Congratulations to my Hubby!

Today, Marcelo starts his first day of work here:


Right there on the Space Shuttle Launch Pad. He's so excited. And I'm so excited for him!

It took six years of marriage for him to finally be able to get a job in his field of study. He's studying to be an Electronic Engineer. This new job is such an enormous blessing. It really kind of fell into his lap! Over the years, he has applied for jobs at this particular company many many times. He has had several interviews, but someone has always beaten him out in the end. This time, when the job opening became available, they asked him to submit an application. THEY asked HIM. They remembered him from his previous interviews, so they didn't even ask him to come in for an invterview. A few days later, they made him an offer.

What will he be doing exactly? I don't really understand completely, but it's some kind of analytical work on the launch pad. He's an Engineering Designer or something like that. If you ask Diego, he'll tell you that his daddy is going to be "fixing the space shuttle". We'll just let him think that. ;)

On top of the fact that Marcelo will be doing something he's really interested in, he's also going to be working with his dad, brother, and cousin. (Well, not really WITH them, but for the same company.) AND, we'll finally have dental and vision insurance! Do you know what that means for me? I can stop wearing my contacts for triple the time I'm supposed to and can actually replace them when it's time. No more foggy contacts! Yay!

AAAAAND, they'll pay for the rest of his schooling! Huge, huge blessing.

Congratulations to my hardworking husband! It's a happy day.

I have Internet!

For the first time in our almost 6 year marriage, we are now internet subscribers! Yay! No more "borrowing" internet from the neighbors. No more free dial up. No more using my dad's work wireless that I may or may not have accidentally broken once. We have our OWN internet. So happy!

I also finally have my home computer back up and running. You know what that means? Photoshop. Oh, how I've missed you.

Aaaaaand, my kids were really good today! Besides the fact that Celo kept hitting Diego really hard and saying, "Sopit!" (Stop it. No idea where he got that.) And the fact that Diego had a screaming crying fit when I tried to talk on the phone to my cousin. AND the fact that they both woke up at 6:22am. Oh, and the fact that I changed 5 diapers before 7:30am. (Celo's got a bug.) Besides those things, it was a great morning with my funny boys.

Thanks for all the commiserating in response to my last post! At least I know my life is normal. For the most part.

Off to do some photoshopping. Uh, I mean clean the house.

Someone help me

You know who I was today? I was that frazzled mom wearing smudged glasses and a messy ponytail, running after her wild children, just screaming to the world that she had lost complete control.

We went to the library to get a movie. I talked to the kids ahead of time and told them that first Mommy was going to look something up on the computer and get a book, and then we would go play in the kids' area and get a movie. They said okay. While I was at the computer, Diego pushed Celo around in his stroller and Celo screamed. I told them we needed to be quiet in the library and asked them to stay next to me. Diego took this to mean, "Push the stroller faster all around the people who are trying to read," and Celo interpreted it as, "Scream louder and throw your shoes on the ground." I frantically dug for snacks in my purse and tried to hush them with crackers. When that didn't work, I gave up on getting a book for myself and headed into the kids' area. Celo was thrilled to be let loose from his stroller, and the boys played nicely for about a millisecond.

Then Celo discovered that the little balls they were playing with made really loud noises if he threw them against the bookshelves. He laughed hysterically while throwing the balls as hard as he could, causing a BANG to be heard through the whole library. I took the balls away. He screamed bloody murder. I explained to him that we needed to be quiet and that he could have the balls back if he didn't throw them on the shelves. Diego handled himself well for the most part during all of this. The boys seemed to be playing pretty well at this point, so I sat down on a nearby chair. Celo, seizing the opportunity of not having his mother hover over him, took off running up and down the aisles of books. He laughed and laughed while he ran all over the place. Naturally, I chased him. I tried to hush him and told him "No running." Around this time, a few little girls came in and sat down and looked at books quietly while their mom sat with a book of her own. I wanted to ask her if we could trade children.

After it became apparent that Celo wasn't going to calm down and stop trying to pull books off the shelves to watch them crash to the floor, I decided I'd had enough. I tried to put him back into his stroller, which only made him turn into a wet noodle and scream his head off. I literally wrestled him into his stroller, while talking sweetly (only for the benefit of all those around me), saying things like, "Celo, it's time to get a movie. Want to watch a movie when we get home? What do you want to watch? Do you want to watch Mickey? Do you want to watch Nemo?" His response, between screams of course, was, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO." Red with embarrassment, I strapped him in, firmly whisper-yelled through my teeth, "You stop screaming right now," and headed to the movie section, where I instructed Diego to quickly pick a movie.

Once we had our movies in hand, we went to the counter to check them out. Celo was happy because he was holding a movie with puppies on it. He didn't even mind when I took it from him to put it on the counter. Diego, seeing that Celo was no longer doing the job, decided to take his place as trouble maker. He climbed the counter and hung on it with his hands. I told him to get down. He rammed Celo's stroller into the counter. I told him that if he didn't stop, I wasn't going to get his movie. He climbed the counter again. The lady behind it said, "Don't do that. You're going to fall." I gave him the evil eye. He climbed it a third time. I said, "Alright. No movie." He screeched, "NOOOOOOOO." And I said, "Then be a good listener. Don't climb the counter." The lady finally finished checking out our movies, and we headed out the door, but not without getting dirty looks from everyone else in line.

