Now you say it.
Mami: Telescopio. (Rolling my eyes and thinking, yeah whatever Mateo.) Muy bien Mateo.

I wondered if he was just adding an "o" ending to make it sound Spanish. I just rushed to my Spanish-English dictionary. Guess what? If you are ever stargazing in a Spanish speaking country and you need to know how to say telescope in Spanish, it is indeed telescopio.

Too far from the Mothership

Living in Orlando has been a very interesting CHURCH experience. I've seen things happen in church that never even occurred in the 3rd world country where I served my mission. There have been times when Cristian and I look at each other and say in disbelief "Did you just see that? Or did you just hear that?" Sometimes things from the Church Handbook of Instructions get a little bit lost in translation. I've just learned to chalk it up as we're a little bit too far from the Mothership a.k.a. Salt Lake City, UT. That, and we live on the edge of the bible belt so sometimes beliefs and/or customs/cultures get a little bit intertwined. Sometimes church functions as "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints-Southern Baptist Style". But I do have to say it's getting A LOT BETTER than it was 3 years ago.



Anyway, I recently left the community Cub Scouts and transtioned into a pack chartered by our branch. Tonight is the fundraiser for our tri-pack (2 English speaking wards and the Spanish speaking branch). We have NO money in our budget. For some reason, the customary popcorn sales do not go over well in the church tri-pack. You know, the cub scout equivalent as the Girl Scout cookies . . . except for the popcorn costs 5 times as much. But, I do have to say that for the last couple years I was involved in the community pack, we PROFITED between $3000-$4000 on popcorn sales alone. We didn't even have to do the Spring Family Fest fundraiser. Basically the boys had to take two 1 1/2 hour shifts standing outside the supermarket selling their popcorn. And if they wanted all the prizes that go along with being overachievers, they could sell popcorn to next-door neighbors, family members, parents' coworkers, etc. En fin, the cub scouts actively participated in the fundraiser. n my opinion, something is WRONG with the picture in tonight's fundraiser. I spent Wednesday getting the things ready for the Kindermusik gift basket I am donating for the silent auction, Thursday at the store buying stuff to make chili (fundraiser dinner) and cookies (musical chairs style "sweet walk"), yesterday making chili so it would have an extra day for the spices to set or whatever the cooking term for it tastes way better the 2nd day, and this morning I get to make dozens and dozens of cookies. Noon is when all the parents will meet at the church to decorate for the Fall Carnival/Cub Scout Fundraiser. And 5:00 p.m. is when we are supposed to be across town (a good 45-minute drive) so we can support our newest cub scouts at their BAPTISM. Followed by rushing back across town, getting kids dressed in costumes, warming up the chili, and being ready for the Fall Carnival at 7:00 p.m.

Is it just me or does it seem like the adults are putting WAY too much on their plates for today AND not really making it conducive so that the kids can actively participate in raising funds for THEIR fundraiser??? The kids are going to be running around playing carnival games, visiting the "Haunted House", etc. If we're not truly following the counsel of the brethren by OVERSCHEDULING our families and the B.S.A. states "it is best if the Cub Scouts earn their own way" in raising funds, wouldn't it have been a heck of a lot easier to just ask the parents to open up their checkbook, write a check for pack dues/den dues and call it a day???

Halloween Horror

Today was Day #5 in the quest to find Sarah her Halloween costume. You see, my mom (a.k.a. Tyra the Taskmaster) didn't come for her yearly Fall visit. This means stuff that I usually put off doing until she is here to MAKE me do such as clean up all the crap . . . I mean clutter from off the top of my dryer and finding Halloween costumes for kids. . . still hasn't been done. There can't be anything more TORTUROUS in my book (other than potty-training a stubborn 2 1/2 year old) than trying to round up costumes for 3 kids. That in and of itself is the perfect call to action for birth control. Less kids means less costumes which means less stress and headaches for mothers that can't figure out cutesy costumes for her kids every year. Since we struck out YET AGAIN in the quest to find a costume for Sarah, I figured I wouldn't make the same mistake as last year and do the Halloween candy run at 6:45 p.m. on Halloween night. Just for future reference in case you didn't already know, it's a very very very good idea to purchase Halloween candy prior to Halloween. Otherwise, you might have to do what we did last year and A. Turn off all the lights in the house and pretend that you're not home or B. Send hubby and 3 kids down the street and around the corner to Trick or Treat to as many houses as possible and as fast as possible, returning to the house so mom can pillage through the kids' Halloween stash and "re-gift" all the yucky candies that mom and kids won't eat OR giving out the candy that has peanut flour, peanuts, nuts, etc. in it that would otherwise have the potential of killing my second-born child.

