Oh, Katrina

Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans, LA. 8/29/05.

Strawberry Plans

I have decided that my girls will have joint birthday parties til they turn 30 yrs-old - if not 40. We did it last year and it worked out perfectly - one fun day, two happy girls and one less headache for me.

A few weeks ago, my aunt gave Isabella and Lucia the cutest Strawberry Shortcake cheerleading outfits. They are not only cute but exactly what was needed so that the girls could settle on their "joint" birthday theme. Can you guess what they will be wearing? ;) I can't wait to start planning my budget-friendly party... ya know, since we still have this whole "med-school-how-are-we-going-to-survive" thing to worry about.

I am hoping for something like this...
Hoping I don't end up with this...

And willing to settle for this....

I've Got A Problem

I don't like cleaning. I avoid it like a two-piece bathing suit. When I do finally take the plunge into the mess that has been accumulating in our house, I go into "simplify" mode. I rather throw everything away then have to actually put it away or fold it.

The past couple of weeks I've come to realize that our kitchen needs a good mopping. Sigh. I hate mopping. I love the way our kitchen looks and smells after a good mopping but obviously not enough to motivate me to do so on a regular basis. Double sigh.

So the past few weeks I've really become obsessed with checking out new kitchen ideas (see below). I just think it's be so much easier to gut the whole stupid thing than actually fill a pail with some water and Pine-Sol. It really makes perfect sense to me.

Like I said, I've got a problem.

Yesterday

Yesterday, we sold Lucia's crib.


And it feels like just yesterday, I took these pics, too.

Please, Take Good Care of Her

Isabella is officially in kindergarten... I can't believe it! Wasn't I just waking Harold up and telling him that I was pregnant? I'm pretty sure that was last week. I'm not sure what's going on around here, but I don't like it. :)

Yesterday we got to bring her to class, meet all her lil classmates and introduce her to her teacher. It was only a short day and when we picked her up I asked her what she thought of her new teacher. Her response? "She's great! Nice, sweet and kind." I expected nothing else, teachers rule in Isabella's world.

Her response made me think of open house, which was this past Monday. We had to let the teacher know a lil bit about our daughter, her likes, dislikes, etc. I told the teacher that Isabella was great at memorizing, loved patterns and learning magic tricks. I wrote a lot but still not enough. I think about Isabella's answer to my question. Why do grown-up answers have to be so boring? Why can't we just say what we really feel? Why didn't I describe Isabella as great and awesome? Why was I trying to make sure the teacher knew she'd get a good student but forgot about the great kid?

I'd like to go back, scratch out all my answers and simply write, "She's great! Nice, sweet and kind. Please, take good care of her."

PS: First set of picks were from yesterday, second set from this morning. All grown up, walking in with her tote bag and nap mat.

Nope, Not Funny At All

Isabella is a very smart girl. I don't just say that because I'm her mom. Her brain is always in motion. She is constantly talking/worrying/complaining about past events and future ones, too.

Her latest worry is what is going to happen when she gets married. I am not making this up. I'm not sure when or how this started. I never talk marriage around her. Ever. I usually tell her what my mom told me - study, work hard and travel the world. Then and only then, think about getting married and having kids. Such wise words... not sure why I didn't listen. :)

But back to Isabella. The other day we were out getting groceries, going to the Dollar Store, eating animal crackers off the car floor - you moms know the drill - when we had this lovely conversation.

Isabella: Mom, can Lucia ride in Papi's car?
Me: Why?
Isabella: Because when I have my kids we're not going to fit.
Me: What?
Isabella: When I have my KIDS!! When I have my kids there won't be any room in the car for them. Can Lucia ride in Papi's car?
Me: Hmm... we'll have to see.
Isabella: Ok, because kids need to stay with their moms. (Translation: Lucia needs to go!)

It's a miracle I was able to keep driving. That girl of mine cracks me up! The only thing that won't be funny is if I really do end up driving around Isabella and her many kids.

Nope, not funny at all.

A Card for That

With two small girls always in the car with me, I never get to listen to cool music anymore. Never. It's all about Old McDonald and the ABC song in the Jimenez car. Don't hate. It's not nice.

A few months ago, on my way to pick up Isabella from school, Lucia and I rode towards the carpool lane in silence. She had just woken up from her nap so I was trying to keep it a lil quiet for her, especially since no 32 year-old (in her right mind) needs to listen to how a bunch of monkeys jumping on their bed are eventually gonna get hurt. That I know from experience. As soon as we picked up Isabella and she gave me her 30 second recap of her eight hour day, I turned the music on.

For some reason, I did not automatically hit the CD button and the good ol' radio came on. There was this cool reggae sounding song on with the most awesome beat ever. At least, the best my car had heard in the past few years. The chorus was playing and I felt 23 again - out at a club, having a drink and enjoying my friends. Not dishing out goldfish crackers and changing diapers. The chorus was basically this, "I wanna make love right now na na na." It was catchy, it had all three of us hopping around in our seats. I decided to keep it on, it was just one song, not even an entire song. How much could one lil 1/2 song hurt?

A few days later, I was at a local retail shop with Lucia. I was trying to find some shoes when I heard a familiar beat. The shop had the radio playing over it's loudspeakers and the "I wanna make love right now na na na" song was on. I didn't think much of it. I kept looking thru their racks when all of a sudden I realized that my 2 year-old was belting out the chorus! How horrifying! I was mortified! The only thing that made it a lil better was that the counter girl was a cute 19 year-old who thought it was "soooo cute!"

After swearing to her that we'd only heard the song one time, I escorted my lil singer out the store before she tried to add a few pelvic thrusts into her lil show. I told a few friends about it, laughed hysterically and called it a day.

I just saw that Hallmark has come out with a new line of cards for us moms. They are pretty funny. If I see this one at my local Target, I will buy it and try to think of how to incorporate it into her baby book that is still not put together.

I wonder if they have a card for that?

A Bed for Lucia

Isabella and Lucia have decided that they want to share a bedroom! Yay! The other day I walked in to both of them in one bed, Lucia watching Isabella play her Leapster. It was so cute and sweet. I'm so glad they have each other... I don't know what I'd do without my sister. Hopefully, they will feel the same one day.

In the meantime, we had to redecorate on a med school budget! So I decided to make my own upholstered beds. I saw this post and realized that I could totally make it work in their room, too. Just changed a few things. :)

Hope you like the pics!