Self Love :: slowly getting myself there (001)

What is "self love"? Regard for one's own well-being and happiness. -- That's Google's definition of it. But also, self love is also about loving the way you look. These days, so many people - men and women - are trying to change themselves to how society thinks they should look. For a long time, I hated how I looked. Even when I was at my smallest, I still felt I was ugly.

After 3 kids, my body become something I had hated. I have a kangaroo pouch (yes, the flap of fat that hangs from my huge babies, I call my kangaroo pouch), I have extra weight I didn't use to have, I have insane stretch marks, etc etc. I could go on and on.

You know what though? My husband still thinks I'm beautiful. Shouldn't that be enough? Who cares what others say. At the end of the day, who is it that will always be there by your side, holding you while you sleep? Your mate. No one else.

Recent pic with my husband at the aquarium for the kids.

See? Sleeveless. And it's a dress.

One thing I hated most about myself was my arms. I'm still not a fan of them. I would never wear sleeveless shirts because I was too worried about what others would think of my arms. Now that I have three kids, even though they're boys, I don't want them growing up seeing me being worried what others think. I want to set an example for them, that beauty is what's on the inside, and it comes in different forms. So, I've been pushing myself to wear sleeveless shirts. In this Texas heat, I'm surprised I didn't do it sooner. I'm also stepping out of my comfort-zone and trying to wear dresses more.

No one is perfect. There is no such thing as the "perfect" body. There's just you. We all are unique and special. And it's time we start realizing that and stop letting tv, magazines, books, whatever, tell us how we should look, or how we should act.

Be you. Be unique. We only have this one life. Why waste it being someone we're not? That's what I'm working on for myself. Don't get me wrong... I am trying to eat better and lose some weight. But only to be healthy and avoid health problems later in life for as long as possible. My goal is to live a long, happy, and healthy life... loving myself along the way.

Sponsor(s) of the month:

Weekly :: Tuesday Two

1. Had a date with this man on Sunday! Went to

Olive Garden and saw Elysium.

2. Our happy and wonderful boys!!!!!

Sponsor(s) of the month:

Summer 2012

Summer 2012 - What We did

Now that summer is coming to an end, I'll give you an idea how our's went.

I did that :: 002

Hubby and I went on a date not too long ago. After eating, we headed to the mall to see a movie (our theater is in the mall). While I got the tickets, hubby went to the restroom. After I got done, I wanted to use the restroom. So since hubby was done and out, I ask him, "hold my purse?" He takes it without saying a word until he goes to the waiting area by the restrooms and there's a guy standing there. He gets an embarrassed smile, so I say, "don't worry, it matches you nicely!" He must have turned 10 shades of red, and the guy tried to hold back from laughing, but couldn't. I couldn't help myself, haha. I know I made it worse for him holding it, but I just had to! I'm mean, I know.

Yeah... I did that, haha.

Sponsor(s) of the month:

Wordless Wednesday

That's My Husband :: 001

So I decided to start something called, "That's My Husband". 

Basically, posting the crazy and stupid funny things he says and does.

So Little Man got in our bed this morning and had a little accident. I start pulling off the sheets to wash them and in comes my husband...

Hubby: Who peed in the bed?

Me: *gives him a stare, like 'are you serious?'*

Hubby: Who peed in the bed?

Me: I did.

Hubby: You did? Why?

Me: Because I needed to pee and didn't want to get up.

Hubby: Really?

Me: *sighs* Here's your sign...

(If anyone is familiar with Bill Engvall, you'll understand the last part)

There's only 1 person in the house who has an accident once in awhile, and it's not me. If he was just pulling my leg, I think it's safe to say I 'got him back', haha.

Yeah... that's my husband...

2 Cultures, 1 House

Growing up, I was exposed mostly to one culture. I've seen others, but never had to "live" by them. As a kid, you really don't pay much attention anyways, just that you have fun with the other kid(s). Then I met my husband, Sergio. He's Peruvian. I didn't really think much of the culture thing. I knew it'd be different, but had no idea how much it would change my life.

We lived with his family for awhile until we were able to get our own place. It was different. The food, hearing spanish 24/7 (actually helped me to pick up a little - I can understand better than I speak it), how they did things, etc. It was all new and weird to me. But I figured, hey, we'll be moved out soon and then things will go back to normal. Wrong. My house contains things from Peru, I still hear spanish a lot (especially spanish news), smell Peruvian cooking (some I can't stand to see or smell), and him wanting to do things he's used to in his culture. It's been hard adjusting. I still am. But I'm grateful for when he's at work, because then I actually get to forget all the Peruvian stuff, haha. But it is kinda cool learning new things about other places in the world.