Anyway, I decided to buy candy today so I wouldn't run the risk of forgetting about that minor detail again this year. I had a BRILLIANT idea. I decided to buy candy that my kids didn't like or that they aren't particularly fond of. One of the 5 bags of candy I purchased was an 8 pound bag of tootsie rolls, tootsie pops, dots, etc. Sarah and Mateo aren't fans of tootsie anythings. Tino likes it, but is away at school and baseball practices, games, etc. so he won't even remember it's in the house. So guess who has eaten about 20 pieces of the tootsie rolls today? Yes, I have eaten the midgies, the long skinny ones, the fat/stalkier ones, the fruit flavored ones, etc. This is why I can't have this stuff in my house because I have NO self-control. My head is pounding so hard right now cause of the sugar rush. My tummy hurts big time. And I just did a search to see how many calories those tootsie things have. Let me tell you IT'S NOT WORTH IT. So much for having Saturday be my non-workout day. I better put the kids to bed right now and head back over to the gym. So much for my brilliant idea.

The San Diego Hazen Update

I just received this e-mail. I know everyone has been worried and wondering what is going on. Here's Rob's latest update:

Subject: Hazen Family Update

It has been an interesting last couple of days but all is
well with us. Monday morning at about 2:00 am we were woken by
75 mph winds. Rachel told me to make sure the patio furniture
didn't come through the windows. So I went outside to fix the
furniture and saw flames on the hills behind our house.  After
driving up the hill to see how close the flames were, I decided
it was time to call the Emergency Preparedness Rep in our
ward to initiate a telephone tree to wake the members.  About 1
hour later the sheriff's department was in the streets with their
sirens announcing a mandatory evacuation.

After 2 evacuations, we have returned to our home and there has been
small handful of homes lost in our stake but everyone is safe.
Our stake center was converted to a public shelter yesterday.
Today it was converted to a home for 150 National Guard
troops. It is pretty cool to see the parking lot full of hummers
and troops carrying machine guns walking around in the
building. It has been overwhelming and very humbling to see
the outpouring of support, sense of community and generosity.
With over 500,000 people evacuated it is not uncommon to be
working side by side with someone that has also been
evacuated, is unsure if their home is lost or homeless.
The shelters have been filled quickly with water, supplies and
volunteers.  Many of the shelters have halted any further
donations because they have more than enough.

Yesterday, the Humanitarian Aid dept. of the Church
dropped off an 18 wheeler of food to our stake center.  It was
of course more than we could handle so it was distributed to
other shelters, food banks and locations in need.  We had a
need for cots and were able to trade some of our blankets for
cots with other shelters.  As a result, our buildings in the stake
will now be fully equipped with cots if another need arises.

Today when the National Guard came in, our Stake
President asked what we could do for them for food and they
responded that they were self sufficient and didn't need
anything.  He asked for meals, snacks and baked goods
to be brought in.  Within 30 minutes, Chipotle, McDonalds,
Baja Fresh, Chic-fil-A,Subway, Starbucks, Mr. Taco, and other
local restaurants had donated meals for the troops (can you
tell that I had some suggestions on who to call?). I am sure
that any other restaurant that was called would have
responded in the same manner.

It has been an anxious time but a wonderful experience for our family. 
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.  Give it a week and we will be back to
sunny blue skies. Don't let these fires keep you away.  We would love to see you.

Love,
The Hazen Family

The Pee House

Yes, you read that title correctly. I now live in a pee house. As in pee-pee house. Ms. Erika, Sarah's behavior therapist is determined that Sarah is ready to be potty trained. And I am determined that this takes too much stinkin' effort. I have been held hostage within the confines of my home for the last 4 days. AND I AM GOING C-R-A-Z-Y. As in maybe I need to up the one a day dosage of lexapro to maybe two, three, or four. We have done quick little outings to Tino's baseball game, to church, to the gym, etc. But my blood pressure rises (probably off the charts) and I am in a constant state of anxiety and can't wait to rush back home. To the pee-pee house. My kid refuses to go to the bathroom in public places, which is a totally good thing. She knows how to hold it for long periods of time (between 5 and 7 hours). But the second we get home all hell breaks loose. She will sit on the toilet and then jump off immediately. Then about 5 minutes later she has an accident. I have been mopping floors, sanitizing where bodily fluids have spilled, and doing laundry like there's no tomorrow. I was bathing Sarah after every accident, but Ms. Erika told me that is sending the wrong message and it was rewarding her accidents with quality/positive bath time with mami. So now I'm supposed to hand Sarah a wipe, have her clean herself up, change into dry clothes, etc. This part is sending me over the edge. I can't stand the smell of urine. Especially when it's on MY KID. My kids take at least 2-3 baths per day (probably a trait passed down by their overly-hygiene conscious papi who also bathes at least 2-3 times per day). So this wipe down the pee with a wet-wipe and move on with the day is a little much for me to handle. So for now, if you come visit me, just be prepared for the fresh stench of urine you will smell on MY DAUGHTER and at MY HOUSE. YUCK!

