3 Day Holiday Weekend

We are so excited for an extended weekend! Enjoy!

Buenas noches!

The Best Birthday Gift from Tia Lisa And Tio Steve

My birthday card from Tia Lisa And Tio Steve came Thursday and is my most favorite card and birthday present I have ever received. I am putting it in my bedroom so I can see it evrry say 💕

Buenas noshes!

Feliz Cumpleanos to Me 🎉

This is my favorite Happy Birthday from today!  

Thanks to everyone for the Happy Birthday wishes! Work as usual (maybe just a little crazy schedule wise during the day), Tae Kwon Do, quick dinner out and then Social Studies homework. Not bad for a middle of the week birthday 😊 We are celebrating in style Saturday night with a Monster Truck and Motorcross Show.

Bonus is that our bike rack was delivered today 👍🏻

Buenas noches!

GratiTuesday

"Without music, life would be a mistake."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

We decided not to continue trombone in band next year but Kendall will continue piano lessons and hopefully practice to play the trombone or piano at church.  

No piano lesson tonight since his piano teacher has a family member in the hospital. They are in our prayers. 

#MayYouBe Content! 

For one minute, go outside, stand there, in silence, look up at the sky, and contemplate how amazing life is.

Happiness consists not in having much, but in being content with little - the secret to having it all is knowing you already do!

Buenas noches!

Happy Tae Kwon Do Monday!

Some math and the first Magic Treehouse!

Buenas noches!

Reminiscing Sunday

Church, Sunday School, a quick visit to Adrienne, Carlos and Kalel and the reminiscing about Arizona. Many thanks to the Abuelos for my birthday package and photos.

Buenas!

No More Fish ☹️

one of our fish died while we were away in Arizona. Nicki told me he was eaten by the other fish. In checking the fish tank on Saturday the other 3 were dead as well. We are not sure what happened. We have decide to take a break from fish for a bit. But carnival season us coming up...

Buenas!

Family Movie Night Friday

at church and our last Jesus and Me event for this school year. We are watching The Good Dinosaur - we have not seen it yet. We have drinks and popcorn and you can wear your pajamas and bring pillows and blankets.

We are glad it is Friday!

Buenas noches!

Tricked Out Honda CRV Thursday

We now have a hitch, a 4 bike rack has been ordered and we can't wait to go biking!  I also had my drivers license photo done since my license expires on my birthday next week and Clark is update to on his vaccinations. A busy day and night!

 

Buenas noches!

 

Tae Kwon Do Wednesday

we made it! We can only attend today this week but we are glad to be back on schedule. Spelling and math after class then relaxing until bedtime.

Buenas noches!

GratiTuesday for Being a Single Mom

Being a single mom is a juggling act, for sure. As a single mom, I am a very busy lady. I take on all the normal duties of parenthood alone, assume the mantle of breadwinner and go out to earn a living. At the end of the working day, when traditional bread winners come home and flop into an armchair or onto the couch with the newspaper and a glass of beer/wine to await dinner, there’s no such luxury for me. I come in from work, walk/feed the dogs, cats and fish, tidy the house after the morning chaos, and set about making the dinner. Oh, don't forget about helping with homwework, driving them to their after school clubs or friends’ houses, preparing their clothes and lunch for the next day and doing any work you have brought home with you to complete.

Phew! It’s not surprising I'm exhausted. So you probably have a rueful laugh to yourself when you hear well meaning people tell you to find a good ‘work/life balance’! You may even wonder what on earth this magical ‘work /life balance’ could possibly be. For sure, it isn’t easy to find!

Working moms not only feel physically exhausted, they also often suffer feeelings of guilt that they have to spend so much time away from their children. Of course you’d prefer to be with them for all those important moments of their young lives, but you can’t. So you have to find a way to rationalize your feelings of guilt and live with them. You probably try to offset this enforced time away from the kids by spending every spare minute with them when you’re not actually at work. But, believe it or not, this isn’t always best for the kids, and it certainly isn’t best for you. Happy kids are more often than not the product of happy moms. And you’re not going to be happy if you’re permanently tired or feeling guilty or resentful.

So, what is this elusive healthy ‘work/life’ balance’, and how do you find it? Well, you have to go out and look for it. It isn’t going to crawl out from under the sofa and present itself.