That was our trip to the library.

If you can see that I am clearly doing something wrong, please tell me. Really. I would like to know. I'm not kidding. Obviously my children are crazy. If I did something to cause this, I would like to know, so I can reverse it before I go insane. So, what? Do I need a sticker chart? A belt with a big brass buckle? What? WHAT, I SAY?

The boys are now napping. There is laundry all over my living room floor. But I don't care. I'm going to take a nap, too. I'll be expecting your detailed instructions on what I should do to better raise my children.

Thank you.

A few of Celo's favorite things

Celo is pretty easy to please. Put a little hot wheels car in his hand and he'll push it around forever making the accompanying sound effects: "Vrooooooom, vrrrrrrrooom." Lightning McQueen, also known as "Mahkeeeeen" is his absolute favorite. He hasn't caught on to the Mustang thing like Diego. He prefers Corvettes. "Cobettes." He's also very into trains. "Choo choo tain". Basically, just like Diego, he loves all things transportation. Bikes, planes, boats, etc.

Last month, at his cousin Lina's birthday party, he got to ride a little motorcycle. "Moto". He loved it! He kept saying, "Go fast!" He thinks he's so tough.

This happens pretty much every time I try to do laundry. I bring in the basket full of clean clothes to fold, and he climbs inside and tells me he's going for a "boat wide". He and Diego like to pretend that the laundry basket is a boat. In this picture, they were also taking some of their stuffed animals...I mean "amals"...along for the ride. He's clutching his two favorite things in his hands: A car, and his puppy.

This child LOVES "amals". Especially dogs. At Lina's birthday party, he kept chasing the dogs and screaming, "PUPPY!!!" I can't emphasize enough how much he absolutely loves dogs. He tries to hug every dog he sees. It's a shame that his brother is allergic. A crying shame. (Note the sarcasm. I'm not a pet person.)

It's cute. But not enough to make me want to vacuum up dog hair for the rest of my life.

Chelo Chelo Chelito

That's what my mom calls Celo sometimes. Diego does it, too. He thinks it's hilarious.

I've written a lot of posts about Diego lately. Now it's Celo's turn.

The kid has quite the personality. He's stubborn as a mule. He comes from a long line of stubborn people. I won't name names. He's also a major tantrum thrower. When he scream-cries, he sounds like a squealing little pig. He is making up for the fact that I never had to deal with Diego screaming, throwing his body on the floor, arching his back and turning into a noodle in my arms, and all that drama. Diego had his difficult moments, but nothing like the explosion of emotions Marcelito displays on a regular basis. I seriously need Supernanny to tell me how to deal with it. In nursery, when he throws himself on the floor and screams, I try to ignore it and walk away, since that's what works at home, but the nursery leaders look at me with their mouths agape, like, "Well, aren't you going to DO something?" He's been getting kicked out of nursery like every week. Yup. He's THAT kid.

It's a good thing he makes up for it in looks. :) Haha. He makes up for it in a lot of ways. Yesterday for instance, I was watching a little 4 year old boy who is quite the handful, and at one point, after hours of the three of them fighting and fighting over toys, I found myself full on yelling. I admit it. It wasn't my finest moment. "IF YOU CAN'T PLAY NICE AND SHARE THE BLOCKS, THEN NO ONE IS GOING TO PLAY WITH THE BLOCKS!" The two older boys pouted and stared at the floor. Celo looked at me and smiled. Then he walked up to me and hugged my legs, looked at me again and said, "Mommy. Mommy," in such a sweet little voice, like he was trying to calm me down. I melted and sat him in my lap. He gave me hugs and just kept smiling at me like, "Relax. It's okay." It was just what I needed.

Okay, now for the fun stuff. I love baby talk and I want to remember it, so here are a few of my favorite Celo phrases of the moment:

Go Fow Wide - Go for a ride

Fissit - Fix it

Apenit - Open it

Ah Fownit - I found it

Fah dow - Fall down

Cobette - Corvette (He calls almost every car a Corvette.)

Das funny - That's funny

Ah-sicle code - The popsicle is cold.

Go Owside - Go Outside

Afueya - Afuera (Outside in Spanish)

Hab sum - Have some

Ah wan sum, TOO - I want some, too. (He says this a lot when Diego gets something. I want a car too, I want water too, etc, etc. What one has, the other one always wants.)

Mommy's heh wet - Mommy's hair is wet. (He thinks it's funny when my hair is wet.)

Ah ha fun Tata's - I had fun at Tata's. (He always feels the need to tell me that he had fun when he was at my parents' house, at grandma's house, or wherever.)

Hasses - Glasses. (He loves sunglasses.)

