Lil' Photographer

Yesterday was Isabella's mini-Christmas program and since Harold was off taking a test, I had to juggle a video camera, digital camera and Lucia. Needless to say, Lucia easily took 80 pics of the pews, her feet, a few smiling parents and lots of chest shots of the horrified moms sitting around us. Everyone was cracking up.

My Thanksgiving post only included pics taken by Isabella. She really has taken a liking to the camera so it's no surprise that Lucia now wants to be a photographer, too. So now its Dec. 20th and I'm frantically trying to decide what to do about the camera's I have bought for the girls. I already ordered two in orange but now think I should get one in pink and one in blue - the original plan. Ughhh.

Oh, well. In the meantime, check out Lucia's pics. It's so interesting to see things at her eye-level not to mention what she thinks is worth taking a pic of. The inside of Harold's sandal? Too funny!

Husbands Can Be Useful Now and Then

A while back I thought I would write up a beautiful post about my husband so that he could read it one day and be pleasantly surprised. I'm thinking he must have pissed me off shortly after that thought because the post never did happen.  :)

I was at Wal-Mart this morning trying to get some Christmas shopping done (or more accurately - started) and Lucia was being a P-A-I-N! Crying, whining, trying to grab everything she could get her hands on. Needless to say, I managed to buy new toothbrushes, my yearly Christmas tradition (since this is the second year I do so), and that's about it. Cold cuts, bread and carpet cleaner doesn't count.

Anyway, I came home disgusted. Harold happened to be studying at home and came in to ask why there were three new toothbrushes on the counter. I explained that the two cool ones (they are battery-operated AND play music) are Christmas presents and the third "cheapy-Dora-one-that-is-already-opened-and-chewed-on" was what Lucia did while I walked around. As I explained this to him, not once did my eyes leave the computer. Yup, I was still disgusted with Lucia's behavior.

Harold started cracking up laughing and talking about how crazy Lucia is and how funny she can be. So I started laughing too and had to agree. She really has become a nut these days. Then it hit me - had I not had him here I would have never realized the silliness of the whole stupid situation. 

What do ya know.... husbands can be pretty useful now and then.

Snow Day in New Orleans

It snowed! I know, kinda hard to still be excited about it a week later... not to mention the fact that it's 4:30am as I'm writing this. Oh, well, it snowed so it needs to be documented for all three of you to see. :)

Lucia's first words when I opened the door were, "It's beautiful!" Not sure were she got that from but it made for a cute moment.

My only regret was that I didn't keep Isabella home from school. Ughhh! Why didn't I???!!! Oh, well. There was a little snow left once we got home so she managed to throw one snowball at Harold before crying that she wanted me to buy her some snow gloves... which leads perfectly to my second regret that day - no gloves (or at least not being able to find them).

Thanksgiving "Cute Pics" 2008

As has been the tradition for the past 11 yrs, Thanksgiving was spent in Dallas with my sister, Carmen, and her gang. My cousin, Beth, and her family come too, as well as my Uncle Bill and Aunt Mary. I already had an idea of what my blog would be all about - family, friends, food, our blessings and all that we are thankful for.

On Thanksgiving Day, Isabella got a hold of my camera and decided to take her own pics of what the day was all about. I think she really captured it, don't you? These are all her very own pics except for the food shots - those are mine. I didn't think anyone would approve of me moving all the food to the floor just so that my daughter can get in a few good pictures.

Aren't the pics great? Isabella is only four, ya know? :) We're planning on asking Santa Claus for a kids v-tech camera. At one point I was going to discourage it but don't think I will. It was fun to see her in action especially when she would thank her subjects with a big smile, laughter or by screaming out "Cute pic!"

SCR Fair

SCR had our annual fair. It was lots of fun and Isabella actually made it on stage AND danced! Yay! It was a great day. The final pic is of our class booth that we had to decorate... totally copied my friend's daughter's bday theme (Thanks, Katy & Lizzy).

The Circus Family

Really, we are! I didn't make the connection til I looked at our pics and thought - what a fiting theme for us this year. 

These past two months have been such a whirlwind and our family is getting crazier every day, it really does feel like I'm part of the circus! :)

Mama: The Clown

Papi: The Ring Master

Isabella: The Blue Ballerina (aka: The Tightrope Walker)

Lucia: The Tiger

Sit, Lay, Rollover... Good Girls!

Today Isabella and Lucia came in asking for a treat. I convinced them that goldfish crackers would be a better alternative.... until I realized that it still required me getting up. Ughhh. (And no, I was not reading cnn.com or people.com, I was actually trying to get some work done.)

