Who's ready?

for some photos, that is! We got our power back last night, making it exactly 2 weeks from the time we lost it. I am soooo happy to be back and be able to do the things I normally do, ha! Life without power is so different. I'd say, electricity is a luxury. This whole hurricane experience made me more grateful for the things I've got especially for the everyday small things we sometimes take for granted. So, yeah I've learned something and you know what else? I lost 3lbs in the last 2 weeks! Yeah baby, 109lbs now. I hope to lose at least 4 more and I'll be extremely happy, lol!

I took 400 photos in the last 2 weeks. I was overwhelmed when I saw them all on my computer. I didn't know which ones to share but I managed to narrow it down to less than 10. I really have a lot to share but in the last few minutes, I've decided that a lot of them are better left unshared. Considering that we didn't have any extra source of lighting, I went ahead and played with some textures to enhance some of the photos. I'm sorry if one of the photos I'm gonna share is kinda gross. I felt aweful for the little birdie.

One of the little things that Ike did to us is this...

Playing with texture here. I wanted to take a photo of my face when it was full of rashes but didn't wanna freak anybody out so I asked Aiden to pose with me and decided to cut most of my face. You can just imagine the rest of it. I'm so happy they're gone now.

What better way to have fun when power is out? Just like they say, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

A cheesy grin can light up any type of room, lol! More texture on this one. The boys were shirtless for the whole 2 weeks, with Mother Nature as our source for air condition, lol! We have a really nice fall weather right now.

You'd think this is a photography mistake but I personally think it's art. I'm planning on making it really big and frame it.

And don't forget Aerell. He turned 8mos old on the 15th. My poor baby is running a fever right now. I hope he gets well soon so he can get back to just having fun and enjoy being a baby.

At 8 months, Aerell can stand for a few seconds without holding on to anything, still not talking though although I've heard him say "ma" a few times, just not repeatedly. Well, it's 11:30pm, I think I should go to bed now. Enjoy the rest of your weekends everyone and thank you for stopping by.

Back temporarily...

I'm currently using someone's computer so I can't stay too long and I'm sorry I can't visit your blogs yet for now. We lost power on Friday before Ike even hit land. The worst part is we're on the bottom of their list for power restoration. They're showing it's gonna be by Thursday. Man, it is so frustrating but we're doing fine. Ike knocked off our fence, trimmed our tree branches and blew about 20-30 shingles off of our roof. Nothing too bad really but the next day, our neighbor who lives 3 houses down across the street burned their house down. Talk about disaster. I was also sick, very sick. I had some really bad rashes all over my face, which spread down to my neck and chest and the rest of my body. The doctors misdiagnosed it at first, making it worst. Gosh, I was crying a lot. I didn't know if I'd get my old face back. I litterally looked like a monster (of course my husband and kids still thought I was gorgeous). I went back to the doctor last Wednesday (a week later than the first one). This time, the doctor gave me a steroid shot and some prescription (with steriods too). Thank God, my face cleared up the next day and right now, I'd say I got my old face back. I never thought I'd be so happy to say this but I really am happy to have my old face back, LOL!

Took a lot of pics but I have no way of sharing them for now. Man, I can't wait for Thursday. Hubby's bosses were very kind enough to lend us a 5500-watt generator so we now have the fridge back. Schools are closed for the meantime as well so I have all 3 kids 24/7 with me. I think I need to go now. I got so many bodyguards surrounding me while typing this and I can't concentrate anymore, lol! Thank you very much for all the concern you have for me. I appreciate all the messages you left. Again, my family and I are all doing great. Thank you for all the prayers. Heavenly Father really listened to all our prayers. I guess this is it for now. I'm off to check my friendster account and head out to the grocery store. Enjoy your weekends!

Hurricane Notice

This blog is currently offline due to hurricane Ike. It's predicted to hit land tomorrow and although we're not exactly living along the gulf (we're pretty much near it), we're still going to experience heavy rains and almost a hundred miles per hour wind. We're not evacuating but I'm kinda scared. I just hope the winds will not blow our house or roof off, lol! Ok, it's not exactly the right time to laugh but I'm just trying to take my mind off of this whole thing. Please pray that Ike will not do a lot of damage and that we'll get through all this just fine. I'm pretty sure we'll lose electricity some time in the next few days, so see ya when I get back!

Sylvan Beach Park

Happy Monday everyone! I haven't been feeling too well for the last 3-4 days but yesterday was the worst. I'm glad I got hubby to take care of the kids and myself. I honestly don't remember the last time I had a nice and quiet warm bubble bath. It was good. I still have a nose that runs like a faucet though. Man, it's so annoying but gotta deal with it!

Anyway, I didn't think we'd get to do something this weekend at all. Bear had to work and it wasn't a big deal to me since I feel like I needed to rest but we did get to do another picnic at a different place. Saturday was such a beautiful day. Clear blue skies and less humidity, wow! So, here are my fave shots from that day...