Purses and STUFF

My cousin has been posting in reference to all you could learn about someone by looking at their google history on the internet. Celia Fae is NOSY (according to her, not me . . .) and she wants to hear more about Cristian and I (see her comment Mis Queridos Hijos 10/21/07). My question is, what can you learn about someone by looking at the contents inside their purse, handbag, etc.? I was looking for something the other day and couldn't find it. I knew it was in the deep dark abyss somewhere. I dumped out the contents of my Thursday purse a.k.a. Nike backpack . . . . and this is what I found. What do you have hiding inside your purse, handbag, etc.??? And what did you learn about me by looking inside my purse????
Now for Cristian. Here's a Cristian story. More stories to come. Let me preface this by saying English is not his first language. He was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. He has been immersed in U.S./American culture and the English language for almost 12 years. This story might not be funny to the general population . . . but it's funny to me. (And it's funny to him . . . he thought this would be a good story to add to "My Blog". ) Cristian has been coaching Tino's baseball team. Actually, he's an assistant coach . . . trying to learn the ropes so he can someday be the coach and/or manager of Tino's baseball team. Each team and the coaching staff need to participate and help out with umping duties. Last week, it was the #1 team (Cubs) that umped for Tino's game. The parents and coaches continued throughout the game to make comments to Blue and yell at Blue who was standing behind home plate. After the game, Cristian went up to Blue and asked him with complete sincerity and seriousness. . . "Hey Blue, is that your given name or your nickname? I've never heard that name before. It's a really cool name." Blue rolled his eyes, gave a complete look of DISGUST, and walked away without answering. Cristian's friend Santiago (fellow Dominican/Islander) pulled him aside and gave him a little English lesson, explaining that "Blue" is the term used for umps because they are usually dressed in blue.

Mis Queridos Hijos 10/21/2007

Dear Tino, Mateo, and Sarah,

First of all, today was the Primary program. Today was also the first time in a couple of years that I was sitting in the congregation for the program. I LOVED IT! It's nice not being the Primary counselor in charge of writing the program and overseeing the music for the program.



Tino: We went to Blizzard Beach on Friday. You and Isaac convinced me to go on the big giant scary water slide with you. I could feel my heart leap out of my chest. I don't think I will ever go on that slide again. But I'm glad you invited me to go along. Yesterday you hit a grand slam homer. You also pitched. The opposing team had 2 outs and 2 strikes . . . one more strike/out and you guys would have won the game. Then the unfortunate 2 hour rule went into play. Since the other team didn't have the chance to finish up the entire inning, it reverted back to the score from the previous inning and your team lost by 1 point. Don't worry. In my mind, you guys WON with your 5 point lead. And you were the pitcher that SAVED the day.

Mateo: You continue to love Thursdays because you get to socialize with the students in my Silvers Sneakers class after the cool-down/stretch. They love the fact that you smile and listen to all of their stories. That makes them feel very special. You had a great time on Friday at Blizzard Beach. You helped Sarah break all the rules. Every time the lifeguard would turn his back, you and Sarah would either climb UP the slide, or go down head first. You have that sense of adventure in you. I think that same sense of adventure is going to give me a big giant headache when you get older. Today you were offended that you didn't have a part in the primary program. You demoted yourself and returned back to Nursery to be with Sarah several months ago. You want to speak in the microphone next time there is a primary program. Guess where you went today during the 2nd and 3rd hour of church? I think you are FINALLY ready to make the transition into big kid primary. No more nursery for you.

