My Little Pumpkins

Seriously?! Thursday

Linking up with From Mrs. to Mama again for her weekly edition of "Seriously?! Thursday".  You know you love to hear me rant... so here you have it!

Seriously?!  We had The.Worst.Night.Ever last night.  And who was the culprit?  Not the baby... the two year old!  Seriously?!  Stop waking up!  At 2:21am he tried to sneak into our bed.  The event ended at 4:45 with spankings and yelling.  That's right... over 2 hours of nonsense.  And in the process, he managed to wake up the WHOLE house, including Jonas.  So once Marco was asleep, I had the pleasure of dealing with Jonas who kept on saying "ba ba ba" until a little after 5 when he finally drifted off to dreamland.  I'm over it.

Seriously?!  My husband called me "mean".  (I was gonna write a whole post about this but decided not to for the sake of my marriage... so all you get is a bullet).  He said "You're so mean" at 2:23am... during the night time fiasco listed above.  Why am I mean?  Because I'm consistant.  Because I get a game plan and I want to stick to it.  Because Marco's crying does not faze me.  Because I am determined to win over my toddler.  Because I think 2am is no time to be coddling.  Because I have the best intentions for my ENTIRE family... not just one member of it.  Because his long term happiness is more important to me than his immediate gratification.  So, if for all those reasons I'm "mean", then so be it.  But if for all those reasons I'm a kick ass parent... then HELLZ yes, I'm "mean".  And don't you forget it.  Bam.

Seriously?!  My mom got a new iphone... the 4, not 4s.  She was asking me how to do things, but since we don't live in the same city, I figured she should go to someone who could show her.  I sent her to set up an appointment with a Genius at the Apple Store.  Well, she went.  And now she thinks she knows more than me.  She thinks she's more hip than me.  She's an apple-girl now.  Seriously?  Reality check, Mom... when it comes to technology, I will ALWAYS be more "hip" than you.  For the record. (love ya)

Seriously?!   I've been having a little bit of arrhythmia again.  Just a few episodes.  But I just got this fixed, remember.  If not, click here.  Well there's a 20% chance that it came back... or a good possibility that it's ANOTHER short circuit.  That means, I get to wear a heart monitor... for a month.  A MONTH!  Oh geez... as if my life isn't complicated enough.

Seriously?!  So while at the doctor this morning... for the arrhythmia, I overheard the office secretaries talking about me.  In Spanish.  As if I can't understand them.  Hello... this is Miami... everyone speaks Spanish!  So, the girl looked at me, with my 2 kids in their double stroller screaming "MAMA!" and said, "See that... that's what my husband would want... 2 kids, and for me to have to drag them around everywhere.  Yeah right... I would NEVER do that".  Oooookkkkk... so yeah, that's nice.  Right in front of me!  I actually held my tongue... can you believe it?  I walked away.  But what I WANTED to say was, "oh, and YOUR job is so important?  Being a secretary is more important than being a mom?  Really?  Seriously?!"  Whatever.

That's all for today.  Till next week!

Recruiting Readers

Aside from being an avid blogger, I am also an avid reader. I have always loved to read, but became committed to it once I became a SAHM. Last year I gave myself the ambitious goal of reading 50 books in the year. I failed... Miserably. I only made it to 33. I mean, 33 isn't anything to be ashamed of. That's pretty dang impressive in itself... But never-the-less, i didn't meet my goal.

This year I decided to be more realistic about my goal and read 35 books. And so far I'm doing great. Right on track with about 28 books down.

So last year when my personal challenge began to take shape, I decided to blend my two hobbies... Blogging about books! I joined the team at The Book Nook and became one of their book bloggers! (find the link on the left bar).

The Book Nook is a collaborative blog with several contributors. We blog about books we read for fun, but more than that, it's an avenue for new books to become noticed. Publishers and authors contact us and provide us with a free copy of their work in return for an honest review. Free books!

Now The Book Nook is in need of more reviewers. We've had a few people leave, and we've also been overwhelmed with the amount of incoming work. Too many books and not enough people to read them! I myself am a little overwhelmed at the moment. I have 4 books in my "to be read" stack that need reviews before the years end. And sometimes publishers ask that you post on a specific date for their blog tour... I've got two of those coming up!

