Help me decide

I got the proofs from Jady Images from our most recent session (9 months). I have to pick one for my 8x10, but, as usual, I'm having a difficult time of it. Please vote and help me decide which one I should get:










Amy from Jady Images was kind enough to give me some referral cards, so if you love her pictures as much as I do and would like a free session (and are in Miami), leave me a comment! I have a handful to give away. As usual, if I get more comments than what I have available, I will raffle them off. If you still want to vote, but don't want a referral card (because you're not in Miami, have bad taste, are allergic to pictures, or what have you) just let me know and I'll take you out of the running.

Voting ends on Friday this week.

Thanks guys!

Michael, you will be missed.

Last night I was in bed watching the news of Michael Jackson's death, tears were rolling down my cheeks as I sat in disbelief. I felt strange because I've never really taken the death of an artist or celebrity so personally before. Amidst my sadness, I realized that this was probably because I was not only mourning the passing of a true legend and gifted individual, but a piece of my childhood as well.

I gather from the text messages, twitter updates and facebook updates I've received, that I'm not the only one that feels like a part of their childhood is gone. Michael Jackson was one of the first musical influences of my youth and to this day continues to be one of my favorite artists.

I can vividly remember singing Beat It on the play ground and trying (unsuccessfully) over and over again to replicate his dance moves on my living room floor. The first time I saw him do the moonwalk on TV gave me goosebumps and that red jacket and glove will forever live in my memories. I would force my poor little brother to watch my Moonwalker video over and over again (so much so that he ended up loving MJ too). I thought he looked so cute in the Bad video and I practically rubbed out the video cassette on the Smooth Criminal song from rewinding and playing it so much because I was trying to figure out how he did the leaning over thing (I still love that song and choreographed it for my final in modern dance class a couple of years ago). Recently, when I went looking for my Moonwalker video tape and noticed it was gone, I bought another copy on eBay, my brother wanted to borrow it of course.

My first copy of the Thriller album was literally a copy. It was a cassette that my parents got for me. They had a friend that had the Thriller record (yes, record) and they had it dubbed for me. I can't tell you how many times I played that cassette tape. I think we finally had to throw it away from repeated exposure (don't worry, I have since bought my own, real, Thriller CD).

For my senior year in high school I used one of his songs for my final presentation. Whenever I hear it, I remember how nervous I was sitting in front of the class. I had to give an oral presentation and the boy I was obsessed with liked was but 10 feet away. For Halloween (OK fine, not only during Halloween) my ring tone is the Thriller song (the video of which probably planted the seed for my love of all things scary) and let's not forget about my obsession with Thriller in general. I love those videos of people doing the dance at their weddings and such and I've always wanted to learn the dance and do it in full costume.

It's strange because on Wednesday as I was driving home I had been thinking about Michael Jackson because they were playing that song that goes "mamasay mamasay mamasacusa" and I thought to myself...what the heck is a mamasacusa? which led me to I wonder if I should do Thrill the World this year? (I was going to do it last year, but then I realized that a pregnant Thriller wouldn't work out quite so well). Perhaps this will be the impetus I need to get my neglected project going again.

And just like these, there have been many moments where his songs are interwoven with events in my life.

I am also sad because of a very selfish reason. I never got to see him in concert. I was too young to go to his crazy concerts when people were passing out and all that hoopla. I always said that if he toured again (in the US) I would go see him and now I'll never get the chance.

The next couple of days of endless tributes on TV and radio are going to be hard. I'll enjoy listening to his songs on the radio, but gosh darn it, I'll probably cry again like I did this morning in the car (thanks alot Power 96 for that tear wrenching tribute).

Rest in peace, MJ. You've touched the people of this world in innumerable ways, you will be missed and never forgotten.

And to think, it only took 10 months!

Alright peeps, let's play a guessing game. Guess who had a bottle of milk at 8:30 last night, went to sleep in his crib afterwards and slept until 5am without waking up once? Any guesses? No, not Renato. Jordan!...oh and me too...except for the bottle part, I drink my milk from a cup now thank you, oh and the crib part too, I don't fit in there anymore. Ok, that didn't work out like I planned, but the point is that I actually got to sleep a full night's sleep. Well, almost because I didn't go to bed till like 11 because I was waiting for Jordan to get up (he usually wakes up at that time crying to be moved to my bed). I fell asleep waiting because he never woke up! Let's hope he does it again tonight!