When it comes to child raising, it's very... different. I want it one way, he wants it another way. It's something we've learned we have to compromise on - same with anything else; compromise, compromise, compromise! Sometimes, since we can both be a bit stubborn, it can be hard. But we work through it. 

I could go on, but I don't want him to read this and think I'm badmouthing him, haha. Nor, do I want to offend anyone. It's just me expressing my life in a mixed culture family, as many are today. 

Are you in a mixed culture relationship? How to you feel about the different culture lives?

Almost midnight?!

So that's what I see right now. Almost midnight, and both boys are refusing to sleep. Even if it means hiding under the table from Mommy. Days like this, make me miss being a kid myself - no responsibility! It also makes me feel more respect for my mother, since she dealt with 3 kids under the age of 4. 

I asked my little man if he's ready to go to bed, and he said, "nahh." I try to put baby boy to bed, and he screams to the point of coughing like crazy until I get him out. Thankfully, Daddy doesn't work tomorrow. They had been going to bed between 9-9:30, but tonight? Ha! Yeah, right. It's like they both decided this: "Hey man, let's see how long we can keep Mommy and Daddy up before they pass out." It really wouldn't surprise me one bit. My boys are that crazy.

Alright, baby boy is yawning... let's see if we can make this happen. Night all!

Fireworks! Boom!

Anyone go see some fireworks last night? We - hubby, both boys, mother-in-law, and I - went to The Woodlands yesterday to watch them. We got over there around 7 and hadn't had dinner yet, so we went into the mall to eat. Everything but Great Wraps was closed. We ate, and Joey played around some, then outside to watch. We thought about getting close, but saw others watching from the mall parking lot. I asked them if it was a good view, and they said yes. So we just stayed by the car to watch inside of dealing with the huge crowd closer to the show. My brother-in-law and nephew showed up right before the show started. Both boys enjoyed it a lot. I'm surprised Chris didn't cry over the noise. It was nice, and the weather wasn't too bad, thank goodness.

I took these with my iPod touch.

What a night...

Needless to say, I got little sleep last night. Joey decided to wake up around 2 AM and not go back to sleep. Since Sergio had to get up early this morning and work a full day, I got up with him. I tried getting him back to sleep after an hour, but didn't work. I lifted him more than I should have because I started cramping which made me "hug" my toilet some. I laid on the couch as he played with his cars. Finally, around almost 5 AM, he was ready to go back to bed. It's bad enough I have trouble sleeping as it is... then add Joey and being pregnant... not a good mix, haha.

Today, I've been trying to take it easy. Slowly cleaning my kitchen, constantly picking up toys, and resting so the cramps don't get too worse. I'll be glad to get to bed tonight and hope Joey does better.

Tomorrow, is Story Time at our library. I've been wanting to go anyways to check out some books for myself (haven't been there yet), so I figured I might as well try and see how Joey likes the Story Time. I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow as well. Sergio goes to work at 5 PM, so he'll be home to help out with Joey.

I want to try updating/finishing my personal site, so I might try doing that some tomorrow when Joey naps.

check-up and more

So tomorrow makes 16 weeks along. Thursday (14th) I had a check-up, and thankfully, all is well with the baby. I was getting worried because I began having cramps. Tuesday (12th), they got so bad that I ended up in bed all day (minus the time spent "hugging" my toilet). I hadn't felt the baby in awhile before my appointment, and even though I figured all was ok, there was still that 'what if' feeling. The doctor told me as long as I don't see blood, we're ok. But she said I need to rest more, stop lifting Joey so much, and take it easy. So I'm trying to do that. She told me that once I reach 20 weeks and if the cramps are still there, then we need to worry. She had a hard time finding the baby's heartbeat which scared me even more until she finally found it. My mom is planning to come out in a few weeks after they get moved and settled into the new house to help out with Joey and the housework. My next appointment is May 12th. But on May 5th, we find out if it's a girl or boy!!! I'll be happy either way, but I do want a girl. With a girl, I can get my tubes tied and quit having kids, haha.

Joey's been doing great. He's taking shorter naps now. Somedays, he won't even nap. He still have trouble with nightmares though. I wish they would go away. I hate seeing him waking up scared to death and afraid to open his eyes. Takes us at least 30 minutes to make him realize it's ok and for him to calm down when he has them. He had one last night, so I held him on my lap, letting me cuddle him while I sang  all the songs I sang to him while he was inside me and after he was born. He fell asleep on me and I was loving every minute. Even with my back hurting and him sweating on me, I wouldn't trade those moments for anything.

