Diego's Gift

I've had the whole week after Christmas off, and while I could have posted this sooner, I've just been enjoying the Baby and Me time. I've also been spending most of my time making sure my newly-walking bundle of love doesn't end up looking like his mother abuses him when I bring him back to the baby sitter next week!

Well, just like I knew deep down inside the house was not 100% ready by the time Christmas hit us. To be a bit specific, we still did not have our bed frame, Diego's crib, our couch, and one of our larger pieces of furniture for the living room. After accepting this fact, I was able to move on and enjoy Diego's first Christmas.

When I first found out that I was having a boy, although I was happy just to be pregnant I was still bummed because everybody knows that girl clothes are cuter. However, I've realized that it brings me great joy to dress Diego like an old man. There's just something about argyle, and it was definitely going to be part of his Christmas outfit.

My extended family came to my sister's house (our old house as of a few weeks) on Christmas Eve night along with 8 dogs. I was very happy because my golden Qori, did not go "Cujo" on any of the other dogs. I call that progress! We ate a HUGE meal, conversed, reminisced by watching the movie "The Labrynth" (did you know the the girl in that movie was Jennifer Connelly? I had no idea back then; she was just the girl from The Labrynth to me!) and when the clock struck midnight we danced to Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad", then proceeded to open presents. Diego was not awake at midnight to open his own presents. He was probably tired from flirting with the 2 year old blondie girl. It was waaaaay past his bedtime. But he definitely scored the most gifts, next to the blondie girl.

Although we celebrated our Christmas "Latin-style". A lone gift was found in Diego's diaper bag on Christmas morning, forcing us to also celebrate American-style. My boy had the biggest smile to see a remote control literally starring back at him when he opened his present. (It was a toy remote with huge eyes that blink at the top).

All-in-all it was a great Christmas. A perfect Christmas with my perfect boy, husband, dog, and family. What more gift could I ask for? Diego knew.... his gift to me that night was that he started officially walking with confidence. I guess it's official.... I have a toddler!

[Diego's "other" gift under the tree for everyone.... His dirty diaper!!!! :)~ ]

I can NEVER have ANYTHING nice!

The move seems to finally be getting to me. I've been dealing without our bed, couch, and some kitchen supplies for a week. I've also been taking our Golden, Qori, to my sister's house every day this week along with Diego when I take him to daycare. I joke that both my boys are going to daycare this week. Qori does not have his dog door installed at the new place yet, so I don't want to leave him home for 8 hours.

A couple of days ago, I started nagging to my husband. It went something like:
"When are we going to have hot water already?!"
"You are being so pushy!" he replied. "I work hard all day, and I'm trying to do what I can. You should just be happy that we have our house. You're too pushy to get everything done already. We've barely moved in for a week now!"

I'm pushy, huh? Fine! I mentally decided that I would take it upon myself to start bringing leftover items from my sister's house. Last night, I started with a box of kitchen stuff. It was heavy, but I loaded it in my car along with Diego and Qori. I got to the new house, and by some miracle, Diego was asleep. I brought sleeping Diego into the house, followed by Qori. Now it was time to get that heavy box out of the car. The thought occurred to me that I should probably put my slippers on.

'Nah, these boots are just kitten heels, I should be fine.' I thought to myself.

I unloaded the box from my car outside. I walked slowly along the side walk not noticing the uneven pavement in front of me due to the big box. My kitten heel lost contact with the pavement somehow, I twisted my ankle, and the box went flying out of my hands and onto the floor!

"Sh#t!" I whisper-yelled to myself, and wobbled back to my car to begin the process of pitying myself and dealing with the pain of a twisted ankle. Let me tell you, it HURT!

After a few minutes, I was able to walk like a homosapien again. I walked over to the box and picked it up. Of COURSE, the bottom of the box gave in and all the contents went falling out onto the sidewalk. Great! Now WHAT?!!! I looked around to see if any neighbors where watching the show and laughing at me. No one, thankfully.