Sarah: Your overall affect has changed dramatically over the last couple of weeks. I don't know what is going on, but EVERYONE has noticed it. You are a lot more happy and pleasant to be around. You have also started to pretend play AND TALK while you are playing. This morning you spent 2 hours in your room playing by yourself. I kept thinking Mateo was with you because there was so much conversation going on. You are talking because you want to talk. It's very exciting. Also, you have been wearing your big girl underwear for 4 days now. Mami has mopped the floor 6 times in the last 4 days. How about I cut you a deal. I will mop more than my usual once or twice per month. You don't need to pee on the floor in order to get me to mop. How does that sound???? Let's practice using words. All you need to say is "Mami, I want a clean floor please". You don't need to pee on the floor to get your point across. Words are powerful things. Please use them.

I love you!

Mami

SHHHHHHHHHH Don't tell Cristian

I love Heather's headline from yesterday. Why re-invent the wheel? And about not telling Cristian . . . TOO LATE. My plan earlier this week when I went to UPS to send the boxes of baby clothes was to do the world-famous credit card float. You know . . . buy me a couple of days. Send the boxes UPS . . . pay with credit card . . . pick up my paychecks on Friday . . . pay the credit card back . . . end of story. Yeah, it all worked out until "the pick up the paycheckS on Friday" part. New work policy is that the paychecks get locked up in the safe. And the only person that can open the safe and have access to the contents of the safe is the General Manager, who is hardly ever there when I go there. So I guess I have a new way to save money. Saves me that trip to the bank. I'll just keep all my uncashed paychecks locked up in the safe. Oops . . . digression. Back to the original story. Cristian went to do bills today and I was discovered. He checked out my credit card statement and wanted to know what on earth I had spent $85.16 on at UPS. (And how many cute Ross outfits could that buy me Celia Fae???) Oops. Next time I'll wait until pay day before visiting UPS. Or at least I'll do something FUN like rearrange furniture and paint rooms in the house. That's a way better SHHHHHHH Don't tell . . . . than my UPS field trip.

Blizzard Beach

My sister Heather was in the holiday mood at the CRACK of dawn this morning. Since she was in the holiday mood, it also got the Ramirez family in the holiday mood. We decided to go to Blizzard Beach and use up the last of our free passes before they expired December 31. I know that the water is heated year-round, but you have to get out of the water to go to the different rides and that just isn't my thing when it's COLD. So what better time to hit the beach . . . Blizzard Beach than late October. It's off-season, so most of the tourists are gone. The longest we had to wait for any ride was about 15 minutes for SUMMIT PLUMMET. (I am not computer savvy, so I don't know how to upload a video of the ride into my blog. Do a google search and check it out if you get a chance.) I went on Summit Plummet. And I will never do it again. About scared the pee out of me. A 120 feet drop and moving downwards at speeds of up to 60 mph are not my thing. Sarah and Mateo LOVED the ski lift that you ride to get up to the top of the "mountain". There's a fun family raft ride right next to Summit Plummet. We had a lovely day listening to Christmas songs, riding ski lifts, toboggans, and floating down the rapid river. I'll post some pictures later. Heidi later. You all know what that means. Could be tomorrow. Could be 10 years from tomorrow.

P.S. Special thanks to Arthur Levine at about.com for this picture of Summit Plummet.

IN-SOM-NI-A

So I suffer from insomnia BIG TIME. I don't know exactly why, but I just do. And then it starts the vicious cycle because when I am tired and ready to sleep (usually around 6:30 a.m. or 7:00 a.m., my kids are ready to get up and start their day.) Then if I nap during the day, I'm not tired when it should be bed time . . . around 11:00 p.m. or 11:30 p.m. There are nights like last night, where I actually could have slept through ANYTHING. That is, if I wouldn't have been awakened at least 20 times for one reason or another. I guess since I didn't suffer from insomnia last night, apparently Cristian did. Prior to each incident, I was in a DEEP SLEEP.

Incident #1 Cristian: (Waking up Heidi to have this conversation) Heidi, someone is in our bed. Will you check it out? I'm tired and need to work tomorrow.

Incident #2 BIG CLUNK NOISE as if someone just fell out of the bed. Heidi ignores this sound and tries to get back to sleep.

Incident #3 Cristian: (Delayed reaction . . . about 5 minutes later) Heidi, someone just fell out of our bed. You better see if they are alright.

Incident #4 Cristian: Heidi, don't forget I need to wake up by no later than 7:00 a.m. You need to help me get up. I really, really need to get to the office early.

Incident #5: Cristian: (Waking up Heidi again to have this conversation) How are you going to wake me up in the morning? Don't forget. I need your help.