When we got back from our California trip, I tried to do a cry it out, but it didn't quite work as well as it did with Christian because Jordan would just scream and cry until he threw up all over himself. When you've just bathed him, it's pretty annoying to have to do so again and change the crib sheets and all that when all you want to do is go to bed, so we gave up on that. What I've been doing now is using the routine that I used to do with Christian (bath, bottle, book, songs, prayer). After that I used to put Chris in his crib somwhat awake and he would fall asleep on his own, but with Jordan, I've had to alter that routine a bit. I put him in his crib and I put the little light show/music toy. I also sit in the rocker next to him and put my hand through the crib rails so he can see that I'm there. This way he goes to sleep by himself, but without all the drama.


On the locomotion front, yesterday I finally saw him crawling like 3 or 4 paces. I think he started doing it on Monday, but my mom argues that it was last week. This is the problem when you work, you miss all these milestones and get the dates wrong in the baby book. Unfortunately, my problem is bigger because I forget to write it in the baby book altogether. Oopsie. I really need to get on top of that, I don't want him to feel like a second child.


He turned 10 months old on Saturday and he's throwing out milestones like a pitcher. He's also pulling up and he likes to stand by holding on to things. He hasn't quite figured out that he can move his feet to adjust his position though, so he comes toppling down sometimes. Pretty soon he'll be cruising all over the place and I'll be wishing that he hadn't learned that because I'll be having to follow him around.


On the 14th of this month, we went to have his 9 month pictures (a little late) taken. I just got them back, so when I get the chance I will post them for all to see. They were taken by Amy from Jady Images and I love how they turned out. Super cute as usual. Then again, I'm biased. Ha ha!


Before I sign off, remember...I'm giving away free samples on this post, so don't forget to leave a comment! The last day to do so is June 30th. If you read this blog through Facebook (I import my blog entries into Facebook), you can leave a comment there instead.

Swiper strikes again

Seriously...we need to put a stop to this. I was informed this morning by my hubby that CMan swiped a video game from the store the other day. He had grabbed it and R hadn't noticed and he simply walked out of the store with it. R showed me the evidence a little while ago. I sure as hell hope he plans on returning it. In fact, he should take Chris with him to return it and make him apologize.

People...hide your belongings! Especially if we have a playdate scheduled.

Oh and another Christian tidbit for you:

Me: "Why do you wear cologne Christian?"
CMan: "for the ladies"

I'm pretty sure my husband coached him on that one.

There's some spinach in your teeth

I'm really very nit picky about my teeth (and others teeth) about how straight (I've had braces twice) and clean they are. When I was dating guys, if they had yellow crooked teeth it was a total deal breaker. Given that I have this pet peeve, you'd think that I'd take better care of my teeth, but you'd be wrong. This year, I seem to have been making all these wonderful healthy changes, but my teeth haven't exactly been included in these changes. Don't get me wrong, I brush my teeth as much as the next guy, but not three times a day and I completely hate flossing. I guess it shows because every time I go to the dentist I get the lecture (along with multiple cavities) bla bla bla. So I've been meaning to be better about it, but I just kept pushing it to the back burner. A couple of weeks ago though, I was instantly reminded when I got an email on behalf of Crest.

They were preparing a new Web site for Hispanics called TuCrest, which will feature a podcast series on oral hygiene with a dentist, videos highlighting important parts of oral care, and a bloggers corner available in both Spanish and English. I was asked to be a part of this in exchange for my picture and some free samples for me and my readers. Since I like to see my picture on websites I'm a sucker for free samples I need to get with the program with my dental health, I signed right up. The timing couldn't have been better.

Just before leaving on my trip, I got a package in the mail with my Crest Pro-Health free samples. I packed it up in my bag and decided to use it while on vacation because I didn't have any travel size toothpaste (again, what timing). I unpacked my bag and placed the toothpaste on the bathroom sink. It made me chuckle when I noticed that my niece and nephew were using the same toothpaste (their dad is a dentist, so that should tell you something). Ha!

Well, the product was great and left my breath feeling fresh. It doesn't have that burning feeling that I hate. I don't know about you, but I don't like to feel like my mouth is on fire when I'm brushing my teeth. Yes, I know I'm a total wuss, but really. If I'm trying to brush more, being in pain while I do so is not going to help the situation. I was happy that there was no burning feeling. I really enjoyed the toothpaste (as much as one can "enjoy" toothpaste without being weird) and look forward to using it from now on. Thank you Crest.

