back to school…

Ahh, the first day of school has arrived and gone. I have a first grader in my hands now. New building, new room, new teacher, new and old friends. He has been signed up for the after school program, chess and hip hop.

back at school

We also had a sad little girl who wishes she was going to school as well. We thought she was going to have a hard time letting him go, but she was a trooper. No tears. One more year and she will be off to pre-school. I’m excited for her.

Siblings

I’m hoping a smooth year. Only 169 days left. 😛

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one year later…

I can’t believe it has been one year since Eric was let go from his “dream” company.  Funny how something like that just throws our perfect little world into turmoil. But we pushed thru as and we are in a good (and better) place now.

Thankfully, I have a job with insurance.  Eric got unemployment up until he started freelancing.  We used that money wisely.  We didn’t overspend so we were able to keep up with all the bills.  We bought the essentials we needed.  The only splurge we made was for the kids during Christmas which was not too bad.  We had to forgo giving anyone gifts (including ourselves) but I am sure they understood what we were going thru. 

We are grateful for getting unemployment but let me tell you, I couldn’t wait for Eric to get a job to get off of it.  I really not sure how some people can take advantage of that.

In the meantime, Eric worked hard to find a job.  I had forgotten that looking for a job is a job in itself.  He spent hours and hours looking at online job sites, networking, networking and more networking.  Lots of people disappointed me knowing that Eric was out of a job and didn’t even step up.  But on the other hand, there were lots of people who did reach out to him.  I heart all those people.

Well, it’s a year later and Eric has a job since June 13.  He is enjoying it and learning a new side aspect of his job industry.  And I am so proud of him.

I do not wish anyone being unemployed.  It sucks and it is very depressing.  But with the right support system and the ganas, it is something that can be broken and it will be all okay.

Cuz every little thing will be all right!

happy easter…

My yearly post for Easter. This year we had help dying the eggs so they weren’t as bright as normal. (Having an almost six year old, a six year old and a 2 year old helping out just throws out the control freak out the window. They win.) But this year, I did include their names too.

Happy Easter

So from us to you: Happy Easter!!!

Easter Buddies

And we miss you papa!!

santa…

We went to Macy’s to see Santa Claus.  Of course, Diego went up to him and gave him a hug.  Mia on the hand didn’t.  The bad news: she did not want to do anything with him.  The good news was there was no crying or screaming when she saw him.  Maybe next year, she will actually stand by him.  Wishful thinking.

Santa 2010

Diego asked for Legos, which is great because that is what Santa had already gotten for him.

Afterward, we went to see the tree in the Walnut Room.  It is beautiful.  It was white and blue.  It had some LED lights that looked like snow falling.  We took more pictures with the kids so we can use for the annual Christmas card.  This one was the winner.

Kids

I can’t wait for Christmas.  They will have so much fun.

happy halloween…

Happy Halloween!

As you can see Diego was a vampire and Mia was a witch.  Cuteness all around.  🙂

We had a busy Halloween evening.  We went to the neighborhood stores for some trick or treating.  The popcorn place gave popcorn.  Jamba Juice made small smoothies for the kids.  Awesome!!! I wish the association would organize all of the merchants to have a set time for this.  I was worried that the stores wouldn’t be prepared but only two (the bars) didn’t seem to have anything for the kids.

But anywhoo, we went home to drop off the loot and take a breather (I was sweating).  Then we went to the Halloween party.  There was pizza, snacks, adult and kid beverages.  The kids were watching a movie to keep them from getting antsy.  Once the movie and party was over, off we went trick or treating.  There was about eight parents and a huge group of kids.  Seriously, this is the way to go.  Everyone keeps an eye on all the kids.  The kids made out with lots of goodies.  Which make mom and dad happy. 😉

I can’t for next year. We are already planning what our costumes might be since Eric and I want to dress up as well. Diego already said he wanted to be Harry Potter. We shall see.  We have another 365 days to figure it out.

VampireWitch

BOO!

apple picking time…

It was that time of year again when we go apple picking at Apple Holler. We were checking all last week and this week to see if the Honey Crisp apples were ready for pickin’. Eric called and sure enough, they were.

my family
We couldn’t have asked for a better day.  The weather was fantastic: sunny with puffy white clouds. In the 60’s, probably 70’s in the sun. Not windy at all.

Cruch!

And of course after we picked and stuffed ourselves with the apples, we did the tractor ride, all the kiddie activities (go carts [Diego by himself this year!!!], the train ride, pony ride [only Diego] and the playground), and the petting zoo. They always have so much fun that Diego will be asking random times during the year if we can go apple picking.

And as always, I can’t wait for next year!

For more pictures of our apple picking trip, click the sign.

Honey Crisps!!!

5th birthday party…

Diego had his fifth birthday party today. This year’s theme was a Pirate Party.

He had a blast! He had 21 friends over. Let me tell ya, it was crazy! No matter though because everyone seemed to have a great time.

We got Captain Jack Sparrow to make an appearance:
DSC_0492

We had pinata:
DSC_0497

We had cake and friends:
Cake & Friends

Eric made this really cool mast and put it in front of the house:
DSC_0511

A huge and strong storm passed thru right before the party started. Thankfully, it was really short and then the sun came out. It ended up being a fantastic day. We didn’t expect anything less. 🙂

Cub Family…

Cub Family

We went to Wrigley Field for the first time this year (hopefully not the last). It was Mia’s first trip there.

It was Cubs vs Pirates. Unfortunately, they lost 4-3 but they almost rallied at the end. We had a good time anyway. Mia was very good and so was Diego. Of course by the 7th inning, they started: Diego was like “when is it over?” and Mia was missing her nap so she started to get cranky. But we all survived the game and we all left happy. It did help that it was Build-A-Bear Day. The bears were adorable as always.

photo

And yeah, Mia took her nap. About two hours worth. 🙂
photo

Good-bye March…

To end on a good note, Mia is ear infection free. That was after three rounds of antibiotics. So happy about that.

On to the bad news, Diego has astigmatism. So he will need to wear glasses for a few months before going back to the eye doctor for a follow up. I’m okay with that. Not sure about Eric. He blames me for passing on my genes. =P So we are going tomorrow or Friday to get him some glasses.

Also, I am feeling so much better. I will probably sign up for the Rock n Roll Half Marathon. Need to start running again. Eeeecckkk!

Hopefully, April will be a better month for us.