Thursday, July 31, 2008

Picture test.

Baby E in the swing.

Testing

Testing

Phew!

Well I had a busy/productive morning. I think. Yesterday DH and I went over the bills, he paid some bills online and I made out checks to the rest. I went to the post office and got stamps for like SIX letters and a few more to spare. I picked up a belt for dear old Kirby cause it broke a couple of days ago. I also dropped by the grocery store and got MILK and a snack for each of the kids and then stopped by Jr's (and Emily's) school to make the change of address and inquire as to when roster's will be posted (tomorrow after 4:30).

Later today I am taking the kids to get haircuts and probably stop by Wal-Mart to pick up a backpack for each and a handful of school supplies. I hope I can stretch my money to get all those things accomplished. I'm thinking Emma needs a little trim too, but we will have to wait and see if there is time and money. This weekend promises to be INTERESTING to say the least. I have to work within a budget for school clothes and shoes.

If you ask me I could use a haircut, new clothes and shoes as well. LOL Oh well, my time will come. Later, gator! I gotta go put the belt thingie on Kirby and start a-vacuuming.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Sometimes I need a PICK-ME-UPPER...

And this is it. I love to go to http://icanhascheezburger.com and just laugh at all the pictures and funny captions. It really lightens my mood. Makes me smile. Make the sun shine brighter. YOU GET THE POINT.

Anyway, here are some super funny LOLZ CATS pictures for your amusement.


cat


cat


cat


And, MY FAVORITE --
cat

Hope this puts a little bounce in your step!

Monday, July 28, 2008

SCHOOL!

I decided to go look at the School District's website yesterday and guess what I found out...? School starts on the 6th! That's like 9 more days! I am not ready. I am not prepared. ARGH! I hate being not prepared.

I guess with the whole house thing we kinda got sidetracked. Now we've scheduled a shopping trip for this upcoming weekend to make sure the kids have school clothes and NEW SHOES (Trust me, they need them) for this upcoming school year. I have been trying to sell off the kids fall/winter clothes from last year and it's going pretty well. I gotta take pics of Emily's clothes and some of Emma's and off they go to make other kids happy. Originally I was gonna keep Emma's clothes but after much deliberation I really don't think they'll fit Baby E this winter season. Besides, I could really use the $ now.

Today I have to go finish cleaning the apartment so that we can turn it in on the 30th. Yesterday we managed to get the kitchen clean and most of the walls scrubbed, today I just gotta go and finish the bathroom and living room. Hopefully we'll get some of our deposit back. Especially considering how NASTY the place was to begin with. I had to use a KNIFE to chip off some of the nasty gunk built up on the sinks/faucets and oven. Yeah... that was nice. I'll do an overall sweep and mop as well as vacuum the place and spray it with tons of air freshener to get rid of that nasty OLD smell. Aside from that I gotta clean this place up, take a shower and well - just be functional and effective in one way or another. Baby E is squealing now, time to take her out of her swing and start my chores for the day. TTFN.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Funny stuff...

I truly do love bacon.
cat
more cat pictures


LOL, This one kinda depicts the kind of mom/sister/friend I am.
cat
more cat pictures


Say it with me, "AWWWWWW!"
cat
more cat pictures


This is what nursing feels like lately...
cat
more cat pictures

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Cuteness Overload!

Gosh how I love to look at this little face. One of these days I'm gonna record her squeals. She squeals anytime I come close because she thinks her momma is gonna grab her and give her big ole' smooches. LOL. For now, here she is being cute!

Smiling Evelyn

AND ACTION.... (that was me pretending to be a director... ignore this... moving on.)






Adorable Evelyn from Peace in the Storm on Vimeo.

Pictures of Emily...

Had to take some pictures of the kiddo before she grows up even more. Plus this is one of those rare times where her hair isn't taking over her face.


Emily outside

Emily in the Backyard

Will be back with pictures of Evelyn and a video to boot. YAY.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

So sad...

We moved into our new house. We were hoping to just transfer all of our "services" - directv, phone and DSL. Stupid QWEST doesn't provide DSL in this area and since I REFUSE to go back to dial-up we got cable. CABLE SUCKS. There is NO NOGGIN OR BRAVO. AGH! Shoot me! How will I ever follow project runway?

Friday, July 18, 2008

And life goes on....

