Nah, that i’ mai tain, Vitorita. (10/13/10)

That almost sounds Chinese or something… LOL

I no see et Mami. (10/19/10)

I can only laugh…

I’m so amazed how quickly he’s picking up English. I’m so proud of him!

I came across a brilliantly funny (and honestly true) blog post today, by Daniel Evans (aka Dad Gone Mad) regarding a referral for a sleep study he needs, but which his insurance denied. He posted the series of letters exchanged by him and Mr. “[illegible signature]”, Medical Director at his “Piece Of Shit Healthcare”. That’s what he called them. 

 

I cannot tell you how HILLARIOUS the entire exchange of emails is, and how much I LAUGHED! I mean, I really LAUGHED MY ASS OFF! I even cried tears of laughter.  You cannot miss reading this!!

 

It’s TOO good not to share, so here’s the link: A New Approach To Healthcare

 

:D  :D  :D

Just got a silly fwd from my friend Nikia titled Why men aren’t allowed to take phone messages. See the image below. It made me chuckle.  Happy hump day! :)

 

So as you know I’m banned from milk and all milk products. Yes, it’s torture! Victoria seems to be allergic in some way to the milk protein. Or at least that’s the conclusion I’ve reached. You don’t even want to know what a devil child she becomes if I have any. The poor thing. Not only that, but she poops waaayyy too much and has horrible colic if I have any.

Victoria’s now 5.5 mths old, and I’ve been trying to introduce formula at her last meal of the day in hopes it’ll hold her better through the night. She’s been waking up every night famished at 4:30 am for the last week and frankly I can’t take it anymore – I need my sleep!

But… she HATES the bottle!  

I’m unsure if it’s the fake nipple or the taste of the stinky soy milk (oh my God it’s SO stinky!), or a combination of both. For sure she seems to HATE the taste of the soy milk formula from her facial expressions, gagging, and spitting it out.

I don’t blame her.

If it tastes anything like it smells I must be pretty dreadful.  Personally, I hate the taste of soy milk and I have an idea the soy based baby formula isn’t any better.

With the failed attempts at feeding her soy formula, I’ve tried introducing rice cereal (made with a few tsp of the prepared soy formula milk). Again, I was thinking it might help filling her belly for longer. But, the following sequence of pictures pretty much sums up her verdict on that as well:

All attempts have failed. I’ve struck out at every single at bat. Sigh.

What am I going to do? What is my baby going to eat when I no longer breastfeed?

Does this mean I’ll HAVE to breastfeed her until she’s 1???!!!

NO WAYYYYY!!!!

I have set the cut-off date for 6 mths! (and it’s a magical 2 weeks away… if I actually follow through with it)

Sigh… oh the worries…

As Victoria, Nico and I enjoyed this perfect Fall afternoon in the back yard, we watched the trees and shrubs changing colors and all kinds of insects flying around. A ladybug happened to land right on the siding of the house, after it flew in my hair first. Here’s the little conversation Nico and I had following the incident.

Me: “Ahh!” (I screamed as the ladybug flew into and out of my hair)

Nico: “Wa’ happen Mami?!” (he said quickly and with concern – he’s too cute)

Me: “Nothing, there was a bug in my hair, but it’s gone.”

Nico: “Mami look, a be-u bug.” (Mami look a big bug - pointing at the ladybug on the siding after he looked around for the bug that had been in my hair)

Me: “Where Nico?”

Nico: “Err theu Mami. Wakala!” (over there Mami, ‘wakala’ which means ‘yuck’ in Spanish) At this point he was getting ready to smoosh the poor ladybug with the end of his plastic bat. I didn’t let him though.

The ladybug got smart and not having a death wish it flew away before Nico could get it and without us noticing. When Nico noticed it was gone he asked me:

“Wu les it Mami?” (where is it Mami?)

Me: Gone Baby. Gone. :)

Julio was gone for a few days last week, so for those few days I didn’t drink my usual half espresso.  Can you believe I actually coach myself to throw away the other half? Daily. And I suffer having to do it. Every time. 

 

Anyway. During that same time, I noticed Victoria behaved pretty well.  She didn’t seem as needy or clingy as she’s usually been, even to the point where she enjoyed being for long periods of time in her different stations: the jumparoo, the swing, the bouncer, the highchair, the floor. I found myself having more time for other things. And who knew, I had arms!? She also didn’t have as many poopie diapers as usual. I’ve got to wonder…

 

Coincidence? Perhaps, not.

 

Today I drank some espresso again, but only a quarter of it. I had been thinking about these coincidences. Could the caffeine be doing the damage? Hmmm… So, later in the afternoon, after the caffeine had surely made its way into my milk I started noticing my little velcro baby gone bad was back. Wining, crying, clingy, super needy and oh so poopie! I must have changed 6 diapers in like 4 hours.

 

Could just a little bit of caffeine have been the root of all evil all this time?

 

So, starting tomorrow I’m totally off caffeine, once again. I’m talking not even Diet Coke. We’ll see what happens in the next few days. If Victoria doesn’t become the velcro baby gone bad again, I’ll know we found the cure to all hell.  O:)

I came across a wonderful article today about Recycled Cardboard Playhouses at Green Your Decor. 


It reminded me of an idea I’ve had for many months to build exactly that. I thought about that one day when Nico was playing with an empty cardboard box. He had undone both ends and was using it as a tunnel, having the time of his life. That’s when it dawned on me. I’d build a house out of cardboard boxes for him (I have a ton in storage in our basement from when we moved). I never got to making it happen though. Shame on me. :/

Anyway, I LOVE finding inspiration like this, unexpectedly. Must be my creative designer alter ego. ;) Lets see when I actually have some time to follow through with this project. I know it’ll be super fun making it, I’ve always loved arts and crafts projects, and I know Nico will really LOVE it. Like. A lot. In time, Victoria will too. 

I’ve officially added this project to the million others on my Projects list.
Have I ever told you I LOVE projects!? Well, I do. Always have. Ever since I can remember back to the 4th grade. The problem, now that I’m older, is that I find myself starting a bunch of them but never finishing them. The excuse: lack of time. You know, with 2 kids and such, I’m lucky I have gotten a shower daily. So far.  Also… I’ve realized I’m SO scattered in my thoughts, in recent times. I’m just all over the place in my head. Juggling a million things, doing one thing now and thinking about a million others I have to (or want to) do at the same time.