A boat wide - A boat ride. He climbs into the laundry basket and says he's going for a boat ride. Day-doh cying -Diego's crying. (He tells me this when Diego is in time out and is crying.)
I cying - I'm crying. (He tells me this when I've told him not to do something and he's mad and crying. It's like, "Look what you did, Mom. You made me cry.")

And my absolute favorite:

Yeah - Yeah. He says it like such a little teenager. Diego said "yes" for a long time before switching to "yeah". But Celo has never said yes.

It's amazing the things the second child learns, that the first didn't learn for a long time. Diego must have been at least 2.5 before he started trying to say the prayer. And we had to beg him. But Celo just started saying it one day. We said, "Time for Prayer" and he folded his arms and just started saying it. It was hilarious. This is what it sounds like:

He Fayah, day, cahs, puppy, foo, bess it, nay, kaist, ameh

Translation: Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this day, for cars, my puppy, and the food. Please bless it, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Yes, this age is full of raging temper tantrums, but it's also so adorable and fun!

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day was a little hectic due to some unforseen circumstances. I had 3 boys this Mother's Day. If this is foreshadowing for the future, I think I'll be a mom of 2 for a looong, looooong, time. But all in all, it was still a good day.

We took our annual Mother's Day photo: And ate yummy wannabe Cafe Rio salads.
My favorite things about being a mom right now are:
1) Getting big hugs and kisses from two little boys who still love to be around their mommy.
2) The fact that every single time they see flowers, they pick some and give them to me. I love hearing Celo say, "Fowah, Mommy."
3) Two to three hour naps that allow me to have a little downtime everyday. For this I am so so very grateful.
4) Going to the park, the zoo, the beach, on a walk, to the pet store, whatever, and seeing their faces light up. Even going to the grocery store and pulling the coupons from the "blinkies" is fun for them. I love how the littlest things are so amazing to them. It helps me appreciate the little things more.
5) Watching the boys learn new things and figure things out on their own. At this age they learn so fast, and it's really fun to watch.
6) Watching the boys become better friends everyday. I love finding them in one of their rooms laughing together, and hearing Diego tell me, "We're on a mission." or "We're having a show."

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mom and Mother-In-Law, and to all the moms who have touched my life in one way or another.

Lina's Photoshoot

A couple of weeks ago, my cousin's baby Lina turned a year old. I had so much fun taking her pictures! She was so happy and cooperative. It was a really fun morning! Watching her stick out her little hand and say, "Hi!" to all the people that walked by was just so cute. I feel like I learn something every time I practice, and this little photoshoot was no exception. I think I gained a lot better control of my focus this time, so I'm sooo happy!

Isn't she cute?

A Collection of Diego Stories

Here are a few random Diego stories.

Car Obsession
1. As I've said before, Diego is a car aficionado. Lately he's been wanting to learn the names of every car. He's been able to spot Mustangs for a long time, but now he knows Corvettes, Toyota Siennas (my car), Honda Odysseys (his Tia's car), Hondas in general (he looks for the "H"), and Hyundais. Except he calls them Hundas most of the time. It's so funny to me that he's so interested in knowing what everything is called. If only he would use this crazy memory of his for something more productive. Like algorithms. (Okay, I don't even know what those are.)

Directions from a 3-year-old
2. The other night, my dad was watching the boys while Marcelo and I taught an enrichment meeting at church. My dad loaded them up in the car and told them he was going to take them to the park. Diego said, "I want to go to the jumping park and the running park!" My dad told him he didn't know what park that was, or how to get there. So Diego said, "That's okay, Tato. I'll help you. I know where it is." He then proceeded to give my dad directions to the park. He told him the name of the street he needed to get on, and then guided him through left and right turns until he got to the "jumping park and running park". My dad was in awe. As was I, but for different reasons. I was in awe that my dad would willingly get behind the wheel and blindly accept directions from a 3-year-old. I tested it the next day to see if Diego could tell me where it was, and he did. I tell you, he does not get his observational skills from me.

A Lesson in Apologizing
3. The other day, we were all in the car and Marcelo turned on the windshield wipers, even though there was no rain. The wipers made a loud screeching noise against the dry windshield. Diego was quiet for a moment and then said, "Daddy you need to say sorry." Marcelo was like, "What?" And Diego said, "You need to say sorry for scaring me." Marcelo did as he was told and we both tried hard not to crack up.

A little Chinese
4. Tonight we were having FHE, (which happened to be about saying sorry when you do something wrong) and at one point I was telling Diego a story about Nephi. (From the Book of Mormon.) I later pointed at the picture of Nephi and asked him, "What's his name?" He said, "Ni-hao." I think he's been watching a little too much Kai lan.

Very Presidential
5. Lately Diego has been randomly saying, "YES WE CAN!" He says it all slow and emphatically. At first I was like, "Uhhh, when did he hear Obama on tv?" But then I realized that he got it from Bob the Builder. "Can we fix it?...Yes we can!" I bet Obama's daughters watch Bob the Builder.

Three year old boys are so funny.