I'm Still an A Student

I don't often find myself with nothing to do these days. I got a promotion at work and am pretty much working full-time now. But I like my job so that's cool. I finished another semester of college; got an A in my African American History class. Thank goodness I planned a June Vegas trip back in January--I ended up needing it more than I thought I would! We just got back from Vegas a few days ago after spending 3 days there with friends from different states. I don't gamble but I still feel like I won.
My sister came to visit us from Virginia. She also took care of our kids while we were in Vegas. How great is that?! My sister and I went rollerskating together and we also did some karaoke. I think she had a good time.
I am not taking any summer classes this year. I remember taking a class last summer, having homework 4 nights a week and a research paper to write, all while planning my husband's birthday and our kids' birthday party...NO THANKS!
Raquel has finished Kindergarten. She starts 1st grade September 14th. She learned so much from her teacher this year, it is AMAZING. We loved her teacher so much, we gave her a nice gift on the last day of school. How a teacher can teach a 5-year-old how to read is beyond me. And I'm proud of Raquel for being the young lady she is--she's outgoing, smart, friendly, funny and creative. She's everything a mother could want in a daughter. She'll be 6 years old July 7th. :)
I'm currently dealing with a toddler full of temper...Maxine. She'll be two on July 25th. She's sooo sweet when she's happy but when she doesn't get her way, she's red-faced-angry. Raquel was never this way. Maxine is a very different child, though, and I'm learning as I go.
Thanks for checking in :)
(The picture above is a bento box I made for Raquel recently)

Had a Birthday, Got a Job...

Grandma, this blog is for you.
I had a birthday in February. About 15 of my friends joined me at the Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale for a little rollerskating party. Most of us hadn't been rollerskating in a decade or two; some fell, some fell more than once but ALL seemed to enjoy the evening very much. I would actually like to go rollerskating every weekend if I could. It is good, fun exercise.
For school this semester, I am only taking one class. It's a history class and our term project is to write a 12-15 page paper about a grandparent, including a family tree and images from their time as a child. When I saw this was our major work of the semester, I had a big smile in my heart. I knew exactly who to write about and I think it should be quite rewarding.
I started a part time job a couple of weeks ago. I won't say who I'm working for because I don't want to associate them with my blog at all but I will say I'm enjoying it for the most part. Being on my feet all day and smiling all the time can be exhausting. Who takes care of the kids when I'm gone? My husband, who makes his own hours and organizes himself around my work/school schedule, thank goodness.
I got to go on a kindergarten field trip to China Town last month with my daughter's class. We all took the Metrolink and spent a couple of hours there. I got several cute pictures. This is one of Raquel and her best buddy.
Raquel went to Big Bear with my dad for a 4-day weekend in February. I hear she got homesick the first night but after that she enjoyed herself. We missed her and were glad to have her home. I'm thankful she has grandparents and great-grandparents who adore her and make her life so wonderful. Speaking of, here is Grandma (Raquel and Maxine's great-grandmother)
Little Maxine is about to be 20 months old. We bought her 2 pairs of nice shoes from Stride Rite last weekend and, to my surprise, she is taking to them quite well (for a chronic tip-toer). She used to hate shoes. Now, she seems to like them. It is a big relief to me to see her take this next step.
Maxine picked up a fork at a restaurant and taught herself how to use it. Nobody helped her or told her what to do--she just took it and ran with it, so to speak. She is looking so grown-up and talking all the time. She mimics us, even counts and says the alphabet but of course it's in her own dialect and isn't exactly correct.
I'm going to end this post now. Whatever I've forgotten will be included in an upcoming post. Maybe I'll do an all-pictures post.

Poolside at Dad's

My dad has a GREAT backyard. Not only does it have a pool, a jacuzzi and a comfy covered patio (with a bar area) but it also has a smoker and about eleventy barbeques. Think he likes to cook?

We took the girls over for a pool day earlier this month to celebrate the birthdays of Maxine, Raquel, Debbie and Jose, who are all July babies. This was Maxine's first time in a pool. She loved it. I'm positive Raquel had a blast, too.

Dad and Debbie got two new puppies. They went from "none" to "two" and they're so very well behaved!

The last shot is Raquel playing on Dad's homemade putting green. She's been playing on that thing since she was born. She looks like a mini pro.

The Birthday Bash

(This beautiful photo was shot by my friend Hektiklyfe)

Hey! My life was ruined for a few weeks but it's getting back to normal now that I'm not spending hours a day researching and writing and rewriting for school. You would have thought I was taking a full schedule. I think I'm really a perfectionist and the older I get, the more that is true. Today is my first day of relief and relaxation as this morning I turned in my paper and did my oral presentation. I am thrilled to be done and not even half-worried about the final tomorrow.