Just last night, for example, I was folding laundry that was in the dryer. Suddenly I stopped to go hang something, only to remember I needed to sort the mail and throw the junk in the recycling bin before I had to put out the recycle and garbage bins on the curb for morning pick up. Oh, that’s about the time I remembered I needed to go to the post office to check the Association’s PO Box. At 11:30 pm. Yeah weird, I know. But it was the only time I could go without having to drag two kids under 3.

Somewhere in that crazy timeframe, I realized I was all scattered in my thoughts. I found that neither of the things I had started doing had been completed. I had to finish folding the laundry, so I could put the wet stuff in the washer to dry (I forgot to mention that earlier), and then finish sorting the mail, throw the junk in the recycle bin, and place the recycle and garbage bins on the curb. Oof! I was tired just thinking about all that.

So… a special thanks to the Mommyhood, and Momnesia, for making this Mama a little crazier everyday. :) Now, where that glass of wine I need? Sigh.

I found the stick and cord for our kite outside the house by the garbage can. Nobody knows how it got there. Anyway… I brought it inside to show and tell Julio about the random occurrence, and when Nico saw it he pointed at it in surprise and said:

Tha’ ta kick, Mami.  (that’s a stick)

“…i’ broken Mami.”  (it’s broken)

 

I didn’t even know he knew the words stick and broken. :)

Here’s a couple more sentences Nico said today that came as a surprise. The best part is how silly and cute they sound as he pronounces them in his own way. I’ve spelt them out just like he pronounced them…

 

“Why da doin’ Tyson? Come on!” 

Nico said as he played around the house with Tyson.  Again, he used “Come on”. Seems to be getting pretty popular in his talking repertoire.

 

“Ewas, e at this.” 

That translated to “Edward, look at this.”  That’s what Nico told his older brother as I put his yogurt snack on his picnic table.

“Come on, move it!”

That’s what Nico shouted out when he saw the line of cars in front of us. And he repeated it several times. Again, it caught me totally by surprise. And I cracked up laughing, thinking he read my mind. I wonder where he picked that sentence up? lol ;P Hehe… Too much driving around with Mommy here, there and everywhere. It was only a matter of time.

 

Strangely, afterwards out of nowhere he started saying the same thing only adding something to the ending. And I really don’t know why he was saying it, it was only Victoria, him and I in the car…

“Come on, move it Papi! Come on!”  (Papi is Daddy in Spanish)

 

LOL!! Clearly, the kid knows Daddy’s a slow driver and Mommy drives better. ;P

Yesterday afternoon, after I potty mouthed to myself in the kitchen for some reason, he came running through the family room saying,

“Oh, oh, Mami! Wo happen?”

 

Today while waiting to see the Ped in the waiting room, I was telling him something and he said,

“No, shupp.”

 

Huh? Where the hell did he get that from?? Well, thank God no one was around… to laugh.

 

Later on today, while goofing around in the house he came running to me and said,

“Mami, where is Tyson?… [then he sees Tyson walk by] …”Tyson, go. Go, Tyson. Go, go!” [poor dog ran for his life, lol]

 

Oh, and he’s singing Happy Birthday to himself as we speak…

“Happy Birday to you. Happy Birday a Nico. Happy Birday to you.”

then I asked him to repeat it, to which he responded,

“Shupp.” (shut up. wth?? sigh.)

Happy 8th Anniversary of Togetherness to my better half! (4th Wedding Anniversary coming later this year).  Julio, you are truly one of a kind. And you’re mine. Let’s not forget that. Of course, I’m yours too. You shall not forget that, how it happened, or how lucky you are. ;P

 

Sure. Relationships, and especially marriage require tending, just like a plant needs to be watered and cared for. But our garden is beautiful, beyond the scattered weeds (which btw have taken over part of our back yard because of my inability to exterminate them, or honestly to even go and actually do something about them). Everyone’s garden has weeds here or there, even if they don’t want to admit it. But I do. And it’s alright, the tending will come soon enough. Hopefully before our kids go off to college, hehe. ;)

 

Joke aside—you are my better half and you complete me. :) You had me at “Senorita”, and I thought all that sifting you did with the 12 yr Scotch at TOTS that night 8 yrs ago not only got me happy drunk but also was awesome and very cute, in a smart (ok, not geeky, but engineering) kind of way. Hehe. ;P

 

So cheers to us, the past 8 yrs of our wonderful life together, and to the many more to come!! I can’t wait to see what lies ahead on our journey through life, and couldn’t ask for anyone better to walk it with.

 

Thanks for making my dreams come true, for loving me tenderly and beyond my defects, and putting up with me even on my worst days. You are my rock! I love you SO much! XOXO 

Our first trip together almost 8 yrs ago to the day, Thanksgiving Nov. 2002

Photo taken at Central Park in New York

I have lost SO much hair, I’m seriously on the verge of baldness. I’d like to thank my selfish and temperamental hormones who have taken over my entire system and made a party with it. In case you didn’t read the sarcasm in every bit of that, please, re-read.

 

With my first pregnancy, I started losing hair towards the end of the first trimester and that went on for probably a month or two. By the end of that pregnancy, to my amazement, my hair looked unbelievable awesome. Then came the feared 3rd month post-pregnancy. Like an unexpected earthquake, it all began to fall out once again. For the life of me, I can’t remember how long it fell for, but it sopped. Eventually.

 

Now with baby #2, oddly I lost no hair during pregnancy. But, I didn’t think it looked as great as during my first pregnancy. That aside, I gained much less weight with this pregnancy, only 27 lbs! With Nico, I gained 34 lbs. So maybe it’s a give and take kinda thing. Can’t have your cake and eat it too, I guess.

 

Oh, but again that dreaded 3rd month post-pregnancy came. And it came with a BIG BAMM! My hair started falling out like never before. And now at 5 months post delivery, it still is, and in masses. At least it seems that way. I’ve never had tons of hair, and it’s thin and oily. But I guess this time around the cocktail of events contributing to my hair loss is that much greater than the first time around. Try this for a drink, and it’ll make anyone lose more than just hair.

 

Hair Loss Cocktail

Ingredients (sizes are marked within {} )

{Tons} Naturally oily scalp

{Even more} 3rd month+ hormonal wackiness

{Torture with} Can’t drink milk or milk products (so I’m probably not getting enough calcium --- Idk if it even has any relation)

{The more the merrier} STRESS of a 2 yr old toddler

{More than with the toddler} STRESS of 5 mth old baby (make sure it is overly needy, teething, has what I call ‘mommy-itis’, is SUPER demanding, wants to be held 90% of the time, etc.)