Incident #6: Cristian: Who was in our bed? They aren't here anymore. Where did they go? I don't see anyone in our room.

Incident #7: Cristian: Did you hear the alarm go off? You were supposed to help me get up.

Incident #8: Cristian: Have you seen the iron?
Heidi: (Thinking to herself, but unable to open her mouth and say the words . . . I iron maybe 2 times a year if lucky . . . And I think I've already filled my quota for the year. So I have NO CLUE where the iron is since I won't need it for at least another 5-6 months).

Incident #9: Cristian: Do you know where the iron is? I really need to get ready for work.

Heidi: How about looking next to your bathroom sink for the iron where you put it yesterday when you filled it up with more water???

Incident #10: LIGHTS IN ROOM TURNED ON. Iron and steam sound coming from the foot of the bed where speed ironing is taking place.

Incident #11: Cristian: Are we meeting for lunch today? What time?

Incident #12: Cristian: Did you hear that beeping noise? What was that? It wasn't the alarm. Where did that noise come from?

Incident #13: Cristian: If you can't meet for lunch today, we can meet tomorrow.

Incident #14: Cristian: I can't take Tino to school. He's going to have to go with the neighbors. I can't be late for work.

Incident #15: Cristian: Why aren't you talking to me? Why aren't you answering my questions? I'm just trying to hold a conversation with you.

Well, that was my night and early morning in a nutshell. Now I'm heading off to nap so we can start this vicious cycle over again. And tonight it will be MY TURN to be chatty throughout the ENTIRE NIGHT.

Conspiracy Theory

Yes, you read right. It's a big giant conspiracy. I finally took the boxes to UPS today. You know, the ones that have been sitting in the corner of Sarah's room since dad's visit in April and mom's visit in May. Since they had been sitting there so long, I had to go through and take out all the summer-ish baby clothes, since Max and Hazen won't be needing to sport their cute Gap shorts and short sleeved t-shirts in the SNOW. So even after I consolidated the 4 boxes into 3 boxes (yes, we only have 1 box sitting in the corner of Sarah's room now), it was still a MAJOR UPS RIP-OFF. I get big Kindermusik shipments Fed-Ex-ed to me 2nd day air and the most it has ever run me per box/shipment is $37.00. The thing that really irritates me is that the rates for USPS ran at least $5-$10 more per box than UPS. And I knew that if I put off sending this boxes one more day so I could go to FED EX another time, it wouldn't be happening anytime soon. (Perhaps by the time Heather was on Baby #4 and Anne was on Baby #5, 6, or 7). So, I know my grocery store, CVS and Costco prices but am CLUELESS when it comes to shipping things cross-country. How much did this cost to send to UT by ground????? If you get it right, your prize will be whatever I have still left in Sarah's closet and out in the garage shipped to you by your carrier of choice . . . UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc. as long as you foot the bill. :0)

Dr. Davis

So as per usual at a momentous occasion in history, I left the digital camera at home. Yesterday afternoon Sarah and I went to see Dr. Davis, the pediatric neurologist. He was absolutely phenomenal. Since we haven't had any medical work done relating to Sarah's developmental delays, we are getting the ball rolling with that. I guess that if you are prone to seizures, you are also prone to having developmental delays. Over the course of the next couple of months, we will have Sarah's blood work done, genetic testing, MRI, EEG etc, (and some other stuff that I can't think of off the top of my head but I am way too tired to go out into the van to grab Sarah's medical file and read my notes from yesterday.) As for autism and anything else related to that, Dr. Davis did notice some characteristics, but doesn't want to further evaluate Sarah for autism until he receives all of the medical testing results.

FINALLY, speech and OT called to set up appointments to get started with Sarah. Between Kindermusik classes, piano lessons, Silver Sneakers, and tutoring I only work 7 1/2 hours-8 hours MAX per week. And it's still challenging to find the time to fit Sarah's behavior therapy sessions in. That's not even adding Speech, OT, and special needs preschool to the mix. How do moms that work FULL TIME find the time to fit in all the extra appointments and therapy sessions that having a special needs child entails? I am so open to suggestions.

