My Favorite Space!

We finally got our screen room! I’m so excited. I love this space. This could easily be the room that gets the most use in the house right now. I have a sitting area out there and the kids have their play space. I’ve gotten my living room back. No more toys! Now the kid’s rocking chair, my rocking chair, the play pen, their ride on toys and their toy box is neatly sitting on the porch. The kids go out there willingly so it works out really well. We can keep them out of the house but still keep an eye on them and actually clean or do things around the house.

As soon as I wake up, I make a pot of coffee and grab the kids and head for the porch. Daddy can now get some much needed sleep in the mornings because the house is quiet. Since we’re outside, there’s less TV action, which I love. I was worrying that the kids were spending too much time in front of the TV. Messes are no longer located in the middle of the living room. Everything is outside and clean up is a cinch. It works out great.

Jayden and Maya love being outdoors. And there’s so much going on out there. They hear the birds singing, or the planes flying over us. They stop to listen or see where the sounds are coming from. The neighbors walk their dogs or push their strollers. The neighborhood kids run around on their bikes or skateboards so Jayden can say hi and interact with them. They just don’t get bored out there. I spend a heck of a lot of time at the kitchen sink so it works out great because I can hear and see everything that’s happening from the window right in front of my sink. Did I mention, I love this space?

Here's the view from the curb. And yes, those are gardenias that are just now coming into bloom. They smell wonderful right about now.
Here's my sitting area. Love it! PS I bet if I wanted to take a picture of Jayden he would make a face or turn away, but because I was clearly trying to get a picture of my room, he just had to scoot into the shot!

A Swing Set

We decided to get Maya and Jayden a joint gift this year for their birthdays. We got them a swing set for the yard. After lots of reading and searching, we got one at Toys R Us. It was a lot of work for Daddy, Grandpa and our neighbor Jim, but it’s so worth it. It turned out really well and it’s sitting in our yard, off to the side where it takes advantage of the neighbor’s oak tree for shade. Jayden especially loves it. He always wants to go outside and swing on it all the time. Well, he calls it swing, but really what he loves to do is climb the rock wall and come down the slide. And we attached the baby swing that was hanging up front to the swing set so that I can push both of the kids at the same time and she loves it too. Sometimes I swear I could rock her to sleep on that thing.

Here's the three amigos!
Here's the finished product! I supposed I should have taken one with the kids actually enjoying themselves, right!

Maya Isabella turns 1 Year Old!

It’s been a very busy month. Maya started out by taking 3-4 steps on 3/8. On 3/15, she got a new tooth. By 3/14, she was taking 5-6 steps. She was also walking with her ride on toy. The funniest thing was to watch Jayden on the ride on toy, while Maya walked behind him and if Maya fell down, Jayden would back up and “pick her up”. On 3/20, Maya was rushed to Urgent Care. She was home with Esteban and Jayden and lost her footing. She crashed right into the corner of the wall and instead of stitches, they used glue. I was so sad when I saw her. She had the tiniest of bandages on her little forehead. On 3/22, she up and decided she was going to be a big girl and take 15 -20 steps twice in one day. By her birthday, she was walking with ease.

At her check up, she was weighing 21 pounds, 13 ounces and measuring 29 ¼ inches long. We moved her from the infant car seat to Jayden’s convertible seat and now Jayden sits in his big boy booster seat. Maya is no closer to sleeping through the night than she was when she was an infant. Perhaps, I should notify her that she’s a big girl now. Hmmm. I still nurse Maya and haven’t really decided whether or not I want to wean her yet, but I have definitely been thinking about it. No real words yet but Maya makes the ma and ba sounds. She responds to her name and even cries when Jayden gets in trouble.

Here's Maya after the bandage fell off. This was my first time seeing the wound and I was so heartbroken. The doctor assured me it would heal well and fade over time. Good thing she's a girl and can wear cover-up. LOL
Here's the birthday girl. Her birthday button, sash, and shoes didn't last long. I daresay, they were on long enough for this picture. I never even got a chance to put her tiara on. She flung it right off.

Here's the birthday girl with her brother and cousin. I must say, she was very tired. It was dangerously close to bedtime and she wanted to nurse so bad. The cake kinda covered her face a bit. If we hadn't been rushing, I would have probably raised her seat a little. Oh well.