Boy, oh boy! Life goes on - whether we want to or not. After feeling enraged and violated by the events back in Texas, we regained our composure and looked at things from a LOGICAL point of view (instead of emotional). I finally gave in and have agreed to rent out our house. I want to HAND PICK who actually gets to live in it - so DH is allowing me to take the steps necessary for it.

I still feel pretty pissy about having to rent out my house period. People have a hard time understanding why. I'll try my best to explain my feelings. See, when we first got married we had NOTHING to our name. Well, that's not entirely true. We had the Jeep. But other than that we had NOTHING. When we arrived at the apartment we had no furniture. In fact we slept on the floor for about a week or two - can't remember. We eventually bought furniture and led a happy life - until DH left the Corps. We had been saving for a while for when he got out, but being so young we really didn't have any direction. And then to top it all off, DH let a friend borrow the jeep and he crashed. To repair the ONLY vehicle we had, cost us most of our savings, so we were back to square one.

We needed a place to live, and we didn't have enough money in our account to rent an apartment, not to mention DH still hadn't found a job. We went to live in a beat-up and nasty mobile home that his brother owned but was vacant. Instead of rent, we fixed the place up to it's present state. We put in kitchen cabinets, carpet, peel-n-stick tile, painted and then installed a new bathroom (that they provided). We put a lot of sweat equity into it, and although it wasn't my ideal home - we made do. Both DH and I applied to the Sheriff's Department to become corrections officers, after going through most of the process, DH was turned down because of a DUI and I was hired. Soon after we found out that I was pregnant again and this prompted DH to join the ARMY.

We moved and moved and moved some more, the whole time I wanted my own place to call home. Determined NOT to make the same mistake we did when DH left the Corps we bought some land and built a home about a year before his ETS date. The home was finished in time for us to live in it. The Valley proved to be a hard place to find a promising career. DH left to Arizona in search for a temporary job, our goal was for him to join the Border Patrol and get stationed back home. The temporary job turned out to be a promising career and something that DH excelled at. He was enjoying himself immensely and climbing the ladder with amazing speed. When the Border Patrol came knocking, DH turned them down and came down to Texas to pick us up. We made the move to Arizona. The house we had worked so hard for, stayed behind.

Now, over a year after DH arrived here in Arizona, we have purchased a home and have decided this small little town is a good place to raise our kids. The house back in Texas though symbolizes so much to me. It's the house I waited for 8 years to come true. It's the house I imagined. It's the house that personifies our achievements, our perseverance. It's my HOUSE, my sacrifice, my hard work, my dreams and hopes. MINE.

To me it seems unfair that I allow someone to go live in it after I worked so hard for it. Why should they get to enjoy my hard work and sacrifice. Why should they get to live with all the amenities I picked for myself. Why? It's just not fair. I admit I'm acting like a child. But, I DON'T CARE. I do love my house, and I do care about what my husband has to say. Now that we've purchased a new house - I guess having some sort of incoming money would help. *sigh* I guess I'll just have to grow up and accept things for what they are.


God,

Give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things that should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Apparentely I spoke too soon....

They broke into our house. The one in Texas. Kicked in the French doors and ransacked the place. MOTHERF$%@%$@S.

OMG I WON!

So, this week has been hell. What with the closing of the house, the kids' birthdays, moving and my family coming to visit all thrown together -- it does not make for a very happy me. HOWEVER, I won something! I actually won! A $25 gift card to the PTA VIDEO STORE courtesy of Trena at Mommy Needs a Review. Who knows, maybe this is the beginning of me being lucky. I should go out and buy a lottery ticket!

Well, that's as much time as I have! CIAO!

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Happy Birthday Junior!

Dear Junior,

After 7 years, you still haven't outgrown your attitude. I don't even know how I had MORE kids after you. I am happy to have such a strong-willed son and happy that you are the one clearing the path for your sisters. Thanks for being such a BOY.

Love,
The Lady With No Hair
('cause you've made me pull it all out)

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Happy Birthday Emily!

Dear Emily,

After days like yesterday, I'm happy I've managed to keep you alive 5 years. YOU should be happy I haven't donated you to a charity of some sort. Or driven off and left you behind... not that I've ever thought of it.

Happy Birthday Sweetie.