I called Isabella back in and asked her to please pour out some goldfish crackers for both her and Lucia. It was definitely one of my "I-just-became-a-mom-yesterday" moments. A short time later I walked into the den to find goldfish ALL over the floor (whole & crushed), a small Little Mermaid bowl and another tupperware container filled to the rim with these delightful healthy snacks. Ughhh. Double ughhh.

After I poured what was not on the floor back into the goldfish box and started making my way to grab the vacuum, Isabella crawled over to me, "wagged" her lil hips and started to pant. These are her "I want to act like a puppy" cues. This lil game has become quite effective in getting her to pick up toys, eat her dinner, put away her clothes and of course, hand me the remote. By far the best puppy trick!

Soon enough I had Isabella, Lucia and Maya all lined up in a row, begging for their treat. It was absolutely hilarious. Had I had a video camera handy, I'd have a good 10 minutes of  me saying, "Sit, Lay, Rollover.... Good Girls!"

(It was a win-win situation after all - I got in a few good belly laughs and Harold gets to come home to a freshly vacuumed den! Yay! Double Yay!!)

Birthday Happiness with a Twinge of Sadness

Yesterday my sister turned 33. Since I've been 32 for the past 6 weeks we are no longer "twins." :) Growing up those weeks between our birthday's were especially fun if someone asked us our age. Just to see their reaction when we told them that we were JUST sisters, not twins, always amused us.

Tomorrow is my Mom's birthday, she would have been 64. It's been 11 yrs since her death and it's hard to imagine her at that age. So I thought I would dedicate this entry to the two women in my life who I appreciate and love more than words can explain. Not to mention the fact that this has also been an exciting week for all of us.

My mom was beautiful, intelligent, educated, had lived in different countries and more. I think she was excited to be here, in the US, raising us in a great country that didn't place any limitations on what one could do with their life. I was raised thinking I could save the world if I wanted to... or at the very least get a great education and a wonderful job. That is what was preached in our house. However, growing up with a mom who had an accent didn't allow for me to really TRULY believe that. I remember many errands where I would have to translate for my mom because the cashier or salesperson claimed to not understand her. I say "claimed" because even as a kid I knew that the minute some people heard her accent, in that split-second, she would be treated differently.

My sister has all of the same qualities of my mom without the language limitations that could be so frustrating. My sister worked on Obama's campaign and I remember my cousin, Claire, once told her she sounded like an Amway rep she was so excited and trying to "sell" Obama to the rest of us. It was funny but she didn't care. And I think that it was just like my mom, she didn't care who laughed and kept working on her English - even getting named one of Louisiana's Teachers of the Year.

I think my mom would have been blown away to see an African-American voted as our President and I'm sad that she wasn't here to tell her friends how her daughter helped get him there. In fact, I think after blinking away tears and hugging my dad she would have looked at us and said, "Next we vote a Latina into the White House."

Yup, this week has been an exciting one. I can honestly say that I now believe anyone can do anything. It fills me with so much happiness.... and a twinge of sadness that my mom couldn't be here.

Gain the World and Lose My Soul

I heard this song and I cannot explain how it has spoken to my heart. Listen and think about it, how great if we all felt like this?

I know, I know. Not everyone is a Catholic, a Christian, a Mormon, a Jew or a Muslim. We don't all believe in a higher being but I don't think it matters. Why does "soul" have to always have a spiritual meaning? We are all human beings, we all have feelings and we should always want to do right by each other - regardless of our belief system.

I remember one day talking to my dad about God. As a bratty teenager, I kept coming up with 100's of "What If" questions. Finally, the conversation ended something like this. My dad said to me, "All right, Laura, so what if there is no God? There is no Heaven? Would it have really hurt you to be nice to everyone, to not lie or steal, to feed people you know are hungry? Huh, hon?"

Med school will be over before we know it and I am pretty sure Residency will pass just as quickly. And then what? Harold and I will have close to $250k in school debt but will still be able to start scratching off our dream list of things we want to buy. Things we will not only need but want. I'm scared of that day as much as I am excited. I'm scared we'll become different people and lose sight of what we know and believe is important. Maybe I'm just not giving myself enough credit. 

I just don't want to gain the world and lose my soul.

Maybe I Am Doing Something Right

Lucia bit Isabella this morning. 

