Well today, Joshie finally got his braces off. I'm not quite sure how long it has been, but it seems like FOREVER!!! Needless to say, he's super happy and I'm happy for him. He looks much different, he looks even more grown up, if that's even possible. He's growing into such a handsome young man, I look at him and still can't believe how he maturing. He's such the Ladies Man already, has has numerous girlfriends, and girlies wanting to talk to him all the time. The girls absolutely LOVE his hair too, that's a big thing with him right now, is his hair. Can't cut it too short. Anyway, he now has a beautiful, straight smile and hopefully it will stay that way for many years to come.

R.I.P Michael

Yesterday Michael Jackson died, yes, died. Oh my gosh, I couldn't even believe it. I was at the chiropractor and heard it on the radio, but it had not been confirmed yet, so I was kinda like, well, maybe he didn't. But I got home and Darian was watching CNN and the UCLA Medical Center did in fact confirm that he had died. Wow, what a shocker!! I mean, nobody seemed to know that he was sick or anything like that. But a family lawyer by the name of Brian Oxman, who has known the Jackson family forever stated that he had told MJs family of his worries of his dependence on prescription drugs. Apparently he was taking meds for his back and leg that he had injured at some point, and he said, when Anna Nicole Smith had died, he thought to himself, "this had better not happen to MJ, I've warned them." But nobody listened and I'm sure he had many enablers who just said YES to him all the time, without question. Also, on Dateline last night, someone was saying that he was also anorexic, which if he was, was a bad combination of circumstances. Because when you're anorexic, your lungs and heart are in serious jeopardy for many, many things to happen to them, you're just in an extremely fragile state. The coroner is doing the autopsy today, but the toxicology reports won't be in for another 6-8 weeks. So we'll see what they say. I'm thinking it is definately another case just like Anna Nicole and Elvis and Heath Ledger, wrong mix of meds. How sad.
How I wish I had seen MJ in concert in person, wow, what a showman he was. I'll never get that chance. Bummer. MJ you will be missed in so many ways, and no matter what your sins, only the Father can judge you now, for we are all sinners in our own way, each has a different sin. But rest in peace, there will never be another like you.

No Flippin' Idea

I got a letter in the mail a few weeks ago (yes, I'm a little late posting, sorry). Anyway, the letter is from the kids' school, but it's regarding my little OD. The school is letting me know that there has been a change in his eyesight since August of 2008 to May of 2009. So, I take him to the eye doctor and doc tells me that his right eye is fine, it's 20/20, his left eye, on the other hand is at 20/150!!! WTF??? How does this happen without me knowing?? I asked the doc, why would OD not have told me? Doctor says, because he (OD) didn't know any better, to him, it's "normal." So after I get all of this horrible news, alot of things start making sense, his lack of being able to hit the ball exceptionally well, like he's exceptional at everything else in baseball, but he has no depth perception, he's having to turn his head more to the left, so he can see the ball coming with his right eye (because he's a righty), although, he's always trying to hit lefty, and that's probably why, because he can see the ball with his right eye, therefore, he can see it coming towards him. He doesn't like 3D movies, because he doesn't even see the things coming at him. So anyway, the "therapy" for now, is him wearing an eye patch over his good eye and glasses with somewhat of a prescription for his left eye. He has to only wear it for two hours a day, and only at home, which is a relief. He has to do things like play video games, (bummer for a kid, I know), color in a coloring book, thread beads or cheerios onto a piece of yarn or string, just so he can start getting that left eye stronger. Let's hope and pray that it starts helping to heal that eye that never started seeing on its own.

FTP!!!

Okay, seriously, I LOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEE me some George Lopez, and not because he's fine or anything. Poor guy. No, he's just so damned funny. It seems like everything he talks about just hits a nerve with all the Latino community, me included. We went to see him in his stand up concert at the Dodge, there were sooooo many people, it was awesome to see the Latin community support one of their own. My cousin Michelle and her hubby went with me and mine. We went to dinner first, then to the show. Unfortunately we couldn't take any cameras in with us, but I managed to get one of us with my iPhone. Anyway, loved the show. There was a band that opened, they were called the Boogie Knights, they played all 70s music, they were really good and very entertaining. Then there was a comedian, white guy, super duper goofy as all hell, and wearing a suit and tie, no less, couldn't have been more improper looking for the crowd that was there. But once he opened his mouth it was clear that George Lopez knew what he was doing when he hired him to open for him, the guy was a riot.
The kids kept saying, "why didn't you take us?" I'm sure they were thinking the show was going to be like his TV show, family friendly, which it was anything but. He cursed and talked about sex and women's bodies and all kinds of things that would have been inappropriate for any kids. Although, when we were in the lobby people watching, in walks in a couple with their two kids, aged from about 11-13. Whew, I bet they were a bit embarassed that they took their kids once the show started, anyway, you'd hope they would be if they were any sort of a good parent.

