My kids are cute.

Dom came to me and told me that he woke up at 8 am this morning. He said it with a little frown on his face.

I asked him: What's that about?

He said: Miah got me into this routine.

Me: What routine?

Dom: She comes into my room in the morning and wakes me up to watch cartoons with her.

Miah said: Yup, in the living room.
(I thought it was cute that she wants him to watch with her...shoot, I wanted to be left alone when I was a kid to watch whatever I wanted)

Devyn: You don't wake ME up.

Miah: That's because you don't wake up.

Devyn: Yes, I do.

Dom: No, you just moan and turn over. We take the covers off of you so you can freeze cause it's so cold.

Devyn: I wake up if you tickle me.

Miah: Hahahahaha.

I am going to take my kids to the pool. They deserve it...Here's why.

The Longest Day

So here is what happened on the longest Day. (I figured that if you all can post a million pics... including pics of pets...so can I)..


I took the kids to the skate park. Devyn and Dom had a ball. Miah wasn't so happy because it was hot and she isn't much of a skater (or bicycle rider..she refuses).

We went to eat at Peter Piper Pizza but I didn't get any pics there. Too many kids running around and I couldn't get any one kid to stay at one place for too long.

We came home and had cake and watched 'The Spiderwick Chronicles' (I was too exhausted to take them to the friggin dollar movies).:

Here are the fishing pics: (go ahead and gag now...Jared).

Miah was making sure to keep track of all of the fish we caught (10 or 11 total). We didn't keep them, we just threw them back (go ahead and sigh in utter disgust...Jared)






Here is my (nanny) cousin, Cyn, who I appreciate so much for just sitting here all day with the kids and giving me peace of mind:
Needless to say...our night didn't end until almost 1 am.

Here are the kids sleeping into the 11's:
And lastly...I must be losing my mind to get another rodent (in fact I got 2...one for Miah also) I can already anticipate nights where I will be having to chase after these suckers in the house...This is just one of them but they are soo cute:

*The End*

Busy Day

I know that Wednesday was Devyn's birthday but we are going to celebrate it today.
He's going to have one of his friends come over and I'll be taking them to the skate park, Peter Piper Pizza, the Dollar movies (in which the movies actually only cost $1) and most likely swimming afterward. Tonight, Angel will take them (us) fishing and Devyn's friend will be staying overnight.

I was planning on having more of his friends come over for those events but I'm not all that comfortable having to keep track of other people's children. Asking the parents to meet us at different locations all over town is too much of a hassle to me and I'm sure it would be for them.

Heck...I have a hard enough time keeping track of my own children sometimes.

Last night when I told Devyn that he was going to need to get to bed early and get a good night's sleep because his friend was going to be here at 8 or 8:30 am. Devyn got this shocked look on his face and said: "I wake up in the 10's".

We started laughing. It was hilarious.

Also, last night, I got a treat when I got to bed. (noooo...not like you think)
Angel had gotten home from work, watched a few shows with me, ate, took a shower and went to bed. (that's his usual routine). BUT..this time when I finally dragged myself to bed and cuddled next to him, I realized something.

He was wearing SOCKS in bed.

Now I know that to some of you guys this is not much of a treat OR much less something to be excited about. And for those of you who have not read all of my posts...THIS is the reason for my excitement.

Anyway, I had a carefree night last night.

I will be posting pictures of today's adventures later on.

Wish me luck.

Devyn is getting older.

Tomorrow is my baby boy's birthday, Devyn. He will be 7 yrs old.

I still ask him if I can cradle him like a baby and he says "yes". (of course he rolls his eyes when he says it but..whatever...I'll take it how I can get it).
Sometimes I want to grab him up and swaddle him, just cause I miss it.

Angel says I 'baby' him. I don't care. He's still rough and tough like a boy should be but he also knows when I need affection and he is the first to give it to me. I don't want him to grow up. He's at the perfect age. He can feed himself, wipe his own butt, bathe and clothe himself. What more could you ask for?

Anyway. I won't allow him to get any older.

