Um, What Year Is It?

The reason I ask is because in this modern age of technology, where phones no longer have buttons, cars no longer have keys and video games no longer have controllers, I can not for the life of me understand why they still manufacture and sell this:

Not the mobile of course... Jonas just loves talking to his monkeys... I'm talking about the wind-up mechanism necessary for enabling it.  Wind-up?  Really?!  You don't think they could put a button on there that will let it run for say, 3 minutes? Would that be too difficult or expensive?

As it is, this mobile cost me over $30!  $30 to have to return to it to RE-wind it every 30 seconds... $1 per second, I guess.

Maybe it's the old charm people like about it... brings us back to those good ol' 1800's.

I really don't get it.

Book It!

Tell me you remember just how AWESOME Book It was?!  You would get pretty shiny stars on the chart and then one magical day, your teacher would give you the Pizza Hut pass.  One FREE personal pan pizza... and a prize.  I'll always remember getting the coolest Back To The Future sunglasses.  They looked something like this:  Pure Awesomeness. 

Anyway, let me get to the point.  I love reading.  No surprise there.  People always ask me how I find the time to read, having 2 under 2 and all.  Well, since I love it, I make time for it.  I especially have a lot of time for it when it's NBA season (GO HEAT!), when Mau gets a new video game, or during late night feedings.
Last year I made a goal to read 50 books in 2010... I failed that goal, but still managed to read more books in one year than I ever had before.  I read 33 books in 2010, so my NEW goal for 2011 is to read just 2 more books than I did in 2010... 35 total.  If I surpass that, I'll be thrilled!  These are just small steps in my self improvement process...

So, without further adieu, here are the last 6 books I've read (3 from 2010, 3 from 2011).

 If you love the Showtime series "Dexter", then you'll enjoy the Dexter book series by Jeff Lindsay.  After all, he started it.  Dexter Is Delicious is the 5th book in the series.  The show DOES NOT follow the book series.  In fact, only the first season is like the first book, with some changes.  The characters are mostly the same, but the show and book differ in some things as well... for example, in the show Dexter's baby is a boy, but in the book it's a girl.  No biggie.
The series as a whole has it's ups and downs.  The first 2 books were amazing... sick and twisted stuff you can expect from Dexter.  Unfortunately, the 3rd and 4th segments were lackluster.  It was way too far fetched and unmoving.  Luckily for Lindsay, he got his groove back with this one.  It's strange, crazy, disgustingly gross and hilarious.
The good thing about this series is that if you watch the show and know the characters, you can skip the 3rd and 4th books and not really miss much.

This is also another book that's in a series.  I wrote about the first segment, Hush Hush, in my previous book post.  Unfortunately this book did not do it for me.  It was so typical of a Young Adult second book.  We've seen it before... it's the "break up book".  Just conflict after conflict with whining and more whining.  Ugh.  
Of course, I will be reading the final segment of this series, because I like resolutions.
If you're a teen, you'll like it.  The rest of us can skip it and wont really miss a thing.

I was asked to review this book for a book blog I am currently writing for:  The Book Nook Club.  I am one of a bunch of writers... it's fun.  Well, I was assigned to review this book for the book blog tour that was to promote the author's new release.  I did not like this book and did not leave a very positive review.
It's a black Christian book.  On the back cover it says something about "uplifting the soul of the black woman".  That said, it is filled with cliche' talk such as "fine man", "you go, girl" and lots of baby-mama-drama.  Way to be original!
The main character wants to get closer to God so that she can "step into the good life".  As a Christian, this doesn't sit well with me... She's selling a "prosperity gospel" which is FALSE!  When you become a Christian, your problems don't magically disappear... in fact, you'll probably be faced with more adversity than ever before.  That's the cold harsh truth.
This book almost made me cringe with just how misleading it was.  Sad that people fall for this kind of stuff.

Can you believe I had NEVER read this book before?!  I was stunned to find out that Mauricio had read it in the 7th grade!  There's the great private school edumacation for ya!
I really enjoyed this quick read.  I'm not familiar with the history behind the USSR and what quite went down (thanks again, private school).  For me, it spoke more about how a corrupt leader can manipulate their audience and cause major destruction.  It speaks true for Hitler and even Castro.
I'm sure that it's beneficial for 7th grade minds, but even more so for adults who have a broader view of world politics today.  A great read for the first time, or the first time in a long time.