Anyway, I would definately go and see another one of his shows. BTW, if you know anything about George Lopez, you would know what the FTP means.

Marshmallows

Okay, seriously I have NEVER IN MY ENTIRE LIFE, ever seen marshmallows THIS big!! Holy cow, is all I can say. We bought them at the Ranch Market yesterday, and Darian and Shayla were supposed to make rice krispy treats with them. I wonder how many of these you would need to make them? Because the recipe calls for a bag of 40 regular marshmallows, but what is the equivalent of these Monster 'Mallows???? Hmmm . . . . . . good question. We want to take them outside tonight and roast them. Darian says she'll have to keep them in the fire for about five minutes each. LOL Probably.

Summer, Summer, Summertime

Well, yesterday officially all three of my kiddos are off for the summer, albeit a short summer. OD's friend Kade has invited him to go to Cali to go hang out with their family (they're actually working the three fairs out there), but have invited him to go and work also. They work, but they also have fun going to the beach and stuff like that. I'm not sure if that's going to work this year though, since OD has a tryout for a travel baseball team this Saturday morning. If he makes it, that means he's going to have practices and games and we can't miss any of that. Jody (Kade's mom), understood and said, "well, let me know, and if he can't this year, maybe next." OD would love to go and hang out with them over there, obviously, but this baseball thing is a commitment.
Darian is busy doing her summer school homework, bummer, but she HAS to get these classes taken care of. So that's her fabulous summer. She has stayed the night at Mirella's with Shayla as well, so it's not like she's not having ANY fun. She's asked to go to the movies with some friends later, so we'll see, she has to do her homework first. Priorities, priorities, right?
As for Joshie, well he's already stayed the night at Jared's house (Jared is Kade's cousin, but Joshie had no idea when he first met him at school, Jared just happened to be the kid that befriended Joshie when he first came to Horizon, crazy huh?) the night of his promotion, they had a blast with their airsoft guns, playing video games all night, I'm sure. Well Joshie is going to start taking some Muay Thai Kickboxing classes, which he is SUPER excited about, as well as, he's wanting to start playing the drums. We are looking for a starter set right now as we speak. So hopefully he'll have fun and continue for a long time. He's started working out (I'm training him), because he wants to have muscles. I told him it won't be hard for him to see results because he has absolutely NO body fat. So he'll see results quick!! He's excited for that too. Darian will also be starting that kickboxing class as well, we'll see how she does.

'Member, You Member . . . . .

Two more days until the George Lopez concert, I can't wait, he's so damned funny. His stand up and then his goofy faces he makes, gosh, he just cracks me up. Michelle and David will also be going, so we're gonna try and meet up before to eat, then go to the concert. Can't wait!!!

Ranch Market

Yesterday, Roy took me to The Ranch Market, which is like you've practically stepped over the border and into Mexico. And I don't mean it in a degrading, disgusting way at all. I'm Mexican, and damned proud of it, I love my peeps and am good when I'm around them, even the ones from Mexico. It was cool being in the store, it's so different from being in Fry's or AJ's, it's a whole 'nother culture, obviously. It's cool, there's a section that sells these huge chicharrones, another section with cocktail de camaron and ceviche, yummy. Another section that sells, raspadas, which Roy says are awesome, so we have to go back and have one one of these days. The meat department was amazing and had so much fresh, good looking cuts of meat, I've never seen such a nice meat department. There was rows and rows of packaged chicken, in big, big packages, wow, unbelievable. The bakery had all these brightly colored birthday cakes, really, really pretty, prettier than the ones you see at Fry's and the prices were REALLY good. Also in the bakery were cases and cases of pastries, pan dulce, conches, maranitos, donuts, cut up cakes with crema in the middle with sprinkles on top, they all looked soooooo good. There was also the produce section that had lots and lots of stuff too, and good looking produce, and very reasonably priced. I bought a drink, that was coconut, I think it was fresh coconut, and it also had slivers of the coconut in it too, it was soooo good, they had all flavors like limonada, jamaica, sandia, coco, pina, fresa, and then, of course, they had the regular Horchata.
I think it's a good place to come and bring the kids so they can experience that type of thing, you know, being around their people, experiencing places where they tend to migrate together. To immerse them in their culture. It's funny, when I'm in places like that, my spanish tends to get better and I like speaking spanish to the people behind the counters. I really want my kids to learn to speak spanish, Darian is learning and knows more than the boys, but we've got to step it up and start learning more.
So needless to say, I enjoyed our day at the Ranch Market, thanks Roy.