Here she is eyeballing the huge princess balloon that Titi and Tio brought her. I'm pretty sure she has no idea that what is sitting in front of her is a delicious coconut cake with cream cheese frosting. Poor girl.

After the birthday song, there was no candle to blow out since there wasn't really a space for it on the "castle tower". So I cut up a wedge and gave it to her. My dad held the plate in front of her and she dug her little hands right in and it was hilarious. She had frosting on her fingers and she was clearly confused. Should I lick my fingers or keep shoving the cake down my throat. Jayden was calling out, "Oh man!" and poor little Aiden was trying to be patient while he waited for his piece, but he just looked really sad.

After cake and changing out of sticky cake dress, I fed Maya and we opened presents. Of course she wanted to chew her way through the wrapping paper.

Here's Princess Maya with Mommy and Daddy. Don't mind my hanky. It was really humid out and I was trying to protect the hairdo I had gotten the day before.

Jayden was being a party pooper, but finally we got a picture of him actually looking at the camera.

God bless you, Maya Isabella!

Easter Egg Hunt

We took Jayden and Maya to the Easter Egg hunt at our church. Unfortunately, my batteries gave out so I relied on my camera phone for the shots. Here's Jayden collecting eggs. He was very serious. As you can see by the number of eggs, there was alot of work to be done.
Maya did have a small stash of eggs, but Jayden came by and swiped them. That's ok. She was happy with her two eggs.

Jayden could barely sit still for this picture. It was a fun event.

Afterwards, they went down for nap and I emptied the goodies from the eggs. Jayden didn't care too much. He was just happy moving the eggs around from one place to the other. Eggs were everywhere and whenever I collected them all in one place, he would come to me and say "Huevos?" Too cute!

Jump N Joeys

It was my turn to host a play date again. This time I co-hosted with Sharon, another mom in my playgroup who lives really close to my house. She suggested a new place in town called Jump N Joeys. This is an indoor inflatable playground. Now, Jayden’s first time in a bounce house was about a year ago at a birthday party. I was inside with Maya and I’m not sure what happened. He either got hurt or the big kids bounced around too hard, but after that, he would not go into a bounce house and believe me I’ve tried. So I really wasn’t really sure about hosting there, but I decided to do it anyway. And I’m glad I did.

My sister, Mari, came up with her boys. We met up at the house and then drove there. Only one other mom showed up with her son and my co-host was unavoidably detained (104 fever). So the kids had the place practically to themselves. There was a small play area for younger kids where they spent most of the time and they really enjoyed it. After school let out, some other kids came to play and that’s when our boys decided to let loose and get into the bounce houses. They played all over. Jayden grabbed Aiden by the wrist and pulled him around. They were so cute to watch. My sister and I were so thrilled.

I felt like we were there for hours. And we were. I don’t think we left until well after 5pm and we got there at 1pm. Afterwards, we took the kids to dinner at Chick-fil-a. That was the perfect end to the perfect day. Jayden ate like never before. He konked out soon after and slept from 6:45 to 10pm. I was ready for bed at this point so I put on a DVD for him and let him watch it and he fell back asleep soon after.

Jayden is now over his fear and we can go ahead and get the bounce house for his birthday like we had planned.

Here's Aiden in the playhouse.
Jayden on the slide.
Sebastian looking in on the fun.

Maya stretches her legs and for the time being stays close to Sebastian.

Jayden braves the bounce house and it's obstacle course.

Maya takes on the alligator's tooth.

Maya and Aiden hang out in the egg chair.

Aiden takes his turn on the slide.

Maya looks for trouble elsewhere.

Sebastian is bright eyed!

Blue's Clues

My mom’s group organized a play date at the Orlando Repertory Theatre to see Blue’s Clues. Ok, this is Jayden’s FAVORITE right now. It knocked Woody and Buzz out of the park! I’ve been DVR’ing the shows for Jayden and he’s always asking to see the repeats. I don’t get what all the fuss is about, but I play it for him. I’ve never taken him to see a live show, but I figure there’s always a first time and since I’m planning on going with a Mom’s group, it makes it easier to manage both the kids. The other moms with just one child are usually very helpful.