Just got tagged

Heidi
A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friends: Way too many to list (yeah, right).
C-Cake or Pie: Either . . . as long as its super duper chocolatey.
D- Day of choice: Friday
E- Essential Item: At least 2-3 hours a week of mommy time-out/alone time (no hubby, no kids, etc.)
F- Favorite Color: Blue
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Neither . . . Cinnamon Bears
H- Hometown: Danville, CA
I- Indulgence(s): Trader Joes, naps, chocolate, and shopping without kids
J- January or July: Both
K- Kids: 3
L-Life is Incomplete Without: Visits from mom and dad every 3-4 months
M- Marriage Date: December 15, 1995
N- Number of Siblings: 1 brother, 2 sisters
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples
P- Phobias or Fears: Cockroaches and icky slimy tree frogs. Also, stepping in the wrong place and falling through the attic floor and landing splat on the garage floor. (Hence the reason I decorate for holidays 2-3 days before the actual holiday and it stays up 2-3 weeks after the holiday. I am 100% dependent upon Cristian and his schedule to get up in the attic and get all my holiday stuff down for me.)
Q- Quotes: "Do something every day that scares you half to death."
R- Reason To Smile: Kids in bed and sleeping before I go to bed.
S- Season: ANY season in Danville, CA. Fall in FL.
T- Tag Three +: Celia, Shannan, Scotty
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I was a couple of classes away from finishing my Master's degree coursework when I was ordered on bed rest while I was pregnant with Tino. I got special permission from my OB/GYN to get out of bed and drive myself to school on the condition that I remained lying down with feet elevated during my classes. I was the only student at the time that my professors had ever had that attended class with a sleeping bag and pillow. All that effort never paid off. Four to five attempts over the course of several years and I never ever did complete my stupid thesis. Now it's been so long that I'd have to start my coursework and thesis ALL OVER AGAIN.
V- Vegetarian or Meat Eater: Meat . . . but it has to be very well seasoned. And absolutely, positively NO American-style turkey. YUCK! And each time we try to be vegetarian around here it lasts no longer than 1 week.
W- Worst Habit: Putting every one else first and not making time for ME. Also, not being very good at saying NO.
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds.
Y- Your Favorite Food: Mexican
Z- Zodiac: Gemini

Mis Queridos Hijos 10/14/2007

Dear Tino, Mateo, and Sarah,

This week was filled with doctor's visits, flu shots, and more doctor's visits. When we weren't hanging out in the waiting room of the doctor's office(s), we were busy going to and from our various church activities. So I think we have our bases covered as far as our spiritual well-being and physical well-being.

Tino: Living in Florida is hazardous to your health. You got bit by an unknown bug on Monday. Your ankle, foot, and leg swelled significantly . . . 4-5 times the size said body parts should be. That put you out of commission for several days. You got to learn all about elevating your leg, doing epson salt soaks, etc. Now I'm just trying to figure out what to do with my favorite popcorn bowl you used the entire week to soak your foot. Do I wash it a million times and put it back into circulation in the kitchen as our favorite popcorn bowl? Do I stick it with the first aid supplies to be used as the ultimate foot soaker next time you get bit by a bug???? And for future reference, please try not to miss another day of 5th grade. The classwork and homework you missed was BRUTAL! You spent the better part of the weekend catching up with all your school work.

Tino and Mateo: You got KICKED out of Kindermusik Family Time classes last week. The Kindermusik experience just isn't doing it for you. Maybe we'll try ballet or something else in the arts departments since I want you to be well-rounded individuals.

Mateo: The new car mystery was SOLVED yesterday. Now I know that you want a brand new RED FORD EXPLORER or EXPEDITION. That looks like a truck. But we can call it a van. Now you just need to get to work unloading the dishwasher, mopping floors, and cleaning your room so you can get all your allowance saved up for your new car.

Sarah: You are talking more. When I ask what your name is, depending on your mood, you respond "My name is Sarah" or "My name is Cindewewa" (giggle-giggle). You had an excellent session this week with Ms. Erika, your behavior therapist. That was the good news. The bad news is you are completely ready to be potty trained. That means mami and papi need to get rid of the changing table, diapers, pull-ups, and hunker down the next several days and help you be successful in this big girl endeavor.

I love you kiddos. Time to get you to bed. It's almost time for mami's FAVORITE show of the week. Desperate Housewives.

Love,
Mami

Graduation

Since it is such a taboo topic to talk about, I won't talk about it. I will just let you know that "for time and all eternity" is certainly looking a lot more promising these days. Cristian and I "graduated" today and/or finished our counseling sessions. Not only will I miss "Stan the Man", our incredible counselor, I will also miss the experience of sitting in the waiting room of LDS Social Services. When couples come out of their counseling sessions, I love to see how they duck and cover (especially the males), making sure to make ABSOLUTELY NO EYE CONTACT with anybody else as they rush to get into their car. I'm thinking that with the whole body language and slouched demeanor that going to counseling is not "the thing" to do. And HEAVEN FORBID if you were to actually run into a member of your same congregation while there. But it's not all that bad. I would have to say, it played a major role in saving our marriage. Cheers (with a Martinelli's Sparkling Cider of course). Here's to Time and All Eternity!

