Little things that make me happy...

A pajama sale at the Children's Place. These were only $3,99 each! 

A boric acid free contact lenses multipurpose formula. Which I had been looking for for months. Boric acid, aluminum and thimerosal (mercury) are things they put in stuff as preservative but are toxic for humans. I have started using my contacts more because Ian keeps taking off my glasses but I did not want to put boric acid preserved liquid in my eyes. When I went to see my eye doctor last month she gave a sample of this one. To my surprised it was boric acid free! 

I have also tried different natural moisturizers. I constantly scratch my nose because of my allergies and that area is extremely dry. I have tried many natural moisturizers, some very expensive, but only this one penetrates and hydrates my skin even in my really dry nose. I use it all over my body. It is called Miracle II. Here in town I can only find it at the Apple Tree. They also have the Miracle water which is great to stabilize your body's PH. This bottle is only $12 or so. It lasts a long time if you save it only for your face.

Abused mothers?

I have to admit that sometimes I feel abused. Not only it is exhausting to take good care of a baby but mine at least, tortures me at times. He slaps me on the face, yanks my glasses off my face, scratches me, twists a tender part of my breast without mercy, bites it too!, hits me with his head really hard, and the worst torture, keeps me from sleeping longer than 2 or 3 hours at a time. Yes, I do feel abused at times, and there are those moments in every mother's life when you just need to retreat, put the baby in the crib and let him cry so you can go and have a cup of tea, read a paragraph or two of a good book, or knit a few rows so you don't loose it. Lately I have been having one of those moments at least once a day.

I wonder if other moms feel the same way or I am just not keeping up because of my age...

I don't mean to complain but it sure is hard when you don't have any support system. Being from a Latino culture I sure miss having my family around these days, if nothing else just to have somebody to complain to... LOL 

My husband's family is... how can I put it... in Spanish we have a saying that describes them very well: "Brillan por su ausencia" (They standout for their absence). We only see his mom frequently and only for the past couple of years. 

My parents are divorced but they come and visit as often as they can. They fly all the way from Costa Rica at least once a year if they can afford it and call on the phone often. They both came to visit and help us when Ian was born. Actually my dad paid for mom to come and then he and his wife came shortly after. They provided tremendous emotional support during those days we weren't sure how bad Ian's birth defects were. I am so thankful for that! 

When they call they want to know details about the children, how are they doing, what are they doing new... etc... They call asking for pictures and are involved in our lives even from the distance. I feel that I took my family for granted when I lived there. I miss them. I miss how knit together families are in my country, how much everyone care for each other... I miss my culture...

Well, I left the baby cry for a while now and I have vented, so back to work!

I haven't post in a while, in part because I have been really tired... Ian has started waking up really early (5:00 a.m., sometimes even 3:00 a.m.) it really kills me! I am not a morning person, and early morning is my precious sleeping time... I try to nap during the day but I don't like to leave R alone, plus she also needs to spend time with mommy. 

I also had some issues with our router. It was open, meaning without a password, and I tried to secure it again but ended up totally messing it up instead. Now my router works but my wireless network doesn't, so James  and I fighting over the connection when he is home. 

Hopefully this weekend I can fix it...

Obama depression...

I am so depressed to see what Barack Obama is doing in just a few days in power... He is really power crazy, turning around all conservative regulations without hesitation and without seeking advice. With the stroke of a pen he legalized abortion by removing the baby's brain with scissors (with no anesthesia of course), closed GIMO without a having a plan of how to do it, limited the questioning of terrorists to name and serial number, signed a law that will force people to buy only hybrid cars, etc. The guy is truly out of control! He did not consult with major Economists on his so called "stimulus package" for the economy. He is just is just forcing into all of us his liberal agenda whether we like it or not. It would have been nice that he met with doctors to find out more about the procedure of abortion during the last trimester (which by the way is against the law even in most liberal European countries) before making a decision on that issue. I would have really appreciated if at least he had met with the auto makers and evaluated the consequences of placing more unnecessary requirements on the allready struggling auto industry. Ah! and wouldn't it have been wise to create a forum with the most brilliant minds in Economy from all universities in the country before pushing forward with a government spending plan created by politicians that don't know crap about Economy but that are ready pocket money from such plan?.

This guy is all about creating a perfect world, in his own view. He is governing for himself not for all Americans, he is governing driven by ideology not common sense, and the worst of all is that he is not taking advice from anyone... specially the experts in each matter. The fact that he is acting so hasty really scares me...

This is depressing me so much I have decided not to watch the news for at least a week. I feel sick of my stomach... What the heck is wrong with the people of this country?! that not only elected him but go along with anything he says even if it sounds crazy? and why? just because he is cool? just because he is Afro-american?  Give me a brake! I just can't take it anymore, I can't believe there are still 4 more years of this to come...

We really have to pray for this country! May God help us all!      

9 months

I love naked baby pictures... makes me what to bite those chubby legs... I hope nobody is offended or consider it to be inappropriate. I just simply love them! Here are a couple. 