The theatre is located in a really beautiful area of Orlando, full of lakes, greenery and flowers. There are small theatres, museums, and parks so it was a very pleasant ride. When we got there, Jayden saw the sign out front and he said, “Mommy, look! Mailbox!” This is a big part of the show. Steve and Blue get mail from Mailbox every day. Jayden was a little shy in meeting the other mom’s and kids, but he got over it soon enough. The kids were given a sheet of paper and a crayon to serve as their “Notebook”. This is where they keep track of their clues.

When we went into the theatre, the first thing that Jayden was intrigued with was the chair. It folded up when it wasn’t in use. And he quickly discovered that if he sat in it a certain way, it would partially fold up and his legs would go up in the air. Very cute. As the show started, he recognized the music and songs and characters. Every time he recognized something new, he would burry his face in my lap. That wasn’t the reaction I envisioned, but oh well. He got over it after about 15 minutes and then he participated in most of the show. Every time Blue left the stage, he would ask where’s Blue. And when there was a new clue, he would point to it. Maya was enjoying it too. She ate for most of the show, but when she wasn’t eating, she was completely entertained by the lights, music and characters.

After the show, we got in the long line to get our picture with Blue. The show was during Jayden’s normal nap time so he was cranky. He kept trying to get into my bag and get snacks and then he started to play with the queues even after one of the stage hands asked him not to. By this point, the other moms from the group had gone so I was on my own. One of the stage hands offered to take the picture, but she didn’t even wait for Jayden to turn around. She snapped the picture of the back of Jayden’s head. I was so mad. Oh well. I snapped a second picture of Blue and left. By this time, Jayden was going from cranky to intolerable. So I nixed my idea of taking them to lunch at Chick Fil A and letting him play in their indoor playground. Instead, he went straight home and strangely enough, he never once asked me to play Blue’s Clues for him the whole night!

This is after the show, near the stage.
Here is the back of Jayden's head and the cast of the show.

Here's a close up of Blue himself.

Here's Jayden after the show. Guess which one is true!

A) Jayden is sad because the show is over.

B) Jayden is cranky because he skipped his nap and refuses to take his picture.

The answer is B!

PS Did you know Blue was a female puppy? I always assumed Blue was a boy.

We Need More SPACE!

Ever feel like the walls are closing in on you? That’s how I feel. I’m trapped in a home that I’ve long outgrown. My first home that was large and spacious when I was single and coming out of an apartment, is now super tight for a family of four. Everywhere I turn, there’s a toy basket or an oversized toy and now that the kids are mobile, there is a truck or train or princess ride on toy everywhere I turn. If it’s not a toy, I’m bumping into the Elmo chair or the bouncer seat or the excersaucer or the swing or the highchair. I already took my coffee table and put it up in the attic. Now, I’m trying to replace my large rectangular dining table for six with a smaller round table for four. I’d get one with a leaf so that I can seat six when need be. Ok, that’s a start.

But still, what else can I do? I still have my office/spare room, but can’t use this space for now since Maya is in destructor mode. I’m pretty darn close to getting rid of it and converting it to a playroom. I would lose the futon (sleep accommodations for two), but then again how often do we have guests over? Once every year or every two years? That’s not enough to convince me to keep it. Next, there’s the computer, my desk and files. My sister gave me a great idea. She said why not get one of those armoires that would close and lock when it’s not in use. Then the kids would have the entire space to themselves. Later when they get older and I separate Maya and Jayden, I could move the armoire to the living room and it would blend in like a piece of furniture. That’s my plan in the next few months.

But that doesn’t solve the problem. Space, space. Where can I get more space? I had been toying the idea around of adding a screen room or putting up a fence. I talked it over with Esteban and we decided that it would be more useful to have the screen room first so we decide to use our income tax refund for the project. I start to work on getting estimates. I narrowed it down to one that seemed pretty good and I was all but decided on him, but we had one more estimate scheduled for the following day. So, the final contractor comes out and says, “You know, you have the perfect layout here for an add-on.” Why did he say that?

For two weeks, I start toying this idea around, getting some more estimates, calling the bank and getting them to run the numbers. I start researching traditional construction vs modular rooms or aluminum construction. I call my real estate guru and discuss it with my girlfriend Maria. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. She always keeps it real and is so great when it comes time to mull over decisions, weigh the pros and cons, and make sound choices that make sense now and down the road from now. So today, I proudly put down my deposit on our screen room. As the contractor leaves, he says, “You won’t regret it. You’ll wonder what you ever did without it.” I can’t wait!