Chicken is always the easiest thing we can get for picnics. Sometimes we do hamburgers and subways but I love chicken, lol!

And, we found a new drink we really like. I think it's a lot better than soda and it's good for you too.

Aiden says this is his new smile, lol! My boys are silly.

I know Aiden needs a haircut but I just can't make myself because the longer his hair gets, the color gets lighter and lighter, lol! I am going to trim the sides one of these days though.

Aerell just loves the mac 'n cheese. Actually, he likes anything other than baby food, lol!

So, that's it. Enjoy the rest of the week everyone and thank you for the comments on my previous entries!

Welcome...

to the brand new look of my blog! Well, nothing much difference really. I just sort of expanded the width (what's the use of a widescreen19-inch monitor, eh? LOL). This is because I wanted to share my photos in full sizes next time. No more clicking each picture. I get tired of clicking them one by one myself. I'm sure you do too so the next time I'll share some pics it will be a little bit different. I have been experimenting on different kinds of watermarks as well, haha!

Anyway, I thought I'd blog today without pictures. It's more than 3 weeks since AJ started school. They started sending us conduct reports each day and I think it's a very good idea. So far, he had 2 remarks that weren't exactly nice, lol! It's nothing really serious so I think it's ok. He's a boy, you know, haha! Other than that, he's doing well.

It's amazing how school has changed over the past years. I remember when I was in kindergarten, it wasn't really much of a serious thing. I remember playing a lot, singing, writing, coloring and counting 1-20 and that was it but now they got kindergarten kids cutting living and non-living things from magazines for a science project! WOW! I think my greatest struggle for now is learning Spanish. I don't speak the language and neither does my husband. It's hard to teach a child something that you don't know much about. So, AJ and I are in the same level on this one. I think it's exciting that I would be able to learn a different language pretty soon, hehe!

On another note, our Aiden is now potty-trained! I am so happy about this. In the beginning, we really struggled because he was not willing to participate at all. It was a hard time for me and him. I tried giving him treats each time he goes to potty but that didn't really work for a long time. I got to the point where I don't ask him anymore because I am tired of the fussing. I guess you could say I gave up on it. I thought maybe he really wasn't ready yet but just when I started to quit giving him pressure about going to the potty, that's when he started going. Today, he complains about wearing diapers/pull-ups. I let him wear those when we go out 'coz I don't want any accident. I am really proud of him! He tells us whenever he needs to go to the bathroom while we're going out somewhere. He doesn't wet his pull-ups at night for weeks already. He gets so excited wearing big boy underwears, lol!

Lately, Aiden has also been very polite. Yes, we teach our kids to be polite but man he is over polite, lol! He would say thank you, no - thank you, please (in a very sweet voice), excuse me (every time he burps or make an utot, lol) and I'm sorry especially when he knows he's in trouble, lol! I am so pleased of how he's growing. He is a little naughty but given that he's a boy, I think that's normal, lol! He is getting better with the way he treats his baby brother. He keeps saying that Aerell is so cute, haha! The other day, I asked him if he was cute too and he said no. I asked him why and he said "because I'm pretty", lol! Conceited, eh?

Aerell? He is about 7 months and a half now. He's got 4 teeth on the top and 2 on the bottom. It was so funny because he had 4 teeth coming out all together. Poor thing got a little fever from that but he's fine now. He's still not talking but he can walk while holding on the sofa, hehe! Man, I can just imagine how it's gonna be when he can walk by himself. I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of chasing around here. He loves to eat the "real" food. I'm thinking of not buying any more baby foods next grocery-shopping time because he's not into them anymore, haha! He loves scrambled eggs and ice cream. I'm not sure if he can smell it or he just really knows what an ice cream looks like, lol! Bear always puts his ice cream in a bowl and for some reason, Aerell just comes to him and opens his mouth each time. It must be so good to feel that cold thing on his swollen gums.

They're such a joy to look at and I love being their mom! Thank you Heavenly Father!

Long time...

no entry! I know I sort of promised to post more pics of AJ in uniform but I think it's not a very good idea because the patch on his shirt would tell a lot. I think I'd rather keep that private in case I got some serious stalkers around, lol! I have uploaded them on friendster so I'm sure some of you have already seen it anyway.

So, how's your labor day weekend? Ours went great. My mother-in-law invited us all for a b-b-q lunch/early dinner at her house. I got so busy talking that I forgot to take some pics. I did get one of the kids which I think I'd share later. I wanted to share photos from last weekend we spent at the Kemah Boardwalk. Here are some of my favorites...

I wanted to change the set up of this blog to where I can post a bigger size, non-clickable photo. I'm still trying to figure that out. Who knows maybe the next time you come by to visit you'll see something new *wink*. Enjoy the rest of the week everyone!

[sorr! photos deleted]