I really loved this book.  It captures you from the first chapter and moves well throughout.
It starts off with 5 toddlers that are found abandoned in the cabin of a luxury boat, parked in a dock off the coast of Puerto Rico.  No one knows who these children are, or where the parents are.  The children become known as the "Starfish children" because of a starfish drawing they each have on their hand.  The children are each adopted into different homes and live in various parts of the States and Puerto Rico, but they remain close as they consider each other to be siblings.  It isn't until one of the brothers is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor that they decide to find out their origins.
It's a beautiful story about family, love, compromise and trust.  It has a lovely hispanic flare that I just adored.
Pick this one up... it was my favorite of the group I'm writing about today.

I just finished this one yesterday.  It's another YA fiction that's in a series.  This series has 5 segments and I'm not sure if it's done yet.
Everyone ranted and raved about how awesome this book was.  I didn't really think so.  The writing is great... moves fast, it's funny and has good breaks.  However, I felt like I just wasn't in the right place for the story.
It's written in the year 2000, and the main character, Jessica, is a Junior in high school.  She's 1 year younger than me.  That said, I think I would have devoured this book if I had read it back in 2000.  But now, I'm just over teen drama.
The book talks PLENTY about sex, sexual desires and even orgasms.  TOO MUCH for me.  Now some may say that I'm being naive... I'm not though.  I was once a teen too and I remember that teens thought about sex, talked about sex and even did "it", but that doesn't mean I want to read page after page about it.  It honestly makes me sick.  And even more honestly, I think it's a little irresponsible of the author to make teen sex such a natural and casual thing (even though Jessica doesn't have any in this book).
I'm undecided as to whether or not I'll read more from this series, but since I liked McCafferty's writing, I may read something else by her in the future.

So there you have it.  I've got 3 out of 35 down... woohoo!  If you like my reviews, become my friend on Good Reads to see more!

Stroller Swagger

We did it.  We bit the bullet and got a double stroller!  It was time.  I had been dealing with a single for nearly 4 months now.  There were two ways I could get around with the single stroller:
1. Strap Jonas to my chest in the Moby and put Marco in the stroller, or
2. Put Jonas in the carrier in the stroller and let Marco walk.

There are down sides to each of these options.  For starters, if Jonas is in the Moby, it makes it difficult for me to chase and carry Marco.  But if Jonas is in the stroller, then Marco gets upset because that was HIS stroller FIRST and how DARE his brother take it from him... (it's already begun).  So I have to endure Marco walking at a turtle's speed and stomping his feet and whining the whole way to wherever we're going.

Initially we wanted a front and back stroller, one like this --->
In fact, my sister-in-law, Bea was going to give me hers and I was going to buy her a new double umbrella in exchange.  Good deal!  So we went to the store to try it out and realized we would have to buy a new car if we wanted this stroller.  It was WAY too big and couldn't fit in my trunk.  So, that was out.

Then we thought we could try to get a Sit n' Stand stroller.  Baby in the front, big kid standing in the back.  We tried it and laughed out loud thinking about all the mischief Marco would get into if he were not confined to a seat.  There was no way I could trust him in that position.  I mean, he's still a baby!  He's only 19 months old!

So one day, we went to the amazing Buy Buy Baby and found the stroller of our dreams.  You know, the heavens opened up, a bright light beamed down onto the stroller and we heard a choir of angels singing.  (Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the stroller was pretty awesome!)  The Baby Jogger City Micro... it's a side by side stroller that folds in half and would fit in the trunk with room to spare. Problem was... the price!  EEK!  The stroller lists at $300, not to mention all the accessories I'd want to buy for it.  We were going to have to save our pennies to make this purchase.

I started searching Craigs List and eventually found one for sale in Boca Raton.  This worked out well, because I just happened to be flying to FL at the time.  I begged my dad to drive to Boca and pick it up for me.  The seller wanted $260 for it, but it included the belly bar ($40 value), 2 snack trays ($40 value) and a cup holder for me ($20).  All in all, we would save about $150.  My dad drove up to Boca, checked it out, paid for it and then GIFTED it to me!  Hooray!  Thanks DAD!

I took it for a test drive this morning at the mall.  It drove like a dream!  It's not any longer than a single stroller, so you still fit easily into small spaces, (like elevators) and it's not too wide, so it still fits in regular doors.  I had to get a snuggler for Jonas because it doesn't recline all the way, but it wasn't a problem.  The stroller maneuvers easily and Marco loved sitting next to his brother.  Cutest thing:  He held Jonas' hand and gave him his paci when he started crying.  Such a good brother!

But I will say, once I put both kids back in their car seats, closed up the stroller and put it in the trunk and got into the car myself, I was panting and sweating.  Being a mom provides me with some of the best works out I've ever had.  So watch out... there's a gun show coming to town REAL soon!