Ian has been achieving all kinds of benchmarks:

- He learned to drink from a cup at 7 or 8 months

- He started crawling at 7 months

- Now he just learned to stand up by grabbing furniture (but does not know what to do next and eventually lets go causing him to fall back... ouch!)

- Just the other day he grabbed the spoon that I was using to feed him apple sauce and attempted to feed himself. (it was so cute!) 

- Whenever we imitate his babbling he starts babbling really loud da-da-da-da-ma (it is so so cute!)

- Also this month he started to take my glasses and then tries to put them back on me...

- Kindly offers to share his pacifier with us... :-))

- He loves watching sister play.

- He loves to watch his "Your baby can read" videos.

- He loves taking baths.

- He has 2 lower teeth and the two upper front are about to come out!

- About a week ago he attempted to wave good-by back at daddy.

Wow! I should keep writing this daily so I don't forget. Things happen so quickly it is easy to loose track of time. 

Me encantan las fotos de bebes desnudos, se ven tan lindos! Espero que nadie se ofenda por estas fotos pero a mi me encantan!

Ian ha estado aprendiendo muchas cosas en las ultimos 3 meses:

- A los 7 - 8 meses aprendio a gatear y a beber del vaso

- Acaba de aprender a pararse agarrandose de los muebles, lo malo es que despues no sabe que hacer y se suelta y se cae para atras... auch!

- El otro dia agarro la cuchara con la que estaba dando de comer Gerber y trato de comer el solito, se metio la cuchara en la boca una y otra vez, de lo mas lindo!

- Cuando lo imitamos el empieza a balbucear "da-da-da-da-ma..."

- Me quita los anteojos y luego me los trata de poner...

- Se quita la cupeta y nos la ofrece...

- Le encanta ver a la hermanita jugando

- Le encantan los videos de "tu bebe puede leer".

- Le encantan los banos de tina.

- Ya tiene dos dientes abajo y estan por salirle los dos de arriba.

- Hace como una semana trato de decirle adios al papa con la manita.

Wow! Que monton de cosas! Tengo que escribir todo esto dia a dia para que no se me olviden, el tiempo se pasa volando y crecen tan rapido!

New Years Resolutions

<click on the comic strip to enlarge>

I thought I would share my new years resolutions even though I am not a fan of such, just for fun.

1- Read the bible more

2- Lose 20 ponds

3- Knit more

4- Eat better

5- Cook more

We will see what happens...

Aunque no tomo muy enserio las resoluciones de Año Nuevo decidí compartir algunas de las mías:

1- Leer más la Biblia

2- Perder 20 libras

3- Tejer más

4- Comer mejor

5- Cocinar más

Veremos que pasa...

New knitting gadget... Un nuevo implemento para tejer

Here is my new knitting gadget. It is a hands free light I plan to use in long trips in the car. It always bothers me when I am driving in the car and can't knit once the sunlight is gone. I can also use it when my family is watching a movie and don't want me to turn on the light or when the baby is sleeping and I don't want to disturb him by turning on the lamp. I will let you guys know how does it work when I use it. 

I purchased it at target.com just type "hands free light" in the search box.

Este es mi nuevo implemento para tejer. Es una luz para la oreja para poder tejer en la oscuridad. Pienso usarlo en el carro y también en la casa para poder tejer cuando el bebé está dormido sin tener que encender la luz. Que fiebre la mía!

Best friends are one of the biggest blessings...

My best friend came to visit. We went on vacation and had a marvelous time. We have been friends for about 15 years. Our lives had been bounded by God, I truly believe that. Here are some of the things we have in common:

- Met at a small church in Costa Rica 15 years ago.

- Both of us were single mothers when we met.

- Our children were about the same age.

- We ourselves are the same age. 

- We got married years later and came to the US with our husband.

Coincidence? There is no such a thing when you believe in Jesus. When your life is in God's hands... I feel blessed to have such a close friend for such a long time. I hope we continue to be friends until we go to be with the Lord. Not a lot of people can experience a blessing like this. 

Thank you Jesus!

Mi mejor amiga vino a visitarme. Nos conocimos en Costa Rica hace 15 anos. Tenemos mucho en comun: la misma edad, las dos eramos madres solteras cuando nos conocimos, las dos nos casamos anos despues y vinimos a los E.U. con nuestros maridos, nuestros hijos mayores son de la misma edad, etc...  Coincidencia? No lo creo. Cuando tu vida esta en las manos de Dios no existen las coincidencias. Ella es realmente un regalo de Dios para mi vida. Gracias Senor!

One sock done!

Finally, one sock is done! I already casted on for the second one. I am dyeing to make something else but I know that if I don't stick to one project I will never finish anything. 

I love how the two circulars don't leave a gap in between like the double points do. Can you see the gap in the middle of the bottom of the sock? you can see were the circulars started because the gap disappears after the last black stripe. 

I love how the sock turned out except that I wish I had had more yarn to make the leg higher but I went as far as I could calculating having enough yarn to finish the second sock. 

Ya terminé una media y comencé la segunda. Me gusta mucho como quedó.

FELIZ NAVIDAD/ Merry Christmas

Desde California les deseamos a todos una muy Feliz Navidad y que Dios nuestro Señor los llene de bendiciones hoy y siempre.