{Upsetting, but I don’t really care most days} STRESS of having a dirty house (hint: I need a freakin’ maid!)

{Simply brutal, makes me wanna cry sometimes} Not having time for ANYTHING! Repeat: No. Time. For. Anything. How I write these blogs, you ask? Don’t. ;P

 

Try that for a drink and we’re talking very serious hangover. ;)

Today’s new English sentence.

“Mami, it cuck!”  (Mami means Mommy in Spanish)

“It what?” I asked Nico.

“It cuck!” he said.

 

Ohh, it’s stuck. He was trying to close a drawer from the cd cabinet and it was stuck. Wow, this may sound silly to most people, but my little boy has learned another phrase in English, and I don’t even know when, where or how. :)  Lets keep in mind his first language is Spanish. Sure, he’s now in preschool, once a week. So after 3 preschool days, he can speak a few things here or there in English. Every new word or sentence he says in English simply amazes me, and is always catches me off guard. The element of the unexpected is like a breath of fresh air. Marvelous! He certainly understands waaaay more than he talks. He’s so smart, hehe. ;)

 

From now on, I’ll try posting some of the things he says in English. I think it’ll make for cute reads when I look back on memory lane. Plus, isn’t mispronounced toddler talk just adorable? I think so.

 

Here’s a pic I took today during our lazy Sunday. Good times! :)

===

 

We decided from the get go that we’d speak Spanish at home all the time so our kids would learn it. And I mean really learn it. I don’t want them to be those kind of Spanish speaking people who can understand it but talk it with what seems like a horrible foreigner accent. As if it was really their second language, or something they just picked up along the way. I want them reading, writing and speaking proper Spanish. Truly bilingual. Anything less is simply unacceptable.

 

Then came this summer. At Nico’s first lesson of Kindermusik I realized he needed to learn English. And pronto. He was acting like a totally different child, petrified among all the other kids. Where was my outgoing little extrovert?  I figured it out. He had no clue what anybody was saying, or why. He must have thought he was in another world…

 

Lesson learned. I began talking both Spanish and English to him pretty much all the time. Just like an episode of Handy Manny; first in Spanish, then repeat it again in English. Sometimes I do it the other way around. Never ceasing to amaze me, he always gets it. Kids are like a sponge, they absorb so much and learn so fast. It’s amazing! :)

Poor Victoria. A day shy of her 5th birth-month, she’s quite the little package. SO demanding. SO needy. She’s a totally different baby than Nico was. I should have listened to what all those moms were always telling me during my second round as an incubator. My little precious princess, I LOVE her to pieces! Oh, but she wants to be held 90% of the time she’s awake. And a lot of times she will be at peace ONLY when held by me. Sorry Daddy. (And sorry to myself as well.) Add to that the times I hold her while breastfeeding and while putting her to sleep, and voila… there goes pretty much my entire day. I hope I’m not neglecting my son; he’s such a trooper!

 

Mommy needs a break at times. Make that several breaks, please. And her arms. And back. And silence. And sanity. And less of the added stress. I can’t even hear myself think at times. Oh, did I mention all the hair pulling? Add to that the loads of shedding I’m experiencing thanks to the post-preg hormone changes and we’re talking about being at the verge of baldness. Fabulous. :S

 

It gets worse. Victoria is also in the teething process. That’s right. Itchy gummies; chewing on her fingers, my fingers, everything she can; slobber all over everything and everyone; crankiness; and just general Mommy-overly-neediness. I guess that’s an excuse to be held all that more. I wish she would take a pacifier. She won’t. She thinks I’m the real thing, pacifiers are so fake (well, duh!). Sure, chew me up, why not. Ouuuuuch! Isn’t that why those things were invented?! God. Give. Me. A. Break. Please. :/ Sigh.

 

I guess it’s hard being 5 months old… Hmmm, wait till your name becomes ‘Mommy’, hehe. ;)

Today, I talked to a mom who came by the house with her kids selling their annual boy scout popcorn. Every year I’ve said no. Of course that comes with a bit of remorse since I believe in good causes and in helping others. Yet, her poor kid never really cares, but nevertheless there’s always a bit of awkwardness.  I can be really stingy when it comes to solicitations, and frankly have even thought of putting up a sign on my door to avoid such situations. I mean, can you imagine giving in to… Every. Single. One? Sigh...  But, I gave in, just this once. I couldn’t say no this year, I was weak. Blame it on the hormones, my falling hair, or the excessive amount of explosive diapers I changed today. Whatever. I’m $18 bucks down (Julio dislikes), and a bag of nuts and caramel popcorn richer (ah! Julio likes). Wait, is it just one bag or two? Damn, I have no clue. Momnesia! We’ll have to wait and see when it’s delivered in November...

 

In the short time we spent sealing the deal, somehow we got to talking about fb. (Facebook, for those of you mainstream-impaired, lol). This lady admitted she does not do fb. \o/ I was in utter shock. I mean, really?! My in-laws have fb, and they're in their 70s! When I asked her why, she candidly responded, "I don't have time". My response: "Lady, nobody does!" LOL! :D

Sassy. I LOVE this word! A good friend brought it up recently and it got me thinking. I’d heard it before, but never really use it and never really knew the exact meaning of it. After googling it (of course), I found the following definitions: “Lively, bold and full of spirit”; “possessing the attitude of someone endowed with an ungodly amount of cool”; “stylish and chic”; and "Fun, daring, sexy, multifaceted, someone you have to have". Scratch that last one (I think that one's only for my hubby, LOL)... ahh, that’s me! Well, at least most days. ;P

So… Blog title revamped. From blah to bam! Sassy Mama. There it is. I’m finally content with a truly more defining title of who I am, and what this blog is about. :D  Now my only question is whether Mama should have one or two m’s. The online consensus says it’s used both ways. Hmmm. As usual, food for thought… ;)

"Some people just speak like a broken record; it's amazing what little they'll hold on to. They justify their actions in any way possible, feeding into their obsessions and frenzy. In the end, they are only seeking to satisfy themselves and their broken egos, all while trying to hide their insecurities."