I had to bring things into the house individually from the broken box outside. I brought in the first item.... WHY is the dog puking in the living room? He never does that! Ugh... now I'm going to have to clean that up!

I went to get more stuff from the broken box outside. I walked in through the door again... the dog is puking AGAIN! Who the HELL put the evil eye on me? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING!?

After cleaning puke and inspecting damage, I found that I had broken all our good dishes that had patiently waited in storage for over 2 years to finally just be broken by a "pushy" woman. I almost cried. Almost, but Diego was still sleeping so I knew there was a God.

This whole ordeal reminded me of a time when my husband and I had bought some "sexy" wooden llamas in Peru (most Peruvian homes are adorned with llama dolls made of real llama fur. My wooden llamas were sleek, modern, animal-friendly and sexy). I was so excited at what a beautiful decoration they would make in our home.... until we had to sell our home. We lived in an unfinished basement for some time, but "pushy" me still wanted to decorate it with my llamas. One day we were moving an old junky entertainment shelf around and BOOM... one of my llamas hit the floor and lost his ear! At the pinnacle of my stress at our living situation, all I could do was start crying and saying, "I can NEVER have ANYTHING nice!" :(

We eventually glued his ear back on. He's still "sexy"... because now he has a sexy battle scar.

Sick and Tired of being Sick and Tired

The GREAT news is that we got our house over the weekend. The not-so-great news is that I've been sick since. Do you know how difficult it is to move into a new house on your own? Just you and your husband and his work van. No moving men, no Uhaul, no nothing! Oh the joys of saving a buck. Now multiply that craziness times 5 due to being sick. Now multiply that times 8 if you have a 10-month old baby that's just starting to take his baby steps and insists on walking along supported by such items as cardboard boxes, the new oven (of which he can reach the knobs - someone shoot me now!), and the new toilet (ewww). Now multiply that times 2 if you're a 9-5 working mom and naively decided not to take any days off for the move.

The result is what I see in the new bathroom mirror every morning. A sick and tired mommy :( I know there's a silver lining though, and I think it's scheduled to occur on or around December 24th/25th. That's when we better have all our sh#t together in this house, and my immune system better be IMMACULATE!

We're getting there! Our tree is already semi-up. Can you even believe that? Disregard the fact that we don't have our bed (just mattresses on the floor), Diego's crib (just his portable play yard thingy), or even our couch or hot water yet. My husband We have our priorities, and that is to get our Christmas decorations up to enjoy our first Christmas in the new house! So, the tree is up - well sort of. It's a fake one and as you can see it's up but it's not really "up".

Winter Style?

It's hard to believe that a few weeks back in November, the weather was still hot. When the weather uncharacteristically remains hot and still, this is what we Californians refer to as Earth Quake Weather. Luckily, in this case it ended up being a misnomer.

As of just 2 weeks back (it's the first of December now), the nip finally made it into the air. That's when I realized that I barely have any jackets, and wondered why I just canNOT find any cute sweaters. Do sweaters and the word "cute" not belong in the same sentence? I'm starting to think so.

So I went out with a very good friend on Black Friday, on a quest for jackets and sweaters. Luckily for me, I found a very cute white Kenneth Cole jacket (with a hood- score!). Unluckily for me, sweaters + cute = 0, zip, zilch, NADA. But I DID buy a pair of leg warmers. (Both my friend and I are 80s lovers; maybe that's why we get along so well!)

The other night I was walking outside of a supermarket with this outfit on. I love when I feel dressed appropriately. Bundled in my jacket, legs warm, a slight soothing nip in the air, and the smell of Christmas pine trees. It made me thirsty for some warm apple cider or hot chocolate. Perfect!

Thankful: No- Really!

It's been a short two weeks since my father in-law came to visit, and now he is gone. During this time he was able to bond with Diego, visit with his 3 sons, and experience his first Thanksgiving in the U.S. He had heard about this American holiday, but never imagined he would ever actually participate in one.