He swears that when he grows up he will always be here for Momma. We'll see.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Angel told me yesterday that he will be moving to Presidio, Tx. (wherever that is) starting the 8th or so of July. He will be there for 6 mo. to a year. Well, if I ever needed some time to myself, then will be the time to take it.

That still leaves me trying to move everything and get out of the apartment with the kids by myself. Oh well. In the end...I will still be around family.

We'll see how it goes.

Ughhh...THAT GERBIL!!

How come when the majority of the kids leave out of town with Angel, I always end up looking for that dang gerbil at the oddest of times?

Here's the story.

Angel got out of work and wanted to go to the Valley to hang out with his brother in law and sister. He took Miah, Dom and Cyn with him. Devyn and I stayed behind because Devyn is going to a sleepover tonight and I know that if he missed this chance...I will NEVER hear the end of it. We have been trying to plan this for such a long time and something always gets in the way of this actually happening.
Well, it's happening TONIGHT.

Anyway, Devyn and I spent the night watching 'The Incredibles' and eating cereal. When we finally went to sleep I was sleeping soundly for awhile and then I hear this plastic bag next to my bed move.

Now, I have a fan in my room and I, for a second, thought it was the fan causing the bag to move. I waited quietly for it to be moved again and it didn't. I didn't think anything of it at the time and tried to go back to sleep.

Experience kept me from fully falling back into sleep mode. I got up went straight to Dom's room where the gerbil is kept. The top of the cage was left open and all I saw in there was bedding. I know that sometimes it gets really cold in the room and he buries himself underneath it so I started moving it around and tapping the cage.

Nothing.

It's 4:30 am. I do not want to do this now.

I automatically went back to my room and picked up that plastic bag, held it at eye level and twirled it around slowly hoping I didn't see a little suffocated gerbil laying lifeless in the bag.

Nothing.

Aww, man. I started thinking about the phone call I was going to have to make to Dom about his missing or dead gerbil. I also imagined the lecture I was going to give him about leaving the top open because he knows the gerbil knows how to climb out.

At this point. I'm a little frustrated because, well, it's 4:30 and every bedroom door in the house is wide open and that rodent could be anywhere.... IF it's still in the house.

So....here I go. Clicking my tongue all through the house hoping it will pop out of whatever hiding place it has found. I'm looking under beds and in closets ..in the kitchen behind appliances...in the living room under couches and behind the entertainment center.

Nothing.

I'm still clicking my tongue and walking around preparing myself for any possibility of it just running across my feet. I was bracing myself and trying to make sure I don't scream if it did.

THEN...I saw it.

It came scurrying out of my closet (I keep thinking of residual gerbil pellets left behind in my shoes...ughhh) and ran under my bed. I went and got the cage out of Dom's room and trapped us both in my room.

I was ready for battle.

I got the plastic bag and rattled it under my bed to try to coax it into a corner. It worked. It made its way toward my restroom but the door was closed. I placed the cage down on the floor and just like that...it crawled up into the cage.

Honestly. Why is it me who always ends up chasing that darn gerbil?

After order was restored, I came back into my room and Devyn rolled over and saw me awake.

He said, "Hi, Mama."

Me: "Hi baby. Guess what I just had to do?"

Him: "What?"

Me: "The gerbil got out because someone left the cage top open and I had to find it and put it back."

Him: "Oh, sorry mama, that was me. Thank you for putting it back."

With that, he turned and went back to sleep.

*sigh*

---------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE:

You know that Blackberry I got my husband...?

Well, when it came in (yesterday), I figured I could figure out how to transfer the address book from the sim card into the phone for him easily.

I couldn't do it.

I got the bar that says transfer complete or whatever but it never showed any addresses. I tried again then I tried everything including going online for more specific directions
But nothing ever worked.

Then Angel calls me this morning to tell me that he got the addresses transferred while he was sitting on the toilet.

Go figure.

He thinks he's a "Hacker".

I got him though... I sent him a TEXT.

Early today, I sent him a text. (normally, we text ALL day to each other just random messages). Well, I sent the text and went about my day. Hours later, I went to go see my friend Jenn and I sent him another text.

I told Jenn that I bet the reason he never texted me back was because he couldn't figure out how to send a text message yet.