Love,
The Crazy Woman You Call "MOM"

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

The terrible, no good, very bad day -- PART II

Part Deux

Part ONE is here

So after NOT spanking the kids (notice how I do a lot of this LOL) and fixing the window I headed back to the Home Depot sans kids (except for the baby, she is like permanently attached to me). I was smart enough to check out prices and compare appliances online before going there. I also wrote down the model number, prices and all the rebates I qualified for. (I'm still cheap.) DH even gave me FREE RANGE and told me to pick WHATEVER I WANTED. This day was FINALLY turning around! I went through the whole HOUR LONG process of picking everything I want, plus warranty extensions, plus parts only to head to the register and encounter a LITTLE surprise.

Lemme just say I like surprises... surprises are usually good. Like when I was pregnant with Evelyn - that was a surprise. Well it was more like a small heart attack, but it qualifies as a surprise. I wasn't thrilled, but now I'm happy (and certifiably insane). I like it when DH surprises me with roses, and chocolate. Especially chocolate. So see... I like surprises. This surprise however... was NOT NICE and I still don't like it.

We have had a Home Depot credit card that originated as a Home Depot LOAN. This is our second credit card out of TWO. We paid off all our balance on this credit card. We were happy and proud that we were responsible adults and paid off money we owed. RESPONSIBLE. We should be given an award... rewarded. The people at Home Depot don't think so. They figure that if they can't make money off of us in interest, that we're not worthy to have a credit card. So after we paid off the LAST CENT we owed them, they closed our account. They also didn't tell us that they closed our account. Because they just didn't feel like it, because we're not worthy. That was the surprise.... sorry, I'm not good at surprising. Can you pretend to be surprised? Yes? Thanks.

Anyway, back to the register and the surprise you're gonna pretend to be surprised by. So I walk to the register, so happy that I got to pick the appliances I wanted, that I qualified for several rebates, that I got 10% off and that I don't have to make payments or pay interest for 12 MONTHS and hand my order over. I swipe the card and (here it comes) ... SURPRISE! It's declined. DECLINE. I scoff. I blink furiously and say in my most snobbish voice, "What?! I have a *x* thousand dollar limit, and this isn't even close. Try it again." The cashier swipes it again. STILL DECLINED. "WHY?!" I demand to know. She gets on the phone and calls the meanies Home Depot people and they tell her that the account has been CLOSED. Gee, thanks for letting me KNOW! I'm baffled. I don't know what to do, so I call DH and tell him. Yeah, he's not so happy either. However he tells me to just charge it to the credit card. This does NOT bode well. I'm cheap, and I WANT ALL MY DAMN REBATES AND DISCOUNTS AND SPECIALS. DAMMIT. Thankfully the sales associate was still there and told me that I had 24 hours to complete the sale and STILL get the 10% off. I leave, defeated.

I, of course, immediately get on the phone with these sons of ... er, with the Home Depot representatives and ask what's going on. By that time, it didn't even matter. I get the low down and head back home. DH and I compare notes, we've both had bad days. But wait! There's more. In true Castillo fashion, Emily had a pee-pee accident during her nap. Yay - more laundry. And, Emma spilled her glass of lemonade during dinner. That was the cherry on top.

AMAZINGLY, no one was hurt or died today. Not even me. I didn't cut my wrists with the shards of glass when I had the chance. I didn't run into traffic, or run away and all kids are accounted for. They're even sleeping soundly, dreaming of being grounded the rest of their lives. Tomorrow is Emily's birthday. Poor kid, I'll probably lift the punishment for tomorrow - but after that... who am I kidding? It'll start all over again, so I might as well get some shut-eye and prepare myself for it.

If you read all of this, GOD BLESS YOU. Please think of me when your life is running smoothly and perfectly... and when it goes to hell too.

The terrible, no good, very bad day -- PART I

MY GOODNESS. Where to start? Today was just horrible.

I have to admit it didn't start off so bad. I was anxiously awaiting confirmation of an "anniversary luncheon" that would take place today. DH's company was "celebrating" a year of working at this job site. A WHOLE YEAR! They decided they would invite the spouses/family as well. YAY. Free lunch for me + no cooking! Couldn't ask for anything more.

I bathed EVERY SINGLE KID. In a timely fashion, might I add. Did pigtails for Emma, side-swept ponytail on Emily and even put a little clip on Evelyn. And as for me, I even put on MAKE-UP! Imagine that! It was going pretty stinking well, if I do say so myself. I even called DH to make sure what time to be there and I was there EARLY. If you know me, you know I'm late. I'm sure I'll be late to my own funeral, btw. Anyway things were going PEACHY. I enjoyed a good meal, the kids ate some food and then it all went a little bit south.