While he was here, we also got some VERY good news which topped the things that I am thankful for this year (directly below Diego's birth of course!). The day before Thanksgiving, we were able to remove a loan contingency that we had on a house that we are trying to buy! This means the house is practically ours, and we should get our keys by December 10th! While I'm ecstatic about finally living on our own again, I am gearing up mentally for the long hard battle with boxes and packing tape. December 10th is not that far away from December 25th, and my husband and I have one goal, which is to have our new house decorated in time for Christmas, even if it means putting tinsel on cardboard boxes. It's been too many years since we've seen our Christmas decorations, and Diego deserves the BEST first Christmas ever!

The day after Thanksgiving, I was treated to a wonderful surprise: one which I have been taking FULL advantage of these past few days: independent bottle feeding! Diego sometimes always ends up in bed between my husband and I by 3 in the morning. Then, like a clock, he is awake by 6 am. Now that he's got the whole crawling thing down, he has taken to crawling over my head on the bed at 6 am and making his way to the nightstand beside me where a bottle of water or two is always ready, just waiting for its formula (I am lazy and cold to get out of bed).


He grabbed his bottle and proceeded to place the nipple in his mouth and drink from the bottle as if he's always held his own bottle! He's no genius just yet, because it only works if he's laying down. If he's sitting up, he doesn't understand that he has to lift the bottle to get the liquid to come out, so he yells in frustration until I lay him down. Nonetheless, I am taking FULL advantage of this new milestone at 10-months!

This is just another thing to be thankful for! And trust me, my arms and hands are THANKFUL!

10-months! 2 more for a Year!

Dear Diego,

Yesterday, you turned 10 months, and instead of basking in all the splendor that is your tenth month, I realized that I am proceeding to write you off as a 12-month old already. It's true. And it makes sense because I've always expressed being more partial to toddlers than babies. Now when I shop, I'm buying you clothes and shoes for a year-old baby. It probably doesn't help that you ACTUALLY fit them. I'm anticipating the days when you will no longer need to drink formula, and your shoes will require substantial soles (none of this soft-sole, aka slipper, business), and you will be able to chomp on a fortune cookie without choking and sending your momma onto the crazy bus, like you did the other night. So, I thought I'd take this moment to remember that which is my little Diego at 10-months of life:

FAVORITE FOOD:
Just about anything, but since Daddy fed you Pannetone, nothing else is quite the same!

FAVORITE TOY:
Out of all the toys you have, you prefer my plastic coat hangers, and small thin items you can hold in your hand like a wand (e.g., my mascara bottle, your baby spoons, safe kitchen utensils)

THE LAST THING YOU DID TO MAKE ME LAUGH:
Did this funny marching soldier move while your paternal grandfather was helping you learn to walk.

THE LAST THING YOU DID TO MAKE ME SMILE:
Burying your face in my shoulders or chest and acting like you're giving me a big hug. It's usually quickly followed up with a bite, so my smile is short-lived.

THE LAST THING YOU DID TO FRUSTRATE ME:
You've started swatting at your food spoon when you're not hungry, causing your food to fly all over the place. Plus it's rude. But I'm pretty sure you don't understand the concept of rude, so I forgive you, for now.

FAVORITE BOOK:
Those baby books with fake animal fur textures. You really love feeling and scratching things with your pointer finger.

EARLY TO BED?
Around 9 pm

EARLY TO RISE?
6 am on the dot (you're like a clock, and it kills me! Especially on Saturdays!)

FAVORITE SAYING:
"Da-da" (this should really be categorized under 'The last thing you did to frustrate me')

THINGS YOU ARE CURRENTLY LEARNING:

• To stand up unsupported for 10 seconds


• The concept of “No!” – You frown when grandpa says it, and you give attitude when anyone else says it. Hey, I just said you’re learning the concept, actually obeying it is still months out. Maybe never knowing my luck.


• To climb on the outside of your wheeled walker until both feet are no longer touching the floor – momma does not condone this behavior!
  