Flyin' Solo

I'm not afraid to travel by myself with a kid.  One kid.  Two is too much for me.  But I have flown with alone with Marco twice and just experienced my first time with Jonas over the weekend.  I was so sad I didn't take Marco, but I couldn't imagine myself on the plane battling two small children.  So, I  had to choose the one that I still feed, and that's why Jonas was our lucky winner!

On Friday, I flew with Jonas to Punta Gorda, FL to visit my family.  It was my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary, and to celebrate they renewed their vows and there was a reception to follow.  It was truly a lovely event.

Mauricio and I have become experts at packing and flying with kids.  You see, the airline we fly is extreemly cheap... Allegiant Air.  I'm talking $30 flights (each way) cheap.  HOWEVER, they will charge you for everything else... and I do mean everything!  A seat assignment costs $10, water costs $2, and a carry-on bag costs $30!  I wouldn't be surprised if they charged you 50 cents per ply of toilet paper!  So, we've learned to carry book bags and STUFF everything we need in them.

As you can see from my picture, I have everything I need with me.  Minus the car seat, which I had to check (amazingly, for free!)  Baby in front, luggage in back... that's how I roll.

Well, when I used to fly solo with Marco, TSA would let me go through security with him strapped to my chest, no problem.  Apparently, now it's a problem.  Even though the Moby Wrap is completely made of cotton and has no metal pieces, this is no longer acceptable.

On the way to FL, they gave me the option.  I had to either take him out of the wrap to walk through security OR have the dreaded pat down and not take him out.  Here was my dilema... if I took him out, I'd have to re-tie the wrap, but would have no one to hold him while I did this.  And, he was sleeping so peacefully, it broke my heart to have to bother him.  So believe it or not, I chose to be touched by TSA.

Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I had a female TSA employee perform the feel up and when she reached my more personal spots, she used the back side of her hands.  Because the baby was on top of me, she was unable to reach my breasts (Thank You Jesus!).  When all was said and done, I didn't feel that violated and I was able to keep my baby in peace.

The way back was a whole different story.  The people at the Punta Gorda airport are jerks... flat out.  My options were, I could take him out of the wrap, undo the wrap to pass it through the scanner and walk through security, OR take him out of the wrap, undo to wrap to pass it through the scanner and have a pat down.  Uh, let me think about THAT for a second.  Why in God's green earth would I CHOOSE to be felt up by a total stranger if I'd have to take the baby out anyway?  So I unwrapped the baby, pissed him off, walked through the scanner and had a STRANGER hold him for me so that I could retie the thing.  What a stinkin' mission.

Moral of the story- next time I'm taking a stroller.

The Graduate

was Marco's first ever graduation.  He graduated from the library's Bouncing Babies program.  I can't believe my baby is actually too old for something!  Bouncing Babies is a program that is for babies age 0-18 months.  He turned 19 months today. ::wipes single tear::

We started attending Bouncing Babies when Marco was just 2 months old.  Summer was coming to an end, and I had spent the best warm days inside caring for my newborn.  I was going out of my mind.  I had heard of the library programs and decided to give it a shot.  Marco was the youngest baby there, and he couldn't even stay awake the entire time, but at least we were out!  At that time, I think I needed Bouncing Babies more than he did!

This is the picture that was taken of him on his third visit to the program.  We had to take the picture before the class began because he would fall asleep before the last song.  He looks like a little old man!  This picture has hung on the wall for 16 months... and was taken down today, his last day.

Little by little he began "waking up" and enjoying the music, noticing the puppets, noticing the other children, and then the bubbles!  He began to feel at home there and warm up to the teacher.  He learned the moves to the songs, and would dance and clap along to every one.

Once he was able to stay awake throughout the entire class, we began staying for playtime.  This extra half hour was awesome. He got to play and learn to socialize, while I got to meet some of the parents and make connections.  He exuded so much energy in that hour, that he'd immediately fall asleep once in the car and take a nice long nap at home.  Bouncing Babies always helped us have a great day!

We met some awesome moms, dads and babies there!  They have provided playmates for Marco and support for me.  We've built friendships and relationships that have bonded us and our children. We now meet up out of Bouncing Babies on a regular basis at the mall, the park or elsewhere.

This is Marco's "graduating class".  (From left to right) We have Andres, Marco, Audrey, Bastian and Bennett.  All these babies are moving on to the big kid class... Musical Jamboree.



We'll probably still visit Bouncing Babies from time to time for Jonas' sake, but Marco is officially graduated!

I'm really happy that I decided to go to the library that first day.  It opened up the way for new friendships and lots of learning.  If you're a new stay-at-home-mom, I highly recommend looking into the library programs in your area and starting a class with your little one.  It's a wonderful investment and definitely see the pay off!