Merry Christmas and blessings to all of our friends and family. May God bless you all richly.

A treasure of knitting videos by Cat Bordhi in UTube

I am still working in the sock. Yes, the same sock, not the second sock but the first and only sock I have been working on since July that my dad came to visit. Yes, part if the baby and part the tedious 5 needle knitting that makes it go so slow and part is the super fine gauge of 8.5 stitches bla bla bla.... more excuses... bla bla bla.

So, a couple of days ago I read an article from my email subscription to KNITTING DAILY about how this lady became a sockaholic when she found out how much easier it was to knit socks in two circulars instead of double points. I have tried to use two circulars before but I just couldn't figure it out. So I started to google about it and voila! 

I found a video in UTube posted by Cat Bordhi herself:

 

Needless to say I started to knit with two circulars yesterday and I am loving it! the sock is going so much faster!

Check out Cat's wonderful videos for anything you want to learn, they are a true treasure and the best part is... they are free!!!

Thank you so much Cat, you rock!

Caylee Anthony didn't have to die...

I just had to say something about this case because this little girl has been in my heart since day one. I wish someone will bring to people's attention what this case is really about. This case is about a young woman who is unfit to be mother and since pregnant was not up to be a parent or had any desire to rise a child. She was going to give this baby in adoption and her parents pretty much forced her to keep the baby. Big mistake! I think there is a huge need for easy anonymous routes to give children in adoption far pass the first days of birth. This will save children from all kinds of abuse. Also the adoption process needs to be completely redesigned as to make the process easier and inexpensive. With the average adoption process in the US been around $20,000 so many families who will be great adoption candidates are left out. I don't want to blame the grandmother of this child but I think that if she wanted to keep Caylee she should have adopted her granddaughter herself and ask full custody of her instead of forcing Casey to take responsibility of a child she never wanted in the first place. Not that this justifies in any way killing the child of course. It is just so sad, that such a beautiful child had to end up like that, in a plastic bag. It really brakes my heart.

They said in the news that Casey had told her friends that her mother told her she was an unfit mother several times... That means that the grandma new something was wrong. She should have acted to protect the child instead of trying to force Casey to be what she was not. Anyways poor lady I don't want to give her a hard time, I can only imagine her suffering, giving the fact that it was probably she the one that had rise that baby for the most part. 

Most of us parents are in denial when our children don't turn out to be what we expected. And this family continues to be in denial to this day. I think it is that parental denial that frame Caylee's dead.  

I just wish there was a system that would have allowed Casey to give this child up very easily to caring adopting parents. The problem right now is that if the mother does not give the newborn to the authorities right away or within a few days of the birth, giving up a baby or small child is nearly impossible. Wouldn't it be better to let parents give up their unwanted children at anytime? So many children would have a better life if they could be with people who can love them instead of been treated like a "holdback" or a "nuisance".

I could be wrong but I bet there are plenty of people wanting to adopt, enough to match the amount of unwanted children, if the system was easier and cheaper for both parts. And there were no limits on age to give up a baby.

Am I crazy for thinking this way? 

Aunt Ann's visit

J's aunt Ann came to visit! we hadn't seen in her in years! It was great to have her over. Ann is a knitter, so we were able to share a lot about our projects...

La tia de James vino a visitarnos, hace anos que no la veiamos. La pasamos super bien. La tia Ann tambien teje asi que pudimos compartir montones sobre nuestros tejidos...

She made this beautiful hat for Ian. I love it! I hadn't had a chance to make one for him and this one is so pretty and it fits perfectly! Thanks so much Ann!

Le hizo esta gorrita a Ian. Me encanta! Yo no habia tenido tiempo de tejerle una... Le quedo perfecta y los colores me encantan!

She also showed me how to spin yarn... it was fun to learn but I realized afterwards that spinning is not my thing! I think I am going to stick to knitting... lol

Tambien la tia me enseno a hilar lana... Fue interesante aprender pero me di cuenta que eso no es lo mio... Yo me quedo con la tejedera... JA JA 

Fog Delay?

Not for us... What can be better than stay in bed until 8:30 on a cold-foggy day? Get up and do your school in your p-j's while zipping on nice cup of hot cocoa ?

I truly feel sorry for the kids who have to go to school on a day like this... 

Bench Project / la banca que pintamos

This is a bench that I got at Woodland. It is really big and just what I was looking for to put Rachel's stuffed animals in. She has soooo many... 

Esta es la banca que compre para poner los peluches de Rachel. Ella tiene un monton!

Here is the finished product. It took more work that I expected to be honest. First you sand it, then you primer it, then sand it again, then paint it pink two coats, sand some parts that were still rough, and finally apply transfers and stickers and a coat of poly to protect the paint. I love it! and so does Rachel. 

Aqui esta la banca terminada. Primero se lija, se le pasa Primer blanco, luego dos capas de pintura rosada, luego lija, y por ultimo el Poli que es como una capa que sella y proteje la pintura. Ah y claro antes del poli se pegan las calcomanias y unas transferencias. A R y a mi nos encanta como nos quedo!