So I called him. I knew he wasn't going to call me, he would rather I think he hasn't checked his messages than KNOW he hasn't figured out that feature.

Sure enough, he confessed. He said he was sitting there for hours trying to figure out how to text me back but he wouldn't call.

I laughed at him only because he laughed at me because of what happened with the stupid gerbil this morning.

Well he was ready to get off the phone then so I said: "Alright. I'll talk to you later. I love you."

He said: " Yeah, yeah..me too."

I said: "I LOVE YOU!"

He said: "Okay, yup...yup."

(he thinks this is cute)

I said: "What?!? You can't say "I love you" to me in front of STEVE?!!"

He said: "Yes! I can say "I love you" in front of STEVE...I just didn't want to! Now, just for making me..I hate your guts!!"

HA HA....whew...I love that man.

Fun Friday!

Well. It's here.

I always look forward to Friday. Even though the weekend flys by so quickly and Monday is here in a blink of an eye. Then it's back to work.

Angel's phone was messing up so I went online and ordered him a new one. Guess what he wanted.....

A blackberry...with internet.

WHATEVA!!

I don't even have a blackberry and I take care of my phones. Angel must be dropkicking his when no-one is looking cause (I swear) his always looks like he wrestles it away from angry bears.

He got it. The blackberry. It came in today. A black Blackberry Pearl.
Lord know what he is planning to do with all that technology at his fingertips. I don't even think he knows what to do.
I just might go online and order one for me too since.................We got our stimulus check. I didn't even know that having the 3 kids would give me *ahem..us* an extra $900.

Angel is already spending it in his head. He was looking at pictures of kayaks online and pricing them. He was also looking at tent cots.
Have you ever heard of them? Here's what they are:

To me, they look like coffins. I would feel smothered sleeping in these.

We (the whole family) is planning on spending the 4th weekend ON the beach. You guys know my feelings about that.

I don't know if I can survive a whole weekend ON the beach, again.

Anywhooo...gotta go and enjoy my weekend. You guys do the same!

Preparing for the workforce.

Yesterday Dom got to go to work with me. I only took him because another co-worker takes her son and he has ADHD. He is 16 and ALL over the place, in people's faces and running around the facility.

I mentioned that I was going to bring Dom to keep him occupied. I gave Dom the lecture in the morning during the drive to work about "this place being my work and not a playground" and "don't let people have to look at you wondering who's wild monkey you are".

We get there and he meets up with the boy and they go outside to play their games. (They both brought their PSPs). I allowed Dom to go to gamestop with this kid and they came back and sat outside on the grass under a tree.

Everytime I looked up the other kid was in and out of the building and in the rehab gym. One time I looked and he had come in and plopped himself on a stool in the gym. I asked him "Where's Dom?"
"Oh." he said and went back outside.

I looked out the window and Dom was sitting outside on the bench under the canopy playing a game. I was really proud of him because he had done exactly what I wanted him to do. He was well behaved and didn't get into anyone's way.

Later in the day, I found out that the facility has a program with the activities department where kids could volunteer. I got Dom involved with that and now he will be going to work with me Tues-Thurs.

Tuesdays and Thursdays he will be helping the elderly people play bingo. He pointed out the numbers that some couldn't see and also help them call "Bingo" if they didn't realize they had one. He also handed out the prizes and helped clean up afterward.

Today is arts and crafts for him.

I hope he likes this and learns a valuable lesson as well as respect for the elderly.

I agreed to pay him myself for any work he does. $3 an hour. (keep in mind, this is not for a full day...only during activity time).

At the end of the day, I thanked him for being so well-behaved.

He told me, the other day, that his friend was going to work at McDonalds next year. I stopped in my tracks because I know his friend is only 13 or 14 yrs old.

I explained to him that you have to be at least 16 to work.

THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is NOT true. He challenged me and we went straight to the computer and googled child labor laws in Texas.

He was right. You only need to be 14 to start working.

Well.

Guess who wants a job at McDonald's next year. Of course, if his grades permit working.
Unfortunately, we'll be moving and our closest fast food joint would be Burger King.

He'll have to settle for that.