America, the Beautiful

O.K. so I am in a MAJOR crunch. And I need help QUICK! Last night, the Branch Activities Chair approached me and let me know that the United States wasn't going to be represented in the Hispanic Heritage Festival on Saturday night. He felt that since we were all living in the United States, that it would be important to have U.S. representation at the festival with song or dance. Since I am the token gringa in the branch, and the other two gringos will not be present, I need to come up with an idea for Saturday night. What should we do? I offered to bust out with a rendition of all my favorite Kindermusik songs, but Cristian said it has to be something nice. Tino is super duper shy so count him out for doing anything onstage, unless of course it has to do with swinging a baseball bat. So, what can Cristian, Mateo, Sarah, and I perform on Saturday night so that the U.S. is represented? Cristian and I are dancing the bachata for Dominican Republic. And of course Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, Spain, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Argentina, Mexico, and all the other countries have really super duper cool folkloric dances and/or dances that represent their country. How can the U.S. compete with that????? Please submit your ideas ASAP. Thanks in advance!

Choosing Battles

I remember my pre-children days and also my pre-Mateo and Sarah days. I would hear moms talking about the antics their children were up to and I would think to myself "my kids would never . . ." or "I would never allow my children to __________". And exactly what is the word that I want to use???? Oh yeah, UTOPIA: ideally perfect state; especially in its social and moral aspects OR a place considered to be perfect or ideal. Now it's all about choosing battles and/or choosing the amount of self-inflicted drama I would like to have enter into my life.

Since it has been raining very hard lately . . . hurricane-style raining hard, without the hurricane blowing through town, my children have been cooped up in the house more than they are accustomed to. (These are the times I really wish Cristian would have stuck it out at Disney, because at least we would have been able to hang out at Magic Kingdom or Epcot, since for the most part they are very rainy day-friendly parks. If we can't go to the PARKS, or the park . . . you know the one with swings and slides and the like . . . why not let the parks come to us????? Mateo and Sarah broke two of the planks that hold the mattress in the "down" bed by jumping on it from the "up" bed. Since Uncle Bradford (who knows how to fix EVERYTHING, according to Tino) or Grandpa haven't been to visit us for quite some time, the "down" bed has remained in its semi-broken state. Tino, being the engineering genius that he is, figured how to help his brother and sister out of this dilemma. If nobody can sleep on this bed (because your head sinks down too far due to said missing planks) might as well remove half of the other planks that hold the mattress in place and convert the "down" bed into a "down" slide.



Like I mentioned before, this little antic pre-children and/or pre-Mateo/Sarah would have sent my compulsive and control-freak personality OVER THE EDGE. Now I just CALMLY walk into Mateo's room, take a quick picture for the blog, and walk out of the room . . . CALM as CALM can be. It's all about choosing battles.

Mis Queridos Hijos 10/9/2007

Dear Tino, Mateo, and Sarah,

Your mother is a complete BLOG SLACKER this week. Last week was not that adventurous, so I'll go ahead and skip straight to the week we are presently in. Your papi was very sick over the weekend. He woke up on Sunday morning and half his face was swollen. And to top that off, he had a raging headache that had already lasted 4 days, which his migraine meds were not responding to. He thought his head was going to explode, implode, or somewhere in between. I decided that instead of taking him to the emergency room so he could hurry and wait, we'd go to Minute Clinic. That is where we spent the first session of Sunday morning General Conference. By the time we got home, it was almost time for the second session. Papi ended up having a raging sinus infection and he stayed home from work on Monday.

Tino: You got bit by an unknown bug yesterday during P.E. I hadn't been home two seconds from teaching Kindermusik today, when your school called me to come and pick you up. I asked the nurse if you were breathing o.k., which you were. I told the nurse there was absolutely nothing I could do about a swollen leg and as long as you were breathing, you could stay at school. I went to school to give you your heavy duty allergy meds . . . and your ankle had quadrupled in size since this morning. We went and visited Dr. Lagod just to make sure everything was a.o.k. She prescribed you an antibiotic and told you to do cool water soaks with salt. You are limping big time. I don't know how that will effect your baseball game tomorrow. I will continue to help you soak your foot and Mateo and Sarah will continue to annoy you while you are soaking your foot by floating their dinosaurs, tigers, and other plastic toys in your foot-soak water.


