Big Thanks to my "Followers"

It has been about three months since i first began my blog and so i wanted give a big thanks to you, my dearest friends and family, who have designated yourselves as one of my "Followers" of my blog.  Thanks for all of your support. You know who you are! (in alphabetical order):

1) AnastasiaSpeaks, una de mi amigas favoritas who got it all started...literally! 

2) Brett, my beloved bro

3) Gage, my beloved husband

4) Rose Olavarrieta, a wonderful woman y amiga! (Te extrano mucho pero nuestros contacto via mi blog y email ayuda!) 

And a big thanks to everyone else who has been reading and/or commenting on my blog. I really appreciate it and hope you will continue to do so in the future! 

A big hug to you all ; )   

Belated Merry Christmas, among other things...

Hello. I'm back! Merry, albeit belated, Christmas! I know it has been awhile since my last Post. Too long, but that's life or at least my life.  It has a way of overwhelming me sometimes and over the past couple of weeks, it has.  Admittedly, I struggle with some things too much and feel like i don't have anymore of myself to give. So when i was feeling like something had to give in recent weeks, it was the Blog, among other things.  

Anyway, i feel like i am now just starting to come out of a fog of sorts; but i may slip into it again as yesterday i found out that my 96 year old grandmother has cancer. This diagnosis follows the still too recent passing of one of my dearest friend's mother from cancer (before Christmas) and a neighborhood friend (and mother of twin girls the same age as my son) who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer and has lost all of her hair.  

So while we have been busy preparing and celebrating the holidays, my heart has been heavy thinking about my friends -- and now my own immediate family -- that are mourning and experiencing pain and suffering.  I wish i could make all of it go away, but i suspect only time will heal the pain and suffering...

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new year.  

Peace be with you my friends and family! 

Emotional mommy state!

Today i went to an elementary school open house for my son. The minute i walked into the school and saw all the tiny little children with their back packs, walking to/from here/there i started to get emotional.  I mean, i felt the urge to cry!  It wasn't that the school was an unhappy place.  On the contrary, it was a very happy place.  In fact, everyone seemed happy and i could feel the excitement in the air.  I also wasn't hurt, scared, or sad i.e. the normal reasons i usually cry.  Instead, what i was experiencing was this inexplicable emotional mommy state i get in when i see young children sometimes.  

I never use to be this way, that is, until after i had my children.  

It doesn't matter where i am -- in a grocery store, getting gas, in an airport. If i hear a baby crying, nine times out of ten, it makes me want to cry.  The worst is when i drop my son off at preschool in the morning.  I i sometimes see this new 3yr old crying and holding on tight to his mommy's leg, begging her to not leave him. Of course, this makes me want to cry.

In fact, when i get this way, i have to tell myself to not cry! "Focus!" i say. "Do not cry!" "Think of something else!" And that usually prevents me from crying. Most of the time though my eyes well up with tears and i look like i am about to cry and i can't speak for a minute or so.

And did i forgot to mention the commercials on the t.v. and the movies that have children in them? And the news --print, online, and t.v. -- related to children!  

No doubt the emotion is related to my children and how much i love them (I mean LOVE!!!!! them) and want to protect them from harm and hurt feelings.  To soothe and comfort them. They are so young and so innocent. They seem so fragile. Yet they are so smart and resilient; independent and strong; full of spirit, daring, and in a word, Amazing!   

Uh oh. Here i go again. Time to get the kleenex! 

These are a few of my favorite things...Part I

One of my friends has been posting her favorite things about Christmas on her blog. The installments are called (why) Christmas Rocks! I've enjoyed reading them so i thought i would share with you some of my favorite things (not in any particular order). I hope you enjoy them to. Please let me know what are some of your favorite Christmas things as well! 

1. Sitting in the living room with my family by the fire looking at the Christmas tree lights and listening to Christmas music.

2. #1 plus a cozy blanket and a cup of eggnog!

3. Reading "A Christmas Carol" by C. Dickens & the Nutcracker by ETA Hoffman to my son while doing #1 and #2!!

4. Listening to Handel's Messiah at Washington National Cathedral

5. Getting bundled up with the kids to go walk around the National Christmas Tree

6. Making/eating Christmas cookies and "Cocktail Trash"

7. Making and drinking Spice Tea 

8. #6 and #7 combined!

9.  Going to holiday parties!

10. Dressing  my daughter up in red dresses

11. Receiving Christmas cards from friends with pictures of their children on them

12. Going to Christmas service

13. Looking at Christmas lights

14. Smelling spiced scented pine cones in stores 

Flight from Hell

My husband and I have traveled a bit with our children.  In fact, after our 4 year old son no longer qualified to be a "lap child" (at the age of two), we signed him up for the Southwest Frequent Flyer program and he is now close to earning his first free round trip ticket!  Our 15 month old daughter has flown a handful of times to date. 