So, if you have a book addiction and would like to join our little club, please leave me a comment with your email address. We're recruiting readers! Come on, you can feed your habit for free! That's good news! Help keep The Book Nook alive!

Living Conditions

You know I'm living with my in-laws right now.  But did you know we're on a plan to live here for a year?  We're trying to pay off debt, save money to buy a house and buy cars and basically start fresh and clean.  We feel so grateful and blessed that Mauricio's parents have agreed to allow us to live here.  Really, they're great.

But that said, we're a bit tight.  Why?  Because my dear husband doesn't want to continue paying for a storage unit.  He wants to bring in all of our boxes and sell our furniture.  I'm not thrilled with this idea.  I don't think selling our furniture is wise because once we do have our own place, we'll be sitting on the floor.  So we're trying to find a place to store our furniture rent free.

The boxes, however, are here already.  I know what you're thinking... where?  There are already 6 people living there!  Where?  I'll tell you.  Pushed up against every available wall space in our room.  It's organized... but chaotic.  How's that for an oxymoron?!  

No, that's not all... the rest are under Marco's bed and Jonas' crib.  And there's another side of the room I didn't photograph.  So this is how we're living... for a year.  

I keep telling myself I can sacrifice for a year.  I mean, really, what's a year in the grand scheme of things.  We have our whole lives together... one year is nothing.  But the other part of me keeps saying I deserve the "wife of the year" award.  What do you think?

Music Time

Anyone that knows me, knows how much I love music.  And by now, if you've been reading my blog, you've also realized how important it is in my life.  What initially drove me to Mauricio was his musical talent and ability.  Yes, it's that important.

Naturally, I want my kids to be musical.  I dream of the days that we take car trips and sing road songs together... in four part harmony.  Dorky?  Yes!  And I love it.  When Marco tells me his letters and counts, I am happy.  When Marco sings his ABC's or any other song, I am elated.  We play pitch games, rhythm games and learn tons of songs.  I think he's quite talented.  

Even Jonas has demonstrated his musical skills.  He tries to sing along with Marco and he can do some rhythmic "ba ba"'s.  Four part harmony here we come!

Now tell me this isn't dorky... to the extreme.  In the car, we sing the Super Why theme song.  I'm on lead, and Mauricio does the accompaniment and harmonies.  Marco sings along too.  At home, Mauricio plays it on the piano or guitar and we all sing along.  Wow, that's kinda embarrassing... too music-nerd-y.  But we love it! 

This semester, we decided to sign Marco up for Music Time.  It's like your basic Kindermusik class, only a little more foundational.  We go every Friday and Marco loves it.  He says, "We're going to Yukis Cass" (That's "Music Class" for those of you not fluent in toddler).  We sing songs, we play with shakers, jingles, glocks, claves, hoops and scarves.  We do rhythmic training, pitch development and body movement.  What's great is that I know he's learning basic technique that is foundational for becoming a musician.  What's great is that HE doesn't know any of that... all he knows is that he's having a whole lotta fun!  

Marco is a great student too! (When he pays attention).  He sings on pitch and loudly.  He can clap on rhythm and follow directions.  The only thing he wont do is sing alone into the mic.  For some reason he becomes shy at that point... which is completely out of character for him.  I had NEVER seen Marco be shy before this.  But he'll get the hang of it soon enough.  

For now, Jonas just watches the class.  Although there is a class for his age range, we are not enrolled.  I would not be able to bring Marco with me to Jonas' class, and for right now that's not an option.  So Jonas is learning by watching for now... but I'm convinced he's still learning.  Next semester they'll be able to be in the same class, so long as Jonas is walking by then.  That'll be seriously great!  I can't wait for them to play and learn music together!

If you're in Miami and interested in getting music classes for your child, it's never to late or early to start.  They have classes from birth to 8 years of age.  Visit THIS SITE for more information.  

And now I leave you with a few pictures of the class: