people in the north pole

last weekend, malia and i snuck out to the mall while micah was taking a nap. malia only likes shopping with me if she can get something out of it. this time her mission was to get me to buy her some frozen yogurt. of course she talks the whole time we are shopping. and i wanted to post something she said that was totally random. it's amazing how kids come up with such random stuff. this was our conversation as we were going out of macy's.

me: oh lia, santa's here in the mall. do you wanna go
say hi?

malia: YES!!! can i take a picture with him? please?

me: sorry, not today. your brother's not here. besides, it's kinda
expensive.

malia: aww, but i want to. and you have to pay, because you have to help the poor people in the north pole.

me: what?! what makes you think there are poor people in the north
pole?

malia: because it's cold.

me: okay, santa sees you, wave and say hi.

my sister wondered why i had to tell her it was expensive to take a picture with santa. well, the word expensive has been in both my kids vocabulary since they were 2 years old. they need to know we can't afford to do everything. i don't have a lot of money. apparently the people in the north pole don't either.

i'll just have to wait to tell her that people don't live in the north pole.

the small tree is up

my mom always put up 2 trees during christmas time, a real one and an artificial one. my sister and i carry on this tradition, but since we have small kids, we both put up 2 artificial trees. the second tree that we use in our house was given to us by roel's mom when malia was 3. it has fiber optic lights that change colors. the kids love watching it. they wanted to put it in their room this year. the picture above is micah just sitting in the dark and watching it.

our big tree will go up tomorrow. the kids and i will have fun while they "help" me decorate it. and then when they leave to play, i will rearrange some things around, just like my mom used to do. i miss her.

olegario convalidation

roel's sister, lori, and her husband, jojeann, convalidated their marriage in the church on 11/13/10. malia was their flower girl. she wore the same dress she wore when they got married in vegas last year. micah was their bible/coin bearer. and roel was her "patron of honor". it was cute because since lori has only brothers and jojeann has only sisters, they had best maids and men of honor. it was a very touching ceremony and the reception was filled with a lot of good food and company.

of course i'm speaking as her mom when i say that

i think she's absolutely stunning in this picture.

he's sitting on the bride and groom's kneeler.

i think this was taken after he leaned back and

fell through to the other side. he's so funny.

some details from the reception. i love details. the bride and groom made their own 2 tier cake. jos and i made the blue velvet cupcakes and the groom's sisters made the white cupcakes. there was a candy bar with themed white, blue, and silver candy. my cousin, who catered, made so many delicious appetizers and decorated so beautifully.

now we wait for the baby to arrive in february!

motherhood

no one ever said motherhood would be easy. then again, no one ever warned me what a whirlwind it would be either.

when i was single, i associated motherhood with bonding, cuddling, laughter, family vacations, etc. you know, the fun stuff. the picture perfect moments.

little did i know there was so much more involved. the worry and stress of leaving your child when you go to work and knowing that they are okay. the heartache you feel when they are sick or hurt. the sleepless nights that last way beyond their infancy. all of the things you have to pack just for an outing. choosing schools. all the things you have to remember to return to school by the deadlines. the homework. the fundraisers. doctor visits and shots. potty training. planning birthdays. losing my memory (and my mind). the list just goes on and on.

and i haven't even reached the teen years yet!

but i wouldn't trade motherhood for anything. i have learned so much about life and love from my kids. they make me want to be a better person.

the picture perfect moments definitely outweigh the tough stuff, and those are the moments that are embedded in my mind forever.

so what brought on this post? i forgot that it was sharing day for micah. and i found out that micah remembered and told roel before they left the house, so he was able to bring something. how cute is that? what do dads do again? just kidding. maybe.

cv nature center

it's been a crazy busy week, getting micah better, preparing for roel's sister's wedding (post coming soon), the house getting fixed (raised again), and the carpet upstairs being changed to flooring.

when micah was feeling better (on 11/6), we managed to get ourselves over to the chula vista nature center before my groupon expired. it was our first time there. it's so close, who knows why we haven't gone before. we stayed for a couple of hours and micah had a fit when it was time to go. the kids got to touch the stingrays, a desert tortoise, and a snake (gross).

my heart is broken

thanks to the really crazy weather lately, micah is currently asthma boy. he had a barking cough the other night which had me in tears. today he went to the doctor since he is very congested and has a fever on and off. he is breathing so rapidly, and his heart is beating so fast from all the albuterol.

this is our second day together, home from work and school. micah and i adore each other, but now that he has to take a lot of meds plus do treatment, we've gotten a little frustrated with each other. i know he doesn't feel well and it's not fun when someone is forcing icky tasting medicine in your mouth. even if i'm explaining why he needs to take it, that doesn't stop him from hiding from me. he doesn't understand how it hurts me to see him like this. or why i get upset when he makes himself throw up the medicine. i just want him to get better already.

but even when he's crying because he feels yucky or he's cranky, he still manages to be polite and sweet. he says thank you when i give him something to eat or drink. he also said sorry for throwing up the medicine. before he went to sleep tonight he told me, "i think my heart is broken, maybe i can find something to fix it." i told him that he had a big heart and it was just fine. he smiled and hugged me. it's my heart that's broken right now. please get better little boy.

the girl is 7

malia turned 7 today! she made herself a birthday crown to wear to school. micah (asthma boy at the moment) came with me to her school to bring her class some cupcakes during snack time.

then we just celebrated at home with our families. her ninang lori and ninong jojeann made her cake. it turned out great. they are going to make their own wedding cake next week, so it was a perfect opportunity for them to practice.

malia said her favorite part of the day was when she got the snuggie (from the adventos). she has been wanting one since last year.

this is halloween

trick or treat day started off with 'tickle treats' in the morning, we had a good breakfast, and planned out our day. and then we almost didn't go out because i had to keep telling them to stop fighting or we weren't going anywhere. (goodness, they can be the best of friends and the worst enemies.) so when they stopped, we headed to eastlake village walk to celebrate ninong joey's birthday and to trick or treat at the stores there.

we only went trick or treating for a little while with the adventos and the castillos in the evening since it was a school night and it was pretty chilly. micah looked more like a race car driver with a lightsaber. after the first house, micah said, "i'm scared of halloween, it's dark." but after the 3rd house and seeing the candy, he changed his mind. and it's no surprise that my daughter actually asked someone for an extra piece of candy at their door. and asked another person why their decorations looked like christmas decorations. wow, instead of me giving her the rules to stay with her buddy, watch her step and all that, i should be giving her a list of what not to say. but that's malia. we ended the day with more 'tickle treats'. and now we can move on to christmas!