absolutely me

We have been trying to make Connor walk, but it has been nearly impossible. He is so ready to do it. He walks all over the place, but holding onto something. When Brian sits in front of me, and I call his name, he will stand, but his legs just freeze. I extend my arms, to give him some sense of security, but it's no use. The same happens with Brian. He has not taken a step yet with either one of us. But this morning, it was kind of funny to see him go from the sofa to the table by himself . Just a few steps, but he did it! Wowsers! It was a little bittersweet to see him doing it on his own, instead of walking to the arms of his loving parents, but I guess that will have to do... Oh, what the heck! I'm happy he is trying! Now, I'm just wondering if his first words will be Diggy Boy ? Yup, that'll be the icing on the cake...

Today, I've been mostly in bed, since I have a bad cold or sinus infection, who knows by now, and my neck is still pretty sore (I'm almost sure now that they are related...) But I've been coming to my scraproom every once in a while, to work in a project I really wanted to finish. I bought this kit at Creative Hearts Studio , and I really, really LOVED it! I just didn't have a chance to really finish it, so, here it is. I want to make another 2, one for each kid, so that they will all have one and remember the ornaments we used to have when they were little... The kit comes with the paper, the ribbons and two washers, and I also used some of the leftovers from my December kit , some Scrapworks chipboard shiny shapes, and some stamps... Hoping to finish something else before the week starts! Brian is working tonight, trying to finish painting and installing lights. Poor thing, I can't really help him that much! I'm thinking I may need to take a day off next we...

It's here! Finally, my paper rack arrived, so I was able to finish moving all my paper to my office... Tomorrow we will finish painting and finally ORGANIZING and CLEANING!!! Yup... the fun doesn't stop around here! After that, a little bit of scrappin' before the new week starts! I want to make up for the 4 weeks I haven't scrapped my weekly LO!!!!

Today, Cesar comes in and tells me that, since his grades in Science are above the 90 percentile, he was chosen to take a 3 hour test, and have several interviews with some of the science teachers, so that he can be in the Academically Talented Science program next year... YEAH!!!! We are so excited! This will be three of the four main subjects in AT classes (Math and English are the other two) I'm almost positive that he will also be invited to do this for his Social Studies class, since his grades are above the 90 percentile... We are very, very happy. We know what he is capable of. Now, we are happy to see him actually achieving it! Love my first born child!

Last Thursday, Cesar comes to say good night to me as I am sitting in my bed, watching TV. And then, he just stares in disbelief... "Mom, you can't be for real!!! What are you watching???" I was caught off guard. Had to think fast: "Oh, it's just that Coco was here watching her tv shows, and I just forgot to change the channel". He looks at the clock, and says "Coco's been in bed for an hour, mom". And then, he just reaches for the remote, and hits the PAUSE button. Of course, there's my poor Piggly Winks paralized, frozen on my screen as Cesar starts laughing at me. "YOU ORDERED IT ON DEMAND????" "Well, it's free, you know? It's not like I'm paying"... OK, ok, OK... I confess!!! Yes, I AM ADDICTED to CARTOONS!!! With each of my kids, I have had serious ISSUES... When Cesar was a young kid, all I watched was Winnie the Pooh. My friends started to call me Pooh, since I would always say "oh, bother!"...

Oh, my goodness, not having Internet service it STINKS! I hate it! Comcast had been having problems in this area, so I was out of service for quite a few days, and then, when they finally came to fix the lines, they realized it was the MODEM!!! ARGGGHH!!! In any event, here are some of the pictures of the new rooms. We're still pretty behind with the whole downstairs area, we want to paint again (same colors, just a new coat), change the living room into our family room (we realize we don't use the formal living room / dinning room very often, and it's really wasted huge space!), the dinning room will now go into our family room, and I will no longer know where in tarnation I am for the next few weeks, but hopefully it will all come together nicely. Anyways, here are some pictures of my scraproom, Connor's bedroom and the new loft / play area for the kids... almost there, now!!!

These are my parents with my nephew Joselito... It is so scary to be so far away from your parents, and get that dreaded call. Last Tuesday, my youngest sister called me at 2 pm to let me know that dad had {yet again} a blood clot about one centimeter long, lodged in his left arm, close to his heart. This is a problem that my dad has been facing since I was 16 years old, but he was always lucky, because his cloting always happened in his legs, far away from vital organs. But since 1997, they started "migrating", going up in his body, closer and closer to the heart, lungs and brain. They took dad into surgery the same day. Thankfully, he's doing a lot better, fast recovering and feeling a lot better. by the time they were able to get the clot, it was already 2 inches long... It is just a scary thought, but I am probably not going to be close to my parents when that day comes. I always think I am fully prepared for it, because I have loved my parents, and honored them as mu...

Well, this was just totally unexpected. Brian is not the impulsive type. Everything has to be planned and well thought of before hand, every risk measured and calculated. So, when I told him about my friend Maria, who turned her garage into a beauty salon, he was not all that thrilled to go and see. It wasn't in his schedule! But, hey, it's me we're talking about. So, we went to see. And Mike, the neighbor that did her room, came up with this plan: let's close the open space in your dining room, to give you more space for a room and a loft upstairs. So, we went for it. Now, since it was going to be a $ counsciencious budget, some of the work was supposed to be done by us (the painting and such). They finished the room and the loft yesterday, but now, we must finish all the painting and the touch ups. I would show you a lot more, but my camera is out of batteries, and I can't find the battery charger. So, tomorrow I'll go and buy one, come and take more pics, and...

Our home has been under construction since last week, so that's why I haven't been posting. Will update you on this a little bit later... just letting you know why I'm not around!

I just read about this Scrap-A-Faire at Leah Fung's blog... sounds pretty cool! I really am liking this magazine {Scrapbooks, Etc.} , it's becoming my favorite! And their website is just awsome! i love to check their daily videos, they're pretty cool... I can't believe how much better I'm feeling... they're not kidding when they say 24 hour bug... Happy New Year, everyone! Blessings to all!