Yesterday Nico was being his usual self and had taken the seat cushions off one of our family room sofas to jump directly on the sofa springs. I guess he’s figured out his ‘trampoline’ can be quite fun. Of course, it was an accident waiting to happen… like so much of boys’ rough play is.  So yesterday was the day. He jumped off the couch, I’m not sure if intentionally, and hit his face on the table right on his left cheekbone. Luckily he missed his eye. It was a loud thump, followed by crying and screaming that amazingly only lasted 2 min. After some hugs and kisses, and some applied ice, he was off and running, back to his usual self. I’m amazed how resilient children can be! As for me, the visual reminder on his face reminds me of the seconds of agony I suffered seeing him in pain and with a bruised and slightly cut cheek (never mind him, he was clearly fine). He tells everybody about his “ouchie”, pointing at it, and didn’t even mind it when I showed him what it looked like in the mirror. Well, it’s like the Dr. said, “boys will be boys.” But poor Mommy.

Summer’s been brutally hot and humid with temps usually in the 90s, quite different from previous years. Idk if it’s global warming, or maybe just my hormones taking me for a joy ride, ha! – but it’s been too hot outside to enjoy anything. The back yard wasn’t used as much as we thought it would be, weeds have taken over much of it unfortunately, and the kiddie pool has not been inflated even once. Sigh. We didn’t go as planned to the Indy Zoo, not even a single time, and we didn’t make it out to the community pools either. Almost seems like the whole summer passed in a flash. School has started for everyone again, and since Summer is not really a season but rather a ‘state of mind’, in my opinion, I have to say it’s official: Summer is over. Below is a recount of our summer happenings.

 

Nico enjoyed 5 sessions of Kindermusik and learned all about the beach and the sea. He still talks about it, even though it was way back in June. It was fun, but only five one-hour sessions, for a total cost of $100 including supplies. Pretty pricy, but what the heck. I thought it sounded exaggerated, but inexperienced in the world of Tots as we were, we dove into it anyway.  Sorry, no pics for this one.

 

Nico enjoyed 4 weeks of swim lessons in June-July. He loved the sun and water, and his instructor Brandy. He still talks about her and wants to go see her. So cute. I’m no longer scared of letting him bathe or play in water deeper than 6 in (lol) and he’s not scared of walking into deeper water himself without assistance.

 

4th of July with our friends The Froschs, we even say the city fireworks display on a roof top.

    

Fun at our friend Thomas’ 2nd Birthday Party in early August

…And a few random pics we took over the Summer…

 

With 2 babies now, it’s been pretty hard keeping up with my blog. Life is very busy, crazy at times, but all in all wonderful and blessed with Nico and Victoria. They are such wonderful kids, and truly our greatest joys.

pic taken Aug. 2010

Nico’s 2 yrs 4 mths now. He’s very smart, speaking both Spanish and English. He’s figured out that he has a choice when it comes to deciding when to do what or where, or if to do as Mommy says.

Or so he thinks.

Oh it makes for interesting days, lol, or stressful, depending on how you look at it.

Nico is very loving with his little sister. He’s also been telling me with a sweet voice, kisses, and caresses “Mommy is so pretty”. Yes, I melt away.

He’s still in pull ups, and shows no interest in potty training though we’ve tried. His potty seat is as lonely as can be, though in the last 2 mths he’s used the big people toilet to pee while sitting assisted at his request, but that’s only been less than a handful of times.

Victoria turned 4 mths on 8/26; time flies when you’re having fun! She’s 17 lbs 6 oz (above 95% – aka ‘off the charts’, lol), and measures 24.88 in (75%). She’s been wearing 6 mth clothes, but according to the labels and her weight she should be in 9 mth clothes.

OMG! I have chunky babies, what can I say. And since I’m solely breastfeeding her, I must have some awesome liquid gold supply! ;)

She’s such a sweet baby and smiles and laughs all the time. She’s ticklish, talks her own little language, rolls over, and sits well when assisted. She’s begun the teething process as she’s enjoying slobbering on everything and nibbling on her fingers, and mine.

She is a wonderful baby and sleeps like a champ, from 9:30 pm until 8 am. Additionally she takes a 3 hr nap daily as well. Early on, through much trial and error, I found that she’s allergic to milk protein, so I’ve been banned from my fav drink: MILK.

That, and anything made with it. And let me tell you, that has been no fun for me. I REALLY miss milk.

And cheese.

The world is a horrible place without my dairy! Waaa waaa… :(

We weren’t planning on sending Nico to preschool until he was 3, but at the last minute my friend Maria told me there were 4 openings in a Friday only class at a Nursery School with excellent rep in town. She took one of the slots for her son Thomas, who is Nico’s buddy, and encouraged me to get Nico in. It’s 2.5 hrs on Friday mornings only, and it’s from late August through May. At $40/mth it’s a great deal AND will give Nico play time with other kids his same age in a fun, loving and educational environment. All that and he’ll be exposed to and learning English, alongside what we teach him daily, so he’ll be much better prepared for next year when he goes to 3 yr old preschool 2-3 times per wk.

Yesterday was Nico’s 1st day of preschool, and it was very exciting! To allow the kids to get acquainted with the new environment, teacher and kids it was a 1 hr mini session in which us parents got to stay and join in the fun. We had a great time. Nico can’t wait to go back, and now the only negative thing is that I have a bit of remorse I didn’t sign him up for more days a week, hehe. He’s going to have so much fun! :)  Below are a few pics…

  

I’ve been trying to upload this post for some time but kept getting an error. Anyway… Here’s a few pics we took of the kids and my parents on June 4 right before ‘Tata’ and ‘Grandpa’ left (June 5). I’m glad we got a chance to get these nice pics. They were long over due, for sure. We really miss them, especially wonderful, fun and loving Tata!

 

Tata, Grandpa, Victoria and Nico in our front yard

 

 

Ok, so this will be a short post. Just wanted to shout to the world in good ol’ OMG fashion that for the first time ever Victoria slept 7 hrs straight last night, and thanks to that so did I. I didn’t realize it until Nico woke me up at 7 am, I told him to go back to sleep a bit (which he did) and then looked at the clock and at myself in the mirror and realized the two ‘hard rocks’ I had on my chest were there because there was no middle of the night feeding. So, what to do? I woke a still heavily sleeping Victoria at 7:15 am and fed her, and she went right back to sleep for a half hour, then fed again. Nice… though I fear that if I go for more than 4-5 hrs without getting the milk out my supply will start to diminish and I may have to supplement like I had to with Nico. He would sleep 8 hrs straight at night, and I wouldn’t pump either, so my supply ran lower than his demand.

 

Well, at least for one night it’s refreshing to have slept 7 hrs straight… cheers!