Joshie's 8th Grade Promotion

Momma and Darian waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Getting his certificate.

Joshie with both his Grandma's.

As of June 5th, my Joshie is now an official "High Schooler." Wow, it's kinda strange that I now have two kids in high school. They get big so fast. Joshie has had a bit of a change this year, for the better, I'm sure. He went through some things this past year, and now he's rebuilding his life and doing things for himself. He's going to start Muay Thai Kickboxing and wants to start playing the drums, I'm so happy that he wants to start doing something, and not just sitting around playing video games. I want him to become passionate about something, anything, and hopefully he will with one of these new things in his life. I'm excited for him. So here's a few photos of his promotion, it was nice, long, but nice and I'm glad he was able to go through that rite of passage. Next stop, high school Graduation, God Willing!!!

HILARIOUS!!!!

Last night Joshie and I were on a website called awkwardfamilyphotos.com, it was so hilarious, I was crying. The photos of these people and the captions that someone has put for the pictures is just too much. You all have to go and check it out for yourselves. I have taken a few of the photos and listed them here, but there are sooooo many more, you have to check it out. Really and truly AWKWARD . . . . . !!!

Artwork

Recently I have bought a painting by one of my favorite artists, Tamara de Lempicka. It's a big painting and it's going in my bathroom. When I told the lady where I was putting it, she kinda hesitated and said, "Well, I don't know how well it will do with the humidity." I told her it was a big bathroom and not to worry, it doesn't get all that humid in there.

The second painting I bought is called, "Madagascar Jasmine," by Irene Carranza. I first saw this paining (a huge one, mind you) at the Maria Maria restaurant at Tempe Marketplace, which is owned by Carlos Santana. I absolutely fell in love with the painting. I am on her email list, so I received notification that there was one for sale; mind you, it's not as big as the 3' x 5' one in the restaurant, mine is an 11"x14", but that was okay with me. Mine is numbered as well, and came with a Certificate of Authenticity. It's beautiful, and it too will be going in my bathroom, above my toilet. Have a look!!!

Gnome, Sweet Gnome

I was at my absolute favorite store to buy stuff to decorate my house with (which is now closing, I'm so bummed), and I happened upon this cute gnome. You know, like the one that's on the Travelocity commercial, except mine is cuter, I think. So I pick him up, to check out the price, and he's $29.99, except he's 70% off, so of course I'm buying him right? I carefully put him in my basket, because I just know the kids will get a kick out of it (which they actually could have cared less about him--little did I know, right?), and I liked him too. But as I picked him up off the shelf he was sitting on, the base came off like it was broken, but I put it back together (and it fit perfectly back together mind you), I figured he was going to be sitting outside anyway, so who cares if the base is broken off. But as I looked at the base, it was quite odd what I saw. There were four little turtles that had either been carved out of the base, or just glued to the inside of the base. When I got to the cashier to pay the girl says, "did you see the turtles inside the base?" I told her that I had. She said that some woman had set him down on the shelf too hard and the base had broken off. So I'm wondering why would they (the artist, the company) put the turtles inside, if no one was going to see them, only by chance, if someone happened to break the base. Odd????? So I went online to see if I could find anything about this, but alas, nothing. Maybe my gnome is a special gnome, is it a particularly good "brand" of gnome or what?? I don't know, but it's pretty cute, the gnome and the turtles. Now I have a little story to tell when I'm showing people my gnome.

