My 2014 So Far

Hey there.  Long time no bloggy.  No excuses this time like how I've said before.  I just got lazy.  For the most part I was lazy but I had a couple of people tell me lately that they miss reading my blog.  That made me feel good and it was quite sweet of them so I told myself, "Self, got off your arse and just type something."  So here I am.  We are what 5, 6 weeks into 2014 so I thought I would tell you what I have been up to as of late.  

New Year's Eve-
First off, we kicked off the new year at the home of our BFF's out in Elgin, Texas.  As much as I would love to get dolled up and have my man take my out to fun NYE gala or a club well it has yet to happen.  I feel too guilty being away from my babies on that night so we're always together.  It was very low key with just our two families but we had a fun, intimate night filled with lots of talk, gossip, laughs and the kids popping fireworks.  

See our picture here?  Notice that my girl is way down front and the rest of us are in the back?  Well the plan was for the four of us to stand together and hold sparklers.  I thought that was a great photo op but nooooo my girl had to get scared and refused to stand by us with our sparklers lit because she was afraid that we were going to burn her down.  Oh my gawd child.  Burn her down?  Umkay.  For the record I made sure we were all holding the sparklers within a safe distance from one another but that was not good enough.  So down front she went and my friend, Claudia, snapped away.  This picture was the one that made the cut on my Facebook & Instagram pages and of course she turned out to be the star.  I guess it pays to be a drama queen.  :)

Remembering the Epiphany-
Many folks had their Christmas trees and decor down and put away the day after Christmas or New Year's Day.  Not me.  I like many other people had my tree up until the Epiphany.  I am of the Catholic faith and it is important to me that my children know Christmas does not end on December 25th.  Not trying to be snooty or goody two shoes but the Epiphany is very important and I strongly feel it should not be ignored because December is over and gone.  So as usual we kept watering our tree (we buy a fresh one) and kept lighting it until January 6th.  After that we took down the ornaments and took the tree to recycling for mulch.

My forever chores-
I posted this picture on my Instagram to vent a little and just let my followers know that I have no choice but to keep it real.  My wifely and mommy duties are forever constant and a daily thing.  I'm not complaining but I'll be honest and say that I am seriously considering hiring a cleaning lady to come at least once a month and help me with the nitty gritty stuff.  

A funeral-
We were getting ready to attend Mass one Sunday morning when my mom called to tell me that our good family friend, Bill, has passed away.  Bill was like an adoptive uncle for my sisters, cousins and me.  He was my uncle's best friend, co-worker and partner in crime.  His co-pilot as he put it.  What can I say, Bill was quite the character.  Bill could talk for hours and in the end he had nothing to say.  That was the running joke anyway.  He even talked my grandparents' ears off and they only speak Spanish.  It was hilarious to watch Bill talk to my grandfather and hear my grandfather say, "si, si, okay, si."  I always got a kick out of 'ol Bill.  Always laughing, joking, talking, helping out, beer in hand and a cig on the side of his mouth as he painted.  He and my uncle painted houses and such for a living.  Many of their clients became close friends.  An abundance of those clients turned friends were present at his service.  The funeral was absolutely beautiful, filled with so many people that loved Bill and had much love and respect for him.  The stories they all told were so Bill- funny, thoughtful, caring, and loving life. 

The year my friends and I turn 40-
My BFF, Claudia, celebrated the big 4-0 in early December but the rest of my friends and I will reach that milestone this year.  Cracking knees and all.  My girl, Sally, was the first one to cross the forty and she had a blast of a party to celebrate it; but first we had a small, intimate dinner celebration at our friends' house, Jorge & Elaine.  Getting together with my church friends is always the best and this night was no exception.  Like always we prayed, talked, laughed, joked, drank and indulged in some birthday treats.

The hubs and I were miserably sick-
Oh were we sick.  The hubs was sick while we celebrated Sally's birthday and stayed sick for well over a week.  I started feeling bad a few days after he did and it just went downhill from there.  I was quite sad because I thought I was better the day of Sally's big party but it was just my body playing tricks on me.  I didn't care and I went to that party determined to have a good time but it was a big struggle.  Blah!  We were absolutely miserable.  For reals.  The day this photo was taken (by our son) was the worst.  We fed the kids McDonald's and let them do what they pleased the rest of the day.  It was that bad but they were actually great.  Our kiddies took care of us.  Well in between playing, watching t.v. and being on the iPad.  :)

We are so Austin, We are so Green-
We have been a recycling family for some time and this year we started making weekly trips (mostly) to Ecology in Action in downtown Austin.  We used to go every month but the recycle over flow caused an eye sore.  Our trash company does not provide a recycling service so we do it ourselves.  Tisk, tisk on our trash company!  It's a little bit of a nag sometimes but it makes me feel better to do my part and teach my children how recycling helps Mother Earth.  Yeah, there are lots of smart-ass cynics out there about this but oh well.  Don't bother me none.  Word to your mother (earth).

Our Family Birthdays-
My honey turned 39.  Yeah, I'm rocking the cradle by a few months.  :)

The kids devoured his dessert.  :)

And baby girl turned 6.  Oh was she happy to be more of a big girl.  Not mommy.  Wah!!!!

and she's back at Ballet Austin after being on the wait list throughout the Fall semester. Yay!

And this past weekend we saw Frozen-
The kids and I saw Frozen the first day it was released and the three of us LOVED it.  Then we found out that it was going to be released as a sing-along and we were there again.  It was my husband's first time seeing the movie and he too enjoyed the movie.  Now I'm patiently waiting for the DVD release in March.  Yes, I secretly belt out "Let it go" whenever I can like in the shower or in the car.  All you Frozen fans do too.  :)

 

Oh so far we've had three "ice" days here in Austin with a couple of more work & school delays.  We're cold weather weenies and really we don't care.  And we like to make fun of ourselves. :)

Let's see how the rest of the year goes.  Stay warm, ya'll!  We're finally going to have 70 degree weather this week.  Yayuh!