Nico is talking up a storm in Spanish, and says some words and songs in English. He says so many things, and even long structured sentences. It blows our mind away. He can count 1 to 10 and sing Happy Birthday in both languages, and the ABC song in English. He can also say a short guardian angel prayer in Spanish. For the most part, I am the only one who can understand most of what he says, at least 3/4 of it. He still mispronounces many words, and a lot of understanding is done by association and context at any given time.

Unfortunately, he’s recently learned a bad word in Spanish as well, pronouncing it “tonio”. Sound it out and you’ll figure out what it is by substituting the t for a c. The worst part (as funny as it is, though seriously we’re trying to figure out how to erase it from his vocab) is that he knows when and how to use it, and does it very appropriately. Incredible what kids can pick up in a jiffy. Oof! We need to watch our language for good now. No excuses. For now, we’re ignoring him when he says it to not make a big deal out of it, fearing he may try to use it even more.

Ok, so blogging is actually not as easy as I thought. Finding the time to sit and write blog entries is nearly impossible these days. :( With a 2 yr old and a newborn, who has time for anything? I’m lucky I’ve still been able to eat (though at strange times of the day, and with probably too much time btwn each meal), and shower (most days).  OK, so maybe I shouldn’t admit that yesterday I was forced to skip it because Julio was out of town on a biz trip and things were too crazy all day with both kids. It was 1 am when I finally had a chance to actually shower, but at that point I decided sleep was wayyy more important than soap and water. Screw my oily hair. I vowed to shower this am, and miraculously I was able to. Of course, it was a 7 min shower, all while Victoria dozed off after her 3rd feeding and Nico watched Elmo videos on youtube. I crossed my fingers he wouldn’t move from there.

My back hurts, probably from my long gone ab muscles which never looked like they were there anyway but whatever, and extra wobbly post preg belly which no longer support my back. I’m sure my bad sitting and breastfeeding positions don’t help either, and don’t even get me started on all the bending over I have to do daily to change diapers AND pick up toys and crap. SIGH. I’m taking Tylenol, but it still hasn’t kicked in.

Then there’s my stupid TMJ, which is again flaring up. It could be worst, but so far I have daily headaches and some clicking in my jaw. I hope it doesn’t get worst, otherwise, I’m screwed for sure. I won’t be able to take the Valium (as a substitute for muscle relaxant) and Prednisone (anti-inflamatory w/ steroids) needed to cure the pain of a severe episode of TMJ. Oh boy, so much for breastfeeding. So many limitations. I could use some Valium right now, even if it wasn’t for the TMJ. LOL

I have no clothes. Nada. It’s so depressing. I can’t wear maternity clothes because they’re too big, and my sz 6/8 normal clothes are WAY too small. And I mean WAY. I am at size 12 thanks to the belly flubber (blah! talk about a self esteem downer), and I have one pair of jeans, 2 shorts, and 6 shirts I’ve worn a gazillion times. What’s left of my ‘cool self’ can’t deal with the lack of options and unfashionable-ness. :/ I can barely deal with this. I can’t lose weight fast enough. Of course, all the sweets and carbs I’ve been eating are not helping much either. And my scale doesn’t work, batteries ran out. Who knows, I could actually be gaining… sigh sigh sigh… oh screw it, let me run to the fridge and eat that Tiramisu Mom left, hehe.

Still not sleeping through the night. Will I ever, again? Victoria is so different from Nico. She feeds once or twice at night and is still grunting and complaining about gas and pains, and pooping wayyyy too much, keeping me up for quite a while at night. At least Nico has somewhat gone back to a normal sleep schedule, sleeping through the night and when he wakes up in the morning we can easily get him to sleep more, especially if we bring him into our bed. Thank God.

Victoria is sleeping much less through the day but has not established a schedule per say. She feeds on demand and I’m enslaved to her demands, yes Ma’am. I think I’d rather be deaf at many points throughout the day, especially when both kids are crying their heads off and making their individual demands, whatever they may by. God help me. Patience, please… I need to learn patience, patience, more patience, and build it up. Well, enough complaining, I’ve acted deaf for this while amongst the two crying bosses here. Gotta run. 

Ever since his 2nd Birthday, Nico’s been sleeping in his big boy room, on a twin size mattress we’ve placed on the ground until we get proper rails for the full size bed in his room and he’s a bit bigger.  Coincidently his Tata (my Mom) came to visit us for a couple mths at the same time, and since then Nico’s sleeping schedule has been completely wacked up.

Ever since he was 2 wks old Nico’s slept through the entire night, and right up to his 2nd birthday he was going to sleep btwn 9 – 10 pm and waking up btwn 8 – 9 am, without any night disruptions. You could say we were blessed and lucky. Then came birthday #2. Since then, he’s been waking up at 6 am crying, and we manage to get him to fall back asleep most night at least for another hour, but not without laying in bed with him and quietly slipping out once he’s finally crashed again. Of course it always comes at the exact time when I’m breastfeeding Victoria, and though he cries out for Mommy, 98% of the time it’s Daddy or Tata who run to the rescue. Then once he gets up after 7 am, it’s the same drill, and most times Mommy is still not available. I’ve been getting little sleep at night since Victoria’s been  colicky, and I’ve been lucky and blessed Mom and Julio have been holding up the fort and letting me catch an hour or two of sleep in the morning.

The situation’s gotten worst in recent days. In addition to what has already been going on, he’s now been getting up crying (like he’s freaked out) btwn 4 – 5 am. Lucky us, huh. It’s been crazy. But then came last night… woke up crying for Mommy at 5:30 am, I ran to his room and it was pitch black and I found him only by follwing his cry UNDER the full size bed. How did he get down there, beats me. I had to pull him out and he would not let go of me, clearly he was freaked out. Tucked him back into bed but he wouldn’t go back to sleep or let me leave without me cuddling with him. I slipped out when he fell back asleep, and he didn’t wake up again until 7 am. At that time, he called for me again and I went and told him it was too early, everyone was sleeping and Mommy needed to sleep more, told him to go back to bed and stay quiet. I didn’t think it would last more than 5 min, but I went back to bed nevertheless waiting for him to call for me again. To our surprise he didn’t make any noise or call for me again until 8:50 am. Halleluya! Hope is the last thing one loses… let’s hope his sleeping habits resume to being more normal and less erratic. For the sake of all of us. Especially mine. 

We welcomed our daughter Victoria Sofia on April 26th, 2010. She was born at 3:39 am, after only one push (and not even a very hard one).