For this post I will tell you about Raquel and Maxine's birthday bash that happened about a week and a half ago. The party was great. I've never seen Raquel have so much fun. She had lots of kids to play with and couldn't wait to finish opening her presents so she could get back to playing. We had very hot weather that day but Jose installed misters outside to cool us off and they worked quite well. Maxine did not take a nap all day. She, too, was excited. You can see her sleepy face in the picture of her about to eat her cupcake.

Grandma and a bunch of our friends brought food and Jose ended up hiring a taco man so he wouldn't have to BBQ in the heat. A friend I hadn't seen in 13 years showed up with her cute little family. And my sister, Susan, was in town from Virginia. It was a happy day.

(The picture above is by my friend Kitty) And then I took some pictures of myself cleaning up the next morning. Hehe!

A Gifted Weekend

My husband threw me a sweet birthday party Saturday night. My mother-in-law had both girls overnight (for the first time) so we could have as much fun as possible and not worry about waking the girls up with loud laughter or music. We played Pin the Tail on the Donkey, sang Happy Birthday, danced, ate chips and candy, all the usual birthday-party-type things. This was my first birthday party in a very long time. I don't even remember the last one I had. I even got gifts! I thought I was too old for that!
Jose brought home a cake from a local bakery. After I blew out the candle, I took my hand and grabbed a huge chunk of cake and ate it from my hand. I never got to do that before and I really enjoyed it!
Several of the gifts I received did not have a card attached so I don't know who each one is from, unfortunately. I got a really pretty vintage-inspired apron and timer (above) from my friends Kitty and Sean. My friends Jeff and Sara got me a vintage cookbook (Jeff knows me too well!). My brother James and his girlfriend Ally got me a miniature rose plant (that looks SO pretty in my kitchen window). Other gifts: bath fizz/bubbles, a yummy cranberry candle, 2 fancy journals, melamine plates/cups and matching napkin holders, Target giftcard, bath scrubby-thingy and a bottle of merlot. Oh, and my mother-in-law dropped by earlier in the day with a dozen red roses for me. Her late mother and I share the same birthday, February 20th.
Talk about a happy birthday. I felt pretty special. Sure wish we could do that more often.

A Birthday Dinner for Grandma

Grandma Emma turned 85 on February 12th. If her brother Bubs was still alive, he'd be 85, too--they were twins.

Grandma, ready to dig into her Super Nachos.

My dad took us all out for an early dinner today at El Tecolote, a little Mexican restaurant right off the 101 freeway in Camarillo. Celebrating special occasions here is a tradition in my family that dates back to the 1960s when Combo #1 only set you back 75 cents. It isn't fancy by any means but it has been there a long time and holds many happy memories for my whole family.

My dinner: Combo #2: ground beef taco, cheese enchilada, chili relleno. I eated it all gone.

Dad, Debbie and I had Cadillac Margaritas and Grandpa had a Dos Equis.Grandpa had his usual Combo #1 and ate the entire thing. I've never seen him do that!Dinner delivery system: (also notice the salsa dispenser)Maxine woke up when we finished eating. She was scared of everyone, not just Grandma.

It was a long drive and Maxine slept the entire time and didn't wake up until we finished dinner. That was nice for me! Then we all went to Grandma's house to drink coffee and eat cookies and cake. Grandma had a bunch of things ready to donate to the Salvation Army but she let me pick stuff out that I wanted. I took home several LPs, some dishes and a Roomba that just needs batteries--I've been wanting one of those! She gave me another old charm bracelet to gift to Maxine when she graduates high school. She also gave my dad a handmade crib coverlet that was made by her grandmother when she was pregnant with my dad. Grandma has kept so many nice and interesting mementos.

Thanks for hauling us girls in your truck, Dad, and thank you Grandma for letting us celebrate your birthday with you in such a fun way!

James is 18 Today

James was born 18 years ago today. He was going to go to Littlerock for the weekend but Jose convinced him not to go. Jose didn't want him to go mainly because we need help moving furniture to our new home in Pasadena. James is always helpful, that is, if he's not sleeping in ;)
His buddies at work made him his own little icecream cake--how cute!
We gave him a big piece of cake this morning for breakfast. Jose got it from the bakery on the corner, El Pavo. See the candle?

And then we gave him a big goodie bag filled with stuff he likes and stuff we think he might need, like new drawers! Anyways, I hope he's having a good day. Happy Birthday, Ookah!