• That drawers pull open and have treasures inside


• Falling asleep on your own – this is still premature but you did it the other day out of pure exhaustion. 15 minutes of trying to rip apart a plastic bag (supervised by momma) and rolling around (practically doing mostly-unconscious cartwheels in the bed) and you finally found the perfect position and dozed off. It’s worse than when the dog twirls in a circle before he lays in his bed!
  
  

Now please excuse me. I need to go return the boots I JUST bought you that were clearly marked as 6-12 mos, and find something similar for 12-18 months! Damn you've got some BIG feet!

Luv,

Momma

These are the Diaz's of our Lives....

The theme this week seems to be family, both planned and unplanned family time. Thanks to the modern marvels of Facebook, my anti-social a$$ connected with a "cousin" on my mom's side. I should've just done like my sister and rejected the invitation, but I can't do that to "family" [and my sister can, apparently].
Since I accepted her friend invitation, she's been chatting with me every other day. This is annoying because:

1. I'm such a loser because I can't let a chat go ignored.


2. I can barely speak Spanish right, let alone write it.


3. I DO have a job.... A deskjob, but a job nonetheless that I should be focusing on instead of chatting with relatively unknown cousins, watching Youtube videos, and reading blogs.
   

So after weeks of chatting, she tells me that she's coming to San Francisco. 'Oh great!' is the first thing I think in my head. 'Is she going to want room and board?' The answer thankfully (I don't have space right now, and I'm anti-social, did I mention that?) was "No". But she did want to meet up.

"I'm sorry, but my father inlaw is coming to stay with us."

"Maybe he can come...."

"Yeah..... right."

We left it at that. It was a pivotal week at my deskjob, and I was very stressed. I came into work one day and found that she had written me a message. She was here and still wanted to meet up. I meant to write her back, but office stress was high.

I completely forgot about her, until I reached my mother's house to pick up Diego. She tells me that the girl called her twice and was coming over to meet us. The first thing that came out of my mouth was:

"How'd she get your number?! Stalker!!!!"

So I had to stay if only for 20 mins to get to know my stalkercousin. I left, with no intention of ever seeing her again. The next day, my mom said she'd stayed until 11 pm and she asked if she could stay at my mom's house with her husband and daughter for the REST OF THE WEEKEND. I was caught off guard about this, and felt bad that I had bestowed this burden on my mother and father. I may sound cruel, but in my defense I NEVER met this lady, and it turned out that my grandfather's dad had a family before my grandfather that he never knew about, and that's the family that this lady was from. There was some type of drama, and all my mother remembers is my grandfather coming home one day in tears.

Other than avoiding my stalker cousin over the weekend, I was also preoccupied with my father inlaw's arrival. My husband was VERY clear that he wanted to make his father as comfortable as possible, which I understood, and knowing my father inlaw, this might not be an easy feat. We tried to think of everything and decided to keep it a Diaz-only weekend (aka, leaving my family out the first weekend; no problem because apparently they were busy playing host to my semi-cousin).

It was refreshing to see how lovingly my father inlaw acted towards Diego this weekend. His other son and family came over on Saturday and we had a nice lunch. Diego got to know his older cousin, Andrew, while they played the Sony Move. Only one thing was missing, the extremely reclusive, more anti-social than me (and that's saying a lot!) other son. The next day we went to his house, but he wasn't there, and left a message with other tenants. Instead of calling my husband when he got the message, he called ALL THE WAY TO PERU to tell his mother to call us and tell us that he would come the next day to pick up his father for the day.

He had gotten into some drama a year ago with my husband, and although my hubby apologized, things have never quite been the same. I don't think they ever will be. And my husband is hurt at how his brother is dealing with the situation, and it's all he's been talking about this morning. It's like the soap opera "The Days of Our Lives" except these are the "Diaz's of our lives...."

Oh family....... and DRAMA!

A Mouse in the House

Me thinks we may have a cute little mouse in the house. Something is chewing up the crib. It's too bad too. The crib is beautiful. Now it needs to be refinished.

But not until we find the mouse culprit, or he stops teething!