For the past 3 weeks, Sergio's been saying they (he and his brothers) were going to clean out the pool and get it ready. I'm still waiting! I want to go swimming! I wish we were able to get a pool, just a blow up thing like we had last year, for here at our house. Then Joey and I could swim anytime we wanted. I keep trying to talk Sergio into that, cause Big Lots has one (a 12' 30', not very big but enough to cool off and have fun... the one we had last year was much bigger) for 67 dollars. But he hasn't agreed yet, haha.

Anyways... I'll try to update some more later. Going to lay down on the couch a bit. Not feeling well.

A break for Mommy? What's that?

So yesterday, I got a break. Yeah, me, a break. I was surprised. The brother-in-law and his girlfriend came over for lunch. She was saying how they had to go shortly because her son, who plays in orchestras sometimes, called her and told her he's doing a very important opera and wants her there. It was after 1 PM and the opera started at 2 PM. She asked if I've ever been to an opera, to which I said no but always thought it'd be lovely to go to one. So she invited me along. Of course, I went. Thankfully, Sergio had the day off so he was able to watch Joey.

The opera was called "Il Postino" ('The Postman'), and it was very good! I really enjoyed it. It was sung in spanish, which my spanish isn't good enough to keep up yet... but they had english subtitles. I was really happy to have gone and finally see a live opera. They're wonderful and beautiful. I would love to see more.

It was a nice break for me since I'm always at home with Joey, cooking/cleaning/etc. Once this next baby arrives, I doubt I get to take a break for awhile, haha. My break will be when they go to sleep. Breaks or not, I wouldn't trade being a mommy for anything!

No nap? But why? Mommy wants one!

I think my son is trying to get his self off naps. Around 3 or 4 PM, he gets so tired, he passes out. He used to nap every day around 11 AM. He's 21 months old. I try to get him to nap early, but he won't. Last night, he kept me up from around 1 to 3 AM. He had his daddy up some before that, but since Daddy worked today, I stayed up with the boy. I'm so tired. 15 weeks pregnant and little sleep? Not fun. I told Joey he needed to nap early cause once 3 PM comes, he's not allowed to nap. It's 3:14 PM, and so far so good. No tempers yet. He might just break me if he gets into his bad Peruvian temper (my husband is full Peruvian). We'll see how this goes. Once it gets a bit cooler outside, I'll take him outside to play. That'll help keep him up until bedtime.

... I hope ...

Random Thoughts.

I made a baby registry at walmart.com. Mostly for myself to keep track of what I want so I don't have a bunch of stuff bookmarked.

Yesterday at the zoo was a lot of fun! We actually saw things we didn't see the last time. Joey had a blast this time. He was too tired last time and mostly slept. But he had lots of fun and loved seeing everything. We have pictures, but I'll have to get them up another day. I just love animals. I saw something there I didn't know they had... red panda!!!! I didn't realize they were so big! So much more adorable in person. I would have loved to seen a giant panda, but this was cool too.

Joey has been wild today. Running in circles, screaming (playfully) and laughing like crazy, etc. We should go for a walk since the sun is going down.

I'm not feeling well. My sinuses are bothering me. All day yesterday I was sneezing. I want to sleep, but today is a busy day for Sergio at work, so I can't sleep until he gets home around 10. At least he'll be home tomorrow until around 3. So I can hopefully get some rest then. I hope it's not another sinus infection. I don't need that.

Alright, I'm going to take Joey for our walk. We try to go daily. Gives us something to do. And it's good for both of us.

Hoping for good weather!

Until LiveJournal is up and at normal speed again, you get an update here.

Been feeling the baby now and then. Sergio says he can feel it softly when she/he is moving. Don't know if he really is or not, but I won't take that from him, haha. I feel so tired all the time. Joey keeps me hopping. He's been my walking buddy.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day out, and I hope it stays that way because we're taking Joey to the Houston Zoo. Every first Tuesday of the month is a free day, so we try to go. And since it's free, why not? I can't wait to go. I need to be sure to charge the camera and clear any pictures off.

I found a layout for this. I like it. I would prefer something custom made just for me, which I could make the graphics myself but unsure where to get a good coding for that. So until then, this will do. I need to make some sidebar stuff for the 'family' part.

I need to try looking for more recipes to try. I've been looking on Baby Center to find them, since I'm trying to find "kid friendly" recipes. Found one for spinach and cheese stuffed chicken. Oh man, so good!! Planning to make it for lunch tomorrow since the free time at the zoo starts at 2 PM.

Give me some ideas of things to post about! I think I'll post the recipe I was talking about.