I started real labor contractions around 9 pm Sunday April 25, progressed to back to back contractions 4-5 min apart in less than an hour, and we were at St. Elizabeth’s East hospital sometime between 11:20 pm and midnight. By the time I was admitted and taken to my private bedroom my contractions felt horrendous, so painful I cried through several of them. It was nothing like with my first, I can’t begin to describe the pain. Where the heck was that epidural?? It couldn’t come fast enough!

So there I was, 4 cm dilated, 75 % effaced, in real LABOR… pain pain pain! Talk about bad timing when they asked me, yeah the woman in labor and in tons of pain, to fill out stupid health forms about my medical history etc. WTF?!! Are you kidding me!?? I pretty bluntly told the nurses that was so stupid to be asking that kind of info at that particular time. I had to fill the damn things out between contractions, umm, giving me about 1 min between each. How come they didn’t send a pkg of forms to me weeks ago when I was happily pregnant and in no pain. Psstt! I swear I could have killed someone at that time.

Anyway, I progressed so quickly they had to bump me up from 5th in line to 1st for the epidural. Thank God they did, otherwise I would not have been able to have an epidural at all or one with absolutely no time to take effect. Unfortunately, even that didn’t prove to be fast enough because I got the epidural, felt some relief but progressed SO quickly that it couldn’t keep up with my labor. I felt PAIN all the way until the end! It was horrible, but I kept telling myself it could be a lot worst if I had no epidural at all. I went from 4 cm at midnight to a full 10 cm by around 3:20 am. I pushed a bit to test my ‘pushing skills’, and the nurse had to stop me before the baby came out. lol The Dr. was called in immediately. After a couple mins of prepping, and 2 extra doses of epidural meds I finally felt some numbing relief. After one single push, Victoria Sofia was born at 3:39 am. My first impression was “she’s tiny!…OMG look at that full head of dark hair!”  She weighed 6 lbs 7 oz and was 19.25” long. Nico was 7 lbs 5 oz at birth. She cried and cried, amazing such a little thing could have such strong lungs and vocal cords, haha. She had 10 fingers and 10 toes. Yes, I counted them. She was beautiful and perfect! :) It was an almost surreal moment. I have a daughter. I have 2 beautiful & healthy kids, a beautiful family. How blessed we are! God is great!

Here’s a few pics of our new princess (while still at the hospital):

No, it was not Victoria that was born (yet… though I am 37 weeks now). Our new Bosch dishwasher FINALLY arrived!! It has been installed and as I’m writing this it’s running through it’s first wash cycle. I can barely hear it. And it’s soooo beautiful! :D

 

It’s been exactly 15 days since I bought it. Long overdue! It was supposed to be delivered and installed on Tuesday March 30, but as luck would have it the order fell through the cracks and after I was on top of things for days, finally got things done the right way, emergency order and all. It pays to be such a pain in the butt and stay on top of things (most of the times…though it’s never worked with Sears – where we got our fridge, that’s a whole other story…I hate Sears!). After all the inconveniences (there were several, sigh), Lowes came through and offered me a 10% discount on the already $100 discounted price I had originally paid for the dishwasher. That, plus they told me that now the order also qualified for a free installation/haul away rebate (savings of $109). So all in all, we saved $280 on a pretty darn nice dishwasher. I’ll take this 15 day delay with all it’s inconveniences anytime for that kind of savings! Well, maybe not anytime, but I’m good this time. ;) And yes, I’m still remaining a loyal Lowes junky, even with this little incident (which is a first for me).

 

I am so thrilled to have a working dishwasher, and even more such a fine looking one. No more hand washing (such a waste of time!), no more disposables, no more use and reuse 1 glass/day kinda thing, lol… Did I mention how quiet it is??!! It’s FABULOUS in every sense of the word!  Below is a pic of our beauty (never mind the bright light down the middle caused by the flash).

It’s been a wonderful laid back Easter weekend for us. The weather has been nice overall, well in the 70s and sunny (though it rained quite a bit yesterday) and we’ve enjoyed some wonderful family time. 

 

Today we went to mass in the morning, and I can’t help but smile about how beautiful it was. The choir of old folks is just heavenly (@ 11:30 am mass), and I just can’t imagine attending any other mass that didn’t include their angelic singing. It makes for such a wonderful and heartfelt spiritual experience, it can be very moving and is truly inspirational. Simply divine.

 

After mass we ended up eating at Wendy’s and though it may not sound like the ideal place for an Easter lunch, the food was good and most importantly we spent a wonderful time together. I should mention how excellent dessert was… a large chocolate frosty which the three of us shared --ok, 3.5 counting Victoria who’s still in my belly. ;) After that we came back home and decided to set up the tripod and take a family pic. It was quite the ordeal. We were cutting into Nico’s naptime and he was just not cooperating.

 

After all the kicking and crying and begging to be let down to run on the grass, we finally got a semi decent shot. It’s not perfect, but I guess perfection is something you need to learn to let go of once you have kids. We’re lucky we have any picture at all, with how things were going. So here’s the top two pics…

 

 

We gave up after several tries… and while Nico napped we took some pics of this house’s lovebirds. That would be my husband and I, lol. ;)  Here’s a couple of nice shots… yayyy, we finally have some pics of just the two of us!

 

 

I’ve been neglecting my blog much more than I’d like, but I’ve been so busy doing a gazillion things lately, including building another blog (details later). Here's a pic from April 1 of Nico and I enjoying the 75+ deg weather in our back yard.


March was full of new things and adventures: the creation of this blog; welcoming Spring and warm weather-- finally leaving our ‘state of hibernation’ for the enjoyment of activities out of the house (we sooo needed this!); joining the local MOMS Club (which has been awesome, and btw I can’t believe I waited so long to do this); and have been in full force nesting mode for the arrival of Victoria, within the next 4 weeks! omg!! I’m 36 weeks… here's a pic of me with my 36 wk belly:


Time flies! I can barely believe a quarter of the year is already gone, and soon Victoria will be with us.