After the luncheon, DH asked me to take the van in to get a tire repaired. The left rear tire has been low for about a week now, despite our attempts to fill it up with MORE air. I humored him and took it to the same place his boss takes his vehicles. The place was full and it meant I had to wait 30+ minutes for a simple patch job. I had to unload all four kids (a sleeping baby amongst them) and deal with them in the waiting area. Thankfully I had instilled in them the fear of God threatened asked them to behave beforehand, so it wasn't too bad. But still, sitting in a car shop's waiting area was not how I wanted my afternoon to unfold.

After that I was asked to go to Home Depot to take a look at appliances for our *NEW* house. We only need a Fridge, but we're getting a washer and dryer as well. OH MY GAWD. Why do I even put myself in those predicaments?! The kids were HORRIBLE. The only quiet one was the baby, and then after a while she joined the chorus because she was sleepy and therefore cranky. I tried to get the attention of some of the sales associates but they were either busy or on their lunch break of worked in a completely different department. I even told one of the managers, "I was planning on buying some appliances, but if you don't want to help me I'll gladly go spend my money somewhere else." Of course, that was all he needed to give me his undivided attention, something I couldn't reciprocate since all FOUR kids where hollering for mine. I got SOME tidbit of useful information and was forced to leave because DH needed bank information...

He needed bank information because unbeknownst to him, we were suppose to sign all the paperwork tomorrow - i.e. CLOSE ON THE HOUSE. Yeah, he didn't know. I happen to have found out and relayed the message because I called the seller/Realtor and she was excited (as was I) about closing. I can't WAIT to get into my own house -- but anyway, there are too many things that STILL have to happen for us to sign the papers - like making a WIRE TRANSFER. A wire transfer that I cannot do, because even though I manage all the finances and have access to innumerable accounts I am NOT on DH's account. Go figure. This meant DH had to get on the phone and make a few calls and well - that in itself is comparable to Moses parting the Red Sea... seriously. Anyway, he was finally able to figure it out, and we'll be closing on FRIDAY, not Thursday.

During the time that I was relaying all the necessary information to DH (like the routing #, account #, escrow reference # and so on) the kids managed to do a few... er, what's the world I'm looking for? Mischievous acts... that's what I'm looking for. Anyway, Emma DUMPED all of the BABY POWDER on the carpets. The carpets I shampooed not a week ago. The carpets I slaved over and brushed while on my hands and knees. The carpets that left me with sore legs, arms, hands and feet. Yeah, ...those carpets. And then, my loving daughter proceeded to spill a cup of water on the already spilled powder making it a nice paste which she grounded in by stomping on it. YEP. She did this. My loving daughter. Mine. I sighed... I counted to ten, and then I did NOT spank her and moved on. The baby was STILL cranky from not being able to sleep, so I went into the bedroom, closed the door behind me and took a few minutes to calm her down, soothe her and get her to close her pretty little eyes. The kids went into the living room, after being instructed to go to their room and STAY THERE. They turned on the T.V. that was OFF for a reason and jumped around the couches like MONKEYS. After I managed to get the baby to sleep I walked into the living room. And then the next few seconds are a BLUR.

I'm not sure if Emily was startled to see me, if she was jumping on the couch or WHAT THE HELL she was doing, but one thing is clear. On her way OFF the couch, she managed to shatter the window. Break it. Crack it. Ruin it. Splinter... whatever the hell word you feel like choosing... that's what happened to the window. PEOPLE, I am not lying when I tell you that I almost had a freakin' nervous break down. I try to be as patient with my kids as I can, but I can only take so much. ANYWAY, the kid was so troubled by what she had done that she immediately burst into tears. She cried and cried and cried some more and then cried herself to sleep. (Thinking about it, it's a miracle *I* didn't cry.) I called DH to tell him about it and then called the glass repairs places in town. One lady was so kind as to offer that one of the employees come remove the pane for me and the window frame thingie free of charge (just so the kids wouldn't kill themselves on the shards of glass). Thirty-eight dollars and a half hour later the window was good as new.

Please let this be a nightmare...