If you want to win some freebie samples to try this toothpaste out for yourself, leave me a comment before this month is over. If I end up with more comments than samples, I'll just raffle them off. If I end up with no comments, then I'll just have to accept that my readers have dirty mouths and want to keep them that way. ;o)

Speaking of samples...not that I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth or anything, but why do some people get to review chocolate and I get toothpaste? Maybe she's allowed to have chocolate since she has no cavities because she actually flosses.

Hmm...now where did I put that floss?...

The San Francisco Treat!

Hey buddies I have returned from California, um, I guess I forgot to mention that I went to California. Well, yes, I left on Thursday and came back on Tuesday. I went with JJ (his first plane ride!) and my brother because my sister Patti was having a big ole birthday bash.

Jordan behaved very well on the plane. He slept some and played some and all was good and merry and bright. On Friday my brother and I (and JJ) took the BART into San Francisco. We went to the huge mall on Powell and did a little shopping (wherein my brother was asked if I was his mom, damn, I'm old, but not THAT old; he's 23 for Christ sake!). We walked around for a bit and looked at the pretty buildings and then rode the little trolley down to China Town where I bought a new duffel bag for 12 bucks because the one I took ripped on both ends (heavy packer eh?). Then we found a little All you can eat Dim Sum place for $5.99. It was a little scary because some of the food was completely strange looking (what the heck is that gelatinous black stuff? I still don't know), but I'm all for trying new things (chocolate covered crickets anyone?), so I braved it out. I still don't know what some of those things were. If you know, and it's gross, please don't tell me.

After our mystery lunch we got back on the trolley and headed down to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 where we hung out with pirates, did a little window shopping and walked around. Once again I was not able to go to Alcatraz. I've been to SFO like 5 times and I've never been able to go because the tickets are always sold out. This time, I planned ahead and was going to buy them online, but I had the stroller with me and I read on the website that the tour involves climbing hilly terrain, so, once again, that wasn't happening. Besides, the weather was super cold out by the piers so I would've been freezing the whole time. The wind almost blew me away stroller and all. Brrrr.

On Saturday, I went to the salon and got a(nother) haircut, mani and pedi. I had to sit Jordan on my lap during all the pampering because the child will not go with anyone else. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of going to the salon?

That evening was my sister Patti's birthday party. Because I had el niño with me, I wasn't able to really let loose like I am wont to do, but that's alright, I had fun anyway (not as much as they did though). Unfortunately since I was on baby duty, that means I have no embarrassing photos to share this time. Well, no drunk ones anyway. The following day we went to brunch with a bunch of the party guests, friends and family and then we all headed back to my sister Patti's house again for some more relaxation and good times. These people really know how to party, what energy!

On Monday we went back to my other sister's Geraldine's house and I stayed home alone with the baby the whole day. I needed to rest from all that hustle and bustle. I was super tired and I hadn't really done anything! It's hard being the only one on baby duty and not having someone else to hand him off to for more than 2 minutes to take a break. I gotta hand it to those stay at home moms and those single moms. During the afternoon, my Godmother came over for a little while to visit me and meet the baby. She brought me a box of delicious chocolate (which is now all gone). That evening we had dinner at my sister's home and I cracked open the ole' stalkers journal and entertained my niece and nephew with sad/hilarious (I'm not sure which is the better adjective here really) Prom and Grad Nite tales (mine of course). Ah good times...

On Tuesday, I woke up nice and relaxed and lingered in bed. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was 9. I wasn't packed, but I figured I had time since my flight was at 1:50pm. Hm, let's double check that, I have the paper right here...OH CRAP...it's at 12:50! Yeah, I kinda freaked out because no one was bathed or dressed or fed or packed and this meant we had to leave in one hour. FREAKOUT! Needless to say, my super packing skills (it's called throw everything in the luggage) and I made it out on time, but just barely (why must there always be drama?!). We went from the check-in counter to security to buying our lunch and right onto the plane (reminds me of the NY trip). The flight was not as nice as on the way back. JJ slept in his car seat for 2 hours, but then he refused to leave my lap for the rest of the flight. Oh well, at least I got to watch a movie and eat some lunch while he slept.

Overall the trip was fun, but I don't think I'll be doing that (traveling with baby) again by myself without my mom or my husband. Yeah, I'm a wuss, I know, whatever. Hey, I've got some free samples to give away in my next blog post so stay tuned.