Exciting times ahead, and more dirty diapers…tons more, lol. Yesterday I had my 36 wk appt with my ObGyn. I was surprised to hear I was measuring 33 cm at 36 wks. I guess it's "le petite princess Victoria" in my belly, haha, perhaps she'll be smaller than Nico when she's born (he was 7 lbs 5 oz), and about my height when she's an adult. Dr said there was no concern, and also said my cervix is intact as I have not started dilating yet. What a relief! It’s good to hear from the Dr. that Victoria is still nice and cozy in my belly and won’t be coming out just yet. Indeed, he confirmed I still have time to run around like a headless chicken… nesting, nesting, nesting… LOL. I have a To Do list of like 1000 things to do at the house before Victoria’s arrival. No room for resting this last month, and oddly enough I’m so energized, though right now my feet, ankles and legs are pretty sore and swollen. Somehow I’m hopeful the darn list of things will be completely crossed out before baby arrives, but then there are times I’m not so sure, haha. What’s with psycho nesting mode us pregnant women go through in month #9?? I find it kind of funny after thinking about it… especially after Julio asked me today what the heck I was doing standing on the kitchen counters cleaning the cabinets top to bottom in my 9th mth. I realized it was a crazy idea, but I guess I have a bit of nesting OCD, and those things needed to be cleaned, even if Victoria will never notice, haha. I’m sticking to that.

Oh, I should mention I bought the new dishwasher, but of course luck would not be on our side and something happened with the order (placed 9 days ago), so who knows when they’ll deliver and install it. I hope it’s soon, cause I’m damn tired of hand washing dishes, et all. That’s about it for now, I hope to keep posting things here as we roll with Spring… busy times, and it’s definitely crunch time!! tick tock tick tock…

Our dishwasher has decided all on its own it needs to be replaced. Julio begs to differ ‘jokingly’ stating I probably did something to it and I’m now rejoicing at the prospect of finally replacing the darn thing. Ok, I’ll be honest the darn thing is white, ugly, old, rusted, noisy and yes I’ve always wished for something newer, nicer, and stainless steel.  But honestly, I’m unsure whether I should celebrate [yay! finally get to replace that old piece of junk white d.w. with a new stainless steel one…] or I should cry [crap, this stupid d.w. finally has taken revenge on my dirty talk about it’s bad looks and pain-in the butt configuration, blah blah blah… darn it, looks like we’ll have to fork out $700 or so for the stainless steel one, just fabulous :S ].

 

The stupid thing has a nasty smell that prevails well through wash cycles; of course it must be coming from the puddled water that’s permanently logged in the bottom of the tub, quite disgusting!! Do I even have to mention the bits of food that are floating in that water?? So the dishes only look clean after they are washed, but they’re being washed with dirty water, and the last rinse is filled with old food goodies-- omg, I think I could puke!!

 

So… we’ve tried several things in what’s only been futile attempts to fix the darn thing. We (well, Julio really, I wouldn’t touch that thing) even hand emptied the sitting water, disassembled the inner goods where water is supposed to be drained through, cleaned it out, and put it back together. Turned on the lowest cycle, and again got a puddle of water sitting nicely in the bottom. Fabulous. :S There’s not much else we can do, and I’m not calling a plumber to pay him and arm and a leg to tell me we need to fix [whatever is wrong, read: $$ for repairing a 2002 d.w.] or we need a new one because this one finally gave in. I guess I’m deciding to give the d.w. a death with dignity… or am I? I’ll be putting it (and quite frankly myself) out of it’s misery soon and replacing it with a newer, better, sleeker stainless steel model. I’m not going to tell that to the d.w. though, I couldn’t be that cruel. ;)

 

So, should I celebrate or cry?? Moral of this story: Goodbyes are never easy… and somehow we always get screwed one way or another. Ca-ching!

Just thought I'd mention that Julio discovered yesterday that there are some visual issues with my blog when using an Internet Explorer (I.E.) browser. I use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox and notice no issues whatsoever, so it came as a surprise when he mentioned it.

With I.E. the left straight edge of the blogging space (tan colored) overlaps about half an inch into the area where entries are posted (white notepad area) cutting into the entry titles, blog entries, etc. as seen in the following pic:



Sometimes the overlap disappears (as I noticed when I expanded the browser to it's maximum, taking up the entire screen of the computer) and goes back to where it's supposed to be, but other times it doesn't. Sometimes if you move the cursor around the blog (specifically on the blog entries area) this overlap happens and sometimes readjusts to its normal position again. It's only a visual problem, and does not affect the written content in any other way, other than being simply annoying (and perhaps somewhat distracting). The following pic shows the normal blog template and how its supposed to look:


I don't know if there is a solution to this issue, and if so what that is. In any case, I thought I'd let you know in case you've been thinking I must be crazy for choosing a distorted looking blog template while viewing it through an I.E. browser. If you've been seeing it the wrong way you can try accessing my blog from a different browser such as the ones I use (Chrome or Firefox).  Let me know if you had/have any issues viewing my blog. Thanks!

Mommyhood As Reduction Sauce (*How to boil a girl down to her essence*) »

I met a neighbor who was there with 3 of her kids. She was very nice and upbeat. We’d waked past her house on our way to the park just minutes earlier, and even back then she’d said hello and commented about the gorgeous day. We started talking about the kids, the neighborhood and activities, where we were from, when we moved here, etc. I mentioned I was joining the local MOMS Club at the next meeting, and coincidently she said she was a member and loved it. We had a wonderful chat, and after a good hour at the park we came back home. I came back with renewed energy and a sense of ‘wholeness’. After Nico went down for his nap I enthusiastically got several things done on my To Do list, I even enjoyed them. Warm sunny days are just filled with endless possibilities and opportunities. Everyday should be warm and sunny!

As I listen to the glorious sounds of birds chirping and singing outside I realize spring has finally arrived. I hope I’m not jinxing it, God knows how much I’ve been longing for the new season and how through I was with winter the day it started. I love being at home, but winter seemed to be endless and I’ve felt like a bear in hibernation. Who wants to go through the hassle of putting on and taking off all the winter gear, not only for yourself, but even more painfully for your 21+ mth toddler in the middle of winter, nevertheless having to battle the ruthless cold, snow, wind, even rain? Certainly no me. Oh, and did I mention I was in my second and third trimester of pregnancy? Thank God Spring has finally arrived! (A bit early it seems, and I’m hoping it’s for good. No more cold and snow please!) It seems like forever ago that I heard the birds and their joyful sounds which are so uplifting to the spirit. Oh how I’ve missed them! I can’t wait for the trees and shrubs to start flowering and the greens to start sprouting, announcing in full colors spring has arrived!...and of course, also announcing Victoria's soon arrival! How exciting! :)

Just a few days ago I learned my (much older) step-brother’s grandson, Brendan, was just diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called angiosarcoma. If that’s not devastating enough, let me tell you this little guy is only 6 years old. His mother is only a year older than I am, and as a mother myself (and someone who knows firsthand the hell it is to experience and fight a direct family member’s cancer) I can only imagine the horror she’s living. From what I’ve understood, it was pure luck that they caught it at its early stage. The doctors found some tumor(s) in his foot while evaluating him for some complications he had in the healing of a broken bone (toe or such) that happened months ago. I’m not sure of the details, his specific prognostics, or the treatments he’ll be getting. All I know is that the road that lies ahead is not going to be an easy one for Brendan or his family. Ever since I got the news I cannot stop thinking about him and how the odds played such a strange roll in his case. I’m so humbled, and so grateful for my family’s good health; I thank God every day. I pray for Brendan and his family daily, and I keep reminding myself to not ever take my blessings for granted.