Most of the flights with the chitlins have been on have been just under or just a little over one hour to and from Washington D.C. and Cape Cod area.  Generally when people see them on the airplane they comment on how cute they are (but of course they are!) and how well behave they are. "They didn't cry one bit." "What good little travel companions you have." "They were so quite, i didn't realize you had children with you!" 

Once on the way to Providence, RI, a man on a flight asked Gage to hold out his hand and shoved $50 bucks in it and insisted that he take me out to dinner for doing such a good job with our son.  (Actually, this kinda freaked me out at first. I thought the man must be some sort of weirdo and insisted that Gage return the money, but when he went to return the money he could not find the man on the plane or after we exited  the plane.)

This kind of feedback sort of went to my head. So whenever i heard a screaming child on the plane, i sympathized with the parents and the little one.  My heart went out to them. I sometimes came close to tears myself!  In the back of my mind, however, i think i always thought that there was something else that the parent could have done and wasn't doing to comfort the baby (e.g. give the baby a bottle or a pacifier, sing to them, hold them differently, change the diaper, etc...). You see, these were the things i did to comfort my non-screaming child on the plane and they seemed to work...at least they did until yesterday! 

The three hour flight back from Texas yesterday started during nap time; however, the chitlins did not sleep on the plane.  In fact, the sleep deprivation combined with our daughter's head cold resulted in an inconsolable, non-stop, screaming-at-the-top-of-her-lungs 15  month old lap child for what seemed an eternity on the plane. Okay so "the eternity" may have only lasted for about 10 minutes, but when the child is literally screaming at the top of her lungs! and you know the whole plane is listening!! and wondering-- like i use to -- "what aren't they doing to console the child"...it seems like "forever"! 

Despite our best efforts -- to give her a bottle (no, no, no she said as she waved her arms this and that away), to give her the "bibi" (aka: pacifier. she spit it out, followed by more no, no), to sing to her (she wasn't feeling the ba ba black sheep), to reposition her (she only arched her back more), and shhhing her (she couldn't hear us over her screams), she only screamed more louder...to eleven! 

It wasn't until Gage said the magic words "koo koo" -- our daughter's word for cookie -- that she finally stopped screaming...and then only long enough for him to put another one in her mouth.  She chomped down on it immediately and just as she was about to open her mouth and scream again he said the magic words and gave her another one. He repeated this about 20 times before she finally calmed herself down and stopped crying.  Thank god. Otherwise i would have gone cuckoo! 

Back To or Return From the Grind?

Tomorrow we are heading home after a wonderful ten-long-day Thanksgiving-vacation-stay in Tejas. While vacations are generally a welcomed reprieve from the "daily routine" or "the grind", this extended event-filled fun vacation has made me think the reverse can be true as well -- particularly when it includes two energetic and tireless chitlins!

This vacation has been full of family, friends, and lots of food! On the family front, we were able to see just about everyone (my parents, grandmother, sister, brother, nephews/nieces, and in-laws, etc...) and we ate more food in 10 days than we would normally eat in one month!

During our stay we traveled from San Antonio to Austin then back to San Antonio and Austin again and then finally back to San Antonio -- all with our four-year old and fifteen-month old in tow! They are pretty resilient little chitlins as their sleep/nap routines basically remained the same until Day 8 of the vacation when we changed sleeping venues. Since then our "sleep" has been interrupted by 2:00am cries for Momma or Dadda or the "Bibi" (Mia's name for her pacifier), followed by 5:30am cries for the "Bibi", Dadda or Momma.

Nonetheless after a strong cup of Java at 6:30am in the morning, we managed to push onward for the festividades del dia, which included over the ten day period, two Bennett family reunions; day trips to Austin/San Antonio for tours of the Alamo and hill country, as well as shopping and more eating; horseback riding at DMDP; Thanksgiving and birthday celebrations! Tres also won his first trophy for completing a 100-counting board! (Congratulations again Tres!)

As much fun as we have had spending 24/7*10 with our Chitlins and seeing our family and friends, i must say that after ten days of fun, i am a little tired...well, actually, i am exhausted! In fact, as i combed my hair this morning, i could have sworn that i saw a handful of grey hairs on the top of my head that were not there when i left! Does sleep deprivation cause premature greying of the hair?

Seriously though, we have had a great time and many thanks to our various family hosts during our stay. You have given us and the chitlins many wonderful memories. But like most people, after a great vacation, we are looking forward to sleeping in our own bed tomorrow night (and especially for the children to sleep in their own beds/bedrooms tomorrow night!) !!