My mom now knows that I like gnomes, so when she was out the other day, she saw a bobblehead one and bought it for me (I think my sisters each got one too.) She told me not to put it in the direct sunlight because the sun might bleach him. So I found the perfect spot for him. We'll see how long it takes the little ones to find him. We'll have to make a little game out of it next time they're all over. So take a look at my little gnomes, they're sooooo cute. Gotta keep on the lookout for more to put ALL OVER my backyard, that would be awesome! Maybe even a bunch of fairies. That would be cute, a gnome and fairy backyard. By God, that's exactly what I'll do.

Jack

Here's some cute pictures of my baby Jack. Darian put those hangers on him, and he just sat there looking at us, not daring to move with them on him. He didn't move until we removed the very last one. And of course Jack is a Dbacks fan, check out his cool cap. Ha ha!! Cute.

Boys, Boys, Boys . . . . . .

Well today on the way home from school, for some odd reason, my boys decide to get into a "Who Has a Bigger Penis Contest." Don't ask me why . . . .???? I've got to admit, it was pretty funny though. Joshie said his was as big as Jack (his body), O.D. said his went up to the sky, Joshie said his went to seek out other galaxies, O.D. said his "poked through the skies of heaven," ok, ok, I said, thinking about where else this was going. I didn't want to take the chance. Gosh, is this what boys do, is this what they think of??? Geez . . . . . .

OD Little League Playoffs

On Saturday O.D. had a playoff game against the Dbacks. We have played them during the season, obviously, and had beat them a couple of times, and they beat us once. It was a really good game. I'm sorry that my family couldn't have been there to see it. A boy we call Junior hit a big time home run, like about 15 feet past the fence, and brought in two runs with him, the boys went crazy, it was awesome!!! So needless to say, we won 6-1.
When the playoffs began there were eight teams and now it's down to just two, us and the Phillies, the dreaded Phillies. The boys all know this team is good, but I tell O.D., "Everyone has their bad days, and not everyone is good, all the time." I tell him to think positive and that he can also pray about it, which I think he does anyway. But, I don't see why our team couldn't pull it off, our boys have been killing the other teams in the playoffs, there's no reason why they can't, is my answer and we can be just as good as any other team.
So our week, starting on Wednesday will be practice, Thursday, practice then the final game on Friday. I have invited the family, hopefully some can show and give a little support to our team. O.D. will be so excited!!!
My lil' O.D. has played some awesome shortstop this season and is REALLY good at this position, I (and Alan) hate it when the coach puts him in the outfield and puts a much less deserved kid in his spot. This is the playoffs Coach, you've been teaching and working with these kids all season to see where they fit best, and now that you're in the playoffs, put the kids in the spots where they shine, not just because you have to put them in the rotation sometime in the game. That's lame. That's what the regular season is for. Ugh, it just irks me to no end. Anyway, we'll see what happens on Friday, stay tuned for the finale'.

Memorial Day Weekend Pt. 2

Well, here is the second thing we did on Memorial Day Weekend, boating!!! Finally. We hadn't been to the lake in about two years. Wow, it really didn't seem like that long, but it has been. The past few times we had gone to the lake, something bad always happened, like we blew a tire on the trailer one time, our motor almost caught on fire, stuff like that. So Alan really had to make sure we were up and running before we took it out again. But we did, and everything went well. We had a really great time. When we first got to the lake, Alan put the anchor down and dove into the water, about 15-20 minutes later he's looking for his sunglasses. He has no clue where he put them, then discovers that he probably dove in with them on his head and now they were probably at the bottom of the lake. Crazy! Can you imagine how much stuff is probably at the bottom of the lake?? Towels, glasses, sunscreen bottles, beer bottles/cans, etc.
The kids loved being pulled by the boat on the raft, it was hilarious to watch them, and try to see when one of them would be tossed off into the water. Luckily there really wasn't THAT many boats out on Monday, maybe most of them had been there for two days already and left by Monday, because it was pretty tame. Joshie and Panda were on the raft alot more than anyone else. OD got on it once, but he doesn't like anything where he feels he's out of control, i.e. rollercoaster, elevators, the raft attached to the boat, etc. Darian and Roy got on it a couple of times, not me, I don't wanna go flying off into the water, I'll stay on the boat, thank you very much. So here are a few snapshots of the days festivities.

Pretty Darian laying out on the raft and posing