Brendan’s story reminded me that I should continue to spread the word on cancer awareness and screenings. Not that I haven’t been doing so over the course of the last two thirds of my life. Telling my personal family cancer stories over and over again over the years has been a means of spreading the word on awareness. It can happen to anyone, anytime. When the disease is such a global epidemic I don’t think anyone should think that these stories are too personal to tell. There is definitely no shame in any aspect of it in any way. It’s only made us all stronger.

Dad’s suffered from skin cancer for years, but it was never an ‘issue’. He’s fair skinned, and of course living in Venezuela he’s been exposed to a lot of sun. Not using sunscreen didn’t help either. Anyway, his little cancer blotches have been cauterized when needed, and they’ve been random here and there. No therapies (chemo, radiation, etc.) of any kind were ever needed. But it’s a reality. Dad’s had skin cancer multiple times.

The real surprise came in 2006, when he noticed that what had been a tiny spec of nothing on his left nipple had become a few short months later a lump (the size of a huge grape, as we found later). I was actually with him at the Dr’s office when he had it removed, and after it was sent in for a biopsy we were shocked to find it was malignant. Dad had breast cancer. And that was the tumor which had been entirely removed. We were dumbfounded, shocked and really confused. Doesn’t breast cancer affect well, women? It turns out it is very rare in men, but it can happen, and it did. Long story short, Dad traveled to the US for one operation to check if the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes (it didn’t, so great!) and had a mastectomy of his left breast. He didn’t need any further treatment and has been fine ever since. I can happily report he’s also loving and living life, healthy and enjoying being a Grandpa.

My personal stories with fighting family cancer started at the very young age of 9. My mother was 39 yrs old when she was diagnosed (by the stroke of luck) with stage III Ovarian cancer. The doctors’ prognosis were anything but hopeful. The strange thing was a few weeks before the diagnosis she’d undergone an extensive health checkup elsewhere and was told she was fine. But how could they ever miss such an enormous tumor in her belly? We’re still dumbfounded. Anyway… My parents told me straight up Mom had cancer, and for my entire 4^th grade year she lived in Florida (at a cousin’s home, with Grandma as her caretaker) where she had operations and treatments, including several chemo rounds. I recollect little about that entire year oddly, only that I missed Mom and was looking forward to her returning back home with us, as if that were a fact. Luckily she did return home with us, cancer free, and life went on. It was only when I was much older that I learned the doctors had told her she’d most likely not make it, and also of her fears of not being able to watch me grow and be with me at all of my milestone life events. That’s how bad her cancer was. But she defied the odds. One true hero.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it. Three years later she got cancer again, only this time it was in the short intestine. Apparently it stemmed from the original ovarian cancer, so some cancer cells had spread there somehow. She underwent more operations and chemo treatments, only this time I was older and had a much better understanding of the reality, and she didn’t move to Florida for a year. She traveled back and forth to the US for operations and chemo treatments. It was a real reality check to personally face the face of cancer. I saw her lose all her hair, and all the other effects of chemo. It was not easy to see her suffering, and it really was an eye opener. Luckily once again, after the entire ordeal she walked away from an ill fate, victorious. Cancer free.

What are the odds, right? Well… come to think of it… 3 yrs after her second cancer scare she had it again, only this time it was in the colon. Things went about the same way they did when she had it in the intestine. Back and forth travel for operations and treatments, watching the effects of chemo, and all of us fighting strong, together. I am so proud and happy to say, for the third time the cancer did not claim her. She was cancer free. She claimed victory, and so did we.


It’s been almost 20 yrs since her first cancer, and 13 yrs since her third and last cancer scare. I’m happy to report she’s alive and well, loving and living life, and enjoying being a Grandma. She’s been able to be at my 15^th and 18^th birthdays, high school graduation, college graduation, wedding, witnessed the birth of Nico, and will now be coming for Victoria’s birth. Life is wonderful.

Cancer is a global epidemic. It is a reality. Anybody can get it. Anybody can be affected, directly or indirectly.
I bet everyone probably knows at least one person who’s had some form of cancer. At the very least everyone knows someone who knows someone else who’s been affected by cancer. You hear stories everywhere daily, in the news, magazines, tv, even among people you encounter in the street. From the most common and talked about lung and breast cancer, to those whose names are just as rare as the type of cancer itself. Cancer affects people of all ages, all races and all cultures. What you never expect is to be personally affected by the dreadful disease; you never imagine yourself or anyone you love getting it. I guess that’s just everyone’s hopeful optimism, or naïve denial. You hear about how it happens to others, and though in reality it can happen to anyone, chances are you think “it can’t happen to me”. The truth is this disease is reaching many, by the day, and we all need to open our eyes and ears and accept it is a very harsh reality and it can happen to anybody, anywhere, anytime. We need to spread awareness and encourage everyone to get appropriate screenings to ensure its early detection. This disease affects not only the person who gets it, but also their families and friends in a way only someone who’s lived through it could ever describe.

Cancer has run in my family for years and has affected all of us immensely. I feel it’s my duty to be a part of spreading awareness and encouraging all to get screened. Please don’t delay. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family and all those who love you. Additionally, I’ve included some cancer awareness badges on my blog to support the ongoing efforts to spread the word.

I will share some personal family cancer stories in a later post. In the mean time… please, I ask you all to do whatever you can to try to stop this disease from spreading, and take the time to encourage yourself and those you love to get screened. You can show your support in many ways, the simplest are spreading the word and displaying the cancer awareness ribbons, which come in an array of colors each pertaining to a specific kind of cancer.  If you’d like any of the awareness badges I’ve placed here in my blog simply click on them and you should be redirected to the hosting website. Again, thanks for your support!