A healthy work/life balance is one that allows you to be successful at work, achieve the smooth running of the household, care for your children and let them know they are loved, yet which also allows you time to be yourself and to pursue the things that make you happy.

‘Yeah, fine, you say to yourself. But how on earth am I going to manage that?’

No one says it’s easy, but it is possible. First, you have to convince yourself that you are worth the effort. You, as a human being and a woman, are worth some time spent on yourself and on yourself alone. Once you accept this, you’re part way to succeeding. Even when you’re tired, if you have the opportunity to grab a little time for an activity you enjoy, try to do it instead of just collapsing on the couch or going to bed. Believe it or not, it is more likely to increase your energy levels rather than to deplete them. Doing something you enjoy is energizing. If you like running, make time for this, and make it regular. If you like meeting your friends, take time out to do it. Get a hobby that gets you out of the house and away from the kids, even if it’s just for a couple of hours a week. Doing something like needlework at home doesn’t help, however much you enjoy the activity. If this is your thing, join a sewing circle and go out to meet new people and learn new sewing skills. You need to get away from your home enviromnment to really feel the benefits. If you stay home, something will distract you or command you attention (usually a child!) and your precious time will be lost.

How you manage to find this time will vary from mom to mom.  So do it ❤️

Buenas noches!

http://www.sheinthecle.com/moms/the-decisions-i-dont-regret-one-parents-take-on-impossible-choices/

Spring Band Concert

My handsome trombone player. And I believe Kendall can look me in the eye 😊

Buenas noches!

Catch Up Sunday

We made it to 9:15am Sunday School for Pentecost and some food shopping.  We tried to get back into East Coast time and prepared for the dreaded Monday morning 😝

Buenas!

Back to Philly - We don't want to go

Mom, what do you do if you have a plane ticket to Phoenix and you don't want to go.  Kendall asked me this after we were seated on the plane from Tucson to Phoenix. I didn't want to go home either but we had to get back to work and school.  We do know we had a pretty fantabulous vacation!

Abuelos and Tios - hasta proximal tiempo....

Buenas!

Travel Friday - back to Sierra Vista, AZ

We didn't want to leave Hotel Palomar in Phoenix but we had to head back to Abuelo's. We enjoyed a brunch at Cracker Barrel and of course, the fun pyramid game. Abuelo Linda won with 2 pegs left.  

We picked up an excited Sassy Pants and she had a bath. We enjoyed another great dinner by Abuela Linda and the Amazing Race finale. 

The Abuelos had a DVD of Magic Around the World by Charles Bach and we had fun saying 'I want to go there' and 'I can do that.!

Buenas!

 

Intel ISEF Public and Special Award Thursday

We were able to sleep in a little bit this morning then headed out for a nice breakfast at The Corner. We met a family who had a daughter competing at Intel and they had brought their 5th grade son so Kendall had fun chatting with him. There was only one project from Costa Rica this year but it was a good on focusing on gas-leakage detection from home-use gas cylinders. We chatted with him and the science director. Kendall was very noticeable with his Costa Rica soccer shirt.

We had a lot of fun checking out the other projects in all of the other categories - even Mathemathics.  There are a lot of very inquisitive, resourceful, intelligent youth throughout the world. For lunch we went to Cooperstown - Alice Cooper's restaurant at Abuela Linda's request.
The lunch was very good and we enjoyed a cucumber beer.

Tonight - the Special Awards Ceremony for me and a Diamondbacks baseball game for Kendall and the Abuelos.

Buenas noches!

Coopers'town Phoenix

Intel ISEF Interview Wednesday

A long day but mission accomplished. So many motivated, intelligent and resourceful youth from all over the world in one place. Xiaoling and I enjoyed a great dinner at The Kettle Black Kitchen and Pub. We had a local blueberry wheat beer that we really enjoyed along with our meal.  It seemed tonight was the night they rolled out their new menu and what did we pick - the new menu items. The chef came out to see how we liked our meal. As Xiaoling put it  - we are professional eaters :-0

Kendall and the Abuelos rode the metro to Tempe and watched the new Captain America: Civil War movie.

Buenas!