Scary Halloween

Halloween has come and gone, and yet I didn't make a post. I had been so excited about Halloween, that by the time it came, I was literally exhausted! Little did I know, that night before I was in for a long night, and my exhaustion may have been a clue from my body that I was getting sick.

The story starts two days before Halloween on Friday, at my company party. It was a family-friendly party, which was fun and riddled with kids. How could I forget though, that with kids come GERMS?! Fast-forward to Saturday night (well actually Sunday morning around 1 am). Diego gets restless, so I move him to my bed in hopes of coddling him back to sleep. An hour goes by, and he never fully goes back to sleep. That's when the puking started. It got everywhere, on the bed, pillows, on my hair, etc. I was so worried. I just wanted him to get all the bad stuff out. Sunday (Halloween) morning the puking was over and Diego was in good spirits but now it was time for the "other end" to take a hit. I was constantly changing diapers throughout the day. Diego had gotten the stomach flu.

I hadn't gotten any sleep for two days because of his stomach flu, so when I started getting a headache and feeling nauseous, I thought it was because I was simply exhausted. My body was about to tell me EXACTLY why I was feeling this way. One by one this week, each member in my family has fallen to Diego's stomach flu. In order: Me, my husband, my sister's boyfriend, my father, my mother, and finally my sister. This bug was CRAZY!

In case your little ones ever get the stomach flu, the advice nurse suggested a diet of apples, rice cereal, and bananas for Diego, accompanied by some Pedialyte for 4-6 hours. She also said that he wouldn't be back to normal with respect to his diapers for 5-7 days. I'm still exhausted and still waiting for his full recovery. :(

Luckily, we did manage to have a good Halloween. We even carved a pumpkin!

Diego Does Disneyland

We finally just got up and went after talking about it for months. We wanted to go to the happiest place on Earth, yet weekend after weekend it just wasn't happening for us.

This weekend, Diego missed his Tia's (Aunt's) 27th birthday party, but he was there in spirit!

P.S. - Quite frankly my favorite photo is the one taken by my simple point-and-shoot camera, capturing the suspense in his eyes while riding the Snow White Ride. Hahaha!

Spirit

I just finished helping my group decorate our elevator lobby. We do this every year. I work for a large company that has its own campus, and my group happens to be lovers of Halloween (Not me really, I prefer Christmas, but I still love celebrating it!), as well as situated on the ONLY 13th floor of the entire campus.

Thus began an annual decorating event for Halloween that has lasted for 3 or 4 years now. Through the years it has slowly morphed into a corporate expectation for us to "go ALL out" and decorate the entire floor the spookiest we can, then throw a HUGE party on Halloween open to the entire company. Sadly, the big shindig was stopped this year and is being replaced with a more private family-friendly party on the 11th floor. Corporate can stop our yearly 13th floor party, but they can't break our spirit!

We've decided to decorate the lobby in the theme of "Mollie Gravestone's Supermarket", complete with a Deli/chop shop (operated by Mike Meyers), Juice bar (operated by Dr. Kevorkian), Snack Bar (operated by It the Clown), and Day care (where all the demon babies are cared for). I think my favorite prop are those Demon babies.

I like them so much, I decided to turn Diego into one in the picture above. Muahahahaha!

PS. We're not done yet with the decorating. We still need to dim the lights and add the final details like grocery store pricing, name tags, etc. (my group was calling me the Martha Stewart of Halloween; if that's what a perfectionist is called these days, then so-be-it!)

Deli/Chop Shop

Day Care


Juice Bar

Home is where the Pumpkins Patch

After a few weeks of over-planning to go to the Annual Pumpkin Festival in our area, wouldn't you know that it ended up being a cold, wet, and dreary day? In addition to that, my hubby worked in the morning, missing part of our family Sunday time.

He has been working so hard so that we could achieve our goals set for the end of the year. I know he has only good intentions, and that is why Diego and I don't complain about his hectic schedule lately. We know where his heart is. It's in the pumpkin patch...