Mateo: You are on a MISSION. That mission is to buy a car. A red car. A big red car. That looks like a truck. But we can call it a van. I have tried to explain to you that we don't have money to buy a new car, but you don't understand that concept. You told me you would go and get the black thing that I keep inside my purse (my wallet . . .) and you would give me the money to buy the new car. So far you have given me 35 cents . . . of my own money. I think you will need to come up with another plan besides trying to find money in my wallet. Because at this rate, you'll never be able to afford that new car. That looks like a truck. But we can call it a van. Maybe we will take a field trip down the street to Car Max just to appease you so you THINK we are in the process of buying a new red car.

Sarah: Boy, how it HELPS to have connections. The number one, yes that would be numero uno . . . or #1 pediatric neurologist in Central Florida is no longer taking new patients or any patient that has PDD or anything on the autism spectrum. Mommy's friend Angela has a son that goes to this #1 doctor. Today when Angela took her son in for his appointment, she explained your situation to him. Dr. D gave her specific instructions how to contact his nurse and he would accept you as a new patient. Within one hour of me leaving a message for his nurse, she had called me back to set an appointment. WHAT A BLESSING! Now we can get some answers!

AMO!
Mami

"Happy Birthday to Me"

Mateo has been sooooooooo excited about his upcoming birthday. He knows that first it's Tino's birthday (9-13) and then it's Papi's birthday (9-27). For some reason, we don't believe in celebrating birthdays and having the celebration lasting one day. We make it a long, drawn out process around the Ramirez household. For example, Cristian's birthday was last Thursday. The only thing he wanted for his birthday was for me to take him to Texas de Brazil for dinner, which we did Thursday night. This meant that the kiddos weren't in on the birthday celebration. On Friday Cristian and Tino had baseball practice, so by the time they get back around 9:30 p.m. it's too late for Sarah and Mateo. So Saturday morning, we went to one of the finer dining establishments in town for Cristian's birthday breakfast. In the kids minds, there still was no birthday because there hadn't been cake and no presents that they were aware of. Sunday while Cristian was out home teaching, we hurried and made his "surprise" birthday cake. And on Monday, Cristian's long-awaited package arrived from UPS . . . his new baseball glove.

This morning, Mateo woke up and asked if Papi's birthday was finished already. When I replied "yes", you should have seen the excitement in Mateo's eyes. He ran to the kitchen, pulled out the cupcake pans, put cupcake liners inside the pans, and picked his favorite flavor of cake mix and set it out on the kitchen counter. He then proceeded to climb onto the counter, to look in my "up high" cupboards to find the sprinkles and frosting for his cupcakes. He took a bath, washed his hair, and got dressed into his fancy new clothes. He has doing a project with construction paper, scissors, and glue. I asked him what he was doing, and he started to sing "Happy Birthday To Me, Happy Birthday To Me" . . . and looked at me and told me he was busy making his birthday card. Once again, I am completely open for suggestions as to how I can break it to my little soon-to- be- four year old that his birthday isn't until DECEMBER 11TH. And should we go ahead and save his birthday cupcakes until December 11th or go ahead and eat them tonight for dessert?

Beauty Parlor

As you are all well aware, Mateo LOVES hair. He loves washing hair, styling hair, combing/ brushing hair, and even cutting hair. Since he decided to cut his hair and at the moment doesn't have any hair of his own to style. . . Sarah and I get the great pleasure and joy of having him style our hair. I tolerate it . . . Sarah does not. It really doesn't help when our homework with the behavior therapist is to reduce situations in the household which would encourage Sarah to engage in her screaming, fits, tantrums, etc. Mateo just doesn't get it that the reason Sarah always looks like a little rag-muffin is because she won't let me do her hair. It really really bothers him that her hair isn't beautiful. So he will chase her around the house until he can get her to stay still long enough to style her hair. His latest craze is pony tails or any other thing that requires the use of rubber bands in hair. Here are some pics of his latest Sarah creations . . . smiley stickers on the forehead and cheeks included as an extra bonus. (And the chocolate milk or ketchup or whatever other dinner remains on Mateo's face is my contribution to this blog entry . . . just want to make sure you all know I am feeding my kids. And have to keep that rag-muffin look consistent among all of my children. I can't be playing favorites here.)