With HOURS to go before we sign for our new house the kids break a window.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Day 2

This morning was spent doing laundry and semi-packing. We ate left over chicken from yesterday (BBQ chicken, Steak, and potatoes). I washed EVERYTHING, and I also put almost everything away. I took like a 10 minute nap. YAY for naps. I was woken by the ringing of the phone. It was my little sister. And then my little brother calls to ask for antivirus. He's a total dork. Doesn't know the ALT from the CTRL key. Seriously.... anyway... still early enough to be able to do stuff. TTFN

Friday, July 04, 2008

Day 1 (of three-day weekend)

AH, gotta love husbands. Mine cleaned up the place today. He even washed the dishes and added clorox to the water like *I* do. I'm weird, I know. Had cereal for breakfast - hehe. DH had last night's dinner that he didn't get to eat cause he got home so late. He has food-shock and is sleeping it off. We'll go to WM later today and get food to do a cook-out. Planning on making some yummy dishes, need a few groceries for it all. Will also order kids' birthday cakes. One for each. Will probably talk DH into getting me that helium tank with ballons. :)

Baby woke up ttyl!

Thursday, July 03, 2008

House Affairs...

Yesterday was a sucky day. It really was. I woke up with a sore boob (which is much better now btw). Then I think I had a fever, so I took some tylenol to reduce it and help with the aches and pains.

Later, around 3ish I forgot that I had to go drop off some paperwork at the realty office. So I call the realtor and let her know I'll be there in 30 minutes. I show up exactly 30 minutes later, and she isn't there. I just dropped off the paperwork with another realtor and came back home. Not even 30 seconds into me unloading the kids the phone rings. It's DH - he needs me to go back to the exact same location and drop money off at the title agency. ARGH. So I have to load up the kids all over again and drive back to the exact same place. I get there and have to wait to see the escrow agent. ARGH again. One of the employees suggested I give her the money and that she would give me a PAPER stating that I had given her money. Not an official receipt, or any receipt for that matter... merely a paper. I wonder how stupid I look. lol I turned her offer down and proceeded to wait. Handed over a few thousands in cash and got my OFFICIAL receipt.

Came back home and sky was getting dark. Power kept going out and coming back on repeatedly. Power back on. YAY. Decided I was having a crappy day and wanted fast food. Went to KFC - power is out on that side of town. Went to McD's - huge ass line that I was not gonna get in. Tried BK, no power, no dice. Came back home defeated. I saw that DOMINO'S was delivering. YAY. Ordered ONLINE cause it's so much easier that way. About 30 mins later - PIZZA. Hooray for laziness and pizza. Kids ate, I ate, DH and BIL got home from work and they ate and we still have pizza to eat for breakfast. DH has a 3-day weekend and I look forward to having the kids bug him instead of me. Will bug DH repeatedly today to see if he's heard from the bank as to when we can close.

Will be back with pictures of our soon-to-be *new* house.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

I think I'm sick...

Woke up with a sore boob. OUCH. Have managed to get the kids fed and the house semi-orderly. Feel soooo tired/sore. Everything hurts. I wish I could take a damn nap.

I got stuck getting hazard insurance quotes for our *new* house (among other things). Anyway, it ended up being SUPER CHEAP. Like $373 yearly premium, which is a little over $30 a month. Hooray for me. I get us good deals on almost everything. We're hoping to close sometime next week. Just in time for the kids birthdays! YAY.

OMG, the kids birthdays! Can't believe they are getting older... can't believe I'm getting OLD. Managed to pick a theme for each kid. Princess (OF COURSE) for Emily and Transformers for Junior. Coordinated it with pink/yellow and red/blue. Thinking of a birthday menu. DH suggested BBQ Pulled Chicken, Corn on the Cob, and my version of Baked Potatoes, with homemade bread.

Just a minute.... boobs refilling... kinda painful.

Boobs done.

WHERE WAS I? Oh food.. right. Menu might change depending on whether my parents make it out here or not. I'll ask mom to bring some fajitas. Fajitas are huge for us Texans... we eat them like every damn day. If fajitas, then I'll probably make rice, frijoles a la charra, potato salad and tortillas... FLOUR TORTILLAS. Gosh, all this food. Then we wonder why Mexicans are so damn fat and why we are more prone to diabetes. ANYWAY...

House - eh.
Me - eh. and ouch.
Kids - fed and content
Life - eh.
New house - yay.
Getting old - boo.

Emma has been throwing these DAMN FITS where she pretty much falls to the floor or leeches on to me. I let her thrash on the floor. She is doing it now. Wants the bottle o body wash to squirt all over the house. NOT HAPPENING. Gots to go.