This was what was left along with her spit on Isabella's pjs. Yup. She bit her thru the shirt. Ughhh. I thought we were past this phase. As I sat and held Isabella, listening to both girls cry (one on my lap, the other in time out), I thought... what am I doing wrong? I really couldn't think too long and hard about it because Lucia's time-outs only last 2 min.

Isabella calmed down from crying to sniffles so I called Lucia out of time out. Made her kiss Isabella's side and apologize.

Lucia: I sorry, Bella.

Isabella: It's ok, I forgive you. (sniff, sniff) I always forgive you.

As they hugged it out, I thought... hmmm, maybe I am doing something right.

Even Maya Feels Our Economic Pain

Maya really needed a haircut. I shopped around and found a reasonable place that would take care of all her needs... haircut, nail trim, teeth & ear cleaning. But after much debate over how broke we are (I hate med school!!!), it was decided by Harold that he could take care of it. After all, he hasn't paid for a haircut in 5 years!

So this was the end result - from sheepdog to chihuahua?

Who's the Bigger Criminal?

So Harold and I had the privilege of going out to eat with a friend of his that came in from Dallas. Very smart girl. A lil rude. Kinda racist. In my opinion.

I find it rude to come visit someone and then proceed to say how you understand why no one left for Katrina because N.O. is full of unintelligent people.  Hmmm. Turns out her future-baby-daddy is a vendor and they were in for one of those shows at the convention center. The ones where you can buy knock-off jewelry, clothes, purses, etc. I guess her clients were not very smart and while it may or may not be true, just rude to even mention it.

But this is what got me the most. After making a comment or two about how FEMA money was used lavishly and welfare money misused, she began to tell us about her new job in upstate NY. Basically, she is a lab supervisor that clocks in at 7:30pm. Her immediate boss leaves at 11pm. So they came up with a plan where he will clock her in at 7:30pm but she does NOT need to arrive til 9:30pm. The boss will then leave at that time but she will clock him out at 11pm. Hello???!!!  That's FOUR hrs a day that are being stolen from the hospital!!!

So my question is, who's the bigger criminal? My guess is that this lil stunt costs the hospital approx. $40,000 a year. Lab technologist's get paid well especially if they work evenings. I've applied for welfare before (food stamps, but that'll be another post) and trust me, no one offered me $40k worth of food! 

Smart people can be so stupid. In my opinion.

Birthdays, Parties and Circus... Oh, My!!

So much for keeping up with this new blog of mine.... the past month has been a whirlwind of activities. Following are pic recaps of what the Jimenez's have been up to. Enjoy!

I turned 32 on Sept. 29th!!!
My bday celebration began on Sunday and included breakfast at LeMadeleine's, where Lucia and Isabella had their first taste of coffee. Lucia wanted seconds but not Isabella! In fact, she blocked her mouth with our wooden table weight (J for Jimenez, of course!). By far one of the highlights of my day, it was hilarious!!





A day at the Zoo (putting our membership to work),



a bouquet of flowers from the men in my life (brother Henry and husband Harold), 


a dinner date at Byblos and the most delicious cake EVER!!! Doesn't it look amazing? Have to admit that Harold and I ate half of it all by ourselves, all the girls really did was lick the icing. We just used forks, no plates or napkins needed!




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Isabella turns F-O-U-R!!!!
Seriously, where did the time go? Feels like yesterday was her first bday at our temp-home in Dallas thanks to Katrina. :(  The big day included a make-your-own-pizza dinner, cupcakes and a Leapster. Isabella was in heaven. We sang Happy Birthday but did NOT eat the cupcakes til we got back from dinner. At the time, sounded like a good idea but now thinking back on it maybe it was a lil cruel, huh? Oops! :)

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Birthday x 2!
We had a joint party for the girls this year and it will be hard not to keep this tradition going even if I can already picture the future fights. Isabella's bday party was a lil late and Lucia's a lil early but no one cared. We had a Dalmation party at Gymrompers and I even made the cake (thanks, Amie!). Check out the chip bowls. How cute is that? My Uncle Bill thought it was subconsciously keeping people from eating and decided to kept an eye on what bowl was eaten out of the most. I think the red one won. haha.









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Circus under the Big Top
The circus came in town too so of course we had to attend. I got to meet a clown from Peru (I guess I'm not the only one in the area! haha), we had cotton candy and thought of Aunt Carmen - she LOVES the stuff! Isabella and Lucia were a lil scared by the loud noises so we didn't even think of pushing the elephant ride. Which worked out great since it was $8 a ride!! Those darn clowns! Grrrr. I really wanted to climb on. Maybe next time since I'm pretty sure I could have convinced Lucia to come along. :)